Pipelayer of "Nord Stream 2" changed the owner again

Previously, the ship was owned by the Universal Transport Group, which bought the ship from the Hong Kong Strategic Mileage in October 2020.

This is reported by RBC, referring to the Russian International Register of Vessels (RIRV).

The publication points out that the change of ownership took place against the backdrop of the likely tightening of US sanctions against the Russian gas pipeline.

"Fortuna" commenced operations on the short section of the pipeline on 11 December. The vessel is to lay 2.6 kilometers of gas pipeline at a depth of about 30 meters. The company received permission to continue construction earlier.

At the same time, the US is confident that Nord Stream 2 will never be put into operation. Senator from the Republican Party Ted Cruz indicated that the new restrictive measures against the project were prepared with "surgical precision" in order to send a signal to international investors, and the Russian Foreign Ministry, in his opinion, is engaged in "disinformation", assuring that construction will soon be completed.

Meanwhile, Gazprom is left with less than 100 km of pipes to complete construction. After Washington announced the imposition of sanctions against SP-2, the contractor - the Swiss company Allseas - refused to cooperate. In the United States, the imposition of sanctions was then explained by the fact that the company allegedly feared for Europe's energy dependence on Russian gas . The US authorities are currently imposing a new package of sanctions to prevent the project from ending. New restrictive measures apply to service and insurance companies, without cooperation with which the project cannot be put into operation . Earlier, Germany even offered the United States a billion-dollar contract for the construction of two harbors for the export of liquefied American gas, if the country allows the completion of Nord Stream 2 without hindrance.