CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Coast Guard captain of the port has begun opening certain waterways within the COTP zone, Thursday.

As of 2:15 p.m. the following ports and waterways are open:

Port of Brownsville: open with no restrictions.

Port of Corpus Christi: open with the following restrictions:

All vessels are restricted to a draft not to exceed 43-feet.
All foreign registered vessels 100 gross registered tons or larger, all domestic tank vessels 10,000 gross registered tons or larger and all domestic non-tank vessels 1,600 gross registered tons or larger must:

Conduct one-way transit only
Have a minimum of two pilots for each transit
Transit during daylight hours only

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway between mile marker 540 (Corpus Christi) east to mile marker 668 (Brownsville)

Mariners are advised that although some channel surveys have been conducted, the Coast Guard has not completed channel surveys in all inlets, harbors, and channels to confirm safe transit. Mariners are to proceed with caution as navigational aids may be missing or off station and debris, shoaling, and hazardous substances may be present. All other waterways of the COTP zone remains closed.

Mariners are reminded the Corpus Christi Inner Harbor security zone, 33 CFR 165.809, remains in effect during severe weather. Recreational, commercial fishing and passenger vessels are not permitted to enter the security zone without permission from the COTP. Vessels must have prearranged agreements to enter the Inner Harbor as a safe refuge.

“This was a total team effort between the Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Aransas Corpus Christi Pilots, Texas General Land Office and the Corpus Christi Port Commission. We completed a comprehensive assessment of the waterway, which required an exhaustive effort in eight days after the biggest storm to hit Texas in 12 years,” said Capt. Tony Hahn, captain of the port and incident commander of the unified command in Corpus Christi. “We sincerely appreciate the support and understanding of the Port of Corpus Christi Commission, mariners and industry as we ensure we did this right and quickly.”   back...