Crews Free Freighter That Ran Aground In The Detroit River

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U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Josh Valdivia.

A 500-foot freighter that aground in the Detroit River since Wednesday morning, was successfully refloated Thursday afternoon and is safely anchored in U.S. waters while awaiting a thorough inspection.

The Canadian-flagged ship, Harvest Spirit,, with 18 people aboard, ran aground about 6:40am after losing propulsion approaching the Livingstone Channel, near Grosse Ile.

After the ship set its anchors it completely blocked the channel, on the U.S.-Canada international border.

The salvage process was a team effort between the U.S. Coast Guard, Transport Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard, Environment Canada, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, four tugboats, and the Harvest Spirit itself.

The vessels then combined their power as Harvest Spirit shifted ballast water to free the bow from the rocky bottom about 3:30pm.

The Livingstone Channel remains closed pending completion of a Corps of Engineers first light survey to ensure sufficient water depth for traffic to resume.