Responders have completed lightening operations on Barge MM-46, which allided Thursday with the Natchez-Vidalia U.S. 84 Bridge, near Natchez, Miss., spilling slurry oil into the Mississippi River.
The 297’5” x 54’ x 12’ double-skin barge, owned by Magnolia Marine Transport, was taken to Vicksburg, Miss. Monday morning for damage assessment and repairs.
Crews removed more than 700,000 gals. of clarified oil from the damaged barge to two other Magnolia Marine barges, the Coast Guard said Monday. They estimate that more than 24,600 gals. of oil is still unaccounted for.
Response crews will continue to monitor the area around the incident site for any pollution from the damaged barge and will clean up the oil as the river levels drop.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were unable to locate the missing clarified oil using side-scanning sonar on Saturday.
Capt. Timothy Wendt, commander, Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River and Captain of the Port, has re-opened the river near the Natchez-Vidalia Bridge to all vessel traffic.
