Vessel Grounding Closes Lower Mississippi

The oil tanker Eagle Tucson went aground at mile marker 3 at Head of Passes in the lower Mississippi River at about 2:45 this morning.

All deep draft vessel traffic is halted until the ship channel can be cleared. Shallow-draft vessels are moving.

Four tugboats are now working to free the vessel, according to Petty Officer Elizabeth Bordelon with Coast Guard Sector New Orleans. Currently eight deep-draft vessels are in queue to transit the waterway.

The Eagle Tucson was inbound with a cargo of about 60,000 metric tons of crude oil when it went aground, according to the Gulf States Maritime Association.

Contact Janet Nodar at jcnodar@bellsouth.net.