According to a report by the Houston Chronicle, since 2008, there have been 52 incidents in the Port of Houston, of which only a quarter have been formally investigated.

The Chronicle reviewed records related to Houston Ship Channel incidents after a March collision between a bulk carrier and barge led to 168,000 gallons of heavy fuel being spilled into Galveston Bay.

That incident and the actions of the vessels’ pilots are still being investigated, but the Chronicle found through documents obtained in an open records request that such a formal investigations, public hearings and pilot disciplinary action are rarities.

In the 52 cases in which a formal investigation was conducted, the article notes that only one pilot received a “letter of caution” in his file, which is the second-mildest possible disciplinary action from the governing body of Houston Pilots, the Board of Pilot Commissioners.

Only one pilot has had his license revoked since 1998, and that came as the result of a failed drug test.

At Maintenance and Cure, our experienced maritime injury attorneys help workers who have been injured while on vessels in the Ship Channel and all other navigable waters of Texas and the nation.

For more information, read the in-depth article here.