Bahrain's floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) — the 173,400m³ Bahrain Spirit — has left the country and is declaring for the US' Cove Point liquefaction facility.
The vessel departed Bahrain on 8 August, and is declaring for arrival at Cove Point on 15 September, likely to load a cargo, having passed the Cape of Good Hope.
The FSRU's single received cargo — delivered in March 2019 — was transferred onto an onshore facility at the terminal, following its completion in January this year, allowing the vessel to be available for short-term charters.
Terminal operator Bahrain LNG — a joint venture between Bermuda-based Teekay LNG, Bahrain's Noga Holdings, Kuwait's Gulf Investment and South Korea's Samsung C&T — intends to use the terminal to meet its summer-peaking gas demand, but with demand expected to slow as the country enters winter, the operator may have offered the FSRU on the spot and short-term charter markets. This would allow some utilisation of the vessel, which is on a long-term charter from owner Teekay LNG.
