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Galveston Bay News

10 Mar 2024

Texas DOT Christens New Ferry Esperanza 'Hope' Andrade

(Photo: TxDOT)

On Friday, March 8, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) christened its new ferry in Galveston Bay.Named for the first female chair of the TxDOT and first Latina Secretary of State, Esperanza “Hope” Andrade, the vessel was designed by the The Shearer Group and built by Gulf Island Fabricators in Louisiana.Stretching 293 feet, the double-ended ferry showcases cutting-edge propulsion technology and pioneering battery energy storage systems.The ferry is outfitted with diesel-powered and electrical engines and Siemens Energy’s BlueDrive PLUSC power and propulsion system…

11 Mar 2024

Callan Marine Awarded Houston Dredging Contract

General Arnold (Photo: Callan Marine)

Galveston-based dredging contractor Callan Marine has been awarded a $136 million contract from Port Houston to dredge segment 1C of the Houston Ship Channel Expansion, under the port's Project 11 program.Callan will use its recently christened 32-inch cutter suction dredge, the General Arnold, among the newest, largest and most environmentally friendly cutter suction dredge in the U.S. fleet for the undertaking. The dredge features four EPA Tier 4 engines developing a combined 24…

02 Aug 2022

Towboat Pushing Barges Strikes Pleasure Boats in Texas

(Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

Six people were rescued from the water after a towboat pushing barges struck two pleasure boats near Goat Island, Texas, Saturday.U.S. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received notification at 9:26 p.m. via VHF-FM channel 16 that the towboat and barge collided with two recreational boats, one with two people aboard, the other with four people aboard. in the Galveston Bay. The captain of the towboat reported that the people had fallen in the water and had either…

22 Jun 2022

Port Houston Awards $450 Million in Contracts for Channel Expansion

(Photo: Port Houston)

The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority met in a special session and awarded two of the largest contracts in the organization’s history. The Commission approved the staff’s recommendation to award Weeks Marine and Curtin Maritime Corporation contracts totaling $430 million to complete the remaining Galveston Bay segments of the Houston Ship Channel expansion project.“It’s an exciting day for Port Houston and the entire region and the millions of people who rely on the Houston Ship Channel for their livelihood and to bring them essential goods,” Chairman Ric Campo said.

06 Jun 2022

Port Houston Begins $1 Billion Ship Channel Expansion Project

On display at the event were some of the many vessels keeping the channel safe and efficient, including Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company’s eco-friendly dredge Carolina, which soon joins the channel work. (Photo: Port Houston)

A $1 billion project to expand the Houston Ship Channel kicked off with an official ceremony last week, leading the way for greater safely, efficiency and economic growth in one of America’s busiest waterways.Known locally as Project 11 because it is the eleventh major construction project of the waterway in its more than 100-year history, the Houston Ship Channel expansion will widen the channel by 170 feet along its Galveston Bay reach, from 530 feet to 700 feet. It will also deepen some upstream segments to 46.5 feet…

02 Dec 2021

Kirby Inland Marine to Pay $15.3M in Damages Over 2014 Oil Spill

 (U.S Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Manda M. Emery)

Houston, Texas-based Kirby Inland Marine agreed to pay $15.3 million in damages and assessment costs to resolve federal and state claims for harm to natural resources resulting from a 2014 oil spill from a Kirby barge in the Houston Ship Channel, the U.S. Justice Department said.In a related enforcement action in 2016, the United States secured a settlement with Kirby for $4.9 million in civil penalties and injunctive relief measures to improve the company's operations to help…

22 Nov 2021

GLDD Wins Contract for Houston Ship Channel Widening

© Oleksii Fadieiev / Adobe Stock

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation announced it has signed a $92.5 million dredging contract for the Houston Ship Channel Widening and Improvement Project 11. This is the first phase of the extensive, multi-phase Houston Ship Channel billion-dollar expansion and deepening program. Dredging is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2022 with estimated completion in the fourth quarter of 2022.Project 11 is a plan to widen the 52- mile Houston Ship Channel which winds from the Gulf of Mexico through shallow Galveston Bay and up through the port.

20 Oct 2021

Port Houston's Container Surge Continues

(Photo: Port Houston)

Port Houston recorded its seventh consecutive month of double-digit container volume growth as increased consumer spending continues in the U.S.Container activity for September 2021 was 281,500 TEUs, up 11% compared to the same month last year, the port said. Year-to-date, TEUs are up 16% compared to 2020.Port Houston said its steel imports are also up, increasing 161% this month compared to September 2020 and are up 28% year-to-date. This growth reflects increased activity in the energy industry.

13 Oct 2021

Great Lakes Wins $95 Million Contract for Port of Houston Dredging

The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority holds Special Meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 12 and awards a $95 million contract for the first major dredge construction work to start on the billion-dollar Houston Ship Channel expansion and deepening program, Project 11.

The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority met Tuesday in a special meeting to consider the first dredge contract for Project 11, the Houston Ship Channel billion-dollar expansion and deepening program.Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC was awarded up to $95,375,349 to dredge 11½-miles of the 52-mile channel, widening a major portion of the Galveston Bay reach from 530 to 700 feet. The work includes the construction of a new bird island and oyster mitigation.Port Houston negotiated multiple options and selected the approach with the most reduction in overall NOx emissions…

30 Mar 2021

Excessive Speed a Factor in 2019 Houston Ship Channel Collision -NTSB

A screen capture from wheelhouse video on board the towing vessel Voyager shows the moment when the LPG tanker Genesis River struck barge 30015T, March 10, 2019. (Source: Kirby Inland Marine / NTSB)

Excessive vessel speed contributed to a 2019 collision between a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker and a barge in the Houston Ship Channel that resulted in the release of 11,000 barrels of petrochemicals, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday.The 754-foot-long tanker Genesis River collided with the 297-foot-long tank barge 30015T on the Houston Ship Channel May 10, 2019, in Texas’ Upper Galveston Bay. The collision breached two cargo tanks in the barge, spilling approximately 473,600 gallons of reformate, a gasoline blending stock.

25 Jan 2021

Unmanned Vessel Launched to Survey Western Galveston Bay

The Sea Machines-enabled autonomous vessel Sigsbee conducts survey missions seven days per week, effectively doubling the conventional productivity. (Photo: DEA)

An unmanned vessel is now surveying more than 3,500 nautical miles of the Western Galveston Bay, near the Houston Ship Channel.DEA Marine Services, a division of David Evans and Associates, Inc. (DEA), in Vancouver, Wash., equipped its survey boat Sigsbee with a Sea Machines Robotics SM300 autonomous-command and remote-helm control system to fulfill a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) contract.Sigsbee, which is serving as an autonomous daughter craft for the project…

16 Jan 2020

Search Called Off for Two Missing After Ship Collision

The stern of Pappy's Pride appears above the waterline beside the vessel's inflatable life raft after a collision with chemical tanker Bow Fortune in Galveston, Texas. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Station Galveston)

Responders have called off a search for two fisherman missing following a fatal ship collision near Galveston, Texas, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday.One crew member has been rescued, one is deceased and two remain missing at the conclusion of a three-day search involving the Coast Guard and local responders that covered more than 49 square miles by aerial flights, shore patrols and maritime searches.“It is never an easy decision to suspend a search," said Cmdr. Jordan Baldueza, Sector Houston-Galveston search and rescue mission coordinator.

15 Apr 2019

Houston Widens Ship Channel

The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority has decided to accelerate widening of the Houston Ship Channel, the nation’s busiest waterway.The Port Authority is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and other representatives of the federal government, as well as Port of Houston and Houston Ship Channel stakeholders, to obtain authorization and accelerated funding and completion, of a deepened and widened ship channel.“The Houston Ship Channel is open for business for all and will continue to be,” said Port of Houston Authority Chairman, Ric Campo.This project will be the eleventh significant widening and deepening of the channel since its conception…

12 Dec 2018

Aramco Bags Galveston Bay Honor

The Galveston Bay Foundation recently honored the volunteer efforts of Aramco Services Company (ASC) with its “Guardian of the Bay” award. This award recognizes ASC’s “leadership, work, and commitment for the betterment of Galveston Bay.”According to a press note  the director of Public Affairs Abdulrahman A. Bayounis and Strategic Communications supervisor Alma S. Kombargi accepted the award on behalf of ASC.“ASC is proud to partner with the Galveston Bay Foundation to revitalize such a precious resource,” said Bayounis. “I would like to recognize the efforts of our ASC volunteers who come out year-after-year to give their time and…

12 Sep 2016

Marathon Galveston Bay Contractor Feared Drowned

A contractor was feared drowned after falling into the Port of Texas City, Texas, when scaffolding supporting him collapsed at the Marathon Petroleum Corp Galveston Bay refinery dock, a Texas City official said. "Divers are en route to do a body recovery," Derek Duckett, director of emergency management for Texas City, said on Monday. Part of the scaffolding fell at about 11:30 a.m. CDT (1630 GMT) Monday and the worker has not been seen since, Duckett said. "I heard part of the scaffolding fell and he was tied to it," Duckett said. An investigation will be needed to determine what happened, he said. The Texas City Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard searched for the man before the divers were called out, Duckett said.

25 Oct 2015

Houston Braces for Floods as Texas Deluged by Rain

Heavy rains fueled by the meeting of two strong storm systems, one the remnants of Hurricane Patricia, pounded southeastern Texas on Saturday, triggering flash floods and derailing a freight train as the heavy weather tracked toward Houston. Navarro County, about 50 miles (80 km) south of Dallas, was one of the hardest-hit areas, inundating the tiny town of Powell with 20 inches (50 cm) of rain over 30 hours, according to meteorologist Brett Rathbun of Accuweather. A flash flood was so forceful it swept a Union Pacific freight train off the tracks, pushing locomotives and some rail cars on their sides. No injuries were reported. County…

17 Jun 2015

Waterways from Matagorda to Galveston Reopened

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has reopened waterways from Matagorda Bay to Galveston Bay following their closure due to Tropical Storm Bill.   The USCG informs it has lifted the Federal Safety Zone in place for small crafts, and has opened the waterways from Matagorda Bay to Galveston Bay, at 6 a.m. Wednesday.   Port Condition is back to normal as set by the Coast Guard Captain of the Port of Houston.

21 Apr 2015

Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Projects Proposed

Aerial view of Louisiana shoreline (Photo: NOAA)

The trustees and BP have identified approximately $134 million in projects to be included in the next proposed phase of early restoration. This milestone comes five years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The 10 proposed projects would benefit sea turtles, birds and fish; increase recreational opportunities; and improve nearshore and reef habitats. It is anticipated that these projects will be included in a draft Phase IV Early Restoration Plan that will be made available for public review and comment.

29 Jul 2014

U.S. Marshalls Ordered to Seize Kurdish Oil Cargo off Texas

Acting on a request from the central government in Iraq, a U.S. judge has signed an order telling the U.S. Marshals Service to seize a cargo of oil from Iraqi Kurdistan aboard a tanker off the coast of Texas, court filings showed early on Tuesday. To carry out the order from Magistrate Judge Nancy K. Johnson of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the Marshals Service may need to rely on companies in the Galveston Bay area that provide crude offloading services. The United Kalavrvta tanker, which is too large to enter the port of Galveston near Houston, was given clearance by the U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday to transfer its cargo offshore to smaller boats that would deliver it to the U.S. mainland.

29 Jul 2014

Update: U.S. to Seize Kurdish Oil from Tanker off Texas

U.S. authorities are set to seize a cargo of oil from Iraqi Kurdistan anchored off the Texas coast after a judge approved a request from Baghdad, raising the stakes in an oil sales dispute between Iraq's central government and the autonomous region. The tanker United Kalavrvta, carrying some 1 million barrels of Iraqi Kurdish crude oil worth more than $100 million, arrived near Galveston Bay on Saturday, but has yet to unload its disputed cargo. The U.S. judge's approval of the request from Baghdad deals another blow to the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) attempts to establish its own oil sales, which are seen as a crucial step in the autonomous region's push for independence.

10 Jun 2015

Summer Wind, Miss Susan Tow Collision Report

This is a synopsis from the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) report and does not include the Board’s rationale for the conclusions, probable cause, and safety recommendations. NTSB staff is currently making final revisions to the report from which the attached conclusions and safety recommendations have been extracted. The final report and pertinent safety recommendation letters will be distributed to recommendation recipients as soon as possible. to further review and editing. Houston Ship Channel, Lower Galveston Bay, Texas. The visibility was restricted at the time due to fog. The bulk carrier was inbound to Houston, traveling in a north direction. The tow was bound for Port Bolivar on the east side of the Houston Ship Channel, traveling in an east direction.

16 Jun 2015

Storm Forces Closure of Some Texas Waterways

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) closes waterways from Matagorda Bay to Galveston Bay as Tropical Storm Bill arrives   The USCG said it continues to broadcast notification of a Federal Safety Zone in place for small crafts Tuesday on the waterways from Matagorda Bay to Galveston Bay.   This safety zone was established late Monday night and prohibits the use of small crafts and offshore transfer operations on the waterways referenced and will remain in effect until canceled by the Captain of the Port of Houston. All mariners are required to adhere to these restrictions without delay.   Due to approaching severe weather, search and rescue assets will be limited.   The Lynchburg Ferry suspended services at approximately 7:20 a.m., due to rising tide levels.

19 Dec 2014

NOAA: US to See More Floods from Sea Level Rise

Annapolis, Maryland, pictured here in 2012, is one of three major East Coast urban areas already being faced with nuisance flooding in excess of 30 days per year. (Credit: With permission from Amy McGovern.)

Most of U.S. coast may see 30 or more days a year of floods up to 2 feet above high tides. By 2050, a majority of U.S. coastal areas are likely to be threatened by 30 or more days of flooding each year due to dramatically accelerating impacts from sea level rise, according to a new NOAA study, published in the American Geophysical Union’s online peer-reviewed journal Earth’s Future. The findings appear in the paper From the Extreme to the Mean: Acceleration and Tipping Points for Coastal Inundation due to Sea Level Rise…