ooooo oooooo we are willing to go to court... Can we say S o f t w o o d l L u m b e r Portuguese fishing trawlers were almost a match for us... and anyone that wants to traverse our north ... does...
U.S. will be told to keep tankers out of Canadian waters: MP
Last Updated Thu, 13 Apr 2006 08:58:39 EDT
CBC News
Canada is prepared to go to court to try to keep the United States from allowing liquefied natural gas tankers to use a dangerous stretch of a bay in southern New Brunswick, says a Conservative MP from the province.
Greg Thompson, who represents the federal riding of New Brunswick Southwest, said he met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper about the issue on Tuesday.
He said Harper agreed that huge tankers headed for three proposed new LNG terminals in Maine must be kept out of Passamaquoddy Bay, a picturesque body of water in southern New Brunswick that straddles the U.S. border.
"Our position remains the same," Thompson said. "We will use all diplomatic and legal options to defend our position. And our position is 'no to the passage of LNG tankers through Head Harbour Passage.'"
That's a narrow stretch within the bay near New Brunswick's Campobello Island, which former U.S. president Franklin Delano Roosevelt used as a retreat. Passamaquoddy Bay also hosts the tourist town of St. Andrews and rich fishing grounds.
"Head Harbour Passage is one of the most dangerous passages in Canada – certainly the most dangerous in Eastern Canada," said Thompson.
At issue is whether Canada can legally bar commercial ships from using a Canadian waterway to reach a U.S. port.
Ships have the right to "innocent passage" through internal waterways, but Thompson says the hazard of a natural gas spill makes the tankers' passage far from innocent in this case.
Thompson hopes that argument will persuade the owners of LNG terminals in Maine not to contest Canada's position. If they do, he says the issue will likely end up before an international tribunal.
Two liquefied natural gas terminals are also being proposed for Maritime ports: one in Point Tupper, N.S., and one in Saint John, N.B.
Thompson has said in the past that there would be no problem allowing tankers to use Canadian waters to reach those terminals because the proposed routes are safer than the Head Harbour Passage route.
Liquefied natural gas takes up one-600th of the volume of natural gas in its gaseous state.
Cooling natural gas to about –162 C liquefies it for transport by means of specially equipped tankers. Liquefied natural gas shipped by sea is converted back to the gaseous form at coastal terminals that are connected to pipeline systems.
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