Nord Stream 2 is affected by US sanctions

- It is too early to know if it will hit Karlshamn, comments the municipal council Per-Ola Mattsson (S) on Tuesday's message about US sanctions against companies that work with the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2.

It was in the fall of 2017 that Karlshamn Municipality announced that it would allow storage of pipes in the harbor despite the government's recommendation. A total of about 50,000 pipes have been stored and earlier this year the last pipeline boat left Karlshamn harbor.

The company's CEO Mats Olsson also comments on Tuesday's message from the US.

- Our assessment is that it probably will not affect us as we have finished work on Nordstream 2, he tells SVT News Blekinge.

Mats Olsson says that before the US sanctions decision he tried to find out if they could affect Karlshamn harbor.

- We have had contacts with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the past and tried to investigate if it could have an impact. But I don't really know if this is something we should be worried about, says Mats Olsson.

The vote in the United States Senate on Tuesday followed last week's decision in the House of Representatives on US sanctions against the construction, which costs about SEK 100 billion.

The gas pipeline is primarily the Russian state-controlled Gazprom. Non-Russian companies, including Shell, Uniper, Wintershall and Engie, are also involved in the gas pipeline.

In October, a decision was made by the Danish Energy Agency that the gas pipeline may be drawn within Denmark's economic zone in the Baltic Sea, southeast of Bornholm. The Danish government regrets the decision, but considers that the issue is purely administrative and is governed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In the summer of 2018, the Swedish government reluctantly agreed to the gas pipeline being drawn into Sweden's economic zone in the Baltic Sea. Russia, Finland and Germany have also provided a clear sign for the project.

Congress's decision on sanctions against the construction of the gas pipeline is likely to cause dissatisfaction in several European capitals due to dependence on Russian gas.