RUNAWAYS ON THE RIVER: SEVEN LOOSE BARGES RECAPTURED BY TOWBOATS

Towboats from the Cape Girardeau fleet of the Missouri Barge Line shot into the swiftly moving ice of the Mississippi River on two occasions Wednesday to rescue a total of seven runaway barges. Only a handful of witnesses hardy enough to brave the riverfront cold were able to watch the strangely silent couplings of barge and towboat.

The first accident occurred in the early morning. Five coal barges broke loose near Mississippi River mile marker 56 north of Cape Girardeau when the cold weather led to mechanical failure aboard a towboat.

The Ruth D. Jones, owned by the American Commercial Barge Line of Jeffersonville, Ind., was preparing to start movement for the daylight hours at about 7:30 a.m.

"The ice had encased parts of the tow," said Lt. Josh McTaggart of the U.S. Coast Guard office at Paducah, Ky. "When movement started, some of the cables holding the barges together snapped, and five barges broke loose."

Cape Girardeau police closed the Mississippi River Bridge, blocking traffic for five to 10 minutes as a precaution if the barges struck the bridge supports.

Two towboats from the American Commercial Barge Line, the Bob Stith and the W. A. Kernan, and two from the Missouri Barge Line's Cape Girardeau fleet, the Joanne and the Curtis Moore, helped corral the fugitive ships.

The pilots of the Joanne and the Curtis Moore -- Bruce Engert and Rick Hendershott, respectively -- had the expertise to perform the difficult union in the ice flow and make it look easy, said Leo Steger, general manager of the Missouri Barge Line's Cape Girardeau operation.

"They can handle their barges and do anything with them," Steger said.

The second accident occurred at about 2 p.m., when five covered barges broke free when the towboat Crimson Gem of the American River Transport Co. ran aground near mile marker 53.5 north of Cape Girardeau. Only two corn barges managed to clear the shallows and began floating downriver, again potentially threatening the bridge.

Again, it was the Missouri Barge Line's Joanne to the rescue, corralling the barges about a half-mile north of the bridge.

The Missouri Barge Line will bill the American River Transport Co. for the save, Steger said.

Runaway barges are the cost of doing business during the icy months on the upper Mississippi, reported the Coast Guard. Such accidents are not infrequent.

"It does occur from time to time," McTaggart said. "One of the problems is with the ice flow, a lot of the navigational buoys are swept away by the ice."

Due to present river conditions and weather forecasts, ice gorges are likely to continue to occur between Cape Girardeau, which is at mile marker 51, and Cairo, Ill., until the weather breaks.

A Coast Guard advisory over the weekend limited tow size on the upper Mississippi to 15 barges. Most tows also have agreed to operate during daylight hours only.

A number of barge companies have agreed to provide patrol boats to keep an eye on happenings along the river during this icy, shallow period. The river stage at Cape Girardeau was at 7.1 feet Wednesday, and is expected to be at 6.6 feet by Friday.