The evidence of the Mississippi shipping accident remains clearly visible as workers begin to put equipment in place to pull the barge slightly out of the river.

“It's just going to be lifting it a little bit, it's not actually taking it out of the water," said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Adam Baylor.

The move will allow crews to finally figure out exactly how much oil remains on the barge – and remove. The chance of a “burp,” where more oil is released into the river, remains strong, crews say. That’s why That’s why the Coast Guard deployed booms around the work area.

"We're been considering it as a chance the entire time. That's why we have as many assets as we do on the water," Baylor said.

That effort has not gone unnoticed by the Port of New Orleans.

"With all due respect to our Coast Guard buddies, it has been a Herculean effort,” said Paul Zimmerman of the Port of New Orleans. “If you go look out the on the river now, you will see several hundred vessels helping cleaning up the spill."

The port has suffered financially in the days following the shipping accident and oil spill, which dumped over 400,000 gallons of oil into the Mississippi River.

That includes the diversion of several cruise ships to the Port of Mobile, which are unable to get to New Orleans because of the ongoing work.

"Unfortunately, the cruise business is extremely time-sensitive and they just simply could not afford to endure any sort of delay," Zimmerman said.

In the meantime, though, the Coast Guard says the salvage operation continues slowly, saying it’s more important to get the barge out safely than quickly.

"Moving towards completion, it's a very, very intricate process," Baylor said.

The process is likely to continue for at least the next few days.