Poe calls for expanding waterway in wake of oil spill

PORT ARTHUR, Texas (AP) - U.S. Rep. Ted Poe says a ship channel at Port Arthur closed since a collision between a tanker and a towing vessel needs to be expanded.

Cleanup of the tanker oil spill continued Wednesday.

The collision Saturday highlighted a long-standing need to deepen and widen the channel, which hasn't been done since 1962, said Poe, who advocates updating the waterway. "Ships have gotten a lot bigger since then," Poe said.

At least three oil-coated birds are getting a special cleanup after the spill dumped an estimated 462,000 gallons of crude. A cormorant, a black crown night heron and a brown pelican were placed under heat lamps in a Wildlife Response Services trailer inside at a warehouse in Port Arthur.

The damaged 800-foot tanker Eagle Otome began inching down the Sabine-Neches Waterway on Tuesday afternoon to help clear the accident scene.

The Coast Guard did not immediately return a call Wednesday from The Associated Press seeking an update on when the waterway is expected to reopen.

The Coast Guard is reviewing radio transmissions and the ship's log, plus interviewing witnesses. Tanker crew members were tested for drugs and alcohol. Test results are not yet available.

The Eagle Otome was heading upriver on the Sabine-Neches Waterway from the Gulf of Mexico to Exxon Mobil's Beaumont refinery. The towing vessel was guiding a barge with a load of chemicals downriver.

"Unlike on the highway, if you slam on the brakes you don't skid to a stop. They can shut the engine off, throw it in reverse, but it will not stop the forward movement. If they could have, they would have," said Floyd Gaspard, executive director of the Port of Port Arthur.

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