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Empresas y finanzas

Texas barge collision halts oil traffic: USCG


    HOUSTON (Reuters) - Two barge tows collided in the Intracoastal Waterway between Port Arthur and Galveston, Texas, halting oil industry and other traffic for more than 12 hours, the Coast Guard said Tuesday.

    All traffic was halted between mile markers 310 and 315 east of High Island after the accident just before midnight (0430 GMT) Tuesday at mile marker 312. One-way traffic resumed early Tuesday afternoon, and the waterway fully reopened at mid-afternoon, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said.

    No oceangoing tankers were affected by the accident involving the towboat Caroline and the towboat Miss Stacie, both of which were pushing barges.

    There were no injuries but five crew members aboard the Caroline were rescued by a nearby vessel after the Caroline began taking on water, the Coast Guard said.

    Floating oil spill barriers were deployed around the Caroline. Very little oil spilled but the vessel's tanks contain 32,125 gallons of fuel, the spokeswoman said.

    Although the stretch of waterway does not carry oceangoing tankers, it is heavily traveled by inland barge tows carrying crude oil and petroleum products between companies in Texas and Louisiana.

    (Reporting by Bruce Nichols; Editing by David Gregorio)