The US Coast Guard Sector 8 New Orleans' web site currently doesn't link correctly to its news releases, but details are coming in from other sources that an oil fire is blazing here in Louisiana, after a tugboat hit an oil pipeline.
A familiar story.
The AP reports that the pipeline fire "was ignited when the pipe was hit by a tug boat pushing an oil barge" and that it "burned into the early morning hours Wednesday in a bayou south of New Orleans."
The collision occurred last night about 6:00 CDT in a marsh at Bayou Perot, about 30 miles south of New Orleans. Since the accident dark smoke can be seen from the Big Easy. Apparently there were four injuries including the tug's captain, who was rushed to Baton Rouge General Hospital's burn center.
The blaze is undoubtedly a stark reminder of what can happen in the Gulf. Ironic, no doubt, as the BP oil spill civil trial continues in Judge Carl Barbier's Court.
NBC Nightly News ran a segment on this current oil industry mishap tonight, as have many other national as well as international media.
The 47-foot tugboat is called the Shanon E. Settoon and belongs to Settoon Towing of Pierre Part, La., about 80 miles west of NOLA.
The pipeline, owned by San Ramon, Calif.-based oil giant Chevon, represents a flurry of Gulf-based activity for them. A BP peer, the company has a strong presence in the Gulf: shortly before BP's massive 2010 spill, Chevron launched Perdido, which the company touts as "the world's deepest offshore drilling production spar."
Examiner will continue to update readers as news of the pipeline fire develops.
Bold marks and hyperlinks are those of the Examiner's.
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