Houston Ship Channel blocked by fire-damaged ship, awaiting tow (updated)

Stolt-Nielsen

05/12/2016 22:03

(Adds details on ship, no company spokesman available, possible 
impact of blockage) 
    HOUSTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The Houston Ship Channel, which 
links the busiest U.S. petrochemical port to the Gulf of Mexico, 
was blocked on Monday afternoon by a fire-damaged ship, the U.S. 
Coast Guard said. 
    The Jo Kiri, a small tanker, was headed north along the 
waterway and near Eagle Point when it reported smoke in the 
engine room, the Coast Guard said. The fire was out as of 1450 
CST (2050 GMT), and the ship was waiting to be towed to the 
nearest berth. There was no estimate of when the ship would be 
moved. 
    The Jo Kiri, which usually carries petrochemicals, was 
headed to the Vo Pak terminal in the northern section of the 
channel, according to Reuters vessel tracking data.  
    The Jo Kiri is operated by privately held Jo Tankers AS, 
which was acquired by Stolt-Nielsen Ltd  SNI.OL  in November.  
    A spokesman for Stolt-Nielsen was not available to discuss 
the fire. 
    While the channel is blocked, five refineries in the Houston 
metropolitan area, with a combined crude intake equal to 7 
percent of U.S. refining capacity, will not be able to receive 
crude oil from tankers, though they are also supplied through an 
extensive pipeline network. 
    The three refineries in Texas City, Texas, with a combined 
crude oil refining capacity equal to 4 percent of the national 
total, are located south of the blocked section of the channel 
and tankers can still reach those plants. 
    Most refineries can run several days with crude oil in 
storage before production must be curtailed.  
 
 (Reporting by Liz Hampton, Marianna Parraga and Erwin Seba; 
Editing by Leslie Adler) 
 ((erwin.seba@thomsonreuters.com; +1-713-210-8508; Reuters 
Messaging: erwin.seba.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: TRANSPORT SHIPPING/HOUSTON CHANNEL