Large Cargo Ship Runs Aground On Delaware River

PHILADELPHIA, PA — A large cargo ship headed to Bucks County ran aground along the Delaware River in Philadelphia Wednesday night. The ship ran aground on the river between Penn Treaty Park and Petty Island, according to Marinetraffic.com.

The United States Coast Guard said the vessel is a 623-foot-long cargo ship and named Algoma Verity. It was sailing from the Bahamas, destined for Fairless Hills, according to the tracking website.

Authorities said the vessel, which is hauling about 45,000 tons of solar salt, ran aground at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Watchstanders issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast notice to mariners and deployed a Station Philadelphia 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew to the area when the vessel ran aground.

As of 8 a.m. Thursday, a team from Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay and the vessel’s representatives are on board monitoring the situation and creating a plan to safely move the vessel to a nearby terminal.

No injuries were immediately reported, and the Coast Guard said there have been no reports of pollution from the incident.

A safety zone has been established around the Algoma Verity restricting vessel traffic from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge to Tioga Marine Terminal. Vessels wishing to transit the area will need to contact the Coast Guard Command Center one hour prior to transit by radio on VHF channel 16 or by calling the command center hotline at 215-271-4807.

The cause of the grounding is under investigation.