Federal judge Silvia Carreño Coll has called an emergency hearing for Wednesday at 9:30 am over whether the dimensions of the AMUR River gas barge are safe for navigating San Juan Bay and docking at the New Fortress Energy (NFE) pier, the only one equipped to unload that fuel in the entire northern part of the island. The summons came after the gas company said the barge would return to the island Tuesday around 9:00 pm and renewed its request to be allowed into the bay to dock and unload.
The San Juan Bay Pilots Association, which handles vessel traffic in the bay, renewed its warning that the AMUR is larger than barges the company had been using, and that NFE has not specifically shown whether the vessel exceeds the pier's dimensions without blocking passage lanes for other ships. The shortage of this gas has led Genera PR to use diesel, currently the most expensive fuel for electricity generation.
In her Tuesday afternoon order, Carreño Coll said she was unclear whether Coast Guard documents submitted to her mean, as NFE claims, that the AMUR can transit safely. She therefore summoned NFEnergía personnel, an NFE subsidiary, with engineering knowledge of the pier, as well as the Coast Guard's Captain of the Port, who in January 2026 recommended that NFE vessels could transit the bay, but considering vessels smaller than the AMUR.