The US authorities may impose sanctions on insurance and certification companies cooperating with Russian vessels if the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is completed. This was announced on Wednesday, November 11, by Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the situation.
According to journalists, the corresponding sanctions will be included in the draft national defense budget for 2021, which should be adopted by the end of this year. It is specified that the previously introduced restrictive measures apply to all pipe-laying activities and insurance.
At the same time, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez said in an interview with the agency that “Germany, an ally of the United States, and its officials will not be affected by such sanctions.”
On October 20, the United States announced new sanctions against companies involved in the construction of the gas pipeline. The restrictions will include enterprises engaged in the modernization or installation of equipment on pipe-laying vessels.
For the first time restrictions against Nord Stream 2 were introduced in December 2019. Then, due to US sanctions, the Swiss company Allseas withdrew its vessels from the Baltic Sea and stopped work on laying the gas pipeline. Russia decided to finish building it on its own.
Nord Stream 2 is being built from Russia to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea with the aim of direct and reliable gas supplies to Europe. The EU countries mainly support the project and participate in its implementation. The project is opposed by the United States, the Baltic republics, Poland and Ukraine.