The Golar Tundra was meant to be used to provide floating storage for the first LNG project in sub-Saharan Africa.

But the 170,000-cbm gas carrier has been making history of a different kind, becoming the first vessel to call at Cheniere Energy’s $15bn LNG export terminal at Corpus Christi in Texas.

Wilbur Ross, the US commerce secretary, was dockside for the project's launch last week, taking the opportunity to praise the “outstanding example of American ingenuity”.