Houston Ship Channel reopened after chemical tanker fire leads to 3 hour shutdown

21-Dec-15

The Houston Ship Channel was re-opened after a burning tanker prompted a nearly three-hour shutdown of a 2 mile long (3.2 km) section of the largest petrochemical port in the United States, as per Reuters. The fire was extinguished nearly 90 minutes after it started, but the channel remained closed for nearly another 90 minutes as firefighters monitored the air to ensure no toxic fumes lingered, Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Andrew Kendrick said. "Initially it was a big fire, but it came down pretty quickly," he said.