"Historic Flooding" forces closure of Port of Milwaukee, Jones Island

1/13 - Milwaukee, WI – Saturday's severe weather caused some significant flooding to The Port of Milwaukee and Jones Island. Both locations were evacuated as officials continue to monitor the storm. For now, there are no operations and no public access at either location.

“I would call this a once-in-a-generation weather event," Port of Milwaukee Director Adam Schlicht said. “From today’s winter weather event we’ve seen 60 to 70-percent flooding here on Jones Island, at The Port."

After evacuations, only security and emergency personnel were left behind to keep watch. “Our first major concern was for the protection of human life – all those people that work here on Jones Island,” he said.

Schlicht called the flooding "historic" and said brought several feet of water onto land, bringing concern to city and port-owned infrastructure. “The warehouses, the terminal facilities, all of the cargo that we’ve brought into The Port throughout the year, that is stored here during the winter months.”

Port officials are remaining cautious, but hope those facilities are not completely underwater. They have delayed some winter shipping, hope to reopen The Port as soon as it is safe to do so.

“One of the next steps that we’ll take as soon as the weather event is over, and the flooding recedes, is a careful examination of how much damage we’ve incurred here.”

The Sewage Treatment Plant is also located on Jones Island. But so far it is operating normally, at half its capacity, according to a Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District representative.

CBS 58

Port reports are compiled from reader observations and AIS transmissions. Please send information about vessel arrivals and departures from your port to news@boatnerd.net by 9 p.m. (Eastern) nightly for them to be included in the next day's news. Please include name of vessel, arrival time, day and dock it went to (if known).

Duluth/Superior – Daniel Lindner
Lee A. Tregurtha arrived Duluth at 18:52 Sunday night for winter layup at Fraser Shipyards, joining the John J. Boland and Paul R. Tregurtha that have already tied up for the season. Hon. James L. Oberstar is currently due mid-day Tuesday for the winter, and as of now there are no other ships scheduled to arrive after her even though Duluth's winter layup fleet is usually made up of five to seven vessels.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay, MN – Gary A. Putney
As of 19:45 on Jan. 12th the Walter J. McCarthy Jr. was still loading at South of #2. A partial update on the Indiana Harbor: Before she arrived Two Harbors and after she departed her AIS was showing Two Harbors. As of 19:45 on Jan. 12th she was approaching the Straits, then on to Lake Michigan. She will be going to either Gary or Indiana Harbor.

Thunder Bay, ON
Saturday; 18:41 Michipicoten arrived at the G3 elevator to load grain. 19:28 Saginaw departed for Toledo. 23:54 CSL Niagara arrived at Keefer Terminal for winter lay up. Sunday; 5:20 Michipicoten departed for Windsor. 14:49 CCGS Samuel Risley departed and is down bound on Lake Superior.16:24 Manitoulin departed for Windsor.

St. Marys River
Ojibway was downbound early Sunday. Indiana Harbor and Algocanada (from Purvis Dock) followed in the early afternoon. Saginaw left the locks downbound at 7 p.m. There was no upbound traffic. USCG Katmai Bay was working ice in the lower river. Leonard M and barge were at Algoma Steel.

Sturgeon Bay, WI – Daniel Lindner, Jim Conlon
H. Lee White arrived in Sturgeon Bay for winter layup mid-day Sunday with assistance from the tug William C. Gaynor, bringing the total number of vessels laid up so far to nine. Once arriving at Bay Shipbuilding, she was rafted to her fleetmate American Mariner. Already in layup at the shipyard are Edgar B. Speer, Wilfred Sykes, Joseph L. Block, American Integrity, American Mariner, Thunder Bay, John G. Munson, and Roger Blough. VanEnkevort's new barge Michigan Trader is also tied up in a slip.

Green Bay, WI
The tug Barbara Andrie arrived Sunday to assist the tug Albert barge Margaret to the U.S. Oil Venture Terminal.

Northern Lake Huron ports
McGregor Bay: Sunday; 12:49 CCGS Griffon resumed ice operations. 13:13 Frontenac departed and was down bound on Lake Huron. 19:18 Algoma Innovator arrived at Fisher Harbor to unload road salt. 20:15 CCGS Griffon went to anchor. Alpena: Sunday; 12:31 Sam Laud departed for Ashtabula. 15:44 The cement carrier Alpena arrived to load.

Marine City, MI – Rich Larson
After her fleetmate Mesabi Miner passed downbound at 10 am Sunday, Kaye E. Barker weighed anchor and continued her upbound journey under much improved conditions. The Jan. 11 storm has passed leaving river calm, mostly cloudy skies, and 30 degrees F.

Detroit-Rouge River – Raymond H
Hon. James L Oberstar fueled at the Waterfront Petroleum Terminal on Sunday.

Cleveland, OH – Bill Kloss
Joyce L. VanEnkevort departed at 12:42 Sunday for Duluth/Superior.

Homeowners near the Great Lakes face high water challenges

1/13 - Les Cheneaux Islands – On a frigid morning in late fall, resort owner Mark Engle studied the mangled planks and dock posts scattered along an ice-glazed channel that feeds into Lake Huron. Les Cheneaux Landing Resort, tucked behind an archipelago of 36 islands off Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, once had a 175-foot dock with slips for a dozen boats, a boathouse and a bait shop.

In the past two years, Lake Huron rose through the floorboards of both buildings and overtopped the adjoining dock. Now, the weather-beaten boathouse sits stoically marooned, beset on all sides by crystal clear water.

All that Engle has left to carry him through the next tourist season is a small makeshift dock. “Man can’t seem to make anything big enough, strong enough to maintain an advantage over the lake,” Engle said. “I’ve been dealing with Lake Huron since 1982. And I’m afraid the lake is winning the battle.

Near-record high lake levels have astonished residents and business owners in the tiny hamlet of Cedarville, an unincorporated waterfront community built around boating. The consternation isn’t solely from the high water — in 1986, lake levels were slightly higher — it’s also from the pace of the rise. Less than seven years earlier, many docks and boat-houses were sitting on dry land.

In 2013, Lake Huron bottomed out, hitting its lowest mark in more than a century, as did Lake Michigan, which shares the same water levels, according to data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Around that time, the lake withdrew so far from the shore around Engle’s resort — then a collection of 12 rustic cabins and three docks — that mud was all that remained beneath his boathouse.

In just 3 ½ years, levels rose more than 4 feet and last summer peaked at nearly 6 feet above the record low. The swing in the water level of Lake Huron from January 2013 to July 2019 was nearly 6 feet, from historically low to historically high.

Read more, view images and graphs at this link: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/environment/great-lakes/ct-lake-huron-climate-change-water-levels-20200109-oiw7nunhonh3hm2vg5lrfiimou-story.html

13 January 2005 - GENESIS EXPLORER (steel propeller tanker, 435 foot, built in 1974, at Port Weller, Ontario, formerly a.) IMPERIAL ST. CLAIR & b.) ALGOSAR) sailed from Halifax for Quebec City. She was registered in the Comoros Islands. She was carrying a few members of her former crew for training purposes, but her new crew was African.

On 13 January 1918, the Goodrich Line’s ALABAMA and the Grand Trunk ferries MILWAUKEE and GRAND HAVEN all became stuck in the ice off Grand Haven, Michigan. The vessels remained imprisoned in the ice for the next two weeks. When the wind changed, they were freed but Grand Haven’s harbor was still inaccessible. The ALABAMA sailed for Muskegon and stalled in the 18-inch thick ice on Muskegon Lake.

After lightering 3,000 tons of coal, the a.) BENSON FORD was refloated in 1974 and proceeded to the Toledo Overseas Terminal to be reloaded.

In 1979, the U.S.C.G. tug ARUNDEL was beset by windrowed ice at Minneapolis Shoal in Green Bay. Strong winds piled the ice on her stern and soon she had a 25-degree list. The crew feared that she may sink and abandoned the tug, walking across the ice with the help of a spotlight onboard the ACACIA, which also became beset by the heavy ice. The MACKINAW, SUNDEW and a Coast Guard helicopter were dispatched to the scene, but northwest winds relieved the ice pressure and the crew was able to re-board the ARUNDEL. The ARUNDEL sails today as the tug c.) ERIKA KOBASIC.

On January 13, 1970, the lower engine room and holds of the SEWELL AVERY accidentally flooded, sinking her to the bottom of Duluth Harbor causing minimal damage, other than an immense cleanup effort.

January 13, 1909 - The PERE MARQUETTE 17 was freed after her grounding the previous December.

Data from: Joe Barr, Max Hanley, Brian Bernard, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series

Seaway orders 60-foot harbor tug

1/12 - The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) has placed an order for a newbuild ASD (Z-drive) harbor tug to be delivered by Washburn & Doughty Associates, Inc. of East Boothbay, Maine. It will replace the existing tug Performance.

“This new vessel will be used to carry out a variety of construction and maintenance duties for the US portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway, including routine maintenance of lock gates, maintenance and positioning of aids to navigation, ice management and removal of accumulated ice from lock walls,” said Craig Middlebrook, Deputy Administrator of the SLSDC.

The HT-60, the smallest in the Harbor Tug series developed by Glosten, a US based naval architecture firm, is slated for delivery in 2021.

According to Glosten, the HT-60 is designed to capitalize on the operating advantages afforded by a broad bow form with a semi-raised foc’sle deck and full visibility and winch controls from a single operating station in the pilothouse. To perform its intended work functions in ice, the hull has been ice-strengthened to ABS Ice Class C0 standards.

The Z-drive units are powered by a pair of EPA Tier 3 diesel engines turning carbon fiber shafts for a combined 1,320 BHP at 1,800 RPM.

At 60 foot overall, the tug is right-sized for maneuvering inside lock chambers, with a wide 28 foot beam to improve performance in ice and enhance stability for deck crane operations, Glosten said.

Marine Link

US gives funds for ‘marine highway,’ but frustrates import/export efforts

1/12 - Monroe, MI – The U.S. Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) award of more than $1.1 million to the Port of Monroe, Michigan for a domestic “marine highway” project is welcome news for a port that says its efforts to increase international business has been stymied by the Detroit office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The port in 2016 had a route designated under MARAD’s marine highway program. The proposed “Lake Erie Shuttle” would be a domestic container service between Monroe and Cleveland, with the possible addition of other ports such as Detroit and Buffalo, and the crane would be used to load and discharge containers and breakbulk cargo.

Currently, if ships loading and discharging cargo in Monroe do not have their own gear, the port has to rent cranes, which LaMarre says can be prohibitively expensive. The port has been working with Green Shipping Line, on a proposed short sea service, Green Shipping Line was founded by Percy R. Pyne IV, a longtime advocate of short sea shipping and founder of the short-lived American Feeder Lines, which operated a service between Halifax, Portland, Maine and Boston in 2011-12. Pyne continues to look at starting up a domestic coastal service not only on the Great Lakes but on the East and Gulf Coast as well as building specialized vessels for the wind energy industry in the U.S.

The Port of Monroe is now looking at a number of opportunities to move cargo domestically or internationally, with a focus on the automobile industry, said LaMarre.

For example, he says the port could load containers with finished cars and other products and receive containers with automotive parts. In addition to the proposed Lake Erie Shuttle, the port and Green Shipping Line are looking at possibly transporting coils of aluminum made by Novelis in Oswego, New York, on Lake Ontario to Monroe and shipping aluminum scrap back to Oswego.

LaMarre said that the port also wanted to ship automobiles — specifically Ford Mustangs made at an assembly plant in nearby Flat Rock, Michigan — overseas but that effort was frustrated by decisions made by the Detroit office of Customs.

He said the port had done a demonstration for Ford of how the cars would be loaded in containers, but he said “ultimately the containers went back to Europe empty.”

“CBP compromised the entire project. Not only were they going to require inspection and putting their seal on outbound containers, they were going to require 100% scanning. They are still standing on that.”

In another instance, he says Monroe was denied the ability to discharge project cargo — construction material, machinery and supplies — bound for a $500 million fiberboard factory being built in Grayling, Michigan, by the North American subsidiary of the Chilean forest products company Arauco.

He said the project would have resulted in 14 breakbulk ships visiting the port.

“Overnight, in 2017 U.S. CBP decided a wood breakbulk crate is a container requiring scanning in Michigan and nowhere else in the country. That stands to this day,” said LaMarre. The first shipment of cargo was eventually taken to Cleveland, where it was not required to be opened, devanned or scanned by CBP according to an exhaustive 44-page report prepared by the University of Michigan’s Program in Practical Policy Engagement in May that detailed the Port of Monroe’s jousting with CBP.

The University of Michigan report found “CBP-Detroit imposes clearance requirements on Michigan ports that are not required elsewhere in the United States. This renders Michigan ports unable to handle crated or containerized cargo, putting them at a comparable disadvantage” and that “CBP-Detroit’s policy has damaged the reputation of the Port of Monroe and the state of Michigan, resulting in lost business and the potential loss of region-lifting economic developments like the Arauco project.”

CBP told Crain’s Detroit Business in December that because no two ports are exactly alike, it “must evaluate all requests for services individually.”

The Monroe News in August said a CBP officer in Detroit told it that facilities in Michigan lack the proper infrastructure and technology to inspect containerized cargo and that CBP’s limited resources are a factor in its decisions because working with the port requires pulling staff from their existing responsibilities.

LaMarre said while the initial shipment for the Arauco project was loaded on a barge and moved from Cleveland to the Port of Monroe, the subsequent shipments moved through Cleveland and Canadian ports and then trucked to Grayling.

However, he says Monroe has been highly successful in arranging the movement of project cargo moved by carriers such as Spliethoff and Big Lift, including wind energy towers made by Ventower Industries. The port also installed a $1 million rail spur on its dock to receive a 390-ton generator stator from Rotterdam for the DTE Energy’s Fermi 2 nuclear power plant in Newport, Michigan. It also handles coal for DTE’s coal-fired power station, which is located next to the Port of Monroe.

“I say we are the biggest little port on the Great Lakes,” says LaMarre. “When I started here in 2012, it was an overgrown, grassy field that used to be a landfill. We have gone from not even being able to see the water because the trees were so high to a bustling seaport. And we have done it with very few resources.”

American Shipper

Port reports are compiled from reader observations and AIS transmissions. Please send information about vessel arrivals and departures from your port to news@boatnerd.net by 9 p.m. (Eastern) nightly for them to be included in the next day's news. Please include name of vessel, arrival time, day and dock it went to (if known).

Duluth/Superior – Daniel Lindner
There was no traffic in Duluth on Saturday, and likely the only remaining vessels to arrive this season are the rest of Duluth's winter layup fleet. Currently laid up are John J. Boland and Paul R. Tregurtha, at Fraser Shipyards and SMET, respectively, with Lee A. Tregurtha and Hon. James L. Oberstar due in the next few days. At the Superior entry, Presque Isle departed at 11:21 Saturday with the last outbound cargo of iron ore pellets from Burlington Northern for the season.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay, MN – Gary A. Putney
Indiana Harbor departed Two Harbors on Jan. 10th at 22:40. No updated AIS. The Walter J. McCarthy Jr. arrived Two Harbors on Jan. 10th at 23:08 for South of #2. As of 19:30 on Jan. 11th she was still loading. The McCarthy Jr. will be the last boat to load iron ore in the Twin Ports and North Shore for the 2019-2020 shipping season. An update on the Joyce L. VanEnkevort/Great Lakes Trader: When she departed Silver Bay on Jan. 6th she didn't have an updated AIS. She went to Cleveland.

Thunder Bay, ON
Friday; 18:08 Saginaw shifted to the Superior Elevator to finish loading grain. Saturday; 2:04 Ojibway departed for Windsor. 3:48 Manitoulin arrived at the Richard Current River Terminal to load grain.

St. Marys River
Upbound traffic on Saturday included CSL Niagara early, followed by Lee A. Tregurtha, and Algocanada (Purvis Dock, Soo Harbor). Mesabi Miner was downbound early. Edwin H. Gott and American Century were anchored for weather Saturday night above DeTour.

Northern Lake Michigan
Cheboygan MI: Friday; 3:26 USCG Mackinaw arrived at the Coast Guard Base. 15:38 The tug Michigan and tanker barge Great Lakes arrived at the US Oil Co. dock to unload petroleum products.

Alpena MI: Friday; 16:22 Samuel De Champlain departed for Milwaukee. 17:25 Sam Laud arrived to unload slag.

McGregor Bay: Friday; 21:13 Frontenac went anchor off of Killarney to wait for an icebreaker to take her into MacGregor Bay. Saturday; 12:53 CCGS Griffon arrived and began ice operations. Frontenac weighed anchor and proceeded to Fisher Harbor to unload road salt. CCGS Griffon went to anchor to wait for Frontenac to finish unloading and escort her to Georgian Bay.

Marine City, MI – Rich Larson
Overnight fog restricted visibility to less than a half mile. Three vessels were heard, but not seen in the late night and early morning hours, passing the St. Clair Power Plant sounding their horns fog. At 2:15 pm Kaye E. Barker was upbound, but anchored south of the power plant at 3:15 pm, most likely weather delayed.

Detroit-Rouge River – Raymond H
Kaye E Barker and Herbert C Jackson arrived at AK Steel to unload ore on Saturday.

Cleveland, OH – Bill Kloss
Joyce L. VanEnkevort/Great Lakes Trader arrived on 1/11 at 14:28 and is the last boat of the season to unload at the Bulk Terminal.

Great Lakes water levels are higher than last year at this time

1/12 - - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit district announced Friday that water levels on each of the Great Lakes started 2020 higher than they started 2019, a year where many record high water levels were set across the lakes.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urges those impacted by the high water levels of 2019 to prepare for similar levels again this year.

The most recent six-month forecast of Great Lakes water levels shows water levels continuing to be well above average over this period. Unlike last year, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are forecasted to reach record high levels in 2020.

“It is likely that water levels on lakes Michigan and Huron will set new monthly mean record high levels over the next couple of months,” said John Allis, chief of the Great Lakes Hydraulics and Hydrology Office, Detroit District. “This sets the stage for coastal impacts and damages in 2020 similar to, or worse than, what was experienced last year.”

Brian Adam, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Gaylord office, noted when the region receives a lot of ice coverage on the lakes, it tends to diminish evaporation off the lakes through the winter months, which in turn leads to higher lake levels the following season.

“Typically the lake levels fluctuate and are seasonal, but if you have that ice coverage component through the winter you’re going to diminish evaporation and it leads to higher levels,” Adam said. “You add on top of that we had a pretty wet fall and the combination of rain and snow, that’s some pretty hefty precipitation levels.”

Adam noted the Great Lakes system as a whole currently is at 3.6 percent ice coverage. Last year at this time, ice coverage stood at 1.8 percent.

Petoskey News-Review

Demolitions reported by World Ship Society

1/12 - Vessels with Great Lakes / Seaway connections reported as a casualty or sold for demolition taken from January 2020 issue of Marine News - Journal of the World Ship Society.

Casualties: none reported

Demolitions:

DIAMOND SUN (8701923; Tanzania, (Zanzibar) (Kopalnia Rydultowy-12) - 1st trip into the Seaway 1996) - 8,897 / 1990 bulk carrier. By Aland Shipping Ltd, Marshall Islands, to United Ship Breaking Co., India and arrived Alang 3.03.2019 - commenced demolition 8.03.2019

WEST OCEAN I (7638492; Mongolia) (Lift I-10, Lift Off-03, Christodoulos-02, Alexandros III-00, Kift Off-87 - 1st trip into the Seaway 1984) 3,039 / 1977 General cargo ship. By West Ocean Lines & Transport Inc., Philippines, to Bangladesh breakers and arrived Chittagong 14.03.2019 - commenced demolition 22.03.2019

Report prepared by Barry Andersen and René Beauchamp

CHI-CHEEMAUN (Hull#205) was launched January 12, 1974, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd.

GRAND HAVEN was gutted by fire on January 12, 1970, during scrapping operations at the United Steel & Refining Co. Ltd. dock at Hamilton, Ontario.

MENIHEK LAKE (Hull#163) was launched January 12, 1959, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd. She was used in a unique experiment with shunters in the Welland Canal in 1980. She was scrapped at Gijon, Spain in 1985.

On January 12, 1973, the VENUS had an engine room explosion shortly after unloading at Kipling, Michigan, near Gladstone on Little Bay De Noc, causing one loss of life.

On 12 January 1956, ANABEL II (probably a fish tug, 62 tons, built in 1928) was destroyed by fire at her winter lay-up at the Roen Steamship Co. dock at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

January 12, 1911 - ANN ARBOR NO 5 hit the rocks close to the south breakwater when entering Manistique harbor, tearing off her starboard shaft and wheel.

The wooden steam barge O.O. CARPENTER (127.5 foot, 364 gross tons) was sold by the Jenks Shipbuilding Company on 12 January 1892, to Mr. H. E. Runnels and Capt. Sinclair for $26,000. The vessel had been launched at Jenks yard on 13 May 1891.

The new EDWIN H GOTT departed Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in 1979, for final fitout at Milwaukee. 1970: BARON BERWICK made one trip inland in 1959 and returned as b) FILTRIC in 1967. The latter was abandoned 5 miles south of Cape Finistere on the northwest coast of Spain after the cargo shifted. The vessel was enroute from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Alexandria, Egypt, and it drifted aground the next day as a total loss.

1971: The West German freighter BRANDENBURG sank in the Straits of Dover, 7 miles south of Folkestone, England, after apparently hitting the wreck of TEXACO CARIBBEAN which had gone down the previous day following a collision. The former had been through the Seaway in 1969.

1979: A propane explosion aboard the tug WESTERN ENGINEER at Thunder Bay resulted in extensive damage. Two were injured. The ship was never repaired and noted as broken up in 1980.

1985: ATLANTIC HOPE first came inland when it was fresh from the shipyard in 1965. It was gutted by a fire in the accommodation area in position 9.22 N / 60.37 W as b) ALIVERI HOPE. The ship was abandoned but towed to Barbados and eventually into Mamonal, Colombia, on October 14, 1985, for dismantling.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Brian Bernard, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history.

Great Lakes water levels could be even higher in 2020

1/10 - Detroit, MI – With water levels in the Great Lakes breaking records in 2019, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is predicting levels to reach similar heights in 2020, with a chance of new records being set again.

Projections that extend six months from the present-day estimate levels in every Great Lake, as well as Lake St. Clair will be well above the average levels, with Lakes Michigan and Huron appear the most likely to set record highs. Both came close to records in 2019.

“Great Lakes have a long memory and it takes a while for lakes to respond,” said Lauren Fry, the technical lead for Great Lakes hydrology at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “Looking at where we are now going into the future, it will take an extended period of very dry conditions to bring us back to the average.”

While it’s unclear how long it will be before water levels do return to normal, the Army Corps is confident even if this year experiences its driest year ever measured, the Great Lakes will still be above the average.

While projections become less certain the further into the future people look, the outlook for the winter and spring will likely be wet, not dry. Layered on top of an already historic season of high lake levels in 2019 that measured new records in Lakes St. Clair, Erie, Ontario, and Superior, it’s likely Great Lakes residents will see more of the same in 2020.

The last time lake levels were this high was in 1986 when Fry said there was a “really big fall precipitation.”

Besides precipitation, evaporation on the lakes are the two primary factors that determine lake levels. Since the lakes recorded historic lows 10 years ago, the region has seen consistent ice cover matched with heavy rainfall and snowmelt.

“By my read, what’s changing are the extremes. The fact is it’s gone from more than a decade of at or around record lows in 2010, then jumping up to record highs so quickly - it’s unusual,” said Joel Brammeier, CEO of the Alliance for Great Lakes. “That volatility (shows) we’re seeing potentially global climate change coming to the Great Lakes.”

In 2019, water levels in Lakes Michigan and Huron came close to breaking records in June and July, when levels rose two feet above average recorded measurements. Lake St. Clair also reached its high in July, extending multiple inches above the 1986 record and more than two feet above the norm.

The past few years have been particularly wet for residents in the region. Just in 2019, every Great Lake beside Lake Superior received higher than average precipitation. Fry said 2015-19 has been the region’s wettest five-year-period in recorded history in the Great Lakes. Last May, 23 of the month’s 31 days saw rain, above the average measured by the National Weather Service.

When that volatility arrived in Michigan, it wreaked havoc on coastal communities around the state. The Detroit River, which connects Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie, spilled into the city and inundated neighborhoods like Jefferson Chalmers with high water levels. Parts of Harrison Township, which sits just west of Lake St. Clair, became impassable after its roads channeled water that spilled over from the basin.

Docks in St. Clair Shores became submerged and kept people from accessing their boats. Even the annual Jobbie Nooner was disrupted by the lake levels.

In response to the high lake levels, Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy sped up the time it takes for residents to acquire a seawall permit. Several communities have also requested Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to declare a state of emergency, in hopes of acquiring enough money to mitigate future-damage the levels might cause.

Ten state lawmakers mailed a letter to the governor in early December requesting the declaration. However, at the time Whitmer’s administration said the Michigan State Police, which works with emergency response teams, has yet to receive a request from county executives.

FOX 2 Detroit

Port reports are compiled from reader observations and AIS transmissions. Please send information about vessel arrivals and departures from your port to news@boatnerd.net by 9 p.m. (Eastern) nightly for them to be included in the next day's news. Please include name of vessel, arrival time, day and dock it went to (if known).

Duluth/Superior – Daniel Lindner
Edwin H. Gott arrived Duluth at 09:34 Thursday morning and backed into the Port Terminal slip to take a delay. She left the slip and shifted over to Canadian National at 18:00 to load iron ore. Manitoulin is expected on Friday morning with salt, and Paul R. Tregurtha is due shortly thereafter for winter layup at Midwest Energy. In Superior, Mesabi Miner spent Thursday loading ore at Burlington Northern, and currently has no posted departure time. Presque Isle is tentatively due on Friday afternoon.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay, MN – Gary A. Putney
Indiana Harbor arrived Two Harbors on Jan. 9th at 01:25 for North of #2 lay-by. American Century arrived Two Harbors on Jan. 9th at 10:14 for South of #2 shiploader where she is still loading at 19:15 on Jan. 9th. Also due Two Harbors is the Walter J. McCarthy Jr. that was running checked down on the North Shore. This was as of 19:15. American Spirit departed Two Harbors on Jan. 8th at 19:58 for Gary. Northshore Mining in Silver Bay saw the arrival of the Clyde S. VanEnkevort/Erie Trader on Jan. 9th at 07:29. As of 19:15 she is still at the dock. She is loading for Toledo.

Thunder Bay, ON
Wednesday; 16:46 CCGS Samuel Risley resumed ice operations. 17:58 Mississauga arrived at Viterra A to load wheat and departed Thursday at 14:03 for Windsor.

Marine City, MI – Rich Larson
Thursday, 12:45 pm upbound tug & barge Victory/Maumee; 1:30 pm upbound Frontenac; weather overcast, strong steady winds from south southeast creating significant waves and whitecaps on the river, 31 degrees F.

Detroit, MI – Raymond H
Thursday Arrivals: Leonard M and barge Huron Spirit arrived at Nicholson's Detroit Terminal to unload steel coils. Robert S Pierson arrived at Motor City Materials to unload salt.

Cleveland, OH – Bill Kloss
Samuel deChamplain/Innovation departed at 06:06 for Alpena. Sharon M1 departed at 21:30 on 1/8 for Sault Ste. Marie. Defiance/Ashtabula was loading another shuttle for ArcelorMittal.

Welland Canal and vicinity vessel passages, Thursday January 9 - Barry Andersen

Nanticoke - arrivals - Jan 8 - Algoma Hansa at 1146 from the anchorage - departed - Jan 9 - Algosea at 1733 westbound for Sarnia

Long Point Bay anchorage - anchored - Jan 7 - Algoma Hansa at 0753 - departed Jan 8 at 1146 for the dock

Buffalo - departed - Jan 9 - H Lee White - departed at 1916 for Sturgeon Bay

Port of Monroe to buy crane with $1.1 million grant

1/10 - Monroe, MI - Federal grant money has been awarded to fund equipment upgrades and training geared toward attracting more cargo to the Port of Monroe.

The U. S. Department of Transportation’s America’s Marine Highway Projects Program announced Tuesday the local port will receive $1.1 million. Paul LaMarre III, port director, said the funds will be used to buy a crawler crane, which will move cargo and heavy equipment.

“The grant is symbolic (of the fact) the Port of Monroe is here to stay and we are in the cargo business,” LaMarre said. “We will relentlessly continue to develop a prosperous seaport for the City of Monroe and beyond.”

The Marine Highway Projects Program, which is administered by the Maritime Administration, works to expand the use of the country’s water systems, including the Great Lakes, which are connected to the St. Lawrence Seaway System via Lake Erie.

Each year the program awards grants to projects that have been identified as Marine Highway Routes. The port and the Lake Erie Shuttle Project, an initiative to spur economic growth in the region, received a Marine Highway Route designation in 2016. Port officials pursued the grant because it presented an opportunity to help fund a project that makes the local entity more competitive in the shipping industry, according to LaMarre.

“There are very few grant programs that exist specifically for port- related projects and equipment,” he said. “We thought it was prudent to apply for funding for what has the potential to be most costly piece of equipment the port will utilize.”

The port will purchase a Manitowoc MLC165 crawler crane, which has a maximum boom length of 276 feet.

“The key to attracting cargo to your terminal is efficiency and economics,” he said. “A crane can single handedly provide both of those things.”

A crane is expensive to rent, which created a disadvantage for the local port, according to LaMarre. Last year, DRM Terminal Service, the port’s terminal operator, spent about $500,000 on crane rentals, he added.

The addition of the crane enables the port to handle different kinds of cargo, LaMarre said, adding the Manitowoc model can be customized with different attachments and other types of equipment.

The port submitted the grant proposal Sept. 20 to the DOT. Once port officials sign an agreement, the port will have 24 months to use the funds provided by DOT.

The grant was awarded on the contingency that the port also generate additional funds to purchase the crawler crane — the grant program requires a community match.

The total cost of the crane, its installation and associated training is approximately $1.7 million. LaMarre said the port will use a combination of its own money, funds from DRM Terminal Services and financing to cover the nearly $600,000 still needed.

“We have a reasonable amount of time to come up with the local match funding,” he said. The port worked with New Jersey-based grant writer Tiffany Torrey on the 10-page grant proposal. LaMarre said Torrey is respected within the maritime community.

“She is very familiar with the field in which we operate,” he said. “She has been highly successful with her applications for projects.”

Though the crane will be owned by the port, DRM Terminal Service will use it and handle its maintenance, which is a common industry practice, according to LaMarre.

In addition to the business the new equipment will help attract, LaMarre is looking forward to flying an American flag from the top of the crane. He also plans to fly a “Don’t Give Up the Ship” flag, a motto LaMarre has used as a rallying cry as the port remains embroiled in a regulatory dispute with U. S. Customs and Border Patrol. During the War of 1812, Cmdr. James Lawrence of the American frigate Chesapeake ordered his crew ′ Don’t give up the ship’ after he was fatally wounded during a battle near Boston Harbor in 1813. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry won his naval battle with the British on Lake Erie three months later while flying a blue battle flag inscribed with those words.

For several years CBP has imposed regulations that have limited the port’s ability to handle international cargo. LaMarre contends the regulations, which were handed down by CBP’s Detroit office, are inconsistent with expectations at other Great Lake ports. An independent study determined those regulations have cost the port several millions of dollars in revenue each year.

With the aid of U. S. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and U. S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, LaMarre has been seeking to operate more freely in the international shipping business as he works to comply with requirements set forth by CBP.

Last year Peters brokered a meeting with CBP officials to address the issue.

He supported the port’s recent grant application, highlighting the importance of the maritime highway and its economic impact on the area.

“I was proud to support the Port of Monroe’s application for the grant, which will allow it to upgrade equipment, make more investments to continue growing and delivering the products families and businesses across Michigan rely on every day,” Peters said.

LaMarre said there isn’t a set date for the installation of the crane. Given what the port has faced in recent years, it’s not going to rush the process, he added.

“With so much support for our continued prosperity for the American taxpayer, we would hope that (CBP) would recognize that the Port of Monroe deserves its resources and support,” LaMarre said. “All of our recent challenges have forced us to be patient. ... We will ensure the (crane) is installed when it makes the most sense.′

Monroe Evening News

Lay-up reports needed

1/10 - As the end of the shipping season approaches, please send reports of vessel lay-ups to news@boatnerd.net. This will help us compile our annual lay-up list. Include vessel name, date, port and lay-up dock name.
Click here to view the Lay-Up List

BoatNerd seeks used equipment donations

1/10 - Have an old IPad, or touch screen laptop? BoatNerd is looking for donations of used equipment that can be repurposed as kiosk displays. Touch screen laptops , monitors or iPads are good candidates. The equipment will be wiped and reset with our own software.

Depending on your location we can send you a pre-paid shipper to drop it in the mail.

Please contact help@boatnerd.com with the type of equipment you would like to donate. As a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, we will send a thank you letter acknowledging your donation.

On this day in 1952, EDWARD B. GREENE was launched at the American Shipbuilding yard at Toledo, Ohio. The 647-foot vessel joined the Cleveland Cliffs fleet. After lengthening over the winter of 1975-1976 and conversion to a self-unloader in 1981, the GREENE sailed briefly as the b.) BENSON FORD for Rouge Steel. She sails today as the c.) KAYE E BARKER of the Interlake fleet.

ONTADOC (Hull#207) was launched January 10, 1975, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd. For N.M. Paterson & Sons. Renamed b.) MELISSA DESGAGNES in 1990.

On January 10, 1977, the CHESTER A. POLING, b.) MOBIL ALBANY) broke in two and sank off the coast of Massachusetts.

January 10, 1998 - Glen Bowden, former co-owner of the Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation Company (MWT) died.

In 1974, the W.C. RICHARDSON was towed from her winter berth in Toledo to assist in lightering the grounded a.) BENSON FORD.

On Jan 10, 1978, the tanker JUPITER became stuck in 3 to 5-foot ridged ice off Erie, Pennsylvania. The U.S.C.G. tug OJIBWA was sent from Buffalo, New York, to free her, but she too became beset in the ice 3 miles from the JUPITER's position. The JUPITER was lost after an explosion at Bay City in 1990. The OJIBWA is now the tug GEN OGLETHORPE in Savannah, Georgia.

On 10 January 1898, Alexander Anderson of Marine City was awarded a contract to build a wooden steamer for A. F. Price of Freemont, Ohio, Isaac Lincoln of Dakota, and Capt. Peter Ekhert of Port Huron, Michigan. The vessel was to be named ISAAC LINCOLN and was to be 130 feet long and capable of carrying 400,000 feet of lumber. The contract price was $28,000. Her engine and boiler were to be built by Samuel F. Hodge of Detroit. The vessel was launched on 10 May 1898, and her cost had increased to $40,000. She lasted until 1931 when she was abandoned.

1967: PRINDOC (iii) was laid up for the winter at Cardinal, Ontario, when it broke its moorings in a storm and drifted down the St. Lawrence. The shipkeeper was able to get the anchor down and they held just above the Iroquois power dam, averting a major problem.

1970: IOANNA stranded near Sete, France, in a gale while inbound from Barcelona, Spain and had to be sold for scrap. The ship had been a Seaway trader as a) A.J. FALKLAND in 1959 and returned as b) PETER in 1960 and 1961.

1971: CATTARO came through the Seaway in 1959 for the Ellerman's Wilson Line. It caught fire in the engine room at Galatz, Romania, as b) VRACHOS and had to be beached. It was subsequently broken up for scrap.

1977: The tanker CHESTER A. POLING broke in two and sank off the coast of Massachusetts in a storm after an explosion in the forward pump room. Two members of the crew were lost. The ship had been a Great Lakes trader as a) PLATTSBURG SOCONY and as b) MOBIL ALBANY.

1981: SOL RIVER came to the Great Lakes in 1968. It ran aground as f) LIZA near Combi, Lemnos Island, Greece. The hull broke in two and sank January 15. The ship was carrying phosphate enroute from Sfax, Tunisia, to Kavalla, Greece, when it went down on the Aegean Sea with the loss of 5 lives.

2001: The Cypriot freighter ARETHUSA first came through the Seaway in 1987. Fire broke out in the engine room and spread to the bridge and accommodation area while the ship was in the northern Great Belt. The vessel, enroute from Casablanca, Morocco, to Gdansk, Poland, with phosphate, was towed to Gydnia, Poland, after the blaze was extinguished. Repairs to the 28-year-old vessel were not worthwhile and it arrived at the scrapyard at Aliaga, Turkey, for dismantling on March 26, 2001.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Brian Bernard, Russ Plumb, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.

Lake Erie ice cover predicted to cap at 80 percent

1/7 - Residents living along the Lake Erie shoreline can breathe a sigh of relief this winter.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a U.S. government scientific agency, is predicting that ice cover on Lake Erie this winter is expected to be a maximum of 80 percent, which is the highest projection for all of the five Great Lakes. The NOAA said maximum ice cover on the lower lakes, such as Lake Erie, normally occurs between mid-February and the end of February and Lake Erie has the highest ice cover because it is shallow.

Preliminary findings released in a January 2, 2020 report from the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory showed ice cover on Lake Huron should be up to 66 per cent this winter, Lake Superior 54 percent, Lake Michigan 41 percent, and Lake Ontario with the lowest level of ice cover at 32 percent because of its depth.

The ice will replace splashing waves along the shoreline caused by strong wind, meaning that properties along Lake Erie will get a break from erosion, damage, and flooding caused by pounding waves and record-high water levels in 2019.

The NOAA said as of January 1, 2020, the total Great Lakes ice cover is 1.3 per cent, which is about two thirds less than around this time last year, and barely anything compared to early 2018, when the ice covering the Great Lakes was already almost 20 percent overall. NOAA predicts the total maximum Great Lakes’ ice cover this winter to be around 47 per cent, well below the long-term average of 55.7 percent. The highest Great Lakes ice coverage on record is 94.7 percent in 1979 and the lowest is 9.5 percent in 2002.

Blackburn News

Grain shipments down 50% at Port of Toledo, but 2019 still a solid year

1/7 - Toledo, OH – While we've been below average when it comes to snowfall this winter, our rain totals were well above average during last year's growing season. That made for an extremely difficult year for a lot of farmers around the region. In fact, many of them couldn't even plant their crops, and that had a big effect on the grain numbers at the Port of Toledo.

The Port of Toledo has about 7,000 jobs tied to it, with a 1 billion dollar annual economic impact on the region. Every year 500-800 vessels come through Toledo. However, in 2019 those freighters were carrying a lot less grain.

Grain shipments through the port were down 50% in 2019, but a diversified portfolio of products helped offset the loss in grain numbers. In the end, it was another solid year for one of the busiest ports on the Great Lakes.

Port leaders say they will release the final numbers for 2019 in the coming weeks. The total will likely be over nine million tons of cargo moving in and out of Toledo.

Also, the new Cleveland Cliffs HBI facility being built in Toledo will mean more business here in 2020. It's expected to create new jobs and the need for at least 100 additional freighter shipments in and out of Toledo this year.

WTVG

Port reports are compiled from reader observations and AIS transmissions. Please send information about vessel arrivals and departures from your port to news@boatnerd.net by 9 p.m. (Eastern) nightly for them to be included in the next day's news. Please include name of vessel, arrival time, day and dock it went to (if known).

Two Harbors-Silver Bay, MN – Gary A. Putney
CN Two Harbors had no traffic on Jan. 6th. Due Two Harbors on Jan. 7th is the Indiana Harbor and the American Spirit. Northshore Mining in Silver Bay saw the departure of the Lee A. Tregurtha on Jan. 5th at 20:20 for Toledo. The Joyce L.VanEnkevort/Great Lakes Trader arrived on Jan. 5th at 20:35 and departed Silver Bay on Jan. 6th at 13:27. As of 18:00 she has no updated AIS. Due Silver Bay on Jan. 7th is the Clyde S. VanEnkevort/Erie Trader.

Thunder Bay, ON
Sunday; 22:45 Michipicoten arrived at Viterra to load grain and departed Monday at 14:50 for Windsor.

St. Marys River
Vessels that had been stopped for weather – Mesabi Miner, Hon. James L. Oberstar and Herbert C. Jackson, all resumed their upbound trips Monday early evening as gales-force winds moderated. Other upbounders included Indiana Harbor, American Spirit, Clyde S. VanEnkevort/Erie Trader (anchored off Paradie Monday night) and Mississagi (headed for Thunder Bay). At 10 p.m., Walter J. McCarthy Jr. and Kaye E. Barker were upbound in the lower river.

Southern Lake Michigan ports
American Century was unloading on Monday night.

Detroit, MI – Raymond H
Tug Sharon M I and barge Huron Spirit unloaded steel coils at Nicholson's Ecorse Terminal on Monday

Cleveland, OH – Bill Kloss
Defiance/Ashtabula and Sam Laud both ran shuttles to ArcelorMittal from the Bulk Terminal on Monday. Victory/Maumee were anchored off Lakewood waiting out currents. Paul R. Tregurtha arrived at the Bulk Terminal at 17:00.

Welland Canal and vicinity vessel passages – Monday January 6 - Barry Andersen
Nanticoke - arrival Jan 7 - Algosea eta 0700 - docked Jan 3 - Algocanada at 0758

Long Point Bay anchorage - anchored Jan 3 - Algoma Hansa at 2130

Buffalo - arrival Jan 7 - H Lee White - eta 0600 - Jan 6 - departed anchorage off Sandusky at 1503 after weather delay for Buffalo

Welland Canal upbound Jan 5 - CSL Tadoussac at 2209 stopped on east wall above lock 8

Welland Canal downbound Jan 6 - Algoma Equinox at 1054

Hamilton - arrival - Jan 7 - Algoma Equinox eta 0200 - docked - Jan 5 - John D Leitch at 1239 and CCGS Griffon at 1601 from Hamilton

Algoma Buffalo and Compass spending winter in Owen Sound

1/7 - Two Algoma Central Corporation lake freighters are spending this winter laid up in the Owen Sound Harbor. The 42-year-old Algoma Buffalo and 47-year-old Algoma Compass both arrived in the port last week, Peter Winkley, the company’s chief financial officer said Monday.

The two vessels joined in the harbor the MS Chi-Cheemaun, which docked for the winter on Oct. 21. Work is taking place on all three ships during this year’s layup.

“We will be doing regular winter maintenance on our two ships while they are there, similar to what we have done with other ships that have spent the winter,” Winkley said of the Algoma vessels.

Algoma Central Corporation purchased the Compass, formerly named the Adam C. Cornelius, and the Buffalo from the American Steamship Company at the end of 2017. The vessels have sailed for Algoma for the past two years, Winkley said.

Both ships are Great Lakes self-unloading bulk carriers. The Buffalo, which is tied up on the west side of the harbor north of the grain elevators, is 630 feet long, while the Compass, which is moored on the east side of the harbor, measures 680 feet. Both vessels tend to focus on the salt and construction materials shipping markets, Winkley said.

Chi-Cheemaun, meanwhile, is anchored south of the two freighters, near the Community Waterfront Heritage Centre. This winter, workers will be undertaking a project on the ferry to overhaul the below-deck crew quarters. Three-quarters of the work will take place this winter, with the remainder set for next winter, according to OSTC.

The final stage of the Chi-Cheemaun’s dining deck upgrade will also be completed this winter. The wall paneling and flooring are being extended through to the aft area of the dining deck and the two aft stairways are being completed as well. The ferry’s first crossing of 2020 between Tobermory and South Baymouth is set for May 1.

Owen Sound Sun Times

$50 million sediment cleanup on Rouge River Old Channel will become a model

1/7 - Detroit, MI - Not many people know the history of Zug Island at the confluence of the Rouge and Detroit rivers, nor the $50 million project currently underway there.

The island is named after Samuel Zug, who came to Detroit from Pennsylvania in 1836 as a 20-year-old. He went into the furniture-making business with a Detroit investor named Marcus Stevenson with money he had saved as a bookkeeper in Pittsburgh. The substantial forests and convenient access to East Coast markets by way of the Detroit River, Great Lakes and the Erie Canal made Detroit an ideal place for a young man seeking a fortune making furniture.

After 23 years in the furniture business, his partnership with Stevenson dissolved in 1859, leaving Zug a wealthy man. He purchased 325 acres of land at the confluence of the Rouge and Detroit rivers from Michigan’s second territorial governor, General Lewis B. Cass. It was a marshy peninsula that was three-quarters wetlands. Another attractive feature was that it had a natural sulfur spring that was providing, at that time, 1,200 barrels of mineral water per day.

Zug and his wife had hoped to build a mansion on the island, but after ten years they decided that the wetlands and the mosquitos breeding there were just too much to endure.

In 1888, Samuel Zug authorized the River Rouge Improvement Company to cut a small canal 60 feet wide and eight feet deep along the south end of his land, essentially converting his natural peninsula into a human-made island and making a new river mouth south of where the Rouge River used to empty into the Detroit River. This reversed the flow of the Old Channel. Detroit River water now flowed into the Old Channel, around the island, and then mixed with Rouge River water before emptying again into the Detroit River.

In 1889, Samuel Zug died, leaving this land to his wife, who died in 1891. The Zug heirs sold the island for $300,000 to George Brady and Charles Noble, who wanted to use it for industrial development. Today, it is called Zug Island and has a more-than-100-year history as part of the epicenter of the industrial revolution in Detroit. Several blast furnaces for steel production were built on the island beginning in 1902.

In the early 1900s, Henry Ford enlarged the canal to accommodate large freighters bringing raw materials into the Ford Rouge Plant. This shipping channel extends from the Detroit River at Zug Island upriver to a turning basin for freighters in Dearborn where the Rouge Plant is located. Construction of the Rouge Plant began in 1917 and was completed in 1928, making it the largest integrated factory in the world at that time.

Before strong environmental laws were enacted in the 1970s, pollutants were routinely discharged into the lower Rouge River. Dozens of industries operated in the area from the late 1800s, including iron and steel mills, coking plants, and tar and paper manufacturing. Today, there are strict controls on pollutant discharges, but the legacy of many decades of release of pollutants into the river can be found in contaminated sediments.

It should be no surprise that the Old Channel was identified as a contaminated sediment hot spot. The primary contaminants of concern in the Old Channel are polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons that are known to cause liver tumors in fish and oil and other petroleum products. An industrial chemical called polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs is also present.

Incidentally, the oil and other petroleum products in the sediments are undoubtedly the same kind of oil products that caused the infamous Rouge River fire 50 years ago.

In 2018, a voluntary contaminated sediment remediation project was started on a 0.75-mile stretch of the Old Channel under the Great Lakes Legacy Act. The Old Channel is part of the Rouge River Area of Concern. The first step was stabilizing the river bank along the Old Channel.

In 2019 and 2020, dredging and disposal of contaminated sediments and capping of contaminated sediments where dredging is not possible due to underwater utilities and other hazards are being carried out.

In total, 70,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment is being remediated at a cost of $50 million. The contaminated sediments are being transported by barge for disposal at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Pointe Mouillee Confined Disposal Facility in South Rockwood, Michigan. Silt curtains are deployed in the water around the dredging to minimize any suspended sediment from leaving the site.

Following the contaminated sediment remediation, spawning habitat will be enhanced for locally important fish species like walleye and lake sturgeon.

Read more and view images at this link: https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/01/zug-island-history-sediment-cleanup-detroit-rouge-river

Saltie Gallery Update

1/7 - The Saltie Gallery has been updated with the following images: Acadia Desgagnes, Alina, Argentia Desgagnes, Caroline, Chembulk Yokohama, CLI Pride, Fairchem Steed, Fearless, Federal Montreal, Federal Weser, Hanse Gate, Heerengracht, Lake Erie, Miena Desgagnes, Mirella S, Onego Traveller, Palmerton, Rosaire A. Desgagnes, Timgad, Vectis Falcon and Vectis Pride.

07 January 1974 - EDMUND FITZGERALD (steel propeller bulk freighter, 711 foot, 13,632 gross tons, built in 1958, at River Rouge, Michigan) lost her anchor in the Detroit River when it snagged on ice. It was raised in July 1992. The anchor weighs 12,000 pounds and now resides outside the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan.

On January 7, 1970, the e.) ONG, a.) REDHEAD of 1930, had her Canadian registry closed. The tanker had been sold for use as a water tender at Antigua in the Lesser Antilles and had departed Toronto on December 1, 1969.

1924: The rail car ferry ONTARIO NO. 1 had a rough overnight crossing of Lake Ontario. The ship was diverted to Toronto with three feet of ice on the deck and anchored off Port Credit. With no seagate, it had to sail into the wind and could not make its docking at Cobourg as scheduled.

1943: ORNEFJELL came to the Great Lakes beginning in 1933 and returned as b) AKABAHRA after being sold in 1937. It was torpedoed and sunk on the Mediterranean in position 37.07 N / 4.38 E.

1977: BARFONN had visited the Seaway beginning in 1959 and returned as b) ORIENT EXPLORER in 1967 and as c) AEGEAN in 1971. It caught fire at Colombo, Sri Lanka, as d) TONG THAY and became a total loss. The vessel was taken to Singapore Roads, laid up, sold for scrap and arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for dismantling on March 24, 1978.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Max Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.

Captain of the Exeborg docks first ship of 2020 at Port of Montreal

1/6 - Montreal, QC – Every Jan. 1, the first vessel to enter the Port of Montreal in the new year is treated to a special ceremony, complete with a champagne toast and the presentation of a gold-tipped cane to the ship's captain.

This year, that honor goes to the Exeborg, from the Netherlands, which arrived in Montreal after leaving the port of Sauda in Norway on Dec. 21. On Monday, the Exeborg's captain, Qin Xiao Fei, will receive the ceremonial gold-headed cane engraved with his name. Over the weekend, Qin said he's planning on going into the city to buy gifts for the upcoming Chinese New Year.

The custom of handing down the 14-carat-tipped cane began in 1840.

Read more and view a video at this link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-golden-cane-ceremony-1.5399170

Port reports are compiled from reader observations and AIS transmissions. Please send information about vessel arrivals and departures from your port to news@boatnerd.net by 9 p.m. (Eastern) nightly for them to be included in the next day's news. Please include name of vessel, arrival time, day and dock it went to (if known).

Lake Superior
With gale warnings in effect, James R. Barker was on the hook in the shelter of the Keweenaw Peninsula Sunday night. AIS says she is bound for Duluth.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay, MN – Gary A. Putney
The CN-Two Harbors docks had no traffic on Jan. 5th. Tentatively due Two Harbors on Jan. 6th are the James R. Barker and the Mesabi Miner. As of 19:40 on the 5th the Barker is anchored in Bete Grise Bay, where it has been most of the day, and the Miner has been anchored since late afternoon near Paradise, MI. Northshore Mining in Silver Bay saw the arrival of the Lee A. Tregurtha on Jan. 5th at 05:15. She is still at the dock on Jan. 5th at 19:40. As of 19:40 on the 5th the Joyce L. VanEnkevort/Great Lakes Trader is running checked down on the North Shore NE of Silver Bay. Her AIS is showing Duluth, but Harbor Lookout is showing her for Silver Bay. I'm inclined to agree with Harbor Lookout.

Thunder Bay, ON
Sunday; 7:19 CCGS Samuel Risley resumed ice operations. 9:44 CSL St Laurent arrived at Keefer Terminal for winter layup. 10:27 CCGS Samuel Risley returned to the coast guard base.

St. Marys River
Algoma Equinox was downbound in the late morning, followed by Presque Isle in the early evening. Laura VanEnkevort was in the locks in the late evening. Upbounders included Mesabi Miner in the afternoon (went to anchor for weather), followed by Herbert C. Jackson and Indiana Harbor in the late evening (went to anchor above DeTour). Gale warnings were in effect, with winds to 40 knots for the St. Marys River area.

Sturgeon Bay, WI
Roger Blough arrived for winter layup Sunday; John G. Munson arrived Saturday. The tug Cheyenne, formerly based in Detroit and now under new ownership, arrived and is docked at the Center Point Marina.

Green Bay, WI
Steamer Alpena unloaded cement on Sunday and was outbound Sunday night. Her AIS says she is going to Milwaukee.

Southern Lake Michigan ports
On Sunday night, Edwin H. Gott was unloading at Gary, with American Century doing the same at Indiana Harbor.

Calcite, MI: Saturday; 21:31 After unloading petroleum products the tug Albert and tanker barge Margaret departed for Sarnia.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Sault was loading salt Sunday. Manitoulin was at the north dock. Algoma Enterprise is laid up in the basin.

Detroit, MI – Raymond H
Sunday Arrivals: Calumet shifed to the Revere Dock to finish unloading slag. Kaye E Barker arrived at AK Steel to unload ore. Sarah Andrie and her tank barge arrived at the Buckeye Terminal. Iver Bright arrived at the Waterfront Petroleum Terminal.

Toledo, OH – Jim Hoffman
Algoma Innovator went to anchor in northern western Lake Erie Sunday. Unknown when she will arrive at Toledo.

Cleveland, OH – Bill Kloss
Defiance/Ashtabula arrived at 06:32 Sunday. Sam Laud was on a shuttle from the Bulk Terminal for ArcelorMittal.

Welland Canal and vicinity vessel passages – Sunday January 5, Barry Andersen
Nanticoke - docked - Jan 3 - Algocanada at 0758 - Jan 4 - Algonova at 0024 departure - Algosea at 0024 westbound - Jan 5 - Algonova at 1242 westbound

Long Point Bay anchorage - anchored - Jan 3 - Algoma Hansa at 2130

Buffalo - arrival - Jan 6 - none - Jan 7 - H Lee White - currently delayed, anchored off Sandusky for weather

Welland Canal upbound - Jan 4 - Robert S Pierson at 1608 and Tim S Dool at 2121 stopping at wharf 12 - Jan 5 - CSL Tadoussac eta 2210

Welland Canal downbound - Jan 4 - Frontenac at 0349 stopping wharf 16, CSL Laurentien at 1347 to wharf 16 (winter berth), Algoma Mariner at 1507 to wharf 16 (winter berth) and John D Leitch eta 2235

Welland Canal docks - Dec 19 - Rt Hon Paul J Martin into Heddle Marine dry dock Port Weller for winter work at 1151 - Dec 25 - Algoma Transport stopped wharf 17 - winter layup - Dec 30 - Algoma Spirit arrived wharf 12 at 1955 approx for winter lay-up - Jan 3 - Kaministiqua from Heddle Marine lay-by berth into deep dock at 1005 approx. for winter work - Kaministiqua into Heddle Marine DD with tugs Wyatt M and Jarrett M assisting - light tug Wyatt M tied-up West Street Port Colborne at 1600 approx. overnight - Jan 4 - CSL Laurentien at 0432 (stopped wharf 16 (winter berth) and Algoma Mariner stopped wharf 16 at 1542

Hamilton - arrival - Jan 5 - John D Leitch at 1239 - listed as laid-up - Dec 20 - NACC Capri (Mlt) at 1228 - Dec 24 - tug Wilf Seymour & Alouette Spirit at 0854 - Dec 28 - tug Everlast & Norman McLeod at 0738 - Dec 29 - tug Sea Eagle II & St Marys Cement II at 0741 - miscellaneous vessels - Dec 4 - CCGS Ile St Ours at 1800 and CCGS Caribou Isle at 1800 - both at Heddle Drydock and Dec 22 - CCGS Limnos at 1048 moored at Centre for Inland Waters - Dec 31 - Algoma Guardian at 0058, Algoma Harvester at 1001 - Jan 2 - Manitoulin at 0707 - Jan 3 - Florence Spirit at 1559 and Tim S Dool at 2023 - Jan 4 - tug Ecosse at 1350 from Toronto - departure - Jan 4 - CCGS Griffon at 0829 for Toronto Toronto - arrival - Jan 4 - CCGS Griffon at 1156 - docked - Dec 26 - Oakglen at 1010 (laid-up) - Dec 27 - Salarium at 1957 (laid-up) - Dec 30 - McKeil Spirit at 1248 - Jan 1 - NACC Argonaut at 2216 - departed - Jan 4 - tug Ecosse at 1022 for Hamilton

While under tow heading for scrap, the HARRY R. JONES went aground at Androsan, Scotland, on January 6, 1961, and it wasn't until February 15 that she arrived at her final port of Troon, Scotland.

January 6, 1999 - The Dow Chemical plant in Ludington, Michigan, announced a plan to close its lime plant, eliminating the need for Great Lakes freighters to deliver limestone.

In 1973, the JOSEPH H. THOMPSON ran aground at Escanaba, Michigan, after departing that port.

1976: The former GLADYS BOWATER was sailing as c) AGINOR when it caught fire and had to be abandoned off southwest Sicily. The hull was towed to Palermo, Italy, with serious damage and then to Piraeus, Greece, where it was laid up unrepaired. But the ship was resold, rebuilt and returned to service as d) ALEXANDRA in 1977. It was scrapped at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, as e) LAMYAA in 1985.

1979: OTTO NUBEL first came to the Great Lakes in 1953 and returned regularly until the final four trips in 1959. The ship was sailing as b) MARIA III when there was an explosion in the engine room on January 6, 1979, near Tamomago Island, Spain. A fire followed and the vessel went aground where it was abandoned as a total loss.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Brian Bernard, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.

Outflows at Moses-Saunders Dam raised to help drain Lake Ontario

1/4 - The last cargo ship of the season passed through the St. Lawrence Seaway in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, and with that, the seaway closed for the season. Usually, by the time this happens, ice has started forming on the river, but not this year. A stretch of unusually warm weather has prevented any ice formation on the St. Lawrence so far this year.

And with the seaway now free of ships, the International Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Board is taking the opportunity to flush as much water as possible out of Lake Ontario. The river board announced it plans to throw open the floodgates at the Moses-Saunders Dam, increasing the outflow from 8,850 cubic metres per second to over 10,000, flow rates not seen since near the end of the summer.

Releasing such an enormous amount of water downstream is only possible done when no ships are trying to navigate the seaway and no ice forming on the surface.

“If you increase outflows, you increase the velocity of the St. Lawrence River and, eventually, it becomes unsafe for navigation. But the outflows have been at record highs for several months despite this constraint. But with the closing of the seaway, that safety concern is gone,” explained Jacob Bruxer, the Canadian regulatory representative of the river board.

“Ice is another concern. If you increase outflows too much, it prevents the formation of a stable ice cover on the river, which can cause ice jams that we do not want. But with the mild weather we’ve had, and another week of mild temperatures being forecasted, we don’t have to worry about that either.”

Water levels in the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River have been much higher than normal for several months, causing a lot of anger from residents living on both sides of the river. The issue has become so bad that New York state is suing the International Joint Commission (which delegates authority over water levels to the river board), seeking US$1 billion in damages for destruction of residents’ property.

There have also been calls from residents along the river in Ontario for the International Joint Commission to scrap or amend Plan 2014, which governs how water levels in the river can be adjusted and under what circumstances. The board’s weekly updates show it tossed Plan 2014’s rules out the window earlier this year, increasing flow rates through the dam beyond what Plan 2014 recommends in order to mitigate Lake Ontario water levels.

In the face of constant criticism from those dealing with a second summer of flooding in three years, the board struggled to keep flow rates to the highest levels that would continue to allow safe navigation along the seaway. Flow rates only dropped below 10,000 cubic metres per second the week of Sept. 12.

The increase began Tuesday and aims to remove as much water as possible, as quickly as possible, in order to make water levels next spring and summer more manageable.

“All the Great Lakes are still very high for this time of year, including Lake Ontario,” said Bruxer. “There is a lot of concern about high water occurring again in 2020, so the board is looking to take every opportunity to release water from Lake Ontario between now and then. So this is part of that strategy.”

By increasing the outflows at the Moses-Saunders Dam to over 10,000 cubic metres per second, it could reduce the water level in Lake Ontario by an additional three or four centimetres over the next week. Before the increase, the lake level was dropping by 28 centimetres a week.

As a result, water levels on the downstream side of the dam are expected to rise, which includes Cornwall and the Montreal area. But the water should quickly drain out to the ocean.

Standard Freeholder

Port reports are compiled from reader observations and AIS transmissions. Please send information about vessel arrivals and departures from your port to news@boatnerd.net by 9 p.m. (Eastern) nightly for them to be included in the next day's news. Please include name of vessel, arrival time, day and dock it went to (if known).

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
There was no traffic in Duluth on Friday, as H. Lee White ended up departing from General Mills late Thursday night. In Superior, Algoma Equinox was outbound from Burlington Northern at 11:51 with a load of ore for Hamilton, and her sister G3 Marquis arrived at 12:28 to load. She was due to depart just before midnight. Burns Harbor was anchored waiting to load next, and Stewart J. Cort was due to join her at 21:00 Friday evening.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay, MN – Gary A. Putney
American Century departed Two Harbors on Jan. 3rd at 01:04 for Indiana Harbor. The Presque Isle shifted from North of #2 to South of #2 between 02:14 and 02:36 where she was still loading as of 19:00 on Jan. 3rd. There is no inbound traffic scheduled for Two Harbors on Jan. 4th. Northshore Mining in Silver Bay saw the departure of the Paul R. Tregurtha on Jan. 3rd at 10:10 for Cleveland. There is no inbound traffic scheduled for Silver Bay on Jan. 4th.

St. Marys River
Cason J. Callaway, Hon. James L Oberstar and Mississagi were downbound on Friday during the day. Edwin H. Gott was in the locks at 10 p.m. followed by H. Lee White with a load for Buffalo.

Milwaukee, WI – Wisconsin Marine Historical Society
Under mostly sunny skies, tug G.L. Ostrander with barge Integrity arrived Port Milwaukee 14:01 on January 1, 2020. She was the port’s first visitor of the new decade. Typically, the pair would deliver cement to Lafarge’s terminal. On this occasion, however, they tied up near the south end of the mooring basin.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Conveyor was loading salt at Compass Minerals Friday. Algoma Enterprise remains idle in basin and may have entered winter layup. Manitowoc is expected next.

Marine City, MI – Rick Larson
Friday: 12:45pm downbound Cason J. Callaway; 1:30 pm upbound tug Cheyenne. Weather overcast with calm winds; river calm, 42 degrees F.

Detroit, MI – Raymond H
Friday Arrivals: Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder arrived at the Motor City Materials dock to unload salt. Calusa Coast and Delaware arrived at the Marathon Asphalt Terminal to load.

Toledo, OH – Jim Hoffman
Algoma Innovator loaded a grain cargo at Thunder Bay and is due in Sunday morning. Unknown which dock she is bound for.

Cleveland, OH – Bill Kloss
Sam Laud departed Cleveland at 20:33 on 1/2, arriving in Ashtabula at 01:13 on 1/3. Also in Ashtabula was the Cuyahoga, arriving at 15:54 on the 3rd. Herbert C. Jackson arrived in Cleveland from Ashtabula at 20:58 on the 2nd. The American Spirit arrived at 18:00 for the Bulk Terminal.

Welland Canal and vicinity vessel passages – Friday January 3, Barry Andersen
Nanticoke - arrivals - Jan 3 - Algosea at 0416, Mesabi Miner at 0418, and Algocanada at 0758 - departed - Jan 3 - Mesabi Miner at 1735 westbound

Long Point Bay anchorage - anchored -Dec 29 - Algonova at 2115 - Jan 3 - Algoma Hansa eta 2050 - departed - Jan 3 - Algosea at 0408 from the anchorage and Algocanada at 0750 from the anchorage - both to the dock

Welland Canal upbound - Jan 2 - Algoma Mariner at 1254 and tug Leo A McArthur & John J Carrick at 1540 - Jan 3 - Manitouin at 0554, tugs Jarrett M at 0738 & Wyatt M at 0802 - to Heddle Marine lay-by berth to assist Kaministiqua into dry dock, tug Jarrett M departed shipyard at approx 1000 upbound

Welland Canal downbound - Jan 2 - CSL Laurentien at 0245 stopped at wharf 19-E - Jan 3 - Tim S Dool at 0737, tug Wyatt M departed shipyard at approx 1000 headed back to Toronto, Robert S Pierson at 1258

Welland Canal docks - Dec 19 - Rt Hon Paul J Martin into Heddle Marine dry dock Port Weller for winter work at 1151 - Dec 25 - Algoma Transport stopped wharf 17 - winter layup - Dec 30 - Algoma Spirit arrived wharf 12 at 1955 approx for winter lay-up - Jan 2 - CSL Laurentien stopped at wharf 19-E at 0315 approx. - departed - Jan 3 - Kaministiqua from Heddle Marine lay-by berth into deep dock at 1005 approx. for winter work - tugs Wyatt M and Jarrett M assisted Kaministiqua into the dry dock, CSL Laurentien backed away from 19-E at 0825 westbound - light tug Wyatt M tiedup West Street Port Colborne at 1600 approx.

Port Weller anchorage - anchored - Jan 1 - Algoma Mariner at 0046 from Clarkson dock - weather - departed - Jan 2 at 1235 for the canal

Hamilton - arrival -Jan 3 - Florence Spirit at 1559 and Tim S Dool at 2023 - listed as laid-up - Dec 20 - NACC Capri (Mlt) at 1228 - Dec 24 - tug Wilf Seymour & Alouette Spirit at 0854 - Dec 28 - tug Everlast & Norman McLeod at 0738 - Dec 29 - tug Sea Eagle II & St Marys Cement II at 0741 - miscellaneous vessels - Dec 4 - CCGS Ile St Ours at 1800 and CCGS Caribou Isle at 1800 - both at Heddle Drydock and Dec 22 - CCGS Limnos at 1048 moored at Centre for Inland Waters - Dec 31 - Algoma Guardian at 0058, CCGS Griffon at 0907 and Algoma Harvester at 1001 - Jan 2 - Manitoulin at 0707 - departed Jan 2 - tug Leo A McArthur & John J Carrick at 1233 for the canal - Jan 2 - Florence Spirit at 2239 to go out on lake to clean holds before returning

Toronto - docked - Dec 26 - Oakglen at 1010 (laid-up) - Dec 27 - Salarium at 1957 (laid-up) - Dec 30 - McKeil Spirit at 1248 - Jan 1 - NACC Argonaut at 2216 - departed - Jan 2 - CSL Niagara at 1630 for the canal

On January 4, 1978, IRVING S. OLDS was involved in a collision with the steamer ARMCO while convoying in heavy ice in the Livingstone Channel of the lower Detroit River. The OLDS hit a floe of heavy ice, came to a complete stop and the ARMCO, unable to stop, hit the OLDS' stern.

In 1952, the car ferry SPARTAN (Hull#369) was launched at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Christy Corp.

1966: FARO, a Liberty ship that had visited the Seaway in 1965, ran aground in heavy weather off Nojima, Japan, enroute from Muroran, Japan, to Keelung, Taiwan, in ballast. It had to be abandoned as a total loss. It was sold to Japanese shipbreakers in 1967 and broken up.

2012: FEDERAL MIRAMICHI was disabled by a mechanical problem during stormy weather on the English Channel, 12.8 miles northwest of Guernsey enroute from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Paranagua, Brazil, with 22,900 tons of urea. French authorities, fearing the ship could blow ashore, dispatched a tug and the vessel was towed into Cherbourg for repairs. It has been a frequent Seaway trader since 2006.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.

Main engine failure led to Tecumseh engine room fire

1/3 - The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is continuing to investigate an engine room fire that began on a Canadian cargo vessel along the Detroit River in December 2019.

The U.S. Coast Guard responded on Dec. 15, 2019 to an engine room fire that began on the Tecumseh. The fire took place around 2 p.m., while the freighter was near Zug Island on the American side of the Detroit River. Sixteen crew members were on board, with one sustaining minor injuries, according to the TSB. Additionally, the fire caused "extensive damage" to the vessel.

The vessel eventually drifted into Canadian waters, where a team of firefighters boarded and extinguished the blaze. The TSB deployed a team of investigators to the Tecumseh on Dec. 17 to "gather information and access the occurrence."

CBC

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay refurbished and ready for service in Sturgeon Bay

1/3 - Sturgeon Bay, WI – After about a year away from its home port of Sturgeon Bay, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay is back in Door County. The ice-breaking tug was getting an upgrade from top to bottom. From its signature black and white paint job to the attached aids to navigation barge, the 140 foot-long U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay is ready for service.

"We brought the cutter to Baltimore, Maryland, in the summer of 2018. And we returned this past summer, to bring her back home," said Lt. Cmdr. Steven Kingsley, U.S. Coast Guard. Kingsley serves as captain of the Mobile Bay. He says the ship was gutted from bow to stern, and then rebuilt. Kingsley says the ship's bridge features a new navigational system. The electronic charting table faces forward, and the steering console is redesigned.

"We're usually navigating in confined areas, alongside large vessels, so you want to have the best steering system you possibly can in those conditions," said Kingsley.

Just outside, part of the deck is now wider to accommodate the small-boat launch system. Below deck, there are more bunks for the 28 crew members to sleep, and the engineering control center is rewired too.

"New cameras for remote monitoring. So with a smaller crew, we don't get into every space, all the time. We're able to monitor spaces pretty frequently, just by looking up at a screen, instead of sending people down to spaces," said Chief Warrant Officer Brent Fike, U.S. Coast Guard.

And down in the engine room, a motorized pump system, once stored on deck, now operates below, away from the elements. Fike says after 40 years, the Mobile Bay needed the improvements. "It was just time for an upgrade. Time for making it much more comfortable than it was in the past," he said.

The U.S. Coast Guard hopes the improvements will add another 15 years of service to the Mobile Bay. The captain says, with winter approaching, the ice breaker could be put to use in the coming weeks.

Fox 11

Port reports are compiled from reader observations and AIS transmissions. Please send information about vessel arrivals and departures from your port to news@boatnerd.net by 9 p.m. (Eastern) nightly for them to be included in the next day's news. Please include name of vessel, arrival time, day and dock it went to (if known).

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
H. Lee White arrived Duluth at 05:48 Thursday morning and headed to General Mills to load wheat. There is currently no further traffic listed on Duluth's schedule for the next few days, so the timing of the harbor's next arrival is unknown. The Burlington Northern dock in Superior, however, is seeing plenty of traffic. Edwin H. Gott continued loading iron ore there on Thursday and was tentatively expected to depart Thursday evening. Algoma Equinox, G3 Marquis, and Burns Harbor were all anchored offshore waiting to load, with Stewart J. Cort due to join them on Friday.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay, MN – Gary A. Putney
As of 19:30 on Jan. 2nd the American Century was still loading at South of #2. Presque Isle was still at North of #2 lay-by. There is no inbound traffic scheduled for Two Harbors on Jan. 3rd. Paul R. Tregurtha arrived Northshore Mining in Silver Bay on Jan. 1st at 22:45. As of 19:30 on Jan. 2nd she was still at the loading dock. There is no inbound traffic scheduled for Silver Bay on Jan. 3rd.

Thunder Bay, ON
Wednesday; Algoma Innovator is loading grain at Viterra B. 22:22 John D Leitch departed and is down bound on Lake Superior. 23:14 Mississagi arrived at the G3 elevator to load grain. Thursday; 5:40 Ojibway arrived and went to anchor south of the Welcome Islands. 16:39 Mississagi departed for Windsor. 16:44 Ojibway weighed anchor and proceeded to the G3 elevator to load grain.

Sturgeon Bay, WI
Tug Cheyenne was upbound from Detroit to Sturgeon Bay Thursday to assist in icebreaking this winter. She is under new, unspecified ownership.

Northern Lake Huron ports
Owen Sound: Thursday; 6:07 Algoma Buffalo arrived for winter layup.

Alpena: Thursday; 10:52 Samuel De Champlain arrived and went to anchor.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Conveyor arrived at the elevators 6.42 am Wednesday. Algoma Enterprise arrived 4.06 pm Thursday and was in the basin.

Detroit, MI – Raymond H
Lee A Tregurtha was unloading ore at AK Steel on Thursday

Toledo, OH – Jim Hoffman
Philip R. Clarke was bound for Toledo most likely for winter layup on Thursday. She should be arriving mid to late Thursday evening sometime.

Cleveland, OH – Bill Kloss
Finished with shuttles, Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder went to Cargill to load salt for Detroit, departing Cleveland at 16:08. Sam Laud is running the shuttles for ArcelorMittal Steel.

Welland Canal and vicinity vessel passages – Thursday January 2 - Barry Andersen

Nanticoke - arrivals - Jan 2 - none

Long Point Bay anchorage - anchored - Dec 29 - Algosea at 0917 and Algonova at 2115 - Jan 2 - Algocanada at 0755

Welland Canal upbound - Jan 1 - Kaministiqua at 0800 - tied at lay-by berth Heddle Dry Dock - Jan 2 - Algoma Mariner at 1254 and tug Leo A McArthur & John J Carrick at 1540

Welland Canal downbound - Jan 1 - Manitoulin at 1944 - Jan 2 - CSL Laurentien at 0245 stopped at wharf 19-E

Welland Canal docks - Dec 19 - Rt Hon Paul J Martin into Heddle Marine dry dock Port Weller for winter work at 1151 - Dec 25 - Algoma Transport stopped wharf 17 - winter layup - Dec 30 - Algoma Spirit arrived wharf 12 at 1955 approx for winter lay-up - Jan 1 - Kaministiqua tied at lay-by berth at Heddle Marine Port Weller until later in the week before entering dock for winter work - Jan 2 - CSL Laurentien stopped at 0315 approx.

Port Weller anchorage - anchored - Jan 1 - Algoma Mariner at 0046 from Clarkson dock - weather - departed - Jan 2 at 1235 for the canal

Hamilton - arrival - Jan 2 - Manitoulin at 0707 and Manitoulin at 0707 - listed as laid-up - Dec 20 - NACC Capri (Mlt) at 1228 - Dec 24 - tug Wilf Seymour & Alouette Spirit at 0854 - Dec 28 - tug Everlast & Norman McLeod at 0738 - Dec 29 - tug Sea Eagle II & St Marys Cement II at 0741 - miscellaneous vessels - Dec 4 - CCGS Ile St Ours at 1800 and CCGS Caribou Isle at 1800 - both at Heddle Drydock and Dec 22 - CCGS Limnos at 1048 moored at Centre for Inland Waters - Dec 31 - Algoma Guardian at 0058, CCGS Griffon at 0907 and Algoma Harvester at 1001 - Jan 1 - Florence Spirit at 1737 - departed Jan 2 - tug Leo A McArthur & John J Carrick at 1233 for the canal

Clarkson - docked - Jan 1 - Algoma Mariner at 0543 - departed Jan 1 at 2147 for Port Weller anchorage

Toronto - docked - Dec 26 - Oakglen at 1010 (laid-up) - Dec 27 - Salarium at 1957 (laid-up) - Dec 30 - McKeil Spirit at 1248 - Jan 1 - NACC Argonaut at 2216 - departed - Jan 2 - CSL Niagara at 1630 for the canal.

Seaway – Rene Beauchamp
The first ship of the year in Montreal will be the Exeborg tomorrow night (night of January 2 to 3) when she will cross port limits. She will be the winner of the famous gold-headed cane. She is a vessel that has transited the Seaway regularly since 2013, the year of her construction.

UW-Milwaukee receives $10M donation toward new Great Lakes research vessel

1/3 - Milwaukee, WI - Thanks to an anonymous donor, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences has half the funding it needs to get a new research vessel. The $10 million donation is from an unknown donor who is a part of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and it's the largest gift UW-Milwaukee has ever received, according to the university.

Researchers will be studying the water quality of the Great Lakes along with studying both environmental and human impacts on the lakes, with the hope of managing freshwater resources.

The new vessel will be named Maggi Sue and will replace the Neeskay, the current research vessel. The Neeskay was purchased by UW-Milwaukee nearly 50 years ago. The 71-foot converted Army T-boat is more than 65 years old.

"It’s probably one of the oldest research vessels operating in the Great Lakes today," Val Klump, dean of the School of Freshwater Sciences, said. "We’ve known we were going to have to replace her, so we’ve been working on this project for over a decade now."

The Maggi Sue will be 120 feet long, and have advanced onboard technology, numerous lab spac-es and sleeping accommodations that will allow scientist and crew to remain on the lakes longer than on the Neeskay. Researchers can only stay on the Neeskay for a day. The Maggie Sue allows them to be on the water for up to 10 days.

"It’ll be the first research vessel designed and built from the keel up as a multi-disciplinary research vessel in the great lakes," Klump explained.

On the new vessel, researchers will be able to collect real-time data and conduct experiments on the water, which are two things researchers aren’t able to do on the Neeskay.

MacLellan-Hurd said the Neeskay doesn’t allow the entire team to stay on the ship comfortably. A small group normally takes the Neeskay to Green Bay on the lake and the rest of the team drives up and gets on the ship there.

The total amount for the new vessel is $20 million, $15 million will go toward building Maggi Sue. The remaining $5 million will be used to maintain the vessel. UM-Milwaukee is raising the rest of the money with the hope of starting construction in the next few years.

Wisconsin Public Radio

Goderich moves to protect water treatment plant from rising lake levels

1/3 - Goderich, ON – A recent rise in water levels on Lake Huron has the town of Goderich, Ont., spending more than $1 million to protect its treatment plant for drinking water. The plant is located less about 30 metres from the water's edge. Mayor John Grace said municipal officials became concerned in August about increasing erosion and rising lake levels.

"That's a very significant piece of infrastructure for the community, that's our drinking water," he said. "If we did nothing, there could be damage to the plant and its chlorination equipment. We had no choice but to move as quickly as possible."

To keep rising water away from the plant, the town hired a contractor to truck in tonnes of armour stone from the Owen Sound area. The stone will be used to form a wall along the shore to protect the water plant and its surrounding area from flooding.

The original plan was to wait until spring 2020 to do the work, but Grace said the town had to step up that timetable to ensure the plant was protected. Work began in early December could continue until February, depending on weather. No small expense

It's an expensive project: Grace said the final bill will likely be between $1.5 million and $2 million, no small expense for a town with a population of less than 10,000. The town will have to dip into reserves built up by water user fees to pay for the work. "It's not small potatoes, but it needs to be done," said Grace.

In addition to protecting the water plant, the town also had to replace a lakeshore boardwalk battered by high waves during storms in the fall. High water levels have caused problems for property owners up and down the Lake Huron this year.

Throughout 2019, lake levels have approached the record set in 1986. The Maitland Valley Conservation Authority, which oversees much of the Lake Huron coastline, predicts the lake will continue to rise in early 2020 and will be about 30 centimetres higher in January and February than the same period of 2018.

Stephen Jackson is the flood and erosion safety service coordinator with the conservation authority. He said fluctuations in lake levels are part of a natural cycle, with the peaks and valleys separated by anywhere from eight to ten years.

The lake level is measured in metres above sea level. Over the past 50 years, it's ranged from a low of about 175 metres to a high of 177.5 metres set in 1986. The town of Goderich, Ont., is spending more than $1 million to protect its drinking water treatment plant from rising lake levels. (Steve Lawrence/CBC)

"What's different this time is the speed of the rate of rise," he said. "So we hit a record low in 2013 and here we are in 2019 at record levels." Jackson said the level of precipitation and evaporation are the only significant factors that determine the lake's level. Also, it's not clear where the lake levels will go after an expected rise in early 2020.

"At then end of the day, it really comes down to what the weather is like in the coming months," he said.

CBC

For the second year in a row the tanker GEMINI (steel propeller tanker, 420 foot, 5,853 gross tons, built in 1978, at Orange, Texas) was the first vessel of the year in Manistee, Michigan. She headed to the General Chemical dock to load 8,000 tons of brine for Amherstburg, Ontario. The vessel arrived at Manistee in 2002, on January first, and Captain Riley Messer was presented a hackberry cane, crafted by local resident Ken Jilbert. A similar cane was presented to the vessel Saturday morning. Sold Canadian in 2005, renamed b.) ALGOSAR (i).

In 1939, the CHIEF WAWATAM ran aground on the shoals of the north shore near St. Ignace, Michigan.

On Jan 3, 1971, BEN W. CALVIN ran aground at the mouth of the Detroit River after becoming caught in a moving ice field.

In 1972, TADOUSSAC cleared Thunder Bay, Ontario, for Hamilton with 24,085 tons of iron ore, closing that port for the season.

1979: KOIKU MARU first visited the Seaway in 1967. It ran aground near Tartous, Syria, in stormy weather overnight and had to be abandoned as a total loss.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Brian Bernard , Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Mike Nicholls, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.

Liberty ship John W. Brown to find new home at former Bethlehem Steel shipyard

1/2 - Baltimore, MD – Just seven weeks after the owners of the WWII Liberty ship SS John W. Brown announced it was losing its berth at the Port of Baltimore, there’s a new plan to put the historic ship at the site of the former Bethlehem Steel Fairfield Shipyard.

On Monday, Project Liberty Ship Inc. and Baltimore shipbuilder Maritime Applied Physics Corp (MAPC) announced a $18 million plan to revitalize a portion of the Bethlehem Steel site. It would provide a home base for the ship’s education and cruise activities and give MAPC room to grow its shipbuilding and maritime technology operations. (The company is also responsible for Baltimore’s slick new water taxis.)

In 2000, John W. Brown visited the Great Lakes for drydocking and hull work at Toledo. She is one of two remaining operational World War II Liberty Ships out of 2,710 built in an emergency shipbuilding program to carry troops and cargo. More than 350 were mass-produced, to save on materials, at the Bethlehem-Fairfield shipyard– where the Brown’s new pier at MAPC will be.

The 440-foot John W. Brown has been docked (for free) for years at Pier C on Clinton Street in Southeast Baltimore. But when the pier was sold by the state of Maryland to a private company, the volunteer-run Project Liberty Ship Inc. couldn’t afford to stay. After a one-year extension given by the new owners, the ship’s lease is up.

Bay Bulletin and other news outlets reported on the ship’s plight back in November, and since then, MAPC has come through. The $18 million proposal would take federal and state funding, along with corporate and individual donations, to rebuild a historic WWII fitting-out pier for the Brown. The ship itself launched from the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard on Labor Day 1942, bringing the story full circle.

The proposal is still at the conceptual design stage, Project Liberty Ship’s Michael Barnes tells Bay Bulletin. Once a final design is chosen, permitting, demolition and construction must take place. The permitting process involves the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the Maryland Port Administration, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Historical Trust, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Coast Guard, and others, but Barnes is optimistic that things will go smoothly because the project calls for replacing an existing pier, and because no dredging is required.

With an estimated completion goal of about two years, Project Liberty Ship is still working on a solution for interim docking. The ship will be in drydock in Norfolk for the next five weeks. After that, the Brown will need a place to stay that allows the public access to its floating museum, says Barnes, who is the chairman of Project Liberty Ship pier committee and a ship volunteer.

“We are still looking for short term places to keep the ship and would very much like those to be in Baltimore,” he says.

Chesapeake Bay Magazine

Port reports are compiled from reader observations and AIS transmissions. Please send information about vessel arrivals and departures from your port to news@boatnerd.net by 9 p.m. (Eastern) nightly for them to be included in the next day's news. Please include name of vessel, arrival time, day and dock it went to (if known).

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
The only harbor traffic in Duluth on New Year's Day was Ashtabula/tug Defiance, which departed from Canadian National at 18:40 carrying iron ore pellets for Toledo. In Superior, Walter J. McCarthy Jr. was outbound at 10:46 after loading ore at Burlington Northern, and Edwin H. Gott arrived from anchor at 11:17 to load. She will likely depart during the latter half of the day Thursday. Algoma Equinox was on the hook waiting to load after the Gott, and her fleetmate G3 Marquis was expected to join her Wednesday night to wait for BN.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay, MN – Gary A. Putney
John G. Munson departed Two Harbors from South of #2 on Dec. 31st at 21:50 for Gary. The Cason J. Callaway then shifted from South of #1 to South of #2 between 21:45 to 22:17. She departed Two Harbors on Jan. 1st at 10:50 for Conneaut. Arriving Two Harbors on Jan. 1st at 11:10 was the American Century that had been anchored off Duluth. She got underway at approx. 08:40 for Two Harbors. Also arriving Two Harbors on Jan. 1st was the Presque Isle at 17:25 for North of #2 lay-by. There is no inbound traffic scheduled for Two Harbors on Jan. 2nd. As of 19:15 on Jan. 1st the Clyde S. VanEnkevort/Erie Trader was still loading at Northshore Mining in Silver Bay. She arrived at 20:48 on Dec. 31st. Due Silver Bay after the Clyde S. departs is the Paul R. Tregurtha, that as of 19:15 on the 1st, is running checked down on the North Shore. There is no inbound traffic due Silver Bay on Jan. 2nd.

Thunder Bay, ON
Wednesday; 16:44 Algoma Innovator arrived to load grain. 17:51 CSL Welland arrived at Keefer Terminal for winter layup.

St Marys River
Downbound traffic New Year’s Day included James R Barker (early), Mesabi Miner, Cuyahoga, Saginaw, Mississagi, Anglian Lady and barge, Joyce L/Clyde S. VanEnkevort, Indiana Harbor, Lee A Trugurtha and Roger Blough. American Spirit was downbound at Isle Parisienne at 9 p.m., with John G. Munson about to round Whitefish Point. Ojibway was upbound in the morning, followed in the afternoon by tug Sharon M l and barge in the late afternoon. Since the weather has been mild, there is no significant ice impeding vessel passage.

Indiana Harbor, IN
Calumet is due Wednesday night or early Thursday.

Burns Harbor, IN
Stewart J. Cort departed upbound around noon on Wednesday for Superior, WI.

Alpena, MI
Wednesday: 9:58 Algoma Buffalo arrived to unload road salt. At 15:52 she departed for Owen Sound for winter layup.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Conveyor arrived 6.42 am Wednesday and she tied up at elevators. Algoma Sault arrived 7.20 am Wednesday and began loading salt at Compass Minerals, departing in the evening for Green Bay. Algoma Enterprise is expected next.

Detroit, MI – Raymond H
Philip R Clarke was unloading ore at Zug Island on Wednesday

Toledo, OH – Jim Hoffman
Saginaw she should be arriving at Toledo early Thursday afternoon. She is supposed to be going upriver to the Kuhlman Dock to unload grain.

Welland Canal and vicinity vessel passages – Wednesday January 1, Barry Andersen Nanticoke - arrivals - Dec 31 - none

Long Point Bay anchorage - anchored - Dec 29 - Algosea at 0917 and Algonova at 2115 - Dec 31 - CSL St Laurent at 1418 for weather - departed Jan 1 - CSL St Laurent for Ashtabula

Welland Canal upbound - Dec 31 - Kaministiqua at 1400 to Port Weller anchorage - Jan 1 - Kaministiqua at 0800 - tied at lay-by berth Heddle Dry Dock

Welland Canal downbound - Dec 30 - Algoma Spirit at 1825 headed to wharf 12 for winter lay-up - Jan 1 - Florence Spirit at 0756, CSL Tadoussac at 0845 and Manitoulin at 1944

Welland Canal docks - Dec 19 - Rt Hon Paul J Martin into Heddle Marine dry dock Port Weller for winter work at 1151 - Dec 25 - Algoma Transport stopped wharf 17 - winter layup - Dec 30 - Algoma Spirit arrived wharf 12 at 1955 approx for winter lay-up - Jan 1 - Kaministiqua tied at lay-by berth at Heddle Marine Port Weller until later in the week before entering dock for winter work

Port Weller anchorage - anchored - Dec 31 - Kaministiqua at 1505 for weather - headed to Heddle Marine Dry Dck at Port Weller - departed - Jan 1 at 0735 for the canal

Hamilton - arrival - Jan 1 - Florence Spirit at 1737 - listed as laid-up - Dec 20 - NACC Capri (Mlt) at 1228 - Dec 21 - tug Leo A McArthur & John J Carrick at 0755 - Dec 24 - tug Wilf Seymour & Alouette Spirit at 0854 - Dec 28 - tug Everlast & Norman McLeod at 0738 - Dec 29 - tug Sea Eagle II & St Marys Cement II at 0741 - miscellaneous vessels - Dec 4 - CCGS Ile St Ours at 1800 and CCGS Caribou Isle at 1800 - both at Heddle Drydock and Dec 22 - CCGS Limnos at 1048 moored at Centre for Inland Waters - Dec 31 - Algoma Guardian at 0058, CCGS Griffon at 0907 and Algoma Harvester at 1001 -

Clarkson - arrival - Dec 31 - Algoma Mariner eta 1820 approx from the anchorage off Hamilton

Toronto - arrival - Jan 1 - NACC Argonaut eta 2200 - docked - Dec 26 - Oakglen at 1010 (laid-up) - Dec 27 - Salarium at 1957 (laid-up) - Dec 30 - CSL Niagara at 1230, McKeil Spirit at 1248 - departed - Dec 31 - NACC Argonaut at 0620 eastbound

While on the North Atlantic under tow for scrapping, ASHLAND parted her towline but was tracked by U.S. Coast Guard aircraft and was retrieved by her tug on January 2nd, 1988, some 300 miles off course.

The 3-masted wooden schooner M. J. CUMMINGS was launched at the shipyard of Goble & MacFarlane in Oswego, New York. Her owners were Mrs. Goble & MacFarlane, Daniel Lyons and E. Caulfield. Her dimensions were 142 foot 6 inches X 25 foot 2 inches X 11 foot 6 inches, 325 tons and she cost $28,000.

January 2, 1925 - The ANN ARBOR NO 7 (Hull#214) was launched at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Corp. She was sponsored by Jane Reynolds, daughter of R. H. Reynolds, marine superintendent of the railroad. Renamed b.) VIKING in 1983.

1967: The small Norwegian freighter RAAGAN dated from 1919 and had been a Pre-Seaway visitor to the Great Lakes as a) ERICH LINDOE, b) GRENLAND and c) HILDUR I. It sank in the North Sea about 60 miles north of the Dutch coast after developing leaks on a voyage from Egersund, Denmark, to Dordrecht, Netherlands, with a cargo of titanium. The crew was rescued.

1976: The XENY, which was towed into Cadiz Roads on January 1, capsized and sank on her side. The ship had caught fire on December 2 and was abandoned by the crew. It had first visited the Great Lakes as a) PRINS WILLEM II in 1955 and had been back as d) XENY in 1971.

1981: The heavy lift vessel MAMMOTH SCAN had heeled over while unloading at Abu Dhabi on October 15, 1980. The ship was righted and under tow when the towline parted off Algeria on December 28, 1980. The listing vessel was brought to Malaga Roads, Spain, on this date, healed over and sank as a total loss.

1987: A fire in the cargo hold of REMADA at Barcelona, Spain, resulted in heavy damage and the ship had to be sold for scrap. It had made one trip through the Seaway in November 1973 as b) ONTARIO.

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

Happy New Year from the BoatNerd News Page

1/1 - BoatNerd wishes all our readers a very happy and successful 2020. Thank you for your support.

A big three long and two short goes out to all who send news to this page or contribute to the Port Reports, among them Daniel Lindner, Gary A. Putney, Gordy Garris, Todd Shorkey, Rene Beauchamp, Ron Beaupre, Rod Burdick, Ned Goebricher, Bruce Douglas, Bill Kloss, Barry Andersen, Ron Walsh, Capt. Mike Nicholls, Gene Polaski, Jim Hoffman, Ken Cyrette, Marc Dease, Tom Brewer, Ned Goebricher, Paul Erspamer, Logan Vasicek, Sam Hankinson, Jeff Benson, Paul Martin, Matt Miner, Dave Wobser, Ben & Chanda McClain, Joy Fett, Denny Dushane, Ken Borg, Luke Johnson, Phil Nash, Bill Bird, Raymond H., Al Miller, Tom Hynes, Roger LeLievre and anyone else we’ve inadvertently left off this list, including those who wish to remain anonymous. It is the contributions of all these volunteers, and many others, that make BoatNerd possible.

We are always seeking contributions to this page from readers around the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. If you see news in your area or want to offer your observations of vessel arrivals and departures, please send to news@boatnerd.net. If you spot an interesting shipping-related story in your local news, please take a moment to forward a link so that we may share it with our audience.

Thank you!

Port reports are compiled from reader observations and AIS transmissions. Please send information about vessel arrivals and departures from your port to news@boatnerd.net by 9 p.m. (Eastern) nightly for them to be included in the next day's news. Please include name of vessel, arrival time, day and dock it went to (if known).

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
There was no traffic through the Duluth entry during the day Tuesday, however Ashtabula/tug Defiance were due at 20:30 to load iron ore pellets at CN. In Superior, Walter J. McCarthy Jr. arrived at 02:12 to load iron ore pellets at BN. She should depart early Wednesday. Both Edwin H. Gott and Algoma Equinox were anchored outside the harbor waiting to load after the McCarthy. American Century, which had a Duluth destination for a short period of time on Monday evening, was anchored off Duluth on Tuesday waiting to load in Two Harbors.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay, MN – Gary A. Putney
Roger Blough departed Two Harbors on Dec. 31st at 13:10 from South of #2 for Gary. The John G. Munson shifted from North of #1 to South of #2 between 13:25 and 13:51 where at 19:45 she is still loading. Cason J. Callaway remains at lay-by at South of #1. The American Century went to anchor off Duluth on the 31st to await Two Harbors. Presque Isle is due Two Harbors on Jan. 1st. As of 19:45 on Dec. 31st the American Spirit was still at Northshore Mining in Silver Bay. The Clyde S. VanEnkevort/Erie Trader passed by Silver Bay in the a.m. of the 1st and continued on to go to anchor between Two Harbors and Larsmont to the SW. She stopped at approx. 10:10 and got underway at approx. 12:25 on Dec. 31st. She ran checked down to Silver Bay where she is off Silver Bay at 19:45 to wait on the American Spirit to depart Due Silver Bay on Jan. 1st is the Paul R. Tregurtha.

Thunder Bay, ON
Monday; 17:46 Cuyahoga departed and went to anchor north of the main anchorage to wait out the weather. 20:39 John D Leitch arrived and went to anchor. Tuesday; 6:28 Cuyahoga weighed anchor and departed downbound. 6:36 John D Leitch weighed anchor and proceeded to Viterra A to load grain. 10:51 CCGS Samuel Risley resumed ice operations. 12:32 Saginaw departed for Toledo. 15:28 John D Leitch shifted to the G3 elevator to finish loading.

St Marys River
With the bad weather of the past few days moving out, the river was busy on Tuesday. Upbound traffic included Presque Isle, Paul R Tregurtha, Kaye E. Barker, CSL Welland, Algoma Innovator, Mississagi, G3 Marquis, H. Lee White and Burns Harbor. Downbounders included Algocanada. Algoma Conveyor and Philip R Clarke. New Year’s Day looks to be busy with downbounders as well, with AIS showing 10 vessels showing at or east of the Keweenaw Tuesday evening.

Indiana Harbor, IN
Calumet departed Tuesday evening northbound. No destination was listed.

Burns Harbor, IN
Stewart J. Cort was still in port New Year’s Eve.

Northern Lake Huron ports
St Marys River: Tuesday; 2:37 Laura L Van Enkevort weighed anchor and departed for Toledo. 9:42 CSL Laurentien weighed anchor and departed for Port Colborne.

Alpena: Tuesday; 7:17 G L Ostrander departed for Milwaukee. The cement carrier Alpena shifted to the loading dock.

Midland, ON
Canada Steamship Lines’ Frontenac departed Midland at approximately 11 a.m. on December 31, after unloading at the ADM elevator.

Welland Canal and vicinity vessel passages Tuesday December 31, Barry Andersen

Nanticoke - arrivals - Dec 31 - none

Long Point Bay anchorage - anchored - Dec 29 - Algosea at 0917 from the dock and Algonova at 2115 from the dock - Dec 31 - CSL St Laurent at 1418 for weather - bound Ashtabula

Welland Canal upbound - Dec 30 - Algoma Spirit at 0919 - went out into Lake Erie to turn around heading back down to wharf 12 for winter lay-up and CSL St Laurent at 2158 - Dec 31 - Algoma Enterprise at 1046 and Kaministiqua at 1400 to Port Weller anchorage - Jan 2 - CSL Laurentien

Welland Canal downbound - Dec 30 - Algoma Spirit at 1825 headed to wharf 12 for winter lay-up

Welland Canal docks - Dec 19 - Rt Hon Paul J Martin into Heddle Marine dry dock Port Weller for winter work at 1151 - Dec 25 - Algoma Transport stopped wharf 17 - winter layup - Dec 30 - Algoma Spirit arrived wharf 12 at 1955 approx for winter lay-up - Jan 1 - Kaministiqua to go into deep dock at Heddle Marine Port Weller for winter work

Port Weller anchorage - anchored - Dec 31 - Kaministiqua at 1505 for weather - headed to Heddle Marine Dry Dck at Port Weller - departed - Jan 1 for the dry dock

Anchorage off Hamilton - anchored - Dec 30 - Algoma Mariner at 1434 for weather - departed Dec 31 at 1650 approx. for Clarkson dock

Hamilton - arrivals - Dec 30 - Algoma Enterprise at 2133 - Dec 31 - Algoma Guardian at 0058, CCGS Griffon at 0907 and Algoma Harvester at 1001 - listed as laid-up - Dec 20 - NACC Capri (Mlt) at 1228 - Dec 21 - tug Leo A McArthur & John J Carrick at 0755 - Dec 24 - tug Wilf Seymour & Alouette Spirit at 0854 - Dec 28 - tug Everlast & Norman McLeod at 0738 - Dec 29 - tug Sea Eagle II & St Marys Cement II at 0741 - miscellaneous vessels - Dec 4 - CCGS Ile St Ours at 1800 and CCGS Caribou Isle at 1800 - both at Heddle Drydock and Dec 22 - CCGS Limnos at 1048 moored at Centre for Inland Waters - departure - Dec 31 - Algoma Enterprise at 0832 for the canal

Clarkson - arrival - Dec 31 - Algoma Mariner eta 1820 approx from the anchorage off Hamilton

Toronto - docked - Dec 26 - Oakglen at 1010 (laid-up) - Dec 27 - Salarium at 1957 (laid-up) - Dec 30 - CSL Niagara at 1230, McKeil Spirit at 1248 and NACC Argonaut at 1610

Seaway – Rene Beauchamp
The last ships of the 2019 season transited the St-Lambert lock overnight after midnight. The Spruceglen was bound for Côte Ste-Catherine to spend the winter there with fleetmate CSL Assiniboine. And, their work done, the tugs La Prairie and Ocean Serge Genois as well as the icebreaker Edward Cornwallis spent New Year’s Eve at the dock.

Ludington lighthouse fighting flooding, working with DNR on solution

1/1 - Ludington, MI – High water levels along Lake Michigan continue to impact beachfront property. This time, the Big Sable Point Lighthouse in Ludington is trying to fend off water that's seeped into the basement.

Preserving and protecting Big Sable from flooding has been an undertaking for as long as the lighthouse has been around, according to Peter Manting. He's the director of the Sable Point Lighthouse Keepers Association.

“If you look back in the logs, they built the lighthouse in 1868 and in 1870, they were saying they had water in the basement," he chuckled.

Over the years, Manting says measures have been taken like extending the seawall to keep the crashing waves of Lake Michigan at bay. But high water levels up top are only part of the problem. He says there’s a high water table. So the water is coming up from beneath the surface. “We’ve installed sump pump down there, automatic sump pump now. So that seems to be keeping our basement dry," Manting said.

He says the sump pump was installed in November. However, Manting says the last time water levels have been this much of a concern was in 1986.

“The place had been abandoned. So there was nobody out here to really monitor things... and that’s when the water got really close to the tower," he described.

In 1986, Manting says concerned citizens and Boy Scouts sandbagged the perimeter. Now that the lighthouse association is in place, he says they’re looking to the Department of Natural resources for a longer term fix.

“We’re working with the State of Michigan to come up with a good solution, and I think one of the solutions that their engineers have come up with is to throw some rip rock out in front of the seawall, about thirty feet out," Manting explained.

The desired outcome is for the rip rock to break up the waves before the waves get to the seawall, thus keeping water further away from the lighthouse.

Fox 17

From 'harbor' to 'wharf,' Great Lakes glossary defines shipping

1/1 - Duluth, MN – – For many folks, "Chandler" is a character on the hit television show “Friends,” and a "metric ton" is the amount of grief a teenager can impose on a parent. But for observers of Great Lakes shipping traffic, those terms mean very different things. A "metric ton" is 2,204 pounds of a given cargo, and a "chandler" is a person who sells and delivers supplies to the ore boats in harbor.

Thanks to the Chamber of Marine Commerce in Ottawa, observers have its Glossary of Terms to turn to in order to understand the wide array of shipping specific vocabulary.

“The reason we created the glossary is because a lot of the industry has its own specific terms, or jargon, developed over decades and even centuries of operation,” said Julia Fields, spokesperson for the Chamber. “It’s a fun tool to translate that language.”

The glossary debuted in 2011 and made the jump to the Chamber’s new website earlier this year. It’s a popular feature, Fields said, and has been promoted multiple times on the Chamber’s Facebook page.

Jayson Hron is the director of marketing for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority and is one of the folks who has benefited from the glossary. He’s been on board that organization for a year in January and was compelled to learn industry terms such as "stowage," "transship" and what it is a "vessel agent" does.

“The maritime world definitely speaks its own special dialect, with obscure-to-generalist terms like 'cabotage' and 'draft' and 'Plimsoll line,' which quickly become part of your everyday language when you’re immersed in it daily,” he said.

Learning the language means realizing that not all terms live in isolation, and that some of the terms take on a bigger life.

“Many marine words and phrases have drifted into general language,” Hron said. “Lefty pitchers are 'portsiders'; people are told to 'pipe down'; rummage sales are filled with 'flotsam and jetsam' — so it’s not an impossibly foreign language to learn. And learning it has been part of the fun. It’s a fascinating world.”

For the Chamber in Ottawa, the origin of the glossary was simple: They were meeting a demand.

“People who live in the communities around water and see great big majestic ships going by, they’re curious about who’s working on those ships,” she said. “There’s just a natural interest in what’s happening in marine shipping industry.”

So the next time you wonder what the difference is between a "stevedore" and a "longshoreman," you can look it up. (Hint: both are responsible for unloading vessels, but one supervises the other.)

Download the glossary at this link: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/transportation/4838858-From-harbor-to-wharf-Great-Lakes-glossary-defines-shipping

Sarter Fund remembers lost tug captain

1/1 - Sturgeon Bay, WI - The Sarter family is making sure its patriarch’s presence continues to be felt throughout the county. The Don Sarter Marine Safety Memorial Fund was established shortly after his death on the Great Lakes back in September.

Sarter bought Selvick Marine Towing early in 2019.

In the wake of the tragedy, donations made in Sarter’s honor are now being used to fund safety-related projects like new life jackets for kayak and boat companies and a drone for the Door County Sheriff’s Department. His daughter, Tammy Sarter Zeigle, says her father would want to be remembered this way. Zeigle says the newly established foundation is in the process of writing for more grants to help fund additional safety-related projects. Donors can contribute to the Don Sarter Marine Safety Memorial Fund at any Nicolet Bank branch.

Door County Daily News

Lake Ontario outflow sets records in 2019, further increases expected in New Year

1/1 - Outflows will be increased substantially in the coming days as efforts to remove water from Lake Ontario continue.

Starting Wednesday, following the end of navigation season, outflows will be increased as much as possible until ice formation resumes on the St. Lawrence River. A flow increase from 8,850 m3/s (312,500 cfs) to over 10,000 m3/s (353,000 cfs) may be possible in the coming days, with the exact amount depending on ice and water level conditions in the St. Lawrence River. Water levels downstream of the Moses-Saunders Dam, including around the Montreal area, are expected to rise, but will be monitored closely to ensure they are maintained below flood levels.

Lake Ontario outflows were first set to record-rates in June as water levels of Lake Ontario reached a new daily record-high of 75.92 m (249.08 ft). This followed an unprecedented spring that saw record water levels and flows occurring across the Great Lakes and Ottawa River basins. High outflows from Lake Ontario continued through the summer, fall and early winter, resulting in more water released from Lake Ontario during the last seven months of 2019 than in any year since the start of records in 1900. The average outflow from June through December was 9,560 m3/s (337,600 cfs), the highest flow ever released over this period, and equivalent to removing nearly 9.1 m (30 ft) of water from Lake Ontario during this time.

However, with all of the Great Lakes seeing record or near-record water levels in 2019, inflows to Lake Ontario have also remained high during that time. Lake Ontario’s level was 75.00 m (246.06 ft) yesterday and remains well-above seasonal averages. High inflows are expected to continue into 2020.

The International Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Board, under authority granted to it by the International Joint Commission, will continue to deviate from Plan 2014 and will look for any and all opportunities to remove additional water from Lake Ontario prior to the spring.

The first of these opportunities is expected at the start of January. Over the past several weeks, outflows were set at 200 m3/s (7,100 cfs) above the Plan 2014 maximum L-limit, which is the highest outflow that can be released from Lake Ontario, while still ensuring safe navigation through the St. Lawrence River. However, with the St. Lawrence Seaway season set to end on December 31st, this constraint will no longer apply.

Ice conditions are also no longer a constraint. Flows were temporarily reduced on December 20th following a brief cold spell that resulted in temporary ice formation in the Beauharnois Canal. Mild temperatures followed, causing the ice cover to deteriorate and allowing outflows to again be rapidly increased. Ice formation will likely resume during the next cold spell, but the timing is uncertain.

IJC

Win a Great Lakes cruise aboard a working freighter

1/1 - Port Huron, MI – For vacation next summer, how about a leisurely Great Lakes cruise aboard a 1,000-foot freighter?Seriously – this is a real thing you can do. But you can’t buy a ticket; you have to win one in a charity raffle.

Each year, several fleets of U.S.-flagged freighters carry millions of tons of dry bulk goods between ports on the Great Lakes. They primarily transport iron ore for making steel, coal for power plants, limestone, cement, salt, sand and grain. Thirteen of these ships are more than three football fields in length and the largest can carry more than 70,000 tons in a single trip, according to the Lake Carriers Association.

There’s no law prohibiting these ships from also carrying a small number of fare-paying passengers, but none choose to offer this service due to various logistical and liability concerns. A few Great Lakes shipping companies do, however, occasionally provide free cruises to nonprofit organizations to use as a prize in a fundraiser raffle. And there’s another opportunity coming up.

Port Huron Lodge No. 2 of the International Ship Masters’ Association is selling freighter cruise raffle tickets for $10 each. The winner will get a roundtrip freighter cruise for four adults aboard an Interlake Steamship Company vessel during the 2020 sailing season.

It’s impossible to say this far in advance what the exact prize entails: logistical details like specific ship, route, travel dates, length of voyage and departure port are all things you’ll have to coordinate with the company. They aren’t making a special trip for you – cargo takes priority. You’re just coming along for the ride.

"The willingness to be flexible with the company on this is a precondition," said Chris Gillcrist, executive director of the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo. "They don't go by a passenger time schedule. The boat could be leaving the dock at 11 o'clock at night and you need to be on it by 7 that night."

To enter, visit www.freightertrip2020-ismalodge2.com to download the entry form and submit before the Jan. 31 drawing.

Find more information and read more at this link: https://www.cleveland.com/life-and-culture/g66l-2019/12/bcb41f1e764439/win-a-great-lakes-cruise-aboard-a-working-freighter.html

On this day in 1958, 76-year-old Rangvald Gunderson retired as wheelsman from the ELTON HOYT 2ND. Mr. Gunderson sailed on the lakes for 60 years.

On January 1, 1973, the PAUL H. CARNAHAN became the last vessel of the 1972 shipping season to load at the Burlington Northern (now Burlington Northern Santa Fe) ore docks in Superior, Wisconsin. Interestingly, the CARNAHAN also opened the Superior docks for the season in the spring of 1972.

On 1 January 1930, HELEN TAYLOR (wooden propeller steam barge, 56 foot, 43 gross tons, built in 1894, at Grand Haven, Michigan) foundered eight miles off Michigan City, Indiana. She was nicknamed "Pumpkin Seed," due to her odd shape.

January 1, 1900 - The Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad merged with the Chicago & West Michigan and the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western Railroads to form the Pere Marquette Railway Co.

On 1 January 1937, MAROLD II (steel propeller, 129 foot, 165 gross tons, built in 1911, at Camden, New Jersey, as a yacht) was siphoning gasoline off the stranded tanker J OSWALD BOYD (244 foot, 1,806 gross tons, built in 1913, in Scotland) which was loaded with 900,000 gallons of gasoline and was stranded on Simmons Reef on the north side of Beaver Island. A tremendous explosion occurred which totally destroyed MAROLD II and all five of her crew. Only pieces of MAROLD II were found. Her captain's body washed ashore in Green Bay the next year.

At time of loss, she was the local Beaver Island boat. The remains of the BOYD were removed to Sault Ste. Marie in June 1937.

1943: HAMILDOC (i) went south during World War Two to assist in the bauxite trade. The N.M. Paterson & Sons bulk canaller sank in the Caribbean after a three-day gale. The vessel, enroute from Georgetown, British Guiana, to Trinidad, was at anchor when the hull broke in two. All on board were saved.

2000: WISTERIA was built at Imabari, Japan, in 1976 and came through the Seaway that year. It was taking water in #1 hold as c) AIS MAMAS while enroute from West Africa to India with a cargo of logs. The crew was removed but the ship was taken in tow and reached Capetown, South Africa, on January 5. It was subsequently sold for scrap and arrived at Alang, India, for dismantling on April 23, 2000 and was beached the next day.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.