MARCH 9, 2015
HOUSTON, TEXAS (KTRK)
Another vessel collision has closed a portion of the Houston
Ship Channel, according to reports.
A portion of the Houston Ship Channel is closed and a
shelter-in-place order in effect after a collision involving two vessels. A
chemical tanker -- Carla Maersk -- and a bulk carrier -- Conti Peridot --
collided near Morgan's Point just after 12:30pm, according to Coast Guard
officials.
The tanker was leaking a flammable liquid identified as MTBE. Methyl tert-butyl ether is a gasoline additive used as an oxygenate and to raise the octane number. It is a volatile, flammable, and colorless liquid that is sparingly soluble in water.
The tanker held 216,000 gallons of MTBE in three tanks. One of those three tanks was breached. Coast Guard officials aren't sure how much of the liquid leaked, but according to the La Porte Office of Emergency Management, the ship is no longer leaking, and has been moved to dry land.
The shelter-in-place is in effect for Morgan's Point. People in that area should move indoors and keep checking back here for more information. Officials are monitoring the air quality and may lift the order if they deem it appropriate. Students remain in school for now. Officials are not returning them to Morgan's Point for the time being.
The ship channel is closed from Light 86 to Morgan's Point.
The tanker was leaking a flammable liquid identified as MTBE. Methyl tert-butyl ether is a gasoline additive used as an oxygenate and to raise the octane number. It is a volatile, flammable, and colorless liquid that is sparingly soluble in water.
The tanker held 216,000 gallons of MTBE in three tanks. One of those three tanks was breached. Coast Guard officials aren't sure how much of the liquid leaked, but according to the La Porte Office of Emergency Management, the ship is no longer leaking, and has been moved to dry land.
The shelter-in-place is in effect for Morgan's Point. People in that area should move indoors and keep checking back here for more information. Officials are monitoring the air quality and may lift the order if they deem it appropriate. Students remain in school for now. Officials are not returning them to Morgan's Point for the time being.
The ship channel is closed from Light 86 to Morgan's Point.
The collision was between a chemical tanker and a bulk
carrier, and a flammable liquid identified as MTBE reportedly is leaking, according
to KTRK ABC13.
The vessels collided around 12:45 p.m. near Morgan's Point, according
to the Houston Chronicle. The closure stretches from Morgan's Point to Light
86, KTRK reports.
Details about the incident were sketchy. It's unclear what
led to the collision but officials said the area was foggy when the ships hit.
Although the cause of the collision has not been identified,
there is fog in the area, according to the Chronicle. No injuries have been
reported.
Less than a week ago, a different collision closed the ship
channel for a short period on March 5. No injuries or spills occurred due to
that collision, according to previous reports.
Last March, the ship channel was closed for several days
after a collision led to an oil spill.
This story will be updated as more information becomes
available.
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Maersk Chemical Tanker Listing in Houston Ship Channel, Container Terminals Evacuated
By gCaptain On March 9, 2015
Vessel Traffic Services Houston-Galveston and the U.S. Coast
Guard have confirmed a vessel collision on the Houston Ship Channel just after noon
on Monday involving the bulk carrier MV Conti Peridot carrying a cargo of
steel and the chemical tanker Carla Maersk carrying 216,000 bbls of
MTBE.
The Coast Guard says the Carla Maersk is
listing and that upwards of three port cargo tanks may have been
breached. An unknown quantity of the ship’s cargo is currently leaking
into the channel.
The collision occurred approximately 1 kilometer south of
the entrance to Barbours Cut.
The U.S. Coast Guard has shut down the Houston Ship Channel
between light 86 to Morgan’s Point.
An update from the USCG Alert and Warning System issued
at 2:15 CDT read:
“A discharge of MTBE, Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether, has occurred
following a collision at Morgan Point on the Houston Ship Channel.
Primary hazard is flammability, and odor detection threshold is very low – 50
PPM. Port entities are advised the Houston Ship Channel is closed to all
traffic from light 86 to Morgans Point High lines. A Unified command is
being established – follow any protective orders issued by municipal &
county authorities.”
The following notice by Candice Armenoff, Port of Houston Authority
Customer Service Manager was posted on gCaptain’s Facebook page:
Barbours Cut and APM Terminals are under and evacuation
order. Drivers that are inside of the terminal will be escorted off by Port
Police. Containers will not be allowed to exit the terminal as US Customs has
also evacuated. Containers and Chassis can be dollied down inside of the
terminal. I will be sure to follow up with details as I get them.
A “Shelter In Place” order is in effect for Morgan’s Point,
according to the City of La Porte’s Office of Emergency Management.
MTBE, or methyl tertiary-butyl ether, is a chemical compound
that is primarily used as a fuel additive in motor gasoline.
Weather in the area was reported to be foggy with light
rain.
Today’s incident follows a collision last Thursday (March
5th) involving the Hamburg Süd-owned containership Monte Alegre and the
chemical tanker Chembulk Houston, which briefly shut portion of the channel. No
injuries or pollution were reported as a result of that incident.
//-----------------------------------------------//
LA PORTE, TEXAS
For the second time in a week, there was a collision in the
Houston Ship Channel.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, two large ships collided
in foggy conditions just after 12:30 p.m. near Morgan's Point.
At that time, the Conti Peridot, bulk carrier, and the Carla
Maersk, a chemical tanker, collided.
However, the Carla Maersk was carrying 216,000 barrels of
the gasoline additive MTBE, which began spilling into the water.
Responders were able to stop the spilling by 3:30 p.m., and
are now trying to determine how much was spilled into the channel.
An incident command center has been set up at City Hall in
Morgan's Point, where about 300 residents are being told to shelter in place.
There is still a strong odor of gasoline in the air. MTBE is
flammable, causes dizziness and suffocation.
The ship channel is closed in both directions. Local officials
of course checking on exposure issues.
The USCG says it has "air mobilizing" teams on the
coast looking for the presence of the chemical.
"This chemical, when it's in liquid form will float on
water and is toxic to both people and wildlife – you will smell this chemical
long before you reach toxic levels and we encourage anyone on the water to stay
away from areas where you can smell this," USCG officials said.
The USCG says this was a significant collision on the ship
channel, but they do not consider this a significant spill.
They would not say how much of this chemical spilled into
the water, but they believe they have the area contained.
No injuries were reported except for two dock workers, who
were transported to a local hospital after being overcome by fumes.
Both ships involved are anchored.
No word on when the shelter-in-place will be lifted.
This was the second collision in this ship channel within
the past week. On Thursday, a cargo ship and an oil tanker collided.
While it clogged up traffic for a while, nothing spilled.
The damage to both vessels was minimal.
It's not clear what caused that collision.