Tankers Stack Up in Port of Houston in Wake of Weekend Oil Spill

Vesseltracker provides real-time view of marine traffic in Houston Ship Channel and all major marine shipping ports across the globe

On Tuesday, March 25th, nearly 30 oil and chemical tankers remain moored in the Port of Houston this morning, some three days after an oil spill closed all marine traffic through the Houston Ship Channel, according to data from Vesseltracker, a Genscape company.            

In addition, three tankers are approaching the port, and 30 more are expected today and tomorrow, according to the Vesseltracker data.

Authorities hope to reopen the channel sometime today, according to several media reports. As much as 170,000 gallons of heavy oil spilled into the Ship Channel on Saturday after a collision between a ship and a barge owned by Kirby Inland Marine, causing the barge to rupture and leak the oil.

If the channel reopens today, as authorities hope, little impact to the refining industry is expected. Refineries had ample crude supplies to last through the closure, and refinery runs were not expected to be affected, according to Jerry Patterson, commissioner of the Texas General Land Office.

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