Great Lakes Freighter Reportedly Runs Aground Near Grosse Ile

GROSSE ILE, MI — A Great Lakes Freighter ran aground Wednesday morning in the Detroit River, near Grosse Ile, according to a great lakes and seaway shipping website.

The McKeil's Harvest Spirit ran aground around 8 a.m. in the lower Detroit River, the Daily Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping News reported. The freighter was in the Livingstone Channel, or what is known as The Holy in the Wall. The tug boat Manitou will assist in pulling the grounded vessel, according to the shipping news site.

The freighter lost propulsion after experiencing lube oil failure, causing it to drift until it was sideways in the channel, according to The Detroit Free Press.

All traffic was routed to the Amherstburg Channel, the website reported. The Gardno, a saltwater ship, tried to pass the Harvest Spirit down bound Wednesday morning and reportedly touched the bottom, according to the shipping news site.

The Livingston Channel typically is open to one-way traffic for vessel traveling down bound, according to the website. Dynamite was used to blast out bedrock and limestone to deepen the channel in the early 1900s, and the stone was removed and stacked into berms creating the edge for the channel.

According to the shipping website, the Harvest Spirit is facing upbound with its bow out of the channel through the Hole in the Wall opening.

The freighter was recently acquired by McKeil, a Canadian marine service company that provides transportation throughout the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway, East Coast and in the Canadian Arctic, The Detroit News reported. The freighter was built in 2012, according to the News.

The Harvest Spirit made its first visit to Detroit on Tuesday, where it loaded up on Zug Island, according to the shipping news site.