"The port is closed and we're here with a skeleton crew," says James Thompson, chief of police with the Port of Galveston. "We'll stay here as long as we can, but if it looks like we'll end up under water, we'll have to leave." The "we," he tells GlobeSt.com, are him and his handful of police officers.

A source with the Port of Houston Authority tells GlobeSt.com that all personnel were "released by the directors as of about 5:00 p.m. [CST] Wednesday night. The employees won't return to work until Monday, depending on conditions." He adds all cargo and ships have been secured as well, with plans for telephone calls and queries possibly being routed through the port's New York City branch office.

In the meantime, maritime traffic in general, in the channels has all but halted. "At this point, all pilots and ship traffic have stopped moving," says Petty Officer Andrew Kendrick with the US Coast Guard at Air Station Houston, which oversees the Houston and Galveston ports. "I've just spoken with pilots from a couple of other agencies and they told me they shut down operations. They're not bringing tankers through here at this time."

Kendrick tells GlobeSt.com that both ports are required to follow specific procedures in the event of a hurricane or other severe storm--and so far, both have adhered to the plans. In the meantime, the shipping channels won't be shut down or cleared out 100% until 12 hours before the hurricane is anticipated to hit. "That would be the technical closure of all channels as far as ceasing all operations," he explains.

"We have a minimal staff on hand, but we'll be flying out of the storm's path within the next couple of days," Kendrick says. "As soon as the hurricane has passed, we'll fly back in. If any rescues need to be done, we'll be on hand to do them."

Instant Insights /

GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Ports Batten Down Hatches for Approaching Storm

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