Boston Mayor Thomas Menino opposes allowing tankers carrying substantial quantities of LNG from Yemen to transit Boston Harbor en route to an Everett facility. City Manager Jay Ash shares this position, advocating that Homeland Security and relevant counterterrorism agencies, including the FBI, should verify the crews aboard these Yemeni vessels before they enter Boston Harbor. Currently, these tankers operate without security screening or advanced counterterrorism protocols. Both Mayor Menino and City Manager Ash view this as problematic. Senate candidate Tim Flaherty similarly characterizes the Yemeni tankers entering Boston Harbor as a threat to the Greater Boston region. In a statement released January 13, Flaherty stated: “Without a top to bottom review, these shipments represent an unacceptable risk for residents of neighboring communities, including Boston, Revere, Chelsea, Everett and Winthrop.” Speaker Robert DeLeo has expressed comparable apprehension regarding these LNG shipments. A coordinated effort among stakeholders could potentially make these deliveries, which warrant postponement, considerably more secure.
Chelsea, Boston Harbor and LNG
