Delivery of a technical report on the state of the floating, storage and regasification unit (Fsru) is expected “any day now”, the head of the natural gas infrastructure company said on Thursday.

Chairman of Etyfa Giorgos Ashikalis was speaking about the Fsru vessel – Prometheas – that is currently anchored in Malaysia.

There the ship is undergoing a technical inspection to determine what equipment and/or upgrades are necessary for it to be able to regasify liquefied natural gas.

The vessel left Shanghai on December 14, once cleared to set sail after getting certified as a single-voyage LNG carrier.

But it additionally needs to be certified as a storage and regasification unit. To do that, it must dock at an operational terminal to be tested. Since the LNG terminal at Vasiliko in Cyprus is incomplete, the ship will have to dock elsewhere.

Malaysia is a stopgap destination. Once authorities in Cyprus review the technical report – done by a foreign consultancy firm – they will know what upgrades are necessary for the Fsru and estimate how long it would take to implement them.

At the same time, Ashikalis told the Cyprus Mail, they will be looking for the next port of call for the ship – a terminal where it can be hooked up to test it as a regasification unit.

Earlier, Ashikalis told other media that such terminals are available in the United Arab Emirates, Asia and Europe.

At the terminal, the vessel would receive its last pending certification – as a regasification unit. It has already been certified as an LNG carrier.

It’s understood that this process – the upgrades, and the subsequent regasification testing and certification – could take months.

Getting certified as a regasification unit would increase the vessel’s value.

The Fsru is a key component and asset of the LNG terminal project. The entire project consists of the Fsru, the onshore facility at Vasiliko and the jetty.

Back in July 2024, the Chinese-led contractor terminated the LNG contract with Cyprus.

That left Cypriot authorities scrambling to find new subcontractors to finish incomplete works at the onshore facilities and the jetty, while also trying to get the Chinese to release the Fsru from Shanghai.

Regarding the LNG terminal at Vasiliko, Ashikalis said they’re in the process of selecting a project manager. He said the contract – following a tender – would likely be awarded by the end of January or early February.

The project manager’s job will be to identify what works are still necessary at the half-finished terminal at Vasiliko, allowing Etyfa to then begin the process of selecting sub-contractors.