The Canadian Coast Guard was forced to send help on Sunday as the ship formerly known as Jana was disabled and drifting — again — and the vessel is now safely docked in Argentia, N.L., after being towed there overnight.

It was a harrowing few hours at sea for the 11 crew members aboard the ship, now renamed the Baby Leeyn, after its main engine failed, cutting power to the vessel's thrusters.

The situation became especially tense when the ship drifted within two nautical miles from land, and the Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve.

Troubled ship

The ship was tied up in Argentia in September 2014 after running into engine issues offshore.

On Saturday, after three years of being stranded in Newfoundland, the crew of 11 people set sail for Romania, but immediately ran into trouble.

A statement from Marine Atlantic on Monday afternoon said the ship veered off course and hit Marine Atlantic's main dock in Argentia. The Argentia terminal is closed for the season, there were no injuries reported.

"A full damage assessment of the docking infrastructure will be taking place in the near future," reads the statement.

"Marine Atlantic is working with the appropriate authorities and insurance companies to determine how this incident occurred and the responsibility for damages."

The ship made it 12 kilometres offshore before experiencing engine troubles and setting adrift again in rough seas.

While adrift, the ship's crew continued efforts to fix the engines. The coast guard told them to draw up an emergency response plan, which resulted in the crew calling for a tugboat.

The ship, formerly the Janna, tried to leave Argentia Sunday night, but was drifting off the coast in rough seas 0:41

Winds were in the 30-knot range Sunday evening, and waves were three to four metres high, making it difficult to attach a tow line to the troubled ship.

At this moment tugs are assisting the disabled MV Baby Leeyn into the dock in Argentia. A <a href="https://twitter.com/CCG_GCC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CCG_GCC</a> vessel is on standby and a reconnaissance flight is making passes overhead <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCAlerts?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBCAlerts</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBCNews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCNL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBCNL</a> <a href="https://t.co/fbP8SPoOXE">pic.twitter.com/fbP8SPoOXE</a> —@oneillyatescbc

Coast guard officials said tug boat was able to attach a line to the drifting ship around 6:30 p.m. NT, just as it closed within a nautical mile of the rocks at Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve.

The vessel was initially secured by the Beverly M, a tugboat from Argentia hired by owners of the MV Baby Leeyn, but the towline was parted due to poor weather conditions.

"It was very challenging for the masters on the tugs. The sea state was three to four metres, with winds at 35 ot 40 knots," Larry Crann, the superintendent of Environmental Response, told CBC's St. John's Morning Show.

The cargo ship Baby Leeyn arrives at dock in Argentia. (CBC)

The coast guard said it contracted a second tugboat, the Placentia Hope, to secure the MV Baby Leeyn, and anchored it in 20 metres of water, about 1.4 kilometres from land.

Placentia Hope began towing Baby Leeyn to Argentia overnight, accompanied by the CCG Sir William Alexander, a coast guard spokesperson said.

Just before 8 a.m. NT Monday the Baby Leeyn safely docked in Argentia.

Kevin Ram, the ship's cook, said he never felt they were in danger, and he praised the work done by the coast guard.

"The guys here did a good job. They did a good job," he told CBC.

While there is no cargo onboard the Baby Leeyn, it is carrying 250 tonnes of heavy propulsion fuel and 35 tonnes of marine diesel. The coast guard says there has been no pollution released from the incident.

The cargo ship formerly known as Jana, seen in this undated photo posted to the maritime transport website Fleetmon, came adrift off Cape St. Mary's on Sunday. (Fleetmon)

The vessel had not declared a distress signal on Sunday, but the coast guard said an environmental response team and equipment are currently in St. Brides, where they are establishing a staging area as a precautionary measure.

Crew struggles

The crew of eight Ukrainians and three Russians struggled while in Newfoundland after the Jana encountered engine problems while attempting to return overseas.

CBC reported the ship's owners refused to pay them and many stayed in the province to fix the ship.

Sources say the ship's original captain died in Placentia earlier this fall. It is unclear how many of the crew from 2014 were on board when the boat left on Saturday.

The Canadian Coast Guard said it is now up to the ship's owners to determine what happens to the vessel.

<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: MV Baby Leeyn just arrived in Argentia under tow all night by <a href="https://twitter.com/CCG_GCC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CCG_GCC</a> after losing power. Lucky to have made it to@port safely. It’s blowing the living gale out here <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCAlerts?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBCAlerts</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCNL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBCNL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBCNews</a> <a href="https://t.co/QqPkohEgOv">pic.twitter.com/QqPkohEgOv</a> —@oneillyatescbc

Chris Newhook with the Argentia Port Authority said now that the ship is back at port again, it will again need to go through Transport Canada assessments before it is deemed OK to set sail.

He said while it's not ideal to have the ship back — especially after it was there for three years — he said the owners of the vessel have been paying their docking fees. He said hosting troubled ships such as the Baby Leeyn is all part of the duties of the port authority.

"While a vessel like this that's laid up at our dock is not great for economic development generation which is our primary aim, we understand that it's a responsibility we take on, to accept vessels that may be in distress from time to time," he said.

The ship left Argentia on Saturday before promptly running into trouble. (Submitted by Anne Budgell)

"Our hope now is that the necessary repairs can be made and she can get on her way again, and sail to her destination to be repaired."