Christian Pegel, the energy ministry of the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Thursday said that Mukran port would continue normal operations despite a direct threat of US sanctions for being involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. Last week, US senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, and Ron Johnson sent a letter to the port operator Faehrhafen Sassnitz stating that the involvement could expose the port to US sanctions.
Akademik Cherskiy, a Russian pipe-laying ship, is currently moored in Mukran port. The port also stores the rest of Nord Stream 2 pipe that will be arranged in Danish waters to finalize the last segment of the 55 Bcm/year network. It remains unclear when the pipeline operator will lay the final 160 km pipeline in Danish water.
In December, the US enacted legislation that threatens to impose sanctions on companies that provide support to the project. Following this threat, Switzerland's Allseas immediately pulled out of the project and stopped its pipe-laying work. Pegel hoped that the European Commission and the German federal government would counter the latest sanction threat.
