Nukes in the NMI?

Northern Marianas asks US for nuke ship to provide power Agence France-Presse Last updated 01:56pm (Mla time) 10/02/2006 SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands -- Fed up with constant power cuts, the US-administered Northern Mariana Islands has asked Washington for a nuclear-powered naval ship to supply electricity for the main island. The Northern Marianas' main island of Saipan has been suffering rolling two hour blackouts since July due to reduced generating capacity and a lack of diesel oil to fuel the generators. Local legislator Stanley Torres wrote to US President George Bush to ask if a nuclear powered ship could be deployed to provide more reliable electricity to Saipan, which is home to about 65,000 people. Torres said one nuclear ship -- surplus to the US Navy's needs -- could provide power for the whole island. He said there was no alternative to nuclear power "if we are to maintain and secure our civilization." The Northern Marianas government Monday welcomed the call from Torres. "Given the nature of our energy need, we certainly welcome any help we could get," said Governor Beigno R. Fitial's special legal advisor Howard P. Willens. Questions had been raised about whether the Northern Mariana constitution would allow the presence of a nuclear reactor but Fitial said it contained nothing to ban nuclear power. Ruben Barrales, deputy assistant to Bush and director of intergovernmental affairs, replied to Torres saying his proposal had been forwarded "to the appropriate administration officials for their review and consideration." In common with many other Pacific island states and territories, the Northern Marianas has struggled to cope with the huge rises in the cost of fuel for its electricity generators. The island of Tinian in the Northern Marianas was a launch pad for the US aircraft which dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

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