Plans for Breakers fuel depot expected in New Year

| 08/12/2017 | 79 Comments
Cayman News Service

Fuel terminal at Jackson Point

(CNS): Plans for a new fuel depot in Breakers to hold reserves of diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and oil are expected to be submitted to the planning department sometime in the New Year, a spokesperson for Ironwood told CNS. The developers behind the long-proposed golf resort in Frank Sound recently revealed this new proposal, in which they are partnering with the Texas-based fuel company, Navasota Energy, which has been behind a number of fuel project ideas in Cayman over the years that have not progressed. But according to Ironwood, government has been involved in the discussions “for some time” and has been “very receptive” to this project, which the developers claim will have numerous benefits for Cayman.

“It will allow the government to have national strategic reserves for a much longer period than the current 30 days. This amount of bulk also means that a reduction in the price of gasoline and electricity should be realised to a point of approximately 25%,” a spokesperson for Ironwood told CNS. “It will also mean that government will finally have an accurate way of regulating the price of fuel to the consumer and this also means the ability to close Jackson Point, which is in the flight path and in a highly populated residential area with immediate neighbours.”

She added, “This proposal is for a much more remote area that is separate from residential communities.  After the fire earlier this year, this is a dramatic improvement to a challenge that is of vital concern to many people.”

The Ironwood spokesperson said that the new source of revenue for government that would be generated could “offset the costs of the building” of the East West Arterial Extension, which has been cited as critical to its proposed golf course and retirement resort.

However, the proposals are not directly linked as the road would also be important to service the fuel project. “Ironwood is proceeding now regardless,” the spokesperson added.

The idea of establishing another major terminal in Grand Cayman’s eastern districts is not new; the possibility has been raised by government and other developers in the past, but the environmental and aesthetic implications have always raised concerns. In this case, the developers say they intend to hold  public meetings to describe the project in detail and to answer any questions in the constituency of Bodden Town East, the seat held by Health Minister Dwayne Seymour.

Given the massive opposition in the area to the landfill proposals, constituents may not welcome a major proposal that, among other issues, will have a significant impact on the coastal area with the coming and going of fuel tankers and cargo ships. But Ironwood is hoping the economic benefits will outweigh those concerns.

“This is a project that has a number of benefits to the community and the developer will, as he has always done, engage proactively with the community to ensure that people have immediate access to the right information and can have their questions answered. The project has the capacity to bring quality paying jobs to the people of the eastern districts, and they also want to make sure that this is well-known and understood,” the spokesperson stated.

The developers said they expected the planning process to take six months to a year and will be built to international standards, including environmental impact assessments. The site, which is being acquired by the developers from Dart, was originally earmarked as a landfill site and is located between two existing quarries. Although a previous EIA was conducted for a landfill, a new EIA will be undertaken for this proposed project.

There is no indication that the developers are seeking some kind of port in the Breakers area, and the proposed terminal, which would be considerably bigger than the existing Jackson Point facility, would service ships from around the region via offshore mooring buoys.

While Navasota Energy and Ironwood are the developers, they will not be running the facility. The plan is to find an experience fuel company to manage the terminal once it’s built.

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Category: development, Local News

Comments (79)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    So thats why they selling Midland Acres for 85 million US dollars. CIREBA.com

  2. Anonymous says:

    We all forgot the fire at Jackson point ? It needs to move, where do you want it? Let’s hope it moves soon, we wouldn’t want to see a catastrophe in GT around the schools to the airport.
    Wake up people, the center of the island is not a commercial area, it is zoned agricultural? Why? No one is growing fruits and vegetables. Perfect place for an industrial area. We need more industrial area for this island. Central mangrove is a perfect area for it to be. Perhaps less people will need to go to town when opening this much needed area.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    Taking a nap.

  4. Anonymous says:

    If there was any real demand for this, a real oil company, pipeline company or terminal company would be doing it using their own real money. They do not need real estate developers to help them. I had tried to remain optimstic that Ironwood would amount to more than a minimart on Frank Sound Road, but it looks like any remaining credibility they had is about gone.

  5. Brandon says:

    Attention CNS
    Why dont you write an article showing that the lines from the gasoline depot lead to the airport? An explosion at this vulnerable spot would lead to planes blowing up! Would it not? Now there is a news story. Bet no one is willing to talk about this. Total denial. Cayman is a third world dump without proper planning. Dart is the only company that has brought some kind of order to your mosquito ridden back water.

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    • Mr. BOOMshakalack says:

      The pipeline to the airport is no longer in use for a number of years and was never used to transport gasoline.
      The Cayman Islands has been a well ordered and well planned community prior to Dart’s arrival. It’s been BOOMing for nearly 4 decades.

  6. Anonymous says:

    “But Ironwood is hoping the economic benefits will outweigh those concerns.”

    This line in para #7 says it all

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  7. Anonymous says:

    David Moffitt and Navasota do not have a glue about what they are talking about and are so far over their heads they are about to drown in the BS they are about to dump onto the people of the Cayman Islands. They obviously know nothing about the oil tanker and oil industry nor the prevailing sea and weather conditions on the south coast. These are Master’s of the Universe who think that all it takes is to make some phone calls and they then will know everything about everything. while they think that Caymanians know everything about nothing. Caymanians are not the fools you think we are. A typical example of people getting involved in what they do not know. Should be interesting, so watch this space.

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    • Anonymous says:

      But Mr. Moffitt has been so successful with all of his other businesses, why do you think this one might be different?

      Mr Moffit should name his new venture Golf Oil and float it on the Cayman Stock Exchange.

  8. Anonymous says:

    I would prefer that Ironwood plant 50 acres of marijuana on the golf course to supply the local market with better medical “oil” and then use the profits from that to build the road.

    If anyone else has other ideas then please post them, as (like myself) the Ironwood developers don’t have any money to build anything, and couldn’t even qualify for a $100 loan from the Big Mac Development Bank if they went in all dressed up in a green iguana suit.

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  9. Anonymous says:

    Anything to do with progress, anything that will raise the island above third world status will only anger the third world minded folks who will not be able to keep up with the modern world. Unless you give them a washing machine or toaster.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Using the Cayman Islands as a shill for embargoed petroleum products is not only old-dogma, but ecologically precarious, and illegal. There may be Cayman-owned/operated fuel tankers operating ship to ship just 12 miles offshore in UNCLOS waters, but they are doing it there for a reason, and because they haven’t drawn the attention or prosecution of the international community yet. A shore-based depot would be on a whole new level of brazen for the Cayman Islands at a time when we are franticly trying to demonstrate good behavior.

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      • Anonymous says:

        There is legal ship to ship transfer all over the northern gulf to my personal knowledge, as well as ship to pipeline at offshore buoys. This may be stupid for Cayman, but don’t just make up facts.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Venezuela embargo is real. Maybe it will take a naval blockade and the sinking of some tankers for our greedy oil smugglers to figure out how the world works. Thanks in advance for the headlines and ecological fallout when that day comes.

  10. Anonymous says:

    And there’s me thinking we already had one broken fuel depot this year, and we’ll get the same next year?

  11. Shane e.connor says:

    “Iron wood wants to quarry the land to raise money and build the road with the material and get money to build their development ,its very simple as that but guess what who really owns that land that’s the million dollar question ………no more elaboration!!

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  12. Anonymous says:

    This is just another SCAM to have the Govt. and the people of the Cayman Islands pay for and construct their highway to Ironwood which they themselves offered and were supposed to build. There is NO real money behind them so they are resorting to the old trick of smoke and mirrors for pulling off the great CON.

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  13. N. Smith says:

    I heard on the mark road that Ironwood is in discussions with Disney to turn the golfcourse into the first Caribbean Disney park…that surely would get the road built!

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  14. Anonymous says:

    Fishing off Breakers , East End ,Frank Sound regularly reveals at least a 2 meter south/south-east swell and with often a long swell period. At the current Jackson Point discharge location, it would be impossible for a tanker to berth on moorings and discharge in those conditions, also wind is a major factor. Cant wait to see how they propose to implement operations in this newest pipe dream.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Transhipment between tankers ole salt is done in worse conditions I understand.
      You have a sea Captains license too?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Proving once again that Caymanian is so much smarter than any experienced ship Captain (Real big ships) and all the persons who have successfully built and run off shore mooring stations all around the world. Half of the people on this island obviously agree with you.

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  15. Gray matter says:

    ” The secret to getting ahead is getting started”.
    Mark Twain

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  16. Anonymous says:

    Developed world enterprises will not work in a third world country. The people will not understand the very concept for at least another two generations.

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  17. West bay Premier says:

    I think that there’s so many holes in this article that if you put it on the water it would sink. The property was purchased from Dart , I never heard of Dart selling undeveloped land .

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  18. Alison says:

    So from a proposed dump to now a fuel storage facility dead center of the Central Mangrove? Why doesn’t the National Trust purchase this property and hold it in trust for the people, the animals and the eco system for the island?

    Sick of these greedy persons looking to make their money and destroy the island in the process.

    With the threat of global warming and raising tides, our politicians continue to put money first before the betterment of the island. Why not leave something for the next generation?

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  19. Anonymous says:

    With all our issues on the roads we now want to move all this fuel all this distance at high speed!!!!

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    • Not the OP says:

      Most likely via pipeline. (That’s what they need the new roadway for, so they can bury the pipe alongside it like with water or sewage pipes.)

  20. West bay Premier says:

    The Company spokesperson said that there would be public meeting/ questions and answers in Bodden town East , Minister Seymour constituacy . Then that’s like asking 100 people to make a decision for 60,000 population. Come more honestly to the other 59,900 people .

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    • Anonymous says:

      Everyone already knows what the local opinion will be on this project, just like a Boddentown landfill.

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      • Anonymous says:

        WB and BT seem to think that the eastern districts exist simply for them to put their undesirable elements, the Prison, Mental Health facilities, past plans for the dump and now this
        What happens when you decide you’re tired of living thigh to thigh with people and you move out east for some space, out here is going to be uninhabitable. (slight exaggeration)

        Why not just keep the facilities where they are and purchase some of the residential land and make a buffer area, monitor the depot instead of just putting it out of sight and out of mind.

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        • Barry G. says:

          5 02
          Get real. Did you not hear of the potential for all of the current facilities to blow up. Yes, explode and take out a town for miles and miles. The current facility is so overdue in needing a phase out!!!
          You want to still live like it is 1962 and Cayman has 60,000 people and wanting more.

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    • Anonymous says:

      It’s a Q&A. You can’t drive the 15 minutes to have your voice heard?

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  21. Anonymous says:

    Such an extraordinarily bad idea will surely get buy-in from the usual greedy feather-nesting MLAs. I would gladly contribute towards the legal fund for an injunction, should that become necessary.

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    • Chris Johnson says:

      Ironwood and Beach Bay are just promises and nothing constructive has taken place since the ideas were first mooted several years ago. There are more red flags on these projects than at the annual meeting of Matadors in Madrid.

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      • West bay Premier says:

        Chris never take chances when one is acting like that . Remember that things and people can get slippery and when it’s slippery it just might slide through .

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      • Anonymous says:

        So what are you saying? That the plans for a cargo port, and now a huge fuel depot in beautiful Breakers are not likely to happen? If so, I hope you are right. In any event unless they build a new highway East bypassing Hurleys the existing roads East simply couldn’t cope with all the extra heavy traffic. What is already a miserably long drive home for anyone beyond Hurleys will become the most horrible nightmare.

        I swear the various people who have run this place this last couple of decades got no sense or logic at all!

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        • Chris Johnson says:

          Think about the size of the island and its population. The infrastrure is struggling already. The road system is struggling big time. When the new roads are complete you will note that rather than road blocks three miles out ot town they will be one mile from the centre. It is just a question as to which point the traffic backs up to. The town centre requires more roads to alleviate the back ups on the by passes coming from East End and West Bay. Surely the NRA can figure this out.

          On the positive side if Camana Bay did not exist the George Town traffic problem would have been insurmountable. Luckily many offices have relocated to Camana Bay.

          Of course once we have 3m passengers coming ashore we will need rethink . Presumably some politicians are planning ahead without the need for third party studies at enormous cost.

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          • Boggy Sound man says:

            No we need development desperately. Mr. Moffit & the Beach Bay crowd are just waiting for there Bitcoin to go higher and then look out it will be full steam ahead! Hopefully just in time for the next election.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Anyone in favor of a turtle shaped ice rink in George Town?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Absolutely right. This is environmental lunacy, and is a project which has no place whatsoever on an island like Cayman. No business reason, utterly against the national interest and totally irresponsible. Developers like this must and will be stopped. I will oppose this with every tool at my disposal, at planning, at MLA and Cayman government level, at UK government level, in the courts. I will organise citizens and residents island wide to oppose this and will not stop until this sheer idiocy is stopped for good. Be warned.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Way to go. We will stop it just like we stopped the deep water harbor. Bear in mind some of the same operators are in loved. Greed has no barriers or limits. They don’t give two pence about environment. Now they are about to show their true colors.

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      • West bay Premier says:

        Anonymous 7:03 pm , feeling that strongly against this project you should have signed your name , otherwise they would think you’re just full of hot air .
        I agree with your ambition to stand up to what is going on in the Islands because I don’t think that this project is needed for the Island unless the developers can come alot cleaner and clearer to the public .

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        • Anonymous says:

          They will find out my name soon enough.

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          • Anonymous says:

            The excitement, the expectation is building 7.34pm…..Do you need to borrow a parachute so you don’t hurt yourself when you fall off your high horse? Pompous twat…you ain’t stopped nothing yet although you could work on your breathing and do us all a favour.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Hope to see citizens countering the sunlight choking 10,000 sq ft floating water park proposed for GT. Those at the levers seem hell-bent on destroying Cayman Islands ecology and all reef life – as if it had no financial purpose to them!

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        • Anonymous says:

          I love how they always buy the shit first then play their tiny violins in an effort to get permission to actually use it. Yet another dumb ass idea.

  22. West bay Premier says:

    Where are all the guarantees to the Government and the people ?
    (1) cheaper gas .
    (2) benefits to the Island /people.
    (3) cheaper Electric for consumers .
    (4) employment opportunities for Caymanians .
    (5)that the project would only be a gasoline and diesel and airplane fuel terminal depot.

    I think that if the developers /investors should put these Guarantees in stone and not in the News Media would be more beneficial to the Island and the people.

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    • Anonymous says:

      The project will not be only gasoline and diesel but also much heavier Gas oil and the like and that is some nasty stuff. Also it may provide some jobs for Caymanians but there will also be another flood of expats. You think the traffic is bad now. Its the same old question who are we developing for.

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    • Old Caymanian says:

      “Guarantees in stone” is not in the Cayman government’s play book.

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  23. Anonymous says:

    If they have to truck all that fuel back to GT I see an excuse for them to raise gas prices.

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    • Cathy says:

      Think it through 1:36. Do you want to live next to millions of gallons of FLAMMABLE fuel? The current storage is not acceptable! It needs to be moved from the residential setting it is now at. It is a disaster waiting to happen. The lines lead to airport. Do you want all of your planes exploding too?

  24. Anonymous says:

    Ironwood again. How many times will they be allowed to mess with our minds.i sincerely hope no one pins their retirement on them.

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    • PD says:

      Wow how lucky we are to have such bright developers come in here and get these wonderful plans moving. When does the golf course plan on starting?
      FOUR!!!!!!!

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  25. Anonymous says:

    Yeh, ‘cos CUC is going to lower the price of electricity as they save on diesel costs. Not.

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  26. Show Me The Money says:

    More pie in the sky crap from Moffitt and Co. None of it will ever transpire.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I hope you are right. But then that would mean they would be throwing more of our good money after bad, which isn’t good either. Either way we lose.

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  27. Gt Voter says:

    Will Navasota Energy disclose their reasoning behind not managing and operating the facility? .

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    • West bay Premier says:

      Gt Voter , I think why they won’t is because all they want and need is the road to the Golf course property .

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  28. Shane e connor says:

    Who really ownes that land before dart and Justin wood I smell trouble in the air

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  29. Anonymous says:

    Pie in the sky….

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  30. Anonymous says:

    Why not do something instead of spewing ideas and doing nothing

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    • Anonymous says:

      Generally actions are meant to be thought out before they are put into place, some call it planning

      • Anonymous says:

        You can see Caymanian Planning all over the island.The fuel depot is now an huge accident just waiting to happen. The plan there is to do nothing. Which is in retrospect the safer and much less expensive course than actually trying to do
        the usual something.

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