Charenton Navigational Canal News

USCG Pollution Recovery, Charenton Navigational Canal

The Coast Guard announced that it has accessed the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to pay for costs associated with the pollution recovery operations resulting from the sinking of a Mobil Inland Drilling Unit that sank in the Charenton Navigational Canal in April 2010. "We, along with our partners, are dedicated to mitigating the potential environmental hazard that the MIDU represents," said Capt. Jonathan Burton, commanding officer Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Morgan City. On April 30, 2010, the Hercules 61 overturned after taking on water while transiting the canal and sank in its current position just south of the I-90 Bridge. The MIDU has a 20,000-gallon diesel fuel capacity, but there is no current estimate on how much fuel was on board at the time of the incident.