MONTREAL — The MV Maccoa, a bulk carrier flagged in Cyprus, was successfully refloated on January 7, 2025, after being stuck in the St. Lawrence River northeast of Montreal since Christmas Eve, December 24, 2024. The Canadian Coast Guard reported that the vessel has been escorted by tugboats to a dock at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec.

On the morning of the refloating, a second attempt to free the ship commenced at 8 a.m. A global marine traffic website indicated that three tugboats were surrounding the 185-meter vessel, which ran aground near Verchères, Quebec, due to a power failure during the early hours of Christmas Eve.

Prior to the successful refloating, a first attempt to free the MV Maccoa occurred late last month. This effort involved using water jets to remove sediment that had accumulated along the ship's hull but ultimately did not succeed. In response to the failure, authorities decided to lighten the vessel by offloading 3,000 metric tonnes of corn onto two barges. This unloading operation, initially set to begin the week before, was delayed until the weekend because of the time required to prepare the barges in Quebec City. As of the coast guard's announcement, 1,250 tonnes of corn had been transferred to the first barge, and the unloading onto the second barge was completed overnight prior to the refloating.

Following the successful refloating, the MV Maccoa is set to undergo inspection and necessary repairs before being reloaded and resuming its journey to Europe. Transport Canada will now take over oversight from the coast guard for the next steps concerning the vessel.

While the ship was stranded, 20 crew members remained on board, and there were no reported injuries. Additionally, the coast guard confirmed that no pollution had been detected in the surrounding area, alleviating concerns about environmental impact due to the grounding.