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Facility Expansion: Long Beach, San Juan

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Long Beach: Harbor Board Approves Cement Terminal Project

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners approved the Mitsubishi Cement Facility Modification Project last week, greenlighting the addition of 40,000 metric tons of additional storage capacity consisting of storage and loading silos on vacant port property adjacent to Mitsubishi’s existing facility at Pier F. The site area will increase from 4.21 acres to 5.92 acres. The board’s approval is contingent on environmental measures and upgrades.

The terminal receives imported cement and cement-like materials via bulk cargo ships. The product is stored in a warehouse or in silos. It is then loaded onto trucks and taken to local and regional concrete batch plants. With the economy improving and demand for cement rebounding, the approved project will allow Mitsubishi to more efficiently meet the regional demand for cement.

To ensure that the facility is as green as possible, the project requires Mitsubishi Cement to maintain a fleet of trucks of which least at 90 percent have engines from 2010 or newer. Mitsubishi will also install solar panels and energy-efficient lighting and conduct an energy audit every five years. Furthermore, Mitsubishi will work with the port on a review to identify new technologies that can be incorporated into operations to further reduce emissions.

While the terminal already offers shore power so ships at berth can shut down their engines to reduce emissions, not all vessels are able to plug in. With the upgrades, when ships can't use shore power, a new emission control system called "Dockside Catalytic Control" will connect to the vessels’ exhaust stacks and capture pollutants.

Also, the approved project calls for Mitsubishi Cement to contribute $333,720 to the port’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Grant Program. The Port Community Mitigation Grant Programs are designed to improve community health by lessening the impacts of port-related air pollution, and to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

Construction is expected to take two to three years.

San Juan: Crowley to Expand Isla Grande Terminal to Handle LNG-Fueled Ships

Crowley Puerto Rico Services, Inc., has signed a $48.5 million contract for the construction of a pier at its Isla Grande Terminal in in the Port of San Juan. Concurrently, it also signed a 30-year lease extension for the Isla Grande property with the Puerto Rico Ports Authority.


Signing Crowley’s Isla Grade Terminal lease extension: Ingrid Colberg, Executive Director, Puerto Rico Ports Authority (front left) with Jose Francisco Nazario (right), director, finance, Crowley, and Edwin Rodriguez (standing), Chief of Maritime Bureau, Puerto Rico Ports Authority.
Photo/Crowley Maritime

The work includes a 900-foot-long by 114-foot-wide concrete pier and all associated dredging needed to accommodate Crowley’s new liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered Commitment Class ships. Crowley’s terminal expansion plans also include the installation of three new ship-to-shore container gantry cranes, which will be supplied under a separate contract.

Designed expressly for U.S./Puerto Rico service, the 2,400-TEU capacity, combination ro/ro container ships El Coquí and Taíno, are under construction at a Pascagoula (MS) shipyard and scheduled for delivery in the second and fourth quarters, respectively, of 2017.

"This is a great day for Crowley and the people of Puerto Rico, and a critical next step in our nearly $500 million re-investment in the Puerto Rico trade lane," said Jose "Pache" Ayala, Crowley vice president, Puerto Rico. "This important project represents close collaboration between private business and PRPA to make a major investment in the infrastructure of Puerto Rico. We are very excited to choose a Puerto Rico-based construction company who will utilize workers on the island and keep the money in the local economy."

Now that construction and lease contracts have been signed, Crowley is completing the acquisition of the necessary permits, including those from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other local agencies, which will allow the company to break ground in the coming months. Construction is expected to be complete in April 2017, in advance of the inaugural call of El Coqui.

"This level of investment in the Puerto Rico trade is unprecedented," said John Hourihan, Crowley senior vice president and general manager, Puerto Rico. "We are excited about the cooperation and support we have received for this project from the PRPA. We believe in the market and the Puerto Rico people, and our commitment has never been stronger."


Isla Grande Terminal in San Juan. Crowley has occupied the now 75-acre facility since it entered the Puerto Rico market in 1954. The company has more than 250 Puerto Rico employees.
Photo/Crowley Maritime

 

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