Paul Bickford/NNSL photo
A tugboat grounded off the Hay River Beach on May 11 after becoming unsecured from the nearby Marine Transportation Services shipyard.
The vessel – the 45-metre-long Edgar Kototak – was retrieved the next day.
A spokesperson for the Department of Infrastructure explained the vessel became unsecured as shipyard workers were repositioning the tug so they could clear out ice.
"While this is a routine operation, the boat unexpectedly became unsecured and drifted about 200 metres away from shore," said Greg Hanna, a communications officer with the department, who provided written responses to questions from The Hub.
"Marine Transportation Services (MTS) staff were immediately aware of the incident and monitored the situation while the vessel was adrift to ensure that the boat, the public and the environment were not at risk at any time," stated Hanna.
The vessel was retrieved in the early afternoon of May 12, and is now securely docked at the MTS yard, he added. "During this incident, the vessel did not sustain any damage."
Hanna noted that an incident report will be completed to identify measures that should be taken to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
While the Edgar Kototak was aground, it became a bit of an attraction for Hay River residents who went to the beach to look at the vessel and take photos.
On May 11, MTS workers could be seen going back and forth to the vessel in small open boats. They appeared to be securing the tug with lines from the shore.
It also appeared that the vessel was not too severely grounded.
It was roughly parallel to the beach. However, at one point on May 11, it moved in place and its bow pointed into Great Slave Lake, before it returned to its original position.