Major fueling facility to be replaced at Point Loma, Calif.

Photo By Trevor Welsh | The USS Paul F. Foster receives 20,000 gallons of biofuel diesel mixture at Naval Base Point Loma in November 2011. The facility, which has been fueling American ships since 1908, has provided coal, oil, petroleum products and biofuel throughout its years of service. NBPL will have a new double deck concrete fuel pier built beginning in late 2013. Photo by Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Trevor Welsh  

CA, UNITED STATES

10.28.2013

Story by Photos DOD 

Defense Logistics Agency   

POINT LOMA, Calif. - A major California fueling facility that plays a critical role in Defense Logistics Agency Energy Americas’ mission will be the site of a construction project for a new fuel pier awarded for $66.3 million with work beginning later this year.

As the only active Navy fueling facility in southern California, DLA Energy-procured fuel and support goes through Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego to support the U.S. Navy, Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.

The military construction project was awarded to replace the fuel pier at NBPL with a new double deck concrete fuel pier. The initial phase of the project will include the construction of mammal pens to protect the impacted wildlife that live at the site. Demolition, dredging and construction at the new site would occur simultaneously and commence in 2013 and conclude in 2017, according to the executive summary of the incidental harassment authorization application submitted by the Navy to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The purpose of the project is to replace the existing fuel pier at NBPL as it is aging, seismically deficient, and becoming increasingly obsolete,” DLA Installation Support for Energy Site Director Norman Stiegler said.

The current pier, which was built in 1907, is exposed to the elements, and saltwater takes a toll on the piping. It does not have secondary containment so any leaks that may occur could go directly into the ocean, explained DLA Energy Americas at San Pedro, Calif. Commander Air Force Maj. Todd Morin.

The new structure, measuring 1,100 feet by 50 feet, would be constructed to fuel existing and future classes of naval vessels and meet current California State Lands Commission and Marine Oil Terminal Engineering and Maintenance Standards requirements, Stiegler explained.

“[The new pier] would also meet projected Navy and Coast Guard ship fueling requirements and enable the Navy and Department of Homeland Security to meet their national security and defense missions through improved safety features and fuel reception, and also delivery capability,” Stiegler added.

The existing facility serves as a fuel depot for loading and unloading tankers as well as servicing underway replenishment vessels used to refuel U.S. naval ships, other DoD, DHS and foreign navy vessels at sea.

“Once the new pier is complete it will be able to fuel two ships at once, where the current pier can only fuel one ship at a time,” Morin said. “Not only will this give DoD and DLA Energy increased capability, we will also have the ability to work on the piping system while providing secondary containment.”

The defense fuel support point stores in excess of 42 million gallons of fuel, according to Navy documentation. More than 11 million gallons of fuel are issued and received every month to an average of 43 ships, including those belonging to the Military Sealift Command, expeditionary warfare training groups, three carrier strike groups, NOAA, DHS, and foreign and small craft.

The original structure has its own place in history. In 1907, it was part of the newly established Navy Coaling Station, explained DFSP Point Loma Military Construction Project Coordinator Art Van Rooy.

“[The coaling station] provided coal to the ‘Great White Fleet’ that was sent around the world by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1908 when they were anchored off the coast of San Diego,” Van Rooy said.

By 1936, after the Navy’s conversion from coal to oil, the pier's primary mission shifted to providing fuel for the fleet, he added.

• Date Taken: 10.28.2013
• Date Posted: 11.15.2013 08:48
• Story ID: 116784
• Location: CA, US