A Canadian freighter became icebound in Lake Erie outside the Buffalo River breakwall while departing Buffalo, New York, requiring help from a U.S. Coast Guard cutter.

According to the Associated Press, the Manitoulin, a 663-foot freighter, had dropped off a load of wheat Wednesday in Buffalo, New York, and left port to return to Sarnia, Ontario, only to be caught in rapidly forming ice later that morning near the Buffalo shoreline.

The Manitoulin, a large cargo ship, first became trapped in the ice while departing Buffalo, New York on 22 January. The US Coast Guard says that there are no safety concerns for the 17 crew members on board and another ship has been tasked to assist in breaking ice around the stuck vessel.

The Coast Guard suspended ice-cutting operations for the night after making some progress and moving the ship slightly Thursday evening.

A Canadian freighter named the Manitoulin became trapped in ice on Lake Erie near Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday (January 22). The vessel, which had just delivered a load of wheat to Archer Daniels Midland,

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay, an ice-breaking tug, arrived in Buffalo Thursday afternoon to assist Manitoulin.

Efforts to free a lake freighter ship stuck in ice in the Lake Erie shoreline in the Buffalo River are resuming Friday morning, according to the Coast Guard. The ship began

The Manitoulin, a 663-foot vessel, remained stuck just offshore of Buffalo, New York for the second day on Thursday. An ice-cutting barge, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay, was dispatched earlier today to help free the freighter from the snow and ice field.

The lake freighter Manitoulin is immobilized by thick ice in Lake Erie outside the Buffalo River breakwall as it awaits the arrival of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay which is en route from Erie, Penn. to help loosen the vessel, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP) AP

A Canadian freighter with 17 people on board got stuck in the ice on Lake Erie while departing Buffalo, according to the Coast Guard, which arrived with icebreaking equipment Thursday to begin freeing the vessel.

Scott Hunt served his country in the US Coast Guard for an amazing 30 years from 1984 to 2014, retiring as a chief warrant officer. He grew up in Buffalo,

The ice coverage in Lake Erie has rapidly expanded to 80% this week. February and March are peak maximum ice coverage periods for the Great Lakes.