Nicholas has caused less lasting damage than Ida, which halved US Gulf Coast fuel oil production last week.
Tropical storm Nicholas hit Houston and other Texan ports without wreaking too much havoc this week. Port authorities and energy suppliers had shut down infrastructure across the Texan coast as they braced for the incoming storm, but the impact was far less severe than when the considerably more powerful Hurricane Ida lashed Louisiana and ports along the Lower Mississippi River two weeks earlier.
Houston Ship Channel reopened on 17 September, under two days after it was shut to vessel traffic in both directions. 20 inbound and seven outbound vessels were waiting to pass through the channel at the time it reopened. Pilots have been working to clear that queue over the past two days.
The ports of Houston, Galveston and Texas City were quick to normalise terminal operations and pilot services for ships working cargo or bunkering. Some bunker suppliers in the Houston area have either low fuel availability or tight delivery schedules for certain dates. Two suppliers are unable to offer VLSFO and LSMGO for dates early next week, while at least four other suppliers can for those dates.
Corpus Christi suspended port operations, but was not directly hit as Nicholas veered to the east before making landfall further up the Texan coast, closer to Freeport. Crude exports have resumed from Corpus Christi’s terminals – some of the country’s biggest.