The 2010-built 145,130-cbm FSRU Cape Ann, chartered by France’s TotalEnergies, has left the Tianjin LNG terminal in China and is on its way to Singapore. This FSRU is expected to start serving the planned FSRU-based facility in France’s Le Havre later this year.
PipeChina said in a statement that the FSRU departed the Tianijn LNG import terminal in the northern port city Tianjin near Beijing on March 30.
According to the statement, PipeChina and TotalEnergies held a ceremony in March to celebrate ten years of cooperation for the Tianjin LNG terminal.
This unit, previously known as GDF Suez Cape Ann, started serving the Tianjin facility back in 2013 as the first FSRU in China under a sub-charter deal with CNOOC.
TotalEnergies charters this vessel from Hoegh LNG, which has a 50 percent stake in Cape Ann, Japan’s MOL, which owns a 48.5 percent stake, and Tokyo LNG Tanker.
Following the departure of the vessel, the Tianjin LNG terminal will now only supply regasifed LNG to the grid from land-based facilities.
PipeChina recently completed a 220,000-cbm LNG storage tank as part of the expansion phase of its Tianjin import terminal.
The completion of the fourth tank marks a step towards the full completion and commissioning of the Tianjin LNG Phase II project, it said.
Following completion of the project, the Tianjin LNG terminal will have a storage capacity of 1.54 million cbm, and a total capacity of 12 million tons per year, almost double the existing capacity, PipeChina said.
Le Havre terminal
According to Cape Ann’s AIS data provided by VesselsValue, the FSRU is expected to arrive in Singapore on April 11.
TotalEnergies may prepare the vessel in Singapore for the upcoming job in Le Havre.
The French firm recently launched a binding open season for capacities at the planned FSRU-based facility in Le Havre.
The submission deadline for binding requests for capacities is April 26.
TotalEnergies LNG Services France (TELSF), a unit of TotalEnergies, is working to install France’s first FSRU-based facility in Le Havre, adding to the four existing onshore LNG terminals.
France currently hosts Elengy’s three LNG terminals and the Dunkirk LNG facility.
The FSRU project in Le Havre will allow France to increase its regasification capacity by around 5 Bcm per year. TotalEnergies previously said it plans to reserve about 50 percent of this capacity.
Besides the FSRU, Paris-based LNG engineering giant Technip Energies won a contract last year from TotalEnergies to provide a marine loading arm for the Le Havre facility.
The firm will install the offloading solution on Bougainville dock in Le Havre.
TotalEnergies will operate the FSRU and GRTgaz will operate the connecting pipeline to the gas transmission network.
TotalEnergies plans to launch the facility in September 2023.