The Coast Guard reported that a 12-mile stretch of the Mississippi river at the New Orleans had to be closed following a collision Wednesday between a 600-foot tanker and a tugboat pushing one barge.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported, but the incident caused more than 419,000 gallons of heavy, almost tar-like fuel oil spill into the river, said Lt. Cdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau, a Coast Guard spokeswoman. The barge “was T-boned and split in half,” she said, according to the Sun Herald.

The double-hulled tanker Tintomara was loaded with about 4 million gallons of biodiesel and more than a million gallons of styrene, but was not leaking, said the president of the company that manages it. Styrene is a colorless, sweet-smelling liquid used to make plastic and rubber.

The river was closed about 3:30 a.m., about 45 minutes after someone reported a strong diesel odor coming from the water. Tug boats were used to hold the two halves of the broken barge in place.

Michael Wilson, the president of Laurin Maritime (America) Inc. in Houston, which manages the tanker, said the ship was manned with a crew of 22 and was heading downriver when the accident occurred.

The Coast Guard is currently investigating the accident and checking the area for pollution. They were also taking into account some past incidents, in order to see where the spilled oil was likely to collect.

As the river was closed, two ferries that cross the river between New Orleans’ west bank and the French Quarter and one that crossed it from Chalmette to the west bank could not operate.