Americas News
Call to Widen Houston Ship Channel Following Bunker Spill
Following the March ship collision that spilled 168,000 gallons of bunker fuel into the Houston Ship Channel, local officials are calling for an expansion of the channel to reduce congestion, writing in local newspaper the Houston Chronicle.
Gene Green, a federal representative from the area and Janiece Longoria, chairman of the port commission, argued in the paper that the federal government should provide assistance to expand barge lanes and widen and deepen the channel to support safe navigation.
"The port and ship channel serve more than 200,000 barge transits and 8,000 ship transits per year," they wrote.
"With expected transit increases in the years to come a longer, wider, deeper channel is a must."
Green and Longoria wrote that a U.S. Coast Guard investigation into the incident will probably offer recommendations for improvements.
Kirby Inland Marine LP (Kirby), one of the parties involved in the collision, recently filed suit against the owner and operator of the other vessel, arguing their negligence led to the accident and seeking more than $10 million.
