Sol and Chevron will implement a 50% restriction starting Friday, March 2, 2012 and lasting throughout the Heineken Regatta weekend, Neville Alleyne, Sol’s Aviation Operations Advisor informed PJIAE officials Thursday.
This restriction also applies to both GA and Commercial except Tans-Atlantic, he added.
On Friday morning, Alleye informed PJIAE, that the Sol vessel was scheduled to arrive with the aviation fuel on March 2nd at approximately 8 PM, and will offload on March 3. The recertification of the fuel is then expected during the morning hours of March 4, 2012, according to Alleyne.
The restriction to be implemented is a precautionary measure due to high sales of fuel expected over the weekend coupled with low stock at both depots.
Alleyne further revealed that airlines are to provide projected uplift volumes "so that we can adjust the restriction if necessary."
Alleyne had given PJIAE a synopsis of the stock situation as of February 29, 2012, in which he informed the airport that the total stock in St. Maarten on that date was 10,385 barrels of aviation fuel.
Alleyne further indicated that Sol projected the "highest daily uplift, taking into consideration the Heineken regatta" to be 2,478 barrels, which is about 50% more than the projected average daily uplift of 1,673 barrels.
This means that there would be five days’ stock on hand, lasting until March 4, the last day of the regatta.
The next vessels bringing fuel to the island are due in March 3 and March 5, 2012 respectively.
"We have taken this position in the event there are any vessel delays, sales exceed our projections or some other unforeseen circumstance," Alleyne further explained.
"Assuming that the ships arrive on time and sales remain constant there should be no need for a restriction," he stated.
"We will be monitoring the situation closely," he said, adding: "Please plan accordingly."
We will advise on a return to normal fueling operations by Monday, the Sol Aviation Operations Advisor indicated.
"There may be some delay in bridging product to Juliana due to the heavy traffic," Alleyne told PJIAE, while requesting assistance to provide some road clearance.
He continued: "We have also put measures in place to constantly monitor the stock situation during the weekend so that we are alerted to any rapid deterioration in the stock levels.
As the news of this potential situation becomes known we will also pay careful attention to the level of fuel being taken by GA based on what occurred recently."
PJIAE is also closely monitoring the situation.