TRIESTE – After five years in service and 126 LNG carriers handled, the FSRU LNG Croatia – the core of the Krk regasification terminal – departed the island on 25 August bound for the Kuzey Star shipyard in Turkey. There, an additional regasification module will be installed as part of an upgrade programme that also includes scheduled maintenance and a five-year class renewal.
The intervention aims to enhance the reliability and security of natural gas supply not only for Croatia, but also for Slovenia, Hungary, and other Central and Southeast European countries connected to the transmission network. Since January 2021, the terminal has handled 17.7 million cubic metres of LNG unloaded and regasified, corresponding to 10.7 billion cubic metres of natural gas sent into the national grid, in addition to 545 truck loadings.
The €46.1 million upgrade project is co-financed by LNG Hrvatska and includes a €25 million contribution from the Croatian Ministry of Economy, granted in April. The goal is to double the terminal’s capacity from 2.9 to 6.1 billion cubic metres per year, through two phases that also involve the expansion of transmission infrastructure managed by Plinacro.
The new module (with a maximum capacity of 250,000 m³/h) was supplied by Wärtsilä Gas Solutions and built at the Nantong CIMC SOE shipyard in China. Installation and integration on board the LNG Croatia will be completed by October, when the vessel is expected to return to operation in Omišalj.
