Texas Oil spill: cleanup operations close Houston ship channel

Texas Oil spill: cleanup operations close Houston ship channel

Originally published on March 24, 2014br br Check out our official website: Check out our Android app: Check out our iOS app: br ----------------------------------------­----------------------------------------­----------------br br Clean up operations are underway to remove oil that spilled from a barge at the entrance to the Houston Ship Channel following a collision with a cargo ship on Saturday, March 22.br br The barge was carrying 924,000 gallons (3,500,000 litres) of fuel oil when it collided with a cargo ship at around 12:35 p.m.br br According to UPI, the barge was being towed by the Miss Susan from Texas City to Bolivar, Texas, at the time of the collision, which caused some 168,000 gallons (636,000 litres) of heavy oil to spill into the water.br br According to the Christian Science Monitor, all six crew members of the Miss Susan were injured in the accident and transported to a local hospital, while UPI reported that only two were treated at the hospital for exposure to hydrogen sulfide.br br Kirby Inland Marine, which owns the tow vessel and barge, is working with the Texas General Land Office and many other federal, state and nonprofit agencies br and the Houston ship channel has been closed from the entrance, between Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula as a response to the spill.br br A local official said the channel was expected to be shut for all of Sunday and possibly Monday, Reuters reported. br br Marine traffic inside the channel was shut down and shipping along the Intracoastal Waterway where it intersects the Ship Channel was also affected by the channel's closure. br br The Coast Guard said that in the meantime crews completed pumping the remaining fuel oil inside the barge onto another ship. br br The barge will then have to be moved from its location at the entrance to Galveston Bay.


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Uploaded: 2015-05-12

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