Mississippi River reopens after slurry spill

SEPTEMBER 8, 2015 — The Coast Guard reported Saturday that traffic was again transiting the Mississippi River as the unified command in Paducah continued to respond to the clarified slurry oil spill at mile marker 937 last Wednesday (see earlier story).

As of Saturday, a safety zone remained in effect from mile marker 936 to mile marker 938, but one way vessel traffic was being coordinatedthrough the safety zone and approximately 80 vessels had transited through the safety zone since it reopened Friday night.Lightering operations on the damaged barge have begun to remove the remaining clarified slurry oil, and arrangements are being made to move the barge out of the area.

The cause of the incident is under investigation by the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board.