FSRU vessel “Independence” sailed to the sea its own course from South Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries. The ship’s sea trial lasted nearly a week.
After a long period of engineering, welding, painting, installation and testing FSRU vessel successfully sailed into the open sea. Although there are still some final works to be done, however after the first voyage it can be stated that the ship can safely go on its own course.
Sea trial is one of the ship’s “birth” phases. Typically, this is the last phase of the construction that takes place in open water, and it can last from several hours to several days. Pilot test (called sea trial) was conducted January 22-27.
Sea trial was performed in order to assess the vessel’s performance and seaworthiness by checking the ship’s speed, maneuverability, equipment and safety features.
In the beginning of January the ship’s propulsion system was tested, later crew safety equipment and other range of testing conducted.
Klaipedos Nafta, implementing the LNG terminal project, 2012 March 2nd signed a floating LNG storage and regasification unit contract with the supplier of the vessel, the Norwegian company Hoegh LNG. The ship is being built in South Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries. It is planned that the FSRU will reach Klaipeda port this autumn.