Coast Guard Reopens Calcasieu Channel After Pipeline Rupture

The U.S. Coast Guard said it reopened the Calcasieu Ship Channel near Cameron, La., to all traffic Friday after a ruptured pipeline forced the channel's closure days earlier.

An offshore natural gas pipeline owned by Enbridge Inc. (ENB) ruptured late Wednesday during a dredging operation in the ship channel. No pollution has yet been observed, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The channel, which provides access to the port of Lake Charles, La., and its refineries from the Gulf of Mexico, was closed to all ship traffic Wednesday night, but reopened to vessels with drafts of less than 32 feet early Thursday, the Coast Guard said.

"A dive team will be re-entering the channel during the next several days to assess the pipeline damage and to complete repairs," the Coast Guard said in a prepared statement.

The 13-mile pipeline is linked to an offshore platform owned by El Paso Corp.(EP). The line transports about 34 million cubic feet a day of natural gas, said Enbridge spokeswoman Terri Larson. The rupture was not expected to affect supply to Enbridge customers.

-By Ben Lefebvre, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9201; [e-mail]