M/V STOLT SPRAY; Wallace, Louisiana

Wallace, Louisiana | 1997-Jan-19

Initial Notification: On January 19, 1997, at 0107, USCG Group New Orleans notified MSO New Orleans of the collision and grounding of M/V Stolt Spray. The vessel reported a steering problem before the collision with a grain barge. The vessel was hard aground at Mile 143 in the lower Mississippi River along the right descending bank near Wallace, Louisiana. The initial report indicated that #1 port tank was holed one meter above the waterline and 100,000 gallons of a pyrolysis gas were in the water. A generic MSDS of the product indicated a benzene content of 27 to 52 percent. Local officials evacuated 100 people from the town of Wallace. USCG district 8. Keyword: evacuation.