The U.S. Coast Guard was called out to help a Canadian freighter that caught fire Sunday afternoon near Zug Island.
A Coast Guard cutter, a 45 foot response boat and a Dolphin helicopter was launched from Air Station Detroit around 2pm.
16 crew members were safely taken off the ship and evaluated by local paramedics.
A firefighting team boarded and extinguished the fire overnight, in the engine room of the MV Tecumseh.
The freighter eventually drifted into Canadian waters and is now anchored off Windsor's port.
Windsor Harbour Master, Peter Berry, says a helicopter was dispatched to take a look at the water around the ship to ensure nothing was leaking.
"Materials such as oil, gasoline or even the cargo on board the vessel which would tell us an even more ominous story, so the flypast told us there were no leaks from the vessel, that we did not have a major leak of the vessel however we did have the fire on board," he says.
Berry says the fire was contained to the engine room.
There was a lot of smoke and the vessel had to shut off all power according to Berry.
"A contracted firefighting team was brought in by the shipline and overnight they extinguished the fire into the early hours of the morning," he says.
The U.S. Coast Guard worked with the Canadian Coast Guard, Transport Canada and Windsor Harbor Master through the night to coordinate response efforts.
They will coordinate any investigation into the cause of the fire.
The freighter is carrying canola seed.