Russian steel pipe and railway wheel producer Vyksa Steel Works (VSW), a part of Russia-based OMK Group, has confirmed that its large-diameter pipes produced from its own sheets are in accordance with the specifications for the Nord Stream Extension (NEXT) project and the requirements of the DNV-OS-F101 "Submarine Pipeline Systems" maritime standard of the Norwegian classification society Det Norske Veritas.
The DNV certificate allows the company to use wide plates made from 485FD (X70) steel manufactured at the Heavy Plate Mill 5000 of Vyksa Steel Works to produce pipes with an inner nominal diameter of 1,153 mm and wall thickness of 30.9 mm and 34.6 mm for the third and fourth strings of the Nord Stream pipeline. A test batch of plate and pipes made from the steel was produced at VSW in front of representatives of DNV and Nord Stream AG in mid-2013.