The Canadian shipping industry made a pre-emptive defensive move October 15 at a Vancouver symposium aimed at dispelling fears about the dangers posed by liquefied natural gas tankers.

There are officially 18 LNG plants proposed for the British Columbia coast, although industry experts doubt more than two or three large ones will ever be built in the province.

Even if only two large LNG plants are built –Kitimat and Prince Rupert being the most likely locations for terminals – they could bring two LNG carriers to the west coast per day, said Stephen Brown, president of the Chamber of Shipping of BC.

The Woodfibre LNG plant proposed for Squamish would bring roughly 40 LNG tankers up Howe Sound per year, Brown said.

In recent public hearings, Brown said LNG tankers have been described as “floating bombs.”

“Regrettably, it has become politicized, and it’s generated all manner of different opinions,” Brown said. “Unfortunately, as tends to happen, some of it is not that well-informed.”

“We are concerned that the LNG safety record is being distorted and we want to set that record straight,” Brown later told Business in Vancouver.

Liquefied natural gas is kept chilled in specially designed tankers. While it is possible that a malfunction could result in a build-up of pressure in an LNG vessel, which could cause an explosion, Brown pointed out that LNG has been transported by LNG tankers since 1964 and there has never been a death or accident related to an LNG tanker explosion, although there have been explosions at land-based LNG storage facilities.

Most recently, an explosion in April at an LNG facility in Washington State underscored the hazards related to land-based storage of LNG.

But as for the movement of LNG by ship, its safety record speaks for itself, Brown said.

“You have to judge an industry on its safety record and LNG has an exemplary record,” Brown said.