Cat Cay- Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller on Saturday sought to calm fears of Cat Cay residents and anti-LNG lobbyist by suggesting that a terrorist looking to strike in The Bahamas would more likely target a hotel on Paradise Island than a tanker transporting Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
Miller, who has been a staunch proponent of bringing a LNG regassification plant to The Bahamas, was speaking during a question and answer period of a meeting between a government delegation, Cat Cay and Bimini residents, local media, environmentalists and anti-LNG lobbyists. Prime Minister Perry Christie had requested that a Miller -led delegation attend the meeting in order to acquaint residents with Government’s position on the viability of AES energy corporation’s construction of an LNG plant at nearby Ocean Cay.
“If a terrorist wanted to make a statement in The Bahamas, would it not it be easier for a terrorist to blow up one of the hotels on Paradise Island that are totally visible, than blowing up an LNG ship?” said Mr Miller.
Tim Riley, a California-based attorney and anti-LNG lobbyist had asked the Minister to explain how Government planned to protect the massive tankers from terrorist threats and accidents once a LNG plant was approved and the tankers began coming regularly to Ocean Cay. He explained that American cities spent as much as $80,000 to setup floating exclusionary zones around the tankers each time they came to port.
The zones around Boston, he pointed out, included one mile in the front of the tanker, two miles to the stern, and a 1/2 mile on either side. He added that other boats would be shot if they- either by accident or intentionally- penetrated one of these “exclusionary bubbles.”
He continued: “My question is to you is: how big is your exclusionary bubble going to be, how are you going to pay for it and how is it going to affect your economy… and is your protection going to be secure enough that a tanker will no be commandeered here and taken in 50 miles into the coast of the United States?”
In addition to suggesting that Paradise Island would be a better target, Mr Miller pointed out that the complexities and security risks at Boston were greater. “It’s some problems,” he conceded, adding, “The Government would put in place the proper apparatus to see to it that the safety of Bahamians as well as our visitors is at all time adhered to…”
Further, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Health and Environment Dr Donald Cooper explained that the Bahamian Port Authority would be charged with mandating security. “Once the protocol for the handling of the ships is worked out by the Port Authority, then those are the requirements that they would mandate in order for BEST (Bahamas Environment Science and Technology Commission) to sign off on the project.
“It’s a similar thing for policing, for Immigration, Customs, for the Defence Force and so on. Those are not the areas that fall within the specific mandate given to us (BEST).”
Cat Cay Club President Manuel Diaz expressed skepticism about Cooper’s explanation and asked what prevented AES form negotiating new safety conditions in the event of a new administration winning the government in two years. Noted oceanographer, geologist and professor Dr Ray Macalister added that a company like AES, which planned to spend as much as $1 billion dollars to lay pipeline from Ocean Cay to Dania, Florida, was able to find ways to change conditions of any security agreements.
“Why can’t they come along and say Dr Cooper had no right to say that, and go ahead with something different?” Dr McAllister asked.
Mr Miller then guaranteed that BEST Commission’s recommendation is “being fully incorporated into the Heads of Agreement as well as the management agreement between the government of The Bahamas and the AES corporation.”
However, Mr Miller denied the request to see the contract prior to Government’s approval of the project. He said it would only be made public after being tabled in the House of Assembly.
According to the website LNGdanger.com, which was created by Mr Riley and his wife Hayden, typical LNG tankers are larger than the size of three football fields and carry more than twenty times the natural gas it took to burn one-square mile of Cleveland Ohio in a LNG0-related accident in 1941. The tankers reportedly require five miles to halt.
Mr Diaz has warned that members of his Cat Cay Club, who are worth between 30 and $40 billion, would liquidate the more than 300 million dollars they have invested in their homes, accompanying infrastructure and other assets at Cat Cay and pull out once Government approved the AES LNG project.
Cat Cay comprises more than182 acres of land and is 7.8 miles away from Ocean Cay and 19 miles from Bimini.
By Raymond Kongwa, The Nassau Guardian
April 5, 2005
