Exmar orders another LNGRV

The Belgian shipping company EXMAR has confirmed a long-term charter party with Excelerate Energy LP, Woodlands, Texas, of a further LNG regasification vessel (LNGRV). The vessel will be built by Daewoo (DSME) as hull N° 2263. This newbuilding will be constructed incorporating the GTT membrane containment system together with Excelerate?s Energy Bridge technology and will have a capacity of approximately 150,900m³, with delivery in the 2nd quarter of 2009.

Excelerate Energy anticipates utilising this ship to deliver regasified LNG to the Gulf Gateway – the Gulf of Mexico deepwater port located 116 miles off the Louisiana coast and to support their application to construct a NorthEast Gateway – a deepwater port to be located offshore in Massachusetts Bay, near Boston in New England.

The ownership of the vessel will be a 50/50 joint venture together with Excelerate Energy, as will be the revised owning structure of ?Explorer?, hull N° 2254, previously announced in July this year.

Energy Bridge is an innovative system, whereby a standard LNG vessel is customised to convert LNG to vapour on board the ship. Then, utilising proven buoy technology that has been successfully deployed for more than a decade in the North Sea, the gas flows through lines connected to the ship and linked to underwater pipelines located offshore.

The Energy Bridge system can be deployed virtually anywhere in the world to meet incremental demand for natural gas and it was successfully proven in March of this year when the first LNGRV vessel, the ?Excelsior? discharged LNG into the Gulf Gateway deepwater port and during subsequent operations.

With this latest order, the Excelerate Energy Bridge operation will comprise 5 LNGRV’s including the ?Excelsior?, which was delivered in January this year, the ?Excellence? delivered in May this year, DSME hull N° 2237, to be named Excelerate, due for delivery in October 2006, and DSME hull N°2254, to be named ?Explorer?, due for delivery in the first quarter of 2008.