Crews complete cleanup of oil that shut down river

VICKSBURG — The Coast Guard has completed cleanup of the oil spill near Vicksburg that closed the major shipping channel for days in both directions.

After extensive shoreline assessments and cleanup actions, the Coast Guard says it and the Departments of Environmental Quality in Louisiana and Mississippi deemed the cleanup complete yesterday.

A 16-mile stretch of the river was closed Jan. 27 after two oil barges hit a railroad bridge and one of them started leaking light crude. The accident remains under investigation.

Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca Walthour says 5,300 feet of boom was deployed to contain the spill and 159 workers responded to the incident.

There were no injuries or impacted wildlife reported.

Walthour says all three agencies will continue to monitor for any environmental impacts from the spill.