
Nord Stream 2 AG today announced that the heavy lift and pipelay vessel Pioneering Spirit will temporarily lay down pipe in the Swedish Exclusive Zone to carry out platform lift work in the North Sea, before returning to the Baltic Sea to continue laying the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Pioneering Spirit has been laying pipe in a Southerly direction in the Swedish EEZ.
This temporary demobilisation is part of the contract agreed with Allseas for the use of this versatile vessel.
Nord Stream 2’s Chief Project Officer Henning Kothe comments: “We have a complex schedule for laying the twin Nord Stream 2 pipelines, taking account of environmental requirements and the availability of the many vessels needed for the project. Works are progressing according to schedule, and we are on track to complete the twin pipelines by the end of 2019.”
Over 1,000 people are currently working on some 20 vessels in the Baltic Sea for the project. Over 800 kilometres of pipes have so far been laid on the seabed, in line with the permits granted by Germany, Finland, Sweden and Russia.