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Another Towing Vessel Capsizes on Lower Mississippi River

Another Towing Vessel Capsizes on Lower Mississippi River

GCaptain
Total Views: 40
March 17, 2018

A photo posted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday showing the Carrollton Gage in New Orleans near flood stage of 17 feet.

The U.S. Coast Guard is responding today to a capsized towing vessel on the Lower Mississippi River near Donaldsonville, Louisiana as the waterway continues to experience high water. 

The incident is the second capsizing involving a towing vessel in less than a week on the Lower Mississippi River. 

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report at 9:30 p.m. Friday that the towing vessel Vincent J Eymard capsized near mile marker 175 on the Lower Mississippi River.

The crew departed the vessel onto the towing vessel Ellysa with no reported injuries. The Ellysa also took the one empty barge the Vincent J Eymard was towing.

The Coast Guard closed the river from mile marker 177 to 173 on the river.

The capsized vessel has approximately 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel onboard. There are no reports of pollution or environmental impacts due to the incident.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.

The incident comes less than a week after two people were killed after the towboat Natalie Jean capsized near New Orleans. 

The National Weather Service this week issued flood warnings for parts of the Lower Mississippi River due high water, which caused officials to open the Bonnet Carre Spillway for the first time since 2016. NWS New Orleans announced on Friday however that the Mississippi River at New Orleans is no longer expected to reach stage of 17 feet. The River is now forecasted to crest at 16.6 feet in New Orleans starting on Friday through March 23, according to the National Weather Service.

 

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