The acting commander of US Coast Guard Sector San Juan, Captain Robert Stiles, issued a "captain of the port" (COTP) order to the Puerto Nuevo Terminals (PNT) port facility on Wednesday for unlawfully handling ammonium nitrate.
This action was taken following a routine examination in which coast guard inspectors discovered PNT’s non-compliance with previous coast guard regulatory and safety orders, which suspended PNT’s permit to handle hazardous cargoes as required by law and due to the facility’s lack of adequate firefighting capability.
“This is a serious violation creating a dangerous situation at Puerto Nuevo Terminals, which is located next to a liquified natural gas facility,” said Stiles.
“The unlawful handling of ammonium nitrate can pose a serious risk to the safety of critical port infrastructure in San Juan Harbor. We are investigating this matter thoroughly and have taken necessary measures to ensure that the Puerto Nuevo Terminals facility is operating in a safe manner.
"The coast guard is committed to the safety and security of the nation’s ports and navigable waterways, and it is our duty to protect them.”
PNT’s inability to meet safety compliance measures regarding their firefighting capability has been a long-standing concern for the coast guard, it said.
After repeated concessions affording PNT opportunities to become compliant with the regulations, Sector San Juan commander and COTP issued a final notice letter to PNT regarding their hazardous cargo operations with a hard compliance deadline of October 8, 2024.
PNT failed to meet the deadline and on October 9, 2024, its general permit to handle, store, stow, load, discharge or transport dangerous cargo was suspended.
Following some progress toward compliance including temporary firefighting measures, Coast Guard Sector San Juan COTP revived the general permit with restrictions prohibiting the handling of certain cargoes. Those restrictions were violated and resulted in this latest action to suspend their permit for all hazardous cargo operations.
Upon inspection of the facility on Wednesday, PNT’s general permit for the handling, storing, stowing, loading, discharging or transporting of any dangerous cargo was suspended. This order will remain in effect until PNT meets the requirements outlined in the COTP order.
Failure to comply with this COTP order is reportedly punishable by a civil penalty of up to $117,608 for each occurrence and day of violation. Willful and knowing violation of this order is a class D felony, punishable by up to six years in prison or fines of up to $250,000 for an individual or $500,000 for an organization.