An elderly bulker owned by Interlake Steamship has been moored safely in Muskegon, Michigan, after getting refloated late Monday afternoon.
The 24,800-dwt Kaye E Barker (built 1952) was dislodged the same day that it ran aground at 10am local time (1400 GMT) in Lake Michigan off the US port of Muskegon.
“We refloated it yesterday late afternoon before dark after we performed some lightering,” chief petty officer John Masson told TradeWinds.
There were no injuries, pollution or damage to the ship as a result of the grounding, but its cause has not yet been determined, Masson said.
The US-flagged vessel had become stuck in the sand just off the harbour’s outer breakwall as it approached the port at a slow speed, but 400 feet (120 metres) of the waterway was able to remain open, the US Coast Guard said.
The vessel was carrying more than 25,400 US tons (23,000 tonnes) of stone from the Ontario port of Meldrum Bay when it ran aground.
Interlake, a Cleveland-based owner and operator of ships on the Great Lakes, did not immediately return calls regarding the ship, is classed by American Bureau of Shipping and has protection and indemnity insurance from Steamship Mutual.
This is not the first grounding of the Kaye E Barker at Muskegon, where it became stuck on a sandbar almost exactly a year ago at nearly the same spot.
In 2017, the ship was previously involved in a collision on Lake Michigan that damaged a small boat and caused temporary closure of a drawbridge spanning an inlet to Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The ship, which had discharged a cargo of coal and was moving in reverse at the time of the incident, was slightly misaligned or pushed off course, according to investigators.
