High risk of collision?
LNG terminal: community wants an immediate stop to operations
May 3, 2024, 8:27 a.m
The Russian war of aggression is forcing German policy to rethink natural gas. As a result, the federal government is pushing the expansion of LNG infrastructure – to the chagrin of some communities and environmentalists. A terminal on Rügen is the cause of new legal disputes.
According to its own information, the municipality of Binz has filed an application with the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig against the operation of the neighboring Rügen LNG terminal. With serious security risks in such proximity to residential and spa areas, the terminal contradicts German and international security standards, wrote the community’s lawyer, Reiner Geulen, in a statement. Accordingly, on Thursday afternoon he also applied for an interim order that would prohibit the commissioning, which was planned for mid-May at the latest, until the court made a final decision.
Geulen bases his application essentially on four reports, including from Bärbel Koppe, professor of hydraulic engineering and hydromechanics at the University of Wismar. In addition, the Society for Safety Technology/Ship Safety Baltic Sea (GSSO) in Rostock examined the risk of serious accidents and the options for combating them in the port of Mukran. As a result, the risks of accidents cannot be accepted.
We are talking about a high risk of collision due to the stationing of the two large special ships that are supposed to take in the liquefied gas, make it gaseous again and feed it in. These could collide with the tankers that are supposed to deliver the LNG. Firefighting by the ship’s crew, as planned by the operator, is not possible if they have to be evacuated. In addition, attention is drawn to the risk of explosion due to possible damage to gas tanks.
Court dismissed environmental lawsuit
Geulen announced four further applications for the coming week with the aim of an immediate halt to operations. For example for the regional association of the German Youth Hostel Association, which has a facility not far from the port. The association confirmed this.
Just a week ago, the German Environmental Aid (DUH) and the German Nature Conservation Association (NABU) suffered defeat before the Federal Administrative Court in their fight against the terminal. A lawsuit against the connection pipeline was dismissed.
In view of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the federal government pushed the expansion of its own import infrastructure for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in order to become more independent of Russian gas. He defends the Rügen terminal with reference to security of supply. Critics speak of damage to nature, disadvantages for tourism and unneeded excess capacity. The terminal began trial operation about two months ago and has now received approval for regular operation.