An LNG cargo has departed the US on board a floating storage and regasification unit which will act as the fourth new FSRU-based import terminal for Germany.
Data provider iGIS/LNG said the 174,000-cbm Energos Force (ex-Transgas Force, built 2021) left Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG facility on Monday.
The vessel is due to arrive at Hanseatic Energy Hub’s new Stade LNG import terminal on 24 February.
The Stade FSRU will be located at Bremerhaven on the Elbe River in north-west Germany with onshore facilities in chemical giant Dow’s industrial park.
The Energos Force is due to operate for the Hanseatic Energy Hub in the port of Stade under the direction of Deutsche Energy Terminal.
The vessel and its sistership — the Energos Power — are both on 10-year time charters that began in early 2023 to the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Change.
The Energos Force is one of two FSRUs snapped up by expanding LNG regasification and shipping provider Energos Infrastructure.
In January, the US company, which is controlled by asset manager Apollo, said it was buying Greek shipowner Dynagas’ two FSRUs — the Transgas Force and Transgas Power (both built 2021) — and renaming them the Energos Force and Energos Power.
No price details were given on the Chinese-built, closed-loop FSRUs.
Energos Power is scheduled to serve as the import unit in the port of Mukran and has been subchartered to Deutsche ReGas.
Germany put three FSRUs into operation last winter at Wilhelmshaven, Brunsbuettel and Lubmin ports as it rushed to provide quick start-up LNG import solutions in the wake of Russia’s moves to cut off pipeline gas supplies to Europe.
Three more FSRUs — including the two Energos ships — were due to arrive at Wilhelmshaven, Mukran and Stade during the 2023 to 2024 winter period.
But with high gas storage levels in Europe and a milder than expected winter, demand has not been so acute in this usual peak seasonal period for LNG imports and the anticipated timelines on project start-ups has slipped.
