New plan in the making to free cargo ship stuck in St. Lawrence River

A new plan to free the Tim S. Dool, a large cargo ship that ran aground on a shoal along the St. Lawrence River near Morrisburg, Ont. last week, is expected to be finalized early this week. Despite efforts to refloat the vessel, the vessel remained stuck as of Sunday evening.

“The vessel remains in a stable condition, with no signs of pollution and the ship is not taking on water,” the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation told CTV News Ottawa in a statement on Saturday.

“Currently, salvage teams are in the planning stages for lightering operations to reduce the vessel’s weight, which will facilitate subsequent refloating attempts. Further updates will follow as the situation progresses.”

The Tim S. Dool, a 225-metre-long lake freighter carrying Canadian wheat, became stranded in U.S. waters just east of Morrisburg, Ont. at approximately 12:30 p.m. Saturday. No one was hurt and the ship remained stable and outside the navigation channel.

The refloating procedure operation began Monday morning, with engines roaring and smoke billowing from the ship’s stack, but by midday, the ship had not budged.

“It’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime event,” says Donna Plant, a local resident who has closely followed the vessel’s progress. “I know for a fact she goes up and down this river a lot because I’ve seen her. I’ve gone out to see her right through right up to Iroquois locks. We followed her a couple of times. I’m interested to see how they’re going to deal with this issue.”

The grounding has drawn ship-watchers and locals alike, some of whom are speculating about the cause. “There seem to be two theories,” says observer Fred Glucksman. “One is somebody missed the last buoy and responded too slowly; the other is that they had a mechanical failure.”

Efforts to free the Tim S. Dool are expected to continue, but for now, the ship remains stuck, leaving crews and onlookers alike wondering when and how it will finally be set free.

The Tim S. Dool is owned by the Algoma Central Corporation, a Canadian shipping company. The ship went into service in 1967 with a gross tonnage of 18,700. The ship services the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes.

CTV News