Joint response underway for ship, barge collision in Houston Ship Channel
The Coast Guard along with state and local partners are responding to a collision near Texas City, in the Houston Ship Channel, Saturday, the USCG said in a press release.
At approximately 12:35 p.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Houston/Galveston received a call from the captain of the 585-foot bulk carrier Summer Wind, reporting a collision between the Summer Wind and a barge, containing 924,000 gallons of fuel oil, towed by the motor vessel Miss Susan.
The motor vessel Miss Susan was transiting from Texas City to Bolivar at the time of the collision. Kirby Inland Marine, owner of the motor vessel Miss Susan and the barges, activated its emergency response plan immediately and is working in a unified response with the Coast Guard and the Texas General Land Office, which are on scene.
A sheen of oil has been reported on the water, but the quantity of product released is unknown at this time. The six crew members of the motor vessel Miss Susan are all accounted for and are in stable condition.
Marine traffic in the Houston Ship Channel from the Intracoastal Waterway to lighter buoy 32 has been temporarily suspended for the safety of the responders.
Four skimming vessels remain on-scene to continue recovering spilled bunker fuel oil. Officials with the unified command, who are overseeing the spill containment and recovery efforts, anticipate the ability to fully reactivate their efforts beginning at first light Sunday.
An additional 20 response vessels are staged and are prepared to resume operations early on Sunday. Approximately 90,000 feet of boom have been staged along the Texas City dike for deployment in containment efforts.
The incident response is being coordinated by a unified command, which consists of a wide variety of federal, state and local government agencies, non-profit organizations and the owners of the damaged barge, Kirby Inland Marine.
Coordinating agencies include the United States Coast Guard, Texas General Land Office, and Galveston County Office of Emergency Management. Other agencies participating in the response include U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Galveston City Office of Emergency Management, Texas City Office of Emergency Management, and the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health.
The primary concern remains the safety of responders and the protection of the environment. To ensure the safety of response workers in the area, and to prevent the spread of oil into other areas of the channel and Galveston Bay, a safety zone has been established, which restricts vessel traffic in impacted waters. The Bolivar ferry remains closed with the exception of EMS transit.
Air monitoring continues to ensure the safety of workers and others in the area.
Wildlife Response Services, a Texas-based wildlife rehabilitation service has also been deployed to assist with any impacted birds or marine life.
