HHI finishes world’s first FSRU for Norwegian company

Hyundai Heavy Industries announced yesterday it has successfully completed the world’s first floating liquefied natural gas storage and regasification unit (FSRU).

The project was ordered by Norwegian company Hoegh LNG in 2011.

The vessel, which is 294 meters (965 feet) long, 26 meters high and 46 meters wide, can store 70,000 tons of gas and will be floated to the coast of Lithuania by a local company chartered from Hoegh LNG.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite announced that the name of the vessel will be “Independence” at the naming event held in Ulsan, signaling the country’s goal of achieving energy independence from Russia.

HHI said it has its own design technology for LNG-FSRU after two years of research and has extended the durability of the facility.

Normally, vessels receive two or three months of maintenance every five years, but for its LNG-FSRU, the time period has doubled to 10 years.