A cargo ship has run aground near Kahnawà:ke on Montreal’s South Shore after it experienced a mechanical failure, according to the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation.
A spokesperson for the corporation, Jean Aubry-Morin, said workers are aiming to have the vessel moving again by noon tomorrow. So far, six other ships are impacted by the blockage on the South Shore canal. The ships are headed to be anchored on Lake Saint-Louis or in the St. Lawrence River close to the port of Montreal.
The Dutch vessel, Heemskerkgracht, headed for Spain, was turning on its axis on Lake Saint-Louis to go back up to Montreal when the boat’s engine stopped working. The nose of the vessel then crept up the riverbank where the ship ended up getting stuck.
Heemskerkgracht is a 138-metre cargo ship carrying scrap metal.
The “unfortunate incident” does not pose a threat to the environment and no injuries have been reported, Aubry-Morin said.
The ship traffic blockage is complicating Canadian exports, Aubry-Morin said, explaining that “the marine highway was the fallback position for exporting grain” amid the ongoing railway labour dispute which had brought freight traffic to a halt since Thursday.
“There’s been a lot of redirection of cargo on the inland marine highway and I think for us time is the essence,” he added.
Once dislodged from the riverbank, the vessel will be sent to a pier for inspection.