Cornwall, Ontario – The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) confirmed that today at 15:51 hours, the CHEM NORMA, a product tanker that had run aground early Tuesday morning near Morrisburg, Ontario, was pulled free from the edge of the waterway. The ship is now undergoing an inspection process, to ensure that it is ready to resume its transit.
Both federal and provincial authorities were engaged in the process, applying due diligence in reviewing the plan to free the ship. Among the authorities involved were The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, Transport Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.
All tankers that transit the St. Lawrence Seaway are double hulled vessels, having both an outer hull and a second inner hull, within which a series of segregated holds exist to carry liquid cargoes. The CHEM NORMA, carrying refined petroleum products, went aground at 4:09 AM on Tuesday, May 29, due to an issue with its rudder. The vessel came to rest against the edge of a designated anchorage area, and was not blocking any traffic. No pollution has been observed as a consequence of the grounding.
