No liquid natural gas (LNG) in Port of Fernandina’s future

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm

Reporter  – News Analyst

Spotswood “Spots” Watkins welcomed about 25 people to the Annual Meeting of the Fernandina Maritime Exchange on November 30, 2016 in the County Commission Chambers at the James Page Governmental Center in Yulee, FL. Four speakers covered five topics of interest to the gathering of primarily stakeholders who promote, protect and encourage commercial shipping through the Port of Fernandina.

Update on LNG fueling and facilities at JaxPort

The topic that generated the most interest for local citizens was the update on LNG fueling operations and facilities at JaxPort delivered by USCG LCDR Marc Montemerlo, Chief of the Inspections Division. He explained that by 2018 there will be four LNG vessels—two Tote and 2 Crowley owned—moving freight between JaxPort and Puerto Rico. Currently there is an interim LNG bunkering facility at JaxPort to service the Tote vessels that began operation in January. By fall/winter of next year there will be a liquefaction facility in place as well.

Montemerlo said that LNG bunkering operations are new and that currently regulations governing the handling and storing of LNG at ports are being written with an eye toward conformance with appropriate international regulations. Until such regulations can be promulgated following public notice, policy letters serve as the operating guidelines.

In response to audience questions, Montemerlo asserted that there are no plans to build LNG facilities at the Port of Fernandina. The USCG has received no expression of interest in handling LNG vessels or building fueling facilities from Kinder Morgan, Nassau Terminals or the Ocean Highway Port Authority. He stressed that bunkering LNG is not an easy matter and cannot be done simply or quickly. “Such a facility,” he said, “could not pop up overnight.”

Right whale, manatee updates

USCG LCDR Claire Surrey-Marsden provided updates on right whales and manatees. She said that the right whale population was not coming back as quickly as had been hoped. Last year only 14 calves were born, leaving the population under 500. She said that the area off the South Georgia – Northeast Florida coast is the only known right whale calving area. The area is warm enough, and the water deep and calm enough for the whales to give birth.

Surrey-Marsden’s remarks were directed primarily at ship drivers, reinforcing the rules governing ship traffic in seasonal management areas, November 15 to April 16. Ships over 65 feet must slow to 10 knots around ports; commercial ships of 300 gross tons or more must report in when entering the areas and stay 500 feet away from right whales.

She advised audience members to report accidents with right whales or sightings on USCG Channel 16 or 1-877-WHALEHELP. She stressed that this number is not the number to call to find information on where to see right whales. She suggested searching Google for such information. [One site we found: http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/psb/surveys/.]

In continuing her talk on manatees, she reported that last year there were 45 manatee mortalities and 11 rescues in the state, but none in Nassau County. Manatees require water temperatures no lower than 68 degrees Fahrenheit. She encouraged audience members to report manatee sightings by calling 1-888-404-3922. She reminded the audience that it is illegal to feed manatees or provide them with fresh water, because they habituate easily to humans, which puts them at risk for fatal run-ins with propellers.

Port intelligence and security

Thomas Taylor, USCG Sector Jax Port Security Specialist, described the nature of cyber security threats to ports and shipping activity. He said that this is an evolving threat, but that maritime systems are vulnerable to hacking. He said that operations and individuals need to practice basic cyber hygiene, the most important elements of which include creating secure passwords, keeping operating systems and applications up to date, and turning off the automatic downloading of attachments. He recommended visiting www.dhs.gov/cyber for more information, also www.us-cert.gov.

Taylor stressed that port security is a high priority for Homeland Security.

Heavy weather, Matthew updates

NOAA Warning Coordinator Meteorologist Al Sandrik briefed the audience on heavy weather and Hurricane Matthew. He said that Amelia Island escaped the brunt of the hurricane, which stayed about 50 statute miles off the coast. Local winds were sustained at 39 mph (44 mph at JIA), below hurricane force. Fortunately, the tide was going out as the storm was coming in. This resulted in a 3-4 foot rise along the sound and 2-3 feet along the ocean.

All the models were placing the storm track closer to land. Had the models held, the Egans Creek basin could have experienced a 7-8 foot water rise. One of the models had the eye of the storm tracking north along I-95.

The closest Matthew came to shore was 27 nautical miles off the coast at Matanzas. The storm cut two new inlets at the entrance to the St. Johns River.

Sandrik remained convinced that under the circumstances, even in retrospect, the orders to evacuate were completely justified. Decisions to remain behind were personal, but not always wise.

In response to a question, Sandrik said that Matthew’s track was not new to the region. He cited a similar storm in October 1853 that was followed by a similar course with a direct hit in September 1854. He recalled other storms in the 1920’s. He said that the peak hurricane time for Amelia Island is August 15 to October 21, adding that October storms come in from the Atlantic Ocean.

In prognosticating upcoming weather cycles, Sandrik opined that Amelia Island would have a dry, warmer winter because of La Nina. In late spring at the end of that cycle, the weather could return to a normal pattern and bring more rain. He added that half of the rain that the area received this year came from 3 named storms: Hermine, Julia and Matthew. If the weather pattern does not return to normal, the state will be facing severe fire threats.