Notice

Port of Houston

July 10, 2024

Notices

The Captain of the Port (COTP) Houston-Galveston has set Port Condition Recovery, effective 1000 on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, for the ports of Houston, Texas City, Galveston, and Freeport, and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from the Colorado Locks going east to High Island Bridge. The COTP is working with coordinating agencies to deploy survey vessels to verify the condition of the waterways. Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) currently has degraded communications at 3 of 5 sites, AIS (all off line, back-up only online), and NO radar capability. To initiate a phased opening of the ports and waterways listed below, the following conditions are set:

  • The Ports of Galveston and Texas City are open to commercial vessels with a draft restriction of 30 feet or less.
  • The Port of Houston is open to commercial vessels with a draft restriction of 35 feet or less.
  • The Galveston Bay Entrance Channel is open to commercial vessels for daylight transits only.
  • The Houston Ship Channel from Lighted Buoy 18 to Lynchburg is open to commercial vessels for daylight transits only.
  • Nighttime shifts of commercial vessels within the Ports of Houston, Galveston and Texas City are authorized.
  • The Port of Freeport is open to commercial vessels with a draft restriction of 36 feet or less. Arrivals and Departures of Piloted vessels are restricted to daylight only.
  • The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from the Colorado Locks going east to Brazos Locks is closed to vessel traffic.
  • The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from Brazos Locks going east to High Island Bridge is open to commercial vessel traffic.
  • The upper Houston Ship Channel from Buffalo Bayou turning basin to Lynchburg is open for barge traffic one way only inbound during the time of 0600 to 1200 and 1800 to midnight with normal VTS check-in.
  • The upper Houston Ship Channel from Buffalo Bayou turning basin to Lynchburg is open for barge traffic one way only outbound during the times of 1200 to 1800 and midnight to 0600 with normal VTS check-in.
  • The upper Houston Ship Channel from Lynchburg to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is open for barge traffic during daylight only.
  • Barge fleeting and Light Boat operations are authorized to resume normal operations.
  • Facilities may receive vessels at berth and/or commence over water cargo operations if not listed on the Sector Houston-Galveston Homeport Facility Inspections Assessment Summary.
  • VTS Houston-Galveston will continue to meter traffic within the VTS area until VTS primary equipment is returned to normal operations, and throughout continued port assessments and recovery.
The COTP Houston-Galveston continues to work closely with coordinating agencies to include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fully reopen the ports and waterways listed above. Additional updates to this MSIB will be published during this phased reopening of the COTP zone.
 
This MSIB supersedes MSIB 21-24. Additional guidance regarding Hurricane Beryl will be issued in the form of further Marine Safety Information Bulletins, Broadcast Notice to Mariners or other forms as necessary.  Please contact the Sector Houston-Galveston Command Duty Officer at (866) 539-8114 if you have any questions or comments. This bulletin shall remain active until cancelled or superseded by future bulletin. 
 
Keith M. Donohue
Captain, United States Coast Guard
Captain of the Port

Attachments

  • MSIB_22-24_Port_Recovery_Hurricane_Beryl.pdf(234 KB )

Disclaimer: For quality assurance purposes please note well that while the information contained in this website is regularly vetted for accuracy it is not intended to replace the local knowledge or expertise pertaining to port conditions of our marine operations personnel.

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