BERLIN, March 2. /TASS/. The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany (BSH) issued a permit for construction and operation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline’s offshore segment in the exclusive economic zone of Germany in the Baltic Sea, the authority said on its website on Tuesday.

"BSH issued a notice on authorization of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline construction in the exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea," it said. The agency does not see obstacles to satisfaction of the request for subsea laying of the gas pipeline on the 31-km long section.

"All the permits needed to be received in Germany for implementation of the project were obtained," BSH said. The Stralsund Mining Authority earlier issued the official approval for the approximately 55-kilometer-long section of the pipeline in territorial waters of Germany.

The national permitting procedures in the other four countries along the route - Russia, Finland, Sweden and Denmark - are in process. The Nord Stream 2 has fulfilled all requirements and expects the permits to be issued in time for the scheduled start of construction in 2018, the pipeline operator said before.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is expected to come into service at the end of 2019. The pipeline is set to run from the Russian coast along the Baltic Sea bed to the German shore. Each of the pipeline’s two stretches will have a capacity of 27.5 bln cubic meters. The new pipeline will double the capacity of the first stretch and will basically follow its route.