Twenty crew members were airlifted to safety on Saturday morning, February 15, after their vessel, MSC Baltic III, ran aground approximately 12 nautical miles off the entrance to the Bay of Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The container ship, which reported a loss of power, was unable to secure an anchor in rough seas and ran aground in Wild Cove, west of Lark Harbour, the Canadian Coast Guard said.

The Halifax Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre said in a post on X that it was alerted for a full power blackout on the vessel, drifting towards the shore of Newfoundland on Saturday morning.

“All crew have been safely airlifted from the vessel by a Cormorant helicopter,” the Coast Guard confirmed.

Authorities are working with response partners to assess the situation, though the full extent of the damage and the cause of the incident remains unclear.

Based on the latest update, CCGS Henry Larsen, a Canadian Coast Guard Improved Pierre Radisson-class icebreaker serving in the Newfoundland and Labrador region, remains in the area. Mobilisation is underway, with crews and equipment en route.