Methanol barge removed from McAlpine Dam

Kentucky Emergency and Environment Cabinet tweeted this photo of breakaway barges piled against dam.

In an update to the March 28 barge breakaway at McAlpine Lock and Dam, work crews pumped methanol from a stranded tank barge into a nearby receiver tank barge and completed the work on April 7.

There is no indication that any of the barge’s cargo tanks were breached during the stranding event. The U.S. Coast Guard approved for the barge to be transported to a fleeting facility below the McAlpine Lock—from which it will be transported to a shipyard for repairs this week. 

Barge Breakaway

Shortly after 2 a.m. on March 28, a towboat with 11 barges made contact with a stationary structure at the entrance to the Portland Canal near the McAlpine Lock and Dam.

Through April 8, all air and water testing results continue to show no detectable methanol in the air or water. A total of 469 air quality samples were taken between 6 a.m. April 7 and 6 a.m. April 8. In total, more than 3,000 air quality samples have been taken since the incident occurred; all showing no detection of methanol. 

Water testing on samples collected from five locations below the McAlpine Dam on April 7 again showed no detectable presence of methanol in the Ohio River. 

Now that the methanol has been safely transferred out of the once-stranded barge and into the receiver barge, air and water monitoring efforts wrapped up.

The barge incident had no impact on local water quality as the incident occurred downriver from Louisville Water.

The stranded dry cargo barge, carrying a load of corn, remains lodged against the dam. The on-scene salvage experts will continue recovery efforts on this corn barge at this time.

To read the full daily summary, visit www.McAlpineInfo.com, a website updated by the Ingram Marine Group to keep the community informed.