What are the jurisdictional issues pertaining to the transit of Canadian waters?
Downeast LNG’s understanding is that there are no existing limitations regarding the transit of Canadian waters by LNG tankers calling on a U.S. port. Based upon our discussions with the Canadian Coast Guard, there is no specific LNG shipping regulations in Canada. We also understand that the regulations passed in the 1970s restricting the transit of crude oil tankers through Head Harbor passage to the proposed Piston Refinery at Shackford Head were rescinded by the government. The International Boundary Waters Treaty Act of 1909 between the U.S. and Canada and the United Nations Conventions of the Law of the Seas support the transit of Canadian waters by LNG tankers calling on a U.S. port (and vice versa). These two pieces of legislation support the currently proposed LNG facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, which will accept LNG ships that pass thorough U.S. territorial waters. International Boundary Waters Treaty Act, Chapter I-17 “An Act respecting the International Joint Commi
