Coast Guard responds to grounded vessel in Saint Lawrence Seaway

(December 31, 2017) BUFFALO, New York — The motor vessel Pacific Huron was successfully refloated Saturday evening from its grounded position in the St. Lawrence Seaway near Wellesley Island, New York.

Under the direction of the Donjon-Smit salvage master, two Canadian tugs, the Evans Mckeil and the Ocean A. Simard, successfully removed the Pacific Huron from its aground position Saturday night at approximately 8 p.m.

There were no reported injuries to the crew, and no reported leaks, pollution, or flooding on the vessel. They removed some of the cargo of soybeans off the ship, lightening it enough to refloat the ship, according to Lieutenant Commander Michael Gris of the U.S. Coast Guard, Buffalo Sector.

A barge was used to carry the soybeans from the ship. The tugs were scheduled to arrive at the Huron between 4 and 5 AM Saturday morning.

A pilot was put aboard the motor vessel to safely navigate the vessel to its anchorage location at Mason Point.

Divers will conduct their underwater hull survey this morning and the classification society will inspect the Pacific Huron’s propulsion system as well.

The forward portion of the 623-foot motor vessel ran aground late Wednesday evening.

Coast Guard leaders worked constantly with our international, federal, state, local and tribal partners to prepare for contingencies like this and to ensure a cohesive and unified approach to resolve the incident and restore the vital components of the maritime transportation system.