The 622-foot ALICE OLDENDORFF, one of the more than 100 ships that travel Head Harbor passage each year, makes her way through the passage to the Canadian port of Bayside with the Deer Island Ferry standing by.

The Downeast LNG project also will have minimal impact on the New Brunswick communities of St. Andrews and Campobello Island.

Viewshed and noise - The pier at which LNG vessels will dock will be aligned perpendicular to St. Andrews, limiting the visual impact across the bay. There will be minimal lighting, which will face inward to the U.S. The storage tanks will rest below the horizon of Robbinston Ridge, with tree cover in front. And while there will be limited noise during the docking of a ship, there will be no offsite impacts due to noise from the regular operations of the terminal and regasification facility.

Rights of access to waterway - There should be no restricted access for Canadians when a vessel is docked at the Downeast LNG terminal. There will probably be a moving exclusion zone during transit.

Safety - The entire project will be built to the highest safety standards, including full containment tanks. There will be no safety issues for Canadian communities across the bay.

Ferries and whale watching vessels - All ferries and whale watching boats will be given advanced notice of ship arrivals for their scheduling purposes. LNG ships will transit quickly through local waters and during the summer, ships will arrive only once every 10 days.

Right Whales
There is no right whale activity along the routes in Passamaquoddy Bay or Head Harbour Passage that LNG ships will follow. While the major concern for the whale population is fishing gear entanglement, mammal watchers will be posted on vessels transiting these waters as an extra precaution.

Ship Navigation

Ease of navigation is a major attribute of the project. Ships will be subject to a current of less than 1.4 knots at berth, with average winds of less than 25. The site has a favorable wave regime and minimal swells and a draft of 50 feet at mean lower low water (MLLW).

During transit there is an under keel clearance of transit mostly +80 ft at low tide, with tides of 19 feet. The narrowest passage in the  shipping channel is about 2,500 feet, providing a sufficient turning radius and not impeding any existing ship traffic.

The total transit time from the pilot station to berth is estimated at 3 hours, covering a distance of about 13 nautical miles.

Additional Information :
		FAQ: "Marine Safety and Fishing Issues" section
		FAQ: "LNG Ships" section