DETROIT – A massive freighter that ran aground in the Detroit River on Monday is expected to be freed Tuesday with the help of multiple tugboats, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
A 623-foot-long freighter transporting 21,000 tons of wheat to Italy ran aground at about 7:37 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 27 just outside of Belle Isle Anchorage. The ship, which departed from Canada, had been docked at the anchorage overnight Sunday into Monday before getting stuck Monday morning.
Officials said the freighter’s bow thrusters were inoperable on Monday, and the ship’s anchor dragged, causing it to run aground.
Small tugboats were working to free the ship Monday, but were unsuccessful. The U.S. Coast Guard told Local 4 Tuesday that after many calculations, a plan was in place to move the freighter into open water once again.
Starting at around 8 a.m. Tuesday, crews were expected to begin working to refloat the freighter. Two tugboats were going to help push and pull the massive ship, according to Lt. Adeeb Ahmad with the Coast Guard.
Officials said Monday that there were no injuries, damage, pollution or impact to commercial traffic reported due to the grounding.
Though freighters don’t often get stuck in the Detroit River, it has happened before -- even as recently as this May. Officials say they don’t believe the two incidents are connected, but plan to look into it, just in case.
“[After] preliminary assessments, we don’t believe that the two groundings are related as to causality,” Lt. Ahmad told Local 4 Tuesday. “However, the Army Corps of Engineers will be doing a survey of the Belle Isle Anchorage to make sure everything’s in place.”