Guayanilla News

A ship carrying a cargo of diesel fuel initially barred from hurricane-hit Puerto Rico anchored at the island's Guayanilla port on Friday to unload under a Biden administration waiver, the Refinitiv Eikon vessel tracking service showed.The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker GH Parks, which loaded in Texas this month, was stopped from discharging four days ago by the Jones Act, a maritime law that requires goods moved between U.S. ports to be carried by U.S.-flagged ships.BP Plc, which chartered the vessel, said it submitted a waiver request with the U.S. customs service on Sept. 20 to allow for the diesel to be diverted from its original destination to Puerto Rico to assist with hurricane relief efforts.GH Parks was carrying about 308…

Shipments of gasoline and diesel into Puerto Rico have resumed after Hurricane Maria, with ports restarting operations, though there were still long fuel lines around the island on Thursday, according to traders and Thomson Reuters tracking data. Residents lined up for diesel for power generators and to fill cars with gasoline, while at least one tanker discharged at the port of San Juan as oil terminals reopened some facilities. The territory still faces logistical hurdles to distribute food, fuel and water. Critics called for more resources and a single authority to oversee relief efforts. Most of the Caribbean island's 3.4 million people still lacked electricity. Gasoline stations have been unable to remain open for more than a few hours at a time, the U.S.

Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI) was recently awarded two design jobs for two separate repeat clients from Puerto Rico. Harbor Bunkering Corporation has commissioned BHGI to design another double hull oil tank barge. BHGI has designed two barges for the San Juan bunkering business in the past. In 2004, BHGI designed the 30,000 BBLS double hull oil barge Enterprise for Harbor Bunkering Corporation, and in 2005 they designed a 60,000 BBLS barge that is still to be built. The new barge for Harbor Bunkering is to be another 30…

The U.S. Coast Guard is proposing to establish moving safety zones around liquefied hazardous gas (LHG) vessels with product aboard in U.S. waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Bays of Ponce, Tallaboa, and Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, and in Limetree Bay, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Other vessels and persons would be restricted from approaching within 100 yards of LHG vessels in these waters. Comments on the proposal should be submitted by August 5, 2002. Source: HK Law

Maneuvering trials and Shiphandling training for Guayanilla, Puerto Rico Masters, Pilots and tug Masters were conducted at MarineSafety International's Newport Simulator Center April 17 - 20 and July 5 - 7, 2000. The port of Guayanilla was modeled, including a new LNG terminal to accommodate large, deep draft ships entering the port for the first time. The objectives of the trials were to give the mariners an opportunity to gain experience handling large LNG ships in their restricted harbor. Docking operations were conducted as well at the new LNG facility. Safety margins were assessed under challenging wind conditions and with different tug configurations.

Maneuvering trials and Shiphandling training for Guayanilla, Puerto Rico Masters, Pilots and tug Masters were conducted at MarineSafety International's Newport Simulator Center April 17 - 20 and July 5 - 7, 2000. The port of Guayanilla was modeled, including a new LNG terminal to accommodate large, deep draft ships entering the port for the first time. The objectives of the trials were to give the mariners an opportunity to gain experience handling large LNG ships in their restricted harbor. Docking operations were conducted as well at the new LNG facility. Safety margins were assessed under challenging wind conditions and with different tug configurations.

Coast Guard personnel were on scene at an oil spill in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico that occurred late Sunday night when an estimated 7,000 barrels or 294,000 gallons of #6 grade fuel oil leaked from a 24 inch transfer pipe used to move product from the shore side facility to tanker ships. All but 50 gallons were contained in the facilities secondary containment area and around the clock operations continue to contain and remove the oil. The incident occurred when a transfer pipe burst 5,000 yards inland from shore at the Commonwealth Oil Refining Company CORCO facility in the port of Guayanilla. The oil was being transfer to the motor vessel Sorokaletie Pobedy, a Liberian flagged tank ship. The National Response center notified the Coast Guard Command Center of the spill Sunday at 11:30 p.m.

The U.S. Coast Guard issued a Press Release stating that the tanker that grounded outside the port of Guayanilla in Puerto Rico has been refloated. There were no injuries and no pollution. The incident is under investigation.

Liberian tanker ship Sperchios grounded about 1.5 miles south from the Port of Guayanilla in the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The reasons for the grounding of the vessel are currently under investigation. The U.S. Coast Guard, as the primary responder in this case, has been coordinating the initial response to this incident with federal and local authorities and the representatives of the Sperchios. The U.S. Coast Guard has activated a Unified Command Post at the Port of Guayanilla, and together with the agencies responding to this incident, they are developing an operational plan to free the Sperchios from being grounded in the Guayanilla Bay. Sperchios is carrying an estimated amount of 320,000 barrels of crude oil and there is no indication that any type of oil spill has taken place.