Two Tugboats Capsize on St. Lawrence River
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Two tugboats capsized and sank close to each other on the St. Lawrence River on Monday. They are the latest in a recent flurry of adverse incidents on the waterway.
Witnesses say the first tug tipped over around 4 p.m. while the crew managed to escape before the boat capsized. Social media reports suggested the ship is the Lac Manitoba, owned by Nadro Marine.
About five hours later, a second tug overturned in the river on the south side of the barge, closer to the Cornwall Island side of the river about 500 feet downstream of the new low-level bridge.
Ministry of Environment spokesman Mark Rabbior said the barge was not compromised but the Lac Manitoba did leak some hydraulic fluids and diesel fuel.
The incident is the latest to hit the Saint Lawrence Seaway in a matter of days. On Thursday, thirty people were injured when the cruise ship Saint Laurent struck a bumper in the Eisenhower Lock, suspending navigation for 42 hours.
Then on Sunday, the 30,000 DWT bulk carrier MV Tundra ran hard aground near Summerstown, Ontario just hours after the waterway reopened to ship traffic. The vessel remained aground as of Monday evening.