Lower Mississippi Closed After 30 Barges Set Adrift!

Vicksburg Railroad Bridge  Photo by Anthony George 

Coast Guard sets safety zone on Mississippi River

NEW ORLEANS — The Coast Guard has set a safety zone on the Mississippi river near Vicksburg, Miss., due to barges breaking away, today.

The safety zone will extend from MM 436 to MM 415. The waterway is closed to all vessels except those directly involved in recovery efforts.

At approximately 10:55 a.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississipi received a call that 30 barges carrying coal and grain had broken free of their moorings after the lead barge had struck the Vicksburg Railroad Bridge.

All of the barges have been accounted for.

Two barges are partially submerged on the river bank.

One barge is aground on a dike.

One barge is sunk just south of the I-20 bridge piling parallel to the channel.

Mariners shall not enter into, depart from, or move within the safety zone unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Lower Mississippi river or a designated representative. All concerned mariners may contact Sector Lower Mississippi River at 901-521-4824 or the Coast Guard on VHF-FM channel 16.

Station New Orleans: Protecting The Gateway To Global Commerce

Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Tippets

A barge transporting cargo travels on the Mississippi River

 near New Orleans, March 7, 2013. Five hundred million tons

 of cargo travels the Mississippi River each year.

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Tippets

Read more: NEW ORLEANS - America is currently besieged by a very particular fear. It is a fear of not enough, a universal fear. It is a fear of not enough money and not enough jobs. It is a fear for the future.

With many television programs constantly bombarding viewers with commentary on the nation’s economic crisis, words and phrases like debt, fiscal cliff, unemployment and most recently budget restrictions have been branded into the American psyche.

In the gathering darkness of the nation’s financial situation, a local light shines. It shines not only on local and national levels, but also on the world’s stage. One of the original missions of the Coast Guard was keeping America’s lighthouses in working condition. Times haven’t changed so much. The Coast Guard still keeps America’s lighthouses running, only now, it is a financial lighthouse.

The Port of New Orleans is an economic powerhouse. For the 2012 fiscal year, the port’s total revenue was $48.5 million, a number expected to be exceeded in 2013.

The port is also the only U.S. seaport served by all six Class 1 railroads, which means that anything coming into the port can go nearly anywhere in the country. With top trade lanes such as the American Midwest, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa, the port operates at a global level.

Another mode of transportation once goods reach the port is the Mississippi River.

“A 14,500-mile inland waterway system awaits cargo arriving at the Port of New Orleans,” said Matt Gresham, director of external affairs at the Port of New Orleans. “This system of river and navigation channels can reach Pittsburgh, Chicago, Kansas City and points in between.”

The port and river system act as a conduit for American commerce, a conduit regularly patrolled by the Coast Guard.

Coast Guard Station New Orleans is one of the Coast Guard’s first lines of defense for safety on the Mississippi River.

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