A 739-foot Canadian freight vessel ran aground in the Detroit River on Friday, Nov. 7, on its way to Quebec City from Sault Ste. Marie.
According to a Coast Guard report published by WDIV-TV (Channel 4), the vessel, known as the Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin, ran “soft aground” near the Renaissance Center, a term for when a ship gets stuck on the floor of a body of water. It’s not immediately clear what the ship is carrying.
Due to low visibility in the night, the Coast Guard said it planned “to re-float the motor vessel” in the morning on Saturday, Nov. 8.
Earlier this morning, A WDIV-TV live stream showed the ship stuck perpendicular to the shore of the Detroit River, with four smaller boats sidled up next to the ship.
According to the most recent update from the Detroit sector of the Coast Guard, they confirmed five tug boats — Patricia Hoey, Ohio, Minnesota, Tenacious and Ontario — arrived on the scene to assist in getting the freighter moving again.
The plan to do so was reviewed by the Salvage Engineering Response Team, from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Center, a Coast Guard spokesperson said in an email sent around 1:40 p.m.
“The process has begun to pump water its (Martin’s) aft peak tank in an effort to relieve pressure up forward where it is soft aground,” the email reads. The process of dislodging the ship is expected to take three hours.
Just before 2 p.m., the smaller boats could be seen pushing the freighter via the WDIV-TV live stream.
“There have been no reports of injuries, pollution or impact to the marine transportation system,” according to the Coast Guard report.
A Detroit Fire Department spokesperson said the city’s fire boat, which is active to address a variety of marine emergencies, “is still in the water for the season and ready to respond to any calls for service to the freighter,” though it hadn’t yet been called in to help free the freighter.
A previous version of this story stated incorrectly the Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin’s route. The ship was headed to Quebec City. This version is correct.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 739-foot freighter runs aground in the Detroit River
Reporting by Beki San Martin, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
