St Lawrence Seaway Reopened After Grounding

Incident responders from the US Coast Guard and representatives from the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation have completed the salvage of the freighter that lost power and ran aground in the St. Lawrence Seaway, Tuesday, and have reopened the seaway to all vessel traffic.

The motor vessel Federal Kivalina, a 656-foot, Hong Kong-flagged freighter carrying 23,000 metric tons of canola seeds, was removed from its resting spot near the Thousand Island Bridge by a contracted salvage crew and two tugs from Montreal.

Coast Guard personnel approved the salvage plan early Thursday afternoon and the salvage team immediately went to work to remove the vessel. Upon the safe removal of the Federal Kivalina, the seaway was reopened to all vessel traffic, which had been shut down for more than two days.

Coast Guard investigators from Marine Safety Detachment Massena, New York, are currently investigating the cause of the incident.