DULUTH, Minn. - A freighter that ran aground and nearly hit Duluth's break wall on Sunday is free after heavy rains caused water levels in the harbor to rise.
The U.S. Coast Guard responded to the scene where the M/V American Spirit, a 1,004-foot ship, became grounded about 50 feet from the wall near the Aerial Lift Bridge. There were strong winds and heavy rains at the time, but the cause of the incident remains under investigation.
A Coast Guard spokesperson says The American Spirit floated free from the bottom at 10 p.m. Sunday. It moved under its own power, with the help of tug boats, to a fuel dock where crews examined the hull but found no damage caused by the grounding.
Duluth Seaway Port Authority spokeswoman Adele Yorde says the U.S. Coast Guard cleared the ship to set sail Monday morning, and it later left the harbor loaded with iron ore pellets.
