The largest ship in the fleet that sails the Great Lakes ran aground Saturday afternoon off Bayfront Park in Duluth. The ship, which measures in at 1,013.5 feet, ran aground around 4 pm, giving folks at Bayfront an unexpected, up close look at the freighter.

The Tregurtha arrived in the Duluth port on Saturday morning, and was leaving the port with a full shipment of coal. Multiple eyewitnesses say it appeared the ship was attempting to avoid a smaller craft, leading to the ship to run aground. This has not been confirmed at this time, as crews continue to work to get the Tregurtha loose. At last update, tugs were being employed to try to pull the ship back into the deeper waters of the shipping channel.

The ship, which is often also referred to as "The Queen of the Lakes' is owned by Interlake Steamship Company, based in Middleburg Heights, Ohio; and is often seen in the Twin Ports as it makes several trips around the Great Lakes each shipping season. The Tregurtha's home port is Philadelphia, PA.

UPDATE 9/20 - 7:00 PM -- The Tregurtha has been worked loose with the help of the tug boats Minnesota and Kentucky. As part of the rescue effort, tugs rocked the Tregurtha side-to-side and crews aboard the grounded ship added extra weight via ballasts in different parts of the ship to reduce pressure on the part of the hull where the ship was hung up. The freighter will now undergo inspection for damage before leaving port.

Nick Cooper - TSM Duluth

Video captured of the incident just after it occurred. Thank you to Elizabeth for the footage.