Collision shuts Houston Ship Channel indefinitely

The Houston Ship Channel, the busiest U.S. petrochemical port, was shut indefinitely on Tuesday after two vessels collided in heavy fog, a Coast Guard spokesman said. There were no injuries or fires after a tanker and a cargo vessel collided at about 8 a.m. CST near the Texas City Dike, which is in the lower end of the channel between Galveston and Texas City. There were no oil or chemicals spilled during the collision on the 53-mile (85-km) waterway that routes vessels from the Gulf of Mexico to the huge complex of refineries in Houston and Texas City, a Coast Guard spokesman said.