Part of Seaway closed after freighter runs aground, leaks fuel near Montreal

A crucial navigation link is shut down after a cargo ship ran aground and punctured its fuel tank in the St. Lawrence Seaway, spilling bunker fuel into the water.

Up to 200 tonnes of fuel gushed into the South Shore Canal of the seaway near Montreal after the ship’s engine failed and it drifted off course on Monday evening. The Canada Steamships Line vessel was carrying grain.

The vessel’s crew deployed oil booms to limit the damage. The federal seaway management corporation sealed the lock at Côte Ste-Catherine and summoned emergency crews to add more booms.

“Given the rapid response, the spill was contained within the canal above the lock, with no oil entering the lock or moving downstream,” the corporation said in a statement. “No impact has been observed on municipal water intakes within the surrounding municipalities.”

The shutdown of the portion of the seaway left five cargo ships stuck inside it. Navigation was suspended in the South Shore Canal immediately after the spill, but was expected to reopen within two days.

It will take “more than one day” to clean up the spill, said Nathalie Letendre, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Coast Guard, which is co-ordinating efforts.

The leak has been contained because authorities shut down the locks, enabling crews to “tightly control the spill and ensure it does not spread any further,” said Andrew Bogora, a spokesman for the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation.

As much as 200 tonnes of fuel may have spilled from the vessel, although officials believe the figure is likely closer to 50 to 100 tonnes. It has spread to a one-kilometre radius.

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