Gasoil spilled into the waters of the port of Galveston, Texas on Tuesday after a tank barge slammed into a bridge, leading part of the structure to collapse.
The barge hit a pillar of the bridge on Wednesday morning in an incident that closed the only road connection to Pelican Island, according to a Facebook post by Galveston County officials.
It is not yet clear how much of the vacuum gasoil cargo spilled into the water. The barge’s capacity is 30,000 gallons, which an industry expert equated to about 97.5 tonnes.
There were no injuries, although one barge crew member was knocked into the water before being rescued, according to the Associated Press.
The incident led to the collapse of a portion of a rail line on the bridge.
The tug was backing out of Texas International Terminals when it lost control of two barges in its convoy, Galveston County Navigation District bridge superintendent David Flores told the newswire.
“The current was very bad, and the tide was high. He lost it,” Flores said.
The tug and barges were not identified but are controlled by Martin Petroleum, Galveston County said in a Facebook post.
However, vessel tracking data shows that the tug Miss Sally Dane, which Martin Midstream Partners subsidiary Martin Marine has on charter from vessel lessor Maritime Partners, is on the scene aiding in the response.
TradeWinds has requested comment from Martin Midstream.
Galveston County said the US Coast Guard, city and county emergency services and the Texas Department of Transportation were among responders on the scene.
This story has been amended since publication to reflect that 30,000 gallons equates to about 97.5 tonnes.
