Roger Blough Salvage Underway
(U.S. Coast Guard photo by Samantha Coonan)
The motor vessel Edgar B. Speer safely passes the safety zone around the motor vessel Roger Blough and responders near Gros Cap Reefs Light in Lake Superior, May 30, 2016. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Christopher Yaw)
Salvage divers from DonJon-Smit plan to begin an underwater survey of the hull of 833-foot U.S. cargo vessel Roger Blough, which ran aground Friday afternoon on Gros Cap Reef in Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior. The divers aim to identify any damage the freighter may have sustained during the grounding.
The U.S. Coast Guard said it continues to monitor and respond to the motor vessel, along with Canadian partners and company representatives.
A preventative booming was put in place, though the Coast Guard believes there is minimal chance of a fuel spill. A Coast Guard Auxiliary overflight is scheduled to take place Tuesday afternoon with a Coast Guard pollution responder aboard.
A National Transportation Safety Board representative arrived Monday night and is assisting Coast Guard investigators to determine the cause of the grounding.
Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay is on scene to enforce a 500-yard safety zone around the grounded freighter. The zone and salvage operations are said to have little impact on vessel traffic transiting through the area, according to the Coast Guard.
