Part of Houston Ship Channel closed after second collision in five days
Houston: The Houston Ship Channel was partially shut on Monday after a collision between two vessels, the second such incident in five days.
A chemical tanker, the Danish-flagged Carla Maersk (44,999 dwt, built 1999) and a Liberian bulk carrier Conti Peridot (57,001 dwt , built 2011) bumped in fog, causing a leak of flammable liquid methyl tertiary-butyl from the tanker.
The liquid, a gasoline additive, spilled from one of the Carla Maersk’s tanks that ruptured in the collision. The leak was fixed after 90 minutes and the tanker was moved to dry land.
A shelter-in-place alert was in effect for people in nearby Morgan’s Point while officials monitored air quality.
On Thursday a tanker and a container ship collided in a different part of the channel causing that section to be shut down for one hour but no spillage occurred.
The Houston Ship Channel is one of the world’s busiest waterways.