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Courier Journal News

19 Jan 2007

Salvage Operations for Barges to Begin Next Week

Salvage operations to recover two barges stranded in the Ohio River won’t begin before Monday, when high water recedes, the U.S. Coast Guard said, according to the Courier Journal. River Salvage Co. of Crescent, Pa., has been hired to secure the two barges that broke loose early Tuesday when cabling or a coupling snapped just after the tow had cleared McAlpine Locks. Two runaway barges were secured, but one remains partly submerged on the Indiana shore midway between the Sherman Minton and K & I bridges, and another is partly underwater and lodged at the McAlpine Dam. Both are out of the commercial channel and aren’t impeding river traffic. One of the stranded barge’s cargo of salt spilled in the river, while the other barge lost about 1,450 tons of liquid fertilizer.

30 Jan 2006

Barge Leaking in Ohio River

A barge was lodged against the K & I Railroad Bridge last night, leaking hot asphalt and diesel fuel into the Ohio River, as reported by the Louisville Courier-Journal. It was one of three barges that broke loose from their tow January 26 near McAlpine Locks, with two going over the dam's spillway. The Sherman Minton Bridge was closed briefly about 7:30 p.m, but reopened minutes later, when it appeared the barge was sinking. The barge was buckling, turned on its side against two pilings of the K & I. People who live near the area were complaining of diesel fumes. Tests showed the concentration of diesel to be one part per million. Authorities couldn't tell how much diesel or asphalt had leaked into the river because of darkness.