The 202-meter Manitoulin freighter was returning to Sarnia, Ontario, Canada after dropping off a load of wheat when it got caught in ice quickly developing off the coast of Buffalo, USA, in Lake Erie in below-freezing weather. A U.S. Coast Guard representative stated that the 17-person Canadian freighter has been stuck in the ice since Wednesday, January 22, 2025. The crew and captain are unharmed, and the Manitoulin is undamaged.
Another Icebreaker was brought in to help the USA Coast Guard rescue the Manitoulin. The Canadian Coast Guard has also been asked to help, however as of yesterday, January 24, 2025, the freighter is still stuck in the ice.
The freighter is seated in the shallowest of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie. Due to the recent Arctic cold blast, ice coverage rose from 38% on Monday to 85% on Friday.
About the Manitoulin Freighter
On December 1, 2015, Rand Logistics, Inc. launched its newest 664-foot self-unloading bulk freighter flying the Canadian flag. It can transport 27,550 tons at maximum seaway capacity. The Manitoulin has the greatest carrying capacity of any river class self-unloader now in operation, is the first new river class self-unloader to enter Great Lakes service in more than 40 years, and is expected to be the Great Lakes’ most efficient ship of its class. Grain, iron ore, coal, soybeans, and other bulk commodities are among the cargo transported on the Manitoulin. Lower Lakes Towing Ltd., a division of Rand Logistics, is in charge of operating the Manitoulin.
The Manitoulin completed the more than two years of project planning, shipbuilding, and transportation after being formally christened in China and going into duty in the Great Lakes Region. The ship was constructed by attaching a new self-unloading bow portion to the stern part of the Lalandia Swan, a Danish-flagged salt water chemical tanker that Rand Logistics had acquired in March 2014. As part of the vessel conversion project, a new forebody was built at the Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China, and attached to the aft section of the recently purchased ship. One of China’s top shipyards, Chengxi Shipyard Co., Ltd. is well-known throughout the world for its extensive conversion projects and expert ship maintenance.
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