Updated: Cargo ship than ran aground in seaway near Kahnawake is refloated

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The cargo ship stranded since Thursday evening near Kahnawake was finally freed on Saturday morning, confirmed the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation.

“It’s a remarkable success,” said spokesperson Jean Aubry-Morin. The operation, which began around 8 a.m., lasted only 11 minutes. “At 8 a.m., we started the process. The bailout master’s bailout plan was implemented. Eleven minutes after the start, at 8:11 a.m., thanks to the assistance of two tugs, the boat was floating freely in the South Shore Canal. They did an impeccable job.”

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The boat must now be inspected “to precisely identify the cause of this incident and ensure repairs are made so the boat is intact and ready to sail, and that it is able to continue its journey on the St. Lawrence,” he added.

The 138-metre Dutch cargo ship Heemskerkgracht ran aground near the entrance to the South Shore Canal at 6:35 p.m. Thursday when it lost power, blocking river transport in the St. Lawrence Seaway. It is currently unknown how long it will take to complete the repairs. The passage of ships will gradually resume over the next few hours. It will probably take three days before normal fluidity returns.

The ship was bound for Spain with a load of scrap steel when it ran aground. There were no injuries and no pollution caused by the incident, Aubry-Morin said, and it didn’t take on water.

“I have to praise the crew and the captain because they did everything they could to lose speed and minimize the situation,” Aubrey-Morin said Friday. “The fact that they’re aground is not good, but they did a good manoeuvre.”

The cargo ship Heemskerkgracht flying under the flag of the Netherlands found itself aground in the St-Lawrence Seaway at the Kahnawake Marina on Friday August 23, 2024.
As of Friday afternoon, six ships were at anchor waiting for the Heemskerkgracht to be moved. The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. expects that number to rise to 14 by the time the vessel is refloated on Saturday. Photo by Dave Sidaway /Montreal Gazette

On Friday afternoon, six ships were at anchor waiting for the Heemskerkgracht to be moved. Aubrey-Morin said he expected that number to rise to 14 by the time the vessel was refloated.

Aubrey-Morin said the seaway was working with the Coast Guard, the Laurentian Pilotage Authority and authorities in Kahnawake to refloat the ship

Myriam Plante, a spokesperson for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which oversees the Coast Guard, said there are no hazardous materials on board the ship and the hold is being checked regularly to make sure it remains dry.

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