Houston Pilots Clarify Rules on Hulls

Effective July 1, any wide-body vessel entering the Houston Ship Channel with a beam of 120 ft. or greater will be required to be double-hulled when sailing in darkness on the waterway and while in ballast. Three years ago when the Houston Pilots began sailing wide-body vessels at night, they required the vessels to be double-hulled. The industry requested and received a waiver for double-sided vessels with single bottoms. This waiver is scheduled to expire on July 1. The Houston Pilots, in collaboration with the oil tanker industry, agreed last year to allow larger vessels to begin transiting the Houston Ship Channel. The maximum allowable beam increased to 166 ft. (50.6 m) from 145 ft. (44.2 m) based on the industry's anticipation of larger vessels calling at Houston's port facilities. In addition, the pilots and the tanker industry agreed to require double hulls on all vessels with beams in excess of 145 feet.