Spills

Southwest pass, mississippi river

T/v Universal Monarch; Southwest Pass, Mississippi River · NOAAORR-6734

issued: 1989-09-25 00:00Z
status: cancelled 1989-10-09 00:00Z
self-cancels: 1989-10-09 00:00Z
authority: NOAA OR&R
sea: Gulf of Mexico
position: 29.769, -90.019
vessel: TANKER UNIVERSAL MONARCH RAN HARD
source: incidentnews · first seen 2026-09-03 15:09Z

Original warning text

T/V UNIVERSAL MONARCH; Southwest Pass, Mississippi River.
Southwest Pass, Mississippi River.
1. At midnight on September 25, 1989, the tanker UNIVERSAL MONARCH ran hard aground just after entering the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River. The MONARCH, a single-hull vessel under Panamanian flag, was loaded with 515,000 barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude and was en route to a refinery in Chalmette, Louisiana. Six tugboats tried unsuccessfully to pull her free. Early morning U.S. Coast Guard overflights noted no leakage from the vessel. USCG district 8.
2. COMMODITY: VENEZUELAN HEAVY CRUDE. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 21600000 GALLONS.
3. POSITION 29.769N 090.019W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 6734: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/6734

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