Crews begin removing cargo from ship stuck in St. Lawrence River in eastern Ontario

Crews have started work on a new attempt to refloat a cargo ship that ran aground in the St. Lawrence River near Morrisburg, Ont. nearly three weeks ago.

Lightering operations began on the Tim S. Dool at 4 a.m. Thursday morning, according to the St. Lawrence Seaway Corporation.

• Lightering (also called lighterage) is the process of transferring cargo between vessels of different sizes (Wikipedia)

The U.S. Coast Guard says the operation to remove cargo from the vessel could take several days. While the vessel is located outside of the navigation channel, there are speed restrictions in place for other cargo ships in the vicinity of the boat.

The Tim S. Dool was going through through the Seaway on Nov. 23 when it ran aground in U.S. waters near Massena, N.Y. The ship had been carrying a load of wheat grain, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release.

The Coast Guard says there will also be several hours of closure for a portion of the Seaway once sufficient wheat is removed from the vessel and refloating operations can begin.

"The U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian Coast Guard, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation and St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation are working closely to minimize disruption to the maritime transportation system and ensure direct communication with commercial vessels that may be impacted," the release said.

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Plans to dislodge the ship have previously been unsuccessful.

Three tugboats were brought in from Quebec City to assist with refloating the 225-metre-long cargo ship two weeks ago, but efforts to move the ship fell short. Despite the setback, officials have reported no injuries or environmental damage.

The cause of the ship getting stuck remains unknown.

While similar incidents are rare, they are not unheard of.

The grounding has drawn comparisons to the 1970 sinking of the Eastcliffe Hall in the same area, which resulted in a tragic loss of life.

Last year, a ship ran aground in the St. Lawrence near Cornwall and was stuck for about two days, causing disruptions to marine traffic before it was successfully refloated.