Oil tanker bound for Port of Houston runs aground off Galveston, refloated, no hull breach

A tanker hauling about 400,000 barrels of crude oil has been refloated after running aground off Texas while bound for the Port of Houston.

The Coast Guard says the SN Federica underwent a damage assessment, the hull was not breached and the ship was cleared to resume its journey Thursday.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Manda Emery says the 750-foot Italian-flagged tanker went aground Tuesday morning, about 35 miles off Galveston. Emery says the tanker got hung up on a sandy part of a shoal. Nobody was hurt and none of the load spilled.

Emery says water was dumped from the ballast tanks and the ship was refloated Tuesday night.

Emery says a required seaworthy inspection was completed early Thursday and the ship was allowed to continue on to the port.