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Disabled cargo ship towed back to eastern Newfoundland port: coast guard

Nov 27, 2017 | 3:15 AM

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — A disabled cargo ship was towed back into shore Monday after running into trouble in rough North Atlantic seas, just two days after it left the Newfoundland port it had been stuck in for years.

The Canadian Coast Guard said Monday that the MV Baby Leeyn arrived in the port of Argentia at about 8 a.m. local time after being towed by MT Placentia Hope and accompanied by the coast guard ship Sir William Alexander.

“We got everything back into port and we didn’t have any release of pollutants,” Larry Crann, a senior response officer with the Canadian Coast Guard, said from St. John’s.

The Baby Leeyn’s 11-person crew had set sail for Romania Saturday on what was to be the ship’s first journey since being stuck in Argentia in 2014 when it experienced similar engine problems.

A surveillance aircraft watched from above as it was returned to port.

“When we look at these incidents, we take them very seriously and we want to make sure the owner is taking them seriously,” Crann said.

The coast guard said weather and sea conditions had improved significantly since just after midnight Sunday, when the 132-metre cargo ship with nearly 300 tons of fuel onboard was hit with engine trouble.

The vessel had been drifting in rough seas, with gusting winds pushing waves up to about three metres.

MV Baby Leeyn carried no cargo, and the coast guard said there are no reports of pollution release.

Also Monday, it emerged the ship had encountered problems even as it left Argentia on Saturday.

“While details are still being investigated, the MV Baby Leeyn, a privately owned and operated vessel, veered off course while departing the port of Argentia striking Marine Atlantic’s main dock,” Marine Atlantic said in a news release. 

The federally owned ferry company said no injuries were reported, noting that its terminal is closed for the season.

Marine Atlantic said it will assess damages to the dock and work with authorities to determine what happened and who was responsible.

The Canadian Press