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Tugs free Edgar B. Speer in West Neebish rock cut

The 1,000-foot Edgar B. Speer is moving again after being stuck in the St. Marys River since Sunday. At 4:15 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard told SooToday.
USCoastGuardSaultPatch

The 1,000-foot Edgar B. Speer is moving again after being stuck in the St. Marys River since Sunday.

At 4:15 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard told SooToday.com that the self-unloader was at the Lime Island traffic buoy, followed by a convoy of eight other downbound vessels.

There had been fears that she had stuck on ice at the bottom of the river but that wasn't the case.

It was only the pressure of ice surrounding the Speer that kept her from moving.

She was able to move after that pressure was relieved around 1:16 p.m. today with help from Purvis Marine's Reliance as well as three other commercial tugs, Great Lakes Towing's Missouri from Sault Michigan; the Joyce L. Van Enkevort from Bark Michigan; and the Joseph H. Thompson Jr. from Escanaba.

The Edgar B. Speer was stuck in the West Neebish Channel for a total of 105 hours.

Since Sunday, the Coast Guard Cutters Mackinaw, Biscaybe Bay and Katmai Bay have also worked to free her.

With a total of 14 downbound vessels backed up, the U.S. Coast Guard started redirecting traffic down the Middle Neebish Channel at 19:30 this morning.

That's normally an upbound channel.

The last vessel is expected to clear the St. Marys River by tomorrow night, after which the U.S. Coast Guard indicates it will consider closing the West Neebish Channel to all traffic.


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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