BOSTON, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- A controversial tanker carrying liquefied natural gas from Yemen docked in Boston Harbor early Tuesday escorted by police vessels and helicopters.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and other local officials opposed allowing the ship and others scheduled to make deliveries into the harbor. But the U.S. Coast Guard authorized its arrival earlier this month.
Security for the arrival of the Maran Gas Coronis included state and local police officers at strategic points around the harbor, the Boston Globe reported. The Maurice Tobin Bridge across the Mystic River was closed to vehicles and watched by a Special Operations officer armed with an assault rifle.
The 935-foot vessel passed under the bridge at about 4:30 a.m. and docked without incident.
Distrigas, which has a terminal in Everett on Boston Harbor, has signed a 20-year contract to bring in up to 30 shipments a year. The company supplies about one-fifth of New England's natural gas.
