Article

2004-09-12 Southeast Asia

Al-Qaeda planning to turn tanker into a floating bomb

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Posted by Dan Darling 2004-09-12 1:30:16 AM|| || Front Page|| [4 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 I'd be on the lookout for wanna be harbour pilots who don't want to learn to dock.

Posted by Shipman 2004-09-12 10:16:33 AM|| 2004-09-12 10:16:33 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 There have already been cases of pirates commandeering a boat and then steering it for several hours in order to acquire piloting skills.

I would advise all countries to immediately begin construction of extended offshore facilities for the offloading of natural gas tankers, as in ones that are well-removed from large population centers. Piers and pipelines are a lot cheaper to construct when compared with the cost of rebuilding a major metropolitan city.

Posted by Zenster 2004-09-12 3:18:52 PM|| 2004-09-12 3:18:52 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 The possibility of an LNG carrier being used as a floating bomb to attack a port was one of the first possibilities considered by the US after 9/11. Nowadays, they get sailors on board, and an escort into port.

Posted by gromky 2004-09-12 5:54:29 PM|| 2004-09-12 5:54:29 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Nowadays, they get sailors on board, and an escort into port.

Makes no difference. The hull could be breeched externally (shoulder launch missile or USS Cole-style attack). LNG carriers should have offshore docking terminals that are placed far away from population centers. Anything else is a disaster waiting to happen.

Posted by Zenster 2004-09-12 6:54:55 PM|| 2004-09-12 6:54:55 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 They better not. If they blow up an oil tanker, they're going to piss off the environmentalists. Killing people is ok, but polluting the environment, now that goes over the line.

Posted by Jabba the Nutt 2004-09-12 10:53:44 PM|| 2004-09-12 10:53:44 PM|| Front Page Top

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