The United States on Monday announced its decision to impose additional sanctions in connection with the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline.
The announcement was made in a statement by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, released by the Department of State on 22 November.
Blinken said the Department of State filed a report with the U.S. Congress listing two ships and the Russian-affiliated company Transadria Ltd. involved in the project on the sanctions list. The report is submitted under the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act of 2019 (PEESA).
“Transadria Ltd. will be sanctioned under PEESA, and its vessel, the Marlin, will be identified as blocked property,” Blinken said, without providing details on the second vessel.
He stressed that the US administration has already sanctioned a total of eight individuals and identified 17 of their vessels as blocked property under PEESA in connection with Nord Stream 2.
“Even as the Administration continues to oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, including through our sanctions, we continue to work with Germany and other allies and partners to reduce the risks posed by the pipeline to Ukraine and frontline NATO and EU countries and to push back against harmful Russian activities, including in the energy sphere,” Blinken said.
The Biden administration waived sanctions against the pipeline operator this summer and reached an agreement with Germany in July to complete the pipeline.
Germany agreed to take action against Russia if Russia used gas as a weapon in its relations with Ukraine, but the agreement with the US did not include specific criteria on how this would be assessed.
Recall that the German regulator last week temporarily suspended the certification process for the operator of Nord Stream 2.
Because of this decision, the commissioning of Nord Stream-2 may be delayed until March next year.