Mississippi to be closed for days 

어제 아침 발생한 유조선 Tintomara와 바지의 충돌로 발생한 막대한 기름 유출 사고로 인해 미시시피 강 하부의 통항이 며칠동안 폐쇄될 예정이다. 조사에 참여했던 소식통은 약 1,400톤의 유출이 발생한 강 아래에서 선박들은 움직이기 전에 기름을 제거해야 할 것이라고 말했다. 또한 유출 하류 지역 방제는 아직 잡히지 않고 있다. 해안선의 많은 지역이 기름으로 뒤덮였고, 강의 해협 쪽으로 확산되고 있다. 한 소식통은 "환경에 미치는 영향이 어마어마할 것"이라고 전했다. 주요 South West Pass는 토요일이나 일요일까지 재개될 것 같지 않다고 USCG는 전했고, 어민들은 조개 양식장 피해 우려에 목소리를 높이고 있다. 통항을 위해 강의 상류/하류에 늘어서 있는 선박 수에 대한 정보는 없지만, 폐쇄 지역이 98MM에서 12MM까지(138km) 확대됨에 따라, 항로 폐쇄는 통항에 심각한 영향을 끼칠 것으로 보인다. 

http://www.tradewinds.no/webtv/?id=737 관련동영상
 

COMMERCIAL traffic on the lower Mississippi River will probably be closed for days as a result of the huge spill from yesterday morning’s collision between the tanker Tintomara and a barge.  

Sources close to the investigation tell Fairplay that all vessels in the river below the point of the spill of nearly 1,400 tonnes will have to be scrubbed before they will be allowed to move.
Also, booms placed downriver of the spill are not holding. Oil is now coating many areas of shoreline and is spreading into channels off the river.
“The environmental impact is going to be tremendous,” one well-informed source said.
The key South West Pass is not likely to reopen until late Saturday or Sunday, the US Coast Guard is telling local marine interests, and fishermen are voicing concern over the spill’s impact on shellfish beds.
There is no news yet on the number of vessels queueing for upriver or downriver transit, but as the closure has now been extended from MM98 to MM12 (138 km), the closure is having a serious effect on traffic.