EXMAR worked with its partners to conceive and design a flexible hawser system to permit the flexible ship-to-ship transfer of LNG. A conventional LNG carrier moors alongside the LNG Regasification vessel and transfers its cargo to the LNGRV via flexible cryogenic hoses. The STS (Ship-to-Ship) transfer occurs in the open ocean, in a protected body of water at a location between the load port and the market delivery point.
The first ever commercial LNG ship-to-ship transfer between the LNG Carrier EXCELSIOR and the LNG Regas Vessel EXCALIBUR took place at Scapa Flow off the Orkney Islands in the United Kingdom at the beginning of 2007, marking another step forward in the successful partnership between EXMAR and Excelerate Energy.
STS (Ship-to-Ship) transfers enhance the capabilities of LNG regasification vessels by allowing them to be used as dedicated regasification terminals. Conventional LNG carriers can be reserved for long-haul transport and delivery of cargos from the LNG load port to the STS location.