Distrigas of Massachusetts LLC declared force majeure Friday — which means that it is unable to meet the contract demand of its 20 “or so” customers in New England — only days after the U.S. Coast Guard banned a tanker filled with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and destined for the company’s Everett, MA, terminal from entering Boston Harbor due to safety and security concerns, a FERC spokeswoman said.

Distrigas was forced to take this drastic action because future LNG shipments bound for its Everett terminal will be turned away by the Coast Guard as well, until the company, in cooperation with state and federal authorities, devises a plan to ensure the safety and security of the tankers and surrounding communities that would be vulnerable in the event of a terrorist attack against the ships. Distrigas last week was at a loss to estimate how long the freeze on LNG tanker traffic would be enforced.

“Our staff is providing technical advice on the nature of liquefied natural gas” to Distrigas officials so they can “work out a plan to bring the ship back” to Boston Harbor, the FERC spokeswoman noted. Other than that, the Commission has no role in the ship’s safety or destination.

Natural gas is liquefied in a process involving intense pressure and refrigeration. “It’s no different from any other fuel being attacked,” one expert said. “If you have an ignition of any fuel, it’s not a good situation.” Asked if he thought the Coast Guard had over-reacted in blocking the shipment, he said “you can’t rule out anything in this world anymore.”

Meanwhile, the tanker with 33 million gallons of LNG from Trinidad was being diverted to either Trunkline’s terminal in Lake Charles, LA, or El Paso Corp.’s almost-revived terminal on Elba Island, GA, which is due to start up operations soon, according to Distrigas spokeswoman Julie Vitek. A final decision about which terminal it would be sent to hadn’t been made as of mid-Friday, she noted. Trunkline and El Paso officials offered little additional information about the destination of the shipment.

Vitek declined to say how many more LNG tanker cargoes were or would be headed for Distrigas’s Everett facility in the immediate future.

As the Distrigas-bound tanker searched for a port, supplies of LNG for the New England market grew “very limited,” according to Vitek. She declined to estimate the level of current supplies. Distrigas provides about 15% to 20% of the region’s natural gas needs on an annual basis. This figure climbs to 35% in the winter, Vitek noted, as Distrigas provides local storage facilities with LNG for peak shaving.

Assuming the tanker is off-loaded in either Lake Charles or Elba Island, Vitek said she doubted the LNG supplies could be trucked or transported over pipelines from the southern terminals to meet New England’s energy needs. It’s “possible but not probable” to truck LNG “because the quality of the fuel would change during transport.” And while “LNG can be revaporized and sent into the pipeline system” in the South, she noted that “essentially that energy would not benefit New England.”

The Department of Energy last week was reviewing the level of existing fuel supplies for the New England region in light of the Coast Guard freeze on LNG shipments. Reviews of this nature “normally don’t take long,” said a DOE spokesman, adding that “perhaps it would be completed [this] week.”

U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) last Wednesday called on Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta to give “urgent attention” to the safety of the transportation and storage of LNG in Everett. “LNG is a critical component of the energy supply of our region, a supply source that has been interrupted by the events of Sept. 11. It is critical to everyone in the Boston area that this supply be restored at the earliest opportunity, but only in a way that ensures the safety of the community.”

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