National Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (AFL-CIO)
108th National MEBA Convention
Resolution of the Committee on Legislation
BE IT RESOLVED… that the National Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association adopt the following policy position on: Meeting the nation's energy needs with liquefied natural gas on US-flag ships
At no time since the oil embargo and energy crisis of the 1970s has the issue of energy production been such an important one in America’s national debate. With gas prices averaging over two dollars a gallon, and oil prices reaching near sixty-dollars a barrel, it is imperative that the United States develop and implement a complete and comprehensive energy policy that works to reduce our dependency on foreign sources of energy, and ensures access to energy resources that can be used here in America.
Since the 1980s, demand for natural gas in America has increased exponentially, and that demand is quickly outstripping the amount that our current domestic production and importation is able to supply. If this demand continues to increase without additional sources of domestic production being brought online, America will only be putting itself in even greater jeopardy of being held an economic hostage by those who control energy interests across the globe.
Foreign sources of LNG are imported primarily from countries that are not politically aligned with the United States. There are no US-Flag LNG tankers at sea today. As a result, all imported LNG is shipped on flag-of-convenience vessels. These vessels are not carefully regulated and are crewed by foreign mariners whose identities often are unknown. Many of these shipboard personnel are citizens from countries that are hostile to the United States. It is, therefore, equally imperative that the American sources of LNG be developed in order to avoid becoming hostage to the political agendas of unfriendly LNG-supplying countries and to better guard against intentional acts of terror by criminals who may effectively hijack a LNG vessel for their own warped purposes. In short, America must develop domestic sources of LNG for American markets using American flag vessels crewed by American officers and crew.
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To do so, we must develop a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope in Alaska for delivering LNG to the continental United States. There are a number of proposals on the table to do this, including a pipeline route through Canada. However, it is the position of the NMEBA that the most viable, most cost effective, and most beneficial in terms of national energy and defense policy would be the construction of the ‘All-Alaska Route’. The All-Alaska route includes a pipeline from the North Slope to a port at Valdez or another viable deepwater port in the Alaskan Tidewater. This route keeps the entire pipeline under American control, and ensures that all of the jobs created in the development, construction and operation of the pipeline remain American jobs. Further, the transportation by LNG tanker from Alaska to the West Coast would by law be done by US-Flag ships, crewed with US-citizen mariners.
Even with this new stream of LNG entering the US energy infrastructure, we will still have to depend in no small measure upon foreign sources of energy. America will therefore continue to need to import LNG from foreign sources. Currently there are only a very limited number of operating LNG import terminals in the United States, although there are dozens of proposals for new LNG import facilities on all coasts, and a number of proposals to expand the existing import terminals themselves. The NMEBA supports the development and construction of new terminals on all American coasts.
However, it is important to note that in a post-September 11th world, the issues surrounding the safe importation of LNG must include a security component in addition to the obvious safety considerations. LNG is a security sensitive cargo, and must be treated as such. It is important that the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security adopt any and all means necessary to ensure that all LNG tankers are safe against external threats. The most important consideration is the nationality of the officers and crew who staff these LNG vessels. It is the opinion of the NMEBA that in addition to increased regulation by Homeland Security agencies, the best way to ensure that LNG tankers are safe from both external and internal threats is to require that all LNG tankers entering the United States be manned by US-citizen merchant mariners.
American merchant mariners are subject to the strictest licensing regime in the industry, and all American mariners are required to undergo thorough background checks. American mariners are also required to undergo drug testing and fingerprinting as part of the procedure to gain their mariner documents, and must provide proof of citizenship. This extensive and ongoing scrutiny of mariners ensures a high level of safety and competence throughout the American Merchant Marine. Non-US citizen officers and crewmembers are not held to such rigorous standards.
Even in today’s world of tighter inspections and increased scrutiny of credentials, it’s still possible for falsified international mariner documents to make their way into the hands of terrorists and criminals. As a result, it’s nearly impossible to guarantee that those non-Americans who crew LNG vessels are who they say they are. However, we can be assured through the USCG that American mariners are who they claim to be, and that they are law-abiding US citizens. Having MEBA members on board these ships gives the Coast Guard and our homeland security agencies a first line of defense against terrorism.
The conclusions expressed here are not new. To the contrary, they have been debated for many years and accepted as the most reasonable means by which to ensure the safe, secure importation of foreign sources of energy. And they were reinforced just recently, in a US government-sponsored publication by the Sandia National Laboratory, commonly referred to as the Sandia Report. In that report, the analysts noted that although LNG vessels themselves are well constructed and physically capable of carrying such volatile cargo, the greatest threat to American interests with respect to LNG is an intentional act of terrorism committed by a crewmember working aboard a foreign flag LNG vessel that calls on a US facility. To avoid such threats, American must take steps to ensure that LNG imported to the US is done so on American flag vessels crewed by American officers and crew. LNG represents a means to decrease our dependence on foreign sources of energy, and with the development of new import terminals, the All-Alaska route to bring LNG from Alaska to transshipment points, and the requirement of American mariners on board all LNG carriers entering the United States, we can ensure that the importation of this security sensitive cargo is done safely and securely, and with the greatest benefit to the American economy and the American people.
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY – MARCH 22, 2005
source: http://www.d1meba.org/docs/Resolution%20on%20LNG.pdf 3nov2005
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