Cruise Line Ship Sinks In Hudson

HUDSON, Wis. (WCCO) -- There was a spectacle of sorts Friday in western Wisconsin: a cruise ship sinking into the St. Croix River.

"It's really unusual to see a boat sunken when you come down here, you know," said Collin Engelen, a Hudson area high schooler.

His stepbrother, Garett Hockman, came out to look, too.

"Stuff doesn't usually go around like this in Hudson," he said.

Theories are flying around town, but the truth is no one knows what happened to the boat, which is about 60 feet long and has multiple decks.

Ted Beyer is part of an environmental clean-up company that's working on the issue.

"We have no idea what made the boat sink," he said. "I guess we'll find out when they get the boat out of the water."

After a wake-up call around 5 a.m., his crew got to work, trying to stop the leaking oil with oil-absorbing pads.

Not much oil is leaking from the boat, which Beyer described as "a blessing."

As of Friday night, the boat was resting on the river floor. The lack of recent rain has made the St. Croix rather shallow.

"It's on the bottom," Beyer said. "So it's not going to go any further."

His company plans to use a crane to hoist the boat out of the river and clean it up sometime next week. In the meantime, those enjoying the holiday weekend will have something out-of-the-ordinary to look at.

The boat is listed to St. Paul, and has several private owners – all of which are out of town.

No one was on the boat when it sunk. The dock, however, sustained significant damage.