Tugboats, crews try to refloat ship stuck in St. Lawrence River near Montreal [Video]

An attempt to refloat the vessel that ran aground on the St. Lawrence River near Verchères, in the Montérégie region, is due to continue until late on Friday, before resuming on Saturday morning.

The Canadian Coast Guard announced in an e-mail sent on Friday morning that the shipowner’s refloating plan had been validated by Transport Canada and the other authorities involved.

The operation was launched at around 11 a.m. and involves three tugs and an officer from the Coast Guard’s Environmental Response and Marine Hazards team. It is also being monitored by drones and a helicopter.

The MV MACCOA, which was sailing on the St Lawrence River, has been stranded since Christmas Eve following a widespread power cut.

The Canadian Coast Guard was informed of the vessel’s grounding at 1:15 a.m. on Dec. 24. According to the Coast Guard, there were no injuries on board, no damage to the ship’s …