Barge Explodes and Sinks in Chicago Ship Channel Killing One

Published Jan 25, 2005 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

The cause of the blast has yet to be determined, but three surviving crew members said they were trying to light a diesel-fueled boiler, which might have ignited and caused the explosion. The barge was transporting 588,000 gallons of byproduct from an Exxon-Mobil refinery in Joliet.

The U.S. Coast Guard closed parts of the Chicago Sanity and Ship Channel until it was deemed safe for vessel traffic.