Oil containment continues around sunken towboat

Federal, state and local crews continue efforts to contain oil discharged from a partially submerged towboat on the Mississippi river near Le Claire.

“Environmental damage seems minimal so far, but the risk is high when the vessel is eventually removed from the river,” said Scott Gritters, a fisheries biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

“We have some gulls in harm's way, and about 70,000 diving ducks are staged upriver, poised to move into the area as they migrate down the flyway,” said Gritters, who was not on site Wednesday but was standing by as a consultant on areas most in need of protection.

The Coast Guard reported that the 144-foot towboat Stephen L. Colby struck a submerged object near Le Claire about 4:30 p.m. Monday, causing it to sink. The nine crewmembers aboard all made it to safety.

The river was reopened to shipping at 6 p.m. Tuesday, and a multi-agency unified command has approved a plan to pump oil off the towboat onto a barge in an operation known as lightering.

Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service remain on the scene developing methods to prevent waterfowl from becoming contaminated by the oil. They are also forming response plans for any waterfowl that do get into the oil.

The Coast Guard and partner agencies will be working through the Thanksgiving holiday.

Iowa DNR personnel have conducted several tests of the water column and determined there is no oil present below the surface.

“A sheen of diesel can be spotted once in awhile but most large masses of petroleum products are under control,” Gritters said.

The captain of the port closed the river from mile marker 493 to mile maker 501 in pool 14 to allow for safe, effective cleanup and salvage operations.

About 100,000 gallons of petroleum products are reported to be on board the sunken vessel.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.