HOUSTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard reopened the key agricultural export waterway on Tuesday, one day after stopping vessel traffic due to a threat to levees holding back high Mississippi River flood waters.
The Coast Guard is limiting shipping along a 15-mile stretch of the Mississippi to prevent erosion of earthen levees.
Only one tow vessel hauling barges up or down the river will be allowed to pass through a 15-mile (24-km) area near Natchez, Mississippi while river levels continue near record highs, the Coast Guard said.
The closure was due to erosion seen on a levee near Natchez, but it has since been determined the cause was an underground pipe and not the movement of water caused by the passage of ships.
The section of the river will be closed again if the flood stage at Natchez reaches 62 and a half feet.
As of 6 p.m. local time, the river's level at Natchez stood at 60.65 feet. The previous record flood level was 58.04 feet , reached in 1937.
About 60 percent of U.S. grain exports go down the Mississippi from the U.S. Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico.
Eight Louisiana refineries dependent on the river to bring crude oil from the Gulf of Mexico and to move refined products into the Gulf were not affected by Monday's closure.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
