By Patricia Zengerle and Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - Five U.S. senators are to
announce legislation on Wednesday to expand sanctions on
Russia's Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline that would
increase exports to Germany but is opposed by many in Washington
who say it would tighten Moscow's political and economic grip on
Europe.
The bill, called Protecting Europe's Energy Security
Clarification Act, follows on legislation signed by President
Donald Trump late last year. After the bill became law,
Swiss-Dutch company Allseas immediately halted undersea work on
the pipeline, which aims to double the capacity of an existing
line sending Russian gas to Germany.
But now two Russian-owned pipe-laying vessels will likely be
used to finish the remaining 100 miles (160 km) of the project,
led by state gas company Gazprom.
Nord Stream 2, which would send gas under the Baltic Sea,
could be launched by the end of 2020 or early next year, Russian
President Vladimir Putin has said.
The new legislation, whose sponsors include Senators Ted
Cruz, a Republican, and Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, would expand
the original sanctions to include penalties on parties involved
in pipe-laying activities, not just pipe laying, and on parties
providing underwriting services, insurance or reinsurance for
the vessels. A copy of the bill was seen by Reuters.
The bill, which must be passed by both chambers of Congress
and signed by Trump before becoming law, also adds sanctions on
companies providing services or facilities for the vessels
including welding equipment, retrofitting, or tethering of the
ships.
Nord Stream 2 did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by
Steve Orlofsky)