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Gerald Herbert / AP
A fire still burns on Wednesday after a tugboat and barge hit a gas pipeline Tuesday evening in Perot Bay in Lafourche Parish, La., about 30 miles south of New Orleans.
NEW ORLEANS -- A gas pipeline burned Wednesday morning in a bayou south of New Orleans hours after it was hit by a tug boat pushing an oil barge, but authorities say no oil appeared to be leaking from the barge.
Coast Guard Cmdr. Russ Bowen said it appears the barge is intact and none of its cargo of crude oil was leaking, though there were patches of oily sheen in the area. The Coast Guard was investigating whether those sheens were related to the accident.
A plume of smoke rising from the site could be seen from downtown New Orleans Wednesday morning. Bowen said authorities planned to allow the gas to burn itself out before approaching for a closer inspection. The area is thinly populated and no evacuations had been ordered.
Four people aboard the 47-foot tug Shanon E. Settoon were injured, one severely, in the collision Tuesday at about 6 p.m. CDT. Water at the collision site is very shallow.
The 19-mile section of pipeline was carrying liquefied petroleum gas. It had been isolated from other conduits by its owner, San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron, so only what was inside could burn.
"All crew members were able to exit the tug; the captain reportedly suffered second to third-degree degree burns," the Coast Guard said in a news release early Wednesday.
The barge was holding 92,000 gallons of crude oil, the Coast Guard said. The tug boat had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Settoon Towing of Pierre Part, La., lists the tug among its vessels on its website.
Bowen said it was believed that the diesel fuel aboard the tug had burned up.
WWL-TV reported that the tug's captain was transferred to the burn center at Baton Rouge General Hospital.
It was not immediately known who owns the 154-foot oil barge.
The area is along the northern reaches of Barataria Bay, which was heavily affected by oil from the BP spill in 2010. It is mostly small communities where people often make their living from the sea, either working in the oil and gas industry or as fishermen.
The 92,000 gallons the Coast Guard says was being carried by the barge is a fraction of the millions of gallons that spewed into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 spill.
The region where the fire was burning is crisscrossed by pipelines and wellheads are a common sight in the shallow waters of the bayou and bay shoreline.
Bowen said it's not unusual for tugs to operate in shallow areas. "That's just the nature of coastal Louisiana," he said.
Beyond that, he said he couldn't comment on why the accident happened.
Bayou Perot was the scene of an explosion and fire on a specialized oil rig in December 2010 in which three men were injured. The explosion happened while the men were welding and there was no pollution, the Coast Guard reported.
Related:
BP to pay $4.5 billion, plead guilty to manslaughter in spill
3,675 gas wells OK'd by US -- and environmentalists
This story was originally published on Wed Mar 13, 2013 5:19 AM EDT
Leave a Comment:
Let me guess, this is reason gas took a 30 cent hike per gallon. Wow, too bad postage isn't based on gas prices, for every dime gas goes up, postage should go up one penny.
Good guess ...... because so many cars are fueled by LPG.
Ballarion, you must be one of the uninformed. This accident had absolutely nothing to do with a rise in gasoline prices. The pipeline contained Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), better known as propane. You know, the stuff that fuels your BBQ grill.
if you look at the pipeline maps (on line) ; of the Louisiana coast there are thousands of miles of buried pipelines under the coastal waters; the largest is the Strategic petrol reserve line, a 42" pipeline buried under the water running many hundreds of miles; it is a wonder more of these accidents don't occur.
Harry-1952,
Actually there is no such thing as an LPG pipeline.. LPG is extracted and processed from crude oil and/or natural gas. The pipeline in this incident is a natural gas pipeline and not the "propane" used in your BBQ grill.
Well nomatter what none of that gas was for USA. It was coming from Canada and USA and being sold to other countries. It goes down there so they can put it on tankers. So even tho theres enuf to give everyone free gas they will sell it to other people and make more money then charge you even more for bbq gas like theres a shortage.
You're totally uninformed.
Gas prices went up last week because of the uncertainty of a new Pope, this accident should be good for a 25 cent spike. The oil companies use smoke and mirror prices but always in their favor. This is why all their entitlements need to be stripped away..........
The Senate tried that in May of 2011. Those "entitlements" are tax incentives, which were originally enacted to keep jobs in the United States. The bill failed to pass after a Republican amendment which would have removed the incentives from all companies who have them, instead of just the oil companies, was killed.
you are confused.. wrong type of gas
I have to laugh at this. Reminds me of the daily explanations for the changes in the stock market!
It is already in the crapper this morning.
6 p.m. local time (5 p.m. ET)??? What is wrong with this time?
If its 6:00 PM local it should be 7:00 PM Eastern time and it would be 5:00 PM Mountain time. But then again, these are the same reporters who tell us that Obama is the best thing since sliced bread.
The Tugboat capt must have been watching a replay of the Saints Super Bowl win and eating Crawfish while at the wheel.
if you have never ran a push boat, you should not make a statement like this becauser you obviously don't know s--- about it.
I wish a speedy and full recovery for the four tugboat occupants.They have a job that isn't easy and can wear on the nerves.
Don't worry folks, the pipeline from Alberta is perfectly safe for the environment. The chances of something going wrong are probably remote. I mean what could happen? Its not like a tugboat will come along and take it out or anything.
Agreed. Those Nebraska tugboat captains aren't the brightest bunch.
They aren't that bad, they only seem to get reckless when they water ski off the backs off the tug while drinking margaritas, those crazy Nebraskans..
Ah yes, downplay the significance of oil damaging the environment! It's an area that's only lightly populated, so WHEW! That's gonna reduce the number of lawsuits to pay out. Of course, they don't give a rat's butt about what the spill may be doing to wildlife and the ecosystem in general. Jackasses.
Would you like them to have evacuated all the birds and frogs? You nutbag.
Once the fire is out , it gets cleaned up. Unless your tin-foil hat never lets you accept the fact that spills do get cleaned up after an incident.
to help your cause, why don't you stop using petroleum products. you are a nut case.
Full speed ahead with the Keystone! Everyone knows nothing bad like this could happen there, what with its being practically in some poor souls' backyards for hundreds and hundreds of miles.
Dr. Griffin, it is very unusual to see a tug on farmland. I don't think that's going to happen.
i see no one has shut down their computer to protest the use of oil and gas to power the electrical grid, but we can protest the keystone project!!!?? not sure what that project has to do with anything here, it was an accident and until some nut job comes up with a better and realistic way to power our computers and our vehicles without oil and gas shut up!!!or shut off your computer it will all go away!!!!
And yet not one drop of oil stays in the USA from the keystone project
Ummm wind?? We just need to get a few thousand of these tree-hugging liberal nuts to stand in front of the turbines, they blow enuogh hot air to supply the country for months.
Kind of tough to power my 800 HP Hemi on a battery or solar
Get realistic,..the political Idiots in the past century..have
planned, pushed, supported fossil fuels..a few average thinking men
have come up with better ways of fuel consumption
Your heads are in the sand if you haven't heard or read about it
it was done 70-80 years ago..
There is far to much tax money & oil companies profits at stake
200 years supply left..No shortage..they sure want you to believe
there's a shortage..all BS in the name of Profit Greed
Hmmmm theres something fishy about this, how many other tugs have travled this same waterway and not hit anything?
Peirre Part is where some of the Swamp People film from, I wonder what this is going to do to the alligators.
As for gas prices there is really no reason to say anything about them, they will only go up so much before the people in charge(name your poison here) decide people have yelled loud enough,and drop prices for a couple of months.
One, this incident is more than 60 miles from Pierre Part. Two, this is not gasoline involved .. it's natural gas .. completely different. Finally three, bayou Perot has too much salt water in it to support alligator life
I know Troy Landry personally and they dont hunt gators in this particular area. However, to your point, the tugboat company itself is from his hometown. This spill should be contained rather quickly and confined to a small area. This is a minor league spill compared to what the state typically sees on a frequent basis. The biggest threat will be to the ecosystem for the fish, birds and swamp mammals that frequent that area.
This is all messed up. What is next for the gulf. I hope all involved are doing ok. GM all
Pretty damm dumb to have that line so shallow in the first place. Hope the families sue the crap out of them.
I agree with you BobbyMac1 take them to the cleaners.
bring up a lawsuit that line shouldn't of been shallow, i hope everyone involved is alright
Doesn't matter what type of gas ..it's good way to raise
the price at any pump..This tug driver must of been hand picked
by Nobama..3 Stooges? the D.C. Stooges
homer simpson pilots a tug? gee, he sure gets around. maybe they should consider hiring lisa or marge instead.
I'm a bit horrified by the lack of empathy, selfishness, and ugliness of most of the comments. Really? "The tug driver must have been hand picked by Nobama." The tug driver has burns over 75% of his body and is fighting for his life. He is a family man that was earning a living to take care of his family and ensuring that the crude oil that goes into the making of most of the products you folks enjoy continued on route. Let me assure you that the men on that boat did not want to raise your gas prices. They wanted to make it home safely to the families they are taking care of. You want to complain about how these industries harm the environment? Please, turn off your computer, donate you car, don't use any plastics, basically build yourself a hut and grow your own food because if you are using the products you aren't practicing what you preach. Why not take a moment to pray for this man's recovery or send good vibes or just hope depending on your beliefs. Sad, that I have to add that. I hate to ask anyone to pray and get whole theological debate going. That's what I'll be doing though. Praying that this man is healed and whole once more.
Astounds,I agree with you.I think these heartless posters are smart aleck kids gathered around one computer trying to see who can be say the ugliest things to get people in an uproar.I hope the four crew members have a full and speedy recovery.Being burned is a horrendous thing to go through.
Typically when pipelines are laid in coastal areas they are coated with concrete and buried to a minimum depth of 3' and at least 4' deep in waterways, generally placed much deeper though. Coastal erosion has not only caused loss of cover, but allowed vessels to travel in areas that were not navigable earlier. This means that they are in much shallower water. Large vessel props are able to damage pipelines through soft ground like a knife through butter, even with concrete coating.
If you want to know what's being done to protect mariners and the environment, please visit Camogroup.org and view the video. In the past year over 7,000 mariners in the Gulf of Mexico have received training to try and prevent this type of accident. Obviously, there is still a lot of work to do and the efforts will continue. Our prayers go out to these mariners and their families.
Typically when pipelines are laid in coastal areas they are coated with concrete and buried to a minimum depth of 3' and at least 4' deep in waterways, generally placed much deeper though. Coastal erosion has not only caused loss of cover, but allowed vessels to travel in areas that were not navigable earlier. This means that they are in much shallower water. Large vessel props are able to damage pipelines through soft ground like a knife through butter, even with concrete coating.
If you want to know what's being done to protect mariners and the environment, please visit Camogroup.org and view the video. In the past year over 7,000 mariners in the Gulf of Mexico have received training to try and prevent this type of accident. Obviously, there is still a lot of work to do and the efforts will continue. Our prayers go out to these mariners and their families.
And gas prices go up even more because of this, they just needed a reason.