Berlin, Dec 22 (IANS): Germany's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal has started operations, a day ahead of schedule, according to the country's largest gas importer Uniper.

A tanker loaded with around 165,000 cubic meters of LNG has already docked at the new terminal days before, reports Xinhua news agency.

The LNG was "enough to supply around 50,000 households for a year", according to the government, which had chartered the tanker.

On December 17, the LNG terminal at Wilhelmshaven was officially opened by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

This is "just the beginning," he said.

Further terminals for the import of LNG on the country's North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts are to follow in the coming weeks and months.

"The plan is to have an import capacity of over 30 billion cubic meters of gas by the end of 2024, which is more than half the volume of gas that flowed through the pipelines from Russia to Germany last year," according to the German government.

The LNG terminals are part of an extensive effort to secure Germany's supply amid the energy crisis.

Measures include the temporary return to coal-fired power plants as gas storage facilities were filled up to full capacity before the winter.