Louisiana Workers Begin to Empty Capsized Barge

Workers on Monday began unloading volatile cargo of benzene and gasoline from a capsized barge wedged against a levee on the flood-swollen Mississippi River, the Coast Guard said.

The process of transferring the cargo to another barge, called lightering, was expected to be completed by 11 a.m. EST today, Lt. Cheri Ben-Iesau said. After the barge is emptied, cranes will be used to right it before the river can be fully reopened to marine traffic, she said.

“They pumped in nitrogen to lessen any risk of explosion, and it seems to be going smoothly,” she said.

Federal and state officials struggled through the weekend with ways to remove the volatile petrochemicals after a temporary injunction in state court forced them to scrap plans to drill into the overturned hull.

The Atchafalaya Basin Levee District won the injunction after claiming the drilling increased the risk of explosion, which could knock out a section of the levee protecting the west bank of river.