LNG
tanker breaks down on high seas after leaving
T&T
PORT SPAIN
Petroleumworldtt.com
02 17 08
A tanker filled with liquefied natural gas that broke down off Cape Cod, off
the state of Massachusetts has been corralled by four tug boats and is no longer
adrift, according to the United States Coast Guard.
The 933-foot Catalunya Spirit is being towed west
to an offshore location 25 miles east of Provincetown
where its propulsion system will be repaired. The
tanker was churning to Boston from Trinidad and
Tobago when it broke down Monday morning.
The tanker is owned by the Teekay Corporation.
It has not sustained any structural damage or leaked
any natural gas, according to the Coast Guard.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
is working with the Coast Guard in an attempt to
minimise risk to the public and the environment.
Thomas Kiley, president of the Northeast Gas Association
in Needham, a regional trade group, said despite
high demand for natural gas during this week's
cold snap officials are not worried about a gas
shortage because of the stranded tanker.
The Suez Distrigas liquefied natural gas facility
in Everett supplies about 20 per cent of all natural
gas used in New England year round for home and
office heating and power plants and factories,
and up to 35 per cent during periods of peak demand
on the coldest winter days, according to the association.
"From a supply perspective, we should be
fine,'' Kiley said. "We don't foresee any
problems with supply or reliability either to the
gas-distribution utilities or the power generation
sector.''
Were there ever a shortage of natural gas, officials
would probably resort to shutting down schools
and asking office tower managers and homeowners
to turn their heat down and industrial facilities
to close to conserve available fuel supplies. About
40 per cent of all electricity used in New England
is generated by gas-fuelled power plants.
One factor helping the region get through the
current situation, Kiley said, is the November
opening of a new 1.2-billion-cubic-foot capacity
LNG storage facility in Waterbury, Connecticut.
Along with gas pipelines coming in to New England
delivering supplies from eastern and western Canada
and the Gulf Coast of the United States that facility
is helping ensure adequate gas supply for New England.
Kiley
added that "there is another tanker
that is fully loaded and is en route on an accelerated
voyage to Boston," but because of homeland-security
concerns about possible terrorist attacks on the
LNG tankers, officials never say publicly when
they are scheduled to enter Boston Harbour.
Boston
Mayor Thomas Menino, who fears LNG tankers and
the Everett storage facility could be the targets
of a catastrophic attack by terrorists or saboteurs,
has been pushing for years to get the Everett LNG
terminal replaced with offshore unloading facilities.
Two are now in different stages of construction
and will open in coming years. Menino's spokeswoman,
Dot Joyce, said the city was still investigating
the circumstances of the Catalunya Spirit breakdown
but said today: "We'd still rather it not
come through the city. We'd rather it not come
through the harbour.''
Joyce
said Menino credits the US Coast Guard and other
homeland-security agencies with "doing
a great job" escorting the tankers on their
trips through Boston Harbour, which can occur as
often as every four or five days. But, Joyce said, "There
are some things you just can't protect against.''
Story from Trinidad Express
Trinidad
Express
Wednesday, February 13th 2008
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