On May 27, the 40 foot long towboat sank on the Mississippi River off Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The vessel had sunk during the early morning hours with no one on board. The vessel had some 150 gallons of fuel on board and the Coast Guard was monitoring to see if any pollution has been released. Reports state the Little Mike sank outside the navigation channel and does not intefere with river traffic. The owners have stated they will wait until the river level drops before salvage begins.
On April 6, the 229 meter long, 81434 dwt bulk carrier Privocean allided with the 32 meter long tug Texas and the 249 meter long,116014 dwt tanker Bravo on the Mississippi River near Convent, Louisiana. The Privocean was moored at a terminal loading coal when its lines broke and the vessel drifted down river. Before the vessel was brought under control, it struck the tug Texas before it drifted farther down river and slammed into the tanker Bravo at the Ergon terminal in the St. James area. The Bravo was off-loading oil at the time and the allision caused some 420 gallons of oil to be released into the water and another 126 gallons onto the tanker’s deck. No reports of injuries.
The Texas had run aground during the incident, but did not suffer water ingress. The Bravo sustained damage to its ballast tanks and its propeller became entangled by one of the mooring lines. The Privocean suffered only slight damage. Reports state the Ergon terminal suffered significant damage. The facility has requested a judge to to seize Privocean and auction it to cover the damage costs.
Photo: wsmv.com
The Coast Guard stop traffic on the section of the river for several days until it was determined no oil could be recovered. The Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the incident.
The 214 meter long, 44251 dwt cargo vessel Heranger collided with 190 meter long , 43929 dwt bulk carrier Costas L on the Mississippi River near Chalmette, New Orleans, Louisiana. The Heranger was proceeding on the river when it suffered a power blackout. The cargo vessel went adrift and struck the Costas L with its anchor entangled with the bulk carrier’s mooring line. No reports of injuries or pollution released. Both vessels sustained minor damage and traffic on the river was not impacted.
