Kirby Inland Marine settles claims from Houston Ship Channel oil spill

The U.S. Justice Department said Kirby Inland Marine has agreed to pay $4.9 million in civil penalties and implement fleet-wide improvements to settle claims resulting from an oil spill in the Houston Ship Channel in March 2014.

   The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) said Kirby Inland Marine has agreed to pay $4.9 million in civil penalties and implement fleet-wide improvements to settle claims resulting from a 4,000-barrel (168,000-gallon) oil spill in the Houston Ship Channel in March 2014.
   In its complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, along with the notice of lodging of a consent decree, the United States alleges that Kirby is liable under the Clean Water Act for the oil spill.  
   “The remedial measures and the penalties to be paid by Kirby under the consent decree are in addition to the costs the company has already incurred or will incur to clean up the oil spill, reimburse federal and state response efforts, compensate victims of the oil spill and compensate the public for injuries to natural resources,” the Justice Department said.
   According to the federal government, the spill occurred on March 22, 2014 when a Kirby tow boat, Miss Susan, was pushing two 300-foot oil barges in the “Texas City Y” area of the Houston Ship Channel in fog conditions. Despite detecting the nearby presence of a 585-foot bulk ship, Summer Wind, moving up the Houston Ship Channel, Kirby’s tow boat and barges tried to cross the channel in front of the bulk ship. As a result, Kirby’s lead oil barge was struck by the Summer Wind and about 4,000 barrels of heavy marine fuel oil spilled from the barge into the waterway.
   The oil continued to flow out of the channel and spread along the Texas coastline. About 160 miles of shoreline were fouled by the spill, including sensitive marshes, the national wildlife refuge on Matagorda Island, Mustang Island State Park and Padre Island National Seashore.