Dozens of Ships Backed Up in Houston Ship Channel

HOUSTON (AP) _ It will take three days to clear a traffic jam of four dozen ships that are waiting for the Houston Ship Channel to reopen.

Crews are working to dismantle and haul away a damaged electric tower leaning over the crucial waterway, and Coast Guard Petty Officer Richard Brahm says the channel is expected to open late Tuesday.

Brahm says “Big John,” one of the largest cranes in the country, is holding the tower while CenterPoint Energy cuts 14 power lines. Meanwhile, 48 ships are waiting to cross the four-mile channel stretch closed early Sunday when a tug pushing three barges hit the tower.

The channel is the main artery serving the Port of Houston, which leads the nation in foreign waterborne tonnage and imports and ranks second in U.S. export tonnage and total tonnage.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

More News