The owner of an articulated tug barge that exploded last month is seeking to limit their liability to the value of the vessel and the vessel's hire.

Melville, New York-based Bouchard Transportation, the owner of the tug and barge, filed an exoneration from liability in the US District Court for Southern New York.

It owns the 9,800-gt B No 255 (built 1999), a black oil barge that suffered a fire and explosion while off Port Aransas, Texas.