​On January 29, 2024, about 1230 local time, the towing vessel Nell Womack was pushing hopper barges ACL23401 and ACBL2549 upbound on the Lower Mississippi River when one of two facing wires connecting the towing vessel to barge ACL23401 parted. When it became unsafe for the towing vessel to remain attached by one facing wire, the crew released the wire. Both barges drifted downriver, and, at 1240, barge ACBL2549 struck the Port of West Memphis dock in West Memphis, Arkansas. There were no injuries, and no pollution was reported. Damage to the dock and the barge ACBL2549 was estimated at $500,000.

​We determined that the probable cause of the breakaway of the barges ACL23401 and ACBL2549 and subsequent contact of the barge ACBL2549 with the Port of West Memphis dock was the parting of the starboard facing wire connecting barge ACL23401 to the towing vessel Nell Womack, likely due to undetected damage to its wire strands. ​