South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean has completed what it says is the world’s first ship-to-ship LNG transfer during sea trials.

The operation took place between the LNG carriers – Maran Gas Syros and Woodside Jirrubakura, according to a LinkedIn post from Hanwha on Monday.

The company said the new method can ease schedule delays caused by terminal congestion.

Instead of returning leftover LNG to a terminal after trials, vessels can now transfer it directly to another ship at sea, making the process faster and more efficient.

“Following our earlier success with the world’s first Ship-to-Ship LNG bunkering operation within a shipyard, this achievement once again proves Hanwha Ocean’s differentiated expertise in gas trial technologies,” the company said.