Atlantic LNG back in business

IN LIGHT of Tuesday night’s interim agreement between the OWTU and Plipwijs at the Industrial Court, operations at trains I, II and III of the billion-dollar Atlantic LNG operation resumed at full speed yesterday, with liquefied natural gas being pumped from the three trains to storage tankers at Atlantic LNG’s Pt Fortin terminal. This comes after operations were virtually shutdown between Saturday and Tuesday, when tugboat operators, whose berthing and unberthing of the tankers are critical for the LNG to be pumped, refused to operate and protested for better salaries. The result of their protests was an estimated US$8 million in lost earnings to Government. Plipwijs is the Danish company who entered into a partnership with Plipdeco to oversee operations of the tugboats, who apart from servicing the tankers for the LNG operations, also carry out sea duties along the East and North coast of Trinidad.

According to an Atlantic LNG official yesterday, crews on the tugboats resumed berthing and unberthing duties of the LNG ocean tankers at the company’s terminal, which led to a resumption of the pumping of LNG, which is exported primarily to the United States. However, while operations are up and running at trains I, II and III, protest action continues at both Atlantic LNG’s train IV construction site and  at Petrotrin’s Pointe-a-Pierre refinery, with workers continuing their claims for improved wages and the regularisation of their employment status. According to OWTU Pointe-a-Pierre branch president Hollis Alexander, the company had agreed to meet with the union to discuss the regularisation status of temporary and casual workers. He said the union would hold a mass mobilisation meeting at the Pointe-a-Pierre roundabout this morning in a show of solidarity for the workers. Members of the OWTU’s central executive are expected to address today’s rally.