A cargo ship that broke down off the coast of southwestern Newfoundland this week is finally being towed to Nova Scotia.

The MV Thorco Crown became disabled after a fire in the engine room Tuesday when it was passing through the Cabot Strait. It was about 32 nautical miles (59 kilometres) from Port aux Basques at the time.

The ship was supposed to be towed by a private tug on Wednesday, but rough seas hindered efforts to connect the tow cable.

The Canadian Coast Guard ship Sir William Alexander was finally able to connect the line to the Thorco Crown on Thursday morning. It was being towed to Sydney, N.S., and was about 24 nautical miles (44 kilometres) from Sydney Harbour as of 3 p.m.

DFO estimated the cargo ship would arrive at port in Sydney at 8:30 p.m. NT.

Investigation

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says it is sending a team of investigators to Sydney to investigate the fire on the Thorco Crown.

This ship was en route to Montreal when the fire broke out, and had just unloaded cargo in Argentia on Sunday evening. A dock worker in Argentia told CBC the ship had equipment for the Hebron project among the cargo.

The Thorco Crown is a 13-year-old ship registered to Antigua and Barbuda with 13 crew members. It was not carrying any cargo at the time of the fire.