The first pipes for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline were delivered by rail today to the German logistics hub in Mukran, on the island of Rügen. The pipes are produced by EUROPIPE GmbH in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, and are transported entirely by rail to the Port of Mukran. Over the coming weeks, 148 pipes will be delivered to Mukran per day, transported by a train comprising 37 wagons. Each pipe is approximately 12 metres long and weighs about 24 tonnes.

Wasco Coatings Europe BV will be responsible for the concrete weight coating and logistics services during the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The company plans to employ about 150 people in the concrete coating facility in Mukran for the duration of the project. The works are planned to commence in the spring of 2017 and will involve the coating and storage of up to 90,000 pipes. The logistics services include the storage of pipes as well as transport to and within storage yards.

Deliveries from the pipe mills of Russian suppliers Chelpipe and OMK to the Port of Kotka, Finland, already started at the end of September 2016.

Nord Stream 2’s logistics follows the award-winning ‘green logistics’ concept successfully implemented by Nord Stream. It is based on low-emission means of transport with the shortest possible distances, and aims at an optimised delivery from the pipe mills to the coating plants, then on to the interim storage yards around the Baltic Sea and eventually to the pipe-lay vessels. The logistics hubs chosen along the coast of the Baltic Sea will have a maximum distance of 100 nautical miles (185 kilometres) to the planned pipeline route.

About Nord Stream 2

Nord Stream 2 will be a twin pipeline system that can transport natural gas from the world's largest reserves in Northern Russia to supply homes and businesses across Europe.

Funded by leading international energy companies, the project builds on the success and experience of Nord Stream, which opened twin pipelines through the Baltic Sea in 2011 and 2012. The new pipelines will increase capacity along the Baltic Sea route from Russia to Germany, helping to safeguard Europe's long-term energy security.