Vessel Fire Briefly Halts Traffic in Houston Ship Channel

zoomIllustration; Image Courtesy: Port of Houston Vessel traffic resumed in the Houston Ship Channel after it was shortly stopped due to a fire aboard the 19,508 dwt chemical tanker Jo Kiri yesterday, Reuters cited the United States Coast Guard. Houston Ship Channel was closed for an hour after the 2003-built vessel, owned by Jo Tankers AS, reported smoke in its engine room. After the fire-damaged tanker, which was blocking the traffic in the waterway, was moved to a berth, the traffic resumed at around 4 pm local time. Reuters said that no injuries were reported in the incident. According to AIS data provided by MarineTraffic, the 145-meter-long tanker is moored in Houston. At the time of the incident the vessel was on its way to Houstons Vopak terminal, VesselsValue data shows. World Maritime News Staff