The US Army Corps of Engineers is using an additional guide boat at Lock and Dam 25 near Winfield, Missouri to assist tows bound downriver after four loaded barges broke loose and sank Sunday.
While the barges are not in the navigation channel, their location has altered the current enough that a smaller “helper boat” has been brought in to assist tows entering the lock chamber from the upstream side. The extra utility boat will help keep barges headed downriver pressed up against the lockwall. Without it, the currents could pull the barges toward the dam.