NEEBISH ISLAND, MI - A 140-foot U.S. Coast Guard cutter was able to free a 1,000-foot Great Lakes freighter after it got stuck in the ice Tuesday near Neebish Island, at the eastern edge of the Upper Peninsula.

The James R. Barker was bound for Duluth, passing by the east side of the island, when she was stopped by ice and needed help. It came in the form of the Coast Guard's Biscayne Bay, an ice-breaking tug based at the St. Ignace station.

Nicknamed "The Sentinel of the Straits," the tug freed the big freighter. The island is located in the St. Mary's River, which joins Lake Huron and Lake Superior.

A few hours later, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers snapped a photo of the icy freighter as she made her way into the Poe Lock at the Soo Locks.

The freighter's owner, the Interlake Steamship Company, gave the Coast Guard rescue team a shout-out on social media.

The James R. Barker is a favorite among freighter fans. Built in 1976, she was the first thousand-footer in her class constructed entirely on The Great Lakes.

Her carrying capacity is more than 63,000 gross tons.