Grounded Freighter Refloated in Lake St. Clair

The Federal Rideau, a 656-foot freighter that had been hard aground in the downbound shipping channel of Lake St. Clair since early Sunday morning, was refloated early Tuesday morning and is now safely anchored in the Detroit River at the Belle Island Anchorage.

Divers are scheduled to conduct a damage assessment survey of the vessel, and repairs will be made if necessary.

There is no resultant pollution and no injuries were reported.

At around 3 a.m. Sunday, response coordinators at Coast Guard Sector Detroit received notice that the motor vessel Federal Rideau, a Hong Kong-flagged vessel, grounded in the downbound channel in Lake St. Clair near the Detroit River.

The vessel is carrying approximately 22,672 tons of wheat.

U.S. Coast Guard marine inspectors from Coast Guard Sector Detroit Prevention Department responded to the grounding to assess the situation and determine the extent of any structural damage to the vessel.

Coordinators at the Sector Detroit Command Center were in constant communication with the vessel’s crew and with responders aboard the ship.

One attempt to refloat the freighter by two tugs was unsuccessful Sunday after one of the tugs experienced motor issues.

The vessel was en route to Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The cause of the grounding was determined to have been a loss of steering.

uscgnews.com