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Freighter Rescued From Muskegon Lake Ice

Posted at 5:59 PM, Dec 16, 2013
and last updated 2013-12-16 18:02:52-05

MUSKEGON, Mich. — A tugboat rescued the coal freighter the Buffalo after it became stuck in the ice in Muskegon Lake on Monday morning.

The Buffalo, a 635-foot-long coal freighter carrying 17,000 tons of coal, was trying to turn around to back into the Cobb Plant coal plant when it became stuck. The tugboat then broke up surrounding ice to free the freighter so it could complete its trek to the Cobb Plant dock later Monday morning.

The coal will take 12 to 16 hours to be unloaded from the Buffalo.

Roger Morgenstern of Consumers Energy told FOX 17 NEWS that two more freighter deliveries remain — the final two of the current shipping season. Both are from the 700-foot-long freighter H. Lee White and involve about 25,000 tons of coal each. They are scheduled to arrive at 9 p.m. Dec. 27 and at 8 p.m. Jan. 1.