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Oil Spill on Mississippi River Delays More than 1,000 Barges

An oil spill Sunday has delayed barges on one of the country’s busiest shipping routes.

  • Feb 01, 2013

An oil spill caused by a barge accident on the Mississippi River forced the partial closure of this major shipping route and led to the backup of more than 1,000 barges.

A barge on the river struck a railroad bridge Sunday, leaking crude oil into the water. The 80,000-gallon tanker barge leaked so much oil in to the river that 2,800 feet of boom has been deployed to contain the spill.

The Mississippi River is vital to the U.S. shipping industry, especially for shipping grain, coal, and fertilizer among other products. In fact, nearly 65 percent of the country’s grain production is shipped via the river.

Yesterday, 34 vessels hauling 532 barges were heading north on the river and 37 southbound vessels hauling 524 barges were delayed due to the oil spill. Sixteen miles of the river were closed as crews worked to contain the leak.

While grain exports are not expected to be impacted, corn and soybeans that are being delivered to ships in the gulf may not arrive on time.

Comments

Sat, Feb 2, 2013 Johnnie Schmeckpeper Fountain City, WI, United States

I do not see anywhere in the news story where this accident had taken place. Regardless, this is a environmental catastrophe that will kill off a large, untold number of fish, other native Mississippi River species, animals that drink from the river or swim across it to get to other feeding grounds. And last but not least, the cost of food and other commodities that are transported primarily via shipping vessels with attached barges will go up. Food is a basic necessity, and its price has already skyrocketed; Therefore, making it even more difficult for poor and increasingly poorer middle class people to make their increasingly limited budgets stretch even further! At some point, people's piggy banks are going to break, and no amount of glue will be able to repair the damage done!

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