This Safety Alert highlights the critical importance of preventing water intrusion into fuel tanks. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) investigated a marine casualty that occurred in the Corpus Christi Shipping Channel, involving a towing vessel constructed in 2011 with a low freeboard. While pushing a barge loaded with methanol, the vessel encountered sea state conditions with 4-foot wave heights and sustained winds of 35 knots. These conditions caused water to fill the fixed containment area beneath the vessel's fuel tank vent pipes…