USCG announced the reopeninp of the Houston Ship Channel, which links the busiest U.S. petrochemical port to the Gulf of Mexico, on December 5, after a fire-damaged ship blocking the waterway was moved to a berth, according to Reuters.
The tankerJo Kiri, which usually carries petrochemicals, was headed to the Vopak terminal in the northern section of the channel. Specifically, the tanker was headed north along the waterway and near Eagle Point when it reported smoke in the engine room, the Coast Guard said. The fire was out as of 1450 CST (2050 GMT), and the ship was waiting to be towed to the nearest berth. There was no estimate of when the ship would be moved.
The Channel was blocked and subsequently, five refineries in the Houston metropolitan area, with a combined crude intake equal to seven percent of U.S. refining capacity, were not able to receive crude oil from tankers, though they are also supplied through an extensive pipeline network.
