Wood pellet firms eye port facility with bond package

Two wood pellet producers, one locally based and one from outside the region, recently contacted the port of Eastport to indicate their interest in shipping through the port, following the passage of the transportation bond issue in the November 3 statewide election that will provide $4.5 million for a bulk conveyor system at the Estes Head terminal.

Port Director Chris Gardner, at the November 16 meeting of the port authority board, said the bond issue funds may not be available until next summer, so a line of credit from a bank might be considered so that engineering work can be done before then. Gardner hopes that construction may begin next spring, with the project completed by the summer. He said additional funds will be sought if necessary for the project.

A storage yard for wood pellets or other bulk cargoes will be located behind the Rubb warehouse, and that warehouse could be used for storage. Gardner noted that a proposal for another warehouse at the port is included in a Maine Port Authority request for federal stimulus funds. He suggested that a wood pellet company might have to assist with building a new warehouse for wood pulp if the Rubb warehouse is used for pellet storage. "We don't want to handicap ourselves with being a one-trick pony," Gardner said, referring to the need for the port to be able to handle the two different cargoes.

Skip Rogers, general manager of Federal Marine Terminals (FMT), said that FMT realizes that marketing the conveyor system to potential customers has to be the focus of FMT's marketing plan.

Rogers attended FMT's marketing meeting in South Carolina and also met recently with the Domtar Corporation concerning shipments from its Baileyville mill. Domtar is predicting that the port will be handling a ship a month with 32,000 or more metric tons for the Far East and a ship every other month for Europe. With 18 ships for the year, the port could break the 400,000-ton mark next year.

Rogers said that Domtar does not expect that the so-called black liquor federal tax credit will be renewed after the end of this year. The tax credit was cited by Domtar in a letter sent to its employees as one of the primary reasons the Baileyville plant was able to reopen in June. However, Rogers said that Domtar is "happy with the price of pulp in the world market" and believes it is sufficient to keep the mill operating. Rogers noted that not only is the pulp market presently strong, the weak U.S. dollar is helping with exports overseas. Gardner added, "We're expecting 2010 to be a stable year."

Although additional wind blade shipments have not materialized for this year, Gardner is hopeful that the market will come back and that shipments may be possible during the latter part of next year.

Gardner reported that discussions are continuing with Cianbro Corporation concerning the proposal to work on a 350' x 250' oil drilling platform in Eastport. The breakwater is no longer being considered for the work, as a 60-foot depth is needed all of the time. The Estes Head pier might be used, as there would be up to 25 days a month when it would be open, and Cianbro may be willing to work around the shipping schedule. Cianbro is still negotiating with Transworld, the owner of the platform, for the work, which could take up to six months.

The port is planning to purchase a new tugboat, the Abaco, that is in New York. The tug will replace the Pleon, which the port authority is selling.