St. Marys River closed in Sault Ste. Marie after 'marine casualty'

Algoma Steel fined $150K for 2019 chemical spill Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie has been fined $150K for a 2019 chemical spill into the St. Marys River.

St. Marys River in the Sault Ste. Marie area is closed to traffic following a 'marine casualty' involving a commercial vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release Thursday.

While the term marine casualty sounds concerning, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Joseph Snyder told CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca in a phone interview it can mean a variety of things such as something as simple as losing one of the two generators on board to a crew member being injured.

The incident happened at 12:20 a.m. March 28 near Munuscong Lake Junction, also known locally as 'Mud Lake', vessel traffic service director Justin Bravatto told CTV News in a phone interview.

A navigation aid made out of concrete was struck by an empty bulk cargo ship headed north to Silver Bay, Minn., Snyder said.

The ship sustained some damage, but it is stable and there are no immediate concerns about it sinking or capsizing, he said.

Additionally, there has been no pollution of the water as a result of the incident.

No one was injured in the incident, Bravatto said.

The river – which sits between Sault, Mich. and Sault, Ont. – is closed from Nine Mile Point to Point Aux Frenes.

"There is currently no estimated time for re-opening of the St. Marys River," the coast guard said.

"Vessel Traffic Service St. Marys River will provide updates on the restoration of the waterway as conditions improve."

Snyder said investigators are on scene and are still determining what happened and how bad the damage is.

Once it is assessed, officials will determine the best course of action.

"We do have some commercial tug boats on the way," he said.

Traffic on St. Marys River reopened Friday evening.