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Potential Nord Stream 2 pipelayer stopped off the coast of Kaliningrad region

The current status is limited maneuverability

© Vitaly Nevar/TASS

MOSCOW, October 8. / TASS /. The pipe-laying vessel Akademik Chersky, which has been called the possible option for completing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, slowed down on its way to the port of Kaliningrad and stopped in front of the Curonian Spit, according to the data of the Marine Traffic portal made available on Thursday.

On September 1, the vessel left the German port of Mukran where the pipes for the construction of the pipeline are located. The ship has been in the German port since May.

In accordance with the itinerary, the Akademik Chersky was supposed to enter the port of Kaliningrad on October 7, but on that day the ship stopped off the coast of the Kaliningrad region. The current status is limited maneuverability.

The Nord Stream 2 project contemplates the construction of two pipeline strings with a total capacity of 55 bln cubic meters per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. To date, 93% of Nord Stream 2 has been finished. The construction was suspended at the end of 2019 when the Swiss pipe-laying company Allseas stopped work due to US sanctions.

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