Crews to begin hunt for leak near sunken barge in Lake Erie

“It’s going to be a challenging operation for sure”, said Migliorini, who leads a marine safety unit based on the lake.

Friday evening the Cleveland Underwater Explorers, CLUE, reported the suspected leak emanating from the barge and the odor of solvent, but couldn’t see the leak under water, according to the Coast Guard.

No matter the answer, the Coast Guard said its priority is to find and seal the source of the leak and determine if the barge holds any cargo that could cause an environmental mess in the shallowest of the Great Lakes.

The leaking material, Mr. Kowalczk said, only became obvious because his vessel stayed on station above the wreck for an extended time.

“The Fitzgerald did go down with a fair amount of fuel on board, but we expected it to remain on board”, Symons said. The mysterious leak has not affected aquatic life, Migliorini said. The wreck is only 45 feet below the surface, making things more accessible. Sonar images show outlines of the pilot house, railings and pipes.

This undated image provided by Tom Kowalczk and created with a side…

While the barge’s identity hasn’t been confirmed, researchers with the Cleveland Underwater Explorers are virtually certain it is the Argo, said Christopher Gillcrist, executive director of the National Museum of the Great Lakes. The NOAA assessment of the Argo, prepared in 2013, said its most likely position was in Canadian waters southeast of Pelee Island, but close enough to American waters that any discharge posed a hazard on both sides of that maritime border. Symons said a spill like that would impact the water intake of Ohio communities along Lake Erie, tourism and birds, among other things.