(Updates with number of waiting inbound ships in third paragraph.)

Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The Houston Pilots Association has started moving vessels through the Houston Ship Channel, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Outbound ships began moving at 5 a.m. local time and inbound vessels an hour later, U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Michael Scott said in a telephone interview.

Fifty-one inbound ships were waiting to pass through the waterway, he said. No outbound vessels were backed up.

Vessel traffic was suspended Dec. 13 because fog hampered visibility.

--Editors: Charlotte Porter, Bill Banker

To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Clark in New York at aclark27@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net