Fuel leak sparks fire on tanker in Houston Ship Channel
Updated 1 hr 2 mins ago
DEER PARK, TX (KTRK) -- A ship fire kept firefighters busy overnight in Deer Park.
The fire broke out just after midnight on the petroleum tanker ship known as the Aframax River #OOTT.
Fire boats were called to the docks of the Intercontinental Terminals Company on the Houston Ship Channel, just north of Texas Route 225 and east of the Beltway.
The U.S. Coast Guard says somehow the ship got a gash, causing the tanker to leak an unknown fuel. That same fuel ignited at some point.
Firefighters were able to get the fire mostly under control less than an hour later.
Fortunately, all 25 people on board were able to evacuate the ship safely.
A small portion of the Houston Ship Channel will be shut down until 9am as a precaution to keep other ships from tracking the fuel throughout the channel.
The Coast Guard says it is still trying to determine how much fuel spilled out.
HOUSTON - The U.S. Coast Guard says the Houston Ship Channel is closed after an early-morning tanker fire and oil spill.
The Coast Guard says the tanker, The Aframax River, may have hit a submerged sewer line. This caused a rupture in the hull, leading to a fire. There were no injuries.
The incident happened at about 2 a.m. Tuesday.
The fire is out, but one mile of the ship channel remains closed at this time south of the Battleship Texas.
Officials say there is a bunker oil spill, but it's not yet known how much oil was lost in the channel. They will assess the spill after sunrise and hope to hope the ship channel sometime after 9 a.m.
AFRAMAX RIO - Crude Oil Tanker
AFRAMAX RIO - IMO 9273844 - Details and current position
What is the ship's current position? Where is the ship located? AFRAMAX RIO last received position is 59.37048 N / 6.71623 W on Aug 27, 2016 at 21:43 UTC.
Vessel AFRAMAX RIO (IMO: 9273844, MMSI: 373641000) is a crude oil tanker built in 2004 and currently sailing under the flag of Panama. AFRAMAX RIO has 236m length overall and beam of 42m. Her gross tonnage is 57948 tons.
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Lynchburg Ferry closed after fuel leak in Houston Ship Channel
DEER PARK, TX (KTRK) --
The Houston Ship Channel is closed to all traffic for 1 mile
southwest of the Battleship Texas State Historic site, between the
Cargill facility and the Cemex dock, as teams respond to leaked fuel oil
from a ship Tuesday morning.Around midnight, a pilot aboard the 810-foot tanker, Aframax River, notified Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders that the tanker was on fire near the Intercontinental Terminals Company. It was reported that a bunker tank was punctured and caught fire. The tanker was not carrying any product when the incident occurred.
Coast Guard Station Houston and Station Galveston boat crews, two Port of Houston Authority fire boats and Harris County Sheriff's Office marine division responded.
Fire boats were called to the docks of the Intercontinental Terminals Company on the Houston Ship Channel, just north of Texas Route 225 and east of the Beltway.
The Houston Ship Channel was closed at 12:08am, and the Coast Guard established a safety zone from the Cargil facility to the Cemex docks.
The fire has been extinguished and all tanker crew members are accounted for with no injuries reported.
A portion of the Houston Ship Channel will be shut down as a precaution to keep other ships from tracking the fuel throughout the channel. The Lynchburg Ferry is not operating at this time. Drivers are encouraged to use I-10 East as an alternate.
The Coast Guard says it is still trying to determine how much fuel spilled out.