New Orleans, LA (1/18/2023) — The Coast Guard oversees a pollution response Monday after a dredging vessel capsized in the Mississippi River in the vicinity of mile marker (MM) 85 near Meraux, La.
Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received notification at 12:50 a.m. that the dredging vessel W.B. Wood capsized, and the two people aboard were rescued and accounted for by the crew of the good Samaritan towing vessel Omaha.
Coast Guard Sector New Orleans Incident Management Division coordinates with Wood Resources, LLC in overseeing the pollution response and plans to salvage the capsized vessel. The responding oil spill response organization, Environmental Safety & Health Consulting Services (ES&H), has three response boats on the scene, conducts skimming operations, and has recovered more than 3,360 gallons of oily water mixture.
ES&H deployed 940 feet of hard and soft boom and contained the discharge.
A Coast Guard overflight of the area has verified sheening from the incident location down to MM 64, which is expected to dissipate naturally.
The Coast Guard is investigating all correlating pollution reports to ensure no additional areas along the Mississippi River have been impacted.
Coast Guard Sector New Orleans closed the waterway from MM 81 to MM 86 for 8 hours, but since opened the waterway with specific restrictions in place to facilitate safe recovery operations.
The cause of the incident is under investigation.
