New Indonesia FSRU leaves shipyard

The 170,000m³ Jawa Satu floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) left South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries' Geoje shipyard yesterday.

The departure suggests that owner Jawa Satu Regas — a joint venture between Indonesian state-owned Pertamina, Japan's Marubeni and Mitsui OSK Lines, and Tokyo-based trading firm Sojitz — has taken delivery of the unit.

The vessel was today declaring for arrival at Indonesia's Bontang liquefaction facility on 15 January, suggesting that it may be receiving a cool-down cargo ahead of installation on West Java's northern coast. But the Jawa Satu may operate as a LNG carrier for a period instead, mirroring other newbuild FSRUs that were delivered in 2020.

The joint venture intends to use the FSRU to supply a 1.76GW gas-fired power plant in Karawang Regency in West Java. Indonesian state-owned utility PLN has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement for generation from the plant, with start-up planned for this year. And LNG had been expected to be supplied from the country's 7.6mn t/yr Tangguh liquefaction facility, with which PLN has a 1.5mn t/yr purchase agreement.

Jawa Satu Regas' new FSRU follows a number of LNG carrier deliveries at the start of this year, with South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering delivering four carriers.

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries also delivered the 174,000m³ Aristidis I yesterday to Greek owner Capital Gas. The carrier, which is tied to a 12-year term charter with BP, is the second delivered to the owner, from seven originally ordered. The Arisitidis I had been expected for delivery in November last year, but appears to have been delayed by a few months, along with the same-sized Aristarchos and Attalos — now scheduled for June and August this year, respectively.

By Samuel Good