Three energy companies that operate in the Houston Ship Channel are suing Intercontinental Terminals Co., claiming they sustained economic losses from the temporary shutdown of the Houston Ship Channel caused by last year’s chemical fire in Deer Park.
Rio Energy International, Gunvor USA, and Texas Aromatics, which all transport crude oil and refined products through Houston’s ship channel, allege in separate lawsuits that when ITC’schemical storage tanks caught fire and spilled thousands of barrels of gasoline, oil and other chemical products into Tucker Bayou, subsequent closures of the Houston Ship Channel cost their businesses hundreds of thousands dollars, primarily in lost profits from being unable to ship their products.
Rio Energy, Gunvor and Texas Aromatics, are suing in U.S. District Court in Houston for damages of $2.2 million, $433,000, and $381,000 respectively. The Houston Ship Channel was closed or restricted from March 22, 2019 until April 13, 2019 due to the fire and resulting spill.
“Our clients buy and sell crude through the ship channel, and all were damaged by the fact that the closure suspended that trade,” said David Baay, an attorney at Eversheds Sutherland, who is representing the plaintiffs. He said that companies incurred higher costs when they were forced to buy crude from other suppliers while the ship channel was shut.
The ITC tank fires burned for three days last year, causing a massive black plume of smoke over the area visible for miles around Houston. Regulators issued shelter-in-place order to neighboring communities due to air quality concerns. More than 21 million gallons of water mixed with hazardous chemicals and firefighting foam were collected from the tank farm and the ship channel.
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