420,000 Gallon oil spill in Mississippi River

[Modelworks]

Just saw this on cnn.
Saying a tugboat driver who only had an apprentice license caused a tanker to lose 420,000 gallons of oil into the Mississippi river. They are closing a 100 mile stretch. Hate what this stuff does to the fish and wildlife, going to be a major screwup for sure.

And only having a newbie driving the boat , alone. Someone is in deep sh!t.

http://www.nola.com/news/index...loses_almost_20_m.html

As the spill runs south, more traffic will be able to slowly move on," because it will be possible for the Coast Guard to open more locks and move traffic along, Young said. The river could be closed for days or weeks as workers try to remove the oil from the river.

The port loses about $100,000 in revenue each day the river is closed. That does not include the losses to terminal operators, stevedores, tug boat operators and other private businesses.

The catastrophic spill occurred early Wednesday after an outbound 600-foot Liberian-flagged tanker named The Tintomara collided with a barge being pulled by a tugboat near the Harvey Locks. The barge -- which was carrying 400,000 gallons of thick, tar-like No. 6 fuel oil -- was split in half, sending its contents into the river.

Salvage of the barge, which has spilled practically all of its contents into the water, is scheduled for today, said Petty Officer Thomas Blue.

The oil is too thick to evaporate from the river's surface and could sink. Authorities are hoping to remove the oil before that happens.

American Commercial Lines Inc., the barge's owner, must present a salvage plan to the Coast Guard for approval before it can remove its barge from the water.

The barge was being pulled by the tugboat Mel Oliver -- the operator had only an apprentice mate's license, and no one else on board had a license to operate the boat on the river. An operator should have a master's license to operate the tugboat, Petty Officer Stephen Lehmann said on Wednesday.

 

[mugs]

How many people read that and thought about the fish and wildlife...
And how many people read that and thought about all that wasted oil? :Q

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: mugs
And how many people read that and thought about all that wasted oil? :Q

Guilty... looks like I'm filling up over the weekend, 'cause there go the gas prices that just went down.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Aikouka

Originally posted by: mugs
And how many people read that and thought about all that wasted oil? :Q

Guilty... looks like I'm filling up over the weekend, 'cause there go the gas prices that just went down.

Nah, it's only 10k barrels. We use something like 20 million barrels a week.

Edit: Whoops, 20 million barrels a day. :Q

 

[tw1164]

Drill, Drill, Drill

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: tw1164
Drill, Drill, Drill

This has nothing to do with drilling. This has to do with transportation. This will always be a concern.

Drilling off-shore is actually very safe. More oil comes from natural seepage from the ocean floor than comes from the hundreds of oil rigs we have in the gulf.

 

[nublikescake]

Originally posted by: mugs
How many people read that and thought about the fish and wildlife...
And how many people read that and thought about all that wasted oil? :Q

equally concerned.

 

[Insomniator]

I dont think 420,000 gallons would effect anything price wise

 

[Kev]

I bet he feels like a silly goose right now.

 

[Queasy]

Oil has dropped $2.43 today. It's dropped over $20 in the last two weeks.

 

[Goosemaster]

dumb n00bs

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: Queasy
Oil has dropped $2.43 today. It's dropped over $20 in the last two weeks.

*contemplates sinking more vessels*

 

[xboxist]

How about designing boats that don't split in half when they bump into anything while going 7 mph.

 

[randomlinh]

wait, the barge of oil was pulled by a noob, so what? that said the tanker collided w/ the barge... who's at fault? was the barge just not suppose to be where it was?

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: randomlinh
wait, the barge of oil was pulled by a noob, so what? that said the tanker collided w/ the barge... who's at fault? was the barge just not suppose to be where it was?

Larger ships always have the right of way. More than likely, the noob tug driver pulled the barge to where it wasn't supposed to be.

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: randomlinh
wait, the barge of oil was pulled by a noob, so what? that said the tanker collided w/ the barge... who's at fault? was the barge just not suppose to be where it was?

It's everybody's fault for being in Mississippi....

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: randomlinh
wait, the barge of oil was pulled by a noob, so what? that said the tanker collided w/ the barge... who's at fault? was the barge just not suppose to be where it was?

It's everybody's fault for being in Mississippi....

Stop posting in here and go update your thread

 

[loup garou]

This is a very viscous oil. In fast moving currents like much of the Mississippi south of New Orleans, it will ball up and sink below the surface, coating bottom debris and the shores. I'm really nervous what this is going to do to wetlands at the mouth of the river.

Originally posted by: Insomniator
I dont think 420,000 gallons would effect anything price wise

Especially since it's industrial fuel oil.

Originally posted by: xboxist
How about designing boats that don't split in half when they bump into anything while going 7 mph.

It's a barge.

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: randomlinh
wait, the barge of oil was pulled by a noob, so what? that said the tanker collided w/ the barge... who's at fault? was the barge just not suppose to be where it was?

It's everybody's fault for being in Mississippi....

You fail geography and/or reading comprehension.

 

[herm0016]

its much harder to control a barge train than it is a ship. there is no way we can know who was at fault.

 

[Modelworks]

It's sad that people don't get how badly this is going to damage the ecosystem. You got an area there that was ravaged by debris and chemicals that flowed into the rivers after all the damage katrina did and now oil that is almost like tar. Wonder how long it will be before people start pulling two headed fish from the river.

These are all the places that have cities along the river that could be affected in the long term:
# Bemidji, Minnesota
# Little Falls, Minnesota
# Saint Cloud, Minnesota
# Minneapolis, Minnesota
# St. Paul, Minnesota
# Winona, Minnesota
# La Crosse, Wisconsin
# Dubuque, Iowa
# Bettendorf, Iowa
# Davenport, Iowa
# Rock Island, Illinois
# Moline, Illinois
# Muscatine, Iowa
# Burlington, Iowa
# Fort Madison, Iowa
# Nauvoo, Illinois
# Keokuk, Iowa
# Quincy, Illinois
# Hannibal, Missouri
# St. Louis, Missouri
# Ste. Genevieve, Missouri
# Cape Girardeau, Missouri
# Cairo, Illinois
# New Madrid, Missouri
# Columbus, Kentucky
# Hickman, Kentucky
# Reverie, Tennessee
# Memphis, Tennessee
# Tunica, Mississippi
# Helena-West Helena, Arkansas
# Greenville, Mississippi
# Vicksburg, Mississippi
# Natchez, Mississippi
# Baton Rouge, Louisiana
# New Orleans, Louisiana
# Pilottown, Louisiana
# La Balize, Louisiana (h

 

[Throckmorton]

Modelworks, you're right people don't get how severe this is. The Mississippi river is FVCKED now.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
It's sad that people don't get how badly this is going to damage the ecosystem. You got an area there that was ravaged by debris and chemicals that flowed into the rivers after all the damage katrina did and now oil that is almost like tar. Wonder how long it will be before people start pulling two headed fish from the river.

These are all the places that have cities along the river that could be affected in the long term:
# Bemidji, Minnesota
# Little Falls, Minnesota
# Saint Cloud, Minnesota
# Minneapolis, Minnesota
# St. Paul, Minnesota
# Winona, Minnesota
# La Crosse, Wisconsin
# Dubuque, Iowa
# Bettendorf, Iowa
# Davenport, Iowa
# Rock Island, Illinois
# Moline, Illinois
# Muscatine, Iowa
# Burlington, Iowa
# Fort Madison, Iowa
# Nauvoo, Illinois
# Keokuk, Iowa
# Quincy, Illinois
# Hannibal, Missouri
# St. Louis, Missouri
# Ste. Genevieve, Missouri
# Cape Girardeau, Missouri
# Cairo, Illinois
# New Madrid, Missouri
# Columbus, Kentucky
# Hickman, Kentucky
# Reverie, Tennessee
# Memphis, Tennessee
# Tunica, Mississippi
# Helena-West Helena, Arkansas
# Greenville, Mississippi
# Vicksburg, Mississippi
# Natchez, Mississippi
# Baton Rouge, Louisiana
# New Orleans, Louisiana
# Pilottown, Louisiana
# La Balize, Louisiana (h

Uhh... how do you think a spill that far south will affect will affect the areas north of it?

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY
Uhh... how do you think a spill that far south will affect will affect the areas north of it?

Because it is water + oil, and that does not stay in one place. It is an ecosystem. Life in one are affects every other area in the same system.

 

[xanis]

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY
Uhh... how do you think a spill that far south will affect will affect the areas north of it?

Because it is water + oil, and that does not stay in one place. It is an ecosystem. Life in one are affects every other area in the same system.

I think what he was getting at was how can the oil spread north if the river flows south.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: xboxist
How about designing boats that don't split in half when they bump into anything while going 7 mph.

lmao! You need to take a physics class or something.

Originally posted by: herm0016
its much harder to control a barge train than it is a ship. there is no way we can know who was at fault.

Sure we can - we just have to wait for the news agencies to report what the experts have to say about the accident.