Boat crash causes Mississippi River oil spill

An oil spill on the Mississippi River resulted in a 65-mile stretch of it being closed to traffic on Sunday (February 23rd). Crews worked to clean up the oil that spilled from a barge on an area of river between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, resulting in the closure of the Port of New Orleans.

The spill was caused when a barge ran into a towboat on the river, according to the Coast Guard. No one was injured and all the barges have since been secured. It is not yet known what caused the collision but it is currently being investigated.

It is not yet known how much oil spilled as a result of the collision, but after the incident a sheen on the surface of the river was reported. It is thought that around 31,500 gallons of light crude oil was involved in the spill, but this has yet to be confirmed. The river remained closed as crews worked to contain and clean up the oil in water on Sunday and Monday.

Around 30 vessels were stopped while work was ongoing, they have now been able to progress down the river as the whole stretch was reopened by Monday afternoon. 

As the river supplies drinking water to St Charles, all intakes were shut off while clean up operations were ongoing as a health and safety precaution. Officials have said that the water supply is safe and that no contamination has been found. 

Although the river has been reopened, vessels travelling along it have been warned to go slowly through the area where the incident occurred as it is not yet known what caused it. Both the boats that were involved in the accident are currently moored at the site, so extra care is needed by vessels travelling down the river.

It is not known whether there will be any long term issues from the oil spill, but the majority of the crude has reportedly been successfully cleaned up.