Switzerland-based energy consortium Nord Stream has launched a €400 million lawsuit against insurers including Lloyds of London and Arch Insurance.
The contractual disputes relate to the ruptured pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2, which were designed to transport Russian gas to western Europe.
After an underwater explosion in 2022, most of the infrastructure was damaged, causing energy prices to rocket in Europe.
Nord Stream is now suing its insurers, claiming that they failed to pay for damages after the incident.
According to legal documents, the energy firm has estimated that the “costs to dewater and stabilise the pipeline, to undertake a full repair and to replace the lost gas inventory" amount to a sum between €1.2 billion and €1.35 billion.
Nord Steam’s claim is among the largest filed in London’s High Court over the past year, according to litigation data analysis group Solomonic and cited in the FT.
The cause of the 2022 pipeline blasts is still unknown, but both Russia and the West have attempted to shift the blame onto each other.
Investigations carried out by Sweden and Germany both found traces of explosives related to the incident, suggesting the blast was carried out deliberately.
