Drifting LNG tanker corralled by tug boats

February 12, 2008 12:34 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

(Coast Guard)

A tanker filled with liquefied natural gas that broke down off Cape Cod has been corralled by four tug boats and is no longer adrift, according to the 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. To view a Coast Guard video of the stranded tanker, click here.

A Coast Guard marine inspector is onboard the vessel with repair crews. A crew from Air Station Cape Cod is expected today to fly additional addition personnel to the tanker that will include a technician and another representative from the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba has been on scene since Monday.

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 minimize 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 percent of all natural gas used in New England year round for home and office heating and power plants and factories, and up to 35 percent 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 percent of all electricity used in New England is generated by gas-fueled 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, Conn. 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 Harbor.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. 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 harbor.''

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 Harbor, which can occur as often as every four or five days. But, Joyce said, "There are some things you just can't protect against.''