A deal to let the Amur River dock in San Juan Bay collapsed for the second time in two weeks, after New Fortress Energy told a federal court that talks over the written agreement’s language had broken down.
Update, Oct. 18: Judge Silvia Carreño Coll imposed her own conditions for the tanker’s entry in an order issued Oct. 1, and the Amur River entered San Juan Bay and docked at NFE’s Puerto Nuevo terminal on Oct. 13, NotiCel reported.
NFE and the San Juan Bay Pilots Association told U.S. District Judge Silvia Carreño Coll on Wednesday, Sept. 30, that they agreed on the operating framework for moving the LNG tanker to NFE’s terminal in Puerto Nuevo, a verbal agreement that would have let the ship enter as soon as Thursday or Friday, Metro Puerto Rico reported. The judge urged them to finalize the written stipulation during a recess.
Late that afternoon, NFE told the court the pilots’ revised draft bore little resemblance to the terms discussed in open court, according to Metro. NFE said the pilots had added technical statements that the ship encroaches beyond the channel boundary, a point NFE has repeatedly rejected, and removed language making clear that the concern reflected only the pilots’ position. A new measurement put the vessel “approximately 2 feet 8¼ inches beyond the 150-foot limit,” a figure NFE said was selectively drawn from discovery emails and inconsistent with earlier calculations.
NFE argued the additions turned a limited operating agreement into a broader statement about responsibility and the channel’s dimensions, and said the changes “derailed an amicable resolution.” It also objected to new restrictions, including daylight-only entry and language that would let the pilots impose additional conditions without limit.
The pilots’ position
The pilots said their amendments only clarified the record and reflected data NFE itself supplied Sept. 29. They said their drafts still acknowledged that NFE denies encroaching on the channel, and insisted the stipulation keep the existing interim measures, including a four-tugboat escort, and protect the pilot’s professional judgment during maneuvers. They also asked the court to ensure nothing in the order could be used to argue that the pilots are responsible for standby tugboat costs, citing letters from shipping companies reserving the right to file claims.
NFE then asked the judge to lift the interim measures blocking the tanker and offered to pay for standby tugboats without prejudice to either side’s legal position, warning that the ship faced “limited windows” for safe entry. The pilots asked the court to require NFE to address their amendments or to lift the measures under the pilots’ conditions.
The breakdown was the second in two weeks. The San Juan power plant units the tanker supplies, units 5 and 6, had been running on costlier diesel since Sept. 16, when NFE deliveries stopped, NotiCel reported.
Related coverage: Amur River Departs Bay as NFE Fine, Penalty Clock Loom
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Sources: El Nuevo Día, Metro Puerto Rico, NotiCel
