It was not immediately known who owns the 154-foot oil barge.

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The air also holds a whiff of fuel oil after a barge collision that dumped more than 400, 000 gallons of oil into the Mississippi River.

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Officials hope to eventually transfer all the oil to another barge in coming days.

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An oil spill response barge, the Arctic Challenger, which Shell promised the U.S. Coast Guard was "Arctic ready, " is in Washington state, beset with technical problems.

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The reserve is supposed to kick in when bad weather disrupts the delivery of oil, which in New England travels by barge and truck instead of pipelines.

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Then in 2012 Shell faced permitting delays on its Arctic Challenger barge, which is to meant to help capture oil in the event of a Deepwater Horizon-style blowout.

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