Freighter stuck in the Detroit River

The ship Mark W. Barker has been stuck was mud in the Detroit River front of Reaume Park in Windsor on Wednesday.

“On their way to Milwaukee she (the ship) lost her propulsion and is soft aground off Belle Isle,” harbourmaster Peter Berry tells CTV News.

Berry says the ship was not damaged and hasn’t released any chemicals into the water.

The Mark Barker is loaded with 20,000 tonnes of salt from an American company, according to Berry.

BoatNerd has a Detroit River Live Cam from the Dossin Museum in Detroit.

Berry says there are no injuries and the U.S. Coast Guard assessed the vessel to draft a “float plan."

But first, Berry says they had four ships headed to the Detroit River - “two down-bound and two up-bound” - which they must safely manoeuvre around the Mark Barker before finalizing how to refloat her.The ship named Mark Barker is stuck in mud in front of Reaume Park in Windsor, Ont., on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. (Bob Bellacicco/CTV News Windsor)

The Barker was freed shortly after the noon hour with the help of a tug boat. 

Onlookers watch from Windsor shoreline

Chris Culman had to run his eyes from the morning slumber to confirm what he was seeing from his Riverside Drive apartment window.

“I've been there 40 years. Never seen that before,” said Culman whose day was greeted with the sight of the Mark W. Barker stuck in the Detroit River.

“You don't see it everyday where a ship hits Belle Isle.” Culman said.

Multiple residents say they heard the ship's horn blaring prior to the incident.

“I thought holy you know, He's doing that a lot. How come? Maybe no ones getting out of the way.” Said Karen Aikens who lives across the street from Coventry Gardens.

Berry says the wind turned the ship towards Belle Isle where it came to a rest along the shoreline.

The incident caused a traffic disruption on the river, with multiple ships having to slow down and be navigated around the stuck ship.

“We now have to do alternating traffic.” Berry said. “When the ships come through we can't have them meet at that point anymore and pass each other so it becomes a one-lane highway until that ship is out of the way.”