Nord Stream 2 flags security concerns from warships and low flying planes
The consortium constructing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has voiced its concerns over security risks to the project from warships and low flying military aircraft.
Andrey Minin, a senior offical at the Nord Stream 2 AG consortium has told Interfax News that his company’s pipe laying operations in Danish waters are being jeopardized by “regular provocations by the [sic] foreign civil and military vessels”.
According to Interfax, Minin said an unidentified submarine has surfaced less than a mile away from the pipelaying vessel Fortuna. He also described other incidents involving surface vessels and low-flying military aircraft.
The undersea pipeline has been a source of tension between Moscow and Washington as it will double the capacity of gas Russia will supply to western Europe. Washington believes reliance on Russian gas is a strategic mistake and has imposed sanctions on the project, leading to several companies withdrawing from the consortium.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that it was ultimately up to those building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline whether to complete it despite opposition from Washington.
According to Nord Stream 2 AG, the line is 95% complete, with around 75 miles left to construct.
