Operations at the floating LNG import facility Mukran, located off the Baltic coast of Germany, restarted this week after the multipurpose vessel Neuwerk cleared a path through the heavy sea ice that had disrupted access for weeks.
The icebreaking efforts were necessary because Neuwerk experienced a technical issue last weekend, which brought it back to port for repairs. To continue the channel-clearing operations, the tugboat VB Bremen Fighter was utilized, allowing LNG shipments to resume at the Mukran terminal.
Recent satellite images had revealed that the bay was covered with dense sea ice and without an open channel, which prevented the LNG carrier Maran Gas Nice from leaving the terminal since late January. However, the vessel successfully departed Mukran on February 11 once a route was established.
Another LNG carrier, Minerva Amorgos, had been waiting offshore since February 3. The German regulatory authority, Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Ostsee (WSA), expects the ship to be escorted into Mukran by the end of February 16, with assistance from the terminal operator Deutsche Regas.
Neuwerk is a German federal multipurpose vessel that typically works in the North Sea for coastal protection, pollution response, and maritime safety. It was brought in to assist with icebreaking activities in the Baltic Sea. The 78-meter-long ship has reinforced hull plating and is capable of operating in moderate ice conditions. Currently, it remains in the port of Rostock, and it is uncertain when it will return to service.
With shipping halted, the gas storage at Mukran reached record lows, and the facility stopped supplying gas to the national transmission system in early February. Mukran has become a crucial import hub since Germany expanded its LNG infrastructure following the reduction of Russian pipeline gas supplies. It is the largest floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) terminal in Europe by throughput, receiving approximately 12.9 TWh of gas equivalent over the past three months. January alone accounted for around 4.4 TWh, although February volumes are predicted to be significantly lower due to ice disruptions.
Ice conditions in the Baltic Sea this winter have been particularly severe in several coastal areas, especially in gulfs and shallow bays. Authorities in Finland, Sweden, and Estonia have reported high demand for icebreaker assistance as shipping lanes have become narrower. In some ports, older reserve icebreakers have been reactivated or extended into service to cope with the high traffic volumes, highlighting the challenges posed by harsh ice conditions on maritime logistics in Northern Europe.
For Mukran, the reopening is a welcome development as Minerva Amorgos gets ready to dock, but operators warn that continued cold weather could still affect shipping operations.