Port Celebrates Grand Opening of 3 Liquid Fertilizer Tanks

Take a little ammonium and sprinkle in some nitrates, and what you’ve got is a recipe for success.

At least that’s the hope of officials from the Oxnard Harbor District.

They joined about 50 city and county representatives and friends of the Port of Hueneme on Tuesday to officially open a new liquid fertilizer terminal that will be used to support the regional and statewide agriculture industry.

“My view is that the founding fathers of this port would be proud,” said Harbor Commission President Jess Herrera. “This is here for agriculture, and agriculture isn’t just a part of our [local] economy, it’s in the fabric of our lives.”

Three storage tanks on a 3-acre plot close to the harbor mouth will be able to store more than 9 million gallons of fertilizer.

The facility will be used by Hydro Agri North America and will serve as the company’s primary point of distribution to serve farms in Ventura County, the Central Valley, Arizona and Southern California.

The $3.8-million site was built and financed by the Tampa, Fla., company and is the capstone to a four-year project to increase the size and cargo-handling capabilities of the 60-year-old port.

Late last year, port officials opened a 25-acre storage terminal known as the International Agricultural Gateway, which expanded the port’s size by about half and significantly increased its cargo-handling capacity.

With it, district officials have been able to increase the number of cars and agricultural products streaming into and out of the port.

The gateway is little more than a huge parking lot used to store refrigerated fruit and vegetable containers as well as imported vehicles before they are shipped inland.

The opening of the liquid fertilizer terminal, which began operations late last year, is in keeping with their mission to create a niche berth and attract a broader range of clients, port officials said.

“It’s helped us diversify our holdings in the port, which in the end is going to keep us stronger,” Herrera said. “It’s these kinds of projects and these kinds of companies that are going to keep the port successful.”

In 1998, the port cleared more than 1 million tons of cargo--a first in its history--valued at more than $3.5 billion.

“I remember this place from a long time ago, and I don’t think any one could imagine, in those days, what this port would become,” Herrera said. “It’s a real feat for us.”