The US Coast Guard is working to set up a “locking system” in Houston Ship Channel areas where water was contaminated with significant amounts of benzene after a fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Co. tank farm and begin allowing ships out of Carpenters Bayou, the Old River and Jacinto Port, it said Friday. “There is still significant spillage in Jacinto Port, Carpenters Bayou and Old River,” the USCG Port Coordination Team (PCT) said on a conference call Friday. “Those areas remain boomed and all vessel traffic from/to those areas is currently restricted.” While a 34-feet fresh water draft limitation on a seven-mile contamination zone between Tucker’s Bayou and Light 116 was rescinded Wednesday, during the PCT call, it emerged no decontamination lay berth capable of taking a Suezmax vessel is currently available. The 157,850 DWT […]