Lithuania’s decision to lease a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) and build the Klaipėda LNG terminal was highly insightful on a European scale, says former President Dalia Grybauskaitė as Lithuania is marking 10 years since completing a landmark project in its effort to ensure energy independence.
“Those 10 years have proved that this was absolutely the best strategic move by Lithuania, as it ensured both our economic strength and political independence, because we saw how Russia used energy money to influence our politicians, even individual political parties,” she told LRT RADIO on Friday.
Grybauskaitė, who led Lithuania when the tanker, named Independence, arrived in the seaport of Klaipėda in 2014, said that over these 10 years, Russia had exerted “enormous” influence on some of the country’s politicians in an attempt to undermine the LNG terminal project.
“History shows that even members of the Social Democrats turned to the Constitutional Court as a last-ditch effort to stop the project. Russia’s influence on our politicians and individuals was enormous,” the former president said.
“As long as the state does not control its energy, it can’t consider itself independent,” she added.
According to Grybauskaitė, the LNG terminal, which was larger than Lithuania needed back in 2014, has benefited the entire Baltic region.
“At the time, there were no such terminals in Northern Europe. This was only the second of its kind in all of Europe. That’s why we bought and built a larger one, so it could help Latvia, Estonia, and partly Poland in a difficult situation. That was the goal, and it has turned out well. Now, it will also bring commercial benefits,” she said.
Lithuania’s state-controlled KN Energies, which has leased the Independence from Hoegh Evi (formerly Hoegh LNG) since 2014, is set to take over its ownership from the Norwegian company, which will remain the vessel’s operator for another five to ten years.
The LNG carrier will be officially registered under the Lithuanian flag following its removal from Singapore’s ship registry and inclusion in Lithuania’s Register of Seagoing Ships.
Friday’s ceremony marking the transfer of the vessel’s ownership to Lithuania is expected to be attended by Presidents Gitanas Nausėda of Lithuania, Edgars Rinkēvičs of Latvia, Alar Karis of Estonia, and Andrzej Duda of Poland, as well as other officials.
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