Ice-class restrictions at the Finnish port of Inkoo will increase from 13 January, but are unlikely to affect deliveries to the 3.9mn t/yr LNG terminal.
Low-level restrictions are already in place at Inkoo, limiting access to ice-breaking assistance to vessels of at least ice-class II and 2,000t deadweight. This has had no effect on deliveries to the terminal, as all LNG vessels should meet these requirements. Restrictions will increase to a minimum of ice-class I and 2,000t deadweight from 13 January. The Finnish maritime administration imposed the same restrictions at the smaller-scale Hamina facility from 7 January, although the terminal's main user Alexela told Argus last week that it expects no disruption to its deliveries this month.
One of Inkoo's two main users, Eesti Gaas, has secured deliveries aboard ice-class vessels, suggesting that the higher ice restrictions will have no effect on its imports. Neither Eesti Gaas nor fellow terminal user Gasum were immediately available for comment on whether they expected any disruption to deliveries.
The 15,600m³ Coral Energy arrived at Inkoo on Sunday to deliver a 100GWh cargo bought by transmission system operator Gasgrid Finland for balancing measures, and is due to leave port today according to the terminal's shipping schedule. The 150,000m³ Amur River will then arrive on 10 January, a day earlier than the schedule had previously shown. Finnish gas consumption reached its highest since December 2021 late last week.
Inkoo sendout dropped to 95GWh on Sunday from its record high of 134GWh on 4 January, suggesting a reduction in gas consumption. Gas-fired power generation was down slightly to 574MW on Sunday from 607MW on the 2-5 January working days last week.
Minimum temperatures in Helsinki are forecast to rise to 0°C by Wednesday from minus 7°C today. But overnight lows are projected to drop again to minus 15°C by Friday, with a perceived temperature of minus 20°C, which would boost heating demand and drive up gas consumption once more.
