Canada Firm on LNG Tanker Stance
A federal study has concluded that LNG tankers could navigate Head Harbour Passage off the Bay of Fundy with little risk of accident, but the Canadian government continued to insist that it will bar U.S. tankers from the disputed waters. Proponents of the competing LNG plants proposed for northern Maine have seized on the study to argue that the Canadian government has exaggerated the safety concerns in order to favour domestic producers. The federal government has refused to co-operate with U.S. regulators who are reviewing three separate plans for terminals that will regasify imported liquefied natural gas and pipe it to markets in the U.S. Northeast. Earlier this year, Canada's Ambassador in Washington, Michael Wilson, wrote to U.S.
Ottawa to Mulls Banning U.S.-bound Tankers from N.B. Waterway
The Canadian Press reported that federal politicians say Canada is considering regulations to ban liquefied natural gas supertankers from a sensitive waterway in the Bay of Fundy, risking renewed territorial tensions with the United States. Maxime Bernier, Canada's new minister of foreign affairs, assured a citizens' group on Sunday that Canada is opposed to the prospect of LNG supertankers navigating the treacherous waters that lead into Passamaquoddy Bay between Maine and New Brunswick. Passamaquoddy Bay lies between Maine and New Brunswick and any supertanker traffic would have to cross through Head Harbour Passage, a narrow waterway that Canada considers internal waters. While the U.S.
Deadline to Oppose LNG Project Set
New Brunswick opponents of liquefied natural gas developments in Maine have given Prime Minister Stephen Harper a deadline to step in and stop the U.S. projects. Canada.com reported that John Craig, mayor of St. Andrews, N.B., said he's confident Harper will act to protect the pristine waters of Passamaquoddy Bay from environmental threats posed by proposed LNG terminals and tanker traffic. The town is giving Harper until April to clearly state whether tankers would be allowed to navigate Head Harbour Passage, an internal Canadian waterway, to deliver liquefied natural gas to terminals on the Maine coast. When that period expires - on April 7 - the town and opponents of the LNG proposals in New Brunswick and Maine will ratchet up pressure through letter-writing campaigns…
