USCG may reopen shut Louisiana channel to barge traffic Thursday

USCG may reopen shut Louisiana channel to barge traffic Thursday

Houston (Platts)--29Jun2006

The Coast Guard might reopen the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Lake Charles,
Louisiana, to limited tug and barge traffic as early as Thursday afternoon,
said USCG spokesman Chief Warrant Officer Adam Wine.

A test barge will be running through the closed 11-mile portion of the
channel around 10:30 a.m. CDT Thursday morning to assess how the wake of a
barge will impact ongoing clean-up operations of a 17,000 barrel oil spill in
the waterway, said Wine.

If that test is successful, the agency will reopen the channel to limited
tug and barge traffic for daylight transit only.

Also, the Coast Guard may run a deep-draft test Friday morning if the
test barge run goes well, said Wine, and vessel traffic could reopen as early
as Friday afternoon with restrictions given the results of this test.

Deep-drafts vessels would likely be restricted to daylight transit only
and no passing in the safety zone.

Wine also noted that the priority queue for barges and larger vessels
waiting to exit or enter the ship channel has already been set.

On June 21, the Coast Guard closed a three-mile portion of the ship
channel, which connects the Port of Lake Charles to the Gulf of Mexico,
following a leak from a wastewater tank near Citgo's Lake Charles refinery.
The closure was extended to a 22-mile stretch of the waterway Saturday as a
"sheen" was observed on the water.

Wednesday, the Coast Guard re-opened the channel south of the
Intracoastal Waterway to vessel traffic, including Calcasieu Lake.

Despite this partial re-opening, three refineries are still impacted by
the week-long waterway closure, delaying waterborne crude deliveries: Citgo's
429,500 b/d Lake Charles refinery, ConocoPhillips 239,000 b/d Westlake
refinery, and Calcasieu Refining's 85,000 b/d plant in Calcasieu, Louisiana.

The cause of the spill remains under investigation as of Wednesday, but
was likely caused by heavy rains and flooding.

--Suzanne LaFavers, suzanne_lafavers@platts.com

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