Weaver's Cove Offers Plan for LNG Shipments

Weaver's Cove Energy plans to use liquefied natural gas transports that are even smaller than the second set of vessels it specified in recent updates to its proposal to operate an LNG plant on the Taunton River and newer, stronger tug boats to guide them, the company said. According to South Coast Today, more LNG tankers, however, will sail to Fall River under the change because of the lower capacity of the vessels and because tankers once earmarked to go to a proposed Providence terminal denied by federal regulators will instead head to Weaver's Cove. The changes also require more openings of the new Brightman Street Bridge, the company said. The disclosures come in a March 27 letter from Weaver's Cove Chief Executive Officer Gordon Shearer to the Coast Guard, which is considering whether to issue a letter of recommendation for the project. The Coast Guard had questioned the safety of a navigational maneuver required by its second set of LNG tankers — small enough to fit through the opening of the old Brightman Street draw bridge — in the 1,100 foot separation between the current bridge and its replacement structure. Originally, Weaver's Cove proposed using a 950-foot-long, 145-foot-wide vessel with a draft of 371/2 feet that would arrive 60 times a year. The vessels in the first new proposal were 725 feet long, 82 feet wide and a draft of 36 feet that would arrive 120 times a year. The opening of the old Brightman Street Bridge is 98 feet. The opening of the new bridge under construction, north of the proposed Weaver's Cove terminal, is 200 feet. The openings are not navigationally aligned. (Source: SouthCoastToday.com)