Texas' port Freeport reopens after briefly closing ahead of tropical storm

HOUSTON (Reuters) -The port of Freeport in south Texas reopened on Tuesday after briefly closing to inbound vessel traffic due to offshore conditions ahead of Tropical Storm Rafael, according to a notice from a shipping agency.

Rafael is expected to become a hurricane over the next few hours as it passes near the Cayman Islands with further strengthening before it makes landfall in Cuba.

Tropical storm conditions are expected in the lower and middle Florida Keys from Wednesday and Rafael is expected to move into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico by Wednesday night.

The port of Freeport reopened at around 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET).

Port condition 'Whiskey' - indicating gale force winds are expected to arrive at the port within 72 hours - continued to be in effect at some ports in Florida including Tampa and St Petersburg, meaning vessels must indicate location ahead of the storm and make preparations to dock or leave within 12 hours.

Major energy companies said on Tuesday they are evacuating some oil production workers and securing offshore platforms as they prepared for the approach of tropical storm Rafael toward the Gulf of Mexico.

(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar and Marianna Parraga in Houston; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Sandra Maler)