Cargo ship runs aground near Montreal following mechanical failure, blocking marine traffic

A cargo ship has run aground near Kahnawà:ke on Montreal's South Shore after it experienced a mechanical failure, according to the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation. 

A spokesperson for the corporation, Jean Aubry-Morin, said workers are aiming to have the vessel moving again by noon tomorrow. So far, six other ships are impacted by the blockage on the South Shore canal. The ships are headed to be anchored on Lake Saint-Louis or in the St. Lawrence River close to the port of Montreal. 

The Dutch vessel, Heemskerkgracht, headed for Spain, was turning on its axis on the canal along Lake Saint-Louis to go back up to Montreal when the boat's engine stopped working. The nose of the vessel then crept up the riverbank where the ship ended up getting stuck at a 45-degree angle.

Heemskerkgracht is a 138-metre cargo ship carrying scrap metal. 

The "unfortunate incident" does not pose a threat to the environment and no injuries have been reported, Aubry-Morin said.

WATCH: See the cargo ship blocking the St. Lawrence Seaway from above:

This 138-metre ship got stuck in a canal near Montreal and is blocking cargo traffic

3 months ago

Duration 0:35

The Dutch vessel carrying scrap metal was turning on its axis on the canal at Lake Saint-Louis when its engine stopped working. No injuries have been reported and the incident doesn't pose a threat to the environment, but the blockage could complicate Canadian exports this week in addition to the widespread railway strikes.

The ship traffic blockage is complicating Canadian exports, Aubry-Morin said, explaining that "the marine highway was the fallback position for exporting grain" amid the ongoing railway labour dispute which had brought freight traffic to a halt since Thursday.

"There's been a lot of redirection of cargo on the inland marine highway and I think for us time is the essence," he added.

Once the Heemskerkgracht lost power, the ship drifted downstream, according to Eric Esclamadon, deputy superintendent of the marine environmental response team with the Canadian Coast Guard. 

The ship first hit the southern embankment of the canal before rebounding and then running aground on the northern side of the canal, Esclamadon said.

"That's why it's resting at a diagonal within the navigation channel and is blocking navigation in the area," Esclamadon said.

There appears to be no damage to the ship. Crews are monitoring the situation, and there is no water infiltrating the vessel, nor is there no pollution leaving it, he said.

The Coast Guard also surveilled the site with drones to make sure no pollution was seeping into the river, Esclamadon added.

The canal is a crucial link for commercial ships travelling between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. There is no alternative route around the canal.

"While it is blocked the way it is, all the ships that are in the Great Lakes are stuck in the Great Lakes, and those that are on the other side, well, they can't go to the Great Lakes," Esclamadon said. 

"The longer the channel is blocked, the longer the list of vessels waiting will be."

Aubry-Morin predicts that, by the time the ship is afloat, there could be up to 14 anchored ships. Once dislodged from the riverbank, the vessel will be sent to a pier for inspection.

Kahnawà:ke monitoring situation

Lloyd Phillips, commissioner of public safety for the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke, said Kahnawà:ke first responders were quickly on the scene assessing the situation after the ship ran aground. 

Since then, the council has been in close contact with St. Lawrence Seaway and Coast Guard officials. 

Safety is a priority for the small Kanien'kehá:ka community in a situation like this one, said Phillips. For example, Kahnawà:ke's hospital sits on the canal bank, where dozens of cargo ships go by every day, he explained.

 A shipping disaster is something that is always on people's minds, Phillips said.

"This is a best case scenario out of a worst case situation," he said. 

"The situation could have been much, much worse if it was [carrying] a hazardous material, or there was a breach in the hull."

Landon Goodleaf, member of the Kahnawà:ke Marina, was sitting outside with friends when they saw the ship lose control.

"We heard a 'bang, bang, bang' and it was ripping along the side of the shore," he said. "It was unreal. You don't see that every day, a big ship losing control."