Normal vessel access expected today on Lower Mississippi

Regular traffic could resume this afternoon on the Lower Mississippi River, six days after a large vessel collided with an oil barge and spilled 420,000 gallons of heavy oil, according to the Port of New Orleans.

Ships were prohibited from transiting the river between New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico for several days to allow clean-up efforts to get underway and prevent further spread of the contamination. Over the weekend a handful of ships were decontaminated and allowed to proceed to their destinations. 

Commercial operations are slowly getting back to normal on the Mississippi. On Sunday, 30 vessels moved through the spill zone and on Monday about 60 vessels transited the effected area, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. More than 72,000 gallons of oil/water mix has been recovered so far by about 1,600 workers, it said. 

It's very encouraging to see ship traffic returning to the Port of New Orleans, Port President Gary LaGrange said. The entire port community suffered through this unfortunate incident and now stands ready to receive and work a backlog of ships to return commerce to normal on the Mississippi River.

Over the weekend LaGrange expressed frustration with the slow pace of clean-up efforts and opening the river to vessels. New Orleans lost cargo-handling business when six vessels were diverted to other ports in the Gulf and three were stuck at port docks awaiting clearance to depart. Dozens of other ships were stranded in the Gulf or in the Mississippi awaiting clearance for passage.

The port authority said cargo operations were underway Monday on four vessels and nine more are scheduled to arrive by July 30.

Although the river is expected to open to all vessels, the Coast Guard will maintain low-speed safety zones below the city to minimize wakes and protect recovery workers on the river's shoreline, the port said. Vessels must still stop at decontamination zones near the mouth of the river and above the spill site in New Orleans, but the Coast Guard said vessels on the river Monday experienced no oil residue sticking to their hulls.

The port reported that traffic on the Intracoastal Waterway is also returning to normal, after locks were reopened on an inland canal that acts as part of the waterway system.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard said preliminary indications are that the tugboat pushing the barge involved in the accident with the chemical tank ship Tintomara was operated by a pilot who only held an apprentice mate's license. The barge is owned by American Commercial Lines, but the tug was operated by a Louisiana-based firm named DRD Towing.

Another tug, the Ruby E, operated by DRD Towing was also involved in an accident on July 13 that resulted in the sinking of a vessel, the Coast Guard said. The preliminary investigation into that incident also revealed that the crewmember piloting the Ruby E held an apprentice mate's license.

Apprentice mates require the presence of a master pilot on board a ship.

The Coast Guard said it responded by visiting all 12 DRD Towing-owned vessels operating in the New Orleans area and found they were properly manned with appropriate licensed personnel.

Source: American Shipper