HOUSTON, March 11 (UPI) -- A Norwegian tanker carrying 41 million gallons of crude oil plowed into an oil rig missing since Hurricane Ike hit the Louisiana coast last fall.
The twisted wreckage of the huge Ensco 74 tore holes in a section of the SKS Satilla's hull but no oil spilled and no crew members were injured, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday.
The Norwegian tanker's cargo was pumped into other vessels Tuesday and plans have been made for the vessel's repair, said Darrell Wilson, a spokesman for the ship's owner.
Three other drilling rigs and at least 52 oil platforms destroyed by Hurricane Ike were found after the storm but efforts to locate Ensco 74 had been unsuccessful.
"We put people on helicopters and we searched from boats with sonar," said Richard LeBlanc of Ensco.
SKS Satilla inadvertently located the Ensco rig 65 miles south of Galveston, Texas.
