Excelerate Energy’s fleet will be rebranded as it moves into ship management operations
US-based FSRU pioneer Excelerate Energy is changing its stripes. In February, Houston-based Excelerate said it was repainting its fleet of FSRUs with a new livery, in conjunction with the formation of a new, wholly owned subsidiary, to offer ship management services for the LNG market.
For the new service, Excelerate was awarded Interim Documents of Compliance (DoC) under the International Safety Management (ISM) Code from the Republic of Marshall Islands and the Belgium government.
The ISM DoC authorises the new subsidiary, Excelerate Technical Management (ETM), to operate as ship manager for Excelerate’s entire fleet of FSRUs. The Interim DoC is the result of an audit of ETM’s safety management system, confirming compliance with ISM standards which ensures the safe operation of its crew and vessels.
Creation of the ship management service is reflective of the strong growth that is expected in floating LNG. An International Gas Union (IGU) report estimated as many as 50 FSRUs could be in operation by 2025, almost double the current fleet.
Commenting on the new ship management service, Excelerate president and managing director Steven Kobos said ETM would offer “clients the advantages of an integrated service as a fully independent provider of floating LNG solutions.”
As the first of its vessels under ETM ship management, Excelerate’s FSRU Experience became the first FSRU with the new blue and white paint scheme. The 173,400-m3 vessel underwent its transformation at Spain’s Navantia dry docks as part of its scheduled maintenance and upgrades. Excelerate will transition its entire fleet to ETM ship management by the end of 2020.
Mr Kobos explained that the new livery “identifies our assets across the world as uniquely Excelerate.”
FSRUs date from 2001, when El Paso contracted with Excelerate Energy to build the first vessel for the Gulf Gateway project.
Excelerate’s FSRUs incorporate onboard equipment for the vaporisation of LNG and the delivery of high-pressure natural gas. These vessels can discharge LNG either as liquid at a conventional LNG receiving terminal, or regasify the cargo and send it through a connection to a subsea buoy in the hull of the ship, or through a high-pressure manifold forward of the vessel’s LNG loading arms.
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