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Tag: Mississippi River

Barges Strikes Bridge

Barges Strikes Bridge

Photo: Twitter
Photo: Twitter

A string of barges struck the Martin Luther King Bridge spanning the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri.  The empty barges were headed upstream when they struck a support beam of the MLK bridge causing it to be closed to traffic.   The nearby Eads bridge was also closed to traffic as witnesses reported that the barges had made contact a swell.  One witness stated the impact sounded like an explosion.   An inspection of the bridges found there was no damage except some scrapes to the scaffolding under the rail deck. Traffic was allowed on both bridges a few hours later.

MLK 2

The cause of the allision was under investigation.  Reports state the barges had passed under the bridges at an unusual angle.  A later USCG report stated that debris had jammed the towboat’s rudder resulting in the allision.

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Jim Marko

Jim Marko

Photo: kmov

Photo: kmov

The 70 foot long, 140 ton towboat Jim Marko sank on the Mississippi River off the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge near St. Louis, Missouri.  The  reason for the vessel sinking was unknown, but the four crew on board were able to abandon ship and later rescued.  Fuel pollution was spotted on the surface.   Reports state the Jim Marko had some 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board.  Authorities have dispatched a pollution control team to the area to contain any pollution released.  The Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the incident.

Photo: towboatgallery.com
Photo: towboatgallery.com
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JR 3 Sank

JR 3 Sank

Photo: ktvi
Photo: ktvi

On June 20, 2014, the towboat JR 3 sank on the Mississippi River near Wood River, Illinois.  The vessel quickly sank from an unknown cause.  All three crewman on board were able to abandon ship before the vessel sank.  No reports of injuries.  Local authorities arrived on scene and deployed booms around the vessel.   A short time later fuel and pollution was spotted coming from the sunken JR 3.   Reports state a salvage plan is being worked on to raise the JR 3.  The Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the incident.