Oops Continued

My last post reported on the154' towboat Stephen L. Colby sinking near LeClaire, Iowa after reportedly hitting a submerged object. Crews have been working through bitterly cold conditions for the past two weeks to cover the 30" x 12" hole in the hull plus two smaller holes and stabilize the boat. 88,000 gallons of oily water was pumped from the boat as well as nearly 40,000 gallons of oily water from the river. Nearly 6,800 cubic feet of oily waste was also collected.
While the oily mixture was being pumped from the boat the huge cranes slowly began to lift the Colby from the bottom. Once afloat the boat had to be decontaminated before the Coast Guard would allow it to move.
Another Marquette towboat, the Penny Eckstein Was dispatched to tow the Colby downriver to repair facilities at Wood River, Illinois (just above St. Louis) where it will undergo repairs before returning to service.

The day after the sinking.

Booms set up to catch the oil and fuel leaking from the boat.

Cranes in position.

Back afloat with the assist from the cranes.

The Colby being towed away from shore ready for the 350 mile journey to Wood River.

As of this posting the cause of the accident remains under investigation. One interview I saw with a USCG spokesman said that they had surveyed the area where the Colby supposedly struck the bottom and found no obstructions. Hmmmm?

Just a thought, and ONLY a thought.. The Colby was headed to Clinton. Iowa with no barges. If you've traveled that portion of the river between LeClaire and Lock 14 you know that there is a rock wall that runs parallel to and separates the main channel from backwaters and the Iowa shore. This wall is not always visible but is clearly marked on the charts. Could it be that the Colby ran into it? Only time will tell.
For me having grown up on the river and watching these professionals snake their way up and down the channel in high water and in low it's hard to imagine one of their own veering off channel unless something in the mechanics of the vessel failed. I personally have seen the Colby on the Upper River countless times so it certainly wasn't a first time trip in unfamiliar waters.