Video: Tanker Strikes Bridge on Lower Mississippi

On Sunday afternoon, a product tanker struck the Sunshine Bridge, a highway crossing over the Mississippi located about halfway between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. It is the second strike on the bridge in a year's time: a barge-mounted crane struck the underside of a span in October 2018. 

At about 1330 hours Sunday, the tanker Dank Silver allided with the fender system surrounding a pier at the center of the bridge, forcing highway authorities to temporarily close the crossing and divert traffic to another bridge near Gramercy, Louisiana. Damage to the fender system was visible in photos from the scene, but the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development found no structural issues with the bridge itself, and the span reopened to traffic about two hours later. According to the Coast Guard, no injuries or pollution have been reported. 

The Dank Silver is at anchorage on the Mississippi while an investigation into the cause of the casualty continues.