Category:New Orleans oil spill, July 2008

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The 2008 New Orleans oil spill was an oil spill that occurred on 23 July 2008 at New Orleans, Louisiana, in which No. 6 fuel oil was spilled into the Mississippi River after a tanker collided with Barge DM932 being pulled by a tugboat upriver near the Crescent City Connection bridge.[1] Although early estimates stated approximately 400,000 gallons (1,514,164 liters) of the fuel oil was spilled into the river,[1] subsequent estimates by the Office of Response and Restoration of the National Ocean Service placed the spill at approximately 280,000 gallons.[2]

Background

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At about 1:30 a.m. local time on July 23, 2008, the Tintomara, a 600 Liberian-flagged oil tanker collided with the 61 ft barge carrying No. 6 fuel oil being towed by the tug Mel Oliver operated by DRD Towing of Harvey, Louisiana. The barge was picked up from the John W. Stone Oil Distributor in Gretna, Louisiana.[1]

By July 24, the Coast Guard closed the river to all ships from mile marker 97 in New Orleans to the Southwest Pass estuary at the Gulf of Mexico.[3] By midday, the slick had reached as far as Venice, Louisiana, with only 140 barrels (22 m3) of oil contained and removed from the river.[4] Floating, containment booms were utilized in the cleanup with many being placed in strategic locations in order to minimize the impacts of the Delta National Wildlife Refuge.[4]

With clean-up well underway, the barge released an estimated 2,500 gallons of oil into the river on July 30, resulting in its closure to river traffic for a period of six hours.[5] The pumping of the remaining fuel oil would commence shortly thereafter, with the actual removal of the damaged barge underway during the week of August 4, 2008.[6]

Aftermath

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The closure resulted a halting of river traffic with many ships being held in New Orleans. The closure resulted in the Port of New Orleans losing an estimated $100,000 in revenue for each day it remained closed.[3] Also, Carnival Cruise Lines diverted its lead Fantasy class ship Carnival Fantasy to Mobile, Alabama through the September 1, 2008 cruise before going to its scheduled four week drydock. It returned to New Orleans on October 4, 2008.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ a b c Kirkham, Chris; Ramon Antonio Vargas (July 24, 2008). "Oil spill shuts down 80 miles of river". New Orleans Times-Picayune: A1.
  2. ↑ Emergency Response Division, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service. Barge DM932. Retrieved on 2008-08-04.
  3. ↑ a b Vargas, Ramon Antonio (July 24, 2008). "Mississippi River closed to Gulf of Mexico". New Orleans Times-Picayune.
  4. ↑ a b Kirkham, Chris; Jen DeGregorio and Mark Schleifstein (July 24, 2008). "Only a fraction of oil spill contained as slick reaches Venice". New Orleans Times-Picayune.
  5. ↑ Kirkham, Chris; Jen DeGregorio (July 30, 2008). "Sunken barge belches more oil, closing river for 6 hours". New Orleans Times-Picayune.
  6. ↑ Emergency Response Division, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service. Mississippi River Oil Spill Response Update: August 4, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-08-04.
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Media in category "New Orleans oil spill, July 2008"

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