Status report update after ITC Deer Park chemical fire

04 Apr 2019 / Houston, United States

Upper Houston Ship Channel remains open for "daylight vessel traffic traffic only" with ship traffic moves into the contaminated zone between 1800-0800 managed by VTS Houston/Galveston.

San Jacinto River is open to vessel traffic as managed by VTS Houston/Galveston.

Old River remains closed until further notice… …Decontamination sites are being established at the mouth of Old River with anticipation of taking on vessels as soon as possible. Recovery operations continue within this area.

Carpenter’s Bayou has an established decontamination site and is currently open to outbound traffic only once they have undergone decontamination…

…Visual assessments were completed of Jacintoport, Houston Fuel Oil docks and Vopak Deerpark to determine the impacts and future availability for vessels…

…The U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port is working in close coordination with EPA, TCEQ, Harris County, ITC, and the contracted toxicology companies to evaluate any resulting impacts to the Houston Ship Channel.

If at any time a safety risk to operations on the Houston Ship Channel becomes evident, the Captain of the Port will take action to ensure safety for port operations and mariners on the waterways. Facilities and employees should continue to follow any direction provided by the County officials.

(For information about operations in the United States contact GAC North America at [email protected])

Source: Extracts from Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston Marine Safety Information Bulletin 12-19 Daily Industry Situation Report issued 2 April 2019

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