Coast Guard responds to James River spill
The U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement that oil containment booms have been positioned around a tank barge that ran aground Sunday on the upper James River below Richmond, Va.
The 300-foot, single-skin oil barge has leaked an undetermined amount of diesel fuel into the river.
The barge was being pushed south on the James River in an area known as Kingsland Reach, about two miles northwest of the Interstate 295 bridge, 'when it sustained damage to two cargo holds,' the Coast Guard explained.
The barge, said to be listing to port, is owned by Vane Line Bunkering Inc., of Baltimore, Md, which has submitted a lightering and salvage plan to the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard has established a safety zone between James River Lights 154 and 156. No vessels may operate within this zone without permission.
