Kirby Inland Marine has agreed to pay $4.9 Million in civil penalties to settle claims stemming from a 4,000-barrel oil spill in the Houston Ship Channel after one of its oil barges collided with a cargo ship in March 2014, the U.S. Justice Dept. and Coast Guard announced Tuesday. The company has also agreed to implement a fleet-wide improvement program, which … [Read more...]
NTSB Opens Accident Docket on 2014 Houston Ship Channel Collision and Oil Spill
The U.S. National Transporation Safety Board has opened its accident docket in its ongoing investigation into a 2014 collision in the Houston Ship Channel involving a cargo ship and a tank barge being maneuvered by a Kirby tugboat. On March 22, 2014, the inbound cargo ship MV Summer Wind collided with two-barge tow being led by the Kirby 27706 tank barge and pushed by the … [Read more...]
Bridge Audio Recording Reveals Mistakes in Houston Ship Channel Collision
A ship-to-ship audio recording released by the U.S. Coast Guard to the Houston Chronicle has provided some new insight into the moments leading up to the March 22 "Texas Y" collision in the Houston Ship Channel, causing some 168,000 gallons of a heavy bunker fuel to spill into the channel and Gulf of Mexico. In the audio recording, you can hear a Houston pilot onboard the … [Read more...]
Photos Show Extent of Houston Ship Channel Oil Spill and Cleanup – Update
On Saturday, the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier MV Summer Wind collided with a barge carrying about 924,000 gallons of a heavy bunker fuel in the Houston Ship Channel at the mouth of Galveston Bay at 12:35 p.m. local time, causing a breach in one of the barges 168,000 gallon tanks. An update Monday from the USCG said all 168,000 gallons of oil, or 4,000 barrels, were released … [Read more...]
Cleanup Crews Battle ‘Significant’ Oil Spill in Houston Ship Channel – Update 2
Update 2 (8:40 p.m. EST Sunday: Governor Rick Perry has directed all necessary state resources to assist with the cleanup. The barge has been moved to a local shipyard and is no longer at the scene of the spill. The Houston Ship Channel has been closed to traffic, and the Bolivar Ferry has been suspended until the spill is contained. The incident is under investigation by … [Read more...]