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Saltie holed in grounding

On Nov 15, 2014, at 5:05 p.m. the "Skawa" enroute from Port Colborne to Montreal downbound on the St. Lawrence river radioed to Seaway Eisenhower that she lost the main engine and was not under control. The vessel then broadcast a warning to the "Federal Kumano", nearby and upbound, to be careful as they could not bring the ship under control without the main engine. At that time, the "Skawa" sheered to port and struck a shoal north of Richards Point between the lighted buoys 52 and 54. She passed over the shoal and out of the channel into deeper water where she was stopped briefly. The "Federal Kumano" passed without any danger. The "Skawa" restarted the engine, turned 180 degrees, and proceeded upbound north of the shoal she hit and went to anchor north west of Richards Point, clear of the shipping channel. The forepeak was holed and the ship was down by the bow and up at the stern. Her forward draft was 27.88 feet and aft was 25.85 feet. The deepest allowable draft in the Seaway was 26.5 feet. The ship was stable and not more taking on more water. During the night the "Skawa" was moved up the river to the Wilson Hill anchorage. In the morning of Nov 16 the crew began pumping air into the forepeak tank that was holed in the grounding. After two hours the draft, which was monitored by a computer, had risen a little more than an inch.