Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Nov. 4, 2009

Contact: 
U.S. Coast Guard External Affairs
(504) 671-2020

U.S. Coast Guard closes 111 miles of Ouachita River

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Coast Guard closed 111 miles of the Ouachita River from mile marker 221 near the Louisiana and Arkansas border to mile marker 110 near Columbia, La., to all recreational and commercial traffic due to extreme high water and strong current conditions.

“This is the highest the water level has been on the Ouachita River since 1991,” said Capt. Michael Gardiner, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River.  “We made the decision to close the waterway after carefully considering input from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Tensas Basin Levee District and representatives from vessels and facilities that rely on the river for commerce.”

Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River will continue to monitor river conditions and reopen the waterway when it is deemed safe for vessel transit.

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Oct. 4, 2009

Contact: Petty Officer 3rd Class Casey J. Ranel
(618) 225-9008

UPDATE: Coast Guard reopens lower Mississippi River

GREENVILLE, Miss. — The Coast Guard reopened the Mississippi River at 8:35 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009, from mile markers 531 to 541.

The allision between the towing vessel C. B. Ford and the Old Greenville Bridge resulted in six rock barges breaking free. All barges have been recovered.

The incident is under investigation.

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Oct. 4, 2009

Contact: Petty Officer 3rd Class Casey J. Ranel
(618) 225-9008

Coast Guard closes lower Mississippi River

GREENVILLE, Miss. — The Coast Guard has closed the Mississippi River to all vessel traffic from mile marker 531 to 541 as the result of a towing vessel allision at approximately 5:20 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009.

The allision between the towing vessel C. B. Ford and the Old Greenville Bridge resulted in six rock barges breaking free. Five of the adrift barges have been recovered. The one adrift barge is in the processing of being recovered by assist vessels.

There are no reports of injuries or pollution and the incident is under investigation.

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: July 31, 2009

Contact:  Joint Information Center
(504) 728-3390

Eugene Island pipeline clean up nears completion

NEW ORLEANS — The Unified Command for the Eugene Island Pipeline spill announces that cleanup operations are nearing completion.  Over flights this morning revealed that skimming had reduced the remaining oil to several 6-foot wide streamers approximately a quarter-mile long.  Skimming will continue until the streamers have been collected.  The recovered oil is being loaded onto a barge located in Fourchon, La., for disposal.

The Unified Command has notified nearby parish and local officials that the remaining oil poses no threat to the coast.  Recovery operations are taking place approximately 15 miles off shore, and should conclude this weekend. 

The Unified Command consists of members from Shell, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Minerals Management Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Shell’s Incident Commander, Tommy Hutto, stated that he is “well satisfied with the progress of the clean up, and grateful for the excellent assistance and cooperation of the members of the Unified Command as well as the Parish and Local governments.” 

Coast Guard Capt. Joseph Paradis, federal on-scene commander for the Unified Command, indicated that he was “pleased by the close cooperation shown by all of the organizations involved in the response.”

The Eugene Island Pipeline system will be restarted following repairs and a thorough inspection.  Top priorities during the response and restart phases are safety and the protection of the environment.

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: May 19, 2009

Contact: Petty Officer Casey J. Ranel
(504) 671-2020

UPDATE: Coast Guard reopens Mississippi River

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Coast Guard re-opened the Mississippi River to all vessel traffic from mile marker 595 to 640 at approximately 6:15 p.m.

The river was closed earlier Tuesday, May 19, 2009 after a collision between the towing vessel Golden Eagle and the towing vessel Mary Ann resulted in 26 adrift barges. 

Earlier reports stated that one of the barges had sunk; however, surveys by the Army Corps of Engineers determined that there was not a sunken barge. All of the adrift barges have been recovered.

There were no report of injuries or pollution and the incident is under investigation.

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: May 19, 2009

Contact: Petty Officer Casey Ranel
(504) 671-2020

Coast Guard closes Mississippi River

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Coast Guard has closed the Mississippi River to all vessel traffic from mile marker 595 to 640 as the result of a towing vessel collision at approximately 3 a.m., Tuesday, May 19, 2009.

The collision between the towing vessels Golden Eagle and Mary Ann resulted in 26 adrift barges, and possibly one sunken barge at mile marker 640.  Most of the adrift barges have been recovered.

The Coast Guard is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to survey the navigational channel to ensure the river can be safely reopened to commercial traffic.

There are no reports of injuries or pollution and the incident is under investigation. 

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Oct. 09, 2008

Contact:  Lt. Michael Block
(901) 521-4845

 Coast Guard Working with city to re-open the Auction Street Bridge Boat Ramp 

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Coast Guard in Sector Lower Mississippi River in Memphis and the Coast Guard Civil Engineering Unit in Miami is working with the City of Memphis to develop a license that will grant public access to the federally owned Auction Street Bridge boat ramp. 

The license will address the Coast Guard's right to control parking on the property, limit access during heightened security conditions and release the Coast Guard from liabilities associated with public use of the boat ramp.  

In 2007, a real property audit of U.S. Coast Guard property in Memphis revealed that the Action Street Bridge boat ramp was a federally owned and was deemed unsafe and closed due to liability issues.

"The Coast Guard is committed to expediting this process and to not further limit the public's ability to enjoy the benefits offered by the Mississippi River and the Wolfe River Chute," said Capt. Michael Gardiner, Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard's Sector Lower Mississippi River.

A license for police and fire department access has already been provided by the Coast Guard to the City of Memphis, and is currently under review by the City of Memphis.  The Coast Guard expects to provide a revised version of this license to include conditions for public access within a few weeks.