To be clear: in this particular circumstance this is not a major issue. It is however highly unusual and Manitoulin’s crew has probably had better first days back to work! She departed Fraser Shipyard and immediately ran aground on the rocks and sand on the bottom. (Yes all puns intended for the title). Due to the lack of snow this winter, water levels were significantly down in the harbor, including in Fraser Bay where she was laid up. This low water issue is now fixed with the massive snowfalls of the last several days. Add in the fact that Paul R Tregurtha, which has several weeks of maintenance left on her before she can sail, was blocking much of the dredged channel and she was left with little room to pull out successfully. Getting her off was tricky, moving a stuck 20 thousand ton vessel without damaging her in a space barely wider than the ship itself, and the largest vessel on the Lakes just a few feet in front of her is a very difficult scenario. She required several tugs and draining the ballast tanks on the port side of the ship to break her free. Luckily they got her out with no major incident, thanks to the skill of the tugs’ and ship’s crews. It could have gone very badly had they not been so good at their jobs! Didn’t sound there was any noteworthy damage to the ship, just a bit of an awkward list for a few minutes! I’m sure the crew was very happy to successfully get going!
Once she got going, she left in a hurry, reaching the canal before her ballast tanks had fully filled and straightened her out, she she sailed off into the lake with a noticeable list to starboard (leaning to the right). The ship sailed up to Thunder Bay for grain, where she loaded grain bound for Buffalo, NY. She departed there a couple days later after waiting out the blizzard.
Manitoulin was built in 1991 as the Trelsi, a 400ft oil tanker and served in that role for over 20 years, servicing European and lower Great Lakes ports. In 2014 she was cut apart, the entire front and middle sections of the ship, everything in front of the pilothouse was removed and replaced with a new, longer 600ft laker front, after which she started her career as Lower Lakes Towing’s newest vessel. She often hauls grain from the upper lakes to facilities on the St Lawrence River, and occasionally Duluth. She was the first “river class” laker built since the 1970s.
Edit- speaking of running aground! Just after posting this video, American Mariner ran aground in the St Mary’s River below the Soo Locks. Her past track show she was sailing fine before taking an abrupt, hard turn towards the riverbank. Cause is currently unknown. That’s definitely going to be a harder one to fix than this was! The coast guard is assisting her.
Негізгі бет Leaning Ship: A Rocky Start for Manitoulin!
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