Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Frozen freighter on the move after getting stuck in Lake Erie ice for days

The ship wasn’t damaged, and its crew is safe, officials said

Alex Lang
in New York
,The Associated Press
Sunday 26 January 2025 22:02 GMT
Massive Canadian freighter stuck in ice on Lake Erie

A freighter with 17 people aboard is now free after being stuck in ice on Lake Erie for Days.

The ship was freed on Saturday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The Manitoulin, a 663-foot (202-meter) Canadian vessel with 17 people on board, got stuck in the ice on Lake Erie on Wednesday after it dropped off a load of wheat in Buffalo, New York, and was heading back to Canada, the Coast Guard said.

The ship wasn't damaged, and its crew is safe, officials said. Freighters in the Great Lakes often encounter surface ice in the winter but sometimes run into ice that is too hard or thick to break through.

A frozen freighter is on the move after getting stuck for days in ice on Lake Erie
A frozen freighter is on the move after getting stuck for days in ice on Lake Erie (U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Detroit/AP)
Seventeen people were stuck on the freighter before it was freed on Saturday
Seventeen people were stuck on the freighter before it was freed on Saturday (The Buffalo News/AP)

A U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking ship had been working since Thursday to help the Manitoulin, and on Saturday, officials said a second ship arrived to help free the freighter. The Canadian Coast Guard also had a ship assisting with the effort.

The freighter was escorted through nearly 20 miles (32 kilometers) of ice from Buffalo until it got to free water, according to Lt. Kyle Rivera of the Coast Guard.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter was at the scene conducting flights to monitor the situation. A third U.S. Coast Guard ship was scheduled to arrive Monday, in case the Manitoulin remained stuck.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in