At approximately 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning, January 27, two barges that were being pushed by a towboat hit a railroad bridge crossing the Mississippi River near Vicksburg, Mississippi. One of the barges, which was carrying 80,000 gallons of oil, spilled an undetermined amount of that oil into the river. The light sheen of crude oil visible on the surface backed up river traffic on the normally busy corridor Monday morning. It was visible for at least three miles downriver. Primary and secondary boom was set out to contain the spill and crews were using a rotating skimmer to collect oily water. The bridge, however, was found safe for railroad traffic to resume.
The spill is unlikely to affect Baton Rouge or the Gulf of Mexico which is located more than 340 river miles to the south of Vicksburg.
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