Intercoastal Waterway Reopens After Collision

The U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port for the Houston/Galveston area informs that a 2-mile stretch of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway between between Bolivar Peninsula and Goat Island has been reopened after a pleasure craft sank in the channel following a collision.

The captain of the towing vessel Dixie Courage contacted Coast Guard Sector Houston/Galveston, 1 p.m. Sunday, reporting that his tow and barges had collided with a disabled and adrift 15-foot pleasure craft. The four people aboard the boat jumped overboard and swam to shore before the collision occurred.

There were no reports of injuries to either crew or any reports of pollution. The captain of the Dixie Courage reported no damage to the tow boat, but the pleasure craft sank from the damage it sustained.

The Captain of the Port issued a closure of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from mile marker 338 to mile marker 340 to prevent further incidents until the closure was lifted at 7:25 p.m., as the pleasure craft was towed to dock and out ot the waterway.

The Dixie Courage is owned by Kirby Inland Marine.

The Coast Guard is conducting an investigation into the cause of the collision.