Oil tanker freed off Galveston after cargo transfer
By MIKE GLENN Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Feb. 24, 2009, 9:00AM
Divers are set to begin inspecting the hull of a tanker that had been grounded in the Gulf of Mexico before being freed early today after the transfer of more than 80,000 barrels of fuel oil to another vessel, U.S. Coast Guard officials said.
The Yasa Golden Dardanelles ran aground Friday about 22 miles off the coast of Galveston while awaiting a pilot to guide the ship into the Houston Ship Channel.
The Marshall Islands-flagged vessel, with 26 crew members aboard, was carrying more than 620,000 barrels when it grounded. None of the cargo leaked into the water after the accident, Coast Guard officials said, and the stranded ship did not block traffic.
The transfer process, called lightering, was delayed until Monday because of bad weather, they said.
There were no reports of any injuries from the grounding or the fuel transfer to the other vessel, the SPT Crusader, which had been brought alongside, Coast Guard officials said.
In addition to divers, naval engineers and inspectors will examine the ship, the Coast Guard said.