Leavenworth — A barge-mounted crane may be needed to right a 65-foot riverboat that's been partially submerged in the Missouri River since Thursday.
Three days of efforts on a variety of fronts had produced little change in the status of the Spirit of St. Joseph.
"We're just going to maintain the status quo and see what the river does," said Dick DeShon, president of the Robidoux Riverboat Co., which owns the vessel. "The river's the boss."
The boat had been in dry dock at Kansas City for off-season repairs. Mechanical problems that developed as it was heading back to St. Joseph forced the captain, Bryan Clark, to dock at Leavenworth's Riverfront Park on March 12.
A delay in arrival of necessary parts kept the dinner excursion boat in Leavenworth longer than expected and changing river conditions began causing trouble.
"The problem is that with all the precipitation up north, the river's been going up and down a lot," said Clark.
He said that the water came up on Tuesday, causing the boat to drift closer to the bank. When it went down dramatically between Wednesday and Thursday, the vessel got caught against the bank and started to tip.
"Once it started tipping a little and the water started washing over the lip that runs around the boat, the boat wasn't able to maintain buoyancy," Clark said.
On Saturday evening, the dinner excursion boat was listing, or tilting, at a nearly 40-degree angle. Crews were able to stabilize it, but a number of attempts to right the boat were unsuccessful.
Workers have been pumping water off the boat. But with vents on one side of the boat submerged, water has been rushing in almost as quickly.
The river dropped a little more than a foot between Friday and Saturday, according to Pete Johann, a reserve with the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office.
DeShon said that even with water in it, the boat is stable, and that it may right itself if the pumps can keep up with the water. But a crane may be needed to lift the submerged section of the boat so it can be sealed and the water pumped out.
A towing and service company from Easton has played a big role in the effort, rigging up a network of cables and pulleys to help stabilize the vessel and keep it from tipping over.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.