U.S. Warns of Attacks on Asia Shipping, Finance Hubs

[ze_dscherman]

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - U.S. officials warned Asia on Thursday to be on guard against terror attacks in crowded sea lanes and in financial centers such as Hong Kong.

Speaking in Singapore, a top State Department official said Washington had good reason to believe that terror groups would target economically critical shipping lanes such as the Malacca and Singapore Straits.

SNIP

An attack on the Straits of Malacca would strike at Asia's economic heart.

More than a quarter of the world's trade, half its oil and much of its liquefied natural gas pass through the strait, which divides Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.

More: http://news.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4904591

[TahitiNut]

1. LNG + RPG = Big Boom

Those Liqified Natural Gas tankers are very enticing targets. All it would take is to hit one in a harbor and the harbor would be taken out up to a mile inland. It'd be an awesome explosion.

[ze_dscherman]

2. It's not like in the movies

LNG tanks that get hit by a RPG will leak and burn - really BEEEEEEG flames, because there's lot's of pressure needed to liquify natural gas. And then there's also the other tanks/compartments next to the burning one, that may burst due to the intense heat and internal pressure.

But LNG itself is not a blasting agent. You need a gas/air mixture for the big boom - just like these fuel/air bombs. Burning LNG doesn't explode anymore. Nevertheless, I would not want to be near one of these tankers when it gets hit by anything like a RPG.

[IMayBeWrongBut]

4. Hmm...

Unfortunately, we are going to get to see who's right on this if that train wreck in N Korea turns out to be LNG.

[Turbineguy]

3. A strategic sinking in the Malacca Straits

Would be a real problem. It gets pretty narrow there. Currents are tricky so you have to go fast enough for steerage way. Also if you go slow you are a temping target for local pirates.