Canadian Bulk Carrier Mississagi Refloated

The grounded 603-foot Canadian bulk carrier Mississagi was successfully refloated on the St. Marys River in the U.S. following operations to offload approximately 2,000 tons of stone on Saturday.

The vessel, carrying more than 17,000 tons of stone, was transiting downbound the St. Marys River from Bruce Mines, Ontario early Wednesday when it ran aground in the Potagannissing Bay, approximately four miles northeast of De Tour Village. 

Lightering operations began at 8 a.m. under the supervision of Coast Guard marine inspectors and pollution responders. The vessel was successfully refloated by 1 p.m. then anchored in a new location near Big Trout Island with no injuries or pollution. 

While at anchor, the vessel underwent a thorough internal and external inspection by U.S. Coast Guard marine inspectors and commercial divers. The Coast Guard concluded that no primary structure on the vessel had been damaged. After inspections were complete, the vessel was cleared to depart anchorage at around 6:30 p.m. The Canadian Coast Guard concurred with the U.S. Coast Guard.

The vessel will reload its cargo of stone in Bruce Mines, Ontario.

At about 1:00 a.m. Wednesday, the master of the Mississagi notified the Coast Guard that the carrier was hard aground.

Coast Guard marine inspectors completed a post-damage survey on Wednesday afternoon and determined that ballast tanks had no significant damage or ingress of water. In addition, fuel tanks located near the stern of the vessel did not sustain any damage.

The cause of the grounding is under investigation.