A Canadian cargo freighter carrying 17 crew members got stuck in ice on Lake Erie for three days during a prolonged cold snap Saturday after the coast guards of both the United States and Canada. Deployed icebreakers to free her.
The ship, a 663-foot bulk carrier named the Manitoulin, ran aground Wednesday morning about a mile off the coast of Buffalo, after delivering a shipment of wheat and returning to its home port in Sarnia, Ontario. was trying to go Huron.
Early Saturday afternoon the vessel began moving again.
Although it is not uncommon for shipping vessels to be temporarily immobilized by ice in the Great Lakes, Manitoulin’s proximity to land and its extended stay captured the imaginations of Buffalo residents and boating enthusiasts.
“It’s so unusual to be literally stranded,” said Karen Taylor, who was among dozens of people who gathered on the beach Saturday to watch the ship before it left. “We’re used to ice on the lake, but we’re not seeing anything that doesn’t make it through.”
Her friend, Barb Fleisner, said her heart goes out to the crew and for her, the scene brought back memories of disasters at sea.
“Thank God they’ve got electricity and they can stay warm,” Ms Fleisner said. “You hear stories and remember Edmund Fitzgerald When they lose power and they have nothing and you’re like, ‘Oh, God, I hope these guys are all right,’ because it’s bitter cold. “
By all official accounts, the situation on Manitoulin was not dire. U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Kyle Rivera reported that the crew was safe and had up to five days of provisions. Hours before the ship was set free, he said a private tugboat had delivered more food to the crew.
In fact, the crew accepted their situation with good humor, listing “disappointing breath” as their reported destination. A marine traffic system.
Messages left for the ship’s captain on social media channels by The New York Times were not returned.
Lt Rivera said four vessels were deployed to assist Manitoulin as part of an ongoing icebreaking partnership with Canada in the region. Operation Coal Shovel.
Three vessels—the cutter Bristol Bay, which was ported at Detroit; The tug is docked in Neah Bay, Cleveland. and Canadian icebreaker Samuel Risley – were on the scene on Saturday.
Another American cutter, the Mackinaw, was en route from Lake Huron when the Manitoulin began to run under its own power.
Lt. Rivera estimated that Manitoulin was encased in ice that was more than two feet thick.
Complicating the operation was the constant temperature of the region.
“It’s been at least six years since this area has seen snow of this magnitude,” Lt. Rivera said. “We’ve had pots besieged this winter, but it didn’t take long for them to break free.”
The ice-breaking efforts, which included other ships circling Manitoulin with a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, sometimes hovered overhead, with onlookers unfazed by the weather on the beach throughout the day. There was a steady stream of
“Look at that,” chimed in Joe Moran, who had come from suburban West Seneca, New York, with his wife, Jane Moran, before the ship began to move. “It’s a huge thing and it’s stuck. It’s kind of cool, you know?”
Mark Urs, from suburban Tonawanda, New York, was one of several amateur photographers to capture the scene.
“They say they can navigate on ice on water, but it’s impressive to see a ship like that get stuck,” Mr Urs said.
Renee Witt conducted a warm-up rescue operation of her car at the Erie Basin Marina.
“It’s not something you see every day,” he said. “It’s an adventure.”
Amy Daggett, 61, an administrator of a Facebook group, called out “Ship Junkies – Lakes, Locks and Rivers,” For his nearly 82,000 followers who track boats on the Great Lakes, he was chronicling Manitoulin closely.
He drove about an hour from his home in Geneseo, New York, to check out the scene and deliver donuts to the Bristol Bay crew, which had sunk into Haynes the night before after a day of breaking ice.
“We don’t get a lot of fritters in Buffalo, so they’re kind of the rock stars that come here to begin with,” Ms. Daggett explained. “Then to be stuck there, it’s like everybody’s happy between the buffalo bills and Manitoulin.”
