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Louisiana Refinery Accident Database

Calcasieu Refining (3585), Lake Charles

LDEQ Accident Report

Pollutants Released

Accident Classified As: No Information Given

Cause of Problem: Piping or Tubing

At approximately 3:25 PM on June 20, 2013, a barge unloading hose ruptured during off loading of crude oil from a barge at Calcasieu Refining Company C-Dock. This occurred when a strong wake from a deep draft ship pulled the barge away from the dock far enough to stretch and rupture the hose. Original estimate of release was 10 barrels, but actual release was 5 barrels.

Discharge Preventable - No Information Given

Appears that barge was not tied to the dock tight enough to prevent incident from occurring.

Notes/Remedial Actions

The substance released did escape beyond the incident location affecting the waters of the Calcasieu River. Immediate action by CRC personnel was to hit emergency shut off devices which minimized the amount of oil discharged and deployed two spill boats and 2500-3000 feet of containment boom. Oil recovery was accomplished using sorbent pads and sorbent boom material. Approximately 22 cubic yards of soiled absorbents were recovered and will be properly disposed of. An emergency response plan was in place and initiated by Enterprise Marine Services LLC. The spill response was a shared responsibility between Enterprise Marine Services LLC and the Calcasieu Refining Company. The owner/operator of the M/V Princimar Hope (ship responsible for causing the wake) has been put on notice. An OSRO crew from ES&H Consulting Services, Inc was contracted to conduct remedial activities. No information is given about whether release was below reportable quantity, but final estimated amount released (5 barrels) is greater than reported quantity for crude oil (1 barrel).