Shipping Barge Stuck In Ice Near Canalside In Western New York

While many thought winter was taking a vacation, the last couple of weeks in Western New York have reminded us that winter is here and it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Not only was the 716 walloped by two big snowstorms that essentially shut the region down for a few days, but they also caused schools to close and the NFL to postpone the Buffalo Bills Wildcard Playoff game.

The region picked up several feet of snow, along with bitterly cold temperatures and some hurricane-force winds. Now, while the snowstorms and wild winds have subsided, the cold temperatures have hung around the area, hitting single digits in some areas.

One good thing about those super cold temperatures is that they will help to hasten the pace of ice developing on Lake Erie, which should, in turn, help reduce the potential for lake effect snow to hit the region - which most people in Western New York think is a good thing.

However, one group of people would likely prefer no ice on Lake Erie and the Niagara River.

Shipping Barge Gets Stuck In The Ice Near Canalside

Just in case you forgot, Lake Erie maintains several active water shipping lanes, and while the prominence of Buffalo in lake traffic has decreased, there is still quite a bit of activity that happens up and down the Buffalo River.

With that in mind, the crew of the shipping tug Clyde S VanEnkevort and its barge, the Erie Trader, found a not-so-nice surprise when it turned into the Buffalo River from Lake Erie on Saturday, January 20, 2024, a thick wall of ice.

No matter how much the Clyde S. VanEnkevort pushed its engines, capable of nearly 11,000 horsepower, the tug and barge were firmly stuck sitting just a few years from the USS Little Rock off of Canalside.

Some of pictures of the Tug and Barge stuck were posted in the Buffalo, A Toast to the town Facebook Group, check them out here. Photographer Peter J. Cimino also got some drone footage of the stuck barge, which you can watch here.