In Port News 15/07/2016
Source: Platts
A stretch of the Houston Ship Channel reopened at 2:26 pm CDT (1926 GMT) Thursday after a benzene spill forced a two-hour closure, the US Coast Guard said in a statement.
Shortly after noon (1700 GMT) the US Coast Guard received word of the spill.
“The Maritime Jingan was moored up at the Vopak terminal and apparently there was some kind of leak,” USCG Chief Petty Officer 3rd Class Dustin Williams said. “About 500 gallons of benzene were spilled, but only about 50 gallons went into the water.”
Williams said the waterway was closed from the Lynchburg Ferry to Carpenter’s Bayou, a stretch of about half a mile.
“It was not a large area,” he said.
Along with the Coast Guard, the Harris County Hazardous Material Response Team went to the scene, and after a two-hour investigation, determined the there was no danger and the waterway reopened at 2:26 pm CDT.
“It was precautionary,” Williams said. “They are cleaning up what went into the water now.”
BENZENE PRICES UNAFFECTED
This incident had minimal impact on the US benzene market as prices were mainly reacting to crude movement amid quiet demand, sources said.
Benzene is a basic building block in the petrochemicals industry and the basis for all aromatic compounds. Benzene is used in the manufacture of styrene and phenol and some popular end products include styrofoam, toys, construction pipe, boats, tires, luggage, TNT, polyester and plastics.
Market participants expect prices to rise in the short term because of low imports from Asia to the US, which is net short production and depends on imports from other regions to satisfy the deficit.
However, benzene feedstock inventories are ample and could curtail some of the upward movement in the short-term, sources said.
S&P Global Platts assessed July pricing 2 cents higher Thursday at $2.26/gal FOB US Gulf Coast.
The suspension of ship movements in the Houston Ship Channel impacts the delivery and loading schedules of crude, petroleum and petrochemical products. The 52-mile ship channel provides access from the Gulf of Mexico through Galveston Bay to various ports in Houston and other cities in the area that have many industrial facilities, including refineries, petrochemical plants and steel and metal facilities.
Source: Platts
