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.
