The St. Lawrence Seaway and Canada’s Algoma Central are working on a plan to refloat a bulker that has remained stuck on the St. Lawrence River for the past two days. The bulker grounded midday on Saturday, November 23 but is outside the shipping channel so vessel traffic is continuing as shippers rush to complete the last weeks of the 2024 season before the seaway closes for the winter.
The bulker Tim S. Dool (28,471 dwt) loaded a cargo of Canadian wheat at Port Weller on Lake Ontario just above Welland and one of the critical locks on the waterway. The vessel had departed on Friday and was making its way along the St. Lawrence River.
There is speculation that the vessel built in 1967 experienced a mechanical failure that resulted in it leaving the channel and grounding near Morrisburg, Ontario at around 1230 on November 23. It is stuck in the mud in the river but because it is outside the channel there are no reports that traffic has been interrupted.
The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation issued a statement that there were no injuries to the crew and no reports of pollution or water ingress. They said the vessel was in a stable condition and that a plan was being finalized to refloat the bulker.
That however did not stop residents from flocking to the waterway to see the grounded vessel. News media is saying it has become a local tourist attraction.
It is not the first time that a vessel has gone aground in the area. In August, a Dutch cargo ship lost power in another section of the waterway and blocked traffic. It remained stuck for two days till tugs were able to pull it free and reopen the waterway.
This incident comes during the final leg of the 2024 season and a challenging time for the seaway. A year ago, it was closed by a strike and the 2024 season has seen a slight decrease in the number of vessels using the waterway. As of the end of October, just under 3,000 transits have been recorded in 2024. They reported that 28 million metric tons had been shipped on the seaway so far in 2024.
Management announced the plan is to close the navigation season on January 5, 2025, in the Montreal-Lake Ontario section and on January 10 in the Welland Canal. They reported that volume was up in October and expected a positive finish to the year.
