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There is no timeline for removing a massive stuck cargo ship from the Delaware River

The Algoma Verity cargo ship has been stranded in the Delaware River since Wednesday night, when it ran aground north of the Ben Franklin Bridge while hauling salt to Bucks County.

The Algoma Verity cargo ship has been stuck in the Delaware River in Philadelphia since Wednesday after it ran aground about a mile north of the Ben Franklin Bridge while hauling 45,000 tons of salt to a port in Bucks County.
The Algoma Verity cargo ship has been stuck in the Delaware River in Philadelphia since Wednesday after it ran aground about a mile north of the Ben Franklin Bridge while hauling 45,000 tons of salt to a port in Bucks County.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

There is no timeline for when a massive cargo ship that got stuck in the Delaware River while hauling salt will be cleared from the waterway, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday.

The 623-foot-long Algoma Verity cargo ship has been stranded in the Delaware River since 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, when it ran aground about a mile north of the Ben Franklin Bridge between Penn Treaty Park and Petty’s Island. The vessel left port in Philadelphia around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and was heading to Fairless Hills, Bucks County, while carrying about 45,000 tons of solar salt.

» READ MORE: A massive cargo ship is stuck in the Delaware River, the coast guard says

A team from the Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay is working with representatives from the Algoma Verity to safely move the vessel to a nearby terminal, according to a statement Friday from the Coast Guard.

Since Wednesday night, the Coast Guard has been working with private tugboats to dislodge the ship, which has a damaged — and empty — fuel tank alongside four broken ballast tanks, which hold water to keep the vessel stable, the Coast Guard said.

“There are many different factors when it comes to moving a vessel as large as the Algoma Verity after a grounding and we want to ensure it is done safely,” said Commander Lee Gorlin, the incident commander at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay, in a statement. “It is too early to have a timeline.”

The cause of the incident remains under investigation, said the Coast Guard, but there are no reports of injuries or pollution at this time. Vessel traffic remains restricted between the Ben Franklin Bridge and the the Tioga Marine Terminal in Port Richmond.

Currently flying under the flag of the Bahamas, the Algoma Verity can hold up to 47,404 metric tons of cargo across its 2.1 million cubic feet of storage space, according to an information sheet from Algoma Central Corp., the ship’s owner.

Ships typically run aground when the depth of the water is about equal to the ship’s draft, or the distance between a vessel’s waterline and deepest point. What causes that to happen, though, can vary, ranging from bad fuel and mechanical failures to weather conditions.

Strong winds passed through Philadelphia at the start of the week, peaking at around 35 mph on Wednesday. The National Weather Service has warned of these gusts causing “abnormally low water levels” in the Delaware River that can make navigation more difficult.