Freighter finally free from Lake Erie ice after days of immobility
Using multiple vessels, the American and Canadian coast guards were able to finally free the Manitoulin freighter, with 17 people aboard, from the swelling ice coverage on Lake Erie on Saturday after it became stuck on Wednesday
The Great Lakes have seen a noticeable jump in ice coverage from this month's cold snap, which has had positive and negative side-effects.
For folks in Ontario snowbelt regions clamouring for an end to the lake-effect machine, the increase in ice is a positive step towards that.
DON'T MISS: Winter hasn't been so kind to Ontario's snowbelt regions so far
However, amidst the expanding ice coverage on Lake Erie, the Manitoulin, a 201-metre cargo freighter with 17 people aboard, became beset by ice on Wednesday on its way back to Canada after dropping off a load of grain in Buffalo, N.Y.
But even that story comes with good news.
After multiple attempts to free the tanker from the ice over the course of the days since then, the American and Canadian coast guards successfully dislodged the Manitoulin from its stationary position on Saturday.
While there are 17 people aboard the freighter, there were no injuries and never any concern for their safety, according to the U.S. Coast Guard District 9. The ship didn't suffer any damage as a result.
Once freed, the Manitoulin freighter travelled alongside the U.S. Coast Guard for several kilometres until it reached open water.
As of Saturday, Jan. 25, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that 24.1 per cent of the Great Lakes were covered by ice. The region’s normal ice coverage is about 24 per cent by this point in January. Lake Erie is now up to 86 per cent ice cover––its highest since 2022.
That is a serious recovery given the month began with an ice coverage median of just approximately one per cent.
Thumbnail courtesy of United States Coast Guard District 9/@USCGGreatLakes/X.
With files from Nathan Howes, a digital reporter at The Weather Network, and Tyler Hamilton, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.