Energy, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Gas, Transport

The ministry’s deputy chancellor Harry Liiv said in Eesti Päevaleht that the environment ministry is interested in environmental surveillance taking place during the whole period of building and usage of the gas pipeline. “The more the Baltic Sea is researched, the better we know it and can evaluate the risks on that sensitive sea environment,” said Liiv.

Estonia has four months to handle the application Nord Stream submitted to the foreign ministry two weeks ago. The environment ministry is working on it and will add its own proposals to the voluminous material, if need be.

Nord Stream has submitted an application to the Estonian government to carry out environmental surveillance in the Estonian economic zone sea during the construction of the pipeline; the results of it will be shared with Estonia, National Broadcasting reported. Nord Stream says that this way it wants to disperse suspicions about the accompanying environmental dangers but the environment ministry would like to expand the surveillance to the Eastern part of the Gulf of Finland too. The first ship meant for installing the Nord Stream gas pipeline, Castoro Sei, has already arrived at the Baltic Sea and is preparing for final test work. “The ship arrived at the Baltic Sea and is in the Swedish waters at present. Installation hasn’t directly started yet, final testing is under way,” said Nord Stream’s regional adviser in the Baltic states Romans Baumanis.