Video: Retired Ship Sunk to Form Artificial Reef
Sinking a 6,000-ton, 371-foot former cargo vessel to help create an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico is a herculean feat, one only accomplished with strict adherence to rigorous federal and state environmental regulations. When the cargo ship Kraken was recently sunk 67 miles off the Galveston coast, Matrix New World Engineering helped the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Artificial Reef Program ensure that the vessel was free of environmental hazards and safe to support coral, fish, sea turtles and other aquatic life.
Collision Closes Houston Ship Channel
Two ships have collided in the Houston Ship Channel, according to Houston Marine Safety officials. A portion of the busy Houston Ship Channel was shut Monday after the collision of two 600-foot ships in fog, causing a leak of flammable liquid. Methyl tertiary-butyl ether, or MTBE, a gasoline additive aboard the Danish-flagged chemical tanker Carla Maersk, leaked from tanks that ruptured in the vessel's collision with a 623-foot Liberian bulk carrier, Conti Peridot, Coast Guard Petty Officer Manda Emery said. Officials believe the collision caused a breach in three of the containers storing the MTBE. The leak has since been secured, officials said. The amount of MTBE that leaked was not immediately known.
Photo: Yasa Golden Dadanelles Grounded
In this photo by the U.S. Coast Guard, the 800 ft grounded tank ship Yasa Golden Dardanelles is moored next to the lightering vessel SPT Crusader, Monday, Feb. 23, 2009. The Yasa Golden Dardanelles became grounded 22 miles off the Galveston coast, Friday, Feb. 20, 2009. Lightering operations commenced Monday afternoon in an effort to refloat the tank ship. An estimated 3.5 million gallons of the tank ship's cargo will be offloaded during the lightering procedure. Marine Safety Unit Galveston is working on the response effort with the following organizations: Texas General Land Office…
