SALON

Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 3:45 PM UTC

Ships idle for Miss. River oil cleanup after crash

By

Topics: From the Wires,

Ships idle for Miss. River oil cleanup after crashCORRECTS DATE TO JAN. 28, NOT JAN. 18 - The towboat Natures Way Endeavor, background, banks a barge against the western bank of the Mississippi River, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013 as an 18-wheeler crosses the Interstate 20 bridge. Cleanup crews with booms skimmed oily water from the Mississippi River Monday, a day after a barge with more than 80,000 gallons of oil struck a railroad bridge near Vicksburg, spreading a sheen of light crude that kept part of the waterway shut to ship traffic Monday, authorities said. (AP Photo/Eli Baylis) (Credit: AP)

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Freight barges were idled among some 50 vessels stacked up Tuesday along a normally bustling stretch of the Mississippi River that was closed as crews worked to clean up leaking oil spilled in a weekend barge accident.

Workers have been skimming oily water around the clock near Vicksburg, Miss., since a barge carrying thousands of gallons of oil struck a railroad bridge and began leaking before dawn Sunday. The accident forced the closure of a 16-mile stretch of the lower Mississippi, a major inland corridor for vessels carrying oil, fuel, grain and other goods.

A Coast Guard spokesman, Jonathan Lally, told The Associated Press by telephone early Tuesday that 50 barges and other vessels idled as the river remained closed to traffic eight miles north and eight miles south of Vicksburg.

Lally said the Coast Guard would release an estimate of how much oil spilled later Tuesday.

“The reason why the vessels are being held is the sensitive nature of this work,” Lally said. “They are concerned with safety of all those working at the site and any transit in the area could cause a wake, which wouldn’t be safe for the crews there.”

A tug was pushing two tank barges when the collision occurred about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, authorities said. Both barges were damaged, but only one leaked and authorities subsequently declared the bridge safe after an inspection.

Experts say the stretch of river is one of the most dangerous along the 2,500-mile-long river.

The leaking tank, which was pierced above the water line, was carrying 80,000 gallons of light crude, authorities said. The Coast Guard hasn’t said how much oil was in the other tanks on the barge and the companies involved have declined to comment.

Tugs were holding the ruptured barge at the bank on the Louisiana side of the river, directly across from Vicksburg’s Riverwalk and Lady Luck casinos.

Orange boom floated in the water downstream and oil was being pumped from the ruptured tank into another tank on the same barge. Another boom was set up as a second line of defense. Officials hope to eventually transfer all the oil to another barge in coming days.

Lally said some oil could be seen lapping up against one of the booms, but it was being held in place. He said the oil was being contained and there was no evidence of it washing ashore.

“We did have a Coast Guard helicopter crew fly for 60 miles up the shoreline there to see if they could spot any environmental impact and they weren’t able to find anything,” he said, adding a Coast Guard boat surveying 15 miles south of the site also detected nothing.

Lally said officials were awaiting a recovery plan from the spill’s “responsible party” and would then have “a better estimate of when the river will be reopened.”

Both of the barges involved are owned by Corpus Christi, Texas-based Third Coast Towing LLC, authorities said. A woman who answered the phone at the company Tuesday declined to comment.

Both vessels were being pushed by the tug Nature’s Way Endeavor. The website for Nature’s Way Marine LLC of Theodore, Ala., identifies the vessel as a 3,000-horsepower, 90-foot-long boat. It was built in 1974 and underwent a rebuild in 2011, according to the company.

The company referred calls to the Coast Guard on Tuesday.

Authorities said United States Environmental Services, an oil spill response company, was collecting oily water.

Drew Smith, a hydraulic engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers, wouldn’t speculate on the specific cause of Sunday’s crash, which is under investigation by the Coast Guard. But he said the Mississippi at Vicksburg is challenging for southbound vessels.

Southbound tows must travel faster than the flow of the water for their rudders to steer effectively. At Vicksburg they must negotiate a 120-degree turn on the meandering Mississippi, then straighten up to pass under the railroad bridge and the Interstate 20 bridge.

The task is made more difficult by the Yazoo River, which empties into the Mississippi north of the bridges, increasing the speed of the current.

___

Associated Press writers Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans and Bill Cormier in Atlanta contributed to this report.

By Holbrook Mohr

More By Holbrook Mohr.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations