| The US Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston’s Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) held a Port Coordination Team (PCT) conference call this morning at 0900 hours to update all concerned about the situation with the dense fog and its effects on vessel/ship traffic in Houston Galveston Sector. Your WGMA Maritime Affairs team participated on the call and has the following report for our membership:
National Weather Service:
· Effecting Galveston Bay, Matagorda Bay and nearshore Gulf waters with marine visibility being 1/4 to 1 nautical mile for next 24 hours and zero visibility off of Morgan’s Point area.
· Water temperature currently (62° Beaches & 64° Upper Bay throughout the weekend).
· Daytime visibility a possibility in the bay, however, a shorter window is to be expected after 2PM-3PM today.
· Redevelopment again this evening going into over night hours.
· Weak front penciled in for this Sunday night with 20-25 knot winds expected into Monday.
Other Weather Commentary:
We’re seeing additional areas of patchy fog this morning, due to warm air moving over coastal waters and this pattern is likely to continue through at least Sunday morning. Once the fog dissipates Sunday night into Monday morning, we’ll experience mostly sunny skies as cooler temperatures approaches highs in the 50’s.
Vessel Traffic Service:
1- Tow vessels to maintain 2000 yards of separation with other tow vessels while transiting between Lynchburg and Morgan’s Point.
2- Tow vessels to maintain 2000 yards of separation with other tow vessels while transiting in the intracoastal waterway between Mile Marker 345 and Mile Marker 355.
3- Tow vessels to maintain 2000 yards of separation with other tow vessels while transiting between the intracoastal waterway and Morgan’s Point.
4- Check in’s to be based on overall user saturation throughout the Vessel Traffic Service Area and may be delayed. Mariners should anticipate delays in movement and keep their radios tuned to VHF Ch 05A for available check in periods. Vessels should be ready to move within 15 minutes of checking in to avoid delays and/or potential revocation of movement check in.
Various industry representatives discussed their priorities; little was noted.
Port Houston:
Priorities provided to VTS by email
Port Freeport:
No priorities mentioned
Port of Galveston:
Cruise ships & Ro/Ro’s vessels
Port of Texas City:
ATB Liberty
Brazos Pilots:
· Back to normal operations
Galveston-Texas City Pilots:
· 3 inbound
· 1 outbound
Houston Pilots:
· 16 sailings will start at 10AM
· 43 arrivals
VTS Port Arthur: Outbounds where cleared yesterday with focus on inbound today.
Harbor tugs: 21 in Houston, 6 in Galveston & 6 in Freeport
Standing by for operations to start when conditions permit.
Another PCT conference call has been scheduled for 0900 hours on Friday, December 26th, to provide updates on this situation. Your WGMA Maritime Affairs team will participate on tomorrow’s call and report to our membership. |
