HOUSTON — The Houston Ship Channel is closed to all traffic for 1 mile southwest of the Battleship Texas State Historic site, between the Cargill facility and the Cemex dock, as teams respond to leaked fuel oil from a ship Tuesday morning.
Around midnight, a pilot aboard the 810-foot tanker, Aframax River, notified Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders that the tanker was on fire near the Intercontinental Terminals Company. It was reported that a bunker tank was punctured and caught fire. The tanker was not loaded and carrying product when the incident occurred.
Coast Guard Station Houston and Station Galveston boat crews, two Port of Houston Authority fire boats and Harris County Sheriff's Office marine division responded.
The Houston Ship Channel was closed at 12:08 a.m., and the Coast Guard established a safety zone from the Cargil facility to the Cemex docks.
The fire has been extinguished and all tanker crew members are accounted for with no injuries reported.
A port of Houston fire boat and Coast Guard investigators will remain on scene.