Port of Corpus Christi still under restrictions from Hurricane Harvey

The Texas Gulf Coast port sustained damage to all of its navigational aides, preventing vessels from sailing through the channel at night, according to local news outlet kristv.com.    The Port of Corpus Christi is still operating under restrictions nearly a month after Hurricane Harvey, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. 
   The port, along with the neighboring ports of Houston and Galveston, was closed for six days under port condition ZULU during and after Hurricane Harvey in August. 
   Current restrictions limit vessels sailing in the channel to those with a 43-ft draft, as opposed to the regular 45-ft draft requirement. Additionally, ships can only travel during daylight hours due to damage to the port’s buoys and aids to night navigation, according to local news outlet kristv.com.
   “The Port of Corpus Christi is a national strategic Port,” Sean Strawbridge, deputy executive director of the port said to local news source kristv.com. “We’re the largest Port for exports of U.S.-produced crude. We will be the largest Port primarily for U.S.-produced energy in the coming years. We’re also a strategic military Port. So it’s important that we’re open for safe passage of both our commercial customers and our military partners.
   “Almost all of our aids to navigation buoys were destroyed in Hurricane Harvey. Over a hundred aids to navigation were wiped out,” Strawbridge said. 
In addition to the buoy damage, port authorities are concerned about the channel floor, hence the draft restrictions.
   “A lot of the sholling happens in the outer harbor, near the Port Aransas area. That’s where we’re trying to knock down some of our sholling,” Strawbridge said. “We also had sholling here in the inner harbor, at some of the docks. So you’re seeing dredgers working around the clock to get the sholling knocked down, get the channel deepened to the authorized depth, and be able to have safe passage of vessels.”
   According to kristv.com, port officials hope the restrictions will be lifted by the end of this week, and expect to become 24-hour operational by next week.