Tug mishap closes Fernandina rail bridge

Tug mishap closes Fernandina rail bridge A tug and barge struck a railroad bridge in Fernandina early Tuesday, damaging the bridge fendering and navigation lights and forcing a shutdown of the bridge.
   The U.S. Coast Guard said the Captain Marlin and its barge were attempting to transit through the area when it struck the fendering system at about 1 a.m.
   The damage prompted the Coast Guard to issue a warning to all waterborne traffic in the area cautioning that the lights on the bridge were non-operational. The bridge itself was left in the up position and remained closed to railroad traffic as of Wednesday morning, a Coast Guard spokesman said.
   The rail bridge is owned by CSX Transportation and leased to Rail America, which provides short line service to customers on the spur.
   The incident had no impact on the operations of the Florida East Coast Railway or CSX. A spokeswoman for CSX said they were assisting Rail America to restore the bridge to normal operations.
   The tug and barge were reported moored safely near Amelia Island. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.