SOREL-TRACY, Que. – A cargo ship ran aground on the banks of the St. Lawrence River near Sorel-Tracy in the Monteregie region of Quebec just a few hours after leaving Montreal on Wednesday.
The freighter, registered as Tundra, had weighed anchor in the late afternoon, leaving the Port of Montreal en route to Halifax.
Transport Canada’s Marine Division has been called to the site to investigate what took place.
Nathalie Letendre, a spokesperson for the Canadian Coast Guard, confirmed that the Cyprus-registered vessel was carrying soya.
The cause of the grounding and the reason why the freighter moved out of the shipping channel are still unconfirmed.
“It’s not a water level question, as they had all the data they needed,” she said.
“The investigation will reaveal what is the problem. Maybe something broke aboard.”
No environmental issues are expected and there were no injuries reported.
Following Transport Canada’s investigation, the captain of the freighter will be responsible for refloating the boat.
“It is responsibility of the ship owners to refloat the boat,” said Letendre. “After the investigation, which will be conducted Thursday morning, the ship owners will present their options for re-floating their boat.
The cargo ship remains grounded several metres from shore.
“The boat is stuck in the mud, so the worst thing they can face is the suction from the mud posing a problem.”
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