Texas barge collision may have spilled up to 2,000 gallons of oil, US Coast Guard says – vopbuzz
GALVESTON: Early estimates suggest as much as 2,000 gallons of oil may have spilled into surrounding waters during a crash. barge He escaped from a fuel-carrying tug and crashed into a boat bridge close galvestonin Texas, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday.
The barge hit the pole supporting the pier Pelican Island Passage opening on Wednesday. The collision caused the bridge to partially collapse and cut off the only road connecting Galveston to Pelican Island, the Coast Guard said.
Video shows oil slicks spilling from the barge into Galveston Bay. Jeff Davis of the Texas General Land Office said at a news conference Thursday that early cleanup efforts had not found any impact on wildlife.
The barge had a capacity to hold 30,000 barrels but was carrying 23,000 barrels (about 966,000 gallons) when it hit the bridge, Rick Freed, vice president of barge operator Martin Marine, said at the news conference. The single tank compromised in the crash held about 160,000 gallons, making it “pure risk,” Freed said.
“We’re pretty confident there’s a lot less oil in the water than we originally anticipated,” Coast Guard Capt. Keith Donohue said.
“We recovered more than 605 gallons of oily water mixture from the environment, as well as an additional 5,640 gallons of oil product from the top of the barge that did not enter the water,” Donohue said.
The Coast Guard previously said it deployed a boom, or barrier, to contain the spill, which closed about 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) of the waterway.
The Coast Guard said a tugboat lost control of the 321-foot barge “due to the loss of the connection” connecting the two ships.
“Weather was not a factor at all during the connectivity issue,” Freed said. When asked for more details on how the two ships were disconnected, he said: “It is currently under investigation and I cannot reveal anything further until the investigation is completed.”
On Thursday, the barge remained near the bridge under the weight of debris, including railroad tracks that fell on it after the accident.
The bridge, which provides the only highway access between Galveston and Pelican Island, remained closed to incoming traffic, but vehicles leaving Pelican Island and pedestrians in both directions were able to cross.
Texas A&M University in Galveston, which has a campus on Pelican Island, called on its staff and faculty to leave and said it would close the campus, although essential staff would remain.
“Given the rapidly changing circumstances and uncertainty regarding the Pelican Island Bridge outage, Galveston Campus management will relocate all Texas A&M Pelican Island residents through at least Sunday,” the company said in a statement late Wednesday.
There were fewer than 200 school-related people on the island when the barge hit the bridge. Spokesperson Shantelle Patterson-Swanson said the university will cover transportation and housing costs for those who choose to leave, but emphasized that the school has not ordered a mandatory evacuation.
In addition to its environmental effects oil leakMaria Burns, a shipping expert at the University of Houston, said the region is unlikely to see major economic disruption as a result of the accident.
The affected area is miles away from the Intra-Gulf Waterway, which sees frequent barge traffic, and the Houston Ship Channel, a major shipping channel for ocean liners.
The accident occurred weeks after a cargo ship crashed into the support column of Baltimore’s Francis Key Bridge on March 26, killing six construction workers.
The barge hit the pole supporting the pier Pelican Island Passage opening on Wednesday. The collision caused the bridge to partially collapse and cut off the only road connecting Galveston to Pelican Island, the Coast Guard said.
Video shows oil slicks spilling from the barge into Galveston Bay. Jeff Davis of the Texas General Land Office said at a news conference Thursday that early cleanup efforts had not found any impact on wildlife.
The barge had a capacity to hold 30,000 barrels but was carrying 23,000 barrels (about 966,000 gallons) when it hit the bridge, Rick Freed, vice president of barge operator Martin Marine, said at the news conference. The single tank compromised in the crash held about 160,000 gallons, making it “pure risk,” Freed said.
“We’re pretty confident there’s a lot less oil in the water than we originally anticipated,” Coast Guard Capt. Keith Donohue said.
“We recovered more than 605 gallons of oily water mixture from the environment, as well as an additional 5,640 gallons of oil product from the top of the barge that did not enter the water,” Donohue said.
The Coast Guard previously said it deployed a boom, or barrier, to contain the spill, which closed about 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) of the waterway.
The Coast Guard said a tugboat lost control of the 321-foot barge “due to the loss of the connection” connecting the two ships.
“Weather was not a factor at all during the connectivity issue,” Freed said. When asked for more details on how the two ships were disconnected, he said: “It is currently under investigation and I cannot reveal anything further until the investigation is completed.”
On Thursday, the barge remained near the bridge under the weight of debris, including railroad tracks that fell on it after the accident.
The bridge, which provides the only highway access between Galveston and Pelican Island, remained closed to incoming traffic, but vehicles leaving Pelican Island and pedestrians in both directions were able to cross.
Texas A&M University in Galveston, which has a campus on Pelican Island, called on its staff and faculty to leave and said it would close the campus, although essential staff would remain.
“Given the rapidly changing circumstances and uncertainty regarding the Pelican Island Bridge outage, Galveston Campus management will relocate all Texas A&M Pelican Island residents through at least Sunday,” the company said in a statement late Wednesday.
There were fewer than 200 school-related people on the island when the barge hit the bridge. Spokesperson Shantelle Patterson-Swanson said the university will cover transportation and housing costs for those who choose to leave, but emphasized that the school has not ordered a mandatory evacuation.
In addition to its environmental effects oil leakMaria Burns, a shipping expert at the University of Houston, said the region is unlikely to see major economic disruption as a result of the accident.
The affected area is miles away from the Intra-Gulf Waterway, which sees frequent barge traffic, and the Houston Ship Channel, a major shipping channel for ocean liners.
The accident occurred weeks after a cargo ship crashed into the support column of Baltimore’s Francis Key Bridge on March 26, killing six construction workers.
