The company, which is owned by Russia’s gas giant Gazprom, said on Saturday that pipe-laying work on Nord Stream 2 will resume in German territorial waters in early December, the broadcaster reported.
The 1,200-kilometer undersea gas link is close to completion, with only 30 kilometers of pipes remaining to be laid in Germany, Radio Free Europe reported. In Denmark, another 120 kilometers have to be laid, according to the broadcaster.
Radio Free Europe reported that it was not specified which ships will take part in the planned construction, which was at a standstill for a year due to a range of sanctions from the United States.
Earlier this month, US House and Senate negotiators have agreed to target insurers and certification companies working on the Russian gas project in a planned defense bill set to be passed this year.
Last month, the United States targeted companies “providing services or facilities for upgrades or installation of equipment” for vessels participating in the construction of Nord Stream 2 and companies funding those upgrades and installations.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a media interview in September that the United States was working to build a coalition of countries to stop the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from being completed in Europe.
Speaking out on the pipeline last year, US President Donald Trump said: “We’re protecting Germany from Russia and Russia is getting billions and billions of dollars from Germany.”
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has previously called Nord Stream 2 “a new hybrid weapon” aimed at the European Union and NATO.
The pipeline is designed to have the capacity to send around 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas a year directly to Germany while bypassing the Baltic states, Poland and Ukraine.
Warsaw has vehemently opposed the project, saying it would pose a threat to Europe’s energy security by doubling Russia’s gas export capacity via the Baltic Sea.
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Source: Radio Free Europe, IAR