Poe Lock Closed Wednesday for Repairs

UPDATE: The lock reopened around 3 p.m.

The Poe Lock at the Soo is closed for unspecified repairs until possibly 7 p.m. this evening. Several vessels are facing delays, including the Hon James L. Oberstar, downbound with its first cargo since undergoing repairs from a grounding this summer. The Oberstar is moored at the West Pier. Upbound Edgar B. Speer moored below the Poe Lock. The MacArthur Lock remains open for smaller vessels and tour boats.

Cargo Ship Thamesborg Remains Aground in Arctic as Icebreaker Arrives on Scene With Sea Ice Building

   A month after running aground the Dutch cargo vessel Thamesborg remains aground atop a shoal along Canada’s Northwest Passage. Over the weekend an icebreaker, Botnica, arrived from Europe with a stop in Nuuk, Greenland after a nearly 3-week trip. The vessel is the fourth dispatched to aid in the recovery effort. Thamesborg was en route from Lianyungang, China to Baie-Comeau in eastern Canada when it ran aground on September 6.
   Coastal tug Beverly M I arrived on scene on September 22 together with the cargo vessel Silver Copenhagen. Since then part of Thamesborg’s cargo, consisting of carbon blocks, has been transferred to Silver Copenhagen. Another cargo vessel, Nunalik, stopped at the incident site last week likely to offload the remainder of the blocks.
   The presence of the Finnish-built icebreaker Botnica provides the operator with critical flexibility as sea ice begins to return to the Northwest Passage. With a bollard pull of 117 tonnes it is significantly more powerful than the Beverly M I tug which remains on standby in the area. The icebreaker also gives responders more options for moving Thamesborg out of the area should they encounter sea ice during the upcoming towing operation.
   Botnica is a multipurpose support vessel regularly chartered out during summer months. During the winter it is operated by Estonia’s Port of Tallinn to keep Baltic Sea shipping lanes open. The 6,370 tonnes vessel was built in 1998.
   With winter fast approaching and ice starting to form in the northern reaches of the Northwest Passage the vessel’s operator, Wagenborg, aims to refloat the vessel in the coming week, weather conditions permitting.
   Based on the Canadian Ice Service sea ice has begun to build in Barrow Strait to the north of the accident site. It is unclear if Wagenborg aims to tow Thamesborg out of the Arctic in an easterly or westerly direction.
   With the Barrow Strait possibly inaccessible by the time the vessel has been refloated another option in an easterly direction could be a transit via the Fury and Hecla Strait leading into Fox Basin to the north of the Hudson Bay. Though sea ice has also begun to build up in this strait based on the latest ice charts. An ice-free path remains in a westerly direction through the Amundsen Gulf toward Alaska and the Beaufort Sea.
   The Northwest Passage traditionally closes for commercial shipping at some point in October, though the exact time frame varies from year to year. Last year Wagenborg’s ice-strengthened Avonborg transited the route in an easterly direction in early November.

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Wagenborg to Attempt Refloat of Grounded Thamesborg This Week Weather Permitting, Before Ice Window Narrows

   Dutch operator Wagenborg will attempt to refloat its grounded cargo vessel Thamesborg this week, weather conditions permitting, the company announced during a press briefing. The vessel ran aground in the Canadian Arctic on September 6.
   With the Estonian icebreaker Botnica arriving on scene over the weekend Wagenborg said that all resources and personnel required for a refloating are now on site.
   Over the past two weeks 4,000 tons of cargo have been transferred from Thamesborg to freighters Silver Copenhagen and Nunalik, in an effort to lighten the ship. Additional cargo may be removed if necessary, the company stated.
   The reloading completed phase one of the salvage operation and with the arrival of Botnica phase two is set to begin this week aimed at reducing the amount of ballast water in the damaged tanks and the subsequent attempt to refloat the vessel.
   “Multiple ballast tanks were ruptured in the grounding, these tanks were empty before the grounding and are now filled with seawater taken on in the Northwest Passage,” David Solsbery, a spokesperson for Wagenborg, explained.
   The incident site has experienced high winds and foggy conditions in recent weeks, posing a challenge to the crews requiring calm weather and seas to begin emptying of the ballast tanks. Conditions may be more favorable as the week progresses.
   With Botnica on scene the company says it is adequately prepared to deal with any potential early winter sea ice. In addition, Thamesborg itself holds a 1A ice-class suitable for navigation in icy conditions. The current plan is for the vessel to travel out of the Arctic under its own power, with Botnica standing by to escort or tow the vessel. The company said it was working on confirming the intended port of refuge.
   “That being said, questions have been raised regarding the onset of winter and the impact if the ship is not refloated before ice forms. All company resources and energy are currently being dedicated to ensuring the Thamesborg is successfully refloated prior to this window closing; we have contingency plans in place if this outcome does not materialize, but we will address that scenario only if and when faced with it,” the company elaborated further.
   Some sea ice has begun to form to the south, north and west of the incident site, but at this time does not pose a hazard to the salvage operation.
   “There are a few icebergs floating south of the ship’s position, about 100 nautical miles south,” said Kevin Tatryn, a Senior Ice Forecaster with the Canadian Ice Service. “The closest sea ice is actually in the McClintock Channel. That’s about 80 to 90 nautical miles to the west.”
   Meanwhile the cause of the grounding remains undetermined with an investigation together with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada currently underway.
   Wagenborg’s vessels have carried out over 50 transits of the Northwest Passage since 2016. The company emphasized that extensive planning precedes all its Arctic voyages and highlighted its use of low-sulfur marine gas oil, offering cleaner combustion and reduced emissions than heavier fuels