The plans for an LNG terminal off Rügen or in the port of Mukran continue to provoke protests on Germany’s largest island. According to the police, around 120 demonstrators formed a human chain from Binz on the beach to Prora on Saturday.
Other protests against the terminal plans had also been announced – including a laser and video installation and sound art using recorded sounds from LNG terminals. According to their own statements, the actions are backed by an alliance of 37 cities and municipalities from the island, including Stralsund, but also citizens’ initiatives and environmental associations. A month ago, the alliance had organized a festival on the island against the planned terminal.
Working platform for the site survey?
After strong resistance, the federal government backed away from its plans to build a liquefied natural gas terminal five kilometers off the coast of the Baltic Sea resort of Sellin. The Federal Ministry of Economics is now examining other possible locations in the area, including the use of the port of Mukran. But communities in the south-east of Rügen had also opposed this.
A spokesman for the Baltic Sea resorts criticized on Monday that a large working platform had been placed a few hundred meters from the holiday resort of Prora in the Baltic Sea for the Easter weekend. This points strongly to investigations for Mukran as a location, he said. This platform can be seen in photos from the protest action on Saturday. The Baltic Sea resorts fear the adverse effects of an LNG terminal on tourism, for example through noise and the view of an industrial plant from the beach.
A location further out at sea has also been discussed. Recently, the Budget Committee of the Bundestag approved funds for planning but not for the construction of the terminal and called for further examinations.
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