NACC Argonaut Aground Off Cornwall; Seaway Traffic Stopped
CORNWALL, ON – A freighter has run aground in the St. Lawrence Seaway near Cornwall, Ontario. According to the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, the NACC Argonaut went aground Sunday morning and has a list to port. Officials say the freighter is not taking on water, and there’s no pollution to the river.
Navigation has been stopped in that area. Salvage plans have begun, officials say.
NACC Argonaut is a Canadian freighter and carries raw cement to ports on the Great Lakes, according to online records, and was navigating from Montreal to Oshawa, near Toronto.
7NEWS has asked if the freighter was empty or loaded and Seaway officials told us its partially loaded with construction material. It is She is headed to Oshwa, ON, from Montreal.
The grounding comes as speed restrictions were put in place two days ago on some areas of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Friday, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation put out a bulletin saying, “due to decreasing water levels, speed restrictions have been revised.”
Around Galop Island, northeast of Ogdensburg, speeds for upbound ships were dropped to 7 knots and 11 knots, depending on the vessel’s size. Ships going downriver were restricted to 11 knots and 13 knots depending on its draft.
WWNY
Badger receives $600,000 MARAD grant to explore conversion
Lake Michigan Carferry, Inc. was awarded $600,000 to support a zero-emission/carbon capture feasibility analysis to convert the SS Badger from a coal-fired steamship to a zero-emission ferry vessel. The project will facilitate the safe, sustainable, and efficient transfer movement of three types of freight: traditional semi-trailers, oversize loads, and project cargo. The service offers customers a more economical and efficient transportation route which allows truckers to avoid a 350-mile trip through Chicago on the heavily congested I-90. As the last coal-powered freight and passenger ferry in the United States, this project will embrace clean energy and support the United States Marine Highway Program’s initiative of reducing emissions.
U.S. Department of Transportation
Goodtime I needs tow back to land after engine problem near Kelley’s Island
KELLEYS ISLAND, Ohio — The Goodtime I passenger boat needed to be towed back to land on Saturday evening after an engine problem caused the vessel to lose propulsion near Kelley’s Island.
According to the United States Coast Guard, the boat was on a regular excursion when it became disabled just before 8 p.m. After that point, the Goodtime could not move forward. The vessel required an escort, then a tow back to shore.
WKYC 3
Historians race to find Great Lakes shipwrecks before quagga mussels destroy the sites
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Great Lakes’ frigid fresh water used to keep shipwrecks so well preserved that divers could see dishes in the cupboards. Downed planes that spent decades underwater were left so pristine they could practically fly again when archaeologists finally discovered them.
Now, an invasive mussel is destroying shipwrecks deep in the depths of the lakes, forcing archeologists and amateur historians into a race against time to find as many sites as they can before the region touching eight U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario loses any physical trace of its centuries-long maritime history.
“What you need to understand is every shipwreck is covered with quagga mussels in the lower Great Lakes,” Wisconsin state maritime archaeologist Tamara Thomsen said. “Everything. If you drain the lakes, you’ll get a bowl of quagga mussels.”
Quagga mussels, finger-sized mollusks with voracious appetites, have become the dominant invasive species in the lower Great Lakes over the past 30 years, according to biologists.
Associated Press
