NTSB releases details of 2014 Houston Ship Channel collision

Approximately 4,000 barrels of fuel oil spilled into the Bolivar Roads Precautionary Area waterway, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.    The National Transportation Safety Board have released additional details pertaining to a March, 2014 vessel collision in the Houston Ship Channel as part of the organization’s ongoing investigation.
   According to the NTSB accident docket, the inbound cargo vessel Summer Wind and an outbound, two-barge tow being led by the Kirby 27706 and pushed by the tow boat Miss Susan collided in the connecting waterways of the Bolivar Roads Precautionary Area at 12:35 p.m. (CDT) March 22, 2014. The Bolivar Roads area is an intersection of the Galveston Channel, the Texas City Channel and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.
   NTSB said the collision punctured a double hull on the Kirby 27706, releasing approximately 4,000 barrels (168,000 gallons) of fuel oil into the waterway and two crewmembers on the Miss Susan suffered injuries from exposure to hydrocarbon vapor.
   Earlier in the day, deep draft vessel movement was suspended in at the port due to fog, but the waterway had been reopened by the time the accident occurred.