Towboat Sinks, Blocks Matagorda Ship Channel

The 32-ft. tow boat Iron Ox sank April 4 during a storm in the Matagorda Ship Channel. The storm's winds averaged 40 to 50 knots with gusts up to 60. No one was hurt and pollution is minimal, but the wreckage is blocking the ship channel. The Matagorda Ship Channel is the only access for large ships to the port of Point Comfort, Texas. Presently there are four ships awaiting transit. Investigators from U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Satellite Office Port Lavaca, Texas, are overseeing salvage operations and investigating the cause of the sinking. The Iron Ox sank while still attached by cable to the dredge it was tending, between channel markers 43 and 44, near Magnolia, Texas. The tow cable and heavy seas from the storm are slowing salvage operations. The Iron Ox, is owned by Laquay Dredging Corp. and was contracted by the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the channel.