USCG closes section of Mississippi River to clean up fuel spill

US Coast Guard (USCG) closed a section of the Mississippi River near to Granite City, Illinois, for several hours while it cleaned up a potential 20,000-gallon fuel spill from a vessel, according to the Associated Press.

USCG did not specify the type of vessel involved but it did say the incident happened as the vessel was moving through Lock and Dam 27.

While the exact quantity of spilled material was not known, the vessel’s maximum capacity is 20,000 gallons.

The vessel ruptured a fuel tank while transiting the lock. An investigation will be launched to determine how the rupture occurred.

USCG determined that the spillage was contained to the lock and dam and reopened the section of waterway. The vessel will be pulled from the lock and taken for repairs.

Granite City is a steel-making former company town in southwestern Illinois, close enough to the Missouri border to be considered part of the Greater St Louis metropolitan area.