Tanker Spill Closes 21-Mile Section of River
VIOLET, La. — The Coast Guard on Saturday shut down a 21-mile stretch of the Mississippi River to clean up fuel oil spilled when a tanker carrying gasoline lost power and hit a series of vessels.
The crash about 11 p.m. Friday punctured one of the fuel tanks of the 551-foot, Liberian-flagged Hyde Park, but the Coast Guard said the 25,000 metric tons of gasoline it was transporting remained safe. It wasn’t clear how much fuel oil spilled.
The tanker was headed downriver when it lost power and hit a tug pushing 12 barges loaded with coke, damaging one and sinking another. It also hit a dock, a crew boat grounded on the bank and two other barges. No one was hurt, but booms were set up to keep oil out of water intakes downriver.
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