ST. LOUIS – The unusually low water level on the Mississippi River is causing barges to get stuck in mud and sand, resulting in delays for shippers, recreational boaters and even passengers on a cruise line.
The Viking Mississippi, which began voyages between St. Paul and New Orleans in September, has experienced delays and there are reports it even had to cancel a future tour due to the low river levels.
Last week, the U.S. Coast Guard said at least eight barges were grounded at one point between Louisiana and Mississippi. The groundings halted river traffic in both directions for days to clear the grounded barges and dredge the channel to deepen it, preventing future groundings.
The stoppage also brought a halt to a Viking cruise ship with about 350 passengers on board, said R. Thomas Berner, a Penn State professor emeritus of journalism and American studies, and one of the passengers.
The Viking ship was originally supposed to launch from New Orleans on Saturday, but the water there was so low that the launch was moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Berner said.
By Tuesday, the ship was halted near Vicksburg, Mississippi, due to the backup caused by the grounding. It wasn't near a dock so passengers couldn't leave. The ship's crew kept people entertained as much as possible with music, games and other activities.
“Some of us are taking naps,” Berner joked.
The stuck barges were freed midday Tuesday. Berner said the cruise ship restarted Tuesday night. It's due to arrive in St. Paul on Oct. 15. The 15-day voyage includes 11 stops with one in St. Louis and another in Hannibal, Mo.
Since then, there have been reports circulating on social media that the cruise ship is not completing the trip up the Mississippi past Memphis and a future voyage has been canceled for later in October. Spectrum News reached out to Viking but has not received a response.
One passenger who was on the previous two-week cruise told Spectrum News the river levels posed some serious docking challenges. Jean Thornton posted pictures on Facebook showing how low the water was in Vicksburg. She said all tours in Vicksburg were moved from the morning to the afternoon because the crew spent hours pulling the gang plank from the mud.
Jean Thornton also posted from Baton Rouge, explaining that the ship was supposed to dock next to the USS Kidd but instead, the only way passengers could disembark safely was through the Hollywood Casino boat. She was able to complete the cruise, which ended last Friday. Thornton added the crew was excellent and very accomodating.
Nearly all of the Mississippi River basin, from Minnesota through Louisiana, has seen below-normal rainfall since late August. The basin from St. Louis south has been largely dry for three months, according to the National Weather Service.
The forecast for much of the Mississippi River basin calls for continued dry weather in the near future.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.