Sunken boat causes oil leak in Mississippi River

The Mississippi River has been closed to navigation along an eight mile stretch due to a sunken towboat that is leaking oil. The towboat sank on Monday (November 25th) near the Quad Cities, resulting in oil in water. Several agencies have responded to the incident and are now attempting to ascertain the level of environmental damage that the oil leak could cause.

The vessel struck a submerged object and began sinking on Monday afternoon. All crew members were retrieved safely from the towboat and no injuries were reported. According to the Coast Guard, at the time of the collision, the boat was carrying around 100,000 gallons of lube oil and diesel fuel. It is not yet clear how much of the oil and fuel have leaked into the river.

Members of the Environmental Protection Agency, Coast Guard and Wildlife Services joined several other organisations to determine the extent of the leak, where the oil was spilling from and how much clean-up would be required. 

According to the Quad-City Times, workers had difficulty seeing the oil sheen on the water and so were having to rely on smell when dealing with the leak. While the smell is still present around the sunken vessel, it has been deemed safe to breathe in the area.

So far some 3,000 feet of boom have been deployed by officials in an attempt to contain any leaking oil and to avoid further pollution of the river. The River has not yet been reopened and will not be until it has been deemed safe to do so by officials at the scene.

The Mississippi River is key form of transport for several industries, including oilseed and grain exporters. It is used as a route to transport goods from farms in the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico. Currently three towboats with 40 barges are waiting to pass the scene of the incident and continue down the river. Although traffic is slower now than at other times of year, the amount of goods the towboats are transporting is still substantial. 

Officials need to determine that the oil leak is contained and assess exactly what caused the vessel to sink in the first place before the river can be scene as safe to be reopened.