We offer fast bunkering stops in the major ports of Puerto Rico. Let Blue Water Maritime quote you for bunkers, we are certain we can save you money on your fuel purchases.
Blue Water Maritime’s agency work for tanker ships. We serve San Juan, Yabucoa and Guayanilla. Also don’t forget that we can help visiting ships with low-cost bunkering.
Duke Energy utility vehicles loaded on charter for return to West Palm Beach Florida. Blue Water Maritime quickly readied the barge for the load and arranged stevedores in Ponce. Everything was accomplished quickly and efficiently.
The Mcallister tug we hired is assisting the tow as the barge nears pier 16
Relief cargo for Puerto Rico, because of the Jones Act, has to come in on U.S. flag ships (when moving between two U.S. ports). Many vessels have joined in to help bring this cargo and the "Capt. Willie Landers" is one of them. She has been making regular voyages and right now she is in Virginia loading a fleet of electrical utility trucks that came from Dominion Energy in Richmond. This company has a rich history of charitable contributions and volunteer service and when Capt. Willie Landers arrives in January with their cargo I will post more information about that voyage.
Large steel ramp is positioned an the starboard side so the cargo can be rolled off.
The relief cargo on this voyage was put together by a combination of charities. The trucks and the two amazing large wood chippers are under Al Debolin's company "Migo IQ". The Coalition of Hope Foundation brought a large medical trailer and "CSI" - Compassion Services International is in charge of a relief project with large water purifiers and other emergency supplies.
Coalition of Hope medical trailer.
This is a conveyer loading wood chipper which "migo IQ" will use to help clean of all the hurricane refuse from the sides of our roads.
The deck of the large barge is nearly empty after we have unloaded all the cargo.
The stevedores from Transcaribbean Maritime made quick work out of unloading the vessel. Because there are so many ships coming into San Juan with relief cargo our space at the dock was only hours long but luckily the stevedores could completely unload the vessel in only six hours.
I'm standing between Compassion Services director Robert Rodenbush and local pastor Les Piercell who were instrumental in putting all the cargo together for this relief voyage.
Discharging AT&T cargo in San Juan. Hurricane relief telecommunications equipment for Puerto Rico.
Ponce Port is now a cost saving place to bring your shipping business
Blue Water Maritime has been bringing vessels into the Port of Ponce for many years now. Recently we loaded the M/V "Seattle" with a consignment of military cargo for Kuwait. We loaded this vessel right before Ponce Port's new management company Portek took over so we have experience with the old problems the port had before and we are working with Portek during the transition.
You can see one of the two twelve man gangs of union workers who were hired directly from a local stevedoring company by the vessel's owners.
Blue Water Maritime always strives to use local suppliers and either put our clients (the vessel owners) directly in touch with the ship service companies or pass through the paid invoices with absolutely no surcharge or percentages added on. When you hire Blue Water Maritime as your ship's agent all your port costs will be transparent. Now that Portek is managing the Port of Ponce stevedoring costs will be handled directly with their management company also in a transparent manner. Bids will be based on tonnage loaded or containers moved and loading will be efficient and on a 24 hour basis.
The M/V "Seattle" has her deck cargo lashed down on top of the hatches after they were also filled with Army Corp of Engineers equipment.
Blue Water Maritime specialises in vessel movements that are unusual and unique and we turn them into routine movements.
Our military cargo transiting the Suez canal on the way to Kuwait.
The Port of Ponce is ideal for many classes of ships. We also loaded supply vessels and barges with stern ramps there. The dock between pier position two and three is low enough at the bulwark for the ramps of small supply vessels.
The U.S. flag tug "Elsbeth II" stopped in Ponce port for bunkering. She was towing a large barge which the open water entry of Ponce port made the manuevering very easy.
Now that Portek is managing the Ponce Port Blue Water Maritime can now offer very cost effective efficient services which will be lower in cost than a San Juan visit. One way Portek will accomplish this is by handling all the stevedoring with their equipment and manpower. They are also helping us negotiate better terms for pilotage and tugs. Services are 24 hours a day seven days a week.
In addition Blue Water Maritime has a close relationship with the nearby refinery tank farm and we can supply bunkering of all classes of fuels for very competitive prices. Please call us for a quote.
Our smaller vessels are perfect for lightening cargo off of large ships that have too much draft to get into marinas or to ramp loading docks.
The Cay Seal is a bow ramp vessel which can load and unload cargo in very shallow water.
The Cay Seal pulled up beside the large ship "Yellow Stone" which brought yachts into Tortola as deck cargo. The masts of the sailing yachts are loaded onto the deck of the Cay Seal and brought to the Tortola marina where they can be re-stepped with care by the marina operators.
On Friday night we time chartered the M/V "Midnight Stone" to Mesquite Productions. She sailed into Roosevelt Roads on Friday and the TV crew rigged lights on her so that in the night shot she would look like this.
Some extra lights were rigged on the deck of our supply vessel for night "ambiance"
Blue Water Maritime is the exclusive agent for several supply vessels like the Midnight Stone, some are bigger and some smaller. We will take the time to make sure everything is in place, time charter contracts, insurance riders, and fast last-minute scheduling. We also have clients with barges that can be used for movie crane placement, Square-rigged vessels (for pirate movies) and support vessels of all kinds.
The crew of "Mad Dogs" getting ready to film the scene using the Midnight Stone
I tried to take a picture of the ship loading. Since it loads at night the ship has bright lights which shine down from the super structure and light up the dock. I used my iphone to take this picture and I can tell what it is showing but maybe I better describe it since it is a little blurry. I can't wait until the new iphone comes out this summer with the better camera.
Just below the lights you can see our two twenty foot reefers. They are filled with cold and frozen cargo like chicken and produce. Lost in the darkness below that to the left is the ship's large steel ramp. Cargo is rolled on using mules (to pull the containers) and fork lifts for all the loose cargo. We always load concrete block first as a base (you can't see it in the photo as the general cargo is behind the containers and covered with a tarp). Next voyage I will take a picture showing the staging of the general cargo before our night loading.
The M/V "Pacific Seal" is waiting at the Fajardo commercial pier for Homeland Security to finish its lengthy inspection process. Fajardo is on the eastern end of Puerto Rico much closer to the British Virgin islands than San Juan. When we load cargo in Fajardo it saves considerable fuel and time for our Tortola customers.
Many of the merchandise that is sold in the British Virgin Islands shops are loaded here on the ship. You can see pallets being prepared on the sidewalk in front of Customs. When the ship is loading in Fajardo our trucks, forklifts and stevedores take over the small area near the only commercial pier. Groceries, frozen meat and other perishables arrive later in the evening so that they aren't out in the sun while we shrink wrap them on pallets and load the fresh produce and frozen foods in our reefer containers.
Star Shipping's home port is Tortola, British Virgin Islands. All the vessels can be safely anchored in the owner's marina at East End.