Company believes it found sunken barge in Ohio River near Pittsburgh, one of 26 that got loose
A barge operator believes it has found a sunken barge in the Ohio River near Pittsburgh, one of 26 that broke loose and floated away during weekend flooding, company officials said Tuesday.
>>> 26 barges break loose on Ohio River, cause damage to a marina
Crews used sonar to locate an object in a stretch of river north of the city, which Campbell Transportation Company Inc. said it presumes to be its missing barge.
The river remained closed to maritime traffic while the company worked to salvage the runaway barges.
>>> Officials waiting for river levels to come down before removing barges from Ohio River
Cmdr. Justin Jolley, of the U.S. Coast Guard’s marine safety unit in Pittsburgh, said Tuesday that once the object in the river is confirmed to be the missing barge, “we’re hopeful we can reduce the security zone to that area and allow traffic to resume.”
Seventeen of the barges are secure and under control. Six of the seven positioned against the Emsworth Locks and Dam are in the process of being removed.
“We are actively developing a recovery plan for all affected vessels, which will be implemented when safe for the recovery workers, barges and the public,” said Gary Statler, the company’s senior vice president for river operations.
The Coast Guard is investigating how the barges got loose from their moorings late Friday, striking a bridge and smashing a pair of marinas. All but three of the barges were loaded with coal, fertilizer and other dry cargo. Statler said the barges broke loose “under high water conditions on the rivers, resulting in strong currents due to flooding in the area.”
>>> Unmanned barge hits Sewickley Bridge, prompts hours-long closure
No injuries were reported.
An inspection of the Sewickley Bridge revealed no significant damage, and the bridge was reopened to traffic on Saturday,
The barge mishap took place more than two weeks after Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after it was hit by a wayward cargo ship, killing six construction workers who plunged to their deaths.
Campbell, of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, owns and manages more than 1,100 barges and moves about 60 million tons of dry and liquid cargo each year, according to its website.
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