Durango Bill’s
Independent look at the two proposed LNG facilities in Passamaquoddy Bay
(Quoddy Bay)
Two companies (Downeast LNG http://www.downeastlng.com/
and Quoddy Bay LNG http://www.quoddylng.com/
) have proposed constructing LNG (liquefied natural gas) docking
facilities in Passamaquoddy Bay. Both companies are acting as if they
have an unrestricted right to ship this hazardous material through
Canadian waters to reach the proposed LNG terminals. As the Google
Earth pictures below show and as explicitly stated in Quoddy Bay
LNG’s proposal, the ship channel to Passamaquoddy Bay is in
Canadian territorial waters.
If Canadian authorities conclude that LNG ships pose a
hazard to local citizens, the fishing industry, tourism and/or
recreation, local environmental conditions, etc., then it is clearly
Canada’s call as to whether permission should be granted for
passage of these hazardous cargos.
The Google Earth picture above shows the general area
around Passamaquoddy Bay (Quoddy Bay). The bright yellow line marks the
boundary between Maine, United States (in the lower left) and New
Brunswick, Canada in the upper right.
The proposed Downeast LNG facility would be located on the
extreme western side of the bay (within Maine) and due north of the
label for highway “1”. The Quoddy Bay LNG facilities would
also be located in Maine and would be due east of the same
“1” label. (Better detail in the next picture.) Shipping
access to both projects would approach from the lower right corner and
proceed toward the center of the picture, then turn south-southwestward
toward the “bump” in the U.S./Canadian border, and then
turn back toward the NNW along the border until the ships reached their
respective docking facilities.
The water passageway in question is in-between Campobello
Island and Deer Island which are the two large islands (better detail
below). These two islands and several small islands (including rock
ledges) bracket the “south-southwestward” portion of the
approach, and all of these land areas are clearly Canadian territory.
The “Google Earth” picture above is a closer
view of the “south-southwestward” portion of the LNG ship
approach. The proposed Quoddy LNG facility would be located on the
south end of the light colored point of land directly to the east of
the Highway “1” label.
Campobello Island is part of New Brunswick, Canada, and is
located just above and slightly to the right of the center of the lower
edge of the picture. Campobello Island is perhaps most famously known
as the summer home of former U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
(FDR), and his biography was featured in the movie “Sunrise at
Campobello”.
Deer Island is in the upper center of the picture. The
distance between the two islands is less than two miles. The ship
channel and a lot of rock ledges are in-between. All are clearly in
Canadian territory.
The city of Eastport, Maine is the light area to the left
and somewhat inside the “border bump”.
The LNG proposals by both companies describe the Canadian
Islands as lightly populated. If something goes wrong with an LNG ship
and you happen to be living in the area, you could be part of the
“lightly populated” that is turned into “lightly
depopulated”. When the Exxon Valdez ran into a rock ledge, the
resulting oil spill caused billions of dollars of damage to the sound
to the southwest of Valdez, Alaska. However, an oil spill doesn’t
explode.
If liquefied natural gas (LNG) ruptures out of a damaged
ship, it will vaporize when it comes in contact with the warmer water
and simultaneously mix with the atmosphere. The resulting mixture is
highly explosive. Oil doesn’t blow over nearby populated areas,
but an LNG/air mixture could be blown several miles from a damaged ship
to a nearby land area before it detonates.
The proposals by the two companies assert that
“everything will be under control” and there is no danger.
They have paid for computer simulations that show how “everything
will be under control” - when everything behaves as expected. If
ship passages are timed so that tidal currents are slack, the wind
isn’t blowing, the navigation equipment is working OK, etc.,
these models are correct. In the real world, Murphy’s law exists.
Things go wrong unexpectedly. The classic example is the Exxon Valdez.
Passamaquoddy Bay is notorious for its Bay of Fundy tidal
currents, storms, fog, etc. If a ship and the corporation that is
running it obey all the safeguards, then perhaps things just might be
safe. However, corporations cut corners to minimize expenses. There
will be times when they will “push the safety limits” to
make up for a late ship, or there is a problem with the tug boats, etc.
And this is when Murphy’s law will show up.
There is one more geographical feature that I didn’t
mention earlier, but it illustrates the power in the tidal currents of
Passamaquoddy Bay. The geographical feature’s name is the
“Old Sow”. Don Dunbar has some good pictures of the
“Old Sow” at http://easternmaineimages.com/whirlpool.htm
. The URL tells you what it is. It’s a whirlpool - the largest
and most powerful in the western hemisphere.
The little whirlpools in the pictures aren’t going
to bother a large ship, but the tidal currents that drive the
whirlpools are
another story. Imagine the following sequence of events.
1) An LNG ship is a little behind schedule, but even though the tidal
currents have begun to run, you (the corporation) have bribed, bullied,
etc. the officials involved and will bring the ship through anyway.
2) At some point while the LNG ship is navigating the channel, it (or
its accompanying tugs) has a mechanical problem and loses power.
3) The “Old Sow” and the rock ledges are waiting.
The LNG promoters would like us to believe that ocean currents can
no longer throw modern ships that are equipped with today’s
technology into a rock ledge.
How about the following April 8, 2007 headline from CNN News.
“Cruise ship captain blames currents for
sinking” “Two French tourists have been missing
since Thursday when the Greek-flagged ship struck rocks and eventually
sank off the island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/04/08/greece.cruiseship/
The Canadian government has said
“NO!” to transporting hazardous materials through the
Quoddy channels. If something goes wrong, it is Canadians who might be
killed. The territorial waters are clearly under Canadian sovereignty.
It is Canada’s call.
And what was Quoddy Bay LNG’s answer one day after
the statement from Canada’s ambassador to U.S. officials saying
that passageway would not be granted?
“Quoddy Bay LNG will continue to
move forward with the development of a liquefied natural gas import and
regasification facility in Washington County, ME.”
Another example of U. S. corporate bullyism “at its finest”.
Or perhaps Quoddy Bay LNG and Downeast LNG should be named as
co-winners of the “Stupid Award” for not checking with
Canadian officials before wasting time and money on something that has
no future.
Added June 3, 2007
Consequences of an LNG
Explosion
While the LNG companies keep telling everyone how safe
their operations would be, you should take a look at what has happened
in the past when an unexpected detonation of LNG took place. The web
site at http://timrileylaw.com/LNG.htm
has some historical photographs of Cleveland, Ohio after an LNG
explosion in 1944 incinerated one square mile of the city and killed
131 people. LNG tankers will be carrying a lot more LNG than what
happened in the “Cleveland incident”.
The above website has information about other LNG
“accidents” and a preview of a film that was presented at
the Malibu Film Festival - “The Risks and Danger of LNG”.
For more information about the hazards of LNG explosions, run a Google
search using: < LNG explosion >
etc.
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