Fortuna

The "Fortuna", which was involved in the construction of the stopped Nord Stream 2 pipeline until autumn 2021, is anchored eight nautical miles southwest of Heligoland. The ship had been prepared for a longer sea towing in the roadstead off Kaliningrad. The Russian deep-sea tug "Katun" (IMO: 9701126) was supposed to tow it to a new location. However, during the storms of the past few weeks, the ships got out of the Dutch economic zone into the German Bight and landed in the entrance to the Elbe on Feb 22, 2022. The "Katun" was supposed to be replaced by another tug due to a class inspection and intended to enter Cuxhaven for this purpose. However, the Italian tug which was announced as a replacement for the 'Katun' did not arrive. Because of her size, the "Fortuna" cannot remain in the German Bight without a capable assistance tug. The package of sanctions against Russia decided by the EU also includes punitive measures for cooperation with companies in the Russian oil, gas and transport industry. The "Fortuna", owned by the St. Petersburg shipping company KVT-RUS, would be included and could be detained immediately when entering an EU port. Companies that help the ship must also expect penalties. Thus the fate of the 'Fortuna' actually remains uncertain. German report with photo: https://www.kn-online.de/Nachrichten/Schleswig-Holstein/Russischer-Nord-Stream-Rohrleger-Fortuna-haengt-vor-Helgoland-fest

The 'Fortuna' on Sep 6 has welded the last pipe of the second line of the pipeline of Nord Stream 2, after which the pipe number 200 858 will be submerged at the bottom of the Baltic Sea in German waters. It will soon join the German and Danish sections and then start using the pipeline by the end of 2021. The next step will be the coupling of the section of the gas pipeline that starts from the coast of Germany to the section that extends from the waters of Denmark over water. Nord Stream 2 will help meet the needs of the EU energy market in long-term natural gas imports, ensuring reliable and safe supplies at reasonable economic terms. Nord Stream 2 is a joint venture between Russia's Gazprom and five Western European energy companies. Once completed by the end of the year, the new network will be able to transport up to 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Russia to Europe, thus doubling Nord Stream's capacity.

The 'Fortuna' is expected to finish pipelaying works under the Nord Stream 2 project in the German zone on Sep 12. The ship is now working in Germany’s territorial waters. By now, the pipeline is 99% ready. Since late July the 'Fortuna' was working on the final section of the pipeline that will run across the bottom of the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast to Germany bypassing transit states, such as Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and other Eastern European and Baltic countries. The new 1,230-kilometer pipeline, basically following the same route as Nord Stream, traverses the economic zones and territorial water of five countries, namely Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany.