Gate terminal (Gasunie/Vopak) announces today that it will invest to increase the ship loading flow rate at the jetties for large ships from the current 2300 m3/hour to 4000 m3/hour to lower port time for vessels, Vopak said in its press release. This investment will allow Gate terminal to load the new standard size vessels of around 180000 m3 in less than 3 days. The investment entails a de-bottlenecking of the pipeline systems used to deliver LNG from the storage tank to the ship and can be installed without a plant shutdown. The construction will start in the summer of 2018 and will be finished after the summer of 2019.
Loading of LNG in ships and transshipment activities in North West Europe have increased over the years. The liquid spot market of LNG leads to quick successions of loading and unloading periods. This dynamic of the LNG market requires more flexibility and efficient operations. With this investment Gate terminal will strengthen its pivotal role as the LNG Hub terminal for North West Europe.