LONDON: Nord Stream is seeking more than 400 million euros ($436 million) from its insurers over explosions in 2022 which ruptured pipelines designed to transport Russian gas to Germany, court filings show.
Nord Stream AG names Lloyd’s Insurance Company and Arch Insurance (EU) DAC as defendants in its lawsuit, which was filed at London’s High Court last month.
Switzerland-based Nord Stream confirmed in an email there is a contractual dispute in London commercial courts between itself and insurers of the pipeline system.
“However, we ask for understanding that we are not in a position to provide any detailed comments to the legal proceedings,” Nord Stream’s communications team said.
Court filings state that Nord Stream’s current preliminary estimate of “the costs to dewater and stabilize the pipeline, to undertake a full repair and to replace the lost gas inventory” is between 1.2 billion and 1.35 billion euros.
Nord Stream’s lawsuit also says one of the pipelines looked “mangled and deformed” in one area where it had been damaged, but “appeared smooth and to have been cut” in another.
Lloyd’s declined to comment. Arch did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit focuses on the explosions in September 2022 that ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines. Sweden – which last month dropped its investigation – and Germany have both found traces of explosives relating to the incident, suggesting it was a deliberate act.
Russia and the West, at loggerheads over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, have pointed fingers at one another. Each has denied any involvement, and no one has taken responsibility.
Nord Stream in its lawsuit is suing all insurers subscribing to its offshore operating all-risks policy as well as its excess all-risks policy.
According to court documents, Nord Stream is suing Lloyd’s on its own behalf and as the representative of others subscribing to policies issued by insurers including Munich Re, which declined to comment.
Nord Stream sues insurers in London over 2022 pipeline blasts
https://arab.news/9enxm
Nord Stream sues insurers in London over 2022 pipeline blasts
- Nord Stream AG names Lloyd’s Insurance Company and Arch Insurance (EU) DAC as defendants in its lawsuit
- Nord Stream’s lawsuit also says one of the pipelines looked “mangled and deformed” in one area where it had been damaged
Bangladesh takes ‘balanced approach’ with Pakistan as talks of defense deal emerge
- Air force chiefs of Pakistan and Bangladesh discussed potential defense pact last week
- Dhaka says plan to procure fighter jets still in early stages, discussions ongoing with several countries
DHAKA: Bangladesh appears to be moving with caution as Dhaka and Islamabad forge closer ties and explore a potential defense deal, experts said on Friday.
Following decades of acrimonious ties, relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan have been growing since a student-led uprising ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024.
Talks on a potential defense deal covering the sale of Pakistan’s JF-17 fighter jets to Dhaka emerged after Bangladesh’s Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan visit to Rawalpindi last week, where he met with his Pakistani counterpart Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Pakistan’s chief of defense forces.
Bangladesh’s military media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations, said the procurement of fighter jets for the Bangladesh Air Force is “in the very rudimentary level,” and currently “under an evaluation process.”
ISPR Director Lt. Col. Sami Ud Dowla Chowdhury told Arab News: “The evaluation process will determine which country’s offer proves befitting for us. The air chief’s visit to Pakistan is part of the evaluation process … Earlier, he visited China, Italy (too).
“Discussions are underway with different countries. Nothing concrete has come yet.”
Talks between the high-ranking military officials are the latest development in Bangladesh-Pakistan ties, which have included the resumption of direct trade for the first time since the 1971 war and the expected launch of a regular route from Dhaka to Karachi at the end of this month, following over a decade of suspension.
Though efforts to expand relations can be seen from both sides, the current interim government of Bangladesh led by economist and Nobel Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has been “showing some kind of pragmatism,” said Prof. Delwar Hossain of Dhaka University’s international relations department.
“Bangladesh is stepping very cautiously in comparison with the advancement from the Pakistan side. Bangladesh is trying to make a balanced approach,” he told Arab News.
“The present government is always saying that the development of a relationship with Pakistan doesn’t necessarily mean that Bangladesh is moving towards a particular camp. Rather, Bangladesh is interested in having a balanced relationship with all the great powers.”
Trade and economy are “naturally” more preferable areas of cooperation for Dhaka, Hossain said, adding that “we need more time to determine” how far military cooperation will be expanded.
Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury, a defense expert and retired air officer of the Bangladesh Air Force, said that Bangladesh is “very much in need of advanced aircraft” because its military has not procured new fighter jets in at least two decades.
“Air frigate fighters are badly needed for the Bangladesh Air Force. We had some F-7 produced by China, but they stopped producing these fighters nowadays. Here, Pakistan can be a source for our fighter jets, but it involves … geopolitics,” he told Arab News, alluding to how Dhaka’s defense ties with Pakistan may be perceived by its archrival neighbor India.
Pakistan’s JF-17 fighter jets, a multi-role combat aircraft jointly developed with China, have drawn international interest following their success last May, when Pakistani and Indian forces engaged in their worst fighting since 1999.
Islamabad said it shot down several Indian fighter jets during the aerial combat, a claim Indian officials later acknowledged after initially denying any losses, but without specifying the number of jets downed.
“Our friendship with Pakistan shouldn’t (come) at the cost of our friendship with India,” Choudhury said.
“With this (potential) defense purchase deal with Pakistan, we have to remain very cautious so that it proves sustainable in the long term.”
