Cruise Ship Refloated and Removed from Saint Lawrence Seaway Lock

. Image: Great Lakes Cruise Company

The passenger cruise ship Saint Laurent has been safely refloated and removed from the Eisenhower Lock chamber in the Saint Lawrence Seaway following Thursday’s allision with a bumper.

The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation reports that navigation on the St. Lawrence Seaway resumed at 4 p.m. Saturday and vessels are once again transiting Eisenhower Lock. During the approximately 42 hours that navigation was suspended, 15 vessels were delayed.

The Saint Laurent cruise ship struck the upstream bumper at Eisenhower Lock in Massena, New York at 9:15 p.m. Thursday.

Thirty injuries were reported among the 192 passengers, 81 crew, and a pilot on board the vessel at the time of the accident. All passengers and crew on board have been safely evacuated from the vessel. Photos of the ship posted to Twitter show extensive damage to the bow.

#SaintLaurent now has the mouth of a shark. pic.twitter.com/2zshQ5wWzf

— Michael Folsom (@theshipwatcher) June 21, 2015

No pollution was detected as a result of incident. Meanwhile, a preliminary inspection showed no significant damage to Eisenhower Lock infrastructure, but SLSDC safety inspectors are continuing their review.

“This is a critical transportation route and we want to do all that we can to make sure that we provide a safe, efficient, and reliable waterway,” stated SLSDC Administrator Betty Sutton. “While it is unfortunate that the ship struck the lock, the collective response was quick, effective, and thorough: passenger safety was secured, the ship was stabilized, actions to remove the ship and restart navigation were implemented, and now navigation has resumed.”

The Saint Laurent is a cruise ship owned by International Shipping Partners.

The Eisenhower Lock is one of two U.S. locks on the 10-mile-long Wiley-Dondero Canal, which provides access to Lake St. Lawrence and is operated by the SLSDC, a modal administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation.