Crews await equipment to empty sunken barge

CLEVELAND — Crews are still hard at work with salvage operations on a sunken barge in Lake Erie.

Officials from the U.S. Coast Guard Joint Information Center say samples recently taken from a tank on the barge contained primarily Benzene, with some Toluene, Xylene, and trace elements of petroleum. As these materials are not typically shipped on the Great Lakes, officials say they are waiting for receiving tanks designed for chemicals to be modified for use in that environment before beginning to unload the barge’s contents.

The barge, identified as the Argo, was discovered by the Cleveland Underwater Explorers late last month. The Coast Guard and other agencies got involved when divers suspected that the barge was leaking.

(Image courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Lauren Jorgensen)