A new floating terminal to provide Germany with liquefied natural gas (LNG) has reached its operational base, as Europe's largest economy continues to reorientate its energy sources in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
The almost 300-metre long Energos Power arrived off the port of Mukran on the Baltic Sea island of Rügen on Saturday morning. The ship reached the industrial harbour and moored at a prepared berth, the future operator of the terminal, Deutsche Regas, announced.
Preparations for trial operations have now begun. The company says the ship is loaded with Norwegian LNG.
In future, the ship will receive LNG from other tankers in the port, convert it back into a gaseous state and feed it into a 50-kilometre-long, already completed connection pipeline that will take the gas to the mainland. The gas will then be distributed further via the existing gas infrastructure.
On Friday, the local authorities in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern gave the green light for tests to verify the operational capability of the plant. The actual start of operations will require a separate licence.
Germany has used LNG to replace Russian natural gas supplies which were cut as a consequence of the Ukraine war, and now has several terminals either in operation or being planned on the North and Baltic Sea coasts.