Fernandina Port Approves Agreement to Bring Rocket Recovery Vessel to City Docks

By Mike Lednovich/Editor

FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — Fernandina Beach could soon become home port to a vessel that catches reusable rocket boosters at sea — but not the rockets themselves — after the Ocean Highway and Port Authority approved an agreement tied to aerospace company Relativity Space in a split 3–2 vote Wednesday.

The vote advances months of negotiations over an extended layberthing and handling agreement that could bring commercial space operations to the Port of Fernandina, along with technical jobs, new revenue and a new identity for a port historically associated with forest products, breakbulk cargo and shipping containers.

But despite concerns voiced by some commissioners about possible shipyard activity at the waterfront terminal, Relativity Space officials stressed that Fernandina would not become a rocket launch or refurbishment center.

Instead, the port would potentially serve as a long-term home base for a specialized maritime recovery vessel designed to catch reusable rocket boosters after launch missions.

“We want to come here and do business,” Relativity Space executive Matts Wilcoxen told commissioners. “We’ve looked all up and down the East Coast seaboard and it’s a great community and it’s a good place where people want to live. It’s a good place where we think we can do business and works well with our operations.”

Relativity Space is a private aerospace company headquartered in Long Beach, Ca., that is developing reusable rockets designed to launch satellites and other payloads into orbit, competing in the fast-growing commercial space industry alongside companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin.

The proposed agreement centers on “layberthing,” a maritime term for long-term docking in which a vessel remains berthed at a port between operations for maintenance, servicing and logistical support, rather than simply arriving to load cargo and depart.

Wilcoxen described the proposed operation as highly compatible with Fernandina’s port infrastructure, though he emphasized the company is still considering other locations.

“It’s not the only place,” he said. “We think this is a good program that’s very compatible with the opportunities here, and we want to work with you all.”

Relativity Space officials sought to directly address speculation that Fernandina Beach could become home to rockets or offshore launches.

“No boosters are going to come back here,” Wilcoxen said during the discussion.

Instead, reusable rocket boosters would land offshore on a specialized recovery vessel before being transported to Port Canaveral for refurbishment and reuse.

“For those of you who aren’t familiar, you might have watched SpaceX launches,” Wilcoxen explained. “The rocket takes off and deploys the payload in space, and then most of the rocket comes back and lands on the barge. Then that’ll all come back to Port Canaveral.”

Port Canaveral, however, is too congested to permanently berth the vessel, forcing the company to search for a long-term home elsewhere.

“Port Canaveral is very busy. We can’t home-port there,” Wilcoxen said. “So we’ll offload the rocket there to be refurbished and fly again, hopefully. Then that barge will come back up here.”

If finalized, Fernandina Beach would become the operational home for the vessel between missions — the place where crews live and work, maintenance occurs and launch recovery operations are coordinated.

Matts Wilcoxen

“This is where everybody works on that operation,” Wilcoxen said. “All of our recovery repairs, we’re kind of involved in that operation to begin servicing that.”

The company said the project would initially create about 12 operational jobs, eventually growing to 20 to 30 positions as launch cadence increases.

“Initially at least 12, and then that’s going to kind of jump up to 20, 30,” Wilcoxen said.

He said the operation would also bring engineers and technical workers from the company’s Cape Canaveral headquarters for weeks at a time to perform upgrades and support recovery operations.

“You’re also going to have a lot of transfer folks coming out from our headquarters in Canaveral,” Wilcoxen said. “You’re going to have a lot of engineers, a lot of other kinds of skills here.”

The vessel itself, he said, is not a launch platform, but a sophisticated recovery system.

“This vessel is basically a floating launch pad,” Wilcoxen said. “We’re not going to fly from it, but when we land a rocket on the ship, it’s a very advanced system.”

He added that if the company selects Fernandina Beach, it would represent a long-term commitment.

“Once we’re here, we’re committed,” Wilcoxen said. “It’s where people want to live and make a home and have a family, and that’s really exciting.”

Wilcoxen told commissioners the company is rapidly approaching launch operations and needs certainty on where employees and crews will be based.

“We’re coming up on first launch, and we’re getting ready to ship,” Wilcoxen said. “We’re testing here in the next week or two.”

At the same time, the company has begun hiring workers for the operation but has yet to tell them where they will ultimately live.

“The vessel is almost complete. It needs a home,” Wilcoxen said. “We need to tell these people, ‘Are you going to move to Florida? Are you going to move to South Carolina? Are you going to Georgia?’ Those are all questions we need to answer.”

Wilcoxen said Relativity has evaluated ports along the East Coast and views Fernandina as a strong fit but stressed that delays in reaching an agreement could affect the decision.

“We also, as a business, need some certainty for where we’re going to end up,” he said.

The proposal divided commissioners over economic development, transparency and concerns about the long-term industrial implications for the port.

OHPA Chair Ray Nelson expressed concern that extended layberthing agreements - the one approved is for 40 months - often evolve into shipyard-type operations and said he did not want Fernandina becoming a “part-time or full-time shipyard.” He also voiced concerns that OHPA should be approving a detailed formal contract instead of rushed agreement formed from combining two versions of a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

"We need to know how it (the agreement) is going to affect the Port Authority. If it's a good deal, I'm with you. If it's not, I'm not," Nelson told Relay Terminals President Ted McNair. "We need to take this and go over it with a fine-toothed comb. Because if we miss the bad stuff...it's on us."

Four commissioners signed non-disclosure agreements to review additional details of the proposal, while Nelson declined over transparency concerns involving Florida public records laws and public oversight.

Commissioner Miriam Hill objected to the board voting on a hurried, cobbled together agreement that was presented to OPHA at the 11th hour. She supported commissioners reviewing the document with Port Attorney Tammi Bach and then scheduling a vote.

Exactly what OHPA approved was muddied because of the document's title. It was labeled as a layberthing agreement but was crafted from MOUs.

Commissioner Justin Taylor argued the agreement represented a significant economic development opportunity for the port and warned delays could risk losing the project to another location.

"This is a business trying to come to the port and it's a great opportunity. It's going to bring jobs. It's going to bring improvement to the port and new revenue," Taylor said. "We got to make this decision, and we need to move forward."

Relay Terminals President Ted McNair said OHPA could expect $189,800 in revenue from the venture.

"That's the first time I've heard any amount," Nelson said.

Hill raised questions about revenue structures, oversight and long-term operational impacts. She supported reviewing the agreement in depth with Port Attorney Tammi Bach and voting at a later date.

Bach was adamant that OHPA delay accepting the agreement.

"The way that this is being done is not the right way. We don't have enough detail," Bach said. "The provisions of this MOU or agreement need to be done right."

McNair said negotiations have been underway since November and warned that additional delays could push the project to Charleston, South Carolina.

Commissioner Scott Moore favored approving the agreement from concerns that Relativity Space would choose another location.

"We've got a good agreement, but we're trying to get a great agreement. We're in serious jeopardy of the clock running out for the negotiations," Moore said. "That would be very unfortunate."

For decades, the Port of Fernandina has been associated with wood pulp, kraft linerboard, lumber and containerized shipping.

A partnership with Relativity Space would represent one of the most unconventional opportunities in the port’s modern history — tying Fernandina Beach to the fast-growing commercial space economy without rockets ever launching or being rebuilt here.

But questions remain about how frequently the vessel would operate, what dockside maintenance would occur and whether additional city approvals would be required.