Oil spill clean-up impedes major Texas ship channel

TEXAS CITY, Texas (AP):

Although officials say all of the remaining oil has been taken out of the damaged barge and it is being moved out of the Houston Ship Channel, the spill is still impeding traffic in the major Texas ship channel.

The barge, loaded with marine fuel oil, collided with a ship in Galveston Bay on Saturday, leaking an unknown amount of the fuel into the popular bird habitat as the peak of the migratory shorebird season was approaching. Officials said the bulk carrier Summer Wind reported a collision with the barge, containing 924,000 gallons of fuel oil.

Coast Guard port captain Brian Penoyer said at a news conference yesterday that oil residue has been spotted as far as 12 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico.

Penoyer called it "a significant spill". Officials also said there have been some reports of affected wildlife but didn't specify.

The channel is closed, blocking more than 60 vessels, including three cruise ships, from moving between the Gulf and Galveston Bay.

Officials plan to bring in cruise ships on a case by case basis. Penoyer didn't say when the channel would reopen.