Russia's First FSRU to Arrive at Kaliningrad to Start Up LNG Imports

Russia's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) is expected to dock at the port of Kaliningrad on Dec. 18, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The FSRU, called Marshal Vasilevskiy, is being installed at Kaliningrad - a city separated from Russia and bordering with Lithuania and Poland - by Russian energy major Gazprom in a move to bypass pipeline gas deliveries via Lithuania in case there are any disruptions in gas transit.

The FSRU will be the first LNG import facility in Russia, the world’s second largest gas producer.

The vessel is currently anchored outside the port of Kaliningrad, according to Refinitiv Eikon shipping data.

The Marshal Vasilevskiy came from Singapore with a cargo on board to commission the LNG import facility with the gas to be supplied to Kaliningrad’s gas system.

No further deliveries are currently expected to arrive at the FSRU, the source said, as gas flows via Lithuania are stable and it is cheaper to flow gas via the pipeline rather than buy an LNG cargo. 

(Reuters, Reporting by Ekaterina Kravtsova; Editing by Mark Potter)