Houston Shipping Routes Remain Closed Due to Oil Spill

MARINE POLLUTION
MAJOR OIL SPILL
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The Houston Ship Channel remained closed on Sunday after a collision between an oil barge and a cargo ship, spilling about 640,000 liters (4,000 barrels) of heavy fuel oil.

The channel allows ships to sail from the Gulf Coast to inland terminals, accounting for up to 15 percent of crude delivery to the U.S. refineries.

Major oil spill  in the Houston Ship Channel March 22, 2014. Source: U.S. Coast Guard handout/via Reuters.

“A local official said the channel was expected to be shut well into Monday. The official asked not to be identified as the information had not yet been made public,” Reuters reported.

By late Sunday, nearly 90 ships were waiting either to depart or to enter the port of Houston and/or Texas City, said the report.

Among the ships affected by the channel closure was the cruise ship Carnival Magic.

Houston Related Links

• Hundreds of Children Hospitalized in Houston due to RSV January 10, 2014
• Global Disasters/ Significant Events – Nov. 22, 2013 November 22, 2013
• Severe Flooding Plagues Parts of Houston April 28, 2013
• Houston: A Nightmare of Lights  March 22, 2010
• Texas is Fracked ! August 19, 2013

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – Nov. 22, 2013

32 dead, dozens buried after Latvia mall collapse

At least 32 people have reportedly been killed and dozens more trapped in the rubble after the roof of a shopping mall collapsed in Riga, the Latvian capital.

More than 500 square meters of the roof collapsed at the ‘Maxima’ building in Riga in two separate stages, with the second collapse killing several rescue workers, according to reports.

“At least 70 people may still be trapped in the rubble, according to the latest data,” Riga’s mayor told reporters.

Large sections of the roof collapsed at Maxima shopping center on Priedaines Street in Riga. Photo credit:@SergioYurtaev)

Pipeline explodes killing 22 in E China

At least 22  people were killed after a leaky pipeline caught fire and exploded Friday morning in the coastal city of Qingdao in east China’s Shandong Province, officials said.

Original caption: Photo taken with a mobile phone shows the site of a pipeline explosion in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province, Nov. 22, 2013. A fire broke out and the blast occurred around 10 a.m. in the Huangdao District when workers were repairing a petroleum pipeline which broke and resulted in an oil leakage around 3 a.m. (Xinhua)

Fog stops ships on Houston Channel: U.S. Coast Guard

Sea fog reduced visibility to unsafe levels along the Houston Ship Channel, forcing vessel pilots to stop steering all ships early Friday (UTC), said the U.S. Coast Guard, Reuters reported.

Pilots stopped steering ships along the 53-mile (85-kilometer) channel from the Gulf of Mexico to the busiest U.S. petrochemical port, said the report.

High winds kill two, leave thousands without power in San Francisco area

“The Napa County Sheriff’s Office ordered an unknown number of people evacuated after a fallen power line sparked a wildfire that grew to between 100 and 200 acres, a dispatcher said,” Reuters reported.

There may have been some gusts in the 50- and 55-miles-per-hour range closer to the coast, but the very strongest winds, including one gust of 120 miles per hour, were in the high terrain of the Sierra Nevada,” said a meteorologist at NWS.

Dangerous Sierra Wind Storm Friday Night through Early Saturday

The National Weather Service (NWS)in Sacramento has issued a High Wind Warning: “Strong high pressure building into the Pacific Northwest
combined with a deep low pressure system off the southern California coast will bring strong east winds to the Sierra and Coastal Mountains … The strongest winds are expected Tonight.”

This post would be updated throughout the day, if additional information becomes available.