Monday, May 23, 2011

Happy Days Are Here Again-----How's this for Good News-Hey it's in the Gazette

        MONTREAL – A tanker ship ran aground Monday morning in St. Zotique, about 70 kilometres southwest of Montreal.

There were no injuries, no spillage of the ship’s contents and no damage to the ship, said Marie Gaudreault, a spokesperson for the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. The incident has not disrupted maritime navigation, she added.

The vessel is the Sten Suomi, a Norwegian-flagged ship that is 144.2 metres long and 23.2 metres wide, she said. It ran aground at 8:25 a.m. after it dropped anchor.

“I don’t know why it dropped anchor,” Gaudreault said. “Something must have happened and it needed to drop anchor. When it did that, its bow hit the river bottom slightly.”

The ship’s cargo holds were empty at the time. According to Marinetraffic.com, the ship was built in 2008 and its last known destination was New York.

Gaudreault said the location of the ship where it went aground was the Pointe au Foin area, a point of land just south of the town of St. Zotique. The riverbed at that point is mud and sand, she added.

A team of investigators was headed there at midday Monday to determine what happened.

It is expected the ship will be eased out of its position with the help of tugboats, Gaudreault said.

9 comments:

Les F said...

That's Good News isn't it........Gee I hope this story brings a flood of 'new' responses -lol HF&RV

Sandra macDonald said...

Hi Everyone, I have two work friends heading to Montreal in August. They want to know the best things to do and places to see. All I could think of was Old Montreal and biking along the St. Lawrence river. A while back someone wrote about renting bikes along the boardwalk. Does anyone recall it or know of it. I think they said you can rent and ride as far as you like and they have stations along the way to leave the bikes. Love to hear some suggestions. Sandra

Les F said...

They do indeed still have the bikes for rent,they were just saved by the city,they are called BIXI bikes,I would think there is info around Montreal saying where to get one etc etc ..Verdun, NDG and other places around the island have them too.
Here is a link to a site that claims it is a "Guide to Using the Bixi System"
http://montreal.about.com/od/gettingaroundtown/a/public_bikes.htm

......and here is a link directly to the BIXI Montreal site........

http://www.bixi.ca/home
Good Luck I hope your friends have a great time ,I am sure they will as it's getting close to the Just for Laughs festival amongst other constant festivals to celebrate having fun in Montreal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HF&RV ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Les F said...

Well they could take a 'jet boat ' trip through the Rapids,they could go for a walk over the Mountain,plus all the restaurants & night club stuff, the underground city would be neat for someone who likes that stuff....Shoot over to St Helen's Island maybe do LaRonde ,if they are into that...
There is a whack of Museums too,......if they are not from there ,then the food may not be as appealing as it would be to us...but I'm sure they will have fun & enjoy the trip. HF&RV

Sandra macDonald said...

Thank you so much Les for all the information. Great ideas. They would probably love the "Just for Laughs". Don't know about the mountain walk, lol as we have high mountains all around us and he's an outdoor kind of guy. The rapid ride...fabulous idea.
Again thanks for all of that. I'll have to come and visit my city one of these days and get to know it again. Sandra

Sandra macDonald said...

By the underground city, your referring to the major shopping area? I only got to see a small part of it the last time I was there.

Les F said...

Ooooopppps ! I forgot about where we live ,hahahaha I guess I was thinking More along the lines of walking from Beaver Lk. to the Chalet overlooking the city,then hike down the stairs right into Downtown Montreal & find an outdoor patio/bistro & do some people watching (and wobbly popping)-lol Yup we have driveways in town as high as Mont Royal..... ~~~~ HF&RV ~~~~~~

Sandra macDonald said...

hahaha That's pretty funny, I have to agree. I guess if we had to walk up Mt. Royal now, I guess it would seem fairly steep....those old knees don't hold up too well on any hill. lol
Your suggestions were wonderful. I live in Burnaby. I think you live on the island. Is that correct? Smac

Les F said...

" I do".............................( a phrase I'm careful about using ).....lol ~~~ HF&RV ~~~