Fuel dock in Huntington Harbour to reopen next year

Huntington Harbour boaters soon may not have travel miles to refuel.

The Huntington Beach City Council voted 6-0 on Monday night to buy and then sell the Mariners Point fuel dock at 15922 Pacific Coast Hwy. to Maxum Petroleum, one of the largest maritime diesel fuel suppliers on the West Coast. Councilman Billy O’Connell left the meeting before the vote.

The closed fueling station behind the Simple Green building could reopen in mid- to late-February, according to Charles McDaniel, president of Maxum, a division of Texas-based Pilot Thomas Logistics.

The council first agreed to buy the property from Center City Properties and Nahas Enterprises for $25,000 and sell it to Maxum for the same price.

The purchase agreement came after months of negotiations between the city and the dock’s operators, who closed the fueling operation Oct. 1.

McDaniel said his company will invest about $500,000 for cosmetic and other repairs in coming years.

“I think you’re going to be happy with the result,” he said.

The dock serves about 6,000 boaters in Huntington Harbour.

City officials had been talking with the dock operators since the summer in hopes of finding a new owner.

In August, City Manager Fred Wilson said he believed the operators were interested in selling, but negotiations fizzled and they closed the facility in October.

Boaters were left having to buy fuel from stations in Newport Beach or a dock in Long Beach.

Had the sale not gone through, Orange County officials were ready to set up a temporary fueling station at the Sunset Aquatic Marina, across the channel from Mariners Point, Huntington Beach Councilman Erik Peterson said.