A Canadian Coast Guard ship has recently rescued a 767-foot freighter that was trapped in the thick ice sheet in Lake Erie. The ship was trapped in ice for the past five days, said officials.

The Arthur M. Anderson freighter which was trapped in ice seven miles northwest of Conneaut on Tuesday is now on its way back to Wisconsin after being rescued by the Canadian ice cutter Griffon.

The Griffon rescued the ship by clearing the path through 8-10 feet of ice. The 71-metre ice breaker started cutting the ice on Saturday noon and the freighter Arthur M. Anderson was freed by 8:30 pm, said officials.

According to Carol Launderville, spokeswoman for the Canadian Coast Guard, about 10 people were aboard the Anderson. The ship’s crew had sufficient food to feed themselves during the days they were stuck in ice, said Launderville.

Another Canadian ship named the Samuel Risley will escort the Anderson to the Detroit area. This journey would take another 24 hours.

As per officials, they expect that if the weather conditions remained favorable the Anderson would arrive back in the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal in Wisconsin between Monday and Thursday.

In addition, Launderville said that the Risley and the Griffon have carried out 141 vessel escorts on the Great Lakes and connecting waterways in 2015.