(SOREL-TRACY, Quebec) — A Cyprus-flagged bulk carrier that had been stuck in the St. Lawrence River northeast of Montreal since Christmas Eve was refloated on Tuesday, CBC News reported.
The Canadian Coast Guard said M/V Maccoa was being escorted by tugboats to Sorel-Tracy, Quebec.
The Coast Guard announced earlier in the day that a second attempt to refloat the ship was scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. A global marine traffic website on Tuesday morning showed three tugboats surrounding the 607-foot bulker, which ran aground in the early hours of Dec. 24 near Vercheres, Quebec, after a power failure.
The first attempt to free the ship late last month, using waterjets to remove sediment along the ship’s hull, was unsuccessful. Authorities then decided to lighten Maccoa by unloading 3,000 metric tonnes of the ship’s cargo of corn onto two barges.
The unloading operation was set to begin last week but was postponed until the weekend because it took longer than expected to prepare the barges in Quebec City. The Coast Guard said Monday that 1,250 tonnes of corn had been transferred to the first barge, and the unloading onto the second barge was completed overnight.
The ship will now be inspected and repaired if necessary before being reloaded and continuing on its transit to Europe.
Twenty crewmembers remained on the ship while it was grounded, and no injuries were reported. The Coast Guard said that no pollution was detected in the area.
