High water levels on Mississippi River impede normal vessel traffic flow

HIGH water on the Mississippi River is continuing to impact the flow of vessels, while a flood warning remains in effect for river areas north of St Louis, Missouri, limiting the size of tows in New Orleans and making the unloading of import cargo a challenge on ships in affected areas.

The high water on the river, from rain and melted snow runoff, has also been worsened by the disruption from a mid-March fire at a vital storage facility in Houston, Texas, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide reports.



'The high water on the Mississippi and Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) on the Houston ship channel is making moves difficult,' said a fuel oil broker.



Sources in the Midwest said the impact of the high water on the Mississippi is expected to last until late May or even early June, as current weather has dumped a lot more snow in the upper midwest and is forecast to bring more rain across the Ohio river system over the weekend.



However, a Midwest-based industrial ethanol producer said that while the Mississippi is high, it is not high enough to cause severe disruptions on all barge traffic on the upper part of the river above St Louis.



Feedstock supply issues for two US phenol producers in the Midwest, AdvanSix and Altivia, are said to be improving.



The producers declared force majeure on phenol from midwestern plants in early March and late February owing to logistics problems impeding feedstock cumene shipments.


WORLD SHIPPING