Sunken Towboat Virginia Renee Raised, Towed To Repair Facility

The Coast Guard reported last week that the mv. Virginia Renee, the Terral RiverService towboat that sank near Mile 823 on the Lower Mississippi River on January 24, had been raised and was en route to a repair facility on the Tennessee River in Paducah, Ky.

The vessel was raised January 27, just a day after a salvage team arrived on the scene at Hickman Landing near Blytheville, Ark. According to the Coast Guard, the mv. John Wepfer was towing the Virginia Renee to a repair facility operated by National Maintenance Repair. Okie Moore Diving & Marine Salvage had pumps aboard the Virginia Renee to ensure safe passage.

When the Virginia Renee sank, there was a reported 10,000 gallons of diesel on the vessel. The Coast Guard reports that about 4,000 gallons of diesel was discharged into the river, with Enhanced Environmental and Emergency Services (E3) recovering about 3,400 gallons. When the Virginia was raised January 27, the remaining diesel fuel in its fuel tanks was pumped to trucks onshore.

Besides E3 and Okie Moore Diving & Marine Salvage, Budwine & Associates Inc., and Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River were involved in the initial response.