Responders transfer broken barges from Intracoastal Waterway close to Houston Ship Channel, after collision and hearth broke out
AUGUST 7, 2015—Two loaded naphtha barges below tow lately collided with two cumene barges within the busy Gulf Intracoastal Waterway alongside the Bolivar Peninsula, Texas, close to the Houston Ship Channel, sparking a hearth onboard one of many naphtha barges.
Operating below its OPA 90 Salvage and Marine Firefighting settlement, T&T Salvage responded to the incident, which occurred on July 20 at about 1:20 AM. On-scene in lower than two hours with a full-suite of company-owned industrial firefighting tools and a seasoned marine firefighting crew, T&T Salvage extinguishd the fireplace on the barge utilizing Pyrocool, a hearth extinguishing foam, in lower than an hour after arriving on-site. The barge was carrying about 1 million gallons of naphtha, a extremely unstable gasoline additive.
After cooling and stabilizing the broken barge, each naphtha barges have been towed to a protected location and the cargo was safely transferred to receiving barges to forestall any environmental affect utilizing T&T’s transportable hydraulic pump methods.
Responding to spill in South Louisiana
As T&T Salvage was finishing this profitable firefighting and salvage operation, it was known as on to conduct an in-situ burn of an oil spill attributable to a pipeline rupture in South Louisiana. In-situ burning of oil spills might be more practical than conventional mechanical oil restoration strategies, minimizing long-term environmental impacts to delicate marshes and wetlands. T&T Salvage additionally efficiently accomplished an in-situ burn in 2014 on the Delta National Wildlife Refuge that was praised by the U.S. Coast Guard. Working inside a Unified Command led by the Coast Guard once more this yr, T&T Salvage firefighters safely ignited the oil spill and supplied contingency hearth suppression providers to make sure one other protected and efficient response operation.
Another instance of T&T’s fast response functionality got here within the early hours of May 22, 2015 when T&T was activated to answer a hearth on a Gulf of Mexico Platform. T&T shortly mobilized personnel and tools to a Louisiana dock the place it was loaded on a quick provide vessel and transported to the scene. The property have been then transferred to a elevate boat and the fireplace crew proceeded to chill the adjoining areas and extinguish the fireplace later that night. Once extinguished the crew boarded the platform and confirmed it was protected for boarding.
Jim Elliott, Vice President of T&T Salvage, says, “We consistently strive to be the fastest, safest and best in marine emergency response operations. These recent firefighting responses are a testament of T&T’s ability to quickly respond to a major marine casualty and effectively save property, protect the environment and prevent crew injuries.”
