Search for missing Texas oil-barge crew
members suspended
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[October 23, 2017]
HOUSTON (Reuters) - A sea and air
search was suspended on Sunday for two crew members who went missing
after an oil barge caught fire early on Friday and leaked an
undetermined amount of the fuel into the Gulf of Mexico off Port
Aransas, Texas, authorities said.
There was no immediate determination of what caused the fire, which was
extinguished on Friday. The search for the missing crew members was
halted after it turned up no signs of the two, said U.S. Coast Guard
Petty Officer Edward Wargo.
Authorities are bringing in additional floating booms to contain oil
around the barge, which is anchored about 3 miles off Port Aransas, a
Coast Guard spokesman said. Earlier they put about 2,000 feet (609.6
meters) of containment boom around the vessel.
Efforts were under way on Sunday to seal two oil tanks that were
breached during the early morning fire. Aerial photos released by the
Coast Guard show an opening on the deck on the ship's bow.
After the tanks are sealed, authorities are considering transferring
some of the oil to another vessel and towing the barge to port.
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"We are exploring several different ways" to move the barge, said
Brittany Eck, a spokeswoman for the Texas General Land Office, which
is taking part in the response to the fire and oil spill.
The barge, operated by Bouchard Transportation Co, holds about
137,000 barrels of oil and was headed to Corpus Christi, Texas, when
the fire started. A Bouchard spokesman declined to comment on
efforts to repair the tanks.
The two tanks that were exposed during the fire, which cut through
the ship's deck, hold about 20,000 barrels combined, Eck said.
(Corrects second paragraph to show there was no immediate
determination of the fire's cause)
(Reporting by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
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