On November 25, 2021, at 2227 local time, the liquefied petroleum gas carrier Gas Ares was transiting upbound on the Neches River in Port Neches, Texas, with 24 persons on board, when it collided with the outermost of two harbor tugs moored alongside the no. 1 loading dock at the Motiva Port Neches Terminal. No injuries or pollution were reported. Damage to the tugs and dock was estimated at $1,057,000.
We determined that the probable cause of the collision between the liquefied petroleum gas carrier Gas Ares and the tug Sabine, moored alongside the tug Florida at the Motiva Port Neches Terminal no. 1 loading dock, was the pilot’s decision to reduce the vessel’s speed in order to create less wake when passing a pipeline removal project, causing a loss of rudder effectiveness in strong crosswinds that set the carrier toward moored vessels.
