Chelsea City Manager Jay Ash, residents of Charlestown, and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino have voiced their strong objection to the Coast Guard’s approval of LNG shipments aboard Yemen-based tankers entering and unloading in Boston Harbor. The tankers must navigate into the harbor and pass beneath the Tobin Bridge before reaching their docking facilities on the Everett side of the river, creating significant safety concerns for much of Charlestown, sections of Winthrop and Chelsea, and Everett, according to local officials. “I’m confident that the Yemen tankers will be as safe as any others that come through the port,” said the Coast Guard’s Robert Healey, Captain of the Port of Boston. Mayor Menino characterized the Coast Guard’s authorization of Yemen-based LNG tankers in the Port of Boston as a mistake. “This is not a new issue. It is a major problem. I am disappointed. This is the wrong decision. It puts the business interests of large corporations ahead of the security of Boston area residents. LNG tankers should not be passing through Boston Harbor. A long term strategy to fix this problem is what’s necessary,” said the mayor. Jay Ash, Chelsea’s city manager, has aligned himself with the mayor in representing Chelsea residents, whose waterfront location would make the city particularly vulnerable in the event of an accident. “Mayor Menino is right. Extra security alone is not a proper solution. The greater question is how LNG can be off-loaded outside of the harbor,” said Ash. According to Distrigas officials, LNG deliveries to their Everett facility present no danger to nearby communities, and they have highlighted their record of safe operations spanning more than two decades without incident. “Each one of these shipments represents a potential disaster. It will take one incident and that incident might have the power to change all our lives forever,” said Peter Looney of Charlestown. For years, Mr. Looney and other Charlestown residents have raised concerns about the risks associated with LNG shipments into Boston Harbor. Yemen, a country experiencing significant civil turmoil, serves as a base for terrorist organizations and Al Qaeda training operations. Homeland Security officials believe Yemen has been the origin point for multiple terrorist attacks targeting Americans, and it was where the Nigerian man who attempted to detonate a device on a plane over Detroit during last Christmas received his training.
