Bulk carrier pierces hull, damages dock while backing at Toledo

Csltadoussac1

A Canadian-flagged laker punctured a stern bunker tank when it backed into a pier on the Maumee River near Toledo, Ohio.

CSL Tadoussac, a 730-foot self-unloading bulk carrier, struck the Torco dock, which punctured the starboard stern area above the waterline Dec. 11. The crew pumped fuel into other tanks to bring the level below the puncture mark to stop the leakage.

The Coast Guard inspects the damaged pier.

Thanks to the crew’s actions, only about two gallons of bunker fuel leaked into the water, said Coast Guard Lt. John Adkins, executive officer of Marine Safety Unit Toledo.

A response contractor laid 800 feet of oil containment boom around the vessel while the spill was cleaned up. There were no injuries to the crew of 23 on board or anyone on the pier.

The vessel moved to the nearby Toledo Shipyard for temporary repairs, where the boom was also deployed to prevent any further environmental damage, Adkins said.

Structural damage to the CSL Tadoussac was minimal, and steel repairs cost less than $50,000, according to CSL Group Inc. representative Brigitte Hébert. The vessel was out of service for four and a half days and returned to service after being cleared by the Coast Guard.

“Once the vessel goes into lay up this winter, they will do permanent repairs to the fuel tank,” Adkins said.

In the meantime, the vessel will not use the damaged fuel tank.

At the time of the incident the 20,634-gross-ton bulker was delivering 27,000 tons of iron ore to the terminal.

The Torco docks, owned by CSX Transportation Inc., suffered minor damage but operations were not affected, according to Carla Groleau, a CSX spokeswoman.

Adkins said at press time a final report and finding of cause had not been completed.

By Professional Mariner Staff