First newbuild LNG FSRU christened at HHI

FEBRUARY 19, 2014 — South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (HHI), the world’s largest shipbuilder, has held a naming ceremony for the world’s first newbuilding LNG floating storage regasification unit (LNG FSRU), ordered by Höegh LNG in June 2011.

The 170,000 cu. m 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.

The vessel was named Independence at today’s ceremony at HHI’s Ulsan shipyard.The ship’s sponsor was Ms. Dalia Grybauskaite, President of Lithuania. Others attending included  Mr. Leif O. Höegh, Deputy Chairman of Höegh LNG; and 130 other guests.

“We are pleased that the LNG FSRU will play a critical role in supplying LNG in Lithuania and we hope to keep up the close cooperation with Lithuania for the construction of energy infrastructure,” said Mr. Lee Jai-seong, Chairman & CEO of Hyundai Heavy at the ceremony.

The LNG FSRU receives liquefied natural gas from offloading LNG carriers. The installed regasification system provides gas send-out through flexible risers and pipelines to shore. An LNG FSRU take a year less  to complete than an onshore LNG terminal and costs half as much. The facility, known as “the LNG plant on the ocean,” can also move from place to place as energy demand patterns change as it has its own propulsion system.