If President Donald Trump's threat to tariff Canadian imports by 25% goes forward, 200 years of peaceful and profitable Great Lakes maritime trade will be at risk.

Canadian vessel with 17 people on board, got stuck in the ice on Lake Erie. A U.S. Coast Guard cutter from Cleveland heled free the freighter.

Most of Lake Erie and all of St. Clair are now covered with ice. But there are some ships that still move around on the Great Lakes, and they couldn't do it without help from the Canadian Coast Guard.

The lake freighter Manitoulin, stuck in the growing Lake Erie ice field off Buffalo since Wednesday, is getting help from yet another icebreaking vessel from the Canadian Coast Guard Saturday.

The 663-foot Manitoulin has been trapped in the ice fields off the shore of Buffalo, New York since Wednesday.

A freighter heading to Canada was freed after being stuck in ice on Lake Erie for several days, the U.S. Coast Guard reported

The Manitoulin, a 202-metre vessel with 17 people on board, got stuck on Wednesday after it dropped off a load of wheat in Buffalo

The Manitoulin, a 663-foot vessel, remained stuck just offshore of Buffalo, New York for the second day on Thursday. An ice-cutting barge, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay, was dispatched earlier today to help free the freighter from the snow and ice field.

Ice coverage for all of the Great Lakes combined was 23.21% – the highest since February 26, 2022, when it was 56.1%. At the beginning of this month, ice coverage was less than 2% across all the lakes.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A Canadian freighter with 17 people on board got stuck in the ice on Lake Erie while departing Buffalo, according to the Coast Guard, which arrived with icebreaking equipment Thursday to begin freeing the vessel.

The American and Canadian Coast Guards are sending additional ice-breaking vessels to assist the Manitoulin but it's not known how long it will take to free the stranded ship.

The ice coverage in Lake Erie has rapidly expanded to 80% this week. February and March are peak maximum ice coverage periods for the Great Lakes.