Oil Tanker Free after Grounding off Texas
SN Federica churns up mud while attempting to free itself after running aground March 31. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Dustin R. Williams)
SN Federica sits dead in the water after running aground 35 miles off Galveston (U.S. Coast Guard photo Dustin R. Williams)
An oil tanker has been refloated after running aground last Tuesday 35 miles east of Galveston, Texas.
The SN Federica, a 750-foot Italian flagged oil tanker carrying more than 400,000 barrels of crude oil (nearly 17 million gallons), ran aground while transiting into the Galveston Fairway. The grounding caused the ship to incur damage to the forepeak of the vessel, leading to an ingress of water which was later determined to be ballast water and the ship was not leaking.
After receiving a call from the tanker’s captain, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders launched crews from Marine Saftey Unit Texas City, Station Galveston and Air Station Houston to respond to the incident.
Once on scene, a Coast Guard marine casualty inspector and an investigating officer confirmed that the oil tanker was not taking on water and that there was no pollution. Coast Guard crews also confirmed that the previously reported ingress of water was from the ships ballest tank.
The SN Federica initiated their vessel response plan and began the procress of dewatering their ballast tanks. The vessel completed ballast operations and was finally refloated at 10:32 p.m. Wednesday, with no pollution or injuries.
MSU Texas City is overseeing the seaworthiness assessment and investigating the cause of the incident.
The Coast Guard Captain of the Port issued an order to restrict the vessel from federal waters until a damage assessment, underwater hull survey, dive report and ship's classification survey report are complete to validate the seaworthiness of the ship.
