The 121 foot long towboat Martha Denton went aground on the Ohio River at Evansville, Indiana. Martha Denton was attempting to make the turn in the river when windy conditions cause the towboat and its barges to run onto the riverbank. An hour later, the Martha Denton and barges were able to be refloated. No reports of injuries, damage or pollution released. The Martha Denton continue to proceed downbound on the Ohio with its 15 barges.
The 110 meter long self-propelled barge La Mattanza collided with the 36 meter long towboat Orava on the Rhine River near Orsoy, Germany. The Orava was departing from Orsoy with a barge loaded with cargo of coal when it struck the nearby La Mattanza. Both vessels suffered some hull damage and water ingress. No reports of injuries or pollution released. Authorities state the two vessels were allowed to continue as the on-board pumps had the water ingress under control.
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.
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.