Mississippi oil spill might have been avoided

North America News.Net
Wednesday 23rd July, 2008

The US Coast Guard has reported the collision of of a tugboat and an oil tanker on the Mississippi River.

The crash has resulted in a major oil spill.

Guard officials have closed 29 miles of the Mississippi River at New Orleans after the 600-foot tanker and the barge collided, breaking the barge in half.

While no-one was injured, more than 419,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil spilled from the barge.

The double-hulled tanker Tintomara was loaded with about 4.2 million gallons of biodiesel bound for Rotterdam.

The tugboat was allegedly being steered by an crew member with an improper license.

The Coast Guard will conduct an in-depth investigation into why the tugboat operator only had an apprentice mate's license with no one else on the vessel properly licensed to take the boat on the river.

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