What Crew Members Say About Cartagena

On November 15, 2014, the vessel 'Skawa', traveling from Port Colborne to Montreal, encountered a critical situation on the St. Lawrence River. At 5:05 p.m., the ship reported to Seaway Eisenhower that it had experienced a failure of its main engine, rendering it out of control. In a precarious situation, the 'Skawa' alerted the nearby 'Federal Kumano', which was sailing upbound, to exercise caution due to its inability to regain control without propulsion. As the situation unfolded, the 'Skawa' veered to port and struck a shoal located north of Richards Point, between the lighted buoys 52 and 54. After hitting the shoal, the vessel overran the obstruction and drifted into deeper water where it briefly halted. Fortunately, the 'Federal Kumano' passed by without incident. Upon regaining engine power, the 'Skawa' executed a 180-degree turn and navigated upbound, avoiding the shoal, before anchoring safely northwest of Richards Point, distancing itself from the busy shipping lane. However, the grounding did result in significant damage; the forepeak of the 'Skawa' was holed, causing the vessel to be down by the bow and raised at the stern. The forward draft was recorded at 27.88 feet while the aft draft measured 25.85 feet. Notably, the maximum allowable draft within the Seaway is 26.5 feet. Fortunately, the vessel remained stable, and no additional water was taken on. That night, the 'Skawa' was relocated up the river to wait at the Wilson Hill anchorage. The following morning, November 16, the diligent crew initiated efforts to pump air into the damaged forepeak tank. After two hours of monitoring with computer assistance, the draft was observed to have increased slightly by more than an inch, indicating progress in stabilizing the vessel.