MCKEE SONS

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Was undredged harbor to blame for large lake carrier grounding on Manistee shoal?

The freighter “McKee Sons” has been freed from the Manistee harbor shoal where she ran aground and began taking on water early Saturday morning. The ship was pulled off it’s grounding about 10:40 p.m. Saturday after Coast Guard crews, divers, welders and private tug boats worked 18 hours to free the vessel from a shoal about 600 feet north of the breakwall. Nobody has officially pinpointed lack of dredging as the culprit in the grounding, but the area where the vessel was stuck appears to be shallower than the shipping channel according to a 2011 harbor survey map on the Army Corps website. More to read at http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2012/04/was_un-dredged_harbor_to_blame.html

Grounding in Lake Michigan

Personnel from Coast Guard Sector Field Office Grand Haven, Michigan, monitored the integrated tug and barge "Invincible" and "McKee Sons", which grounded in Lake Michigan about 600 feet north of the North Manistee Breakwall and were reportedly obstructing about 30 percent of the channel. A boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Manistee, Mich., was enforcing a safety zone 100 yards around the vessel. Two tugboats from Sturgeon Bay, Wis., are on scene and will assist the integrated tug and barge to Sturgeon Bay. SFO Grand Haven personnel will inspect the vessel prior to departure. Personnel from Station Manistee assisted in de-watering the vessel and commercial divers have inspected damage inflicted to the exterior of the hull during the grounding. Welders were onboard to repair a damaged shaft in the vessel's engine room. Pollution responders from SFO Grand Haven were monitoring the situation and are developing a response plan in coordination with Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan, in Milwaukee, and the vessel owner. There was an estimated 49,000 gallons of diesel fuel aboard, and there were no indications of any pollution issues. The Coast Guard oversees the investigation of and response to pollution threats on the navigable waters, maintains a cadre of highly trained pollution investigators and responders. They will provide oversight of the response personnel and equipment that is being utilized at the scene. The cause of grounding is unknown and is under investigation. The vessel with 17 people aboard near Manistee got stuck at about 5:45 a.m., CDT, on Apr 14, 2012. The grounding damaged a shaft in the vessel’s engine room, causing it to begin taking on water at the rate of about two gallons per minute. There were no reported injuries. The crew used three portable pumps to begin de-watering the vessel. Ninety-eight percent of the water onboard has been successfully removed. Pollution responders from SFO Grand Haven are monitoring the situation and are developing a response plan in coordination with Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan, in Milwaukee, and the vessel owner. The vessel owner has arranged for commercial divers to evaluate the damage to the vessel. Photo: http://www.d9.uscgnews.com/go/doc/443/1366815/

MCKEE SONS 5216458

The "McKee Sons" was safely moored to the Detroit Edison Pier on Dec 26 at about 3:30 p.m. It took six tugboats to dislodge the vessel. The ship has shown no signs of pollution and the U.S. Coast Guard will investigate possible damage to the vessel.