~ Fuel farm to be relocated ~
AIRPORT--While jet fuel rationing at the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) has been somewhat "relaxed" in the past few days, the airport announced on Sunday evening that the fuel shortage will continue at least until the end of January.
PJIAE (operating company) met on January 5, with Sol and Chevron as well as other stakeholders to discuss the current shortage of aviation fuel experienced in St. Maarten. Several measures are being taken to mitigate the current effects and better secure PJIA's operations in the future.
Among these measures is a planned relocation of the fuel farm at PJIA, which will commence during the second quarter of this year; while a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that includes performance standards will be put in place with all PJIA suppliers, including those who supply aviation fuel.
Moving PJIA's fuel farm to an offsite location will result in increased storage capacity for fuel and will also free up valuable ramp space, the company explained.
Similarly, Sol has filed the required documents with the relevant government authorities to enable it to commence construction of an additional storage tank that would double its storage capacity to a combined 25,000 barrels.
Inadequate storage is a major factor in the current fuel shortage. Once approval is received, the construction of the new tank is expected to take some six months. This means, before the end of this year, the situation at PJIA concerning aviation fuel should have improved dramatically.
Meanwhile, Sol expects relief of the current fuel shortage by the end of January. During the meeting with PJIAE, Sol Aviation Services Ltd. (SASL) General Manager Andrew Niles said the company is working hard to ensure that St. Maarten does not completely run out of fuel. It said it will be giving special consideration to "feeder locations" like St. Maarten given the country's hub function.
Commenting on the current situation, PJIA managing director, Regina LaBega said, "the situation is really unfortunate, but it has our undivided attention. We are working with our stakeholders to share strategies that would enable us to spot potential problems in time so that we can respond in an effective, dynamic and informed manner," LaBega said.
"The idea is to find permanent solutions for this issue," she added.
One short-term solution being considered by Sol is to switch from Jet A1 fuel to Jet A specification fuel, which can be sourced more readily at other suppliers. This specification change would allow Sol to purchase fuel from additional suppliers rather than being limited to its main supplier of Jet A1 fuel, Petrotrin of Trinidad and Tobago.
The primary difference between Jet A specification and Jet A1 is the freezing point, which Sol said will not affect its clients.
Niles noted that although a tanker brought Jet A1 fuel from Cura�ao last week, Cura�ao is not as dependable a source for this type of fuel as Trinidad and Tobago.
The Sol general manager also explained why his company has not considered acquiring fuel from the US or Venezuela, given the acute shortage it is facing. He noted that while the product was immediately available in the US, deliveries from the US would take longer than direct deliveries from Trinidad and Tobago or Cura�ao due to transit times and tanker size. Niles also noted that Venezuela does not produce Jet A1 fuel.
Niles confirmed that Sol is in direct contact with the head offices of the various airlines that service PJIA to update them on the daily fuel allotments for their aircrafts. However, Sol will also now provide daily communiqu�s to PJIA and St. Maarten handlers for both commercial airlines and General Aviation (GA).
"We are doing our best to manage the situation," said Niles adding, "We could only operate with what we have."
The GA sector is the most hit by the current fuel shortage. Sol noted it is easier to manage commercial carriers as their schedules and requirements are fixed, whereas with General Aviation this is not the case.
However, the pending deliveries and recertification of the fuel should alleviate some of the restrictions and result in possible relaxation this week.
"The GA fuel situation is a bit more complicated," admitted Niles, "as some use brokers for their fuel purchases. Additionally, unlike commercial flights, we do not have a clear picture of the fuel requirements for GA, as they operate and require fuel on 'as needed' basis."
However, following Thursday's meeting Sol agreed to look into further "relaxing" the current restrictions, especially on General Aviation. Commercial Aviation has already been moved up from 50 per cent to 75 per cent. Nevertheless, the fuel rationing for General Aviation may continue a little longer.
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