NTSB Opens Accident Docket on 2014 Houston Ship Channel Collision and Oil Spill

The U.S. National Transporation Safety Board has opened its accident docket in its ongoing investigation right into a 2014 collision within the Houston Ship Channel involving a cargo ship and a tank barge being maneuvered by a Kirby tugboat.

On March 22, 2014, the inbound cargo ship MV Summer Wind collided with two-barge tow being led by the Kirby 27706 tank barge and pushed by the Kirby inland towboat Miss Susan at roughly 12:35 p.m. CDT within the connecting waterways of the Bolivar Roads Precautionary Area the place the Galveston Channel, the Texas City Channel, and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway intersect with the Houston Ship Channel.

Earlier within the day, the NTSB says, deep draft vessel motion was suspended resulting from fog within the space; nevertheless, on the time of the accident, the port was open.

The collision resulted within the launch of roughly 4,000 barrels (168,000 gallons) of gasoline oil into the waterway from a breach within the double hull of the Kirby 27706. Two crewmembers on the Miss Susan suffered accidents from publicity to hydrocarbon vapor.

The docket comprises greater than 4,000 pages and features a abstract of the accident, transcripts from interviews with crewmembers from each vessels and witnesses aboard close by vessels, and investigative group chairman factual experiences.

The NTSB says it expects to launch its last report into the incident this summer time.

The docket could be accessed at: http://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms/search/projList.cfm?ntsbnum=DCA14FM008

Previous protection: “Texas Y” Collision and Oil Spill