Excellence to Lighten Magellan Spirits Load?

zoomLNG Tanker Excellence LNG tanker Excellence owned by Texas-based Excelerate Energy,  is reported to be en route to Nigeria to lighten the load of the grounded LNG tanker Magellan Spirit, Interfax Global Energy writes. The fully loaded Magellan Spirit, owned by Teekay LNG Partners, is grounded in the Gulf of Guinea area, some 5 nautical miles of Bonny island, Nigeria. After tugs were unsuccessful in pulling the tanker free from the soft mud, Teekay said that the load might be transferred to another vessel so as to enable the vessel to break free. The Belgium-flagged Excellence is underway in Atlantic North area, some 170 nautical miles from Sherbro Island, Sierra Leone, according to the latest Marine Traffic data. Based on the vessel tracking data, the vessels destination was Port Morris, the US, however it seems that Excellence has changed its course toward Nigeria. The ship-to-ship transfer of a part of the cargo could occur as early as next week. Another attempt to refloat the vessel is being planned to coincide with a high tide after the vessel has been lightened, Teekay said. Excelerate Energy has not yet confirmed the reports. World Maritime News Staff