A crane barge carrying an excavator crane and a backhoe broke free of its moorings and sank on the Mississippi River near the town of Convent, Louisiana.
The US Coast Guard (USCG) was liaising with a salvage firm on Tuesday about possible recovery of the vessel and the two items it was transporting.
Some pollution was released from the barge but it was contained with boom although the USCG was monitoring for any further spillage. It’s thought possible that there was as much as 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel aboard the barge.
The vessel had been tied up at a fleeting area – a parking lot for barges from which equipment is loaded and unloaded.
No injuries were reported. The cause of the unmooring and sinking were not known as of Tuesday night, nor was the barge owner identified.
Traffic on that stretch of the river was halted for a short time until it was deemed that the sunken vessel and equipment represented no danger to shipping.
