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Measure seven times, cut once: Germans don't want Nord Stream 2

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Message Augusts Augustiņš

At a time when only the last couple of kilometers of the Kremlin's gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 need to be built in the depths of the Baltic Sea, German environmental activists and a couple of politicians have made loud announcements that it's time to put an end to the Kremlin's very "dangerous" geopolitical project.

A couple of days before Easter, Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation at the German Federal Foreign Office Peter Beyer suggested that a moratorium should be imposed on the completion of Nord Stream 2. The German official suddenly believes that the pipeline will hinder the restoration and improvement of transatlantic relations, because the US expects Berlin to change its pro-Kremlin rhetoric and give Russians the finger. Therefore, the cancellation of the Nord Stream 2 project would be a good political gesture by the Germans.

I will remind you that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is frequently repeating Joe Biden's words that Nord Stream 2 is very bad for Germany, Ukraine and Central and Eastern European allies. He added that those engaged in completing the Kremlin's geopolitical project shouldn't be surprised if sanctions get imposed against them.

This, of course, is another example of superpowers fighting for global influence. Nothing personal, just business, and everyone is free to choose their own path. Because this geopolitical game is rapidly getting out of control, it is vital for the Kremlin to complete Nord Stream 2 - if the project gets postponed now, it may never be completed, or at least not while Putin is at the helm of Russia.

This has resulted in the Kremlin now rushing to construct the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. In such projects haste is nothing good because it can only result in a geopolitical screw up. Moreover, because of US sanctions the project has been abandoned by several Western contractors, and now only Russian sailors with outdated equipment and a peculiar attitude towards "doing a good job" remain, meaning that the project won't be of the highest quality. The result will be something similar to Putin's palace in Gelendzhik, i.e. yes, there is a palace but it still looks like a barn.

What concerns the equipment used by Russia, I would like to stress that the ships VENIE, VLADISLAV STRIZHOV, YURI TOPCHEV, UMKA, VENGERY, FINVAL, ERRIE and KATUN have already served their time - some are in a state of emergency and some should have been sent to India to be cut up a long time ago. It's possible that the Baltic Sea won't see an ecological disaster, but instead a ship disaster.

Ukrainian intelligence services have once again published quite interesting information that may force some Germans to think about the impending danger in the Baltic Sea. For instance, one of ships engaged in the construction of Nord Stream 2 has been undergoing repairs at the Munkebo port (Denmark) since 16 March. Judging by the photographs, it looks like the ship has a damaged hull, propeller and steering gear. The poor UMKA is so old that it's unable to withstand the workload necessary to complete the pipeline by the time the banquet celebrating the Russia Day will be held at Schrà ¶der's house in Germany.

Experts believe that the use of old ships and technology in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline only increases the likelihood of technological disasters occurring in the Baltic Sea that would have severe ecological consequences.

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