T/B STAR #6; Mobile, Alabama

Mobile, Alabama | 1990-Dec-31

Initial Notification: At 1150, Sunday, December 30, 1990, the motor vessel RHINO reported that one of her three tows, tank barge STAR #6, was listing seriously to starboard and in danger of sinking near the mouth of Mobile Bay and the Intracoastal Waterway. STAR #6 was reported to be 195 feet long, 35 feet wide, and 10 feet deep and carrying 225,000 gallons of 50 percent solution caustic soda. RHINO later reported that the STAR #6 had sunk in approximately 32 feet of water at the mouth of the Mobile Ship Channel about 6 1/2 miles east of Dauphin Island, 30 miles south of Mobile starboard side down, and her port side above the water Reports also indicated that small amounts of cargo were being released. The apparent cause of the mishap was a collision that had occurred while the vessels were departing Mobile and the failure of a deteriorated hull in the areas of STAR's flotation voids. Reportedly, the barge had been sent out with known leaks and portable pumps in the Intracoastal Waterway. The portable pumps reportedly ran out of fuel or failed and a safe return to Mobile was prevented by limited visibility in fog and heavy weather. USCG district 8.