Constant spring rains continue to cause problems across the county as several barges owned by Superior Marine Inc. came undocked Monday night and caused minor damage to an empty barge owned by Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC.

At 11:30 p.m. Monday the barges -- reportedly about a dozen --

docked along the Ohio River somehow came unanchored from Superior's property in South Point and the harbor master was called, said Chuck Rice, spokesman for MAP.

The situation was handled in less than one hour with no injuries or spills. The MAP barge did not sustain any significant damage and will not be taken out of service, Rice said.

"I have been doing this for 15 years and when the river gets high real fast this will happen," Rice said.

Marathon dispatched three harbor boats to assist the other boats in the area, he said.

"The harbor master told me that he was proud of the way everyone involved responded and got the issue resolved quickly," Rice said.

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the Lawrence Economic Development Corporation, who leases riverfront property in The Point industrial park to Superior, were not aware of the incident.

Representatives for Superior Marine declined to comment until the paperwork had been filed with the insurance company.