The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday approved plans by JAX LNG LLC to operate a second waterfront liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Florida to conduct ship-to-ship bunkering operations beginning next year.

The dockside facility is expected to be completed before the end of this year, according to JAX. The joint venture (JV) was formed in 2015 between Pivotal LNG, a unit of Southern Company Gas, and NorthStar Midstream LLC, which is backed by private equity Oaktree Capital Management LP and Clean Marine Energy LLC.

The second letter of acceptance by the Coast Guard, includes approval to conduct ship-to-ship bunkering operations with JAX partner TOTE Maritime, which operates Marlin Class ships and an LNG barge from the Port of Jacksonville.

The action also reinforces JAX’s ongoing focus on Florida, and particularly Jacksonville, to produce, terminal, store, fuel and ship small quantities of LNG.

The receipt of a second LOA further shows confidence in the firm’s “rigorous operational risk analysis methodology,” said Pivotal LNG President Tim Hermann.

JAX supplies LNG dual-fuel container ships, the Isla Bella and Perla del Caribe, which are operated by TOTE’s Puerto Rico unit.

When it begins operations at the end of this year, the waterfront LNG facility is to have a marine docking and truck loading capability. Operated by Pivotal, initial liquefaction capacity is to be 120,000 gallons/day of LNG, with 2 million gallons of storage capacity.

Pivotal and the Southern Co. unit operate a network of LNG production facilities with the capacity to produce more than 554,000 gallons/day and the ability to storage more than 96 million gallons.

Last month Pivotal inked a multi-year contract to supply LNG to Crowley Maritime Corp. Under an existing contract, Crowley delivers LNG supplied by Pivotal to customers in Puerto Rico.