Nord Stream Ensures Unrestricted Access to Polish Ports
March 5, 2010 | Zug/Berlin | Nord Stream AG will ensure unrestricted access to the Polish ports of Świnoujście and Szczecin as a result of appropriate measures that it will take in a 30 kilometre section of the German sector of the pipeline route. “We have always taken very seriously the concerns expressed by Poland. In the interests of the safety of both the pipeline and sea traffic we are pleased to have found a feasible solution,” said Nord Stream’s permitting Director Dirk von Ameln. “By burying or rerouting the pipeline in this sector we will be even better able to meet our very high safety requirements for the whole project.”
Along with the permit which it granted on 21 December 2009, the Stralsund Mining Authority included a requirement to prepare a revised risk analysis of a specific section of the route within the 12 nautical mile zone. This section involves the harbour approaches for the ports of Świnoujście and Szczecin established in marine charts by the shipping authorities. As a result of this analysis Nord Stream has now decided to lay the pipeline in the seabed with a covering of half a metre for about 20 kilometres of the route in the 12 nautical mile zone.
The route in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) was also considered in the risk analysis, and Nord Stream has decided on a rerouting along a 12 kilometre section here. Permission for this was granted by the Federal Office for Shipping and Hydrogrphy on 26 February 2010.
Both measures ensure that unrestricted access to the Polish ports of Świnoujście and Szczecin will still remain possible after construction of the Nord Stream Pipeline.
