The Houston Ship Channel was closed to all traffic for one mile southwest of the Battleship Texas State Historic site Tuesday morning after a tanker fire led to an oil spill overnight near Deer Park.
The Coast Guard said a pilot aboard the 810-foot tanker, Aframax River, notified 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 carrying any product when the incident occurred, Coast Guard officials said.
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 to the incident.
The fire was extinguished and all tanker crew members were accounted for with no reported injuries, Coast Guard officials said.