Boat hit rock dike to cause barges to come free

The pushboat Sheila Johnson hit a rock dike "outside of the normal channel" north of Cape Girardeau on March 24, causing three barges carrying coal to partially sink, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Lt. Dan McQuate, public information officer for the U.S. Coast Guard in Paducah, Ky., said whether mechanical or human error caused the vessel to strike the rocks still is under investigation. Further information on the incident was not available Wednesday.

The Sheila Johnson was pushing 25 barges when 13 broke loose after impact and drifted down the river, McQuate said last month after the incident. Two barges partially sank near mile marker 57.4 on the Illinois side of the river; another partially sank at the Cape Girardeau riverfront.

The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge between Cape Girardeau and Illinois was closed for about an hour as a precautionary measure. The bridge was not struck by any of the barges.

The Sheila Johnson was built in 1975 by Jeffboat Inc. and is owned by American Commercial Lines LLC of Jeffersonville, Ind.

Pertinent address:

Broadway and North Water Street, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Jeffersonville, Ind.