Tugboats free stuck cargo ship blocking traffic in St. Lawrence Seaway

A grounded 450-foot (138-meter) cargo ship blocking traffic on the St. Lawrence Seaway near Montreal has been freed.

According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, two tugboats successfully brought the Dutch vessel Heemskerkgracht to safety earlier today.

The vessel ran aground in the Kahnawake area on Thursday evening due to an engine problem, forcing navigation in the South Shore Canal to be halted.

According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, no pollution leaked from the vessel and no one was injured.

A spokesman for the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation said shipping traffic is starting to resume, but it could take up to three days for things to return to normal.

According to Jean Aubry-Morin, the blockade came at a bad time, as ships are needed now more than ever to transport goods due to a work stoppage on Canada’s two largest railway lines.

The Canadian Press