On Monday, German officials said that a Russian ship carrying laying pipes for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be sanctioned by US authorities. The vessel was previously used to lay pipelines in German waters. 

A ministry spokesperson, who previously confirmed that the US will be announcing the final decision on Tuesday, said, “This is the announcement of a sanction of a Russian ship. We take note of the announcement with regret”, reported AFP. 

After a year of suspension of work, the construction of the pipeline resumed in December only to be obstructed with more hurdles for the $11 billion project. 

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Signed off by US President Donald Trump in late 2019, the measures threatened asset freezes and visa restrictions for companies involved in the construction.

According to a German newspaper called Handelsblatt, multiple European countries who were involved in the project were informed by the US that the laying ship “Fortuna” will be censured. The vessel is owned by KVT-RUS, a Russian company. 

The European countries involved in the project were constantly criticised by the Trump administration for “depending too much” on Russia for their energy needs. 

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Besides Russian giant Gazprom, which has a majority stake in the project, the international consortium involved in the pipeline includes European players such as Germany’s Wintershall and Uniper groups, the Dutch-British giant Shell, France’s Engie and Austria’s OMV, reported AFP.