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CHI Shanghai, the unit of Cosco Shipping, said in a statement the 137,000-cbm FSRU, Etyfa Prometheas, left its yard on December 14.
In January this year, CHI Shanghai delivered the FSRU, which was converted from the 2002-built LNG carrier Galea.
However, due to delays with the construction of the LNG receiving terminal in Cyprus, the vessel has been waiting at CHI Shanghai since then, the company said.
CHI Shanghai said this is the first time that a Moss-type LNG carrier was converted to an FSRU in China.
The FSRU is 296 meters long, 46 meters wide, and it has four regasification units each with a capacity of 105 mmscfd (million standard cubic feet per day).
According to its AIS data, the FSRU should arrive in Singapore from China later this week.
The FSRU will not sail to Cyprus yet as the jetty in Vasilikos has not been complete.
Local media reports suggest that the infrastructure of Vasilikos is now expected to be completed by the end of 2025, while the government of Cyprus is considering chartering the unit in the meantime.
CPP-Metron
In September, ETYFA, a unit of state-owned DEFA, invited bids for the provision of project management services for the completion of the LNG import terminal.
The work included architectural, construction, engineering, and inspection services.
Cyprus announced the start of construction of its first LNG import facility at Vassilikos in July 2020.
ETYFA previously signed an EPCOM (engineer, procure, construct, operate, and maintain) contract with a Chinese-led consortium, CPP-Metron, for the project.
The terminal includes the jetty and the converted FSRU.
The consortium comprises state-owned China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering, a unit of CNPC, Metron Energy Applications, Hudong-Zhonghua, and Wilhelmsen Ship Management.
However, the consortium has withdrawn from the contract in July this year after a long dispute saying that it “has found itself with no alternative but to terminate its contract with ETYFA.”
The consortium said it “has still not received any payment whatsoever for its work in 2024.”
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said in a statement in July it has opened an investigation into the LNG import terminal in Cyprus, on “suspicion of procurement fraud, misappropriation of EU funds, and corruption.”
This project aims to create an entry point for natural gas to Cyprus, enabling the country to connect with the wider European gas market, and involves a cost of 542 million euros ($570 million) – of which approximately 101 million euros was financed by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program, EPPO said.