Reuters: German companies resume insurance for damaged Nord Stream

The largest German insurance companies Allianz and Munich Re resumed insurance for the damaged Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, reported Reuters, citing a number of sources.

One of them clarified that the German government did not object to the extension of the contracts, although this contradicts the official position of Berlin on breaking ties with Moscow in the field of energy. The insurance policy covers both damage to the pipeline and costs due to the interruption of its operation, another source explained.

As the agency notes, some German shareholders are in favor of keeping the pipeline in case relations with Moscow improve, but few in the political leadership of Germany allow the revival of Nord Stream.

The Nord Stream incident occurred on the night of September 26, 2022. Pressure dropped in both pipelines. Two subsequently discovered leaks were in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Sweden, and two more were in the Danish EEZ. Initially, Germany, Sweden and Denmark agreed to conduct a joint investigation, but this idea was later abandoned. In October 2022, Sweden announced the completion of the investigation, stating “increasing suspicions of gross sabotage”, but those responsible for what happened were not named.

As a result of the explosion, one string of Nord Stream 2 was damaged, the second survived, but it is not used to supply gas to Germany due to the lack of a relevant permit from the German authorities.

On March 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian side offered the Danish authorities to form an international group of experts and conduct a survey of the Nord Stream lines, but received an ambiguous answer.