Grounded Freighter Could Spill Oil Into Lake Superior

DULUTH, Minn. — A Coast Guard official said Wednesday “there is a potential for a major oil spill” from a 584-foot Liberian freighter that was driven aground by high winds near this Lake Superior port.

Officials were trying to determine how to empty the freighter Socrates of thousands of gallons of fuel oil, to avoid a major spill should the ship break up under the pounding of the surf, said Chief Warrant Officer Fred Maldonado.

The Socrates “is very vulnerable right now,” he said, adding that it could take a day or several weeks to pull the ship out of shallow water off Park Point, near the Duluth harbor. All 24 Greek crew members were evacuated from the ship Tuesday after officials decided the weather was too stormy for them to remain aboard.