Coast Guard places speed restrictions on Mississippi River vessels

(NEW ORLEANS) — The Coast Guard has begun restricting some commercial vessel traffic in the Mississippi River to help protect the crews and equipment responding to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Bloomberg News reported. As the oil slick gets closer to land, vessels and booms are being set up to protect the shoreline and to try to keep Port Fourchon open. Vessels in some shipping channels at the mouth of the river are being ordered to slow down, but the main Southwest Pass is operating normally.
 
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By Professional Mariner Staff