DETROIT (WXYZ) — A freighter that ran aground on the Detroit River has since been refloated.
Monday morning around 7:30, the Barbro G became stuck. The U.S. Coast Guard says the crew spent the night at Belle Isle Anchorage. When they woke up Monday morning, they realized their bow thrusters were inoperable and their anchor had dragged, causing the freight ship to run aground.
Crews spent more than 30 hours working to free the Portuguese vessel. With three tug boats pushing on the ship's bow, the freighter was finally freed around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Dozens of Detroiters flocked to the riverfront to get a glimpse at the freighter and salvage effort.
"It’s outstanding. It really is," said Frank Bissig who went out to take photos of the stuck freighter. "I take a lot of photography and I also have a drone, so I came down here last night and they had all the lights on and one of the barges was actually pushing the boat. So that was pretty cool."
The USCG says the crew aboard the Barbro G was in the process of making a trip from Canada to Italy with 21,000 tons of wheat when the vessel became stuck.
"I was able to get out here early this morning. I’ve been out here since about 8 a.m.," said Matthew Leindecker as he stood near the riverfront. "My whole family has been a lot of boat nerds. My dad works on the Alpena right now. I know all about it."
The ship grounding is the second to happen on the Detroit River this year. In May, a freighter ran aground near Belle Isle.
Leindecker says he got out to see that one too.
"The Barker was only out there for about 6 hours and they were able to fix it, so this one is a little bit different. To think it’s going to go to Italy is kind of cool," said Leindecker.
The USCG says preliminary facts appear to show the circumstances in the two ship groundings are not at all related.
"Much like motor vehicles on the road, every grounding is different. Every accident is different. This is an accident. There are a number of elements at play," said Lt. Adeeb Ahmad with the U.S. Coast Guard.
The U.S. Coast Guard is now in the process of investigating the ship's grounding. As a part of that process, the USCG will render chemical testing for crew members which is routine.
Additionally, the Army Corps of Engineering is planning to take a survey of the Belle Isle Anchorage to determine if any dredging is necessary to prevent ship groundings in the future. However, there is no timeline for when the survey will be taken.
