WATCH: Helicopter lifts crew to safety from grounded container ship

MSC Baltic III was en route from Montreal

A Canadian Coast Guard helicopter hovers above the grounded MSC Baltic III. (Photo: Canadian Coast Guard)

Canadian sea and air forces safely rescued 20 crew in storm conditions from a container ship that had grounded off the coast of Newfoundland.

The MSC Baltic III lost power on the way from Montreal to Corner Brook in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador on Saturday and was unable to anchor in reported 75 mph winds and 20-foot seas about 12 nautical miles from the Bay of Islands. 

The 679-foot ship later ran aground in Wild Cove west of Lake Harbour, after transmitting a radio mayday call to Canada’s Marine Communications and Traffic Services.

Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Henry Larsen and a Cormorant helicopter rescued the 20 crew from the stricken ship. 

The incident remains under investigation. 

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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Stuart Chirls

Stuart Chirls is a journalist who has covered the full breadth of railroads, intermodal, container shipping, ports, supply chain and logistics for Railway Age, the Journal of Commerce and IANA. He has also staffed at S&P, McGraw-Hill, United Business Media, Advance Media, Tribune Co., The New York Times Co., and worked in supply chain with BASF, the world's largest chemical producer. Reach him at stuartchirls@firecrown.com.