The American Spirit was scheduled to winter in Toledo when it noticed it was traveling slower than usual, the Coast Guard Great Lakes said.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include the latest information made available by the U.S. Coast Guard. 

The U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes escorted a freighter through Lake Erie Wednesday after it requested assistance. 

WTOL 11 spoke with the U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes, which said that while at no time did the freighter “American Spirit” become stuck in the ice, it sent out a request to the Coast Guard after it began traveling much slower than its crew would have liked to. As of Wednesday, 80% of Lake Erie was covered by ice, according to NOAA data. 

The Coast Guard said it dispatched the Neah Bay, an ice cutter, to assist the freighter in navigating the lake. The vessel assisted in breaking ice, enabling the American Spirit to safely transit the lake. 


 MarineTraffic’s website, which tracks ships around the world, showed the American Spirit as having stopped in Lake Erie north of its western basin’s islands. 

By 2 p.m., the freighter was in Toledo’s harbor, where it is scheduled to layup for the winter. 

The Coast Guard added that one of its main priorities is enabling the safe and efficient transport of the commercial fleet through the Great Lakes. 


The Coast Guard Great Lakes posted video of the ship onto its social media page:

WTOL 11 Chief Meteorologist Chris Vickers followed the American Spirit using marine traffic maps when it was stopped in the ice. 

Around noon Wednesday, it appeared the freighter was once again moving:

The American Spirit, a 1,004-foot freighter, was built by the American Shipbuilding Company in Lorain, Ohio and entered service in 1978. 

WTOL 11 has also reached out to the American Steamship Company, of which the American Spirit is part of the fleet, for comment, but did not immediately hear back. 


Ice coverage on the Great Lakes

With the Great Lakes shipping season having come to an end, and the seasonal closure of the Soo Locks on Jan. 15, ships were en route to their winter layup locations just as an Arctic front brought bitterly cold temperatures to the region. As of Jan. 20, nearly 80% of Lake Erie was covered in ice, according to NOAA data. This is up from nearly no ice coverage only a few days prior. 


Ice coverage is above average for this point in the season, though by no means is it the most coverage the lake has seen as of this date since NOAA began recording in 1973.Â