Right first time

In December 2014, Gazprom Marketing & Trading (GM&T) recorded its first ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of LNG at sea. Two of its long-term chartered LNG carriers, Pskov and Yenisei River, completed the operation successfully on 6 December 2014.

Aerial view of the STS location at Linggei, Malaysia. Image courtesy of GM&T.

The delivery vessel, Pskov, had loaded a cargo of 146 500 m³ of LNG at the port of Sagunto in Spain. Yenisei River, the receiving vessel of the operation, had completed a discharge in Futtsu, Japan and was proceeding towards Singapore with heel on board. During her voyage to the Far East, GM&T’s Shipping team started looking at the feasibility of conducting a STS transfer of LNG from Pskov to Yenisei River in the vicinity of Singapore.

The main consideration in evaluating the viability of this operation was the need for the transfer to be conducted safely and with no impact on the environment.

Few STS service providers have the necessary specialised equipment for the transfer of cryogenic liquids, including cryogenic transfer hoses, emergency release couplings (ERC), saddles and fendering.

SPT, a specialist STS transfer company with previous experience in LNG transfers, was contacted, and it was established the company had the necessary equipment available in the Malacca Straits at the port of Linggei, Malaysia. It also had the necessary approvals from the local port authorities...

This article originally appeared in the May 2015 issue of LNG Industry. To read the full version of this article, sign in or register for a free subscription today.

Written by Gordon Young, Gazprom Marketing & Trading. Edited by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/special-reports/18052015/gazprom-article-on-sts-transfer/