Houston Ship Channel closed after barges collide with electric tower

The accident occurred at the narrowest portion of the waterway on Sunday at about 6 am when the tow boat Safety Quest pushing the barges loaded with scrap metal hit into the 300-foot-tall electric tower on the channel at Baytown.

Fortunately no one was injured. It is still unclear what caused the accident.

Meanwhile, all the crew members from the towing vessel were removed safely to another boat and tested for drugs and alcohol.

According to the US Coast Guard: "The towing vessel Safety Quest was pushing three barges loaded with scrap metal when it collided with the Baytown highline number 197.

"The Coast Guard has stopped all inbound and outbound traffic to the Houston Ship Channel and established a safety zone from mile marker 105 to 124.

"The highline tower structure is currently being held up by one of the barges.

"The power to the line has been secured and poses no danger to the public. The line is owned by Centerpoint Energy."

The accident occurred at the narrowest portion of the waterway on Sunday at about 6 am when the tow boat Safety Quest pushing the barges loaded with scrap metal hit into the 300-foot-tall electric tower on the channel at Baytown.

19 miles of the ship channel closed
The crash has left 19 miles of the Houston Ship Channel, including three quarters of the port's terminals inaccessible.

All marine traffic to the channel has been temporarily stopped.

At least 15 inbound ships, including seven tankers, were in the anchoring region waiting to go through the closed area while another six ships, including two tankers, were waiting to go out.

Petty Officer Richard Brahm, a spokesman for the Coast Guard stated, "Maybe if it was wider we could have got boats around it, but it's not, so it's a logistical problem. It's a bad place for it to happen."

The vessels will have to drop anchor and wait until the steel electrical tower, which was propped up only with the support of one of the barges after the accident, is removed.

Brahm stated, "The powerlines are suspended above the water via a huge tower. Basically this barge ran into the base of it and shifted the whole tower right on top of (one) of the barges."

The Houston Ship Channel
The Houston Ship Channel is part of the Port of Houston in Texas, a major U.S. sea port.

The 25-mile waterway is lined by the nation's biggest complex of petrochemical plants.

The Port of Houston ranks first in the nation in foreign waterborne tonnage and imports and second in U.S. export tonnage and total tonnage.

The Port of Houston ranks first in the US in foreign waterborne tonnage (14 consecutive years), first in U.S. imports (19 consecutive years), second in U.S. export tonnage and second in the U.S. in total tonnage (19 consecutive years).

According to the Port of Houston Authority, it generates hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity on a daily basis.

The channel handles bulk freight, including steel, grain and automobiles.

Brahm stated, "Every day it's shut down it's a massive loss for the surrounding area, so you never want to shut it down.”