Company to Cleanup Mississippi River Oil Spill

A collision on the Mississippi River last week involving a tanker and a barge resulted in 420,000 gallons of industrial fuel being spilled into the nation’s busiest waterway. The spill involved has affected 98 miles of the river. American Commercial Lines, Inc. has said it’s not responsible for the oil spill but has taken responsibility for the cleanup. The Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident and will eventually determine who was at fault. It is known that The tug Mel Oliver, which had been hired to push the barge upriver, had no properly licensed crew on board, Coast Guard officials said. The tugboat pilot had only an apprentice mate’s license instead of the required master’s license.