New Orleans
Mississippi River traffic was blocked for days this week after a 178-foot boat slammed into a cargo ship in the fog and sank. Five crewmen were feared dead. The Lee III, which ferried supplies to oil rigs, came to rest near where the river empties into the Gulf of Mexico, 80 miles southeast of New Orleans. It sat partially submerged in the only channel in the river deep enough for oceangoing vessels. Dozens of large ships were left stranded, with no way to enter or leave the river, as were thousands of cruise passengers descending on New Orleans for Mardi Gras. “It couldn’t have happened on a worse weekend,” said port chief Gary LaGrange.
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