Report: LNG Ships are Safe

In response to the release of the Sandia National Laboratories and Department of Energy report on liquefied natural gas (LNG), Rear Adm. Thomas H. Gilmour, Coast Guard assistant commandant for marine safety, security and environmental protection, said, "The Coast Guard appreciates the work of Sandia Labs to provide us additional information on the potential threats to LNG tankers and consequences of a large LNG release.

"The Sandia study confirms that LNG tankers are very strong ships and that the site specific risk management activities that the Coast Guard already has in place can significantly reduce the possibility of a major loss of cargo from an accident or attack.

"The classified version of the study will provide us even more information, and will assist the Coast Guard in further refining our risk reduction efforts to prevent the types of attack that have the highest potential for a major loss of cargo.

"We believe the Report’s concentric Zones of Risk approach is an effective template to guide our field offices in their evaluations of security assessments for proposed LNG sites."