Soo Locks Shipping Traffic on Hold for Stuck Freighter

Shipping traffic on hold in the Soo for now.

A Coast Guard Investigation into what caused a freighter to run aground near Sugar Island is still underway.

The Calumet, a 630 foot cargo ship, was headed from Soo, Ontario toward Brevort in the upper Peninsula when it ran aground on the St. Mary’s River just before midnight Wednesday.

Since then, Coast Guard has closed off commercial shipping traffic on the river between the Soo Locks and Six Mile Point.

The Saint Mary’s River is vital for business in the Soo.

Economic Development Director, Jeff Holt says any closure could potentially hurt the economy.

“We market our area heavily on the SOO locks and the river structure, and when that’s interrupted it’s not good for us, not good for our economy,” he says.

UPDATE: The freighter was freed on Friday at 7:30 p.m.