Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the biggest U.S. oil import terminal, suspended marine operations late yesterday as Tropical Storm Edouard strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico.

``We're not offloading any tanker at this time,'' said Barb Hestermann, a spokeswoman for the LOOP, as the port is known. ``We are continuing to make pipeline deliveries to our customers. We don't anticipate being shut down very long. As soon as sea conditions improve, we will start offloading.''

Edouard is on a course for Galveston, Texas. A hurricane watch has been issued for southern sections of Louisiana and Texas. The LOOP has the capacity to receive 1 million barrels of oil a day, or about 10 percent of U.S. imports.

To contact the reporter on this story: Barbara Powell in Dallas at Bpowell4@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 4, 2008 10:07 EDT