Fog Halts Houston Ship Channel Traffic

Reuters reported that ships were halted from moving along the 53-mile (85.3 kilometer) Houston Ship Channel to the busiest U.S. petrochemical port on Thursday due to dense fog, said the U.S. Coast Guard. Ship pilots in Texas City, Texas, near the Gulf of Mexico entrance to the channel, and Houston stopped guiding vessels shortly after 1 a.m. CST (0700 GMT) after limited visibility made navigating the waterway unsafe, the Coast Guard said. No time has been set for resuming ship movement, according to the Houston ship pilots association. Tankers running through the channel supply crude oil to refineries in Houston and Texas City, which account for 11.8 percent of U.S. refining capacity. Source: Reuters