A new ship owned by CWB has had an inauspicious start to its life as a Great Lakes hauler.
CWB Marquis opened the St. Lawrence Seaway’s shipping season April 2 but ran aground the following day near Beauharnois, Que., southwest of Montreal.
The ship was hauling its inaugural payload, 29,000 tonnes of iron ore pellets bound for Hamilton, Ont., when it hit an ice floe and ran aground.
A spokesperson with the Transportation Safety Board said tugboats freed the vessel the same day.
The ship continued under its own power and was expected to arrive in Hamilton April 6, where it was to be inspected for damage.
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The ship is scheduled to pick up its first load of CWB grain at Thunder Bay, Ont., later this month.
Safety board officials said information gathered from the ship’s crew last weekend will be assessed, and the board will then determine if a further investigation is warranted.
The CWB Marquis is one of two laker-sized vessels that CWB commissioned in 2011 shortly before Ottawa terminated its single desk marketing mandate for wheat, durum and malting barley.
The ships were ordered by the board’s farmer-elected directors, who were removed from power in late 2011.
CWB Marquis was built in China and arrived in Canada late last year.
After spending the winter in the Montreal area, it was the first ship to pass through the Saint Lambert Locks at Saint Lambert, Que., April 2, which marked the beginning of the St. Lawrence Seaway’s 2015 shipping season.
Ownership of the CWB Marquis and the second CWB ship — the CWB Strongfield — is the subject of an ongoing legal dispute.
Ottawa and current management at CWB say the organization and its assets are government-owned.
Western Canadian farmers who are part of a class-action lawsuit dispute the claim. They are hoping to have their arguments heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.
CWB Marquis is managed and operated by Algoma Central Corp.
CWB Strongfield has yet to arrive in Canada, but it is expected to be operating on the Great Lakes later this year.
