News Release: Coast Guard responds to sunken derelict barge on Columbia River

ASTORIA, Ore. – The Coast Guard is responding to a sunken derelict barge on the Columbia River near Lyle, Wash., Saturday.

Sector Columbia River, Ore., received several reports, Friday, stating that Barge 202, a 90-foot derelict vessel, was no longer visible at its anchorage near mile 176.

Sector Columbia River immediately issued a Safety Marine Information Broadcast to notify local mariners that the barge was either adrift or submerged and posed a potential hazard to navigation.

Sector Columbia River launched MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews Friday and Saturday to visually confirm the location of Barge 202, though both attempts were unsuccessful.

A 17-foot response boat crew from Coast Guard Cutter Bluebell, homeported in Portland, Ore., confirmed that the barge sank where it was anchored by conducting soundings in the vicinity of its last reported anchorage near mile 176.

The Coast Guard is in the process of ensuring the barge will remain anchored and marking the sunken vessel with buoys.

Mariners transiting the Columbia River near mile 176 are urged to use caution.

The vessel had been previously inspected by the Coast Guard and poses no pollution threat.

Barge 202 broke away from its mooring 3 miles downriver from The Dalles Dam and drifted about 5 miles before grounding near mile 184 on July 10, 2011. The Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers decided to anchor the barge in its current location to minimize its threat as a navigational hazard.

For more information, please contact Petty Officer Nate Littlejohn at (816) 582-1725.

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