Lower Mississippi River traffic remains halted

An oil spill that resulted when a barge collided with a chemical tanker has closed a long stretch of the Lower Mississippi River.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it has been told "there were no properly licensed individuals" on the tug that was pushing the barge at the time the accident occurred.

Lt. Cmdr. Cheri' Ben-Iesau said traffic has been halted on river from mile marker 97 in New Orleans to the mouth of the river at the Gulf of Mexico, and that about 80 ships have been idled.

A salvage plan was expected Thursday, but it may be a couple of days before traffic resumes, and a couple of weeks before the cleanup is completed, she said. The goal is to gather the heavy residual fuel oil as quickly as possible.

A reported 419,286 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil was spilled in the water when the chemical tank ship Tintomara collided with an American Commercial Lines barge which was being pushed by the tug boat Mel Oliver at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Ben-Iesau said the barge was "crumpled in half like a fortune cookie" spilling the heavy oil. There was no leakage from the Tintomara reported.

The Coast Guard said 45,000 feet of containment boom has been deployed by the Oil Spill Response Organization, and is awaiting the deployment of an additional 29,000 feet of containment boom. Contracted oil spill response organizations are using vacuum trucks and oil skimmers.

The Coast Guard said no damage to the marshlands or injuries have been reported. It said representatives from the tugboat Mel Oliver report there were no properly licensed individuals on the vessel during the time that the incident occurred.