Canada threatens to ban LNG tankers in disputed waters

Canada threatens to ban LNG tankers in disputed waters Canada could be about to ban liquefied natural gas (LNG) supertankers from a disputed waterway in the Bay of Fundy, potentially aggravating territorial tensions with the United States.
   Maxime Bernier, Canada’s new minister of foreign affairs, told a citizens’ group on Sunday that the Canadian government is strongly opposed to the prospect of tankers navigating the waters that lead into Passamaquoddy Bay between Maine and New Brunswick.
   Any supertanker traffic would have to cross through Head Harbor Passage, a narrow waterway that Canada considers internal waters. The U.S. State Department agrees the passage is Canadian, but considers it a territorial sea in which commercial ships enjoy the right of passage under international law.
   “This passage is internal waters and it’s very important for us,” Bernier said in a brief statement. “We want to protect our people and the environment ' The prime minister has been very clear on this.”
   There are two U.S. proposals for LNG terminals on the Maine side of the bay.