Ports in Texas limit activity amid cold weather

By Arathy Somasekhar

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Port Freeport on Tuesday said it expects limited vessel activity while Port Houston said all of its public facilities will remain closed through Wednesday as winter storm Enzo sweeps through Texas.

The rare winter storm churned across the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday, bringing heavy snow, ice and wind gusts to a region where flurries are unusual, while much of the United States remained in a deep freeze.

All of Port Houston's eight public facilities will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, the port said on Tuesday, adding that vessel operations will potentially be resumed at container terminals on Wednesday evening, if conditions allow.

Outbound vessels, excluding very large crude carriers (VLCC), at the Port of Corpus Christi started moving around noon on Tuesday after closing on Monday evening, a notice from a shipping agent showed. Inbound vessels, excluding VLCCs, were expected to resume later on Tuesday.

The Port of Corpus Christi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some groups of pilots, who assist in moving vessels around ports, also halted operations on Monday as offshore conditions worsened.

Still, the impact of the storm on oil and gas operations remained limited in Texas on Tuesday, with minimum interruptions in gas flows, few power outages and plenty of gasoline inventories at the pump, as many roads and highways remained closed.

(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Andrea Ricci)