THE TANKS OF "INDEPENDENCE" WILL BE WARMED UP FOR THE FIRST TIME

On Saturday, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil terminal operator KN (Klaipėdos nafta) together with Hoegh LNG, the owner of the LNG floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) “Independence”, will start scheduled technical inspection and maintenance of the FSRU.

The inspection of the hull, facilities and tanks of the FSRU is mandatory every five years in accordance with the requirements of the DNV GL class granted to the vessel and the country of registration. This is the first time that such a scope of technical inspection and maintenance of “Independence” will be carried out.

It is planned to warm up four vessel tanks with the capacity of 170 000 m3 of LNG during inspection, which will be preliminarily carried out until the end of March. Inspection works will be carried out for the first time since the beginning of operation of “Independence”. Thus, the specialists will be able to assess the condition of tanks isolation from the inside. The regular temperature of -160°C is planned to be restored in tanks by the LNG carrier that will come to Klaipėda at the end of March.

“Thanks to the professionalism of KN and Hoegh LNG specialists we have not recorded any violation of occupational safety or any incident since the start of operation of the terminal in 2014, and after the technical inspection is carried out we will be able to continue providing market participants with reliable and efficient services of natural gas regasification and reloading, which comply with the highest security standards, in the LNG Terminal,” notes KN CEO Mindaugas Jusius.

Mr. Jusius also emphasised the importance of professionalism when they were getting ready for inspection. KN and Hoegh LNG specialists have coordinated a possibility to carry out all necessary works in Klaipėda, although usually a vessel of such a size should be taken to the yard with respective capacities abroad. About 50 Lithuanian and foreign contractors will be hired for performance of scheduled works. The inspectors of the international company DNV GL will evaluate performance of works.

“Thanks to the staff’s professionalism “Independence” will remain in Klaipėda during inspection, which will significantly reduce maintenance costs, and foreign specialists who will come to Klaipėda for a month will create added value for the entire city. It is also important to note that so far there hasn’t been any long-standing practice of inspecting FSRUs, thus our experience will serve as the guidelines for controlling authorities to carry out inspections of analogous LNG FSRUs worldwide,” commented Mindaugas Jusius.

The operation of the LNG terminal in Klaipėda operated by KN is annually temporarily suspended for scheduled maintenance works, and the company is obliged to carry out an in-depth inspection of the terminal and the LNG FSRU every five years. In order to efficiently manage operation, the clients of the Klaipėda LNG terminal were informed about planned works a half-year ago, and these works have been taken into account when planning the schedule for the gas year 2019.