Global fleet of LNG-capable ships expands as bunkering gets easier
LNG as a marine fuel is gaining traction, notably in the very large crude carrier (VLCC) segment where 21 vessels are in service and 14 on order, Lloyds Register finds. Four of these VLCCs were built by Hanwha Ocean, as part of the ‘Neptune project’, on behalf of Advantage Tankers.
Germany formally opens Lubmin LNG terminal in project backed by French and Dutch shipping and know-how
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz formally opened the nation’s second liquefied natural gas terminal since its reliance on Russian pipeline gas came to a close in 2022 and fast-track developments have been made possible due to the support and know-how in particular of French and Dutch energy and shipping companies.
Germany’s first FSRU arrives at Baltic island port to be prepared for Lubmin LNG project deployment
Germany’s first floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), the “Neptune”, has entered Mukran Port on the Baltic Sea island of Rügen to eventually supply LNG via the privately-held Lubmin project being developed by Deutsche ReGas GmbH.
Höegh LNG Partners sees closing of merger with Höegh LNG Holdings by Sept 23 and delisting from NYSE
Höegh LNG Partners, the company with five ships and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has notified the NYSE of the anticipated closing date of around September 23 when its merger with Höegh LNG Holdings is finalised and its shares delisted.
Höegh LNG Partners completes refinancing of debt facilities on FSRUs contracted in Indonesia and Turkey
Höegh LNG Partners, the owner and operator of five floating storage and regasification units, has completed the refinancing of two FSRUs contracted as floating import terminals in Indonesia and Turkey.
Höegh LNG Partners holds AGM and names Morgan Stanley executives to board after takeover deal
Höegh LNG Partners, the US affiliate of Höegh LNG Holdings now partnered with the infrastructure unit of US investment bank Morgan Stanley, has given the bank seats on the board.
Turkish energy company Botas conducts one of the largest LNG transfer and regas operations
Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corp. (Botas) said one of the world's biggest ship-to-ship liquified natural gas transfers and regasfication operations was taking place in the Mediterranean port of Dortyol.
The operation involves the 210,100 cubic metres capacity Qatari Q-Flex carrier “Al Sadd” and the Japanese-owned “MOL FSRU Challenger”, the world’s largest floating storage and regasification unit with capacity of 263,000 cubic metres.
Turkey currently has four import facilities, two FSRUs and two onshore terminals.
The regional director of Botas utilities, Mehmet Tecimen, said that the two ships would take two days to conduct the transfer operation in which LNG will be regasified and injected into Turkey's natural gas pipeline system.
“This Botas chartered FSRU anchored in Dortyol is the largest FSRU in the world at 345 meters in length,” said Tecimen.
He noted that the vessel was commissioned at Dortyol port in February 2018 and this was its largest transfer to date.
The “MOL FSRU Challenger” has a regasification discharge capacity of 540 million cubic metres per day.
Botas signed a deal in September 2017 to receive 1.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG from Qatargas over a period of three years.
Turkey's first FSRU operations began in December 2016 in Aliaga port near Izmir to boost the nation’s LNG supplies.
Botas also operates Turkey’s oldest onshore import terminal, the Marmara Ereglisi facility, that has been on line since 1994.
There is a second onshore terminal owned by Turkish company EgeGaz and on line since 2006, also near Izmir, and a second FSRU, the “Neptune”, operating since December 2016 in the Aliaga industrial zone.
The Turkish government has said it was considering a fifth LNG import facility near Saros Bay on the Gallipoli peninsula.
