December 26, 2015
Contributed Art/U.S. Coast Guard
Coast Guard units are working with partner agencies to assist the motor vessel Odigitria after it ran aground near on the Delaware River, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2015. Local Coast Guard personnel examined the grounded vessel to determine whether it was leaking fuel or presented a danger to navigation.
The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay is responding to a motor vessel that ran aground early Saturday morning in the Delaware River.
According to a release from the Coast Guard, the 622-foot Marshall Islands-flagged motor vessel Odigitria got stalled in the water around 4:30 a.m. while in transit to Grows Terminal in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. The ship was transporting scrap metal.
At approximately 1 p.m, the Coast Guard was able to successfully refloat the vessel, while watchstanders at the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay in Philadelphia maintained hourly communications with the Delaware River Pilots to monitor the status of the ship.
“Luckily no one was injured and the event didn’t cause any pollution," said Lt. j.g. Jonas Miller, a command duty officer at Sector Delaware Bay. "We are working to determine the cause of this incident so we can continue to keep vessel traffic safe on the river. Our investigations division is looking into a variety of factors that played into the grounding, including aids to navigation, vessel traffic, and tides and currents.”
No pollution was reported as a result of the incident and a complete damage survey remains pending.
