JUNE 12, 2015--From May 26 - 28, 2015, OR&R’s Scientific Support Coordinator participated on the National Response Team (NRT) review for safety, security, and environmental impacts of liquefied natural gas transits in the Panama Canal.

From a request of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP in Spanish) through the NRT – ACP Sub-committee the SSC coordinated a group to visit the new expansion locks in the Panama Canal to review the preparedness of the ACP to handle liquefied natural gas once the new expanded locks are complete in April 2016.

The review team consisted of two personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard Liquefied Gas Carrier National Center of Expertise, one from the U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, as well as the NOAA representative.

The request was a consequence of the new larger locks allowing passage through the Panama Canal of liquefied natural gas tankers. Due to their enormous size, liquefied natural gas tankers up until now have been too large to fit in the current locks (which were constructed 101 years ago). Once the expansion project is completed the new lock system will be large enough for the passage of liquefied natural gas ships. The ACP estimates that when the new expansion project is completed, approximately eighty-six percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas tanker fleet will be transiting the Panama Canal, with up to three transits per day.

The mission of the team was to look at what techniques, tactics, and practices the ACP has in place to deal with liquefied natural gas transits and to look at possible consequences from safety, security, and environmental aspects. For two days the team was given access to ACP personnel, toured the new lock system, and transited through parts of the Canal. On the third day the team gave a preliminary verbal report to the administrator of the ACP and its upper management. The final written report will be prepared and delivered by the end of June. The team also met with a representative from the U.S. Embassy in Panama to discuss the group’s activities and findings.

During the week of June 1, two representatives of the ACP toured the U.S. Coast Guard Liquefied Gas Carrier National Center of Expertise, and liquefied natural gas facilities in Port Arthur (Texas), Baltimore, and Boston to learn how liquefied natural gas is handled here. This trip was also coordinated through the auspices of the NRT-ACP Sub-committee.

The team’s work will help ensure continued safe and secure vessel transits through the Panama Canal, which in turn will help ensure the economic security of goods and products imported or exported from the U.S., as well as the rest of the world.

For further information, contact Ed.Levine@noaa.gov.

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