All pilot boardings were suspended Tuesday at the mouth of the Mississippi River due to deteriorating weather conditions resulting from a tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico, a dispatcher with the Bar Pilots Association confirmed.
What happened?
The last inbound vessel boarded by pilots came in at 10:45 am CST (03:45 GMT) and the last outbound vessel sailed shortly before that as Southwest Pass was closed to transits, the dispatcher said.
The inbound backlog consists of two vessels that are still at anchorage at 12:30 pm Tuesday.
As for an outlook on an improvement and resumed pilot boardings, the dispatcher said, “Mother Nature, she dictates it, I wouldn’t know.”
Lightering activity suspended:
Lightering activity at Southwest Pass was suspended at 6 am Tuesday and was expected to be halted until 6 am Friday, report says.
Galveston (Texas) Offshore Lightering Area operations were stopped at noon Tuesday and set to resume at 9 am Friday.
Lightering offshore Corpus Christi was expected to be suspended at 8 pm Tuesday and not set to resume until 8 am Friday.
Pascagoula, Mississippi, offshore lighterings were stopped at 12:01 am Tuesday with an expected restart at 6 pm on Thursday.
Storm watch initiated:
A tropical storm watch is in effect from San Luis Pass to High Island, Texas, where the storm is currently expected to make landfall Wednesday, report says. Storm surges, heavy rain and and gusty winds were expected.
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Source: Platts
