Gulf Coast waterways recovering after hurricanes

Gulf Coast waterways recovering after hurricanes

Now that Katrina and Rita have taken their toll, status of ports and waterways in hurricane affected areas of Louisiana and Texas are becoming known. Ports in Houston are back in business today, though with some limitations. Captain Michael A. Morris, the presiding officer of Houston Pilots, said that the Houston Pilots started inbound ship traffic beginning six o’clock this morning. “We are daylight restricted at the time in all of our transits, but we are hoping this restriction may be lifted soon. “Because so many of the offshore buoys are off position we will only accept those vessels with a draft of 34 feet of fresh water. We are comfortable with transits at this draft due in part to our carry-aboard naval systems. We are optimistic that this draft limitation will be lifted once pilots get a feel for what we have got.” The situation in the Lower Mississippi River, the waterway that serves the Port of New Orleans, is similar to that of the Houston ports. All vessels transiting the Lower Mississippi River south of mile marker 0.0 (Head of Passes) are restricted to daylight hours only. As of yesterday, however, the Captain of the Port of New Orleans had lifted all restrictions on the Lower Mississippi River above mile marker 0.0. All mariners have been advised to transit at their slowest safe speed near any salvage operations on the Lower Mississippi. Other Louisiana waterways are now open including the entire Port Allen Route, Baptiste Collette, Red River, and The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (from mile marker 20 eastward). Louisiana waterways and facilities that remain closed include the Calcasieu Ship Channel, the Motiva Refinery in Port Arthur, the Port Arthur Valero Refinery, the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, and the Industrial Canal. The closed waterways and refineries have been affected mostly by extensive flooding, structure damage, and/or downed power lines. It may be up to a month before certain facilities reopen.