Mississippi River reopens after barge sinks

The Mississippi River was reopened Friday, one day after a barge sank north of Cape Gir-ardeau.

The accident marked the second time in a little over a month that a tow owned by Marquette Transportation Co. Inc. of Paducah, Ky., was involved in an accident and had a barge sink. The earlier incident happened April 16 when the tow John Paul Eckstein lost auxiliary power south of St. Louis and struck a dock, setting all 25 grain-filled barges adrift. One sank.

That accident forced a 15-mile stretch of river to be closed for a day.

On Thursday, the southbound tow Riley Elizabeth, also pushing 25 barges filled with grain, apparently ran aground about 20 miles north of Cape Girardeau, said Phillip Bradberry, chief petty officer of the Coast Guard office in Paducah. No one was hurt.

"It struck bottom momentarily, resulting in four of the barges breaking away," Bradberry said. "One barge sank there in the channel."

Concerned that passing tows or other river traffic would scrape the sunken barge, the Coast Guard closed the river to all traffic for about a two-mile stretch. Divers were able to find the barge, mark its location with buoys, and reopen the river by Friday morning, Bradberry said.

The cause of the accident was under investigation. A Marquette official did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Bradberry said a salvage crew hired by the company was expected to arrive by Monday, but the river's depth may stall the salvage operation. The Mississippi exceeded flood stage in parts of southern Missouri earlier this month and remains higher than normal.

"Right now, the water needs to drop a little bit to allow them to make a safe dive," Bradberry said.

Marquette Transportation is one of the nation's largest operators of towboats. The company's Web site said a single barge can carry more cargo than 58 semis.