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Keppel begins FSRU conversion for Greek gas project
Conversion work on Greece’s first floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) is underway at the Keppel shipyard in Singapore
GasLog’s LNG carrier Gaslog Chelsea, renamed Alexandroupoli, will serve as an FSRU following its conversion, and will be part of the Alexandroupolis Independent Natural Gas System.
Under DNV class, the 155,000-m3 LNG carrier has been reflagged to the Greek flag. The project’s owner Gastrade is a consortium of key players in the wider region’s energy market: Elmina Copelouzou, GasLog, DEPA Commercial, the Public Gas Company of Greece, DESFA, the Hellenic Natural Gas Transmission System Operator, and Bulgartransgaz, the Bulgarian natural gas transmission and storage system operator.
“GasLog believed in the FSRU Alexandroupoli endeavour from the very beginning, and at a time when energy security in Europe was taken for granted,” said GasLog chief operating officer Kostas Karathanos. “We worked patiently and diligently to reach this stage and we are extremely proud to soon offer the first ever FSRU in Greek waters. Through GasLog’s renowned high standards of safety and reliability, FSRU Alexandroupoli will offer energy diversification and security to the wider region and establish GasLog as an integrated provider of natural gas solutions.”
Calling the project the result of “exceptional collaborative efforts,” DNV Maritime gas carrier and FSRU business director Martin Cartwright said, “This will be our record ninth FSRU conversion project as a classification society, and we take great pride in being entrusted with supporting this initiative. By choosing DNV and our pioneering REGAS (ES) and ASP notations, the consortium demonstrates they are focused on delivering an installation that meets the most innovative and rigorous standards in the industry,” he added.
FSRU Alexandroupoli is designed to add a new gateway for natural gas in the Greek and wider Balkan region, improving the region’s energy mix and diversifying energy sources to enhance energy security. It is expected to have a regasification capacity of around 8Bn cubic metres annually.
DNV Maritime regional business development and gas segment director Leonidas Karystios said, “In DNV, we have been providing technical support and risk management consultancy in all phases throughout the project’s development, and we are honoured to be the classification partner of this game-changing project.”
New class notations
The existing LNG carrier is under DNV class. As an offshore-classed FSRU, the converted vessel will have the following notations: OI Ship-shaped LNG Storage Installation, Field (Alexandroupolis), REGAS(ES), POSMOOR, UWILD, BIS, TMON, Clean, NAUT(OC), NAUTICUS(Newbuilding), ASP(MRU).
The vessel is expected to be delivered at the end of 2023 and will be connected to the National Natural Gas Transmission System of Greece via a 28-km pipeline.
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