SUMMERSTOWN – A spokesman for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans says a massive power failure on board the CSL Whitefish Bay caused it to run aground in the St. Lawrence River Tuesday night.
In an email to Cornwall Newswatch, Rachelle Smith said the ship was carrying 28,000 tons of coal, 480 tons of heavy fuel oil and 53 tons of diesel fuel when it ran aground 12 kilometers downstream from Cornwall, Ont. near Hamilton Island.
The crash was heard by nearby cottagers and the boat scraped against the rock and the river bottom around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
There were no injuries, structural damage, or reported pollution and the ship didn’t take on any water, Smith wrote.
The vessel operator and owner, Canada Steamship Lines, is now working on towing and reflating the ship.
According to MarineTraffic.com, two tugboats are heading to the scene today to help rescue the Whitefish Bay.