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September 2, 2014Repair now or buy later?
September 2, 2014
A Venice-bound oil rig under tow had to alter its course last week due to a botched ballasting attempt, shutting down the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in both directions for nearly five hours.
The Parker 72 was headed for Venice under tugboat power when crews attempted to increase the amount of water in ballast tanks, to allow passage under the Houma Twin-Span Bridge, according to Ensign Mike Atkins, of the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit in Houma.
“They were debalancing in order to pass under the twin span, taking on water to lower and get clearance under the bridge when they began taking on too much water,” Atkins said, referring to information provided at the earliest stage of the investigation. “They were listing to port and pushed up on the bank to assess at around 3:30 p.m. We got the call at that time and sent out a duty team to assess the situation.”
No injuries were reported, and there was no discharge of pollutants. All marine traffic was halted as a Houma Police Department boat aided in keeping the perimeter. The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office Water Patrol also responded and provided assistance.
“They were pumping out the water they had taken on and then had to get refloated and proceeded on their way,” Atkins said, noting that the waterway, the equivalent of a marine interstate highway running from Florida to Texas, was re-opened at 9:50 p.m.
The rig was then towed to a shipyard for further evaluation.
As much as 100,000 gallons of water was reported discharged. Local rig workers familiar with ballasting operations said that such mishaps can occur when a valve is left open or a pump running, causing more water than is intended to flow into the tanks.
Parker Drilling of Houston operates 13 barge rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
A company spokeswoman, Stephanie Dixon, was unable to provide further information on the rig or the situation.
Crews pump out ballast from the barge rig Parker 72, shutting down the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway for at least five hours last week.
