Responders work to place boom and recover diesel Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016, in the Port Isabel Channel in Texas after the towing vessel, Capt. Jim Green, allided with a dock at the Subsea 7 facility on Tuesday night. U.S. Coast Guard Photo
Diesel Spill on Texas’ Intracoastal Waterway After Towing Vessel Hits Dock
October 12, 2016
The U.S. Coast Guard was responding Wednesday to an oil spill on the Intracoastal Waterway near South Padre Island, Texas after a towing vessel struck a dock at a Subsea7 facility late Tuesday night.
Watchstanders at Sector Corpus Christi received a report that the uninspected towing vessel Capt. Jim Green allided with a dock at the Subsea7 facility near Port Isabel at 11:24 p.m., Tuesday. The Coast Guard originally said the incident resulted in the release of approximately 20,000 gallons of low sulfur diesel fuel into the waterway, but later downgraded the spill estimate to 5,000 gallons.
A Unified Command consisting of the Coast Guard, Texas General Land Office and Kirby Inland Marine has been established in response to the allision and diesel spill.
Air monitoring and oil recovery operations were underway Wednesday and the Coast Guard said the source of the spill has been secured.
There have been no reported impacts to wildlife at the time of the latest update, the Coast Guard said.
“We were immediately notified by the crew of Jim Green and responded quickly with our partners at the Texas General Land Office,” said Capt. Tony Hahn, commander, Sector Corpus Christi. “We will be assessing the impacted areas quickly and will ensure a robust and thorough cleanup.”
The Coast Guard is conducting an over flight with pollution responders from the Coast Guard and Texas General Land Office to get an accurate assessment of the impact to the waterway and surrounding areas. The Coast Guard is also broadcasting a safety marine information broadcast every hour.
The cause of the incident is under investigation.
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Coast Guard responds to diesel spill on Intracoastal Waterway, Texas
The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday about 5,000 gallons of low sulfur diesel fuel spilled into the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) near Port Isabel, Texas, on Tuesday.
The amount was substantially less than the preliminary estimate of approximately 20,000 gallons, the Coast Guard said in a release.
The source of the spill has been secured and the cause of the incident is under investigation, the Coast Guard said.
The agency said it received a report that a towing vessel, Capt. Jim Green, collided with a dock at the Subsea 7 facility, causing the spill at mile marker 667.
The ICW runs between barrier islands and the coast of the U.S. mainland in the Gulf of Mexico and intersects the Houston Ship Channel, which allows barges and cargo ships to supply crude to more than one-tenth of the nation’s refining capacity and to export refined fuels to international markets.
