Detained Twin Ports Ship To Dock For Refueling

There is no information on when the ship will leave or any details of the agreement.

Yorde said she was heartened by the outpouring of concern for the crew from the Duluth-Superior community, where shipping is one of the main industries. It had spent more than a month at anchor just outside the Duluth harbor while the Coast Guard investigated the alleged discharge of oily water somewhere other than Duluth.

Now that the agreement is in place to protect the USA government’s interests the vessel will start making preparations to depart the Great Lakes before the winter lock closures.

Yorde said volunteers from a seafarers’ ministry visited with crew members Thursday. He said that the crew, from Ukraine, Croatia, the Philippines and the Czech Republic, were in good spirits and ready to be under way.

Why the dispute took so long to resolve remains unclear.

“The Coast Guard and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota take any allegations involving environmental pollution very seriously”. Company officials didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday. MST, the ship’s German operator, has said a decision is in the hands of the ship’s owners in Bremen, Germany.

December 18 was the last day that the Cornelia could sail in order to make it through the St. Lawrence Seaway before it closes.