The U.S. Coast Guard has just released the latest update on the gas pipeline accident near Port O’Connor, TX, saying that a Unified Command consisting of Coast Guard, Texas General Land Office and RLB Contracting Inc., continues to carry out all necessary activities in response to this incident.
Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi watchstanders received a mayday Tuesday evening from the captain of the cutter suction dredger (CSD) Jonathon King Boyd, who reported the vessel was on fire after hitting a gas pipeline while conducting dredging operations.
T&T Marine Salvage personnel confirmed the fire onboard the Jonathon King Boyd is extinguished and are reviewing salvage plans to transit the dredging barge to Port Lavaca for removal of fuel and to complete damage assessment.
The natural gas pipeline fire has been extinguished and divers are preparing to assess the damage to secure and repair the pipeline.
A one-mile safety zone remains in effect around the dredger. The Intracoastal Waterway remains closed to traffic from mile marker 468 to mile marker 474 to include the Matagorda Ship Channel from the jetties to seven nautical miles inside the bay, said the Coast Guard.
According to the official announcement, Genesis Energy owns the pipeline.
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