RPT-Fog closes Houston Ship Channel, stalls 20 vessels

(Repeating to attach story to alert)

HOUSTON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Fog has closed the Houston Ship Channel, including Galveston and Texas City, to oceangoing vessel traffic, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday.

Eleven vessels waited to come into the ports on Galveston Bay, while nine were awaiting passage outbound, and more than half of them were oil tankers, a spokesman said.

The Coast Guard said the pilot organizations serving Galveston Bay limited traffic starting Thursday. (Reporting by Bruce Nichols)