NTSB: Poor communication, planning contributed to deadly Inner Harbor pipeline explosion
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a statement released by Orion Group Holdings, emailed to the Caller-Times after the print deadline.
Inadequate communication and planning were among the failures in the lead-up to a deadly pipeline explosion, according to a federal board.
An investigation into the incident on the Inner Harbor has been ongoing since Aug. 21, 2020, when the vessel Waymon L. Boyd struck an underwater propane pipeline during dredging operations for a private terminal.
About 18 crew members employed by Orion Marine Group — the firm hired by Epic Crude Terminal Company for dredging and construction of a dock — were in the area when the vessel’s rotating cutterhead struck the pipeline, leading to the fire, according to federal officials' a review of a draft report.
Four crew members were killed and five seriously injured.
In determining the probable cause of the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board pointed to what the agency described as “inadequate planning and risk management practices” of Orion Marine Group, stating in documents Tuesday that the company “failed to identify the proximity of the dredging operation” to the submerged pipeline, owned by Enterprise Products.
The impact “allowed propane gas to escape, surround the dredge and ignite within the engine room, causing the explosion,” according to the board’s abstract. “Inadequate planning and risk management by the dredging company, Orion Marine Group, meant that not enough controls were in place to mitigate the risk of the cutterhead breaching pipeline.”
The board also named as a contributing factor what were described as “deficient dredging plans.”
Provided by Schneider Engineering and Consulting, the plans “resulted in incomplete and inaccurate information communicated to Enterprise Products by Orion Marine Group during the one-call process, which resulted in insufficient measures to protect the pipeline from excavation damage,” according to NTSB documents.
Orion Marine Group and Schneider Engineering and Consulting are subsidiaries of Orion Group Holdings.
The company issued a statement late Tuesday night, after the Caller-Times' print deadline.
In it, Orion's vice president of risk management Graham Kenyon noted that the final report wasn't yet available for review, but that the company had the understanding that "it includes several safety determinations and recommendations which will be used to assist us and the dredging and pipeline industries to operate more safely in the future."
"Orion’s concern for the health and safety of its employees is and always has been a hallmark of its eighty years of dredging history, as, despite this tragedy, exemplified by its safety record," he wrote. "In any case however, in cooperation with regulators, customers and specialty business associations, improvements in our safety program continue to be sought after and welcomed."
The incident review prompted a long list of recommendations adopted Tuesday by the board for the final report, including those to regulatory agencies and industry groups to come up with criteria for minimum distances between dredge work and pipeline locations.
NTSB documents show the board making a similar recommendation to Enterprise Products, that the company revise its damage prevention guidelines to increase its “tolerance zone.”
Tolerance zones are essentially the accepted distances between pipelines and dredging operations.
Enterprise Products spokesman Rick Rainey wrote in an email to the Caller-Times that the company had “appreciated the opportunity to work with the NTSB and the other parties investigating the Aug. 21, 2020 pipeline strike.”
“Safe and reliable operations are a core value of Enterprise, and we share the NTSB’s objective in preventing similar incidents in the future,” he wrote.
The board, addressing Orion Group Holdings in its abstract, included among its recommendations that the company undertake in its future projects formal risk assessments and update its guidelines on dredging near pipelines.
The NTSB's final report is pending.
The accident could have been prevented, said board chairwoman Jennifer Homendy, “had Orion Marine Group properly planned for the project — ensuring appropriate policies and procedures were in place to protect their workers and the public — identified and mitigated any risks before the project began and conducted appropriate training.”
“That didn't occur, and four workers paid the price with their lives," she said. "Five others suffered serious injuries, and families are forever shattered.”
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Kirsten Crow covers government, industry and development in South Texas. Support local news by checking out our subscription options and special offers at Caller.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: NTSB: Poor planning a factor in pipeline explosion
