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🇩🇪 Germany /Energy & Infrastructure

Specialist ship returning as Stade LNG terminal prepares to start commissioning in September

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Official statement New plan
  • Germany's delayed floating LNG import terminal in Stade is expected to begin commissioning this month after the vessel Energos Force returns from a subcharter.
  • The operator says LNG supplies for commissioning are secured and expects the first LNG tanker to arrive in November.
  • Construction disputes and unfinished onshore technical equipment delayed the terminal after its berth was completed in 2023.

After years of delay, the floating LNG import terminal in Stade is finally expected to begin commissioning this month. The specialist vessel Energos Force, which had been subchartered abroad, is returning to Germany, the state-owned operator Deutsche Energy Terminal said.

“Still in September, it will return to Stade as planned, allowing the terminal commissioning process to begin,” a DET spokesperson said. The company said LNG supplies for the commissioning phase had been secured and expects the first LNG tanker to arrive in November. It is also preparing to market Stade's capacity beyond commissioning and plans to inform the market about future auctions in advance.

DET expects the terminal to increase Germany's gas injection capacity. The operator said it expects to feed noticeably more natural gas into the German network by the end of 2026 than in 2025. LNG accounted for about 10 percent of Germany's gas imports in 2025, while pipelines supplied the larger share.

Still in September, it will return to Stade as planned, allowing the terminal commissioning process to begin.

· Deutsche Energy Terminal spokespersonThe operator described the returning vessel's role in starting commissioning.

The berth at Stade-Bützfleth's industrial port, built by the state of Lower Saxony, was completed in 2023. Energos Force first entered Stade in March 2024 and was supposed to begin test operations, but technical work remained unfinished on the onshore equipment connecting the ship to the long-distance gas network. The work involved infrastructure such as loading arms and pipelines.

DET reached an agreement last year with the Hamburg consortium Hanseatic Energy Hub to take over the remaining construction work after the companies disputed responsibility for the equipment. Energos Force had been subchartered to Egypt's state energy provider EGAS since July 2025 and was mainly operating in Jordan. DET said revenue from that contract, after running costs, returned to the federal budget. Stade is intended to become the fourth LNG terminal operated by DET in Germany.

We expect to have fed noticeably more natural gas into the German gas network by the end of 2026 than in 2025.

· Deutsche Energy Terminal spokespersonThe operator forecast higher gas injections after the terminal enters service.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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