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Unstuck barge New Dawn arrives in Pasco by Allan Brettman The Oregonian, July 11, 2009

The unstuck barge New Dawn arrived this afternoon at the Port of Pasco, Wash., and is expected to begin offloading its gasoline cargo by 4:30 p.m., a Coast Guard official said.

The barge, owned by Tidewater Barge Lines Inc., of Vancouver, floated Friday evening from the grip of the Columbia River bottom near Hood River. It had gone aground early Thursday.

The double-hulled barge is traveling at normal speed today, said Holly Robinson, Tidewater's dispatch and logistics manager.

A Coast Guard official inspected the inside barge wall for damage shortly after the grounding was reported Thursday and a second time before the freed barge was cleared Friday to make its way to Pasco, said Coast Guard Cmdr. Dave McClellan.

The Coast Guard will not require the barge to be inspected again in Pasco after it offloads its fuel cargo and is returned to Tidewater's Vancouver headquarters, McClellan said.

At Vancouver, "We'll do further inspects," Tidewater's Robinson said.

"We don't believe there is any further damage from this incident," she said.

To read a previous story about the barge: http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/07/workers_offload_fuel_from_barg.html