For the first time, the German government has signed a contract with a private company to rent a special ship needed to procure LNG = liquefied natural gas to replace Russian natural gas.
It is a step towards breaking away from the current situation of Russia's dependence on energy.
On the 5th, Habeck, the Minister of Economy and Climate Protection, who is in charge of energy policy in Germany, visited a port in the northwest and signed a contract with German companies to rent four special vessels necessary for procuring LNG.
The vessel floats in the harbor and functions like a land-based receiving terminal, receiving LNG from tankers and supplying gas to the pipeline.
Germany accounts for 55% of the gas imported before the military invasion of Ukraine, and is trying to replace it with LNG from the Middle East etc. in the future, but it does not have the base necessary for acceptance in the country. Hmm.
Since the construction of the onshore base will take several years, the government has been securing special vessels, and the earliest of the four vessels will start operation at the end of the year.
Also, on the 5th, construction work to connect the ship to the pipeline began at the port, and officials inspected from the top of the ship.
After the visit, Minister of Economy and Climate Protection Harbeck said, "We can be free from the things that bound various policies such as diplomacy and security," and emphasized the significance of Russia's departure from the current state of dependence on energy.
Gas pipeline from Lithuania, Poland opens
As efforts to break away from Russia's dependence on energy are progressing in European countries, a pipeline to send gas from neighboring Lithuania opened in Poland, where the supply of natural gas from Russia has stopped, and Lithuania on the 5th. The opening ceremony was held at the starting point on the side.
The ceremony was attended by President Duda of Poland and President Nauseda of Lithuania, who celebrated the opening by pressing a large button to open a pipeline with a total length of more than 500 kilometers.
Regarding Russian gas, Russia's largest government-affiliated gas company Gazprom announced late last month that it had completely cut off supply to Poland and Bulgaria, and there were concerns about its impact.
The pipeline that opened this time has been built before Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, but President Duda said, "Thanks to this, we responded calmly to the notification of the suspension of gas supply from Russia, without extortion. "There is," he emphasized the importance.
According to the pipeline operator, the opening will connect Poland, the Baltic States and Finland with a pipeline.
At the ceremony, Commissioner Simson, who is in charge of energy in the EU-European Union, said that it would be "a further safety device" and expressed hope that the supply network would expand within the EU to break away from dependence on Russia.