The U.S. administration imposed new sanctions on a Russian ship and two companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline on Aug. 20, according to Reuters.
The sanctions were imposed on ship Ostap Sheremeta, Russia-based ship owner Nobility, and construction company Konstanta, the U.S. State Department said in a report.
U.S. official reports stated that that the administration has now sanctioned seven entities and identified 16 of their vessels as blocked property under sanctions laws passed by Congress.
However, it will not put an end to the project, which is almost completed. The pipeline is currently 99% complete. It became a fait accompli in July 2021, when the U.S. and Germany put out a joint statement condoning its completion.
The move provoked anger from Ukraine, as well as from the U.S.’s NATO allies, Poland and the Baltic states.
According to Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, Russia will use the pipeline to blackmail Ukraine and Central European countries.
Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom on Aug. 19 announced that it intends to transport 5.6 billion cubic meters of gas to Germany through the pipeline, due to be completed by the end of August.
However, German media Deutsche Welle news outlet recently reported, without providing sources, that the pipeline will be completed on Aug. 23, the day preceding Ukraine’s 30th anniversary of independence.
The news sent European gas prices tumbling. Dutch gas futures for September fell from $531 for 1,000 cubic meters to $482.
When completed, Nord Stream 2 will deliver up to 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine and depriving it of over a billion dollars a year in transit fees, as well as a significant geopolitical deterrent to further Russian invasion.
It is built alongside the existing Nord Stream pipeline, which has been operational since 2011.
Russia and Ukraine currently have a five-year agreement through 2024 that guarantees Russia will transport no less than 40 billion cubic meters through Ukraine each year and must pay Ukraine at least $7.2 billion until 2024.
