March 31, 2007 — The U.S. Coast Guard has given official status to a security zone in the waters around the Hovensa Refinery designed to protect the area from "potential subversive acts."
Lt. Commander Kevin Reed, officer in charge of resident inspection for the U.S. Coast Guard office based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, met with members of the V.I. Fisherman's Association to tell them about the conditions surrounding the security zone.
The security zone includes all waters from the surface to the bottom of the sea. It covers an area approximately one and one half miles out to sea and two miles long. The area, known as Krause Lagoon, lies in front of the Hovensa pier.
The meeting was held Thursday evening in the Department of Agriculture conference room in Estate Lower Love. About 10 fishermen attended, along with Director of Fish and Wildlife William Tobias.
Fishermen must accept that there has to be security in the area and stay outside the zone from now on, Reed said.
"Given the highly volatile nature of the substances at the Hovensa Refinery and the potential of it being a terrorist target," the area needs to be restricted, he said.
The fishermen didn't seem overly concerned with the restrictions. "I don't see any kind of problem to go around the buoys," said Jose Sanchez, noting that he would be on the "lookout for any suspicious activity" in the area.
"It's better than it was before," Sanchez said, referring to the size of the restricted zone. Originally the zone extended three miles out and three miles to the left and right of the Hovensa pier, but the Coast Guard reduced it.
If a boater had to come into the zone because of insufficient gas to go around the area or because of some other situation, Reed said, he should contact the port captain via radio and explain his position. The boater would be allowed to transit through the area as long as there are no other vessels in the area.
"It's a safety and security issue — it's not meant to impede anyone from making a living on the waters," Reed said.
Tobias expressed concerned about public notice, asking how the word would go out to boaters.
"We are going to use every method available to get the word out," Reed said, noting that buoys clearly mark the area.
The first public notice went out in February 2005 and the public expressed no opposition, Reed said. The security zone has been recorded in the Federal Registry as of March 2 and is now a "final rule," he said.
According to its website, Hovensa is a joint venture between a subsidiary of Hess Corporation and a subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), and operates a merchant refinery on St. Croix. The refinery has a crude oil-processing capacity of 495,000 barrels per day and is one of the largest in the world.
The refinery is strategically located to serve gasoline and heating-oil markets in both the U.S. Gulf Coast and along the Eastern Seaboard, providing a ready market for finished products. The refinery is capable of receiving and processing crudes from all over the world, although the majority of crude is supplied from Venezuela.
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