Mexico's Gulf coast Cayo Arcas oil terminal remains shut today as tropical storm Franklin advances.
The storm was located 140km (87mi) northwest of Chetumal, Quintana Roo state, at 8am ET, with maximum sustained winds of 47 mph (75 km/h). It is expected to cause torrential rain and sea swells of up to 4m in the southern states of Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo, according to Mexico's national weather service.
The terminal was closed beginning at 3am ET today, while passenger and commercial ports of Puerto Morelos and Isla del Carmen were closed at 8am ET yesterday, according to information from Mexico's navy meteorological service.
No other ports have been closed to large vessels at this time.
State-owned Pemex operates the Cayo Arcas terminal, the largest crude oil export terminal in Mexico, exporting 12.4mn t of crude in the first six months of the year, according to the latest government data.
This is the second port closure of this year's hurricane season, following a three-day closure of the Salina Cruz port in June from tropical storm Calvin. Calvin caused heavy flooding in the region and led to a fire at Pemex's Salina Cruz refinery that shut it down for more than a month. The refinery continues to restart operations this week.
Mexico expects an average number of storms in the 2017 hurricane season, but a potential reappearance of the El Nino weather pattern in September could increase their intensity. Some 27 named storms are forecast between 1 June and 30 November, one more than average, with 16 forecast for the Pacific coast and 11 for the Atlantic coast, according to Mexico's national weather service forecast published in May.
Pemex counts 15 port installations along both coasts, with two maritime terminals on the Pacific coast and three on the Gulf of Mexico as well as 10 operational bases and port service units. Pemex also has 300 offshore exploration and production platforms.
