The world’s largest pipelay vessel Allseas’ Solitaire today completed the construction of Line 2 of the Nord Stream Pipeline in Russian waters and has resumed pipe laying in Finnish waters. Over 230 km of Line 2 have now been laid in the Baltic Sea, 124 km of which are in Russian waters. Simultaneously, Saipem’s Castoro Sei is laying pipes in the Gulf of Finland as well. All three sections of the first of Nord Stream's twin 1,224 kilometre natural gas pipelines have now been joined together underwater by hyperbaric tie-ins. The completed pipeline through the Baltic Sea will now be prepared for connection to the landfalls in Russia and Germany later in the summer. Line 1 has been completed and will be put into operation in the fourth quarter 2011.
Work on the second pipeline is progressing at the rate of about six kilometres a day, and more than 230 km have already been constructed. When both lines are fully operational by the end of 2012, the Nord Stream Pipeline will be capable of transporting 55 bcm of gas a year to Europe.