Malta ship strikes Liberian vessel on Mississippi River

The United States Coast Guard said that a Maltese-flagged ship lost power and steering, and collided with another ship and a barge docked on the Mississippi River, near New Orleans.

Coast Guard spokesman Jonathan Lally says the accident happened Tuesday night at a terminal on the river and there were no injuries.

Lally says the outbound Maltese-flagged vessel Flag Gangos struck the Liberian-flagged vessel Pamisos and the barge. He says the crew of a towing vessel was transferring fuel oil from the barge when the barge broke free causing some oil to be discharged into the river from a hose. The hose was immediately shut off.

The Coast Guard has implemented one-way traffic around the terminal near Gretna across the river from New Orleans.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.