BRUNSBÜTTEL (dpa-AFX) - A floating terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) has arrived in the industrial port of Brunsbüttel. The 294-meter-long and 46-meter-wide ship "Höegh Gannet" is thus the third floating LNG terminal in Germany to be built at the mouth of the Elbe River in Schleswig-Holstein. Among others, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens), Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) and RWE CEO Markus Krebber had announced their attendance at a ceremony in Brunsbüttel on Friday morning.

The "Höegh Gannet" will initially receive liquefied gas in Brunsbüttel and convert it back to its gaseous state to transport it to the pipelines before the fixed terminal will be ready for operation. There, 3.5 billion cubic meters of gas are to be fed into the grid this year with the help of the special ship, and 7.5 billion cubic meters once a long connecting pipeline has been completed. The stationary terminal is scheduled for completion in 2026.

Similar terminal ships have already moored in Wilhelmshaven in Lower Saxony and Lubmin in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. On the Lower Saxony side of the Elbe in Stade, initial work is just beginning on another LNG terminal./moe/DP/jha