Tanker accident causes oil spill, endangers workers & wildlife

The collision between an oil tanker and a towing vessel has resulted in a crude oil spill, necessitating the closure of parts of a major Texas port.  The accident happened near Port Arthur, 90 miles east of Houston.  The maritime workers on these vessels were not injured in the collision, which was fortunate because otherwise their employer would likely have to pay for damages under the Jones Act.

 

An 800 foot tanker, the Eagle Atome, was making its way towards a Beaumont refinery for Exxon Mobile Corporation when it crashed into a towing vessel.  The vessel was pushing two barges when it was hit, and the force of the collision caused about 11,000 barrels (about 462,000 gallons) of crude oil to spill into the water.

 

About 45,800 feet of booms were deployed to and oil sucking skimmer boats sent out to protect an environmentally sensitive lake.  The lake, according to Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, used to have a protective gate that was lost when Hurricane Ike came ashore 18 months ago.  It had to be protected as it is considered a crucial breeding ground for wildlife.

 

An additional 69,000 barrels of oil that remained in the tanker were pumped out before they could also spill into the water.  According to the Coast Guard so far no sensitive wildlife areas have been adversely affected by the spill.

 

This oil spill was the largest in Texas in six years, however it was small compared to the massive oil spill caused by the Norwegian tanker Mega Borg.  In that spill 4.3 million gallons of oil were released 60 miles off of Galveston, causing a major environmental impact and requiring a massive clean up effort.