660-Foot Ship Gets Stuck In Ice On Lake Erie Near Buffalo

US Coast Guard Icebreaking Crew As Ice Coverage On Great Lakes Plummets

Photo: Bloomberg

A Canadian freighter named the Manitoulin became trapped in ice on Lake Erie near Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday (January 22). The vessel, which had just delivered a load of wheat to Archer Daniels Midland, was en route back to Sarnia, Ontario, when it got stuck. The ship was approximately one mile offshore when it became immobilized by the ice, which has covered nearly 80 percent of Lake Erie due to recent arctic temperatures.

The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched the icebreaker Bristol Bay from Detroit to assist the Manitoulin. The icebreaker reached the vessel on Thursday (January 23) and began operations to free it. However, progress was slow, and ice-cutting efforts were suspended for the night. The Coast Guard plans to resume operations on Friday morning.

Despite the challenging conditions, the ship's 17 crew remain safe and well-supplied. Paul Angelillo, a civilian search and rescue specialist with the Coast Guard, noted that such incidents are not uncommon during significant ice development. The Manitoulin, built in 1991, is equipped to handle ice, but the current conditions have proven too severe for it to navigate independently.


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