Tugboats, crews try to refloat ship stuck in St. Lawrence River near Montreal

A team of tugboats was deployed to refloat a ship that has been stuck in the St. Lawrence River northeast of Montreal since Christmas Eve.

The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) says the attempt to free the MV Maccoa began around 11 a.m.

The operation, which involves three tugboats and an officer from the Coast Guard’s Marine Hazards and Environmental Response team, must be monitored using drones and a helicopter.

The Cyprus-flagged 185-metre bulk carrier ran aground near Verchères, Que., in the early hours of Dec. 24 following a power failure.

The coast guard says there were no injuries, no damage to the ship’s hull, no pollution spotted in the water and that the ship is not blocking marine traffic.

Generators, heating systems and other supplies were delivered to 20 crew members aboard the grounded vessel on the evening of Dec. 24. However, the vessel managed to operate its own generators and restore power shortly after.

The cause of the outage was not yet known Thursday evening and was under investigation, confirmed by email Kariane Charron, CCG communications team leader, Central Region.

Experts boarded the vessel the next day to assess the situation and put a refloating plan in place. However, the holiday season has an impact on the availability of personnel from the various contractors, Charron acknowledged.

The vessel’s position has no immediate consequences on maritime traffic. A speed reduction advisory is still in place in the area for vessels passing nearby.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews