Of the 27 barges that were dislodged Saturday morning near the Emsworth Lock and Dam on the Ohio River, two remained unaccounted for, officials said at a press conference Monday afternoon.
High water and ice floes broke the barges free of their moorings at the Jack's Run fleeting area around mile marker 4 of the Ohio River downstream from the Point, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The two missing barges are believed by the U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers to be in the stretch between the fleeting area and the lock and dam, according to Major Cornelius Batts of the Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Another 45 barges broke away further downstream in West Virginia.
It was the largest-scale barge breakaway in the Pittsburgh area since 1985, when high water caused a barge breakaway and loss of pool — when the water above the dam drains out — at the Maxwell Lock and Dam on the Monongahela River between Centerville in Washington County and Luzerne Township in Fayette County, said Coast Guard Cmdr. Leon McClain Jr. Loss of pool can harm fish and wildlife and impede navigation.
Based on preliminary surveys, the lock and dam system is believed to be undamaged, said Major Batts.
“We’re making incremental changes to maintain pool,” he said.
Of the other 25 barges, seven were caught on camera passing through the gates and were found downstream, one as far as Aliquippa. The remaining 18 are piled up against the dam, some on the surface of the water and some sunken underneath.
Operations are underway by the Corps of Engineers to break up the ice upstream of and around the barges, so it can be sent through the locks. “High-powered industrial lifters” will then be brought in to recover the barges.
Cmdr. McClain said the Coast Guard would undertake an investigation into the fleeting area, to see if there were any violations of standards that might have contributed to the breakaway, such as how closely packed the barges are or the number of lines used per barge.
“Sometimes it’s a perfect storm, though,” said Major Batts. “A wall of ice hits, and they break off.”
Breakaways of one or two barges are not unheard of, said Cmdr. McClain. “It happens, but nothing of this magnitude.”
The Corps of Engineers will investigate the Emsworth facility to determine if there is damage.
Cmdr. McClain said they could not yet speculate on how long it would take to clear the ice and recover the barges. “We have sunken barges out there that will take time,” he said. “We have to maintain safety. It’s very icy.”
None of the barges contained any hazardous materials, said Cmdr. McClain. They include barges from four different shipping companies and a variety of cargoes.
The timeline for fixing the situation is complicated by the weather, he said. Snow forecast over the coming days could add to the ice buildup and raise water levels.
“It’s always a risk for us, snow and ice raising water levels. We constantly monitor to mitigate the risk,” said Major Batts.
Conversely, a warm spell could help matters by breaking up the ice, but it could also make them worse if large floes break off upriver and add to the build-up.
“If we push things, we could make matters worse,” said Major Batts.
Cmdr. McClain said a safety zone has been established while they search for the two missing barges, and mariners have been alerted. “We’re all working together as a united front,” he said.
“It’s their commodity,” he pointed out, referring to the companies with runaway barges.
Christopher Huffaker: chuffaker@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1724.
First Published: January 15, 2018, 11:20 p.m.
Updated: January 15, 2018, 11:20 p.m.
