Nord Stream 2 Resolves Swedish Port Hurdle

Following reports that Sweden’s municipalities Karlshamn and Slite might not allow the use of their respective ports for pipe storage during the execution phase of the Nord Stream 2 project, Karlshamn has approved the use of its port. 

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline will carry natural gas through the Baltic Sea directly from reserves in Russia to the neighboring EU gas market.

The construction of this new twin pipeline system requires logistical support from harbors on the Baltic coast, where concrete weight coating and interim pipe storage facilities would be set up.

Gazprom’s Switzerland-based project company Nord Sream 2 AG said on Tuesday that the port of Karlshamn has since the first contact signaled its commercial interest in taking part in the project. Nord Stream’s contractor, Wasco Coatings Germany GmbH, will consequently use the harbor for pipe transhipments and storage over a two-year period as of this autumn.

There was no mention of the second port, located in Slite, and whether the project will use its facilities as well.

According to Nord Stream 2 AG, during the first phase, pipes exclusively made in Germany will be shipped to Karlshamn and then stored within the premises of the port. During the second phase, these pipes will be loaded onto pipe-carrier vessels transporting them to the lay barge on the sea.

Wasco is in charge of the entire transhipment process, with no involvement of Nord Stream 2 nor its shareholder Gazprom. Wasco intends to hire locals and mainly work with local suppliers to supply goods and services for these operations. The company will in total use four ports for the pipe logistics of the Nord Stream 2 project: Mukran in Germany, Kotka and Hanko in Finland, and Karlshamn in Sweden.