Coast Guard Responds After Bulk Carrier Gets Stuck in Lake Superior Ice

The 826-foot bulk carrier Lee A. Tregurtha had barely cleared the Duluth harbor when Lake Superior's stubborn spring ice stopped it cold last Friday, trapping the vessel near the Aerial Lift Bridge and triggering a Coast Guard response that kept the ship locked in place for nearly five hours.

The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Northern Great Lakes received notice of the disabled vessel at 12:40 p.m. April 3. The Tregurtha had departed Duluth that morning running empty, bound for Marquette, Michigan, where it was scheduled to take on a load of iron ore. The ship became beset by a dense bank of slushy ice at the eastern Duluth entry on Lake Superior, coming to a halt within sight of the Aerial Lift Bridge.

Coast Guard Cutter Spar made its way out around 2:30 p.m., spending more than an hour on the lake working to open up a channel for the ship. After several hours, the Tregurtha was freed by the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spar at approximately 4:23 p.m. Rather than resuming course for Marquette, the vessel turned around and traveled back under the Aerial Lift Bridge at 5:15 p.m. The Coast Guard reported no injuries, no damage, and no pollution from the incident.

The episode came less than a week into Duluth's 2026 shipping season. The shipping season in Duluth had just begun the previous Tuesday. Jayson Hron, director of communication and marketing for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, described a difficult opening stretch across the western Great Lakes. "It's been a challenging start to the shipping season, with troublesome ice throughout western Lake Superior and also in Whitefish Bay and the St. Marys River," Hron said. "It emphasizes the critical importance of U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard icebreaking support, even in times when overall ice coverage doesn't reach extreme levels."

The Lee A. Tregurtha was built in 1942 and measures 824 feet in length, making her one of the most recognizable vessels on the Great Lakes circuit and a frequent caller at Duluth-Superior. Its planned Marquette run, a standard iron ore pickup, illustrates the freight chain that connects the port complex to North Shore industries. Even brief disruptions to that chain ripple through port scheduling and commodity logistics as the spring season ramps up.

Duluth Seaway Port Authority's Jayson Hron noted the Coast Guard "has been working very hard to open up those icy stretches," calling it "a challenging job, challenging ice." The Tregurtha's iron ore run to Marquette is expected to resume once conditions on the western lake allow safe passage.