Barge Groundings Hamper Navigation On Western GIWW
Navigation on the western Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) was hampered for at least a week following the sinking of two barges near Mile 510.5 WHL (west of Harvey Lock), just east of Aransas Bay, Texas, on December 5. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the mv. Bill Baker was westbound with a gravel barge and a sand barge about 7:36 a.m. that day when the barges encountered trouble near Mile 510.5.
“The gravel barge grounded on the east bank of the ICW in [the] vicinity of mile marker 510.5,” said Margaret Brown, lieutenant commander for Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi. “The sand barge sank on the west side of the ICW in [the] vicinity of mile marker 510.5. Circumstances which caused [the] grounding of [the] barges is under investigation.”
U.S. Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi issued the first Marine Safety Information Bulletin (MSIB) tied to the incident December 5, stating that the barge carrying sand was grounded on the north bank, with the gravel barge aground on the south bank.
“The Coast Guard is monitoring the situation and working with responsible parties to ensure timely and safe salvage,” Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi officials said in the original MSIB 72-19. “Mariners are advised to use caution when transiting in vicinity of MM GIWW 510.5.”
Around 4:36 a.m. December 6, though, the mv. Brownwater XIV was pushing a six-barge tow of sugar eastbound when one of the lead barges struck the submerged sand barge. That barge eventually sank and came to rest on top of the submerged sand barge, according to reports.
With three barges aground, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port in Corpus Christi established a safety zone between Miles 510 and 512 on the GIWW, limiting traffic through that area to only vessels with permission from the Coast Guard.
By December 7, divers were on site to assess the damaged barges. A salvage plan followed soon thereafter. By the end of the day December 7, the gravel barge and four of the six sugar barges had been removed from the area, according to industry reports. At that time, the Coast Guard reported 13 westbound tows and four eastbound tows in the area.
After conducting surveys of the channel, the Coast Guard reopened the waterway December 8 with restrictions. The waterway at Mile 510.5 reopened to westbound traffic first, with two-way, single-wide traffic commencing December 9. Tows were permitted to transit the area in daylight hours only.
A full week after the initial incident was reported to the Coast Guard, restrictions remained, but the Coast Guard and responsible parties were making progress removing the problem barges from the area.
“The gravel barge has been refloated and removed from the area,” Brown said December 12. “The sand barge remains submerged. The sugar has been transferred from the damaged sugar barge, and I anticipate that it will depart the area within the next day.”
The Coast Guard said the channel in that vicinity was limited to about 62.5 feet. The incident remains under investigation.
