CRIMSON GEM

Allgemeine Informationen

Kurs/Position

Die neuesten Nachrichten

Salvage of lost barges underway

The Coast Guard continued the supervision of the salvage of sunken corn barges on the Mississippi River, on Sep 25, 2011, near mile marker 233. McKinney Salvage & Heavy Lift completed the salvage operations for one of three corn barges, owned by American River Transportation Company, on Sep 23. The salvage of the second barge is scheduled to begin Sep 28. Following the removal of the second barge, the process to remove the third barge will begin. At approximately 1:30 p.m., May 20, 2011, watchstanders at Vessel Traffic Service New Orleans received a report that the "Crimson Gem" was pushing 20 barges of grain when the vessel allided with a barge at the Rhodia Dock, and three of the barges sank as a result. Regular sonar scans of the barge locations were taken since in order to ensure the barges are not drifting from their original location.

Queue of ships waiting to transit doubled

The line of vessels waiting to move south through a 9-mile section of the flooding Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has nearly doubled to 49 on May 24, four days after the section was shut due to the sinking of three barges pushed by the "Crimson Gem". There was no time set for when the river might be reopened for southbound traffic. Ships may now move one at a time north through the section of the river, he said, although no vessels were waiting to make that journey. Reopening the river for southbound ships may have to wait for the salvage of the sunken barges from the Mississippi.

Mississippi partially re-opened for traffic

The Coast Guard re-opened a portion of the Mississippi River on May 23, near Baton Rouge, after it was closed due to three barges pushed by the "Crimson Gem" that sank on May 20. The Coast Guard opened the Mississippi River from mile marker 228-237 to limited traffic with the following restrictions: For the northbound channel, vessels are allowed to transit one-at-a-time; however, they must coordinate with Vessel Traffic Service New Orleans for permission to transit. The northbound channel is clear, while there are 27 vessels waiting to transit southbound. Southbound traffic remained closed through mile marker 228-237. All vessel traffic is being coordinated through the Vessel Traffic Center. The barges remain sunk but were under constant assessment and surveillance by the salvage company through the use of sonar. The Coast Guard was working with the owner of the Crimson Gem and its barges, American River Transport Company, to approve a salvage plan for the safe removal of the three barges, which were located in the river between the 190 and I-10 Bridge.