Coast Guard Investigates Cargo Ship Held In Twin Ports

An oceangoing freighter is being held in the Duluth-Superior port as the U.S. Coast Guard investigates the foreign ship for possible environmental violations.

“Due to the ongoing investigation, the Liberian-flagged vessel and the crew are prohibited from leaving Duluth until cleared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” said Coast Guard Spokesman Christopher Yaw.

The ship — named the Cornelia — and her crew anchored in the Twin Ports on Halloween. Yaw said neither the ship nor the crew pose any threat to public safety. No specifics were provided on the nature of the violations. He said the details of their investigation won’t be released until it’s complete.

Yaw also said it’s unknown whether the crew may go ashore during the investigation and when the review will wrap up.

The German company that manages the ship was not immediately available for comment.

Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection also conducted its own inspection of the ship, looking at the grain that was on board as cargo. A department spokesman says nothing unusual was found, and that the two reviews were unrelated.