Houston Channel clears Ike ship backlog: pilots

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A backlog of at least 164 ships waiting to transit the Houston Ship Channel following the waterway's shutdown due to Hurricane Ike has been cleared, the Houston ship pilots association said on Monday.

The ship pilots have resumed their normal schedule of moving between 55 and 60 ships per day through the channel between the Gulf of Mexico and the busiest U.S. petrochemical port, said T.J. Nelson, business manager for the Houston Pilots.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba)