Ship Channel
Waterways to Reopen after Rita
The U.S. Coast Guard announced that the Houston Ship Channel is open to vessels of less than 35 ft., daylight transit only. The Freeport Ship Channel is open to vessels of less than 40 ft. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is open for daylight transit from MM 317 to MM 242. The Neches River is open to daylight transit of tug and barge traffic from Beaumont to Sabine Pass. The Calcasieu River is open to daylight transit of tug and barge traffic from the I-10 Bridge to Cameron. A press release states that the daylight only restriction on the Houston Ship Channel has been lifted.
Traffic Continues Transits in Calcasieu Channel
In the Calcasieu Ship Channel, six vessels transited safely into the port and three are expected to transit outbound. The temporary Vessel Traffic Service staffed by Coast Guard personnel and industry stakeholders will control these movements. Contingency operational plans have been devised, as well as equipment and temporary dams placed in at risks areas, in the event of heavy rainfall in the area to counter any problems that may arise from such an event.
Houston Ship Channel Re-opens
An evacuation alert was rescinded Wednesday afternoon for a one-mile ring around a Rohm and Haas Co. chemical plant near Houston after a dangerously overheated tank of highly flammable acrylic acid was cooled by firefighters, the company said. A mile-long stretch of the Houston Ship Channel, which had been closed as a precaution on Wednesday morning, was reopened at about 6:00 p.m. local time. It was the second evacuation along the row of refineries and plants near Houston in three days
Houston Ship Channel Closed Due To Sunken Tugboat
A mile-long stretch of the Houston Ship Channel was closed to through traffic on Tuesday because of a sunken tugboat, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The channel, one of the nation's main shipping routes for oil and petrochemical products, was closed near the Washburn Tunnel after the 77-foot-long tugboat Vecturian sank, said Coast Guard Lt. Robert Schoen. Schoen said the cause of the accident was not yet known, but that the vessel, owned by Capital Towing, was slowly leaking the 25
T&T Bisso Refloats Sunken Tug
T&T Bisso refloated a tugboat that sank in the Houston Ship Channel. The company used the C/B Curtis T to prepare the sunken tug for lifting after its dive team recovered the body of a missing crewmember onboard the vessel. The vessel then was lifted to the surface by a derrick barge and dewatered. The 56-ft tug sank with five people aboard near the Sims Bayou turning basin. The other four crewmembers were rescued by nearby refinery workers.
Collision Closes Houston Ship Channel
A chemical tanker collided with a moored barge near the San Jacinto Monument at approximately 9 p.m. today. The Captain of the Port Houston/Galveston closed the ship channel at 11 p.m. from San Jacinto Port Dock 4 to Light 133 due to oil spilled from the collision. The tanker Ievoli Splendor, a 544-foot chemical tanker, was mooring up at the Vopak Terminal in Deer Park, Texas, when the collision with the Kirby Marine barge happened causing a spill of heavy grade fuel oil C5.
Coast Guard Helping Stuck Ship Back into Shipping Channel
Coast Guard crews are working to get a freighter ship unstuck after it lost power and ran aground near the central span of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The bridge was shut down in both directions this morning as a precaution, snarling rush hour traffic. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the freighter lost power after passing through the central span of the bridge. The pilot of the vessel ran it into a sandbar so it wouldn’t drift near the bridge.
Unified Command Established to Oversee Oil Spill
An oil spill is contained June 21, near a crude oil tanker at the Clifton Ridge terminal along the Calcasieu River. The cause of the spill is under investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard and CITGO Petroleum Corporation. Coast Guard Photo The CITGO Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex, the Coast Guard and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office have established a Unified Command to manage the clean up and recovery of the oil spill in the Calcasieu Ship Channel near Lake Charles.
Adm. Allen Observes Chemical Carrier Inspection
Adm. Thad Allen, Commandant of the Coast Guard, listens to Lt. Cliff Harder during a safety inspection of a chemical carrier docked in the Houston Ship Channel here Monday, June 4, 2007. Allen visited Houston to speak with Coast Guard members and shipping industry personnel about the service's role in maritime safety. U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Eggers
Houston Ship Channel Closed By Beef Fat Spill
According to a report from Dow Jones Newswires, the northern end of the Houston Ship Channel was closed Jan. 4 after some 15,000 gallons of beef fat spilled into the waterway from a ruptured storage tank. In all, about 250,000 gallons of beef tallow spilled from a land-based tank owned by privately held agricultural product firm Jacob Stern and Sons Inc. The 15,000 gallons of fat that reached the waterway did so via storm drains.
New Fireboats Headed to Houston
A two-week voyage through four Great Lakes and the Mississippi River will bring to the Port of Houston Authority the first of three high-performance fireboats to replace the current fleet. "As the nation's busiest port in terms of foreign tonnage and home to one of the world's largest
Houston Ship Channel Expansion Planned
Kinder Morgan announces land purchase, plans to construct dock and expand terminal capacity on Houston Ship Channel. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners say they will invest $106 million to purchase approximately 20 acres adjacent to its Pasadena, Texas, terminal
Orion Announces $9 Million Contract
Orion Marine Group, Inc., a heavy civil marine contractor serving the infrastructure sector, announced a contract award of approximately $9 million. Orion Marine Group was recently awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge approximately two million cubic yards of material
Coast Guard Responds to Mobile, AL Barge Explosion
The Coast Guard is responding to a report of a barge explosion on the ship channel in Mobile Bay Wednesday. Coast Guard Sector Mobile watchstanders received the initial notification at 8:40 p.m. reporting the barge explosion between the George Wallace Tunnel and the Bankhead Tunnel in
Emrise Receives $1 Million Radio Frequency Systems Order
Emrise Corporation said it has received a $1 million (USD) order for radio frequency (RF) systems from a major international marine services supplier of electronic systems for identifying and marking marine shipping channels and marine hazards
Mariner Chosen by Port of Galveston
The Mariner Group has been chosen to supply CommandBridge™ as the cornerstone of its Maritime Command and Control & Situational Awareness project. Galveston will deploy CommandBridge, the industry-leading situation management and response platform
Port of Galveston Selects Mariner for Security and Operations Project
The Mariner Group, LLC announced that the Port of Galveston selected CommandBridge as the cornerstone of its Maritime Command and Control and Situational Awareness project. Galveston will deploy CommandBridge, the situation management and response platform
Port of Houston Commissioners Approves Dredging Agreements
The Port Commission approved U.S. Army Corps of Engineers MOA’s for Maintenance Dredging at Barbours Cut and Bayport. Two Memoranda of Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for maintenance dredging were approved by the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority at
Port of Cleveland to Address Critical Problems
The Port is leading critical intitiatives for river renewal and infrastructure improvements. In cooperation with the City of Cleveland, the Port is taking a lead role in solving a set of connected and critical environmental and infrastructure problems on the river that have vexed the
US$44-million Houston Ship Channel Expansion Planned
Houston-based Oiltanking Partners LP to expand its terminal on the Houston Ship Channel to meet demand to export liquefied petroleum gas. Expansion plans include a new vessel dock and upgrades to existing ones and should be completed by the end of 2014
Management Changes at Resource Power Group
The Resource Power Group appointed Chimas Sylve as Spare Parts Coordinator at its new Deer Park facility near the Houston Ship Channel. “Chimas brings with him knowledge of not only the MaK engine line, but also MaK gas engines as well as the entire Caterpillar engine line
US LNG Exports: Pangea Project Gets Green Light
US Department of Energy grants Pangea LNG Project permission to export LNG from its South Texas LNG Project, Corpus Christi Bay. The U.S. Department of Energy has granted Pangea long-term, multi-contract authorization to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to free trade agreement (FTA) nations.
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Net Arthur Kill Contract
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) contract is for deepening NY/NJ Arthur Kill Channel to 50 feet. The contract area for this project is along Newark Bay, New Jersey and the Arthur Kill, Borough of Staten Island, New York, N.Y. Its value is $41,368,100
Port of Houston: First Female Chairman Convenes Meeting
First female Chairman, two new Port Commissioners, to release Port Industry Capital Investment Survey at the meeting. During the commission meeting, results of a major survey on capital and maintenance investments made by manufacturers for infrastructure along the Houston Ship Channel will
Mobile App Boosts Navigation Safety
Conrad Blucher Institute Develops Mobile App to Increase Navigational Safety along Nation’s Second-Largest Port. Researchers have designed and are implementing a new mobile application to provide ship captains and pilots with real-time predictions of ocean water levels and currents