The FSRU Cape Ann, chartered by TotalEnergies, has loaded a cargo off Gibraltar via a ship-to-ship operation and is on its way to France’s Le Havre to start serving the country’s first FSRU-based LNG import terminal.
TotalEnergies charters this 2010-built 145,130-cbm vessel from Hoegh LNG, which has a 50 percent stake in Cape Ann and Japan’s MOL, which owns a 48.5 percent stake. Tokyo LNG Tanker holds a 1.5 percent share in the unit.
The 2008-built 165,500-cbm, Seapeak Arwa, completed the LNG cargo delivery to Cape Ann on Tuesday at the Gibraltar West anchorage, the vessel’s AIS data shows.
Prior to that, Seapeak Arwa loaded the shipment at Equinor’s Hammerfest LNG export plant in Norway where TotalEnergies has a stake, the data shows.
Cape Ann left Gibraltar after the loading operation and is now sailing towards France.
According to the data, the FSRU is expected to arrive in Le Havre on September 16.
Launch in September
Following the arrival of the FSRU, TotalEnergies LNG Services France (TELSF), a unit of TotalEnergies and operator of the Le Havre LNG terminal will work on commissioning and start-up of the facility.
A spokesperson for TotalEnergies recently told LNG Prime that the FSRU is scheduled to arrive in Le Havre by mid-September and that the project is on track to start operations by the end of the month.
The spokesperson also said that a new binding open season started on August 28 to market available capacities from January 2024 to September 2028.
France currently hosts four onshore LNG terminals with a capacity of about 26.8 mtpa. These are Elengy’s Fos Tonkin, Fos Cavaou, and Montoir-de-Bretagne LNG terminals, and also 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.
TotalEnergies will operate the FSRU and GRTgaz will operate the connecting pipeline to the gas transmission network.
(Uptaded to say that the FSRU is expected to arrive in Le Havre on September 16.)
