Mississippi River Oil Spill

The Mississippi River oil spill occurred on July 23, 2008 when the tanker Tintomara and a barge carrying 419,000 gallons of oil – being towed by the Mel Oliver – collided. The barge split in half, spilling much of its cargo into the river. The spill was the worst to ever occur on the lower Mississippi River. More than 9,000 barrels of oil were released. The release necessitated the closure of more than 80 miles of river to commercial shipping and recreational boating for six days. It is estimated that the river closure cost the U.S. economy $275 million a day.

Preliminary results from the Coast Guard investigation into the oil spill found that just prior to the collision, the Mel Oliver did not return the radio call outs from the Tintomara. Further, vessel traffic service did call out to the Mel Oliver prior to the collision, but received no answer from the tugboat.

The investigation also revealed some disturbing facts about the conduct and practices of the firm that owned the Mel Oliver. The company habitually used maritime workers who lacked proper licensing. At the time of the accident, the captain of the Mel Oliver was not aboard the vessel at the time of the collision. The steersman apprentice was operating the tugboat at the time of the collision. He was licensed but his license did not authorize him to operate the vessel without the captain’s presence in the wheelhouse.