A regas vessel can be described as an LNG carrier with onboard LNG vaporisers. Depending on the port location, availability of storage, total transport distance and volumes, the regas vessel can be stationary and receive cargos from conventional LNG vessels, or it can be a shuttle vessel that picks up its own cargos and go to the receiving location and regas the cargo. Initially, there was a clear distinction between a stationary regas vessel labelled as Floating Storage and Regas Unit and the shuttle vessel labelled Shuttle & Regas Vessel. More customers now prefer flexible regas vessels that can act in both modes of operation.

Regas vessel used primarily in stationary mode may either be moored dockside and natural gas is discharged via a high line; or the regas vessel may be moored off-shore. If moored offshore, the natural gas will be discharged from the FSRU through the mooring and unloading buoy with internal turret and swivel. The unloading buoy is connected to a riser and subsea pipeline.

A regas vessel may be a conversion of a standard LNG carrier or a newbuilding. For a conversion project it will typically take 2 years from signing the building contract until operation. A newbuilding project will have a lead time of about 3 years, depending on yard availability.

The benefits of applying a floating regas solution: The lead time and also the investment is smaller than for a land based terminal. The lead time for an offshore terminal is in the range of 3 years, while the based terminal may be in the range of 4 years. For small to medium LNG volumes it will also be more economical as the investment costs are moderate compared to a land based terminal. A land based terminal will require space and access to harbours and traffic lanes that may be congested and provide an obstacle for the LNG carriers. An offshore based terminal can be located away from major shipping lanes and will only require a small area onshore for conditioning of gas before connecting to the gas distribution network. Finally, a floating regas solution is also very flexible as the vessel can be relocated or used as a conventional LNG carrier and operate in any market.

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