HOUSTON (Reuters) – The port of Freeport in south Texas closed to inbound vessel traffic due to offshore conditions ahead of tropical storm Rafael, according to a notice from a shipping agency.
Rafael is forecast to be near hurricane intensity when it passes near or over the Cayman Islands by Tuesday night and tropical storm conditions are expected in lower and middle Florida Keys from Wednesday.
The US Coast Guard on Monday declared condition ‘whiskey’ at some ports in Florida including Tampa and St Petersburg, which means vessels must indicate location ahead of the storm and make preparations to dock or leave in the coming day, as gale force winds were expected within 72 hours.
Major energy companies said on Tuesday they are evacuating some oil production workers and securing offshore platforms as they prepare for the approach of tropical storm Rafael toward the Gulf of Mexico.
(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar and Marianna Parraga in Houston, Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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