Oil Tanker Collides With Cargo Ship in Houston Ship Channel

At around 1:55 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, the U.S. Coast Guard reported that there had been a collision between two ships in the Houston Ship Channel. The collision between a 445-foot oil tanker (Chembulk Houston) and a 900-foot cargo ship (Montealegre) occurred south of San Leon and east of Dollar Bay about two miles off of the coast. It was not immediately known what caused the collision, but the heavy fog that had held up ship traffic in the channel over the past few mornings was ruled out as a factor.

According to Coast Guard spokesperson, no oil was spilled into the ship channel and no injuries were immediately reported after the collision. It was not clear what company owned the cargo ship, but the oil tanker was owned by ChemBulk, a company with over 40 chemical tankers in its fleet. The channel was temporarily shut down between buoys 26 and 42 for precautionary reason, but was re-opened about an hour later after 3 p.m.