Grounded ship off Fort Lauderdale

Tugboats pulled the grounded freighter Federal Pescadores into deeper water Sunday evening, clearing the way for divers to go in today to look for damage to coral reefs. The 546-foot ship ran aground off Fort Lauderdale late Wednesday night after leaving Port Everglades with a load of cement bound for Port Canaveral. The Coast Guard is investigating the accident. Over the weekend, work crews pumped out fuel to lighten the Panamanian-flagged ship. Several tugboats hauled it east, allowing it to float for the first time in four days. There were no injuries, no damage to the ship and no discharge of fuel oil or other pollutants, according to the Coast Guard.

Environmentalists and Fort Lauderdale city commissioners have called on the Coast Guard to move or restrict the anchorages to better protect the reefs. But Coast Guard officials have said there’s no need to move them and that altering the anchorages would be a cumbersome process that would require the approval of the city, the Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies.