Insurance company Allianz said on Wednesday it does not plan to renew its policy on the Nord Stream 1 project after it expires at the end of 2023, Reuters reported.

Allianz said it was part of an insurance consortium that provided cover for the pipeline’s four minority shareholders based in Europe.

“The policy expires at the end of 2023, is not currently renewable and Allianz has no intention of renewing this policy,” Allianz said in a statement on its website.

A signal given by insurers with the tacit approval of Olaf Scholz’s government

The insurance, provided by Germany’s two biggest insurers, Allianz and Munich Re, is vital to any long-term future of the pipeline, which until the September 2022 explosions was the main route for Russian natural gas to Europe.

The actions of German insurers contradict Germany’s official point of view on the severance of relations with Moscow, but one of the sources cited by Reuters indicated that the German government is not opposed to the restoration of coverage of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.

Most Western investors decided to reduce the value of their shares in the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. Russia has a 51% stake in Nord Stream 1 through a subsidiary of the state-owned energy group Gazprom.

The German government did not oppose the renewal of the insurance of the Nord Stream-1 gas pipeline.

Several sources cited by Reuters indicated that some German Nord Stream 1 shareholders are at least sympathetic to the idea of ​​keeping the pipeline damaged by the explosion if relations with Moscow improve.

One of the sources indicated that Berlin tolerated this approach to the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, although it publicly stated that energy ties with Russia had been severed.

The insurance policy covers pipeline damage and business interruption issues, one of the sources said. But the fact that there is insurance will also ease any repairs that would be needed to restore gas supplies across the Baltic Sea to Europe.

While seaborne imports of oil and petroleum products from Russia are prohibited under European Union sanctions, imports of Russian natural gas are permitted.

However, the West is struggling to find alternatives to Russian gas after Gazprom cut off supplies to countries that refuse to pay for Russian energy imports in rubles.

Imports of Russian natural gas into Europe have fallen from around 40% of EU consumption before the invasion of Ukraine to less than 10%.