Nord Stream 2 AG the project developer of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline through the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany awarded Wasco Coatings Europe BV the contract for concrete weight coating, storage and logistics of the 200,000 pipes required for the project. Wasco has now awarded Blue Water Shipping A/S of Esbjerg, Denmark, a contract for the transport, handling and storage of 113,000 of the pipes. The remaining 87,000 pipes are shipped directly from the coating facilities to the pipelay vessels.

Blue Water Shipping’s contract covers sea transport of pipes from Wasco’s coating facilities in Mukran, Germany, and Kotka, Finland, to storage yards in Karlshamn, Sweden, and Hanko, Finland. This part of the project will cover about 475 shipments by coaster vessels. Blue Water’s contract covers loading the pipes, transport to storage yards, operation of the storage yards - and finally loading of the feeder vessels transferring the pipes to the pipelay vessels from AllSeas.

After an international tender in which five companies participated, Wasco Coatings Germany GmbH awarded the 40 million EUR contract to Blue Water’s Headquarters in Denmark. Blue Water will also involve the company’s local offices in Sweden, Finland and Germany, as well as local subcontractors in Sweden and Finland.

“We are very proud to have won this contract. Over the years, we have built a strong position as a specialist in managing and executing projects with logistical challenges. We have comprehensive experience with port operations including the management and operation of temporary facilities. We are looking forward to the cooperation with Wasco and Nord Stream 2”, states Kurt Skov, CEO and Founder of Blue Water Shipping.

Blue Water will work in close cooperation with Wasco on this large project. Wasco will coat each of the 200,000 high-density steel pipes with concrete – doubling the weight of the 12-metre pipes to 24 tons per pipe on average. The first shipment of pipes is planned to commence in July.

“We are excited to work with Blue Water and we are confident that the company will be able to support us in ensuring the success of the Nord Stream 2 project”, said Rik Nugteren, Project Director of Wasco Coatings Germany GmbH.

The two 1,200-km Nord Stream 2 pipelines will mostly follow the route of the existing Nord Stream pipeline in the Baltic Sea - from the coast of Russia to Greifswald on Germany’s northern coast. It will become one of the world’s longest offshore natural gas pipelines and will have the capacity to transport up to 55 billion cubic metres of gas per year from Russia to Europe, connecting with pipelines within the European Union for onwards transmission.

Nord Stream 2’s logistics concept is based on the use of logistics hubs located in ports around the Baltic Sea. The project-related operations will provide a positive economic impact on the ports and subcontractors and contribute to long-term development.

“With Blue Water another first-class company from the Baltic Sea region has joined our international infrastructure project,” says Henning Kothe, Nord Stream 2 AG's Project Director. "This latest contract brings the total contractual commitments on the Nord Stream 2 project to over 4 billion EUR, involving more than 200 companies from 17 countries, most of them coming from Europe. The project is progressing according to schedule."

About Nord Stream 2

Nord Stream 2 is a planned pipeline through the Baltic Sea, which will transport natural gas over 1,200 km from the world’s largest gas reserves in Russia via the most efficient route to consumers in Europe. Nord Stream 2 will largely follow the route and design of the successful Nord Stream pipeline. With Europe’s domestic gas production projected to halve in the next 20 years, Nord Stream 2’s twin pipeline system will help Europe to meet its future gas import needs, with the capacity to transport 55 billion cubic metres of gas per year, enough to supply 26 million European households. This secure supply of natural gas with its low CO2 emissions will also contribute to Europe’s objective to have a more climate-friendly energy mix with gas substituting for coal in power generation and providing back-up for intermittent renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar power.

About Blue Water Shipping

Blue Water Shipping is a global provider of tailor-made transport and logistics solutions specifically designed to meet the requirements of our clients. No matter what destination or type of cargo, we add value and work in close cooperation with our clients – building mutual trust and personal relations. Our solutions include IT systems, which can easily be integrated with our clients’ technology. More than 1,500 expert employees from over 65 offices worldwide and a comprehensive network of business partners make us flexible in creating the best solutions to any challenge.