Cargo vessel adrift south of Haida Gwaii, Coast Guard vessel Gordon Reid, two tugs responding

The MV North Star reported
propulsion problems on Tuesday
afternoon

See Status Update at bottom of page

The Canadian Coast Guard is responding to a cargo vessel reported adrift 45 miles west of Haida Gwaii, with power difficulties leaving the MV North Star without power over the last several hours.

The first reports of the vessel's situation began to come in through the late afternoon, however the Coast Guard did not deliver the first notice of the incident until around 4 PM.

The Coast Guard vessel Gordon Reid has been dispatched to assist the vessel with two other vessels, a Prince Rupert based tug and another based out of Neah Bay, Washington making their way to the North Star to lend assistance.

It's anticipated that the Gordon Reid will be on station aside the North Star by 4 AM, the vessel will be assisted to port should they not be able to restore the power to the vessels propulsion system.

The Gordon Reid has been dispatched to the west coast of
Haida Gwaii to len assistance to the MV North Star

The North Star is a Ro-Ro ship operated by Tote Maritime which was on the southbound leg of the Tacoma - Anchorage run, it has a crew of 27 and there are no dangerous materials listed on its manifest.

Weather conditions are reported as moderate and there does not appear to be a danger at this time of the vessel running aground.

The vessel was once featured on the Television program Mighty Ships, which traced its regular journey from Tacoma Washington to Anchorage Alaska, which ironically featured an incident where the engines failed.



Earlier this year, it was the North Star that was offering the assistance, with the vessel responding to  an incident off Vancouver Island participating in a Coast Guard rescue of a sinking fishing boat.

The latest updates on the status of the North Star can be found below:

Cargo ship broken down and drifting near Haida Gwaii
Cargo ship adrift near Haida Gwaii
Cargo ship loses propulsion off Haida Gwaii; tugs, coast guard ship en route
Large cargo vessel adrift off Haida Gwaii

Update: The Canadian Coast Guard has advised that the North Star engineers have rectified their engine problems. The ship is operating under her own power and was reported as southward bound.

The MV North Star underway off the tip of Vancouver Island