Texas ports, pilots suspend some operations as winter storm hits

By Arathy Somasekhar

(Reuters) – Texas ports and pilots who help move vessels around ports suspended some operations on Monday as cold weather conditions hit the state.

All of Port Houston’s eight public facilities will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 21, the port said, adding that ship operations were suspended Monday and the container terminal’s truck gates were closed as of Monday evening.

Brazos Santiago Pilots, which helps move ships to the ports of Brownsville and Port Isabel, Texas, was scheduled to halt ship movements just before midnight Monday as offshore conditions worsened, according to a release from a shipping company.

The Lake Charles pilots said they stopped operations Monday night and will reassess conditions Wednesday for resumption.

Brazos Santiago did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

A winter storm warning is in effect from Monday evening into Tuesday evening for parts of the US Gulf Coast, according to the National Weather Service, with as much as 4 inches to 6 inches of snow around the Houston area.

(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Writing by Liz Hampton in Denver; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Eileen Soreng)