T&T Salvage is on Fire!

On Monday July 20, 2015, at approximately 1:20am, two loaded naphtha barges under tow were involved in a collision with two cumene barges in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway along the Bolivar Peninsula, Texas. The barge collision initiated a fire onboard one of the naphtha barges and T&T Salvage was called out to conduct marine firefighting and salvage operations, under their OPA 90 Salvage and Marine Firefighting agreement.

Recognized as a national leader in salvage response operations and named on the majority of tank vessel response plans in the United States, T&T Salvage was on-scene in less than two hours with a full- suite of company-owned industrial firefighting equipment and a seasoned marine firefighting crew. The fire was quickly extinguished using Pyrocool, a fire extinguishing foam, in less than an hour after arriving on-site with T&T Salvage responding in half the time required by U.S. regulations. After cooling and stabilizing the damaged barge, both naphtha barges were towed to a safe location and the cargo was safely transferred to receiving barges to prevent any environmental impact using T&T’s portable hydraulic pump systems.

As T&T Salvage was completing this successful firefighting and salvage operation, the team was called on to conduct an in-situ burn of an oil spill caused by a pipeline rupture in South Louisiana. In-situ burning of oil spills can be more effective than traditional mechanical oil recovery methods, minimizing long-term environmental impacts to sensitive marshes and wetlands. T&T Salvage also successfully completed an in-situ burn in 2014 at the Delta National Wildlife Refuge that was praised by the U.S. Coast Guard. Working within a Unified Command led by the Coast Guard again this year, T&T Salvage firefighters safely ignited the oil spill and provided contingency fire suppression services to ensure another safe and effective response operation.

Another example of T&T’s rapid response capability came in the early hours of May 22, 2015 when T&T was activated to respond to a fire on a Gulf of Mexico Platform. T&T quickly mobilized personnel and equipment to a Louisiana dock where it was loaded on a fast supply vessel and transported to the scene. The assets were then transferred to a lift boat and the fire team proceeded to cool the adjacent areas and extinguish the fire later that evening. Once extinguished the team boarded the platform and confirmed it was safe for boarding.

Jim Elliott, Vice President of T&T Salvage, noted “We consistently strive to be the fastest, safest and best in marine emergency response operations. These recent firefighting responses are a testament of T&T’s ability to quickly respond to a major marine casualty and effectively save property, protect the environment and prevent crew injuries.”