Congressional Hearing Questions Adequacy of Agencies’ Resources
Following on a recent GAO report regarding LNG vessel safety and security, the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee held a hearing yesterday to obtain expert testimony from the report’s primary author and government and industry officials about the risks and consequences of a spill from an LNG vessel. The Congressmen present, including Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) and Sheila Jackson-Lee (D- Tex.), repeatedly questioned Coast Guard Rear Admiral Brian Salerno and the Maritime Administration’s Keith Lesnick about the adequacy of their agencies’ resources in light of the projected increase in LNG imports to the United States.
In the afternoon, Ron Davis, the President of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, testified that the solution to concerns about LNG safety and security is to ensure that American mariners are on the LNG vessels coming into U.S. LNG import terminals. Davis cited the recent MOU signed between MEBA and Excelerate Energy that will place American mariners on Excelerate vessels as a concrete example of this recommendation.
Platts LNG Daily has additional coverage of other witnesses’ testimony. [Subscription required]