Degraded Dock Collapse Wasn’t Caused by Barge Contact
About 150 feet of a degraded dock in Chalmette, Louisiana, collapsed into the water in 2023 after a barge contact, but it was unlikely to have sustained the force of a typical docking anyway, a National Transportation Safety Board investigation has concluded.
The towing vessel Ovide J was maneuvering two loaded crude oil barges to the Chalmette Refinery crude oil dock on April 25, 2023, when the starboard barge contacted the transfer platform on one of the dock’s dolphins.
A 2017 inspection report found major deterioration on the dolphin, and a 2021 report also identified major damage and deterioration. The dock owner did not make any progress on the structural integrity of the dock in the year and five months between that last inspection and the dock collapse.
Investigators found it is likely that the dock’s transfer platform structure was compromised to the extent that it could not sustain the forces from a typical docking. The tow did not break up as a result of the contact, and no jolting movement was seen on the onboard recording, indicating it did not strike the dock with a large amount of force.
There were no injuries and no pollution reported. However, there was extensive damage to the dock’s pipelines, bridges, and pilings. The estimated cost of repairs to the dock was about $7 million.
“It is important for dock owners to inspect, evaluate, maintain, and rehabilitate facilities, piers, docks, and other infrastructure to minimize the risk to the environment and the vessels that traverse the waterways,” the report said. “Scheduling inspections, as well as maintaining and replacing waterfront infrastructure and components, is critical to continued safe operations.”
The dock owner has begun taking measures to better monitor dock integrity.
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