The Houston Ship Channel, which serves the largest U.S. petroleum port, reopened to oil tankers and other deep draft commercial ships this morning after a four-hour-long closure because of fog. The maritime pilots who guide vessels through the 54-mile long (87-kilometer) waterway resumed boardings at 8:35 a.m. local time, the U.S. Coast Guard said on its Web site. The channel runs north from the Gulf of Mexico to the Port of Houston.
Houston has the second-biggest port of any kind by tonnage. The area's eight refineries have a combined processing capacity of 2.22 million barrels a day, which represents 13 percent of the U.S. total, according to their owners and the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association.
It takes two to three days before a ship channel shutdown begins to affect refinery operations.
Houston has the second-biggest port of any kind by tonnage. The area's eight refineries have a combined processing capacity of 2.22 million barrels a day, which represents 13 percent of the U.S. total, according to their owners and the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association.
It takes two to three days before a ship channel shutdown begins to affect refinery operations.