Stewart J. Cort stuck in St. Marys River pack ice blocking upbound traffic

The Stewart J. Cort remains hove to in pack ice near the Stribling Point turn in the St. Marys River, unable to complete her upbound passage for a second consecutive day despite icebreaker assistance. The 730-foot self-unloader got stuck Tuesday evening and, as of 8:30 p.m., showed no signs of breaking through the plate ice jammed behind Neebish Island. The USCG Mobile Bay is similarly stalled alongside her, both vessels waiting for conditions to improve by morning. Until the Cort moves, all upbound traffic is locked solid , a backup that includes the James R. Barker, Algoma Guardian, Wilfred Sykes, the saltwater vessel Belzitza bound for Sault Ste. Marie’s Export Dock, and tug Victor.

Ice conditions in the East Neebish Channel have been the story of the early navigation season. Monday’s traffic was steady, but icebreakers Federal Nagara and Mackinaw were required throughout, especially at the Stribling and Johnson’s Point turns. By late afternoon, Soo Traffic had to close the river above the locks between Light 26 and Whitefish Point after a northwest wind shift moved massive slabs of plate ice into the channel. The shortest winter closure in history , just 69 days, from Jan. 12 to March 22 , meant an unusually early and aggressive spring thaw, but residual ice is proving stubborn.

The original water-level paragraph has been withdrawn. This legacy edition was imported from a WordPress draft without the underlying gauge snapshot, so its numerical readings and navigation implications cannot be verified from the archived source data.

At Port Gypsum in Tawas, the Calumet tied up Monday morning after marking the season’s first gypsum dock arrival. With tug Kimberly Joy fresh from Cheboygan to set channel buoys, the loading operation began right on schedule , a bright spot amid the ice delays upriver.