The Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaports Authority filed an appeal with the Court of Hamburg against a decision of the German Navigation and Hydrographic Authority (BSH), an authority which issued a permit for the Nord Stream Consortium to place a gas pipeline on the Baltic Sea bottom without taking into consideration of Polish arguments concerning the depth of the pipeline.

Several times we have pointed out that the depth of the pipeline is too small at the northern approach to Polish ports and it might be an obstacle for larger ships to call at the ports.
As yet our requests have not been considered and in February BSH rejected our complaint regarding the placing of the pipeline. Thus, the only possibility was to file a petition with the court.
- Since the beginning of the investment process we requested to bury the pipeline in the sea bottom or moving it to water of larger depth with the aim of maintaining unrestricted access to the Polish ports. As previously notified, we intend to use all possible legal steps, said Jarosław Siergiej, the Chairman of the Ports Authority.

Wojciech Sobecki
Spokesperson