The German port of Mukran is expected to continue normal operations despite a direct threat of US sanctions against the facility because of its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, the energy ministry of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania said Aug. 13.
Last week, three US senators sent a letter to two senior officials at the port, saying the facility was “knowingly” providing support to Nord Stream 2 and that this could expose the port to US sanctions.
Mukran is currently home to the remaining Nord Stream 2 pipe that is expected to be laid in Danish waters to complete the line and is also where the Russian pipelaying vessel Akademik Cherskiy is currently moored.
“We expect the port to continue its work ‘normally’ and to keep the commitments and implement the contracts it has entered into,” a spokeswoman for energy ministry of the state, which holds a stake in the port operator, Faehrhafen Sassnitz, said.
It remains unclear when and how the Nord Stream 2 operating company will lay the final 160 km (99 miles) of the pipeline in Danish waters.
The US in December last year implemented legislation that threatens sanctions against any entity laying Nord Stream 2 pipe, which prompted Switzerland’s Allseas to immediately halt its pipelaying work.
Expanded sanctions against the project are also now under consideration that would target more companies involved in laying the line’s final segment, including service providers and insurers.
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