Germany’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacity is set to increase by up to five billion cubic meters (bcm) following the arrival of the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Energos Force at the port of Stade. It is the first unit to be positioned in Stade and the fourth overall in Germany, all introduced in the past two years in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

State-owned LNG terminal operator Deutsche Energy Terminals (DET) announced the FSRU arrived at the AVG pier in the industrial port in Stade-Bützfleth today March 15. The vessel is expected to undergo several weeks of test operations before starting to feed up to full operations. In preparation for the FSRU, construction of a new jetty was completed at the end of last year, with DET being the operator of the floating LNG terminal in collaboration with various service providers.

The company highlights that the 174,000 cubic meter FSRU is expected to play a significant contribution in enhancing the security of supply and gas price stability in Germany and Europe. The vessel, which is 965 feet (294 meters) long was built in 2021 as Transgas Force. It was acquired from Greece’s Dynagas in January this year by US-based Energos Infrastructure, a joint venture of Apollo and New Fortress Energy. The 94,361 dwt vessel was converted from cargo operations to an FSRU in the Netherlands.

Built by China’s Hudong-Zhonghua, Energos Force features three Wartsila regasification modules with a capacity of 250 million standard cubic feet per day. It also features a MAN dual-fuel diesel-electric propulsion and GTT’s NO96 containment system. The company highlights that in the winter using closed cycle steam boilers the vessel will process up to 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per day and in the summer using open cycle seawater capacity can be raised to 750 MMSCFD.

The Energos Force will join two other DET-operated FSRUs that are already operating at the Brunsbüttel and Wilhelmshaven terminals, with a fourth expected to be commissioned at its second terminal in Wilhelmshaven by June this year. The four FSRUs are part of a public-private partnership launched by the German government designed to provide LNG import capabilities to replace the gas supply from Russia.