An excavator is halfway submerged and stuck in Lake Michigan on Thursday, Sept. 2, after attempting to dig out a barge the prior day. The heavy machinery is located just off the shore about half a mile north of Tunnel Park at 66 N Lakeshore Ave. in Park Township. (Michael Kransz | MLive.com)
HOLLAND, MI -- An excavator stuck just offshore in Lake Michigan has been removed from the waters without any leak of fuel.
U.S. Coast Guard Public Information Officer Lt. Phillip Gurtler said Friday morning, Sept. 3, the heavy equipment was removed from the lake overnight by an even heavier piece of equipment, a type of mobile crane, he said.
The crane will now remain on scene to complete the job the excavator was initially brought into do: the removal of a submerged barge, Gurtler said.
The excavator was reported half-submerged near the Lake Michigan shoreline by a passerby on the beach Wednesday afternoon. It was located about half a mile north of Tunnel Park at 66 Lakeshore Drive.
Related: Excavator meant to free submerged barge now stuck itself just off Lake Michigan shoreline
The machinery was brought in by a salvage company to remove a barge that had been submerged there since around December 2019. Officials believe the barge was part of coastline fortification efforts to counter dune erosion.
The excavator was driven from the shore into the water and began trying to dig out the barge Wednesday when something happened, possibly shifting soils, and it fell into a hole in the lake, Gurtler said.
The operator safely got back to shore.
Federal, state and local officials were monitoring the situation for any leak of diesel fuel and hydraulic oil because of the excavator’s relatively close proximity to the Holland drinking water treatment plant, which neighbors Tunnel Park but sources its water nearly a mile out from shore.
Gurtler declined to name the salvage company but said they cooperated with officials and did everything right to get it out.
“They funded it. They took care of it. They did it properly,” he said. “There was no spillage. There was no leakage.”
Gurtler said he didn’t know yet whether the company followed proper reporting procedure when the equipment became stuck in the lake, as officials were alerted to the situation by a passerby.
At this time, the Coast Guard is not issuing a fine against the company. It remains a possibility though, Gurtler said.
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