BUFFALO, N.Y. — A freighter is on the move after it was freed from ice that trapped it in a frozen Lake Erie for days, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The Manitoulin, a 663-foot (202-meter) Canadian vessel with 17 people on board, got stuck in the ice on Lake Erie on Wednesday after it dropped off a load of wheat in Buffalo, New York, and was heading back to Canada, the Coast Guard said. It was freed Saturday.
The ship wasn’t damaged, and its crew is safe, officials said. Freighters in the Great Lakes often encounter surface ice in the winter but sometimes run into ice that is too hard or thick to break through.
A U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking ship had been working since Thursday to help the Manitoulin, and on Saturday, officials said a second ship arrived to help free the freighter. The Canadian Coast Guard also had a ship assisting with the effort.
The freighter was escorted through nearly 20 miles (32 kilometers) of ice from Buffalo until it got to free water, according to Lt. Kyle Rivera of the Coast Guard.
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter was at the scene conducting flights to monitor the situation. A third U.S. Coast Guard ship was scheduled to arrive Monday, in case the Manitoulin remained stuck.
