Shrimper hits south jetty of Brownsville Ship Channel

AUSTIN — The Texas General Land Office Oil Spill Prevention and Response Program took steps to protect the South Bay Coastal Preserve on Saturday after a 70-foot shrimping trawler collided with the south jetty of the Brownsville Ship Channel.

The shrimp trawler, Rhianna, collided with the jetty in rough seas shortly after midnight Friday. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the crew, which abandoned the vessel on the jetty.

Rhianna's captain had just fueled up in Mexico, and the ship's tanks contain at least 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel. A sheen is visible on the water near the mouth of the Brownsville Ship Channel, but Land Office Oil Spill Prevention and Response crews think most of the diesel fuel remains in the ship's tanks at this time.

High seas with 6- to 7-foot waves hindered salvage and cleanup operations Saturday, and Rhianna remained on the jetty Saturday night.

As a precaution, Land Office Oil Spill Prevention and Response crews worked with local contractors to begin deploying protective containment booms to keep any spilled diesel out of the South Bay Coastal Preserve. Crews deployed about 1,500 feet of containment boom Saturday.

As of Saturday night, efforts to prevent and contain the spill had succeeded and no wildlife impacts had been reported for South Bay Coastal Preserve or the surrounding area.

Sunday, crews plan to pump the diesel from Rhianna onto another vessel.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and be ready to take any steps necessary to protect South Bay Coastal Preserve," said Jerry Patterson, commissioner of the Texas General Land Office.