A Finnish court lifted Friday a halt on ammunition clearing in the Baltic Sea imposed on Russian-led consortium Nord Stream in preparation for its planned gas pipeline.
In October, the court had ordered Nord Stream temporarily to halt mine clearing in Finland's economic zone in the Baltic Sea, following a court case brought by a Finnish businessman who claimed mining rights in the area.
Helsinki district court said that Erkki Sederqvist's demand for a ban on ammunition clearing did not have enough grounds because his mining claim had been refused in September by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, responsible for mining issues.
The ministry had said at the time there was "insufficient" evidence of alleged mineral deposits under the seabed.
Following that decision, Sederqvist took the case to court, which ordered Nord Stream temporarily to halt mine clearing in an area 17 kilometers long and 50 meters wide.
The EUR7.4-billion Nord Stream pipeline project is led by Russian state-run energy giant OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) in partnership with Germany's E.On Ruhrgas AG and BASF-Wintershall AG.
The consortium, which is planning to build a 1,220-kilometer pipeline to deliver gas from Russia to Germany, said the area in question had no old mines or other ammunition and that the halt had not impacted its plans.
"We have been preparing the mine clearing and expect to start it late next week" in the Finnish economic zone, Nord Stream's spokesman Sebastian Sass told AFP.
There are some 50 old mines - about 30 in the Finnish zone--in the Baltic Sea that have to be destroyed before starting the building of the pipeline.
It will link the Russian city of Vyborg and Greifswald in Germany, running under the Baltic Sea and passing through Russian, Finnish, Swedish, Danish and German waters.
Last week Nord Stream received crucial approvals from the Finnish and Swedish governments allowing Nord Stream to use their economic zones in the Baltic Sea.
Denmark had agreed to Nord Stream on Oct. 20.
Nord Stream still needs the approval from a Finnish environmental permit authority and the official go-ahead from the Russian and German governments.
Sass said Nord Stream hoped the building of the pipeline could begin in spring 2010.