Louisiana Coast News

The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday said it was still looking for the source of a leak from an underwater pipeline off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico that it estimated had released more than a million gallons of crude oil.The 67-mile long pipeline was closed by Main Pass Oil Gathering Co (MPOG) on Thursday morning, after crude oil was spotted around 19 miles offshore of the Mississippi River Delta, near Plaquemines Parish, southeast of New Orleans."Overflight teams observed visible oil Friday moving southwest away from the Louisiana shore…

The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday medevaced a 71-year-old man from an offshore supply vessel around 100 miles southwest of Port Fourchon, Louisiana.Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a call at approximately 2:51 a.m. from the vessel's captain requesting assistance to medevac a passenger experiencing low blood pressure and dizziness.Sector New Orleans watchstanders then coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew to assist.The aircrew arrived on scene…

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a 53-year-old man from a cruise ship Sunday approximately 230 miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana.Coast Guard District Eight watchstanders received a call at approximately 3:30 p.m. Sunday from the crew of the cruise ship Voyager of the Seas requesting a medevac for a passenger aboard experiencing severe loss of blood.Watchstanders diverted a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew and an Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144 Casa aircrew to assist.

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a crewmember from Allseas' pipelayer Solitaire Tuesday approximately 13 miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana.Coast Guard Eighth District and Coast Guard Sector New Orleans command center watchstanders received a report at approximately noon Tuesday from the Solitaire of a 65-year-old male crewmember experiencing heart attack-like symptoms. Sector New Orleans watchstanders diverted a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew to assist.

The Office of Investigations and Casualty Analysis has released U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Alert 06-23: Avoiding Load Line Requirements.The safety alert cites a recent marine casualty resulting in the total loss of a crane barge, estimated at over $6 million, and cautions about the risks associated with not complying with load line regulations.The incident occurred approximately 18 miles offshore of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico while the crane barge was being towed in calm weather conditions.

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a 28-year-old man from BP's Atlantis offshore platform Friday, about 130 miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana.Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a call at approximately 5:40 p.m. from a medic aboard the Atlantis requesting assistance to medevac a crewmember aboard the platform with an injury to his eye.Watchstanders coordinated the launches of a Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew and a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew to assist…

The Coast Guard called off its search for four passengers onboard a downed helicopter about 10 miles off the coast of Southwest Pass, Louisiana, at 6:15 p.m. Thursday.At around 8:40 a.m., Coast Guard District Eight watchstanders got a call from Rotorcraft Leasing Company personnel indicating that a company helicopter with four people aboard had gone down in the Gulf of Mexico while departing an oil platform.Sector New Orleans watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard…

A second shipment of crude from a U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore field has sailed for Germany, according to vessel tracking data and trade sources on Tuesday, as European refiners test potential replacements for Russian oil.Europe is aiming to cut 90% of its Russian oil imports by the end of this year. Refiners are expected to look to Norway, the Middle East, the United States and West Africa for alternative supplies, according to analysts.The hunt for substitutes has led in two recent instances to Mars, a U.S. sour grade similar to Russia's Urals.The Ise Princess tanker loaded Mars Sour crude off the Louisiana coast and is on its way to the Baltic Sea port of Rostock…

A damaged oil pipeline component that disrupted output at several offshore U.S. Gulf of Mexico platforms was repaired late Friday, a Louisiana official said, with producers moving to reactivate some of the halted production.A failed flange connecting two onshore pipelines operated by Shell Plc in Louisiana leaked an estimated two barrels of oil. The oil, which spilled onto an area covered with gravel, has been removed, said Chett Chiasson, executive director of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission…

A tanker of U.S. sour crude was delivered at Germany's port of Rostock last week for the first time ever, according to sources, analysts and vessel tracking data, as local refiners test alternatives to Russian oil.The European Union plans an almost-complete embargo of Russian barrels by year-end, and is trying to wean itself off Russian crude imports, which have fed inland refineries in Germany, Poland and other central European nations via pipeline.Refiners plan to replace Russian oil with seaborne Norwegian, Saudi Arabian, British and U.S. crude grades. Russia has already shown through its natural gas exports that it is willing to cut off European destinations in a tit-for-tat over the EU's financial sanctions that followed Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February.

RWE Renewables, a German offshore wind giant is looking to build an offshore wind supply chain in Louisiana, one of the top U.S. oil and gas producing states. RWE said last week it would collaborate with Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.) and GNOwind Alliance to build a program that will accelerate the engagement of Louisiana's supply chain with offshore wind and benefit all Louisianians. Greater New Orleans, Inc. is the regional economic development nonprofit organization serving the 10-parish region of Southeast Louisiana.Over the next six months, GNO, Inc.

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced an oil platform worker last Thursday near Breton Sound, Louisiana.Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a notification at approximately 6:25 p.m. from the oil platform Breton Sound 21 of a  worker sustaining serious injuries to the arm, Coast Guard said Friday.Watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew to assist. The helicopter crew arrived on scene, hoisted the worker, and transferred him to University Medical Center in New Orleans.

Royal Dutch Shell on Monday began evacuating staff from a U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil platform, and other energy companies began preparing for hurricane-force winds from a second Gulf Coast storm in as many weeks.Tropical Storm Nicholas was about 105 miles (115 km) south of Port O'Connor, Texas, and moving north with winds of 60 miles per hour (97 kph). It could become a hurricane just ahead of landfall on Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.Waves stirred up by Nicholas neared 12 feet (3.7 m) in height were reported outside of Port Aransas…

Following reports of oil spills found along the Southeast Louisiana coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, the U.S. Coast Guard said Monday it had conducted overflights Sunday that focused on two locations previously identified for further investigation."Members of the National Strike Force aboard a Coast Guard HC-144 flew over Bay Marchand, south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana, and the Enterprise Offshore Drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, in a continued effort to track and monitor any threats they may pose to the environment," the U.S.

More than two dozen oil vessels were clustered off Louisiana seaports on Tuesday as the U.S. Coast Guard and port operators assessed damages wreaked by Hurricane Ida, according to sources and Refinitiv Eikon data.Dozens of ports from Louisiana to Alabama closed as Ida tore through the Gulf of Mexico and slammed into the coast on Sunday. A few have reopened with restrictions on vessel drafts.Ida made landfall at Port Fourchon, Louisiana, packing 150-mile-per-hour (240 km-per hour) winds that knocked out power to a substantial part of the state.

Hurricane Ida pummeled U.S. Gulf Coast energy suppliers, knocking out most of the region's offshore wells and nearly half its motor fuel production and drove prices broadly higher.The storm crashed on Sunday into the Louisiana coast, tearing through U.S. offshore oil and gas fields with 150 mile per hour (241 kph) winds and pushing up to 12 feet (3.7 meters) of water ashore. More than 620,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana were without power.Production losses - including at six Gulf Coast refineries - will lift retail gasoline prices by 5 to 10 cents a gallon, said tracking firm GasBuddy.

Energy firms on Sunday had suspended 1.74 million barrels per day of oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), as Hurricane Ida slammed into the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 storm.Ida made landfall on Sunday near Port Fourchon, the land base for the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the largest privately-owned crude terminal in the United States.Oil companies raced to evacuate employees from offshore infrastructure in the days ahead of the storm, prompting shutdowns at their facilities in the Gulf.Almost 94% of U.S.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Wednesday that it may be able to clear enough debris from Hurricane Delta to open the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Louisiana to vessels drafting up to 30 feet (9.14 m) with restrictions by the end of the week.The Army Corps, however, said it does not have a timeline for restoration to full deep draft (40 feet) traffic.Analysts said a fully laden liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker has a draft of around 40 feet.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Tuesday it has identified three obstructions from Hurricane Delta that have to be removed before it can reopen the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Louisiana to deep draft vessels.The Army Corps, however, said it needs more data before it can estimate how long it will take to dredge the channel.That channel allows tankers to access the Cameron liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant, the Lake Charles refineries owned by Citgo Petroleum Corp and…

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) suspended tanker offloading at its offshore marine terminal on Sunday because of Tropical Storm Sally, the company said in a statement posted on-line.The LOOP is the nation's only oil port able to receive the largest crude oil tankers. Its onshore storage facilities continued to operate as Sally, forecast to become a hurricane, threatened the Louisiana coast, the company said. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

New Orleans braced for severe flooding with residents told to hunker down as a growing tropical storm in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico headed for landfall late on Friday or early on Saturday as the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019.U.S. President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for the state of Louisiana late on Thursday, hours after the region's oil production was cut by half as energy companies evacuated offshore drilling facilities and a coastal refinery.Tropical Storm…

Some residents and visitors prepared to flee New Orleans on Thursday as Tropical Storm Barry closed in and city officials warned of severe flooding if it makes landfall by early Saturday as the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2019 season.The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (64 kph) as of 10 a.m. CDT (1500 GMT) on Thursday, the National Weather Service said.Forecasters issued a storm-surge warning for a stretch of Louisiana coastline south of already-sodden New Orleans stretching from the mouth of the Atchafalaya River to Shell Beach.

A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for: Mouth of the Pearl River to Intracoastal City. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for: Mouth of the Mississippi River to Cameron. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for: Mouth of the Mississippi River northward to the Mouth of the Pearl River.A Storm Surge Watch means there is a possibility of life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland from the coastline in the indicated locations during the next 48 hours. For a depiction of areas at risk please see the National Weather Service Storm Surge Watch/Warning Graphic available at hurricanes.gov.