Oil Leak: Mississippi River At Vicksburg Remains Closed
From NPR
Barges transporting commerce idled among the nearly four dozen vessels stacked up Tuesday along a normally bustling stretch of the Mississippi River, denied transit as crews feverishly sought to clean up leaking oil spilled in a weekend barge accident.
Workers have been skimming oily water around the clock near Vicksburg, Miss., ever since a barge carrying 80,000 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, Midwest grains, goods and other vital commerce.
A Coast Guard spokesman, Jonathan Lally told The Associated Press by telephone early Tuesday he didn’t know when the closed river section might be reopened. On Tuesday morning at least 47 barges and other vessels idled as the river remained closed to traffic eight miles north and eight miles south of Vicksburg.
“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.
Orange boom has been strung across part of the river downstream from the barge and oil was being pumped from the ruptured tank into another tank on the same barge. Elsewhere 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.
