The Canada Steamship Lines vessel Assiniboine ran aground near Cardinal, Ont., Monday morning. (Canada Steamship Lines)

A large ship has run aground in the St. Lawrence River in eastern Ontario.

At 3:30 p.m. ET Monday, the Canada Steamship Lines vessel Assiniboine was still stuck near Cardinal, Ont., about 50 kilometres west of Cornwall, said a statement from V. Ships, the company that acts as the technical manager for the ship.

The 225-metre long ship hit the shore around 8:15 a.m. after an engine failure caused the ship's navigational equipment to malfunction and it went off course, said Andrew Bogora, spokesman for the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp.

The CSL Assiniboine, a self-unloading bulk carrier, had been heading eastbound to a port in Quebec with a load of soya at the time. The ship is built to carry approximately 30,000 tonnes.

No injuries or spills were reported. Authorities with the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway and with Transport Canada were on board Monday afternoon to probe the cause of the grounding with the assistance of the crew and V. Ships.

Officials were also working on a plan to re-float the vessel. Tugboats were on route to help with that.

The vessel, built in 1977 in Lauzon, Que., was originally named the Jean Parisien but was rechristened the Assiniboine in 2005, following an upgrade.

Montreal-based Canada Steamship Lines has a fleet of 19 ships that carry cargo through the waters between Thunder Bay, Ont., and Halifax, N.S.

The company was owned by Paul Martin before he became prime minister; in 2003, he turned over his shares to his three sons.