The Canadian Coast Guard has freed the 26,500 gross ton bulk carrier
MV Arthur M. Anderson from heavy ice on the southern shore of Lake Erie
near Conneaut Harbor.
After a failed attempt to reach the vessel last week by the USCGC
Bristol Bay, the Canadian Coast Guard’s 234-foot multi-mission medium
icebreaker CCGS Griffon was called on to free the ship from the ice.
An update Sunday posted to Twitter by Fisheries and Oceans Canada
said that the Anderson had been freed and the vessel was moving with
assistance from the CCGS Griffon. A later update said the freighter was
being escorted by the Griffin and the CCGS Samuel Risley on Lake Erie.
According to media reports, the frieghter was freed from the ice at about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The MV Arthur M. Anderson was enroute to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin for
its winter layup when it became beset by ice near Ashtabula, Ohio last
week.
The USCGC Bristol Bay reported 8 to 10 feet of ice in areas and brash
ice up to 5 to 6 feet thick as it attempted to reach the vessel. After
making slow progress towards the freighter, the Bristol Bay was running
low on food and fuel so the Griffin was called in to escort the U.S.
Coast Guard ship back to Cleveland before returning to free the
Anderson.
“The U.S. and Canada have a strong ice-breaking partnership,” said
Rear Adm. Fred Midgette, commander Coast Guard 9th District. “Both
countries coordinate closely to respond to these extreme ice conditions
across the Great Lakes. Our goal is to get the commercial traffic moving
and keep it moving, so we will keep working to achieve that goal.”
The MV Arthur M. Anderson is famous for being the last ship to be in contact with the SS Edmund Fitzgerald before it sank.