CSL Assiniboine still aground

11/21 - As of Friday afternoon, the CSL Assiniboine was still aground near Cardinal, Ont. with no work going on. At Prescott, crews appeared to be unloading a barge of the Assiniboine’s soybean cargo into trucks, and then it appeared that the trucks were dumping it to the grain elevators where the J. W. Shelley was loading.

The vessel lost power in both engines and drifted out of the channel on Monday. Repeated efforts by tugs to pull her free have failed.

Dave Bessant

American Courage makes rare trip through Keweenaw waterway

11/21 - American Courage passed through the Keweenaw waterway on Friday morning, making it one of the few to pass through in recent years.

Little used in the modern era, the water way cuts through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It was heavily traveled in the early years of Great Lakes shipping, and was often used as an alternative to the open lake when seas were high.

The vessel was on a trip to Marquette loaded with coal from Superior, Wis. Roland Burgan and Ryan Greenleaf

Marinette, Wis. – Dick Lund
Late Monday afternoon, Catherine Desgagnes arrived at Marinette Fuel & Dock with a load of pig iron. Later, near midnight, the barge Pere Marquette 41 and tug Undaunted arrived, also with a load of pig iron, and docked behind the Desgagnes, which was tied up alongside the craneship William H. Donner. This was Pere Marquette's second visit in a week; they were here a week ago Monday also.

On Thursday, Canadian Transfer arrived around 6 a.m. (CST) with its second load of salt for Marinette Fuel & Dock in the past week, having also been there last Saturday night. By 12:30 p.m., the ship was bringing the boom and its workboat back aboard and departed about 20 minutes later.

Marquette, Mich. - Rod Burdick
After loading Pathfinder, Michipicoten, Robert S. Pierson, and Saginaw on Thursday, the Upper Harbor ore dock was busy again on Friday with afternoon arrivals by Michipicoten and Charles M. Beeghly. American Courage was due to unload coal at the Lower Harbor Shiras Dock later Friday evening.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
The Olive L Moore and Lewis J. Kuber were inbound early Friday morning, calling on the Bay Aggregates dock in Bay City to unload. The pair were outbound later in the day headed for the lake.

On 21 November 1861, ENTERPRISE (2-mast wooden scow-schooner, 64 foot, 56 tons, built in 1854, at Port Huron, Michigan) was driven ashore near Bark Shanty at the tip of Michigan's thumb on Lake Huron. The storm waves pounded her to pieces. Her outfit was salvaged a few days later.

On the evening of 21 November 1890, the scow MOLLIE (wooden scow-schooner, 83 foot, 83 gross tons, built in 1867, at Fairport, Ohio) left Ludington, Michigan, with a load of lumber. About 8:00 p.m., when she was just 25 miles off Ludington, she started to leak in heavy seas, quickly becoming waterlogged. Capt. Anderson and his two-man crew had just abandoned the vessel in the yawl when the steamer F & P M NO 4 showed up, shortly after midnight. The rough weather washed Capt. Anderson out of the yawl, but he made it back in. At last a line from the F & P M NO 4 was caught and made fast to the yawl and the crew made it to the steamer. The men had a narrow escape, for the MOLLIE was going to pieces rapidly, and there was little likelihood of the yawl surviving in the gale.

The PATERSON (Hull#113) was launched November 21, 1953, at Port Arthur, Ontario, by Port Arthur Ship Building Co. Ltd..

In 1924, the MERTON E. FARR slammed into the Interstate Bridge that linked Superior, Wisconsin, with Duluth, Minnesota, causing extensive damage to the bridge. The bridge span fell into the water but the FARR received only minor damage to her bow.

On 21 November 1869, the ALLIANCE (wooden passenger sidewheeler, 87 foot, 197 gross tons, built in 1857, at Buffalo, New York) slipped her moorings at Lower Black Rock in the Niagara River and went over the falls. She had been laid up since the spring of 1869.

November 21, 1906 - The PERE MARQUETTE 17 encountered one of the worst storms in many years while westbound for the Wisconsin Central slip in Manitowoc. Wisconsin. She made port safely, but the wind was so high that she could not hold her course up the river without assistance. The tug ARCTIC assisted, and as they were proceeding through the 10th Street Bridge, a gust of wind from the south drove the ferry and tug against the north pilings of the 10th Street Bridge. The ARCTIC, pinned between the ferry and the bridge, was not damaged, but she crushed the hull of a fishing tug moored there, sinking her, and inflicted damage of a few hundred dollars to the bridge.

November 21, 1923 - Arthur Stoops, the lookout on the ANN ARBOR NO 6, was drowned while stepping from the apron onto the knuckle to cast off the headline.

On the night of 21 November 1870, C.W. ARMSTRONG (wooden propeller steam tug, 57 foot, 33 tons, built in 1856, at Albany, New York) burned at her dock at Bay City, Michigan. No lives were lost.

More incidents from the Big Gale of 1879. On 21 November 1879, The Port Huron Times reported, "The schooner MERCURY is ashore at Pentwater. The schooner LUCKY is high and dry at Manistee; the schooner WAUBASHENE is on the beach east of Port Colborne. The schooner SUMATRA is on the beach at Cleveland; the large river tug J P Clark capsized and sunk at Belle Isle in the Detroit River on Wednesday [19 Nov.] and sank in 15 minutes. One drowned. The schooner PINTO of Oakville, Ontario, stone laden, went down in 30 feet of water about one mile down from Oakville. At Sand beach the barge PRAIRIE STATE is rapidly going to pieces.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Max Hanley, Steve Haverty and Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.

CSL Assiniboine still aground as lightering efforts fail

11/20 - Cardinal, Ont. – On Thursday at 13:30, the tugs Tony Mackay and the barge Sault Au Cochon arrived at the CSL Assiniboine, grounded near Cardinal, Ont., to lighter cargo. However the barge was not prepared to carry grain and inspectors asked that the cargo holds be cleaned. This could not be carried out to their satisfaction so the tug and barge departed at 18:47 upbound. Meanwhile, divers were in the water inspecting the hull and propeller of CSL Assiniboine.

All told, attempts by four tugs have been ongoing to free the vessel, but were unsuccessful. Another big push began at 23:20 Wednesday night when the tugs concentrated on pushing the bow off the shoal. The ship spun around about 90 degrees with the stern moving down river. They stopped at that point and the Assiniboine’s stern may have lodged against a rock. Duga and Ocean Hercule went to the stern to push while Salvor and Ocean Bravo were on the bow to push. Their efforts were in vain and all salvage work ceased at 00:09. Salvor departed down the river to get to a tie wall below Iroquois lock. Ocean Bravo ran up the river to the municipal dock at Prescott. The CSL Assiniboine reported to Seaway Iroquois that more lighters were required.

Local sources report that the Assiniboine has suffered damage to the ballast tanks and propeller. Once freed, the ship is reportedly going to be towed to Port Weller, Ontario for the damage to be repaired and could be there for a week or more. There is no word on plans for a transfer of cargo at this time.

Ron Beaupre

Stricter Wisconsin port standards will require invasive species permit for ships

11/20 - Green Bay, Wis. - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will start requiring all ships coming into Green Bay and other state ports to get a state-issued permit showing they are not carrying invasive species in its ballast water.

DNR Secretary Matt Frank said that the federal government’s rules protecting the Great Lakes have been “grossly insufficient. We can’t afford to wait any longer for the federal government to turn off the tap.”

Permits will be required beginning Feb. 10, 2010. The DNR said its standards will be 100 times more restrictive than the level set by the International Maritime Organization. The standards include handling of ballast tank sediment and seawater.

“Our goal is not to put the shippers out of business,” Frank said, adding that the state will continue to look at technology that will help control the release of the growing number of invasive species from ballast discharges.

The permit will require large commercial ships to take basic steps immediately to reduce the risk of spreading the invasive species. Current laws permit ballast water discharges outside the ports.

More than 180 non-native fish, plants, insects and other organisms have entered the Great Lakes over the last two centuries. Scientists have estimated that as many as 70 percent of them arrived after the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959 allowing ocean ships to travel the Great Lakes.

Zebra mussels, which first arrived here in the late 1980s, have spread to inland waters.

“For a long time, the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and Coast Guard didn’t think much needed to happen in this area,” Frank said. “We’ve seen a marked difference in how the agencies are approaching this issue in the current administration.”

Under the DNR regulations, new oceangoing ships will have until 2012 to meet specific ballast water treatment standards. Existing ships will have until 2014 to retrofit to meet the standards.

Green Bay, Superior and Milwaukee are the three state ports.

Green Bay Press Gazette

Twin Ports – Al Miller
Loading cargo on a foggy Thursday morning were Indiana Harbor at Midwest Energy Terminal and he saltie Tuscarora at CHS grain elevator. A vessel believed to be Lee A. Tregurtha was fueling at the Murphy Oil dock. Algosoo, John B. Aird and Canadian Progress were all expected to arrive during the day to load taconite pellets.

Grand Haven, Mich. - Dick Fox
The tug Undaunted and barge Pere Marquette 41 delivered a load of stone to Verplank's Dock in Ferrysburg early Thursday morning. At 10 a.m. they were seen using the seldom-used turning basin with the aid of the King Marine tug Carol Ann. The Undaunted and PM 41 then headed down river and out bow first. Calumet was expected about 9 p.m. Thursday night with a load of coal for the Board of Light and Power Dock on Harbor Island. Undaunted and PM41 were expected back late Friday. Also expected over the weekend are the Mississagi at Meekhof's D & M dock and the tug Invincible and barge McKee Sons at the Power Plant. If the schedules hold, this will be the busiest weekend of the season.

Alpena, Mich. - Ben & Chanda McClain
The tug Valerie B, along with its barge and other equipment, departed Alpena late Thursday afternoon. The Manitowoc arrived in the Thunder Bay River before 6 p.m. on Thursday. It unloaded coal at the DPI Plant. Samuel de Champlain and barge Innovation were expected at Lafarge late Thursday night.

Toronto, Ont. - Frank Hood
Cuyahoga sailed out of Toronto Harbor about 5 a.m. Both Stephen B. Roman and English River arrived in port between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m.

Seaway chief hopes for traffic turnaround

11/20 - On the St. Lawrence Seaway’s website, there’s a picture of a freighter docked next to mountains of containers - those boxes that fit on trucks and trains and carry virtually every good you can think of. Containers are the currency of global trade. Yet they're passing the St. Lawrence Seaway by. Just a tenth of one percent of all cargo that traveled the St. Lawrence Seaway this year came in a container. Most of the cargo is bulk commodities, such as iron ore, coal, steel, and grain– the building blocks of industry that just disappear when the economy tanks.

So it’s no surprise 2009 was a brutal year for the Seaway, with tonnage down 30 percent. In fact, Seaway traffic has for the most part decreased since the late 1970s. This all gives Terry Johnson a headache.

As head of the U.S. side of the shipping channel that links the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, Johnson’s in charge of turning those numbers around. He said that if gas goes back up to $4 a gallon, or if the roads become clogged with truck traffic, the Seaway will benefit. But for now, Johnson places his hopes in those containers. And he hopes they’ll come from Nova Scotia.

North Country Public Radio

Essar Steel lights up darkness

11/20 - Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. – The sky around Essar Steel Algoma light up Monday night as a power outage forced the company to burn off gas from its coke oven for several hours.

It started at 5:11 p. m. Essar spokesperson Brenda Stenta said part of the plant experienced a power outage. Though "triggered by an external source," a cause has not yet been determined, said Stenta.

"We are working with Great Lakes Power to determine the cause of the disruption." She did not know exactly where the outage was limited to, but the whole steelmaking process was affected.

The company spent "last night and today bringing operations back online," she said Tuesday. She did not know exactly when power was restored.

In the meantime, gas from the coke oven and "on some occasions" the blast furnace had to be flared off. Stenta called it a standard operating procedure when power is interrupted.

The Sault Star

In 1948, the ROBERT HOBSON was blown against the Duluth-Superior breakwall as she tried to enter the harbor during a 68 mph gale. Damage to the vessel was kept to a minimum when Captain John Mc Nellis ordered the seacocks opened to settle the HOBSON on a sandbar. Renamed b.) OUTARDE in 1975, she was scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario in 1985.

On 20 November 1854, BURLINGTON (2-mast wooden brig, 80 foot, 117 tons, built in 1842, at Cleveland, Ohio) was driven hard aground near Port Bruce, Ontario, on Lake Huron while trying to assist the stranded Canadian bark GLOBE.

The SAGINAW was christened at the Government Dock in Sarnia, Ontario, in 1999. Bonnie Bravener and Wendy Siddall broke the traditional bottle of champagne adding the second vessel to Lower Lakes Towing's fleet. The company then generously opened the vessel for tours to all those in the large crowd that had gathered to witness the event. She was built in 1953 as a.) JOHN J. BOLAND.

Hall Corporation of Canada's EAGLESCLIFFE HALL was launched in 1956, at Grangemouth, Scotland. Sold off the lakes, renamed b.) EAGLESCLIFFE in 1974, she sank two miles east of Galveston, Texas, on February 9, 1983.

The ferry WOLFE ISLANDER was christened on November 20, 1946, at Marysville, Wolfe Island. The new ferry was the unfinished OTTAWA MAYBROOK which was built to serve the war effort in the south Pacific Ocean. She replaced two landing barges which were pressed quickly into service following the condemned steamer WOLFE ISLANDER, a.) TOM FAWCETT of 1904, which had served the community for 42 years. Officially christened WOLFE ISLANDER by Mrs. Sarah Russell, it took five tries before the champagne bottle finally broke on her port side.

At 2240 hours on November 20, 1974, the ROY A .JODREY ran aground on Pullman Shoal, located at Wellesley Island in the St. Lawrence River near Alexandria Bay, New York. All of the crew was rescued. Early the next morning at 0305 hours she slid off the shoal, rolled on her side and sank in 150 feet of water.

Pittsburgh Steamship's steamer RALPH H. WATSON (Hull#285) was launched in 1937, at River Rouge, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works.

On 20 November 1872, the side wheel steamer W. J .SPICER was finally laid up and the crew dismissed. She had served for many years as the Grand Trunk ferry at Fort Gratiot on the St. Clair River.

On 20 November 1880, BAY CITY (wooden barge, 199 foot, 480 tons, built in 1852, at Trenton, Michigan as the sidewheeler FOREST CITY) was carrying coal when she was cast adrift east of Erie, Pennsylvania by the steamer JAMES P. DONALDSON in a storm. She was driven ashore and wrecked. Her crew was saved by the U.S. Lifesaving Service using breeches' buoy.

November 20, 1898. ANN ARBOR #3 left Cleveland, Ohio for Frankfort, Michigan, on her maiden voyage.

November 20, 1924 - Pere Marquette fleet engineer Finlay Mac Laren died after 42 years with the railroad. He was succeeded by his brother Robert until Leland H. Kent was named fleet engineer in 1925.

On 20 Nov 1871, the schooner E. B. ALLEN was sailing from Chicago to Buffalo with a load of corn when she crossed the bow of the bark NEWSBOY about six miles off the Thunder Bay Light on Lake Huron. The NEWSBOY slammed her bow deep into the schooner's hull amidships and the ALLEN sank in about 30 minutes. The crew escaped in the yawl. The NEWSBOY was badly damaged but did not sink.

On 20 Nov 1999, the Bermuda-flag container ship CANMAR TRIUMPH went aground on the St. Lawrence River, off Varennes about 15 kilometers downstream from Montreal. She was the third vessel to run aground in the St. Lawrence River that autumn. The Canadian Coast Guard reported that she was having engine problems and the CBC News reported that the vessel's rudder was damaged in the grounding.

On Saturday morning, 20 Nov 1999, Marinette Marine Corporation of Marinette, Wisconsin, launched the 175-foot Coast Guard Cutter HENRY BLAKE. The BLAKE was one of the "Keeper" Class Coastal Class Buoy Tenders. Each ship in the "Keeper" class is named after a famous American lighthouse keeper.

Data from: Joe Barr, Brian Johnson, Dave Swayze, Russ plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Max Hanley, Steve Haverty and Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.

Lightering continues on grounded CSL Assiniboine

11/19 - Local sources report that the Assiniboine has suffered damage to the ballast tanks and propeller. At 3:45 p.m. the ship remained stopped near Cardinal, Ontario where it went aground. Attempts by four tugs have been ongoing to free the vessel, but unsuccessful. Once freed, the ship is reportedly going to be towed to Port Weller, Ontario for the damage to be repaired and could be there for a week or more. There is no word on plans for a transfer of cargo at this time.

7 a.m. update
Another big push began at 23:20 Wednesday night. The four tugs concentrated on pushing the bow off the shoal. The ship spun around about 90 degrees with the stern going down river. They stopped at this point as Duga said on the radio; "The stern hit a rock." Duga and Ocean Hercule went to the stern to push while Salvor & Ocean Bravo were on the bow to push. Their efforts were in vain and all salvage work ceased at 00:09. Salvor departed down the river to get to a tie wall below Iroquois lock. Ocean Bravo ran up the river to the municipal dock at Prescott. The CSL Assiniboine reported to Seaway Iroquois that more lighters were required.

Original Report
On Wednesday, three tugs – Salvor, Ocean Hercule and Duga – were placed on CSL Assiniboine’s stern to push it away from the shoal where the vessel has been grounded since Monday, and then the main engines on Assiniboine were put to full ahead. Next the tugs all went to the bow and attempted to push Assiniboine off the shoal while the ship worked her engines. They succeeded to a certain extent as she did move a bit closer to the channel, but then seemed to fetch up again.

Immediately Salvor departed for Prescott Elevators, where she had left the barge Big 551. Salvor brought this barge down the river and one of the Groupe Ocean tugs assisted in bringing the barge alongside the Assiniboine. The unloading boom was put into action and the barge was loaded with grain. After this another attempt to move the ship off the shoal was made and it also failed. She does swing free by the stern, but the bow is still hard aground.

Wednesday evening more reinforcements arrived in way of the tug Ocean Bravo. Shortly before she arrived, Salvor departed with the loaded barge to be secured at Prescott Elevators. When the Salvor returned later Wednesday evening, another attempt was planned.

Ron Beaupre and Michael Folsom

Muskegon, Mich. - Herm Phillips
On Saturday November 14, Inland Lakes Management's steamer Alpena arrived at the West Michigan Mart Dock in Muskegon, Michigan, for winter lay-up, thus concluding her 2009 season.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
The tug Zeus and her tank barge arrived on the Saginaw River Wednesday morning, calling on the Dow Chemical dock in Bay City to unload.

On this day in 1939, in a 24-hour-period, there were 132 transits of the Soo Locks. There were 71 upbound passages and 61 downbound passages.

On this day in 1952, Mrs. Ernest T. Weir smashed a bottle of champagne against the hull of the largest freighter built on the Great Lakes and the 690 foot ERNEST T. WEIR slid down the ways at the Lorain yard of American Ship Building Company. The new vessel had a crew of 38 under the command of Captain W. Ross Maitland and Chief Engineer C. F. Hoffman.

On 19 November 1897, NAHANT (wooden propeller freighter, 213 foot, 1,204 gross tons, built in 1873, at Detroit, Michigan) caught fire while docked near Escanaba, Michigan. Firefighters were hampered by sub-zero temperatures and she burned to a total loss. The fire jumped to the dock and did $300,000 worth of damage. Two of the crew were burned to death. The wreckage of the vessel was still visible from the Escanaba lighthouse 100 years later.

American Steamship's SAM LAUD (Hull#712) was launched on this date in 1974, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

The keel for the JOHN T. HUTCHINSON (Hull#1010) was laid November 19, 1942, at Cleveland, Ohio for the U.S. Maritime Commission.

The Kinsman Transit Co.'s steamer MERLE M. McCURDY was laid up for the last time at Buffalo, New York, on November 19, 1985. She was scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario, in 1988.

On 19 November 1842, the wooden schooner BRANDYWINE was carrying flour in a storm on Lake Erie when she capsized and then drifted to the beach near Barcelona, New York. One passenger's body was found in the cabin, but the entire crew of 6 was lost.

More incidents from the terrible storm swept the Lakes in mid-November 1886. On 18-19 November of that year, The Port Huron Times listed the vessels that were known to have foundered in that storm. Here is the list of vessels that foundered as it appeared on 19 November 1886. "The barge EMERALD near Kewaunee, 5 lost. The barge F M DICKINSON near Kewaunee, 3 lost. Two unknown schooners (one supposed to be the HELEN) near Port Sherman. One unknown schooner near Hog Island Reef. The barge NORTH STAR near East Tawas, the fate of the crew is unknown." The list then continues with vessels ashore. "The barge WALLACE and consort on Choclay Beach, east of Marquette. The schooner SOUTH HAVEN near Pt. Sherman. The schooner MARY near Blenheim, Ontario. The schooner PATHFINDER near Two Rivers, the cargo and vessel are a total loss. The schooner CUYAHOGA and two scows in North Bay. The schooner P S MARSH and an unknown schooner at St. Ignace. The schooner HARVEY BISSELL near Alpena. The propeller CITY OF NEW YORK near Cheboygan. The schooner KOLFAGE near Goderich, Ontario has broken up. The propeller NASHUA on Grass Island, Green Bay. The barge BISSELL near Kewaunee. The schooner GOLDEN below China Beach. The propeller BELLE CROSS and barges across from China Beach. The schooner FLORIDA on Marquette Beach is a total loss. And the barges BUCKOUT, MC DOUGALL, BAKER, GOLDEN HARVEST near East Tawas.

The schooner HATTIE JOHNSTON sailed from Milwaukee loaded with 26,000 bushels of wheat on the night of 19 November 1879, and then a severe gale swept Lake Michigan. After two weeks, she was presumed lost with all hands. Aboard were Capt. D. D. Prouty, his wife and 8 crewmen.

On 19 Nov 1886, the steamer MANISTIQUE was towing the schooner-barges MARINETTE and MENEKAUNEE, all loaded with lumber, in a NW gale on Lake Michigan. The gale lasted three days. The barges broke loose after a long fight against the elements and both were wrecked near Frankfort, Michigan. Six of the seven aboard the MARINETTE were lost including the woman cook and her 13-year old daughter. The MENEKAUNEE broke up before the Lifesaving Service could get to her and all seven aboard died. When the Lifesaving Service arrived on the beach, they found a jumbled mass of lumber and gear and the ship's dog keeping watch over the dead bodies. The dog also died soon after the Lifesaving crew arrived.

EMPIRE MALDON (steel tanker, 343 foot, 3,734 gross tons) was launched on 19 November 1945, by Sir James Laing & Sons, Ltd., at Sunderland, United Kingdom for the British Ministry of War Transport She was sold to Imperial Oil Co. of Canada in 1946, and renamed IMPERIAL HALIFAX and served on the Maritime Provinces-East Coast trade. In 1969, she was purchased by Johnstone Shipping, Ltd., of Toronto and served on the Great Lakes. She lasted until 1977, when she was scrapped by United Metals, Ltd. in Hamilton, Ontario.

On Friday morning, 19 Nov 1999, shortly after leaving the ADM dock in Windsor, the salty AVDEEVKA lost power in the Fighting Island Channel of the Detroit River. The main engine on the vessel quit while she was abreast of Grassy Island and she began drifting downstream. The stern anchor was dropped and then the port side bow anchor. She began swinging towards the middle of the channel with her stern outside the channel when the main engine was restarted and she headed back upstream for the Belle Isle anchorage. Once in the anchorage a team from the U.S. Coast Guard boarded the vessel to investigate. She was released the next day. It is reported that the vessel lost power due to main fuel valve being left closed after routine maintenance during her stay at the ADM dock.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Max Hanley, Steve Haverty and Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.

Efforts to release CSL Assiniboine Tuesday unsuccessful

11/18 -  The tugs Ocean Hercule and Duga arrived early in the afternoon at the site of CSL Assiniboine stranding, near Cardinal, Ont. An attempt was made to free the ship with both tugs pushing together at the stern. The main engines of the ship were also at full power with the rudder hard over to port. The ship did not budge. The tug Salvor is upbound with the barge Big 551 and she will join in the effort to pull the ship off the shoal. Assiniboine is loaded with soybeans. She is reported to be holed in No. 2 tank.

Ron Beaupre

Seaway season will end Dec. 29 after dismal year

11/18 - Massena, N.Y. - There are six more weeks left before the end of a what's being billed as a dismal shipping season on the St. Lawrence Seaway. The section of the Seaway from Lake Ontario to Montreal will close Dec. 29. The Welland Canal, a series of eight locks connecting Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, will close Dec. 30.

So far this season, cargo levels are down more than 30 percent from last year.

"Definitely this is the worst downturn we've seen, and I think that's industry-wide," said Carol A. Fenton, deputy associate administrator in the Seaway's Massena operations. "If memory serves me, it's worse than we projected."

By the end of October 2008, more than 34 million tons of cargo were shipped through the river and Great Lakes system, compared with about 23 million over the same period this year.

The weak economy means fewer industries are using the Seaway to move their materials, resulting in a difficult season for the shipping channel. Though the seeds of the current recession were planted before the 2008 season ended, administrators did not expect numbers to be as low as they have been. Iron ore and coal, two of the most important types of cargo, are down this year.

This year, 5 million tons of iron ore have been carried along the Seaway, compared with 10 million at the end of October last year. Coal is down about 1 million tons from last year, at just over 2 million.

Grain, the other main cargo, is holding steady. Grain volumes have been increasing for the past few months, as the harvest comes in and farmers begin to sell their crops. "We've always seen an increase in the fall," Ms. Fenton said. "We don't anticipate that's going to stop this year."  Nearly 6 million tons of grain have traversed the shipping route this year.

This is the third year in a row that shipments along the Seaway system have gone down. Drops in water levels in 2007 meant that ships could not carry as much cargo, resulting in lighter, more expensive trips through the locks. That year, cargo transports were down about 1.5 percent. The beginning of the recession in 2008, especially in the auto industry, saw cargo decrease nearly 5 percent, according to Ms. Fenton.

The modest increases — about 4 percent — in the past two months are giving some hope to Seaway administration. "We hope that means we're looking at an uptick for next year," Ms. Fenton said. Industry forecasters "are cautiously optimistic that we're going to see an increase, at least over this year."

In January, the federal government announced the beginning of a decade-long asset renewal plan, doubling the budget of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., which manages the American portion of the route. That plan, which will fund updates to Seaway property that has seen nothing but routine maintenance since being built 50 years ago, is not in jeopardy, Ms. Fenton said. "Anything can change, but as of this time, we've been approved our money for our 2010 budget," she said.

Watertown Daily Times

Five lakers reactivated, boosting cargo shipments

11/18 - In an encouraging sign, five vessels returned to service on the Great Lakes in October, boosting the carrying capacity of the active U.S. laker fleet by nearly 25 percent compared with the previous month, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association. The reactivated ships returned about 100 people to work, the trade organization said.

The restarted lakers include the Great Lakes Fleet’s Roger Blough and the American Steamship Co.’s American Courage, American Integrity, American Spirit and John J. Boland.

With more boats at work, taconite shipments on the Great Lakes increased 16 percent from September to October.

The month-to-month figures are up, but October iron ore shipments were still off 35 percent compared with the same month last year, according to the industry group.

Likewise, not all mariners are equal beneficiaries of the increased work. Three of the vessels reactivated by American Steamship were crewed with replacement workers, as members of United Steelworkers Local 5000 remain on strike against the Williamsville, N.Y.-based carrier. Dave Sager, the local’s president, said members voted last week to reject a contract American Steamship sought to impose.

“They’re digging in their heels, and all talks have broken off,” said Sager, noting that 97 members remain out of work as a result.

Duluth News Tribune

The ups and downs of Lake Superior

11/18 - Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. – The International Lake Superior Board of Control Water is reporting both gains and losses regarding recent water supply into the upper Great Lake basins.

Water supply into Lake Superior was below normal for October, according to the Board of Control, but it remains nine centimeters above its level of a year ago, while the supply into lakes Huron-Michigan was above normal and currently 11 inches higher than a year ago.

Lake Superior fell 2 inches in October, one centimeter more than usual, and is currently 5 inches below its long-term beginning of November level but 7 inches above chart datum.

Lakes Huron-Michigan levels remained steady in October, when they traditionally fall 3 inches, and are now 4 inches below long-term beginning of November levels but 13 inches above chart datum.

The levels of both lakes are expected to fall in November. The Board of Control has decreased the Lake Superior outflow by 20 cubic metres per second for the month.

The Sault Star

Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry to close Nov. 23 through Feb. 15

11/18 - Detroit, Mich. – The Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry will close from Nov. 23 until Feb. 15 while improvements are under way on the Ontario side.

The 40 to 50 trucks that typically use the ferry each day to haul hazardous materials, which are forbidden from the Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, will have to use the Blue Water Bridge linking Port Huron and Point Edward/Sarnia until the project is finished.

The $8.8 million (Canadian) project includes upgrades to the rail crossing at Maplewood Drive; the ferry entrance site, the access road, spill containment system, access control, terminal area, lighting and dock.

“After 20 years, these are some major and positive improvements,” said ferry owner Gregg Ward.

The project is jointly funded by Ontario’s Transportation Ministry and Transport Canada.

The ferry company has made about $1 million in improvements on the Michigan side in recent years, Ward said.

The privately owned truck-only ferry service, which operates with U.S. and Canadian regulatory approvals, was launched in 1990 to transport goods (flammable, corrosive, radioactive, explosive materials and over-size/overweight trucks) restricted from the other Detroit River crossings.

The ferry makes five back-and-forth crossings, which take 20 minutes, daily. It’s located off Jefferson Avenue near Zug Island on the Michigan side and near the Windsor Raceway on the Ontario side.

Crain’s Detroit Business.

Alpena, Mich. - Ben & Chanda McClain
Manitowoc brought a load of coal to Lafarge on Sunday. Tug Samuel de Champlain and barge Innovation were in port on Monday. U.S. Coast Guard cutter Hollyhock was out in the bay on Monday working Aids to Navigation. The Durocher Marine tug Valerie B was tied up in the Thunder Bay River and had barges docked in another area. The Presque Isle arrived at Stoneport Monday night and continued loading throughout Tuesday. This is its third visit of the season.

Detroit, Mich. - Kenneth Borg
The Algoway with the tug Wyoming came down the Detroit River and entered the Short Cut Canal shortly after 4 p.m. She went to the Brennan Street dock just above the Jefferson Street Bridge. Robert S. Pierson was loading coke off Zug Island in the old channel of the Rouge River and Pochard was still loading at ADM in Ojibway, Ont..

Now hiring: Northshore Mining

11/18 - Duluth, Minn. - The situation at Northshore Mining Co. continues to show signs of improvement with the company looking to hire up to 20 people for its Silver Bay and Babbitt plants next month.

More could follow in early 2010.

“These are all good-paying jobs,” said Maureen Talarico, a spokeswoman for Cliffs Natural Resources, which owns Northshore Mining Co.

The jobs are for plant operations and plant maintenance at Silver Bay and for mine operations and mine maintenance at Babbitt. Applicants are asked to apply online at www.cliffsnr.com.

“Right now we’re anticipating hiring between 15 and 20 people in December and perhaps more new hires in the first quarter of 2010, as long as pellet demand remains where we anticipate it to be,” Talarico said.

Some are openings created by retirements, some are added positions as demand for iron ore pellets shows a slight increase. The demand means the company needs to restock its inventory, which was reduced as demand for pellets softened earlier in the year.

“We don’t know if the worst is over,” Talarico said. “Consumer confidence is needed. People have to be reinvesting.”

Because of that uncertainty, the company is proceeding cautiously.

“We don’t want to flood the market with pellets nobody wants to buy,” Talarico said.

Northshore’s move to hire workers comes after idled workers were called back to the two plants July 5 after a three-month plant shutdown.

More good news came for Cliffs in recent days when United Taconite Co., also owned by Cliffs, returned more than 500 employees to full-time status at its operations in Forbes and Eveleth. Earlier in the year, workers had agreed to 32-hour workweeks to avoid layoffs.

But Hibbing Taconite, which Cliffs manages and partially owns, has been shut down since May when about 500 workers were laid off. Cliffs doesn’t plan to restart the plant until the start of the second quarter of 2010, Talarico said.

Duluth News Tribune

On 18 November 1869, EQUATOR (wooden propeller package freighter, 184 foot, 621 tons, built in 1857, at Buffalo, New York) was trying to pull the schooner SOUTHWEST off a reef near North Manitou Island on Lake Michigan. A storm swept in and EQUATOR foundered in the relatively shallow water. She was thought to be unsalvageable but was re-floated in 1870. Her hull was extensively rebuilt and became the barge ELDORADO in 1871, while her engine was used in the tug BISMARCK.

The CARL D. BRADLEY was lost in a violent storm on Lake Michigan on November 18, 1958.

The CANADIAN OLYMPIC's sea trials were conducted on 18 November 1976. Her maiden voyage was on 28 November 1976, to load coal at Conneaut, Ohio for Nanticoke, Ontario. Her name honors the Olympic Games that were held at Montreal that year.

The bow and stern sections of the vessel that was to become the STEWART J. CORT were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding Division, Litton Systems, Inc., Pascagoula, MS, as hull 1173. That 182 foot vessel, known as "STUBBY" was launched on 18 Nov 1969. "STUBBY" sailed under its own power from the Gulf of Mexico through the St. Lawrence Seaway and Welland Canal to Erie, Pennsylvania where the sections were cut apart by Erie Marine, Inc. and the 818 foot mid section was added -- making the Lakes first thousand footer.

The ASHCROFT was launched November 18, 1924, as a) GLENIFFER.

On 18 November 1873, the tug CRUSADER was launched at 1:20 p.m. at the Leighton & Dunford yard in Port Huron, Michigan. Her dimensions were 138 foot overall, 125 foot keel, 23 foot beam, and 12 foot depth. She was built for Mr. G. E. Brockway of Port Huron.

On 18 November 1842, CHICAGO (wooden passenger & package freight sidewheeler, 105 foot, 166 tons, built in 1837, at St. Joseph, Michigan) was struck by a gale between Ashtabula and Conneaut in Lake Erie. She lost both of her stacks and became unmanageable when her fires went out. She was driven ashore about 3 miles east of Silver Creek, New York and was wrecked. About 60 persons were on board and amazingly no lives were lost.

On 18 November 1882, DROMEDARY (wooden propeller, 120 foot, 255 gross tons, built in 1868, at Port Dalhousie, Ontario) burned to a total loss at the dock at Hamilton, Ontario when her banked fires overheated. She was owned by Burroughs & Co. No lives were lost.

A terrible storm swept the Lakes in mid-November 1886. On 18-19 November of that year, The Port Huron Times listed the vessels that were known to have foundered in that storm. Here is the list as it appeared on 18 November 1886. "The barge CHARLES HINCKLEY is ashore near Alpena. The schooner P S MARCH is ashore at St. Ignace. She will probably go to pieces. The schooner THOMAS P. SHELDON is ashore about 10 miles north of Alpena. The crew were rescued by the tug HAND. The schooner NELLIE REDINGTON is reported going to pieces at Two Rivers. Three of her crew reached harbor all right, but the other 7 men on board are in danger of their lives. The coal barges F. M. DICKINSON and EMERALD were driven ashore at Kewaunee, Wisconsin Wednesday morning [17 Nov]. Three of the DICKINSON's crew were drowned, the other four floated ashore on a plank. The EMERALD's crew started ashore in the yawl, but 5 were drowned.

On 18 November 1881, the schooner JAMES PLATT left Bay City with a cargo of lumber for Chicago. However, she was wrecked on Lake Michigan during a terrible snow storm during the first week of December and never made it to Chicago. The storm lasted two full days and six of the crew survived but the rest were lost.

The ANN ARBOR NO 4 ran aground on Green Isle, the island in Green Bay to the north of her course between Sturgeon Bay and Menominee on 18 Nov 1913. ANN ARBOR NO 3 pulled her off undamaged after about 2 hours work.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Max Hanley, Steve Haverty and Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.

CSL Assiniboine aground near Cardinal, Ont.

11/17 - Monday shortly after 8:15 a.m., the CSL Assiniboine lost power in both engines and drifted out of the channel one nautical mile west of the grain elevator at Cardinal, Ont. She lies north of the channel near lighted Buoy 122 and is not blocking the channel – ships were passing without difficulty. Broadside to the current and heading due south, the vessel had a slight list to starboard indicating she may be up on the shoal on her port side.

Ron Beaupre

Canadian Provider freed Monday

11/17 - Valleyfield, Quebec - The tug Wilf Seymour pulled the Canadian Provider from her stranded position over to the anchorage at St. Zotique, where more inspections were done. At 6 a.m. Monday the Canadian Provider continued her journey to Baie Comeau. Early Sunday morning Canadian Provider, bound for Baie Comeau with wheat, grounded in 20 feet of water on the south side of the channel above Valleyfield. The cause of the grounding has yet to be determined. Shipping in the area had been delayed due to fog; traffic was underway again at 12:30 a.m.

Kent Malo

Grand Haven, Mich. – Dick Fox
St. Marys Challenger was due at 10:30 p.m. Monday night with a load for the St. Marys Cement Terminal in Ferrysburg.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
The Saginaw River has been quiet for the past few days, so it was nice to see an old friend call on the river for the first time this season. Manistee was inbound on Monday headed upriver to unload at the Sargent dock in Zilwaukee. She completed her unload and was outbound for the lake Monday evening.

Seaway to end 2009 navigation season in late December

11/17 - The navigation season on the Montreal/Lake Ontario section of the St. Lawrence Seaway will officially come to a close on December 24, a release from the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation said.

However, any transit of the Montreal-Lake Ontario section of the Seaway after 23:59 hours, December 24, if permitted, will be subject to prior written agreement. Arrangements are to be made at The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation's St. Lambert office.

The Welland Canal portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway will remain open until 23:59 hours on December 26th, weather and operating conditions permitting, the release said.

However, any transits of the Welland Canal after 23:59 hours, December 26th, if permitted, will be subject to prior written agreement. Arrangements are to be made at the Corporation's St. Catharines office.

The U.S. Lock in Sault Ste. Marie close at 2400 hours January 15, 2010.

Vessel owners and operators were also being advised that a number of ports east of the Seaway (St. Lambert Lock) on the St. Lawrence River will remain open to navigation during the winter months.

Navigation on the St. Lawrence Seaway will resume sometime in March 2010, with the actual date dependent on when the ice breaks up.

On 17 November 1884, PHOENIX (wooden propeller wrecking tug, 173 gross tons, built in 1862, at Cleveland, Ohio) caught fire in one of her coal bunkers at 7 a.m. while she was tied up to the C. S. R. Railroad slip at Amherstburg, Ontario. Several vessels, including the Dunbar tug SHAUGHRAUN and the steam barge MARSH, tried to save her. The SHAUGHRAUN finally got a line on her and pulled her away from the dock and towed her near Norwell’s wharf where she burned and sank.

On 17 Nov 1969, the RIDGETOWN (steel propeller bulk freighter, 557 foot, 7,637 gross tons, built in 1905, at Chicago, Illinois as WILLIAM E. COREY) was laid up at Toronto for the last time with a load of grain. In the spring of 1970, Upper Lakes Shipping, Ltd. sold her to Canadian Dredge & Dock Co., Ltd. of Toronto. She was sunk at Nanticoke, Ontario, for use as a temporary breakwater during the construction of harbor facilities in the summer of 1970. Still later, she was raised and sunk again in the summer of 1974, as a breakwater to protect marina facilities at Port Credit, Ontario.

On November 17, 1984, the EUGENE P. THOMAS was towed by the TUG MALCOLM to Thunder Bay, Ontario, for scrapping by Shearmet.

In the morning of 17 November 1926, the PETER A.B. WIDENER (steel straight-deck bulk freighter, 580 foot, 7,053 gross tons, built in 1906, at Chicago, Illinois) was running up bound on Lake Superior in ballast when it encountered strong Northeasterly winds. About six miles Southwest of the Rock of Ages Light on Isle Royale, the captain gave orders to change course for Duluth, Minnesota. There was no response because the wheel chains had parted from the drum, thus disabling the rudder. Repairs cost $4,000.

On 15 Nov 1972, the MICHIPICOTEN (steel straight-deck bulk freighter, 549 foot, 6,490 gross tons, built in 1905, at W. Bay City, Michigan, as HENRY C. FRICK) departed Quebec in tow of Polish tug KORAL for scrapping in Spain. The tow encountered bad weather and the MICHIPICOTEN broke in two during a major fall storm on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Her forward section sank on 17 November off Anticosti Island, and the after section sank the next day.

The propeller JOHN STUART burned about two miles from Sebawaing, Michigan, at 9:00 p.m., 17 November 1872. She had been aground there for some time.

On 17 November 1887, ARIZONA (wooden propeller package freighter, 189 foot, 962 gross tons, built in 1868, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying oils and acid used in mining operations when her dangerous cargo caught fire as she approached the harbor at Marquette, Michigan, in heavy seas. Poisonous fumes drove all of the crew topside, leaving the vessel unmanageable. She ran against the breakwater and the crew jumped off. The burning steamer "chased" the crew down the breakwater toward town with the poisonous fumes blowing ashore. She finally beached herself and burned herself out. She was later recovered and rebuilt.

On 17 November 1873, the wooden 2-mast schooner E.M. CARRINGTON sank in nine feet of water at Au Sable, Michigan. She had a load of 500 barrels of flour and 7,000 bushels of grain. She was recovered and lasted another seven years.

On 17 November 1880, GARIBALDI (2-mast wooden schooner, 124 foot, 209 tons, built in 1863, at Port Rowan, Ontario) was carrying coal in a storm on Lake Ontario. She anchored to ride out the storm, but after riding out the gale for 15 hours, her anchor cable parted and her crew was forced to try to bring her into Weller's Bay. She stranded on the bar. One of the crew froze solid in a standing position and his ghost is supposed to still haunt that area. The vessel was recovered and rebuilt. She lasted until at least 1898.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Max Hanley, and Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.