RWE says Brunsbuettel FSRU to receive first LNG carrier in early February

The 170,000-cbm FSRU Hoegh Gannet, which serves the Elbehafen LNG import terminal in Germany’s Brunsbuettel, will receive its first LNG tanker at the beginning of February, according to German energy firm RWE.

Prior to arriving at Brunsbuettel’s Elbehafen port on January 20, the 2018-built FSRU picked up a partial cargo at Reganosa’s Mugardos LNG import terminal in the Ferrol port in Spain.

The vessel, which the German government chartered from Hoegh LNG, will initially operate at the Brunsbuettel Port’s existing dangerous goods berth.

From the end of 2023, the FSRU will be moved to a new jetty to the west of the Elbehafen and this jetty will be built and operated by Brunsbuettel Ports.

RWE, the developer of the government-backed project, temporarily moved the FSRU to a location offshore Brunsbuettel during the commissioning phase.

“The vessel has left the port to make way for the unloading of other vessels. So that this will no longer be necessary in the future, reconstruction measures are currently taking place in the port,” a spokesman for RWE told LNG Prime on Tuesday.

First LNG carrier

RWE previously expected the first LNG cargo to arrive at the FSRU-based facility in Brunsbuettel at the end of January.

UAE’s Adnoc is providing the shipment as part of a deal RWE and Adnoc signed in September last year.

According to its AIS data, the LNG carrier Ish was on Monday anchored offshore Brunsbuettel, near the FSRU Hoegh Gannet.

This LNG carrier was converted to a floating storage unit (FSU) and is expected to start serving AG&P’s LNG import terminal in the Philippines later this year.

The 1995-built 137,315-cbm vessel previously picked up a cargo at Adnoc’s Das Island LNG plant, the data shows.

The RWE spokesman said that the company expects the FSRU Hoegh Gannet to return to Brunsbuettel in the beginning of February. After that the LNG carrier will deliver the commissioning cargo.

According to the spokesman, the exact time at which the FSRU would dock depends largely on two factors.

“Firstly, the date has to be coordinated with the unloading of other ships. On the other hand, the current weather forecasts predict very strong winds for the first days of February, so that the weather conditions could have an influence on the return to port,” he said.

“The first LNG cargo is to follow in the first days of February,” he said.

Commercial operations in second half of February

RWE still expects the FSRU to start commercial operations in the second half of February.

The Elbehafen LNG terminal will be the third operational FSRU-based terminal in Germany and the second out of five backed by the German government after the Wilhelmshaven facility.

Earlier this month, Deutsche Regas officially launched its FSRU-based LNG import terminal in Lubmin, Germany’s second such facility and the first private terminal.

The five government-backed FSRUs will be operated by new state-owned firm Deutsche Energy Terminal GmbH.

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