Houston: Traffic on the Houston Ship Channel could be fully resumed by Thursday, Port of Houston Authority officials said on Wednesday afternoon.
A four-mile stretch of the Channel, one of the world’s busiest waterways, has been shut since Monday after a chemical spillage following the collision of a tanker and a bulk carrier. On Wednesday afternoon around 70 vessels were still stranded in the Channel.
On Monday the Danish-flagged tanker Carla Maersk (44,999 dwt, built 1999) collided with Liberian carrier Conti Peridot (57,001 dwt, built 2011) causing the release of fuel additive MTBE from ruptured tanks of the Carla Maersk.
Although the volume of the MTBE spill is not known, air and water tests revealed no public health or environmental concerns.
The Conti Peridot was removed from the scene on Tuesday but the US Coast Guard was still working on Wednesday to remove the Carla Maersk.
Delays affecting crude deliveries over the past few days caused Exxon to cut production rates at its nearby Baytown refinery on Wednesday.
