NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Traffic limits on a three-mile stretch of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge have been lifted by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The one-way traffic restriction put in placed Monday after a ship broke free of its mooring and hit two other vessels was lifted Thursday.
The Coast Guard had closed several miles of river near Convent on Monday after the Privocean — a 751-foot bulk carrier — broke free, drifted and struck a 98-foot towing vessel, the Texas.
Authorities say the Privocean drifted further downriver and hit the 816-foot tank ship Bravo, which spilled about 420 gallons of crude oil.
The Coast Guard said in a news release that the three ships were moved out of the crash area and are awaiting repairs.
The Maltese-flagged Privocean, which had minor damage and is owned by Greek shipping companies, was deemed seaworthy and left its post-crash anchorage Wednesday evening.
The ship was moored Thursday at the Grandview anchorage near Gramercy about 12 to 14 miles downriver from the crash area, the Coast Guard said.
The Bravo, an 816-foot tanker that has not been cleared to leave, was moved by tugboats from the Ergon terminal in St. James on Thursday afternoon, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally, Coast Guard spokesman.
The ship is anchored about 5 to 7 miles upriver of the crash zone at the Burnside anchorage, south of the Sunshine Bridge.
Underwater divers did remove a mooring line that had been wrapped around the Bravo's propeller and rudder in the crash Monday. Coast Guard officials said ballast tanks for the Bravo, a single-hulled ship, were also damaged in the crash and are not yet repaired.
"The Bravo cannot leave until it has been surveyed for seaworthiness," the Coast Guard said in the statement.
Coast Guard officials said the holes in the ballast tanks are not a stability concern. The Bravo's crew has been pumping water out of the ship.
The Coast Guard said the extent of the damage and needed repairs will be determined once the ship has surveyed.
The tow boat Texas, which had to be run ashore near milepost 162 after the crash, was taken in tow to a dry-dock to be surveyed, the Coast Guard said. The water the Texas took on has been removed.
Coast Guard officials said the owner of the Texas, which is New Orleans-based Crescent Towing, is deciding when and where to repair the vessel.
As far as the oil spill in the river, the Coast Guard said Thursday that cleanup was not needed after assessments Tuesday found no recoverable oil.
