T/V UNIVERSAL MONARCH; Southwest Pass, Mississippi River

Southwest Pass, Mississippi River | 1989-Sep-25

Initial Notification: At midnight on September 25, 1989, the tanker UNIVERSAL MONARCH ran hard aground just after entering the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River. The MONARCH, a single-hull vessel under Panamanian flag, was loaded with 515,000 barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude and was en route to a refinery in Chalmette, Louisiana. Six tugboats tried unsuccessfully to pull her free. Early morning U.S. Coast Guard overflights noted no leakage from the vessel. USCG district 8.