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Sunken Towboat Restricting Traffic on Mississippi River Near Memphis

Sunken Towboat Restricting Traffic on Mississippi River Near Memphis

Mike Schuler
Total Views: 41
December 16, 2015

Photo: Western Rivers Boat Management

A section of the Mississippi River is restricted to one-way vessel traffic near Memphis as the Coast Guard and response crews work to salvage a towboat which sank earlier this week after colliding with another vessel.

According to the Coast Guard, the two towing vessels William Straight and Margaret Ann collided on Monday at mile marker 727 on the Lower Mississippi River, causing the William Straight to sink in about 20 feet of water. 

The Coast Guard said response crews had deployed 1,100 feet of containment boom and 600 feet of sorbent boom around the vessel to prevent any further spreading of pollution, while an overflight Tuesday was to assess the environmental impact of the incident.

The latest update said the Mississippi River remained restricted to one-way vessel traffic around a safety zone from mile marker 726 to 728 as cleanup and salvage operations continue at the scene.

It is unclear if the vessels were pushing any barges at the time of the accident. 

 

The Coast Guard says it is investigating the cause of the incident.

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