Robert Habeck sees almost nothing of the North Sea. On the upper deck of the Harle Kurier, a cutter that usually ships tourists through the deep-sea port of Wilhelmshaven, dozens of journalists, security forces and local politicians crowd around the Economics Minister.
In this crowd, Habeck stands in front of cameras and plush microphones. “It’s pretty crowded here,” he says with a grin and calls in the direction of the ship’s bridge: “Departure!” Shortly thereafter, the Harle Kurier casts off and drives slowly through the calm North Sea to the outside pier.
The scenery is peaceful. Hundreds of sheep graze on the dyke, and a seagull dives into the water in the harbor basin to catch a small fish. The Ukraine war seems infinitely far away and yet Habeck, Lower Saxony’s Environment Minister Olaf Lies, and the CEO of the energy company Uniper, Klaus Dieter Maubach, came to the north of the republic this morning.
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Here, on the coast off Wilhelmshaven, the first floating LNG terminal in Germany is to be built. The first ramming is this Thursday morning. Something like a ground-breaking ceremony – only from the water and with a special ship weighing tons.
The project is of great importance for Germany in order to quickly become independent of Russian gas. The pressure on Habeck is enormous. The share of Russian gas is still 35 percent. Should President Vladimir Putin turn off the gas tap, the German gas supply would collapse in the coming winter.
According to the federal government, a total of four floating terminals for loading liquefied natural gas are to be built in the coming months. So-called FSRU ships are attached to piers. They can unload and regasify the liquefied natural gas from Canada, Qatar, Algeria, Norway and the USA from the transport vessels. The liquefied natural gas, which has been cooled to -163 degrees, is returned to its original gas form and finally pumped ashore, where it is to flow into the gas grid.
Only 28 kilometers of pipeline have to be built in Wilhelmshaven
In addition to Wilhelmshaven, Brunsbüttel in Schleswig-Holstein has already been determined as a further location, with Rostock, Hamburg, Stade and Lubmin still being negotiated. Wilhelmshaven is predestined, Germany’s only deep-sea port is located here and only 28 kilometers of pipeline have to be built to reach the gas network.
By the turn of the year, both – the floating LNG terminal and the pipeline – are expected to go into operation. “We have a good chance of doing what is actually impossible in Germany: building an LNG terminal within ten months and connecting it to the gas network,” says Habeck on the Harle Kurier.
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Around 40 billion cubic meters of gas could be imported via the four floating terminals in the medium term – about what was last obtained from Russia. With two floating LNG terminals and full gas storage facilities, you will get through the winter, says Habeck and adds: “Hopefully the plan will work out.” All companies and authorities would work unbureaucratically, undogmatically and quickly for this.
In the meantime, the small ship has reached the outer pier, where the special ship is anchored with a few containers and two crane towers. The captain of the Harle Kurier gives the signal with the ship’s horn, followed by a metallic bang. The district administrator, the mayor and the assembled state politicians applaud, Habeck has fought his way to the railing and is looking out to sea. The anchorage for the ship has to be 25 meters deep so that wind and waves cannot harm it.
The construction work and the noise pollute the environment, especially harbor porpoises. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Habeck has radically shortened the environmental protection test for the LNG terminals. “The problem of the porpoises is the fishing and the gillnets,” assures Habeck. This should be accepted in the consideration, since the porpoises would be protected elsewhere.
Habeck: “It’s not just German self-interest”
The Green politician is not only taking risks when it comes to environmental protection. Habeck has also become extremely active in the procurement of the FSRU ships. There are only 48 such special ships worldwide, only five were available at the beginning of the war. The federal government is now leasing four of them for around ten years.
“It was very difficult to get these ships,” says Habeck, who held talks in Brussels in January. “This is not only German self-interest, but we are creating an infrastructure that represents security for Europe,” says Habeck. However, there are no concrete orders yet.
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The federal government has the LNG terminals operated by companies such as the energy company Uniper. “This is not a commercial project for Uniper, but a project of national energy security,” says CEO Klaus Dieter Maubach. His company knows the location. There have been plans for an LNG terminal for 40 years, but so far liquefied natural gas has not been worthwhile compared to cheap natural gas from Russia.
Last winter, the company took a coal-fired power plant off the grid in Wilhelmshaven. In the future, Uniper not only wants to unload the climate-damaging fracking gas here, but above all green hydrogen and ammonia. “For us, Wilhelmshaven is the ultimate example of transformation,” says Maulbach.
Back on land there will be fish rolls, coffee and a tour of the participating companies in a tent. Finally, the signatures are placed under the contracts.
George Prokopiou traveled all the way to Wilhelmshaven from Greece. The 75-year-old is a billionaire shipowner with more than 130 ships around the world. His fleet also includes two FSRU ships, which he is now leasing to the federal government for ten years. “We received calls from all over Europe,” he tells the Tagesspiegel. He got into business with the federal government because they share the same values.
For him, however, the deal will also be worthwhile financially. The federal government is providing 2.94 billion for the four FSRU ships and the on-site infrastructure. “We are very happy with the contract,” says Prokopiou, biting into a fish sandwich.
