The Coast Guard set up an incident command post Thursday in response to a towboat collision on the Mississippi River near Paducah, Ky.
Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley watchstanders received a call about a collision involving the 166'x45' towboat P.B. Shah and the 136'x40' towboat Dewey R at mile marker 937 Wednesday night. Ingram Barge Co., Nashville, Tenn., owns the 7,200-hp P.B. Shah and the 3,800-hp Dewey R is part of St. Louis-based Apex Towing’s fleet. The Coast Guard had no information about size of the barges or its owners.
The collision caused damage to at least one barge containing clarified slurry oil, rupturing the cargo tank and discharging an unknown amount of oil into the Mississippi River.
The Coast Guard said Thursday that the maximum potential spill from the damaged barge was 250,000 gals. of clarified slurry oil. The maximum potential spill was initially reported as 1.05 million gals., but was reduced after the two remaining partitions aboard the affected barge were reportedly secured.
The Coast Guard is working with the barge owner and SWS Environmental Services, an oil spill response organization, to determine the amount of slurry oil that has been discharged. A Coast Guard survey flight on Thursday revealed a five-mile discoloration beginning at the collision site. The Mississippi River remained closed Thursday afternoon to all traffic from mile 939 to 922, with the exception of authorized vessels working the incident.
The cause of the collision remains under investigation.
