Hoegh LNG’s floating storage and regasification unit, which has served Lithuania for 10 years, has left for its first dry-docking before transitioning to ownership under domestic energy company KN Energies.
The 170,000-cbm Independence (built 2014), which is chartered by Lithuanian energy company KN Energies, left its berth in Klaipeda on 2 May.
KN Energies said the vessel is heading to Denmark for dry-docking due to its size.
The company said that works planned during what will be the vessel’s first dry-docking include a renewal of the anti-corrosion coating on the ship’s hull and other periodic maintenance works.
The FSRU will not be back on site and operational until mid-June, it said.
In the interim, Lithuania will be supplied with natural gas through the gas interconnection between Poland and Lithuania — GIPL — and from the Incukalns natural gas storage in Latvia.
KN Energies is due to take over ownership of the FSRU in December after deciding to exercise its buyout option on the vessel.
The Independence’s arrival in Lithuania 10 years ago was greeted with much fanfare as the country sought to diversify its energy imports away from Russian pipeline gas and expand its supply capabilities for the region. The choice of name for the vessel reflected the country’s ambition.
Since then, Lithuania has built out its capabilities offering small-scale LNG supply and transshipments from the FSRU.
On Friday, KN Energies also announced its success in securing a five-year contract to provide technical operation and maintenance services for the LNG terminal Wilhelmshaven 2, following a tender launched by Deutsche Energy Terminal. This contract, expected to contribute 5% of its annual revenue, marks a significant achievement for KN Energies.
This facility will be served by Excelerate Energy’s 138,000-cbm FSRU Excelsior (built 2005) and is due to start commercial operations in the second half of this year.
The Independence’s departure for dry-docking follows that of another European-based FSRU that has headed into an Italian yard for work.
Last month, vessel-owning and management company OLT Offshore LNG Toscana unhooked its moored FSRU, the FSRU Toscana, off Livorno in Italy. The unit will undergo work in Italy and France before returning to the site in mid-October.
