HOUSTON, March 26 (Reuters) - More ships were waiting onWednesday morning to sail through the Houston Ship Channel asthe cleanup of a Saturday fuel oil spill in Galveston Baycontinued, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The total number of ships waiting to move through thechannel, the waterway through which more than a tenth of U.S.refining capacity receives crude oil, to the port of Houston hadrisen by 12 overnight to 87, the Coast Guard said.
To limit the spread of fuel oil floating in Galveston Bay,the Coast Guard stopped ship movements overnight when darknesswould prevent crews from seeing the thick, black substance inthe channel.
As of Wednesday morning, 51 ships were waiting to sail toHouston and 36 were waiting to sail outbound. Another threeships were waiting to sale to Texas City, Texas, whererefineries and petrochemical plants are also located.
Two ships were also waiting to leave Texas City.
Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Ryan Tippets said he didnot know if ships would be moving outbound with a limited numberallowed to go inbound on Wednesday as was the case Tuesday, thefirst day the channel was reopened following the spill.
The closure of the shipping channel forced the nation'ssecond-largest refinery, Exxon Mobil Corp.'s 560,500barrel per day (bpd) plant in Baytown, Texas on the east side ofHouston, to cut production.
Not all ships waiting to transit the channel are tankers,there are also container ships, bulk carriers and a few cruiseships.
Coast Guard Captain Brian Penoyer, commander of the cleanupoperation, has called the Saturday spill of 4,000 barrels or168,000 gallons (636,000 liters) of fuel oil "significant".
The Galveston Bay spill is far smaller than the 260,000barrels, or 11 million gallons, of crude oil that was releasedwhen the Exxon Valdez struck a reef in Prince William Sound in1989.
LIMITING OIL SLICK
The channel, as well as offshoots to Texas City and the portof Galveston, were shut on Saturday after a Kirby Inland Marine barge collided with a cargo ship and spilled the heavyfuel oil, which is primarily used as fuel for ships.
There were no injuries reported due to the collision.
The Coast Guard also reopened the Intracoastal Waterway onTuesday.
A total of 70 ships are involved in cleaning the fuel oilthat has spread across the southern portion of Galveston Bay andout into the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard was also preparingmeasures to prevent the spread of oil to Matagorda Bay furthersouth on the Texas Coast.
Vessels moving through the channel are required to move atvery slow speeds and stop at vessel inspection anddecontamination stations along the channel.
While known for its energy infrastructure, the bays alongthe Texas Gulf Coast are nesting areas for migratory birds thatmove south during the cold winter months.
As of Wednesday, a total of 16 oiled birds have beencaptured alive and another 20 dead birds have been recovered,according to U.S. and Texas wildlife agencies. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Sophie Hares)