A barge full of highly flammable material exploded after colliding with six vessels near the Houston Ship Channel at around 1:20 a.m on Monday morning, according to NBC News. One tugboat was pulling two barges when its power went out. It hit another tugboat, which was also carrying two barges. One of the barges involved was carrying nearly 1 million gallons of petroleum and ruptured upon the impact, causing a fire, Petty Officer Andy Kendrick told NBC News.
The incident involved six vessels in a Bolivar Peninsula section of the Intracoastal Waterway.
"There were no immediate reports of any spills or injuries following the incident," Kendrick confirmed.
The fire last nearly four hours, as it was put out at 5:25 a.m. The Ship Chanel on the Bolivar side to mile 348 is closed while the US Coast Guard investigates if any product spilled into the water and how much damage it potentially could cause. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, 1,300-mile man-made canal that runs along the Gulf of Mexico coastline from Brownsville to St. Marks, Fla., is also closed. It links Texas ports to the rest of the country.
In March of 2014, 168,000 gallons of fuel oil spilled when a barge being towed from Texas City to Bolivar collided with a 585-foot ship named Summer Wind, according ABC13 Eyewitness News.
