Unloading of gas, shipped from the United States, will take place until Jan. 3, according to the company.

The Krk floating LNG terminal has an annual capacity of 2.6 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas and all of its capacity will be sold out for the next three years.

Plans for the LNG terminal on Krk were floated more than two decades ago and originally, the plan was to construct a land terminal.

"LNG tanker Tristar Ruby anchored with 143,000 cubic meters of gas which signifies the beginning of the commercial use of the terminal," stated LNG Hrvatska director Hrvoje Krhen.

However, owing to so much red tape and the local community's resistance, the project's introduction has suffered many delays, with the new conservative government opting for the floating terminal.

For Croatia, which has so far depended on Russian gas and its own output, but also for some other countries in central Europe, including Hungary, the Krk terminal diversifies supplies.

Maritime Business World