Port Houston in Texas has resumed operations on Wednesday, July 10, after being shut down since Monday because of Hurricane Beryl.
Beryl was a Category 1 hurricane as it made landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast on Monday morning, July 8, but it became a tropical depression as it moved inland. As the storm barreled through, the region and the Houston area experienced sustained winds and heavy rain, according to the National Hurricane Center, causing power outages and localized flooding.
On Tuesday, July 9, Port Houston said it is offering extended gate hours for customers at the port’s container terminals. The port directed customers to watch the port’s notices and alerts for any updated container terminal gate hours for the rest of the week.
Port Houston wasn’t the only Texas port that had shut down because of Beryl. The ports at Galveston, Freeport and Corpus Christi had also closed, but they have all since reopened.
“In response to the impacts of Hurricane Beryl, the Port of Corpus Christi Authority has now fully transitioned to Post-Storm Recovery in accordance with the 2024 Hurricane Readiness Plan,” the Port of Corpus Christi said on July 8. Port personnel are continuing to assess impacts, although no significant impacts have been reported, the port continued.
U.S. Coast Guard officials confirmed the reopening of the ports of Houston, Texas City, Galveston and Freeport in a July 9 statement. The Coast Guard said it would be working with coordinating agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue to assess critical waterways.
“This is a positive step towards fully restoring a critical portion of the nation’s Marine Transportation System,” said Capt. Keith Donohue, Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston, in a release. “Our team will continue to work tirelessly to restore the unrestricted flow of commerce through the region.”
While the closure of the ports was one of the visible signs of Beryl’s effect across Texas, other transportation systems were also affected. Maersk said in a July 9 update that “a number of our Houston-based facilities and teams have been impacted by power loss,” although teams located elswhere across the U.S. and Canada would be ready to help customers. Maersk’s local trucking operations facilities were also without power, but they should resume operations as the Houston terminal gates open, according to the company’s announcement.
U.S. Class I railroad BNSF said on July 9 that its Pearland Intermodal Facility in Houston is now open after being closed due to the hurricane. While the facility is now open for ingates and pickups, with operations teams working through storm-related backups, “customers should expect lingering delays to traffic flow in this region as recovery efforts are ongoing.” Conditions and fluidity should improve throughout the day, BNSF said.
