?Unacceptably high? risks for proposed Weaver’s Cover LNG terminal

ôUnacceptably highö risks for proposed WeaverÆs Cover LNG terminal The U.S. Coast Guard said it could not approve the proposed Weaver's Cove liquefied natural gas terminal in Fall River, Mass., due to serious risks to navigational safety.
   The Coast Guard is particularly concerned about the maneuvering of LNG vessel traffic extending from Sandy Point to Weaver's Cove.
   'Vessel masters would face extraordinary navigational maneuvers when transiting the waterway and the safety risks are too great to favorably recommend the waterway as suitable,' said Capt. Roy Nash, Coast Guard commander for the southeastern New England region, in a statement.
   Chief among the concerns is the limited maneuvering room between the old and new Brightman Street bridges. The bridges are almost parallel to each other and are only about 1,100 feet apart. The opening in the old bridge is only 98 feet wide and is not aligned with the new bridge's opening. The proposed tankers are well over 700 feet long and 80 feet wide with drafts up to 37.5 feet.
   'I have concluded that such transits cannot be conducted safely on a routine, repeatable basis, and that the risk of a mishap in Mount Hope Bay, and particularly in the Taunton River in the vicinity of two Brightman Street bridges, is unacceptably high,' Nash said.