The first special ship for converting liquefied natural gas into the gaseous state has arrived in Germany. The “Neptune” lies in front of the port of Mukran on Rügen. According to the company Deutsche Regas, the ship should arrive in the course of the morning. After preparations there, it is to be brought to the industrial port of Lubmin near Greifswald and serve as a floating terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The path of the “Neptune” and its task
Coming from Wales, the “Neptune” had sailed through the North Sea and around northern Denmark into the Baltic Sea, according to ship tracking services, in the past week and a half. Most recently she was accompanied by the “Bamberg”, a coast guard ship.
The “Neptune” is more than 280 meters long and is an FSRU (Floating Storage and Regasification Unit). These special ships can take LNG, heat it up and turn it into gas. The “Neptune” is to be connected to long-distance gas pipelines that run in the immediate vicinity of the port in Lubmin.
Smaller ships are to take the LNG from a storage ship on the Baltic Sea, which in turn is to be supplied by tankers. The smaller shuttle ships will then transport the LNG through the shallow Greifswalder Bodden to the Lubminer Hafen to the “Neptune”.
Start des Terminals
According to previous information from Deutsche Regas, the terminal in Lubmin should be ready for operation on December 1st. However, approval from the responsible state office is still pending. Objections can be submitted until Monday.
When replacing Russian pipeline gas, Germany relies, among other things, on LNG delivered by ship and is building several terminals for imports. Swimming terminals are also scheduled to open this year in Wilhelmshaven in Lower Saxony and in Brunsbüttel in Schleswig-Holstein.
