Freighter incident at Andersons silo

PORT OF TOLEDO - The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority tells FOX Toledo News the incident last night regarding the Maritime Vessel Cuyahoga was a result of a failure in the vessel’s boom swing controls.

According to authorities, there were no explosions on the freighter and crews are presently working on repairs to secure the self-unloading boom of the vessel.

Although the vessel appears to be listing, it is not taking on any water. The apparent listing is due to ballasting and stabilizing the vessel, which is a standard procedure.

One minor injury occurred.

FOX Toledo News is monitoring this situation and will provide updates as information becomes available.

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EARLIER STORY

Rescue crews were dispatched late Thursday evening to the Andersons/Cargill grain elevator in the Port of Toledo near the banks of the Maumee River to assist a distressed freighter, the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority said.

A Canadian-flagged freighter named the Cuyahoga was either loading or unloading material when some unknown incident occurred.

Emergency crews were dispatched at around 10:13 p.m.

There were at least 18 people on board the Cuyahoga , but the Port Authority said there were no injuries. Several crews responded to the incident, including Toledo police and the Coast Guard.

There are conflicting reports on exactly what happened. The Lucas County Sheriff said one person was injured and the vessel was taking on water. The incident was initially called in as a water rescue.

The Cuyahoga is the second oldest Canadian registered lake boat still in active service on the Great Lakes, according to the Web site, BoatNerd.com

The Cuyahoga L6-S-A1 type "Maritimer" class steel bulk freighter was built in 1943 in Lorain, a city 25 miles west of Cleveland.

Either the vessel or The Andersons will brief the Port Authority Friday morning on what took place.