The USS Little Rock, a brand new U.S. Navy warship commissioned in Buffalo on Dec. 16, remains stranded in the Port of Montreal, where it's been since Christmas Eve.
It was due to travel up the St. Lawrence and down to its home base in Florida, but got stuck along the way — in part, because of bad weather, the commercial traffic in the Port, and quite possibly, a thruster problem on the ship.
"Because of typical marine traffic, commercial traffic, as well as the cold weather and the ice, they just met some delays," says Daniel Mecca, with the USS Little Rock's Commissioning Committee.
The ship, fully loaded with weaponry, was due to arrive at its new home in Mayport, Fla., just outside Jacksonville, on New Year's Day.
Officials say the crew is doing fine, and is waiting for conditions to improve before it resumes its journey up the St. Lawrence.