MONTREAL — The cargo of corn from the Cypriot ship which ran aground on Christmas Eve on the St. Lawrence River, in the Verchères sector, in Montérégie, will have to be unloaded before making a new refloating attempt.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada indicated Tuesday that a plan to lighten the vessel MV MACCOA has been finalized and reviewed by the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) and its partners.
The multi-day plan calls for unloading more than 3,000 metric tons of the corn cargo to allow the ship to be refloated.
Unloading should begin Thursday and continue until Saturday, depending on weather conditions and the availability of Groupe Océan tugs, the ministry said. A second bailout attempt is planned for Sunday January 5.
“We hope that the lightening will allow the ship to float and that it can then be refloated,” said Amélie Boisjoly-Lavoie, acting assistant superintendent of the CCG's environmental response and maritime hazards team, in an interview. .
Last weekend, three tugboats tried to free the MV MACCOA. The operation consisted of using the jets of water produced by the propellers of the tugboats to remove the sediments accumulated along the wall of the boat.
As this bailout attempt initiated on Friday failed, we had to move on to plan B.
“In many cases, with three tugs pulling on the ship, that will free it, but here the ship is too deep in the mud, so the next step is to remove weight. Normally, this would cause the ship to float. In any case, it would help it float, and by pulling it with the tugs, that should free it,” explained Ms. Boisjoly-Lavoie.
The mobilization of equipment was underway on Tuesday, and should include two barges from Groupe Océan, with a capacity of 1,500 tonnes each, to recover the corn.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada clarified that the rain forecast in the coming days could complicate and slow down operations. Corn cannot be unloaded in the rain and certain conditions must be met for it to remain edible.
“It will depend on the weather conditions. Since corn is a grain, it cannot be unloaded when there is precipitation, because that could make it wet and it then has to be stored in holds that are closed and waterproof, so it could rot. Unloading must be done in conditions where there is no precipitation,” indicated Ms. Boisjoly-Lavoie.
She also expects “a potential shift” due to the whims of Mother Nature. “We will have to be flexible. As soon as there is a window of opportunity, it is certain that the ship's representatives will want to move forward.
The ministry said the ship's condition remains stable, the crew of 20 is still on board and there is still no trace of pollution.
