The National Transportation Safety Board has released its report into an April 25, 2023 incident in which about 150 feet of a degraded dock at the Chalmette Refinery crude oil dock near
The collapsed crude oil dock, looking upriver. Inset shows the area of the dock thatcollapsed (circled). [Sources: Coast Guard, Nearmap]
The National Transportation Safety Board has released its report into an April 25, 2023 incident in which about 150 feet of a degraded dock at the Chalmette Refinery crude oil dock near mile 89 on the Lower Mississippi River collapsed after a barge contact .
There were no injuries, and no pollution was reported. There was extensive damage to the dock’s pipelines, bridges, and pilings. The estimated cost of repairs to the dock was about $7 million.
The incident occurred when the 76-foot-long towing vessel Ovide J, operated by Enterprise Marine Services of Houston, was maneuvering two loaded crude oil barges to the dock and the starboard barge contacted the transfer platform on one of the dock’s dolphins.
The full NTSB report says:
“The Ovide J and barges sustained no reported damage from the contact with the dock. A U.S/ Coast Guard inspection following the casualty noted that no fendering timbers or pilings were damaged from the contact with the barge EMS 348.
“The contact caused 150 feet of the dock to collapse inshore). A postcasualty survey revealed shearing of dolphin no. 3 support pilings 5 to 20 feet below the waterline. The dock settled to the riverbed, 10 feet below the river height at the time of the casualty. The transfer platform moved about 30 feet toward the shoreline and had a 10° inshore list. The elevated bridge remained connected to dolphin no. 3 but was about 17° closer to the shoreline than its original position.”
A 2017 inspection report found major deterioration on the dolphin, and a 2021 report also identified major damage and deterioration. The dock owner did not make any progress on the structural integrity of the dock in the year and five months between that last inspection and the dock collapse.
Investigators found it is likely that the dock’s transfer platform structure was compromised to the extent that it could not sustain the forces from a typical docking. The tow did not break up as a result of the contact, and no jolting movement was seen on the onboard recording, indicating it did not strike the dock with a large amount of force.
“It is important for dock owners to inspect, evaluate, maintain, and rehabilitate facilities, piers, docks, and other infrastructure to minimize the risk to the environment and the vessels that traverse the waterways,” the report says. “Scheduling inspections, as well as maintaining and replacing waterfront infrastructure and components, is critical to continued safe operations.”
The NTSB says that the dock owner has begun taking measures to better monitor dock integrity.
- Read the full NTSB report HERE
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