AmericasOperations

Collision causes temporary shutdown of Houston Ship Channel

Houston: A section of the Houston Ship Channel, one of the world’s busiest waterways, was shut temporarily on Thursday after a collision between a container ship and a tanker carrying lube oil.

The US Coast Guard reported no injuries and no pollution in the water after the incident in which the 892-foot container ship Monte Alegre (71,256 dwt, built 2008) and 445-foot tanker Chembulk Houston (16,922 dwt , built 2003) bumped near San Leon, about 15 miles up the channel from Galveston.

Traffic on the 50-mile channel linking Houston with the Gulf of Mexico was halted as a precaution soon after the collision which happened just before 2pm. The channel was reopened just before 3pm.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Dustin Williams said both ships were heading to their destinations up the channel, but no cause of the collision was known, although fog which had caused disruption in previous days was not a factor.

Donal Scully

With 28 years experience writing and editing for newspapers in the UK and Hong Kong, Donal is now based in California from where he covers the Americas for Splash as well as ensuring the site is loaded through the Western Hemisphere timezone.
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