The captain of the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas has decided to reopen the facility after a deadly explosion and subsequent fire at a ruptured propane pipeline last week. However, some restrictions apply for vessels passing through the Corpus Christi ship channel from the Chemical basin to the Viola basin.
The incident occurred after a dredging barge struck a submerged propane pipeline on August 21. The port authority closed sections of the port immediately which disrupted shipping traffic at an essential outlet for exporting US crude oil and other commodities.
Recovery operations for the sunk dredging vessel began on Sunday. The Coast Guard has recovered four bodies of crew members, the Corpus Christi fire department said. Meanwhile, six other crew members were hospitalized last week. Meanwhile, cleanup operations had managed to remove 38 barrels of diesel from the water as of Monday.
Enterprise Products Partners, the operator of the pipeline, last week said it initiated emergency response plans immediately after the incident and has isolated the affected portion of the pipeline. The company has not determined when it will restart the pipeline operation.
