Port Houston facilities will resume operations on September 1, 2017 amid concerns of draft reduction caused by runoff from the floods of Hurricane Harvey.
Now Houston, Texas City, Galveston, and Freeport ports have partially reopened with specific restrictions on vessel sizes and traffic, the report says.
Local officials say three container ships are to call at container terminal Barbours Cut and one at container terminal Bayport, the report says. Houston calls were dropped by over a dozen container ships.
All these ports plus Corpus Christi, and Calhoun were closed by the US Coast Guard on August 29, 2017 due to dangerous winds.
But on September 30, 2017 the Coast Guard specified which vessels could visit the ports.
Sediment and silt within the floodwater runoff, which can decrease draft for vessels, had raised concerns for ships in the Houston Ship channel.
Higher currents from rivers and bayous are expected to make navigation difficult for some vessels.
Crewmembers aboard Coast Guard Cutter Harry Claiborne also inspected and repositioned buoys beset by Hurricane Harvey on September 31, 2017.
Kevin Oditt, Captain of Houston Port and Incident Commander for the Hurricane Harvey Response, said: “We have commenced efforts to assess the condition of the ports and waterways to reopen the ports of Houston, Texas City, Galveston, and Freeport when it is safe to do so.”
“While urban search and rescue remains our top priority, we understand the importance of reopening ports and waterways, which are vital to the flow of goods and services throughout our nation.”
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Source: Port Technology
