Pilots tell court they’re ready to bring LNG tanker AMUR RIVER into SJ Harbor
By THE STAR STAFF
Puerto Rico’s maritime pilots told a federal judge Thursday that they are ready to bring the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier AMUR RIVER into San Juan Harbor under NFEnergia LLC’s proposed operational framework -- but argue that NFE abruptly ended negotiations that were still active, triggering the latest breakdown in talks over the vessel’s long‑delayed entry.
In a new filing, the pilots said they accept the structure of NFE’s proposed order at Docket 418 and have submitted their own version built on it, restoring terms they say both sides had already agreed to. They contend that NFE’s decision to declare an impasse early Thursday morning came despite the pilots having returned a revised draft well before a deadline NFE itself set.
According to the pilots, NFE circulated its second draft at 6:55 p.m. on Sept. 30 and asked for a response by 9:30 p.m., stressing the urgency of the matter and warning that it would seek court intervention if no revisions were received. The pilots sent their redline at 8:39 p.m., but say NFE never replied. Instead, at 1:39 a.m., NFE filed a motion declaring an impasse and minutes later informed the pilots by email.
“Consistent with the good‑faith negotiation the parties undertook at the hearing, NFE should have responded to Plaintiffs’ proposed edits rather than declare an impasse,” the pilots wrote, adding that the result is that “the parties are now negotiating the terms through filings, when they should be concluding them directly with each other.”
The pilots’ motion marks the latest turn in a dispute that had appeared close to resolution less than a day earlier. During a hearing Monday, both sides told U.S. District Judge Silvia Carreño‑Coll they had reached agreement on three core conditions for the vessel’s entry: NFE would pay for two standby tugs whenever another vessel entered or transited the Army Terminal Turning Basin, the AMUR RIVER would only berth or unberth when winds were 10 knots or less, and both sides would jointly notify the Coast Guard’s captain of the port. The judge urged the parties to finalize the stipulation during a recess.
But NFE later told the court that the pilots’ revised draft added provisions never discussed in open court, including language treating encroachment on the Puerto Nuevo Channel as a stipulated fact rather than the pilots’ view. NFE said plaintiffs deleted the phrase “in the Pilots’ view” from the recital describing encroachment and removed NFE’s statement that it accepted the conditions “without any admission that the alleged encroachment exists.” The company also objected to detailed technical measurements -- including a new figure placing the vessel “approximately 2 feet 8¼ inches beyond the 150‑foot limit” -- that it said were selectively drawn from discovery emails and inconsistent with earlier calculations.
“Such distractions do not foster an ambience for the parties to put their gloves down,” NFE wrote, arguing that the additions “present obstacles to finalizing the stipulation.”
The pilots countered that their edits were clarifications based on data NFE itself provided on Sept. 29 and noted that their drafts retained NFE’s denial of encroachment. They also insisted that the stipulation must preserve the existing interim measures, including the four‑tug escort requirement, and must explicitly protect the pilot’s professional judgment during maneuvers. They asked the court to clarify that nothing in the order could be used to argue that pilots are responsible for standby tug costs, citing letters from members of the Puerto Rico Shippers’ Association reserving the right to hold pilots liable.
The judge had not ruled at press time. With the AMUR RIVER still offshore and Puerto Rico’s energy agencies warning of supply constraints, the court faces pressure to impose a final operational framework or authorize the vessel’s entry under one side’s proposed conditions.
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