Tuesday, September 1, 2015

A crane barge broke free of its mooring and sank near mile marker 160 in Mississippi River along with a maximum 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel



Coast Guard responding to sunken barge on Mississippi River near Convent
August 31st, 2015

NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard is responding to a sunken barge near Convent on the Mississippi River, Monday.

Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders were notified of a crane barge that broke free of its mooring and sank near mile marker 160 at 5:20 a.m.

The barge reportedly contains a maximum potential of 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel along with an excavator crane and backhoe. 


The Coast Guard is working with the barge owner as well as ES&H, an oil spill response organization, to determine the amount of fuel in the tank at the time of the incident. The Coast Guard is also working with McKinney Towing & Salvage to develop a plan for salvage operations.

There were no injuries reported.

The cause of the incident is being investigated.