Mile Marker News

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced over $653 million to fund 41 port improvement projects across the nation under the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).The investments—part of the largest dedicated funding for ports and waterways in history, nearly $17 billion through the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—are intended to help grow capacity and increase efficiency at coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports and inland…

A partially sunken towboat is discharging diesel fuel near Florence, Ala.The U.S. Coast Guard said on Monday it is responding to the incident alongside partner agencies after Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley received notification at approximately 2 p.m. Sunday from RMB Marine Services reporting the towboat Michael R had partially sank in the Port of Florence, adjacent to mile marker 257 on the Tennessee River.Pollution responders from Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Nashville…

Responders are working to minimize environmental damages from a cutter suction dredge that capsized in the Mississippi River near Meraux, La. on Monday.The U.S. Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector New Orleans were notified at 12:50 a.m. that the dredging vessel W.B. Wood capsized in the vicinity of mile marker (MM) 85. The two people on board were rescued by the crew of a nearby towing vessel, Omaha.Coast Guard aerial observers confirmed sheening from the incident location down to MM 64, which is expected to dissipate naturally.

A number of barges have gone aground in the Lower Mississippi River due to low water levels, the U.S. Coast Guard said.There are reports of barge groundings Tuesday near Stack Island, Mississippi, with a waterway restriction from mile marker 478 to 492 and Memphis, Tennessee, with a waterway closure from mile marker 686 to 676."Due to low water levels on the Lower Mississippi River, we have seen an increase in commercial vessel groundings," said Capt. Eric Carrero, Director of Western Rivers and Waterways at Coast Guard District Eight.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it is monitoring a barge with heavy fuel oil aground after a two towboats collided near Plaquemine, La., at mile marker 43.5 on the Port Allen route of the Gulf intracoastal waterway.Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Baton Rouge responded after watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans were notified that the vessels Creole Crusader and the Jack Odom collided at approximately 12:30 a.m. on SaturdayThe Creole Crusader was towing two barges containing heavy fuel oil, and the Jack Odom was towing two empty barges and three barges of steel bars. All seven barges remain on scene, two barges were intentionally grounded to prevent flooding or pollution.No injuries or pollution have been reported.The waterway was closed at mile marker 43.5 to all vessel traffic…

A Singaporean-flagged oil tanker discharged oil on the Lower Mississippi River near Kenner, La., on Thursday.U.S. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received notification at 6:08 p.m. that the Hafnia Rhine discharged oil during a fueling operation with a fuel barge at Ama Anchorage, mile marker 115. Watchstanders dispatched Coast Guard pollution responders to the scene.The tanker crew secured the oil discharge, but Sector New Orleans pollution investigators estimated up to 2…

A section of the Ohio River was closed to vessel traffic on Tuesday due to towboat fire near Belleview, Ky.The U.S. Coast Guard said it issued a waterway restriction between mile marker 499 and mile marker 501 on the Ohio River after a fire reportedly broke out in the engine room aboard the towing vessel Capt. Kirby Dupuis.The vessel's crew was able to extinguish the fire with its fire suppression system, but a re-flash occurred, the Coast Guard said.Authorities said the fire has been extinguished, and its cause is being investigated.

Jeffersonville, Ind.-based barging company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) has agreed to acquire and preserve 649 acres of woodland wildlife habitat and will pay an additional $2 million for damages stemming from a 2008 oil spill on the Mississippi River, near New Orleans.The company has already paid $1.32 million to reimburse the federal and state trustees for their past damage assessment and restoration planning costs after one of its barges discharged approximately 6,734 barrels (282,828 gallons) of No. 6 fuel oil into the Mississippi River upriver of New Orleans in July 2008.

The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned a new station, Coast Guard Station Paducah, during a ceremony held Thursday at the Carson Center in Paducah, Ky.Presiding over the ceremony was Capt. Amy Beach, commander of Sector Ohio River Valley. Station Paducah’s officer in charge is Chief Petty Officer Michael Sheahan.The station is responsible for search and rescue, recreational boating safety, ports, waterways, flood response, and coastal security. The station's area of responsibility ranges from mile marker 867 to mile marker 981 on the Ohio River…

A cargo ship was ordered to leave the U.S waters after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists at the Port of New Orleans discovered invasive insects found in the wood used to secure its previous cargo offloaded earlier in Mexico. The ship, named Pan Jasmine, arrived at the anchorage of Davant, downriver from New Orleans at mile marker 54, on July 17, having previously offloaded a shipment of aluminum in Vera Cruz, Mexico, after coming from Paradip, India."The wood used to pack the aluminum had not been offloaded in Mexico and was left scattered on the deck of the Pan Jasmine, which is unusual. No reason was provided to CBP as to why the dunnage was refused discharge in Mexico, and this raised a red flag.

The U.S. Coast Guard responded Thursday to the aground cruise vessel American Jazz near Canton, Kentucky."American Jazz is aground near mile marker 62 on the Cumberland River outside the ship channel and is carrying 120 passengers and 54 crew members," the U.S. Coast Guard said.Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley watchstanders received a call Thursday morning from American Cruise Lines stating their vessel American Jazz ran aground. A Coast Guard Station Paducah 29-foot Special Purpose Craft-Shallow Water boat crew along with a Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Paducah marine investigator were launched to the scene."No damage, pollution, or injuries were reported. The Coast Guard is coordinating with American Cruise Lines to establish a salvage plan to dislodge the cruise vessel.

Responders are searching by air and sea to locate a barge crew member who went missing Tuesday near mile marker 105 in the Lower Mississippi River, the Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard said its watchstanders in New Orleans were notified around 3 p.m. Tuesday that one of Zito Fleeting's barge workers had fallen overboard near Jefferson Heights in Jefferson Parish, La. Missing is 44-yeard-old Elisander Alvardo, last seen wearing coveralls and no life jacket.The Coast Guard issued…

The U.S. Coast Guard said it is searching for a towboat crewman in the water in the Ohio River near Alton, Ind., Sunday.Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley received a report around 12 p.m EST that a deckhand from a towing vessel had gone overboard without a life jacket, somewhere between mile marker 675 and mile marker 700.The male deckhand is described to be in his 50s, about 280 pounds, and 5 feet 10 inches tall.The Coast Guard is coordinating the search with local agency partners, including the Meade County Fire Department and Indiana Department of Conservation.

A 334-meter containership ran aground near mile marker 81 of the Mississippi River, Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Coast Guard watchstanders in New Orleans received a call at 3:20 a.m. that the Liberian-flagged Belita had run aground near 12-mile point, at mile marker 81 of the Mississippi River.Sector New Orleans vessel traffic service has placed a one-way traffic restriction in the immediate vicinity of the grounded vessel.“Our top priority in this incident is the safe recovery of this vessel, while protecting the marine environment,” said Capt. Kristi Luttrell, Sector New Orleans commanding officer.No injuries or pollution have been reported, and the cause of the incident is under investigation, the Coast Guard said.

Inland Dredging Company helps keep commerce flowing on America’s inland waterway system.Dyersburg, Tenn. based Inland Dredging Company completed dredging projects spanning eight states and across four U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Districts. Beginning in July and finishing in December (2019), Inland Dredging crews dredged ports and harbors along the Mighty Mississippi River, Ouachita River, Red River, Black Warrior River, Atchafalaya River, Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway, and the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway from Apalachicola to Morgan City.Richard Jackson…

Nearly 200 towing vessels and 600 barges are queued on the Intracoastal Waterway while salvors work to clear a halved and partially sunken rock barge near Berwick, La., the U.S. Coast Guard said.A section of waterway has been closed since Sunday night, when a towing vessel pushing six rock-filled hopper barges ran aground at mile marker 99.The push boat Miss Odessa was reportedly transiting southbound on the Atchafalaya River when it turned west onto the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and hit bottom. One of the barges, ACL 01700, split in half and sunk when the vessel attempted to break free.

A section of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway has been closed after a towing vessel ran aground at mile marker 99, near Berwick, La., the U.S. Coast Guard said.Watchstanders at Vessel Traffic Service Berwick Bay received a report at approximately 10 p.m., Sunday, that the towing vessel Miss Odessa, carrying six hopper barges filled with rock, ran aground.The Miss Odessa was reportedly transiting south-bound on the Atchafalaya River when it turned west onto the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and hit bottom.

The search for three missing mariners was called off on Monday after two towing vessels collided on the Mississippi River at mile marker 123, near Luling, La., Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Search crews scoured more than 835 nautical miles for approximately 67 hours but were unable to find the three missing mariners, the Coast Guard said.The towing vessel Cooperative Spirit was reportedly transiting upbound on the river when it entered a barge fleeting area and allied with barges before colliding with another towing vessel RC Creppel, causing the RC Creppel to sink and barges to breakaway. Four crew members were missing intially, but one was rescued by nearby vessel.The RC Creppel was pushing two barges carrying sulfuric acid.

The U.S. Coast Guard and local agencies are searching for three crew members missing following a collision between two towing vessels on the Mississippi River at mile marker 123, near Luling, La., Sunday.The Coast Guard said its watchstanders in New Orleans were alerted at 5:37 a.m. on Sunday that towing vessels RC Creppel and Cooperative Spirit had collided and that four members of the RC Creppel were missing.The Cooperative Spirit was reportedly transiting upbound on the river when it entered a barge fleeting area and allied with barges before colliding with the towing vessel RC Creppel, causing the RC Creppel to sink and barges to…

A dredge barge that was taking on water has been intentionally grounded in the Matagorda Ship Channel near Port Lavaca, Texas, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi were notified on Monday evening that the dredge barge Everett Fisher began taking on water. The towing vessel Dana Robyn pushed the bareg aground and recovered the four crewmembers aboard.No injuries or pollution have been reported.Coast Guard air and boat crews are on scene.

The Coast Guard has transitioned from pollution response to the investigation phase of a major marine casualty that occurred July 5, 2019, involving three vessels that sank in the Illinois River near Hardin, Illinois.Coast Guard Sector Upper Mississippi River received a report of three tugboats and a deck barge that were tied together and began taking on water at mile marker 20.7 on the Illinois River. Sector UMR responded to the scene to find all three vessels fully submerged.The vessels were identified as Chatty Sue Smith…

The Coast Guard is responding to three vessels that sunk on the Illinois River near Hardin, Illinois, Sunday.Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Upper Mississippi River received a report Friday of three tugboats and a deck barge that were tied together and began taking on water at mile marker 21 on the Illinois River.The sinking tugboats are holding approximately 4,850 gallons of diesel and oil.Sector Upper Mississippi River dispatched personnel to work with the tugboat company…

On August 20, 2019, Dutra’s new Jones Act built Hydraulic Dump Scow ES15 was successfully launched, christened, commissioned and will finish sea trials and additional testing this week. Next week the ES15 will head to Massachusetts to to work on the Boston Harbor Deepening Project.ES15 is a 6,000cy Hydraulic Dump Scow built in Corn Island Shipyard in Grandview, Indiana, located at 734 Mile Marker on the Ohio River. Departing from Corn Island, IN  on August 27, 2019, the vessel will head south on the Ohio River…