FSRU ‘Independence’ Named in Ulsan, South Korea

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries and Höegh LNG held a naming ceremony in Ulsan for a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) “Independence”.

The 170,000 cbm LNG FSRU, measuring 294 m in length, 46 m in width and 26 m in depth with the storage capacity of 70,000 tonnes of chilled natural gas, will be chartered to Lithuania’s Klaipedos Nafta under a long-term contract.

Following a traditional ship-naming ceremony, Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaitė broke the bottle of champagne against the ship’s hull. At the ceremony Grybauskaitė underlined that Lithuania is the first of the Baltic States to have built an LNG terminal.

“It is a historic day for Lithuania. This vessel carrying a nice symbolic name ‘Independence’ is a real step towards our energy independence and security. It means not only fair prices for our people, but also an economically stronger and more competitive Lithuania,” the President said.

“Independence” will reach Lithuania before the end of the year.

LNG FSRU receives liquefied natural gas from offloading LNG carriers. The installed regasification system provides gas send-out through pipelines to shore. LNG FSRU take a year less and cost half as much as an onshore LNG terminal to complete. The facility, known as ‘the LNG plant on the ocean’, can also move from place to place where the energy demand is in growth as it has its own propulsion system.

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Press Release, February 19, 2014