Polsteam Bulk Carrier Refloated in St. Lawrence River

The MV Juno, a 621-foot bulk carrier, sits aground under the Thousand Islands Bridge, April 20, 2015. U.S. Coast Guard Photo

The MV Juno was refloated in the St. Lawrence River at about 7 a.m. Wednesday and is now safely anchored at Mason Point.

The Bahamian-flagged Juno, carrying a load of sugar, ran aground in the vicinity of Wellesley Island in the St. Lawrence River, New York on Monday morning, stopping ship traffic on the busy waterway.

The Coast Guard reports that the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation re-opened the American Narrows to full navigation as of 8:00 a.m. Wednesday.

The vessel reportedly suffered a steering malfunction while transiting inbound from the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Port of Toronto. The grounding caused the vessel to take on water in one of the forward ballast tanks, causing the ship to list to port. The vessel owners reported Tuesday morning that the steering malfunction had been fixed.

Salvage personnel arrived on scene late Monday evening followed by hired tugs late Tuesday morning to assist in refloating the vessel, according to the Coast Guard.

No pollution or injuries were reported as result of the incident.

Coast Guard marine inspectors from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Massena, New York, remain on board the Juno with SLSDC representatives conducting an initial investigation, the Coast Guard said.

The ship is managed by Polsteam USA.

The refloating of the MV Juno comes as another bulk carrier, the Canadian-flagged MV Mississagi, ran hard aground in the St. Marys River Wednesday morning.

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