Ship freed by high water level, 4 tugs

Ship freed by high water level, 4 tugs
Container MSC Sabrina was mired in mud near Trois-Rivière for almost a month
Last Updated: Friday, April 4, 2008 | 4:14 PM ET
CBC News

A container ship that ran aground in the St. Lawrence River near Trois-Rivières, Que., almost a month ago has been finally dislodged from the muddy riverbed, with the help of high river levels and four tugboats.

On its way to Montreal from France, the MSC Sabrina became stuck in the mud during a massive snowstorm that hit central and eastern Canada on March 9.

The vessel is the size of a city block, and weighs about 70,000 tonnes with its cargo. Last week, a second container ship pulled alongside the Sabrina and more than 100 containers were transferred.

"It's amazing, kind of [an] amazing situation. I think of all those customers waiting for all of those cargo," said Andre Lemire, whose company co-ordinated this fourth and successful attempt to free the ship.

Some people aren't so happy. A volunteer at the local seamen's club, Noël Charpentier, said the vessel has become a big local attraction.

"There's not very much that happens in Trois-Rivières, so as soon as something like that happens … I've seen so many people sitting in their cars [watching it] all day long."

One area resident, Olivier Grosleau, said the ship should be turned into a museum.

It's not the first time the MSC Sabrina has encountered trouble. It collided with a Dutch fishing vessel in June 2000 off the coast of the Netherlands, and 15 minutes later struck a British cargo boat. Neither accident resulted in major damage.

Divers will inspect the ship's hull for damage before it is allowed to dock in Montreal.