Process for unloading pressurized liquefied natural gas from containers

A process for unloading pressurized liquefied gas from a plurality of containers having such liquefied gas contained therein, comprising the steps of:

• (a) feeding a pressurized displacement gas to a first container or group of containers of said plurality of containers to discharge the liquefied gas therefrom;
• (b) withdrawing the displacement gas from the first container or group of containers and separating the displacement gas into a first vapor stream and a second vapor stream;
• (c) heating the first vapor stream and passing the heated vapor stream to the first container or group of containers, the pressure of the heated vapor in the first container or group of containers being substantially lower than the pressure of the liquefied gas at the beginning of the unloading process;
• (d) taking the second vapor stream and feeding it to a second container or group of containers of the plurality of containers to discharge liquefied gas therefrom;
• and
• (e) severing communication between the first container or group of containers and the second container or group of containers and repeating the steps (b) through (d) for all of said containers in succession, whereby only the last emptied container or group of containers remains at said pressure of the displacement gas at the end of the unloading process and all of the containers except the last container or group of containers being filled with the lower pressure vapor.