Galveston Bay home owners sue over Ship Channel tanker collision, chemical leak

The hull of the chemical tanker Carla Maersk shows the results of its collision Monday with the Conti Peridot, a Liberian bulk carrier, in the Houston Ship Channel. The hull of the chemical tanker Carla Maersk shows the results of its collision Monday with the Conti Peridot, a Liberian bulk carrier, in the Houston Ship Channel. Photo: Billy Smith II, MBI Photo: Billy Smith II, MBI Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Galveston Bay home owners sue over Ship Channel tanker collision, chemical leak 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

Four property owners claiming damage from a Houston Ship Channel tanker collision are suing the shipping companies and two pilot organizations.

Filed Monday in Harris County's 234th State District Court by four Morgan's Point homeowners, the suit names, among others, the Maersk Group and Conti Group shipping companies as well as the Houston Pilots Association and Beatty Street Properties, which both provide pilots to navigate large ships in and out of the Port of Houston.

The suit concerns the March 9 collision in heavy fog between the double-hulled tanker Carla Maersk and the bulk carrier Conti Peridot.

According to the plaintiffs' petition, the Carla Maersk was carrying about 216,000 barrels of methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE. The collision ruptured two of the Carla Maersk's cargo tanks, resulting in an unknown quantity of the gasoline additive to spill into the water off Morgan's Point, according to the lawsuit.

An approximately 8-foot wave of the chemical washed onto the plaintiffs' properties on Bayridge Road, the petition states.

Because MTBE dissolves easily in water and does not cling to soil very well, it's more likely than other gasoline components to contaminate soil and private wells and requires remediation to protect property and human health, according to the lawsuit.

"Even petroleum-industry-sponsored studies conclude carcinogenic effects are associated with MTBE exposure," the petition states.

The wreck, described by the U.S. Coast Guard as "a significant collision causing significant damage to both vessels," caused the Houston Ship Channel to remain closed for three days.

At the time of the collision, both ships were driven by pilots provided by the Houston Pilots Association or Beatty Street Properties, the petition states.

The plaintiffs, represented by Mark Sparks and Michael A. Downey of the Mostyn Law Firm in Beaumont, seek damages of more than $1 million.