Lithuanian liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal operator KN Energies (KN), former Klaipedos Nafta, has confirmed the departure of a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to Denmark, where an inspection and repair of the vessel is planned to be carried out in the dry dock.
The Klaipėda LNG terminal , which has been active since 2014, with commercial activities starting a year later, is located on Lithuania’s Kiaulės Nugara Island and consists of a permanently moored FSRU Independence , built by South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries , a 450-meter-long berth, a connecting nearly 18-kilometer long gas pipeline, and a gas metering station.
The technical operator of the FSRU is Hoegh LNG Klaipėda while KN Energies is expected to become the owner of this FSRU in December 2024. The vessel has now gone on a journey to undertake inspection and repair work in the dry dock, as scheduled inspections and repairs are carried out annually. However, no drydock inspection has been conducted to date.
Furthermore, the terminal operator underlines that the renewal of the anti-corrosion coating of the FSRU hull is planned during the inspection in the dry dock to perform other periodic maintenance works. Since the size of the FSRU Independence requires a large dock, which is not available in Klaipėda, the vessel has been diverted to a repair and construction shipyard in Denmark. The trip to and from the shipyard is estimated to take around one month.
As a result, the FSRU Independence will not perform regasification until mid-June, thus, Lithuania will be supplied with natural gas through the GIPL gas interconnection between Lithuania and Poland and from the Inčukalns natural gas storage in Latvia during this period.
The Klaipėda terminal, which secured full occupancy until 2033 , recently witnessed the transfer of 105 thousand cubic meters of LNG , said to be a record amount, from the FSRU to the Amur River LNG vessel.