Things are back to normal along the Sabine Neches Waterway more than a week after a maritime collision between a tanker and a barge resulted in a major oil spillage, and shut down the channel for several days. The accident which occurred on the 23rd of January in the 400-foot channel caused severe damage to the tanker, but fortunately, there were no maritime injuries. The local economy however, suffered financial losses as the waterway was blocked for at least four days.
The incident has brought into focus the serious risks involved in navigating vessels through the narrow channel. The Sabine Neches Waterway is used by dozens of ships on any given day. When two vessels, each of which can be hundreds of feet in length and can touch 100 feet in width, are expected to pass each other along a narrow channel, it takes pilots all their wits, experience and training to navigate their vessels past each other without an adverse incident. The risk of a collision is always present, and close shaves are far too frequent. As the Houston Chronicle reports, pilots never get used to how dangerous navigating this narrow channel can be.
s a maritime lawyer, I find it shocking that the waterway, which is one of the busiest commercial waterways in the country, has not been widened or deepened in decades. Legislators have voiced their support for deepening and widening the channel to enhance safety. In the wake of the recent maritime collision involving the tanker Eagle Otome, those calls have increased.
The pilots who steer these ships rely heavily on their experience, training and powers of vision to prevent accidents. However, considering the volume of traffic along the channel, it’s necessary that proposals to widen and deepen the channel are approved and implemented as quickly as possible, so these pilots’ jobs are made safer. Last month’s collision was a wake-up call –Legislators, are you listening?
