GALVESTON, Texas — A barge struck the Pelican Island Causeway on Wednesday morning, causing traffic and environmental issues.
A spokesperson for the owner of the barge said it was caused by a broken coupling and no one on the boat or bridge or in the water was injured.
He said when the barge hit the bridge, a piece of concrete fell on top of the tanks. He said they're not exactly sure how much oil leaked but they're estimating it was about 1,000 to 2,000 gallons total. He said the leak has since been contained and the Coast Guard is helping to evaluate the extent of the spill.
The barge's capacity was 30,000 barrels of oil and there were 23,000 barrels on board at the time of the incident, officials said. Only one tank was compromised. For reference, there are 42 gallons per barrel.
According to the Coast Guard, they're pretty confident less oil spilled than initially believed. They said more than 600 gallons of oily water had been recovered as of 4 p.m. Thursday. Another 5,000 gallons were recovered from the barge that didn't go into the water.
They were in the process of removing the concrete that fell on top of the barge and were hoping to have it done by Friday morning. They had to lift the large slab of concrete and then remove the barge from the area to assess if it could be moved safely.
Once the barge is moved, a full assessment of what happened will take place.
Here's the update provided Thursday afternoon:
Oil spill cleanup efforts
State officials also showed up to help. They said they were working to get the oil spill cleaned up as safely and effectively as possible. Boats are monitoring the impact on wildlife and citizens.
They identified sites along the coast where they preemptively boomed and as of Thursday afternoon, they had no reports of wildlife being impacted. They said if anyone sees wildlife being impacted by the oil spill, they shouldn't try to do anything themselves. Instead, you should call their reporting line at 832-514-9663 if you see an animal in need of care.
There's also a marine mammal survey team out looking for dolphins that may have been spotted in the area.
Officials said the weather was not a factor in the crash itself, but could become an issue as storms were expected to roll in on Thursday night. They said they took action to secure the barge in case of a severe weather event.
How to get on and off Pelican Island
Officials said there was still one-way traffic to get off Pelican Island and pedestrian traffic was OK as of Thursday evening.
They said they were coordinating with people who needed to go to and from the island.
The bridge won't be able to be assessed until the barge is moved.