The 170,000-cbm FSRU Hoegh Gannet has arrived in Spain to pick up the commissioning LNG cargo for the new Elbehafen LNG import terminal in Brunsbuettel, according to German energy firm RWE.
RWE’s partners in the FSRU-based terminal near Hamburg include Hoegh LNG, which will provide the FSRU under a charter deal, Marine Service, Brunsbuettel Ports, as well as the German unit of Gasunie who is responsible for the connecting pipeline.
In December, RWE said that it expected to receive the first commissioning cargo at the Elbhafen LNG import terminal in January.
At the time, Hoegh Gannet was located at Damen’s yard in Brest, France, as Hoegh LNG was preparing the vessel for FSRU operations.
According to tis AIS data, the FSRU left the yard this week and headed to Spain.
“The FSRU will first be loaded with LNG in a port in northwest Spain. She will then set off in the direction of the North Sea and make a short stopover in Rotterdam for import and customs formalities,” a spokesman for RWE told LNG Prime late on Tuesday.
The unit arrived on Wednesday morning at Reganosa’s Mugardos LNG import terminal in the Ferrol port, which also provides reloading services, its AIS data shows.
“According to current planning, we expect the vessel to arrive in Brunsbuettel at the end of week 3, 2023,” the spokesman said.
Third German FSRU-based facility
After the commissioning phase, the FSRU will receive the first LNG delivery from UAE’s Adnoc as part of a deal signed in September last year.
Moreover, Adnoc agreed under the deal to deliver the LNG shipment from the 6 mtpa Das Island plant off the coast of Abu Dhabi to the Elbehafen LNG terminal.
The LNG terminal in Brunsbuettel is expected to become the third operational FSRU-based facility in Germany after the Uniper-led Wilhelmshaven facility and also the Lubmin facility, led by private firm Deutsche Regas.
The government backed the charter of five FSRUs while Deutsche ReGas built the first private FSRU-based facility in Lubmin.
