Port reports are compiled from volunteer 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). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions. We are particularly looking for reporters for the St. Marys River, Southern Lake Michigan ports and the Hamilton/Toronto area.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary Putney
James R. Barker departed Two Harbors on 4/12 at 11:46 for Indiana Harbor. Due Two Harbors on 4/13 is the American Spirit. The Mesabi Miner departed Northshore Mining in Silver Bay on 4/12 at 07:05 for Cleveland. Arriving Silver Bay on 4/12 was the Whitefish Bay at 15:28. She spent most of the day lying off Silver Bay waiting on weather. When she did come in, she came in sideways, bow pointed North, stern South. Due Silver Bay on 4/13 is the CSL Laurentien.

Thunder Bay, ON
Sunday; 19:49 Algoma Strongfield departed for Baie Comeau. Monday; 4:39 Florence Spirit weighed anchor and proceeded to the Superior Elevator to load grain. 11:42 Harvest Spirit departed and went to anchor south of the Welcome Islands. 12:16 CSL St Laurent arrived at Viterra A to load grain. 19:44 Florence Spirit departed for Windsor. Harvest Spirit weighed anchor and proceeded to the Superior Elevator to finish loading.

Port Inland, MI – Denny Dushane
There were no vessels loading and none were expected to arrive on Monday. Due in for Tuesday is the Joseph L. Block in the early morning to load. The Cuyahoga is expected on Wednesday in the evening. Expected to arrive on Thursday is the Herbert C. Jackson in the morning to load.

Green Bay, WI – Jon
At 6:36 am Monday morning the Alpena arrived from Alpena, MI with cement for the Lafarge Terminal. Then at 7:01 am the tug Victory / barge Maumee arrived from Port Inland, MI with Limestone for the Graymont Terminal. Then at 2:20 pm Monday afternoon the Victory / Maumee departed for Calcite, MI.

Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
Bradshaw McKee/St. Marys Conquest arrived from Charlevoix at 02:01 Monday (04/12) with cement for the Kinnickinnic River terminal. After delivering its cargo, the pair headed back to Charlevoix that afternoon. Michigan/Great Lakes arrived at 05:19 and proceeded to the liquid cargo pier in the outer harbor to load ethanol.

Milwaukee’s liquid cargo pier was rebuilt in 2017, but traffic has been light: three vessels in 2019 and only two last year. US Oil received an Air Pollution Control Operation Permit for its Jones Island facility in November 2020 and tanker traffic appears to be picking up. This is the third visit by Michigan/Great Lakes in 2021.

Northern Lake Huron
Stoneport: Monday; 2:26 Herbert C Jackson departed for Cleveland. Manitowoc proceeded to the dock to load limestone and departed at 11:34 for Monroe
Calcite: Monday; 5:06 H Lee White departed for Bay City. 18:37 Great Republic arrived to load limestone.
Port Dolomite: Sunday; 20:22 Wilfred Sykes departed for Indiana Harbor.
Meldrum Bay: Monday; 17:29 Cuyahoga arrived to load limestone.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Conveyor cleared at 8 pm Tuesday.

Saginaw River – Todd Shorkey
Monday on the Saginaw River saw three vessel passages. Algoma Innovator started things out in the early morning, calling on the North Star Fertilizer Dock in Essexville. BBC Oregon was in next, stopping at the Port Fisher Dock in Bay City to unload wind turbine components. She was assisted with turning around and making the dock by the Malcolm Marine tug Manitou. Late afternoon saw the arrival of H. Lee White, sporting the stack colors of Lower Lakes/Grand River for the first time on the Saginaw River. H. Lee White called on the Port Fisher/Bay Aggregates Dock in Bay City to unload.

Toledo, OH – Denny Dushane
John J. Boland loaded at the CSX Coal Dock on Monday. They are due back at CSX to load again on Tuesday in the early afternoon. Also due at CSX to load is the Algoma Transport, due on Tuesday in the late evening. At the Torco Dock, the H. Lee White is expected to arrive on Wednesday, April 21 in the early morning. Also due at Torco is the Hon. James L. Oberstar arriving on Sunday, April 25 in the early morning.

Lake Erie Ports for Monday – Bill Kloss
Monroe: Paul R. Tregurtha left Monday morning at 02:30 for Duluth.
Marblehead: Tug/barge Laura L. VanEnkevort / Joseph H. Thompson left at 14:19 for Fairport Harbor.
Cleveland: Sam Laud departed for Calcite at 19:55. Tug/barge Petite Forte / St. Marys Cement left for Toledo at 08:34. After a quick unload, tug G. L. Ostrander / barge Integrity departed for Alpena. At the Port docks, Jamno is at dock 24W and Sharon MI / Huron Spirit are at 24N. She departed at 15:01. Tug/barge New York/DS509A arrived at 08:48 and proceeded to Marathon to unload.
Fairport Harbor: Tug/barge Laura L. VanEnkevort / Joseph H. Thompson is the first arrival this season. They arrived Monday night with stone for Osborne.
Conneaut: Edgar B. Speer departed at 04:53 for Two Harbors.
Nanticoke: Algocanada departed for Sault Ste. Marie at 02:47. Algonorth arrived at Imperial Oil at 03:00. CSL Tadoussac departed for Bowmanville. Edwin H. Gott is due in Tuesday morning.

Welland Canal – Russell Milland
Tugs Seahound and Lac Manitoba oved the saltie Ocean Castle into the Heddle drydock Monday. She is there for three days to unload a load of stone for the construction supply company which uses part of the shipyard to manage construction materials. The dry dock was not emptied. A fleet of flatbed tractor trailers quickly appeared, and bags of material were loaded onto them.

Hamilton, ON – Gerry Ouderkirk
John D. Leitch left Hamilton with the assistance of tugs Omni Coastal and Ocean A. Gauthier Monday morning. She was headed for Port Weller to be drydocked at Heddle for mechanical repairs.

Flooding on Lake Ontario & St. Lawrence River not likely this year

4/13 - Canton, NY – Lake Ontario is eight inches lower than average for this time of year. That’s the lowest it’s been in early April since 2015. The chance of flooding on the lake and the St. Lawrence River this summer is relatively low.

Spring came early, exposing low wetlands and shorelines along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. "But this is really the lowest part of water levels for the year," says Tony David, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe's environment director and a member of the International Lake Ontario St. Lawrence River Board, which oversees water flows from below Niagara Falls to Montreal. "It’s also the time when Lake Ontario begins its seasonal rise."

He says the chance of flooding is low right now. However, the board is still keeping an eye on snowmelt into the Ottawa River and Lake Erie's persistently above-average levels upstream.

David says the long-term forecast calls for average or below-average precipitation this spring. "Things are looks pretty good for high water events. But there’s just as much evidence that we could be heading into another dry and low supply situation."

Flooding in 2017 and 2019 caused millions of dollars in damage to shoreline properties and led homeowners to complain about the board’s water levels management.

But the board always says Mother Nature is the real driver of water levels. This summer, it’s possible high docks and exposed shoals are a bigger headache for boaters and homeowners than high water.

North Country Public Radio

13 April 1872 - The schooners MARY TAYLOR and ANTELOPE wooden were racing to Oswego, New York, trying to beat a large block of drifting ice. The ice won and blocked the harbor entrance. The ANTELOPE became icebound about a quarter of a mile from the piers and remained there for one day. The MARY TAYLOR got within 500 feet of the pier and remained there for five days until the tug MAJOR DANA broke through the ice.

RICHARD REISS lost her boom April 13, 1994 when it collapsed at Fairport, Ohio.

On 13 April 1872, the wooden schooner-barge JOSEPH PAIGE was launched at the Wolf & Davidson yard in Milwaukee. Her dimensions were 190 feet x 32 feet x 12 feet, 626 gross tons.

The passenger/package freight vessel OCEAN was launched at Andrews & Sons shipyard in Port Dalhousie, Ontario, on 13 April 1872. She was placed in service on 27 April 1872, loading iron at Kingston for Chicago.

1917: The steel canaller STRATHCONA was built at Dundee, Scotland, in 1900 and came to the Great Lakes that summer. The ship had several owners before being requisitioned for war service in 1915. It was stopped by U-78 near Ronaldshay, England, while traveling from Tyne, England, to Marseilles, France, with a cargo of coal on this date in 1917. Enemy bombers attacked sinking the ship. Nine crew members were lost while another 3 were taken prisoner.

1937: The Norwegian freighter REIN was a frequent pre-Seaway caller to the Great Lakes. It had been built in 1900 and was inland as early as 1908. The ship was carrying wood pulp when it was wrecked off Helman Island, 2 miles south of Wick, Scotland, while traveling from Lyngor, Norway, to Preston, UK on this date in 1937. REIN was a total loss.

1956 Winds and ice pushed the ore laden GEORGE M. HUMPHREY on a shoal in Whitefish Bay en route from Superior to Zug Island. The vessel was salvaged and taken to Lorain for repairs.

1959: GLENEAGLES was proceeding through ice in Lake Erie when it abruptly stopped. The trailing WESTMOUNT could not stop as quickly and rammed the stern of its CSL fleetmate. GLENEAGLES had to be towed to Lorain for repairs that included a new rudder.

2010: The rebuilt ALGOBAY went aground while upbound in the St. Marys River on its first trip to the upper lakes. The vessel had to go to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs.

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

Crew on ship docked in Thunder Bay positive for COVID-19

4/12 - Thunder Bay, ON – Crew members aboard a cargo ship docked in Thunder Bay have tested positive for COVID-19, Canada Steamship Lines has confirmed. According to a statement provided to Tbnewswatch, “several” crew members on board the Atlantic Huron tested positive on April 8, the day the ship arrived in Thunder Bay.

The crew members are self-isolating at a local hotel and have so far reported only mild symptoms, the company said. “CSL is providing ongoing support to the seafarers whose safety, comfort and well-being is of paramount importance.”

The Atlantic Huron remains berthed at the port while a two-day disinfection occurs in accordance with Health Canada guidelines, CSL said. Once cleared by Transport Canada, a new crew will board and continue the scheduled voyage to Quebec City.

The company said it was still investigating how the infections occurred, given extensive COVID-19 precautions. All crew members were pre-screened prior to boarding the ship on March 31 in Sarnia, and all returned negative results from a PCR test administered the following day, CSL said.

Crew members were also provided PPE including masks, gloves, and sanitizer, and instructed to practice social distancing on board for 14 days, it added.

“CSL is not aware of any breach to its pre-boarding or onboard COVID-19 protocols and is working with health authorities to determine the cause of transmission.” The company said it was working with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit and other health authorities.

TBNewswatch

Port reports are compiled from volunteer 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). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions. We are particularly looking for reporters for the St. Marys River, Southern Lake Michigan ports and the Hamilton/Toronto area.

Duluth/Superior – Fred A Tijan
Departing on April 10 were the Arthur M. Anderson at 00:42 hr. for Gary, IN / U.S. Steel; Stewart J Cort at 02:36 hr for Burns Harbor, IN; American Mariner at 21:27 for Buffalo, NY with grain and Indiana Harbor at 21:52 hr with no AIS update. Arriving on April 11 was the CSL Assiniboine at 00:50 hr at the CN ore dock and departing at 14:29 hr. for Quebec City. Arriving on April 11 was the Michipicoten at BNSF ore dock at 06:31 hr and departing at 14:19 for Algoma Steel-Soo. Due on April 12 are the Frontenac at 04:07 hr and the Walter J. McCarthy at 14:30 hr.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary Putney
James R. Barker arrived Two Harbors at 18:45 on 4/11. There is no traffic scheduled for Two Harbors on 4/12. Northshore Mining in Silver Bay saw the arrival of the Mesabi Miner at 03:34 on 4/11. As of 19:45 on the 11th she was still at the loading dock. Due Silver Bay on 4/12 is the Whitefish Bay. An update. Both the Spruceglen and the Algoma Discovery loaded for Quebec City.

Thunder Bay, ON
Sunday; 9:42 Harvest Spirit arrived at Viterra A to load grain. 14:36 Florence Spirit arrived and went to anchor south of the Welcome Islands.

Northern Lake Michigan
Charlevoix: Friday; 1:21 Bradshaw McKee / St Marys Conquest arrived to load cement products and departed at 7:14 for Milwaukee. 7:22 Prentiss Brown / St Marys Challenger arrived to load cement products and departed at 16:40 for Grand Haven. Port Inland: Saturday;23:17 Victory / Maumee arrived to load limestone and departed at 18:30 for Green Bay.

Northern Lake Huron
Alpena: Sunday; 7:35 Defiance / Ashtabula departed for Calcite. 8:17 The cement carrier Alpena departed for Green Bay.
Stoneport: Sunday; 10:51 Saginaw departed for Sarnia. 14:47 Herbert C Jackson arrived to load limestone.16:05 Manitowoc arrived and went to anchor.
Calcite: 6:01 H Lee White arrived to load limestone. 16:48 Defiance / Ashtabula arrived to load limestone.
Cheboygan: Sunday; 6:13 The tug Michigan and tanker barge Great Lakes weighed anchor and departed for Milwaukee.
Port Dolomite: Sunday; 8:42 Wilfred Sykes arrived to load limestone.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Niagara cleared 10.15 am Sunday downbound for Cote St Catherines with salt. Algoma Conveyor arrived at 10.38 am and is at the elevators.

Lake Erie Ports for Sunday – Bill Kloss
Monroe: Paul R. Tregurtha arrived Sunday at 15:00.
Marblehead: Cuyahoga left at 06:54 for Kingsville, arriving there at 10:24. She departed at 16:59 for Meldrum Bay. Laura L. VanEnkevort arrived from Toledo early Monday morning.
Sandusky: Algoma Transport departed at 00:57 for Hamilton. The Rt. Hon.Paul J. Martin moved to Norfolk Southern to load for Hamilton. She left at 19:47.
Cleveland: After unloading at RiverDock, Sam Laud moved to the Bulk Terminal to load a shuttle. NACC Capri left for Bath at 06:49. Petite Forte was at St. Marys Cement. G.L. Ostrander arrived at 07:04 for Lafarge. Sharon M I arrived early Monday morning.
Conneaut: Edgar B. Speer was at the P&C dock.
Nanticoke: Algoma Hansa departed at 01:17. Algocanada was at Imperial Oil. CSL Tadoussac arrived at 09:07 for Stelco. Algonorth arrived Sunday night.

Rochester, NY– Tom Brewer
McKeil Spirit arrived at the Lehigh Cement Dock on Sunday morning.

Door County Lighthouse Festival tickets are now on sale

4/12 - Sturgeon Bay, WI – Tickets are on sale for the annual Door County Lighthouse Festivals sponsored by the Door County Maritime Museum.

The 28th annual Spring Lighthouse Festival is scheduled for June 11 to 13 and the Fall Lighthouse Festival will take place from Oct. 1 to 3. The festivals annually draw more than 5,000 lighthouse buffs who travel from around the globe to take part in these tours. Visitors engage with knowledgable docents and volunteers to learn stories of past lightkeepers, their duties and their families.

The festivals offer airplane, land, boat, adventure and self-guided tours that when taken together reach all of the Peninsula's 11 lighthouses along with three more south of the county that are new to the festival: Algoma Pierhead and Kewaunee Pierhead lights in Kewaunee County and Grassy Island Range Lights in Green Bay. Visitors can have access to lighthouses that are not typically open to the public, such as the Chambers Island, Kewaunee Pierhead, Plum Island and Sherwood Point (fall festival only) lights.

Tours are for all levels of activity and accessibility. Some involve hiking, while others have guests ride in a trolley or small airplane. Boat tours depart from a variety of locations around the Peninsula, including Sister Bay, Gills Rock, Fish Creek and Baileys Harbor.

All proceeds from tour ticket sales support the Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society. For tickets or more information, including schedules, call the museum at 920-743-5958 or visit doorcountytickets.com.

On 12 April 1896, PETER DALTON (propeller tug, 63 foot 49 gross tons, built in 1880, at Grand Haven, Michigan) caught fire off Grosse Pointe, Illinois, while returning to Chicago with the salvaged schooner A.J. DEWEY in tow and the boiler of the JOHNSON. The fire burned her in two before she finally sank. The DALTON's crew and the DEWEY were rescued by the tug WELCOME.

On 12 April 1874, the tug D.N. RUNNELS was launched Runnel's yard at the north end of the 7th Street Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan. As the tug splashed into the Black River, the flag at her bow was unfurled with her name on it. Commodore Runnels distributed oranges to the crowd of onlookers.

The tanker a.) LANA (Hull#151) was launched April 12, 1967, by Aktiebolaget Lodose Varv A/B at Lodose, Sweden. Renamed b.) NEW ORLEANS in 1988 and c.) NANCY ORR GAUCHER in 1989, she departed the Lakes in 1994. Renamed d.) PETRAWAK in 1996 and e.) TONGA in 2000.

Tanker LAKESHELL (Hull#389) of Marine Industries Ltd., Sorel, Quebec, was launched April 12, 1969, for Shell Canada Ltd.

Pioneer Steamship's steamer a.) A.A. AUGUSTUS (Hull#374) of American Ship Building Co., Lorain, Ohio, departed Cleveland on her maiden voyage April 12, 1910, bound for Green Bay, Wisconsin, with a load of coal. She was sold to Canadian registry in 1961, and renamed b.) HOWARD HINDMAN. She was scrapped at Bilbao, Spain, in 1969.

Hall Corp. of Canada's tanker HUDSON TRANSPORT (Hull#629) of the Davie Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Lauzon, Quebec, was launched April 12, 1962.

On April 12, 1955, while upbound from Monroe, Michigan to load iron ore at Duluth, the ENDERS M. VOORHEES had the honor of opening the second century of navigation through the St. Marys Falls Ship Canal, celebrated with great pomp and ceremony.

On 12 April 1880, the wooden 2-mast schooner-barge JUPITER was launched at Marysville, Michigan, after being rebuilt under the supervision of James Bowers. She was originally built in 1857, at Irving, New York, and after this rebuild, she lasted another 21 years.

On 12 April 1892, UGANDA (wooden propeller, 291 foot, 2,053 gross tons) was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan, at F.W. Wheeler's yard (Hull #88).

1949: The corvette H.M.C.S. BATTLEFORD was Hull 95 from the Collingwood Shipyard and it was commissioned at Montreal on July 31, 1941. The ship was sold to the Venezuelan Navy becoming b) LIBERTAD in 1946 and was wrecked on this date in 1949. 1991: CHANDA hailed from India and first came to the Great Lakes in 1978. The ship was laid up Bombay, India, on May 5, 1988, after 20 years of service. It was moved to the scrapyard on April 11, 1991, but a major fire erupted in the engine room April 12 during dismantling operations.

1993: MELISSA DESGAGNES ran aground in the St. Lawrence, two miles east of the Eisenhower Lock, at 2352 hours. The ship was en route from Windsor to Newfoundland with wheat and floated free, after being lightered, on April 15.

2009: SCARAB was 16 years old when it first came through the Seaway in 1999. The ship was sold and renamed JASPER in 2002 and never returned to our shores. It was anchored off Fatsa, Turkey, when it got blown aground on this date in 2009. Some 2000 tons of fertilizer had to be removed for the ship to float free and it went to Tuzla, Turkey, for repairs.

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

Federal Caribou opens Sarnia’s oceangoing shipping season for 2021

4/11 - Sarnia, ON – Federal Caribou became the first ocean-going vessel for the 2021 shipping season to arrive in Sarnia. Federal Caribou docked at the Cargill Grain Elevator early on Monday, April 5. Federal Caribou is one of six vessels that make up the C-series of ships built in Japan for Fednav. Federal Caribou departed in the early afternoon on Friday, April 9.

Denny Dushane

Goderich welcomes first vessel for 2021 navigation season

4/11 - Goderich, ON – During the navigation season, it’s a Goderich tradition that the first vessel is formally welcomed and its captain greeted with a Top Hat Ceremony.

Algoma Intrepid, captained by Capt. Kirk Lake, was welcomed in a COVID-19 pandemic-appropriate way on the dockside by Mayor John Grace; Peter Baker, VP Operations at The Compass Goderich Mine and Rowland Howe, President of Goderich Port Management Corp. Also present were Harbor Master Ian MacAdam and Sean Thomas, Director of Operations for the Town of Goderich.

Goderich welcomes over 250 vessels per season. This year the Algoma Intrepid docked the mine to pick up a load of road salt.

Algoma Niagara was previously loaded with salt but only after having spent time berthed in the port during the annual suspension of navigation and as such did not qualify to be the first vessel.

Goderich Signal Star

Port reports are compiled from volunteer 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). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions. We are particularly looking for reporters for the Duluth/Superior, St. Marys River, Southern Lake Michigan ports and the Hamilton/Toronto area.

Duluth/Superior – Fred A Tijan
American Mariner arrived April 9 at 08:20 to load grain at the General Mills Terminal SX and was still loading on April 10. Dirk S. VanEnkevort depart the BNSF ore dock on April 9 at 08:31 hr but the AIS destination was not updated. Arthur M. Anderson arrived on April 9 at 11:32 to load iron ore at the CN dock and departed April 10 at 00:42 but the AIS destination has not been updated. American Integrity arrived on April 9 at 11:43 at the SMET terminal to load coal and departed at 23:44 for St. Clair. Stewart J Cort arrived April 9 at14:04 to load iron ore at the BNSF dock and departed April 10 at 02:36 for Burns Harbor. Indiana Harbor arrived April 9 at 21:50 to load ore at the CN Duluth dock. American Mariner and Indiana Harbor were still loading in the Twin Ports.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary Putney
Edwin H. Gott departed Two Harbors on 4/10 at 03:11 for Nanticoke. Spruceglen arrived Two Harbors at 04:03. She departed on 4/10 at 16:02. Due Two Harbors on 4/11 is the James R. Barker. Northshore Mining in Silver Bay saw the Algoma Discovery arrive at 23:45 on 4/09. She departed on 4/10 at 14:45. Due Silver Bay on 4/11 is the Mesabi Miner. Neither departing boats the afternoon of 4/10 had updated destination. I'll guess both boats go to Quebec City.

Thunder Bay, ON
Saturday; Destination update; Algoma Conveyor is bound for Goderich. 9:32 Algoma Strongfield arrived at the Superior Elevator to load wheat. 19:23 The CSL self-unloader Thunder Bay departed downbound.

Cedarville, MI – Denny Dushane
Due Sunday is the Wilfred Sykes in the early morning. Also due in Sunday is the H. Lee White in the late afternoon. No vessels are due Monday. Joseph L. Block is due on Tuesday in the late afternoon.

Port Inland, MI – Denny Dushane
The first vessel to arrive for the season was expected to be the tug Victory / barge Maumee. They were scheduled to arrive on Saturday during the late evening to load. There are no vessels due for Sunday and on Monday. Joseph L. Block is due Tuesday during the early morning, and the Wilfred Sykes is due at Port Inland to load on Wednesday in the late evening.

Green Bay, WI – Jon
At 9:28 pm Friday night the tug Kurt R. Luedtke departed from Frankfort, MI and arrived to Sturgeon Bay, WI at 2:21 am Saturday morning. Then at 3:02 am Saturday morning the tug Kurt R. Luedtke departed from Sturgeon Bay for Green Bay, WI witch arrived at 7:21 am to Green Bay, WI.

Northern Lake Huron
Alpena: Saturday; 19:27 The cement carrier Alpena arrived to load.19:55 Defiance / Ashtabula arrived to unload at the Lafarge plant.
Stoneport: Saturday; 3:52 Manitowoc departed for Marine City. Kaye E Barker proceeded to the dock to load limestone. 12:19 Saginaw arrived and went to anchor. 16:48 Kaye E Barker departed for Marquette. 19:10 Saginaw weighed anchor and proceeded to the dock to load.
Cheboygan: Saturday; 16:27 The tug Michigan and tanker barge Great Lakes departed for Milwaukee. At 17:28 they went to anchor off the south east shore of Bois Blanc Island.
Bruce Mines: Saturday; 3:25 Calumet departed for Chicago.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Niagara backing into Compass Minerals 8.45 pm Saturday April 10th.

Toledo, OH – Denny Dushane
The John J. Boland was expected to arrive at the Torco Dock to unload iron ore pellets on Saturday in the early afternoon. Also due at Torco is the tug Laura L. VanEnkevort and barge Joseph H. Thompson. They are due on Sunday in the early afternoon to unload. At the CSX Coal Dock, due to load was the John J. Boland on Saturday in the evening. They are due back again at CSX to load on Monday in the early morning. The Algoma Transport is due at CSX to load early on Tuesday morning.

Lake Erie Ports for Saturday – Bill Kloss
Kingsville: Cuyahoga had a quick unload arriving at 11:29 and leaving at 14:08 for Marblehead.
Marblehead: Sam Laud left for Cleveland at 10:20. Cuyahoga arrived Saturday night.
Sandusky: Algoma Mariner is at Norfolk Southern. Rt. Hon.Paul J. Martin arrived at 15:45 and is waiting behind to load.
Cleveland: Petite Forte arrived at 02:07 for St. Mary's Cement. NACC Capri arrived at 04:12 for LaFarge. Polsteam's Jamno is the first saltie of this season for the Port of Cleveland, arriving there at 04:57. She is at dock 24W. Sam Laud arrived at 14:11. She has stone from Marblehead for RiverDock.
Conneaut: American Spirit left at 12:02. Edgar B. Speer came in to unload at P&C at 12:42.
Nanticoke: Algoma Hansa and Algocanada are at Imperial Oil.

Oswego, NY – Ned Goebricher
On Saturday, McKeil Spirit unloaded cement.

Marine News from World Ship Society for April 2021

4/11 - Vessels with Great Lakes / Seaway connection reported as a casualty or sold for demolition taken from April 2021 issue of Marine News – Journal of the World Ship Society:

Casualties: None
Sold for Demolition:
NAZLIM (7802122; Comoros) (Daniel-12, Aries-98, Fossum-85, Sudan Crown-83, Fossum-82 - 1st seaway transit in 1979) - general cargo ship - 8,547 / 1979 - By Nazlim Gemi Isletmeciligi AS (Yenal Gemi Isletmeciligi AS) Turkey, to Usman Steel Pvt Ltd, Pakistan and arrived Gadani beach 6.10.2020 – commenced demolition 18.10.2020

Report compiled: by Barry Andersen and René Beauchamp

In 2015, 18 vessels that had been stuck in 35 square miles of crushed ice up to eight feet thick on Eastern Lake Superior were moving again with the Wednesday arrival of the heavy Canadian icebreaker Pierre Radisson.

11 April 1890 - CHENANGO (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 176 foot, 696 gross tons, built in 1887, at Detroit, Michigan) was carrying 40,000 bushels of wheat from Toledo, Ohio, to Buffalo, New York, when she caught fire off Erie, Pennsylvania. She was partially consumed by the fire and sank in four fathoms of water with no loss of life. She was later raised at great expense and rebuilt as the steamer LIZZIE MADDEN.

On 11 April 1882, GALATEA (3-mast wooden schooner, 180 foot, 606 gross tons) was launched by F. W. Wheeler (Hull#13) at W. Bay City, Michigan. She lasted until she stranded and broke up at Grand Marais, Michigan, in the "Big Storm" of 1905.

The tanker IMPERIAL ST. CLAIR (Hull#57) of the Port Weller Drydocks Ltd., entered service on April 11, 1974, running light for Montreal, Quebec.

Canada Steamship Lines’ J.W. MC GIFFIN (Hull#197) was christened at Collingwood on April 11, 1972. Port Weller Drydocks attached a new forebody in 1999, and she was renamed b.) CSL NIAGARA.

Pioneer Steamship's steamer PHILIP D. BLOCK sailed on her maiden voyage April 11, 1925, with coal from Huron, Ohio, bound for delivery at Indiana Harbor, Indiana.

Wilkinson Transportation Co.'s steamer A.E. NETTLETON (Hull#176) of the Detroit Ship Building Co., was launched April 11, 1908. She was scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1973.

On April 11, 1970, in Lake Superior's Whitefish Bay, CSL's steamer STADACONA of 1952 encountered thick ice and suffered bow damage. She developed a hairline crack in her bow and to alleviate the leakage her cargo was shifted from her forward hold to her after compartments using her self-unloading equipment. This maneuver raised her bow enough to keep her from sinking before she reached safety.

Pittsburgh Steamship Co.'s steamer ENDERS M. VOORHEES (Hull#288), of the Great Lakes Engineering Works, was launched on April 11, 1942. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey in 1989.

On April 11, 1964, while upbound on Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior, a boiler burst on board the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.'s WILLIAM A. IRVIN, killing one of the crew and injuring two others.

April 11, 1948 - ANN ARBOR NO 7 ran aground just south of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

On 11 April 1874, the new tug E.H. MILLER burned at her dock at Willow Island in the Saginaw River. Her loss was valued at $9,000 and there was no insurance. Although considered to be a total loss, she was rebuilt and lasted another 46 years.

On 11 April 1878, ALASKA, a wooden bulk freighter, was launched at J. P. Clark's yard in Detroit, Michigan. Her dimensions were 180 feet overall, 28 foot beam, and 10 foot depth.

The navigation season at the Canadian Sault Canal was unofficially opened on 11 April 1955, at 7:15 a.m., when the MANZZUTTI (steel crane ship, 246 foot, 1,558 gross tons, built in 1903, at Buffalo, New York as J.S. KEEFE) locked up bound for the Algoma Steel dock. Because the MANZZUTTI wintered over at the Soo, its captain, John B. Perry, was not eligible for the traditional top hat and silk gloves presented to the first captain through the locks. So this was not the official opening of navigation at the Soo. The first boat through the American locks was expected the following day.

1964: NORCO had been used to carry pulpwood from Michipicoten to Green Bay from about 1938 to 1957. The vessel had been built at Ecorse, Michigan, for deep-sea service as INCA in 1915, and returned inland in the 1920s. It went back to the sea in 1959 and stranded at Little Corn Island, Nicaragua, on this date in 1964 while en route from Tampa to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, with a cargo of phosphate.

1994: AMERICAN MARINER was downbound in the St. Marys River when it struck a rock above the Soo Locks and had to go to the shipyard in Erie to repair the damage.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, “Ahoy & Farewell II,” the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.

Chippewa County Health Department vaccinates sailors at Soo Locks

4/10 - Sault Ste. Marie, MI – This week Chippewa County Health Department (CCHD) was approached by the Lake Carriers’ Association and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to collaborate on vaccinating crew members on the Great Lakes’ area ships as they passed through the Soo Locks. Since that proposal, which was presented on Monday, CCHD staff will have vaccinated approximately 50 crew members on five ships with additional crew members to be vaccinated next week.

The crews are receiving Johnson & Johnson vaccine and second dose Moderna vaccine.

CCHD staff are honored to participate in this venture and have embraced this experience as another reason they love public health. The timing of this vaccine opportunity came during National Public Health Week and is a truly unique example of community partners working together to provide a critical service. Without this collaboration, crew members may not otherwise be able to receive the vaccine.

Chippewa County Health Department

Thank to dry winter, lakes Michigan, Huron down almost one foot

4/10 - This past winter was drier than normal over the Great Lakes drainage basin. As a result, the Great Lakes water levels continue to decline faster than the typical late winter decline.

At this time last year, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron were at all-time record high water levels for late March and early April. A good comparison is the lake level currently to the lake level last year at this time. Lakes Michigan and Huron are the same lake level because of the free flow of water through the Mackinac Straits. Lakes Michigan and Huron are 10.8 inches lower at the end of March 2021 compared to one year ago. This drop in water levels has put a significant distance between the current water level and the devastating record high water level last year.

Read more an view graphs at this link: https://www.mlive.com/weather/2021/04/dry-winter-impacted-great-lakes-water-levels-lakes-michigan-huron-down-almost-one-foot.html

Port reports are compiled from volunteer 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). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions. We are particularly looking for reporters for the Duluth/Superior, St. Marys River, Southern Lake Michigan ports and the Hamilton/Toronto area.

Duluth/Superior
We are seeking a reporter for this port.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary Putney
Joseph L. Block departed Two Harbors on 4/8 at 22:14 for Indiana Harbor. The Presque Isle arrived Two Harbors on 4/8 at 23:29. She departed on 4/9 at 11:05 for Gary. The Edwin H. Gott arrived Two Harbors on 4/9 at 12:05 after being anchored off Sand Island. As of 19:30 she was still at the loading dock. Also at that time the Spruceglen was off Two Harbors. There is no inbound traffic scheduled for Two Harbors on 4/10. Due Northshore Mining in Silver Bay on 4/9 is the Algoma Discovery. As of 19:30 she was about 50 miles East of Silver Bay. There is no other traffic scheduled for Silver Bay on 4/10.

Thunder Bay, ON
Thursday, 21:08 Algoma Conveyor departed Keefer Terminal and returned to the Superior Elevator to finish loading. Friday; 11:38 The CSL self-unloader Thunder Bay arrived at the G3 elevator to load grain. 18:42 Algoma Conveyor departed and is down bound. 18:58 Thunder Bay shifted to the Richardson Main Terminal to finish loading. Atlantic Huron is now docked, dealing with COVID issues.

Northern Lake Michigan
Charlevoix: Friday; 1:44 Bradshaw McKee / St Marys Conquest arrived to load cement products and departed at 7:32 for Manitowoc.

Muskegon, MI – Muskegon Ships
Alpena brought in a split load of cement for the Lafarge terminal on Friday. She loaded the cargo in Alpena, MI, unloading a portion of her cargo at South Chicago before proceeding to Muskegon.

Northern Lake Huron
Alpena: Friday; 2:03 Manitowoc departed for Stoneport.
Stoneport: Thursday; 22:59 Herbert C Jackson arrived to load limestone. Friday; 6:49 Manitowoc arrived and went to anchor. 16:26 Herbert C Jackson departed and is down bound on Lake Huron. Manitowoc weighed anchor and proceeded to the dock to load.
Port Dolomite: Friday; 2:23 Cuyahoga departed for Sombra.
Bruce Mines: Friday; 17:21 Calumet arrived to load trap rock.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Niagara cleared 9.06 am Friday downbound for Detroit with salt. Algoma Intrepid arrived 9.27 am Friday loading at Compass Minerals – the fourth vessel in Goderich for salt since the new season opened.

Lake Erie Ports for Friday – Bill Kloss
Monroe: Iver Bright departed Friday at 08:01 for Sarnia.
Marblehead: Sam Laud arrived Friday evening.
Sandusky: Algoma Transport arrived at 14:11 for the Norfolk Southern coal dock. The Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin is due to arrive Saturday.
Cleveland: James R. Barker departed at 01:14 for Silver Bay. Petite Forte arrived at 19:00 for St.Marys Cement. NACC Capri is due on Saturday.
Conneaut: American Spirit arrived at 21:00. Edgar B. Speer arrived early Saturday morning and went to anchor.
Nanticoke: Algoma Hansa is still at Imperial Oil. Algocanada arrived at 11:47.

10 April 1868 The ALPENA (wooden side-wheel passenger-package freight steamer, 653 tons, built in 1867, at Marine City, Michigan) was purchased by Capt. A. E. Goodrich from Gardner, Ward & Gardner for $80,000.

On 10 April 1861, UNION (wooden propeller, 170 foot, 465 tons) was launched and christened at the Bates yard in Manitowoc, Wisconsin for the Goodrich Line. She cost $19,000. The engines, machinery and many of the fittings were from the OGONTZ of 1858. This was the first steamer built by the Bates yard.

The tanker TEXACO CHIEF (Hull#193), was christened April 10, 1969. She was renamed b.) A G FARQUHARSON in 1986 and c.) ALGONOVA in 1998. She was sold Panamanian in 2007 and renamed PACIFICO TRADER.

The d.) GODERICH of 1908 was sold April 10, 1963, to the Algoma Central & Hudson Bay Railway Co. and renamed e.) AGAWA. Renamed f.) LIONEL PARSONS in 1968, and served as a storage barge at Goderich, Ontario until 1983, when she was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The keel was laid April 10, 1952, for the steamer WILLIAM CLAY FORD (Hull#300) of the Great Lakes Engineering Works.

The SINCLAIR GREAT LAKES (Hull#1577) of the Ingalls Iron Works, Decatur, Alabama, was christened on April 10, 1963.

On April 10, 1973, the ARTHUR B. HOMER departed the shipyard at Lorain, Ohio, with a new pilothouse. She had suffered extensive damage on October 5, 1972, in a head on collision with the saltie NAVISHIPPER on the Detroit River.

April 10, 1912 - ANN ARBOR NO 5 struck her stern against the channel in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, bending her rudder, and damaging her port shaft.

On 10 April 1875, the propeller EMMA E. THOMPSON was launched at East Saginaw, Michigan. She was built for Capt. D.F. Edwards of Toledo and cost $20,000. Her dimensions were 125 feet x 26 feet x 10 feet. In 1880, she was rebuilt as a schooner and then returned to a propeller in 1881, when she was given the engine from the propeller AKRON.

On 10 April 1882, ESPINDOLA (wooden schooner, 54 tons, built in 1869, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) was carrying railroad ties when she was overwhelmed by a storm and went to pieces one mile north of the Chicago waterfront. No lives were lost, but four crewmen were rescued by a tug after having been in the water for some time.

MANZZUTTI (steel crane ship, 246 foot, 1558 gross tons, built in 1903, at Buffalo, New York as a.) J S KEEFE) of the Yankcanuck Steamship Ltd., was the first vessel through the Canadian locks at the Soo for the 1954 navigation season. She entered the Canadian canal on 10 April about 8:15 a.m. The locking of the MANZZUTTI was not considered the official opening of the season at the Soo since she wintered in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and the first vessel must come up the St. Marys River from Lake Huron or Michigan. President Dave Bows of the Kiwanis Club, pointed out the club’s $1,000 marine contest is based on the first such vessel though the Michigan Sault locks only. The U.S. Coast Guard reported six-inch ice in the lower St. Marys River.

1905: The 400-foot steel-hulled bulk carrier GEORGE B. LEONARD arrived in Cleveland with ice damage and leaking bow seams.

1941: The first CEDARBRANCH ran aground at the mouth of the Etobicoke Creek, west of Toronto and had to be lightered to float free.

1949: The former J.H. PLUMMER, once part of Canada Steamship Lines, was reported wrecked, due to stranding in fog, while six miles southwest of Shaweishan on this date in 1949. The vessel was sailing as f) TUNG AN, and was en route from Tsingtao to Shanghai, with scrap steel.

1953: The Finnish freighter ANGELA came to the Great Lakes in 1952 and was wrecked on April 10, 1953, at Frisland, Isle of Coll, due to heavy weather. The vessel was travelling in ballast from Larne, Northern Ireland, to Goole, UK, and was a total loss.

1965: A collision in the Lake St. Peter section of the St. Lawrence involved the TRANSATLANTIC and HERMES. The former, a West German freighter, caught fire and capsized with the loss of three lives. The vessel was salvaged in August and eventually scrapped at Sorel. It had been coming to the Great Lakes for the Poseidon Line since 1961. The latter, a Dutch carrier, never came through the Seaway and was scrapped at Calcutta, India, as NIKI R. in 1985-1986.

1977: HILDA MARJANNE ran aground on a sandbar at Sarnia after leaving the Government Dock with a cargo of corn. It was released the next day with the help of the tug DARYL C. HANNAH.

1989: The canal-sized bulk carrier IROQUOIS, b) TROISDOC (ii), was built in 1955 but left the Seaway as c) KOBA in 1983. That vessel foundered in the Gulf of Mexico, near Isla de Lobos, on this date in 1989 while en route from Tampico to Progresso, Mexico.

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

On April 7, 1997, LEE A. TREGURTHA suffered an 18-foot hull fracture in her port bow near the bowthruster tunnel while downbound in the upper St. Marys River due to heavy ice. She proceeded to the De Tour Coal Dock, where repairs were made overnight and she continued on her trip on April 8, 1997.

On 07 April 1906, the Goodrich Transportation Company, which was incorporated under the laws of the State of Wisconsin in 1868, was dissolved and a new company, the Goodrich Transit Company, was incorporated under the laws of the state of Maine. This was just for financial reasons, and other than the name and the port of registry of the vessels, everything else remained the same. The vessels in the company at the time were CHICAGO, CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, CITY OF RACINE, GEORGIA, INDIANA, IOWA, SHEBOYGAN, VIRGINIA, and tug ARCTIC.

Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd.'s new CANADIAN TRANSPORT was christened April 7, 1979.

The tanker ROBERT W. STEWART, b.) AMOCO MICHIGAN was delivered to Standard Oil Co. on April 7, 1928, as the second largest tanker in service at the time of her launch.

JAMES LAUGHLIN (Hull#16) of the Great Lakes Engineering Works was launched April 7, 1906, for the Interstate Steamship Co., Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. Later renamed b.) HELEN EVANS, she was scrapped at Cartagena, Columbia, in 1983.

The EMORY L. FORD was sold on April 7, 1965, to the Reiss Steamship Co., and renamed b) RAYMOND H. REISS, the last vessel purchased by Reiss.

TEXACO BRAVE of 1929 arrived at Ramey's Bend from Toronto on April 7, 1975, in tow of tugs G. W. ROGERS and BAGOTVILLE for scrapping.

In 1974, the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.'s steamer THOMAS W. LAMONT loaded the initial shipment of ore for the season at the D.M. & I.R. ore docks in Duluth.

On 7 April 1871, the tug S.V.R. WATSON was towing the schooner S.G. SIMMONS out of Chicago harbor at noon when the WATSON stalled. The schooner plowed into her broadside, causing the tug to tip on her beam ends, take on water and sink. Four men were trapped below decks and drowned; two survived. The WATSON was later raised and returned to service.

On 7 April 1873, the contract for the building of a new carferry, MICHIGAN, for the Great Western Railway was awarded to the Jenkins Brothers of Windsor, Ontario. The new vessel was planned for service on the Detroit River. Her engines were built at Montreal by Canada Engine Works for a cost of $100,000. The hull alone cost $600,000.

Although the locks are not scheduled to open until Thursday, 12 April 1962, the Canadian Sault harbor was officially opened Saturday, 7 April 1962, when the tanker IMPERIAL LONDON pulled into the Imperial dock between the two hospitals. Captain Russell Knight accepted the traditional silk top hat. The IMPERIAL LONDON, carrying almost 1,000,000 gallons of gasoline, led the IMPERIAL SIMCOE, loaded with 19,000 barrels of fuel oil for household heating, up the St. Marys River to the Sault.

1941: The PORTADOC had been requisitioned by the British Ministry of War Transport and was en route from Saint John, NB, to Sierra Leone with a cargo of coal when it was torpedoed by U-124 off the coast of Africa. The crew spent six days on the open sea before landing at French Guinea. They were taken prisoner by the Vichy French forces and the Chief Engineer died before there was a prisoner of war exchange. The vessel, part of the Paterson fleet, had also sailed on the Great Lakes as a) EUGENE C. ROBERTS and b) JAMES B. FOOTE.

1968: CAPTAIN LEONIDIS ran aground in the Messier Channel, Chile, while travelling from Santos, Brazil, to Valparaiso, Chile. The vessel stranded April 7, 1968, and became a total loss. It had first come to the Great Lakes as the Norwegian freighter d) FANA in 1964 and returned as e) CAPTAIN LEONIDIS in 1966. The hull remains aground and appears to have been used by the Chilean Navy for target practice.

1979: GEHEIMRAT SARTORI dated from 1951 and had been a pre-Seaway caller to the Great Lakes. It returned through the new waterway for three trips in 1959 and was sailing as c) SEA ROVER when it was lost on this date in 1979. The cargo shifted in heavy weather on the Mediterranean while the ship was en route from Civitavecchia, Italy, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It sank about eight miles off Punta Cornacchia.

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

Quarantined ship Presque Isle docks at Port Milwaukee

4/6 - Milwaukee, WI – Presque Isle, a ship quarantined due to a COVID-19 outbreak, has docked at Port Milwaukee. Officials announced last week a number of crew members tested positive for COVID-19. Sick crew members will enter isolation and the ship will be disinfected.

How long the freighter stays depends on how long it takes to clean it. Officials say the ship was making one of its first runs in the Great Lakes shipping season when COVID struck.

CBS 58

Algoma Central takes delivery of Captain Henry Jackman

4/6 - St. Catharines, ON – Algoma Central Corporation has taken delivery of the Captain Henry Jackman, the fifth Equinox Class gearless dry-bulk carrier and the tenth Equinox Class vessel to join the fleet. The ship is expected to begin her voyage to Canada from the Jiangsu Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding Company in China in mid-April.

The vessel will cross the Pacific Ocean near the equator, transit through the Panama Canal and from there will make her way to Canada. The vessel is expected to begin trading on the Great Lakes in late June.

The Jackman is the most efficient vessel in Algoma’s domestic fleet. The vessel’s design, described as “Equinox 3.0,” is an evolution of the original Equinox Class, incorporating improvements in cargo deadweight capacity and equipment while maintaining the numerous performance efficiencies of the original design.

These improvements include innovations such as lighter weight aluminum hatch covers and the adoption of an improved twin rudder design that significantly increases the displacement of the vessel and enables the ship to achieve increased cargo capacity without requiring an increase in the vessel’s power and fuel consumption. The result is an estimated 1,200MT increased deadweight of the ship, furthering the vessel’s advantage in minimizing greenhouse gas emissions compared to competing transportation modes. As with all Equinox Class ships, the Captain Henry Jackman has a closed loop exhaust gas scrubber.

“The domestic dry-bulk segment has been our core business for over 100 years and we have invested over $500 million in sustaining that business since the launch of the Equinox Class fleet renewal plan in 2010,” said Gregg Ruhl, President and CEO of Algoma.

“The arrival of the Captain Henry Jackman on the Great Lakes will be a proud moment for Algoma as we introduce our tenth and most efficient Equinox Class vessel yet, making us more than ever your marine carrier of choice,” continued Mr. Ruhl. “I would like to thank everyone from the team in China to our team here in Canada for their hard work and dedication in making this possible in the face of a global pandemic. I would also like to wish the crew on board safe sailing; let’s bring her home,” concluded Mr. Ruhl.

View in image at this link: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210405005176/en/Algoma-Central-Corporation-Takes-Delivery-Captain-Henry

Port reports are compiled from volunteer 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). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions. We are particularly looking for reporters for the Duluth/Superior, St. Marys River, Southern Lake Michigan ports and the Hamilton/Toronto area.

Duluth/Superior
We are seeking a reporter for this port.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary Putney
The Walter J. McCarthy Jr. departed Two Harbors on 4/5 at 12:23 for Indiana Harbor. The Atlantic Huron stopped off Two Harbors on 4/5 at 00:10. She got underway off Two Harbors on 4/5 at 12:33 and arrived Two Harbors at 12:50 for South of #2. The American Spirit stopped off Duluth on 4/5 at 03:30 to wait on Two Harbors. The Edgar B. Speer arrived off Duluth on 4/5 early in the afternoon to wait on Two Harbors. There is no other traffic due Two Harbors on 4/6. There is no scheduled traffic for Northshore Mining in Silver Bay on 4/6.

Thunder Bay, ON
Monday; Destination update Harvest spirit is bound for Windsor. 8:45 Algoma Innovator arrived at Thunder Bay Terminals to load Potash.13:26 Algoma Sault arrived and went to anchor.

Northern Lake Michigan
Charlevoix: Monday; Destination update Prentiss Brown / St Marys Challenger are bound for Owen Sound. 10:11 Bradshaw McKee / St Marys Conquest arrived to load cement products and departed at 15:24 for Grand Haven.

Manistee, MI
After being in port since April 1 for unspecified reasons, Manitowoc departed Monday evening. She headed south but her AIS was not updated.

Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
Bradshaw McKee/St. Marys Conquest arrived from Charlevoix at 02:57 Saturday (04/03) with cement for the Kinnickinnic River terminal. The pair headed back to Charlevoix Sunday afternoon (04/04). Tug John Marshall arrived from Calumet Harbor at 17:32 Sunday with three barges to be loaded with grain at the COFCO elevator. Thousand-foot articulated tug/barge unit Presque Isle finally entered the harbor at 10:03 Monday (05/05). It had been anchored beyond the breakwater since Thursday evening because of COVID issues.

Northern Lake Huron
Alpena: Monday; 0:48 The cement carrier Alpena departed. 6:44 GL Ostrander / Integrity arrived at the Lafarge plant to load cement products and departed at 13:44 for Detroit.
Stoneport: Sunday; 22:54 Kaye E Barker departed for Detroit.
Cheboygan: Sunday; 23:45 Merideth Ashton / Commander arrived to unload cement and departed Monday at 0:54 for Calumet Harbor.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Intrepid cleared 12.30 pm Monday downbound for Toronto with salt.

Lake Erie Ports – Bill Kloss
Monroe: Monday departures were Paul R. Tregurtha for Duluth and Undaunted/Pere Marquette 41 at 07:14 for Alpena. Mesabi Miner arrived.
Marblehead: Herbert C. Jackson arrived from Lorain at 04:55 Monday morning and departed at 11:13. Sharon M1 arrived Sunday night. She departed for Detroit at 15:18 Monday.
Sandusky: Algoma Mariner departed late Sunday night for Trois Rivieres.
Lorain: Herbert C. Jackson departed Sunday night for Marblehead.
Cleveland: Dirk S. VanEnkevort/Michigan Trader arrived at 04 19 for the Bulk Terminal, unloaded and departed at 12:11Sam Laud went to anchor waiting for Dirk S. VanEnkevort to finish. She came into CBT at 12:59 to load a shuttle for Cliffs.
Nanticoke: Robert S. Pierson arrived at Stelco at 04:08 Monday morning. She left at 12:48. The Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin arrived at 08:22 for Stelco.

Lake Superior water levels expected to remain high through summer

4/6 - Duluth, MN – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is forecasting a three-inch rise in Lake Superior water levels during April and expects the lake to remain above average through summer. The level changed little during March, which is typical for the month. The lake's level falls every winter and rises every summer.

In its update Friday, the Corps said Lake Superior is about seven inches above the long-term monthly average for April. However, it's six inches below the level seen last April, which was three inches below the record high set in 1986.

Elsewhere, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Erie are even more above average than Lake Superior but have fallen from last year's record levels. Conversely, Lake Ontario is 13 inches below the long-term average and down more than two feet over the past year.

The Corps said high water levels are expected to continue for at least the next six months and flood-prone areas are expected to remain vulnerable. High water levels have led to increased erosion and flooding around Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes in recent years.

WDIO

All hands on deck: Milwaukee Clipper preservation needs volunteers

4/6 - Muskegon, MI – Once a Lake Michigan passenger ferry but now a museum, the Milwaukee Clipper has been docked in Muskegon for decades.

“You’re going back in time, basically,” volunteer coordinator Brock Johnson said. “When you come on board you just fall in love with the ship. There’s just so much to see, so much to do.”

Despite the vessel’s designation as a National Historic Landmark, it’s in rough shape. You can help save it. In 1997, Milwaukee Clipper Preservation Inc. paid $1 to buy the 361-foot-long cruise vessel. Now, visitors can tour it for a few bucks each. As they look around, it’s clear it needs work — paint is peeling and metal is rusting.

“We need to preserve this ship for the future generations,” Johnson said. “I would like to see everything restored to how it was originally. There’s always work to be done, you know? Countless projects. Work from anything from painting to welding, there’s so much to do.”

Read more and view a video at this link: https://www.woodtv.com/news/muskegon-county/all-hands-on-deck-milwaukee-clipper-preservation-needs-volunteers/amp/

Appledore IV returns for historic sailing tours on the Detroit River

4/6 - Detroit, MI – Detroit History Tours announced the return of its legendary boat tours on the eighty-five-foot-long tall schooner Appledore IV following the cancelation of last year's boat season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Appledore IV will sail from Bay City to the Port of Detroit on May 8, and tours are scheduled to go from May 13-30 and again in Sept. 10-27.

Detroit History Tours was founded in 2015 by Bailey Sisoy-Moore, providing fun and educational walking and bus tours throughout Detroit ever since. “In 2016 we brought the boat down from Bay City for what ended up being two weekends,” Sisoy-Moore says. “From that year to this year, we have added more weeks in Detroit each year.” The boat is owned and operated by nonprofit BaySail.

Detroit History Tours is offering four different types of sailing experiences this year: History Under Sail, Great Lakes Ecology and Knot Tying, Mariners Songs and Sea Shanties, and last but certainly not least, the Stargazing Sail.

“On all of the tours, guests are welcome at the captain’s invitation, to BYOB,” Sisoy-Moore says. “Everyone can bring their own drinks and snacks, but we do ask no glass containers or bottles. In addition to that we provide Vernors, diet Vernors, bottled water, Better Made chips, and a homemade sailor’s dessert, which is an oatmeal hand pie.”

The History Under Sail tour, updated from the previous years’ experience, is a three-hour long tour jam packed with stories and the history of the Detroit River.

According to the tour website, “You will depart from the Port of Detroit and sail up the river and under the Ambassador Bridge as our award-winning guides share the stories of the city's skyscrapers, the wars for control of the river, and the secret hiding spots of mischief makers.”

Next on the list is the Great Lakes Ecology and Knot Tying tour, a new addition to the tours this year that is a three-hour sail down the river. “Together with your historian and ecologist you’ll learn the history of tall ships on Michigan waters and what’s swimming, slithering, crawling, and flying around the Detroit River,” the Detroit History Tours website says.

“The crew will do knot tying with the guests so they can learn some common sailor knots,” Sisoy-Moore says. “They are also going to help raise the sails and a few lucky guests will help steer the ship with the captain.”

Sisoy-Moore says Mariners Songs and Sea Shanties is by far the most popular tour being offered this year, featuring the award-winning musician Vadriel King during a three-hour sail.

Read more at this link: https://www.metrotimes.com/the-scene/archives/2021/04/02/the-appledore-iv-returns-for-historic-sailing-tours-on-the-detroit-river

The a.) LOUIS R. DAVIDSON (Hull#95) of the Great Lakes Engineering Works was launched April 6, 1912, for the American Steamship Co. Later renamed b.) DIAMOND ALKALI in 1932, c.) DOW CHEMICAL in 1939 and d.) FERNDALE in 1963. She was scrapped at Castellon, Spain in 1979.

April 6, 1931 - The CITY OF FLINT 32 set a world record sailing 101,000 miles in her first year of service.

On 6 April 1872, the schooner I.N. FOSTER was launched from the Fitzgerald & Leighton yard at Port Huron, Michigan. She was classified as a "full-sized canaller" since she was as large as a vessel could be to pass through the Welland Canal. Her dimensions were 143 foot overall, 26 foot inch beam, 11 foot 6 inch depth, 437 tons.

1942: The CANADIAN FARMER was Hull 65 of the Collingwood shipyard and it was launched there on December 27, 1919. The vessel was sailing as c) SHIN KUANG when it was sunk by Japanese surface naval forces on the Bay of Bengal.

1949: FORT WILLDOC of the Paterson fleet and the JAMES E. McALPINE of the Brown Steamship Co. collided in Lake Superior, above Whitefish Point, on this date. Both ships were damaged and needed repairs.

1972: The freighter STAR OF REWIAH had been built at Collingwood as Hull 105 and launched as the corvette H.M.S. COMFREY on July 28, 1942. The ship was later converted to a cargo carrier and was sailing under this sixth name when it ran aground off the Ashrafi Lighthouse in the Gulf of Suez and declared a total loss on this date in 1972. It was traveling in ballast from Suez, Egypt, to Safaga, Egypt, at the time.

1978: The self-unloader TARANTAU was blown aground due to the wind and shifting ice pack in Lake Huron above Port Huron and had to be freed by the tug BARBARA ANN.

1979: A violent spring storm found LABRADOC (ii) on Lake Erie where the cargo shifted and the vessel took on a precarious list. All on board were removed fearing the ship would roll over and sink. But it survived and was towed to safety eventually undergoing repairs at Port Weller Dry Docks. The vessel left Great Lakes service in 1988 and operated on deep sea runs as b) FALCON CREST until scrapping at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, in 1994.

1992: An explosion and fire in the tunnel of HALIFAX occurred while the CSL ship was upbound in the St. Marys River. One sailor was killed and two more injured while the ship sustained internal damage. It went to Thunder Bay for repairs.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, “Ahoy & Farewell II,” the Father Dowling Collection, the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University, 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.

Port reports are compiled from volunteer 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). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions. We are particularly looking for reporters for the Duluth/Superior, St. Marys River, Southern Lake Michigan ports and the Hamilton/Toronto area.

Duluth/Superior
We are seeking a reporter for this port.
Wilfred Sykes, headed for Superior to load, came though the Duluth entry Sunday afternoon, much to the delight of Twin Ports boatwatchers. View the Duluth Harbor Cam video at this link: youtube.com/watch?v=Z-U39A_kc5s
Another video by Paul Scinocca: youtube.com/watch?v=hmUBq_6lRmI

Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary Putney
The Walter J. McCarthy Jr. arrived Two Harbors on 4/4 at 13:50. On 4/4 at 19:30 the Atlantic Huron is NW of the Apostles for Two Harbors. Also at the same time the American Spirit is NW of Outer Island for Two Harbors. Due Two Harbors on 4/5 the Edgar B. Speer is in Whitefish for Two Harbors. When the Anderson departed Two Harbors on 4/3 she is heading for Gary. When the Clyde S. VanEnkeovort/Erie Trader departed Silver Bay on 4/3 she was heading for Toledo. There is no scheduled traffic for Northshore Mining on 4/5.

Thunder Bay, ON
Sunday; Destination updates: Kaministiqua is sailing for Sorel and Cuyahoga for Toledo. 4:48 Harvest Spirit arrived at the Richardson Current River Terminal to load grain.8:39 Federal Cedar arrived at the Richardson Main Terminal to load grain. 18:40 Harvest Spirit departed and is down bound. 19:00 Frontenac departed for Toledo.

Northern Lake Michigan
Charlevoix: Sunday; 1:50 Prentiss Brown / St Marys Challenger arrived to load cement and departed at 15:45 for the Straits of Mackinac.

Northern Lake Huron
Alpena: Saturday; 21:10 Undaunted / Pere Marquette 41 departed for Monroe. 17:18 The cement carrier Alpena arrived at the Lafarge plant to load.
Stoneport: Sunday; 3:02 Kaye E Barker arrived to load limestone.
Meldrum Bay: Sunday; 12:43 Joyce L Van Enkevort / Great Lakes Trader departed for Marquette.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Intrepid refueled in Sarnia, upbound for Goderich Sunday April 4. Lake Erie Ports – Bill Kloss
Monroe: Paul R. Tregurtha arrived Sunday at 10:19. Undaunted/Pere Marquette arrived late Sunday night.
Marblehead: Herbert C. Jackson departed for Lorain at 12:03. She arrived at LaFarge in Lorain Sunday afternoon at 14:13.
Sandusky: Algoma Mariner arrived Sunday morning at 06:32 to load coal at Norfolk Southern.
Cleveland: Sharon M I arrived from Detroit at 09:31. After a quick unload, she and her barge left for Detroit at 16:56. Petite Forte left for Toledo at 10:24. Sam Laud arrived late Sunday night.
Nanticoke: CSL Tadoussac left late Saturday night for Sarnia. After being anchored for 11 days, Algonova departed for Sarnia at 20:56 Sunday night.

New book by St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre outlines canal history

4/5 - St. Catharines, ON – After eight years of research and writing, the latest publication about the Welland Canal is now available. “Triumph & Tragedy: The Welland Ship Canal” chronicles the story of the canal’s late workers, as well as documenting the canal’s construction.

“Over three dozen authors with specialized backgrounds and expertise contributed to this sizable writing effort,” said supervisor of historical services Kathleen Powell. “Together, they effectively present many of the stories of the people, places and projects associated with this engineering wonder.”

“It is much more than a local story — it is a broader history of Canadian labor, immigration, transportation, economic development and the hardships of construction,” Powell said.

The book includes illustrated biographies of the 138 workers who died, plus 17 other chapters that expand on topics such as the construction railway, medical service, equipment used, labor, mission services, geology and communities of the Welland Ship Canal. The 386-page book is full-color hardcover and has over 440 illustrations.

“Triumph & Tragedy: The Welland Ship Canal” is published by the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre. This publication is available at the museum gift shop, located at 1932 Welland Canals Pkwy., St. Catharines, ON. The museum is currently open Wednesday to Sundays and by appointment.

Obituary: David Norwood Falconer

4/5 - David N. Falconer, age 66, passed away peacefully on March 30, 2021 at his home in East Lansing, MI. He graduated from the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City in 1980, subsequently obtaining his U.S. Merchant Marine Engineers license. He worked as an engineer for various Great Lakes, river, and international shipping companies for several years, serving on a variety of vessels including Great Lakes freighters, tugboats on the Mississippi river and saltwater ships in the Caribbean. He later was employed as an engineer at the Michigan State University T.B. Simon Power Plant, where he was active in his union, serving as steward and other advisory roles. He retired from MSU in 2015. He was also a train enthusiast, a proud owner of a rail passenger car with the LM&M Railroad Company. He made use of Amtrak travel whenever possible

On 05 April 1890, INDIANA (wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 220 foot, 1,178 gross tons) was launched by Burger and Burger at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, for the Goodrich Transportation Company. The total cost of the vessel was $135,000.

On April 5, 1984, the joined sections of the HILDA MARJANNE and CHIMO emerged from Port Weller Dry Dock Ltd., as the b.) CANADIAN RANGER.

Sea trials for Canada Steamship Lines new bulk freighter, PRAIRIE HARVEST (Hull#227) of Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., were complete on April 5, 1984. She operates on the Lakes today as the self-unloader d.) ATLANTIC HURON.

The a.) LUZON (Hull#54) of the Chicago Ship Building Co. was launched for the Erie Steamship Co., E.D. Carter, mgr., on April 5, 1902. Renamed b.) JOHN ANDERSON in 1924 and c.) G. G. POST in 1933. She was scrapped at Izmir, Turkey, in 1972.

April 5, 1977 - The Chessie System announced that the CITY OF MIDLAND 41 would be withdrawn from service and only the SPARTAN and BADGER would run for the season.

On 5 April 1854, AMERICA (wooden side-wheeler, 240 foot, 1,083 tons, built in 1847, at Port Huron, Michigan) was bound for Cleveland from Detroit. After the captain had set her course and gone to bed, the 2nd mate changed the course to the north. The 1st and 2nd mates disagreed about the course and as they awoke the captain, the ship ran aground near Point Pelee, Ontario. Wave action reduced the vessel to rubble but no lives were lost.

On 5 April 1879, the 3-mast wooden schooner RESUMPTION was launched at the Wolf & Davidson yard in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her dimensions were 143 foot x 29 foot x 10 feet, 294 gross tons, 279 net tons.

April 5, 1962, the tanker ROBERT W. STEWART was renamed b.) AMOCO MICHIGAN, The WILLIAM P. COWAN was renamed b.) AMOCO ILLINOIS, the EDWARD G. SEUBERT was renamed b.) AMOCO WISCONSIN and the RED CROWN was renamed b.) AMOCO INDIANA, after being transferred from Standard Oil Company in a sale to the American Oil Company for $10 for each ship. Each ship traded in their names and their well-known red superstructure for a typical white paint job which stuck with them until their end. The only change came to the AMOCO INDIANA when she traded in her black hull for the blue paint of c.) MEDUSA CONQUEST, d.) SOUTHDOWN CONQUEST, e.) CEMEX CONQUEST and f.) ST MARYS CONQUEST. She operates today as a self - unloading cement barge.

1921: The Imperial Oil tanker IMPOCO (ii) had combined Great Lakes and coastal trading and had gone as far afield as the Mediterranean Sea and the Falkland Islands during World War One. The 8-year old vessel stranded at Blonde Rock, Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, on this date in 1921 while en route from Halifax to Saint John with a cargo of gasoline. The ship was lightered, salvaged on May 4, and beached at Charles Harbour and then at Halifax as not worth repair. The hull was apparently not scrapped until 1953.

1983: The small Finnish freighter KENITRA visited the Great Lakes in 1957. It was abandoned by her crew in the Red Sea while sailing as d) ALASKA on this date in 1983. It had developed a severe list while traveling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Mersin, Turkey, and sank the same day.

1996: The Liberian freighter STEEL FLOWER ran aground in the St. Lawrence near Wellesley Island while upbound on this date in 1996 and was stuck for two days. The ship had also been a Seaway trader as a) FEDERAL RHINE (i) from 1978 to 1992, as STEEL FLOWER from 1994 to 1996 and as c) NARRAGANSETT from 1997 to 1999 before going to Alang, India, for scrap later in 1999.

1999: The PATERSON (ii) ran aground in Lake St. Francis and was stuck for two days. The ship went to Les Mechins, QC for repairs and returned to work on May 13. The vessel now sails for Canada Steamship Lines as b) PINEGLEN (ii).

1999: ALGONTARIO ran aground at Johnsons Point in the St. Mary's River while upbound with a load of cement from Clarkson to Duluth. The ship was released April 7 and, after unloading, was laid up at Thunder Bay until eventual repairs and a return to service on October 10, 2004. The vessel was towed to Aliaga, Turkey, for scrapping in 2011.

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

04 April 1903: The first steamer to pass upbound through the Straits of Mackinac was the LUZON (steel propeller bulk freighter, 353 foot 3,582 gross tons, built in 1902 at Chicago, Illinois). She was heavily coated with ice, even to the top of the pilothouse due to fighting a gale on Lake Huron.

On 04 April 1908, ALEXIS W. THOMPSON (steel propeller bulk freighter, 504 foot, 6,437 gross tons) was launched by West Bay City Shipbuilding Co. (Hull #625) at W. Bay City, Michigan for Valley Steamship Co. (W.H. Becker, Mgr.). She lasted until 1962, when she was towed to Hamilton, Ontario, for scrapping by Steel Co. of Canada, Ltd.

The keel was laid at Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin on April 4, 1978, for the Columbia Transportation Div., Oglebay Norton Co.'s FRED R. WHITE JR (Hull#722).

Sea trials of the tanker ROBERT W. STEWART (Hull#802) of American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio were run on April 4, 1928. Renamed b.) AMOCO MICHIGAN in 1962, she was sold off the lakes in 1969 and renamed c.) SHUKHEIR. Scrapped in Egypt in 1989.

WILLIAM C. ATWATER (Hull#249) was launched on April 4, 1925, by the Great Lakes Engineering Works, for the Wilson Transit Co. Renamed b.) E. J. KULAS in 1936, c.) BEN MOREELL in 1953, d.) THOMAS E. MILLSOP in 1955. Sold Canadian in 1976, renamed e.) E. J. NEWBERRY and f.) CEDARGLEN 1981. Scrapped at Port Maitland, Ontario in 1994.

FRED G. HARTWELL (Hull#112) was launched April 4, 1908, by the Toledo Shipbuilding Co., for the Mutual Steamship Co., G. A. Tomlinson, mgr. Renamed b.) HARRY W. CROFT in 1917. Scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1969.

Interlake Steamship's E.G. GRACE became the first Maritimer to be sold for scrap when she was acquired by Marine Salvage on April 4, 1984.

JEAN-TALON was launched April 4, 1936, as a.) FRANQUELIN (Hull#1517) by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. for the Quebec and Ontario Transportation Co. Ltd.

The harbor tug and fire boat EDNA G was launched April 4, 1896, by the Cleveland Ship Building Co., as (Hull#25), for the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railroad Co.

On April 4, 1983, and on April 4, 1984, the WILLIAM CLAY FORD, opened the shipping season at Duluth, Minnesota. While the WILLIAM CLAY FORD was traditionally among the first vessels to visit Duluth-Superior, it was coincidence that she opened the port on the same day during her last two seasons in service.

On 4 April 1872, the schooner JOHN WESLEY was launched from Bailey's yard at Toledo, Ohio. She was built for Skidmore & Abairs. She was classed as a full-sized canaller and cost $22,000.

On 4 April 1881, the last two vessels of the Northern Transit Company, CHAMPLAIN and LAWRENCE, were sold to D. H. Day & Company of Grand Haven, Michigan.

1969: The Liberty ship CORINTHIAKOS made three trips to the Great Lakes beginning in 1960. It had been built as a tanker but rebuilt as a bulk carrier in 1955. The ship was sailing under Liberian registry as h) PACSTAR when it ran aground in a storm on the north shore of Toshima, Tokyo Bay en route from Kure, Japan, to Portland, Oregon, in ballast. The bottom was opened to the sea and the engine room was flooded. Salvage efforts were unsuccessful and the ship was abandoned as a total loss and sold for scrap.

1969: The self-unloader HOCHELAGA of Canada Steamship Lines hit the breakwall stern first while turning with the help of tugs at Conneaut, Ohio. The cargo of coal was lightered to MANITOULIN and HOCHELAGA had to go to Port Colborne for repairs.

1997: ELIJIANNI, a Greek bulk carrier, had visited the Great Lakes in 1979. It was sailing as d) KEKOVA when it was in a collision with the VASILIOS III, a Greek tanker, in the Sea of Marmora on this date in 1997. There were temporary repairs to the port bow but the 27-year-old vessel was sold for scrap and arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, for dismantling on June 2, 1997.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze , Jody Aho, Father Dowling Collection, “Ahoy & Farewell II,” the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.

Presque Isle and crew remain quarantined at Milwaukee due to COVID-19 outbreak

4/3 - Milwaukee, WI – There is a coordinated effort underway to help a vessel in distress after a number of its crew members tested positive for COVID-19.

The rush is on the find appropriate quarantine quarters for seven crew members still out on the water. The Port Milwaukee took the initial call and called for help from Milwaukee's Health Department, CDC and the Coast Guard.

The big red barge is one of the largest of its kind in the Great Lakes. Wednesday, March 31, the Presque Isle pulled into the Port of Gary to drop a load of iron ore with about 22 on board. Two of its mariners were so ill they had to be hospitalized. Twenty-four hours later, the 1,000-foot articulated tug-barge vessel had seven more COVID cases and needed safe harbor.

It was a plea for help that we were happy to answer," said Adam Tindall-Schlicht, Port of Milwaukee Director. The vessel will anchor in open water for the next several days as a thorough cleaning and crew exchange are planned.

"When it’s time for her to come an on-land docking for that crew exchange to take place she will come under the Hoan Bridge and actually dock on the northwest corner of Jones Island," said Tindall-Schlicht.

How long the freighter stays depends on how long it takes to get it disinfected. “Any day lost does impact our ability to move cargo and we’ll continue to try to make up for that best we can," said Eric Peace, Lake Carriers Association Director of Operations and Communications.

This is the first reported case of COVID on one of the 46 vessels belonging to the Lake Carriers' Association, after strict guidelines were enacted. “Those preventative measures were put in place back in March of 2020 and they were pretty significant including temperature checks," said Peace.

The Presque Isle will get closer to shore in the coming days. "If you are out taking a walk, I know tomorrow’s going to be quite lovely, if you see a vessel in Milwaukee harbor that’s anchored, we’re asking for thoughts and prayers for the sailors onboard to make sure that they remain healthy for Easter weekend," said Tindall-Schlicht.

With an abundance of caution, healthy ship members will also quarantine for 14 days.

WDJT

John D. Leitch back at Hamilton with mechanical issues

4/3 - Hamilton, ON – John D. Leitch, which wintered in Hamilton and left April 1 for what was to be her first trip of the season, to Thunder Bay, was towed by two Groupe Ocean tugs back to port on Friday due to mechanical difficulties. The Leitch was anchored off Hamilton due to winds and will be towed to dock as soon as the weather allows.

Port reports are compiled from volunteer 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). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions. We are particularly looking for reporters for the Duluth/Superior, St. Marys River, Southern Lake Michigan ports and the Hamilton/Toronto area.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary Putney
Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin departed Two Harbors on 4/2 at 02:19 for Nanticoke. Joseph L. Block arrived Two Harbors on 4/2 at 03:38 and then departed Two Harbors on 4/2 at 16:54 for Indiana Harbor. Edwin H. Gott stopped off Duluth at 11:40 on 4/2. She got underway for Two Harbors on 4/2 at 16:48 and arrived Two Harbors at 18:28. Harbor Lookout is showing Arthur M. Anderson due Two Harbors on 4/3, but her AIS is showing Duluth. Dirk S. VanEnkevort/Michigan Trader departed Northshore Mining in Silver Bay on 4/2 at 05:15 for Cleveland. Clyde S. VanEnkevort/Erie Trader arrived Silver Bay on 4/1 between 21:15 and 21:40. As of 19:45 on the 2nd she was still at the loading dock. There is no scheduled traffic for Silver Bay on 4/3.

Thunder Bay, ON
Thursday; 20:23 Ojibway departed for Sorel. 20:23 Kaministiqua weighed anchor and proceeded to the Richardson Main Terminal to load wheat. Friday; 7:41 Cuyahoga arrived at Thunder Bay Terminals to load potash. 17:00 Kaministiqua shifted to the Richardson Current River to finish loading.

Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
After taking on coal ash at the heavy lift dock, Undaunted/Pere Marquette 41 cleared for Alpena at 16:18 Thursday (04/01). Presque Isle arrived off Milwaukee Thursday evening. The 1,000-foot articulated tug/barge unit spent winter in Erie, PA. It departed March 22 for Two Harbors to load ore pellets for Gary. After discharging its cargo, the unit proceeded to Milwaukee because of a COVID-related issue. It is believed the vessel will eventually move to the city’s heavy lift dock.

Northern Lake Michigan
Charlevoix: Friday; 7:12 Bradshaw McKee / St Marys Conquest departed and is down bound on Lake Michigan.

Northern Lake Huron
Cheboygan: Friday; 4:35 The tug Michigan and tanker barge Great Lakes arrived at the US Oil Co. terminal to unload petroleum products.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Niagara loading at Compass Minerals Friday April 2, salt for Johnstown ON. Algoma Sault expected next.

Lake Erie Ports – Bill Kloss
Sandusky: Defiance/Ashtabula departed Friday at 03:27 for Detroit.
Marblehead: Herbert C. Jackson arrived Thursday at 12:21.
Cleveland: Herbert C. Jackson left Friday morning at 05:20 for Marblehead. Petite Forte and barge St. Mars Cement II arrived late Friday night for St. Mary's Cement.
Conneaut: American Spirit departed for Two Harbors at 02:45. Edgar B. Speer came in to unload at 08:20.
Nanticoke: Algonorth is at Imperial Oil and Algonova remains anchored. Algocanada departed yesterday for Sault Ste. Marie at 14:15. Algoma Conveyor departed Friday at 14:48 for Clarkson.

In 1969 the RALPH MISENER (steel propeller bulk freighter, 730 foot, 19,160 gross tons, built in 1967, at Montreal, Quebec) suffered serious fire damage to her engine room during fit-out at Port Colborne, Ontario. She went overseas for scrap in 2012 as b.) GORDON C. LEITCH (ii).

On April 3, 1991, the pilothouse of the WILLIAM CLAY FORD of 1953 was moved by a barge towed by Gaelic tug's CAROLYN HOEY and placed on a specially built foundation at the Dossin Museum for display facing the Detroit River as a fully equipped pilothouse.

The tanker a.) TEMBLADOR (Hull#15) of the Barnes Ð Duluth Shipbuilding Co., was launched April 3, 1943, for the Creole Petroleum Corp, for off lakes use. She later sailed on the lakes as b.) LIQUILASSIE.

On 3 April 1872, the passenger/package freight steam barge ROBERT HOLLAND was launched at Marine City, Michigan. She was towed to Detroit by the propeller TRADER to have her machinery installed.

On 3 April 1876, the Port Huron Times reported "The wreck of the schooner HARMONICA, which has been missing for a month or more, has been discovered on the beach near Whitehall, Michigan completely buried in the ice. Four are supposed to have perished."

On 3 April 1894, WILLIAM H. BARNUM (wooden propeller freighter, 219 foot, 937 gross tons, built in 1873, at Detroit, Michigan) was carrying corn on her first trip of the season. She was reportedly in poor condition and was insured only for this voyage. Her hull was cut by floating ice and she sank in the Straits of Mackinac about two miles east of present Mackinac Bridge. The tug CRUSADER got her crew off before she sank.

1942: The second TABORFJELL to visit the Great Lakes for the Fjell Line was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic east of New Jersey on this date by U-576. The vessel was en route from Matanzas, Cuba, to New York and Montreal with sugar. The three survivors waited for 20 hours before being rescued. Another 17 crewmates perished. The 1339 gross ton vessel first came inland shortly after being delivered in August 1938.

1975: The self-unloader J.W. McGIFFIN of Canada Steamship Lines was blown aground in the Welland Canal near Thorold. Two holes were punched in the hull and they were repaired at Port Weller Dry Docks. The ship was rebuilt as CSL NIAGARA in 1999.

Data from: Skip GIllham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection and the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University, “Ahoy & Farewell II” and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.

Presque Isle quarantines at Milwaukee after crew members test positive for COVID-19

4/2 - Milwaukee, WI – A 1,000-foot tug/barge combination entered quarantine at Port Milwaukee Thursday after crew members tested positive for COVID-19.

According to MarineTraffic.com, the Presque Isle was at anchor off the port Thursday evening. Port Director Jeff said the ship was waiting for choppy conditions to end before coming into port.

A spokesperson for the City of Milwaukee said in a statement that the once the Presque Isle arrives, it will remain at the city's heavy-lift dock for the duration of the quarantine. Some of the articulated tug/barge vessel's crew members will remain on the vessel, while others are expected to be isolated in temporary housing in the Milwaukee area.

The port will be working with the city's health department to make sure COVID-19 protocols are in place and the virus does not spread. The owner of the vessel is following established plans for the "possibility of a viral outbreak among its crew," according to the city spokesperson.

WTMJ

Ferry from Milwaukee to Muskegon will start making trips May 7

4/2 - Milwaukee, WI – The Lake Express Ferry from Milwaukee to Muskegon will start making high-speed trips across Lake Michigan on May 7. The ferry announced in a news release Wednesday that it would make multiple trips a day starting in May.

This means the ferry will operate a full season in 2021. Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of the season. The ferry didn't start operating until June in 2020. The Lake Express Ferry will make four crossings daily between Milwaukee and Muskegon from May 7 through June 16. The ferry will make up to six crossings from June 17 through Sept. 6.

The trip is about two and a half hours between Milwaukee and Muskegon. The ferry can carry cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pets. The ferry can carry up to 250 passengers, 46 vehicles and 12 motorcycles.

Journal Sentinel

Mississagi, believed to have been retired, heads to Sarnia

4/2 - The veteran self-unloader Mississagi, widely believed to have been retired in January, sailed for Sarnia, ON, Thursday evening. It is unknown at this time if she will continue her layup there or be refurbished for a return to service.

Port reports are compiled from volunteer 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). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions. We are particularly looking for reporters for the Duluth/Superior, St. Marys River, Southern Lake Michigan ports and the Hamilton/Toronto area.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary Putney
CSL Niagara arrived Two Harbors on 4/1 at 01:50 and then departed on the 1st at 11:10 for Quebec City.The Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin stopped off Two Harbors on 4/1 at 02:30. It got underway at 11:52 and arrived Two Harbors at 12:23. It is still at the dock at 19:15 on the 1st. Due Two Harbors on 4/2 are the Joseph L. Block and the Edwin H. Gott. Northshore Mining in Silver Bay saw the arrival of the Dirk S. VanEnkevort/Michigan Trader on 4/1 at 15:26. Also due Silver Bay on 4/1 is the Clyde S. VanEnkevort/Erie Trader around 21:00.

Thunder Bay, ON
Destination update: G3 Marquis is bound for Quebec City Thursday; 0:26 Kaministiqua arrived and went to anchor. 16:20 Manitoulin departed for Sorel.

Northern Lake Michigan
Charlevoix: Thursday; 16:28 Bradshaw McKee / St Marys Conquest weighed anchor and departed Little Traverse Bay for the St Marys Cement plant to load.

Green Bay, WI – Jon
Thursday at 9:08 am the tug Michigan barge Great Lakes departed for Cheboygan, MI.

Northern Lake Huron
Alpena: Thursday; 6:38 The cement carrier Alpena arrived at the Lafarge plant to load and departed at 17:48 for Detroit.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Niagara was loading at Compass MineralsThursday. She is the first vessel in Goderich for 2021 season.

Lake Erie Ports – Bill Kloss
Sandusky: Defiance/Ashtabula arrived Thursday at 12:57 to load coal at Norfolk Southern.
Cleveland: Herbert C. Jackson is on the shuttles.
Conneaut: American Spirit was in port. Edgar B. Speer was at anchor.
Nanticoke: Algonorth was at Imperial Oil and Algonova remained anchored. Algoma Conveyor arrived at Stelco Wednesday at 15:21.

Oswego, NY – Ned Goebricher
On Thursday NACC Capri was the first vessel of the season.

Joseph L. Block captain sails into retirement

4/2 - G Escanaba, MI – An iron ore ship captain sailed into retirement after his four-and-a-half-decade career. He describes the moment as “bittersweet.” Captain Raymond Sheldon has always been interested in ships and water.

“I would read books; different books of shipwrecks and survival and ghost stories of the Great Lakes,” said Captain Ray Sheldon, retired Captain of the MV Joseph L. Block. For his whole life, Captain Sheldon has been working on a boat. After four decades on the water, he has quite a few stories to tell. But one in particular stands out to him the most.

“Well, my favorite story is how Peggy and I, we got married on the boat on June 30, 2019,” said Captain Sheldon. After Captain Sheldon married, his wife Peggy, also known as “Mrs. Captain”, sailed with him during their first year together.

“I was able to ride with him quite a bit and that was really, really fun. I got to experience what he experiences out there,” said Mrs. Captain. When the pandemic began, Mrs. Captain wasn’t allowed on the boat, but she still found ways to spend time with her husband.

“I would get in our truck and go to wherever he was, pick him up, we would go to exploring and then I bring him back. He’d get back on and I would go home,” said Mrs. Captain.

Captain Sheldon sailed through the Soo Locks for the last time last week with several people watching in support. “It’s nice to have all those memories by people who care about him, who care about the boat, who care about us and who follows us,” said Mrs. Captain.

Now, the couple plan to sail to Florida in their own boat. “I’m just really glad to have them home and I’m looking forward to our new captain adventures on our boat called Captains’ Adventure,” said Mrs. Captain.

“It’s time to move on to new adventures,” said Captain Sheldon. After a lifetime sailing, to Captain Sheldon, it’s more than just a career.

WLUC

A total of 60 ore boats departed Cleveland between March 31 and April 2 to start the 1948 shipping season.

On 02 April 1900, the JOHN MINER (wooden 3-mast schooner, 134 foot, 273 gross tons, built in 1866, at Detroit, Michigan as a bark) was purchased by S. R. Chamberlain from Frank Higgie for $800. She only lasted until 19 October 1902, when she was lost in a storm on Lake Huron.

On April 2, 1951, CLIFFS VICTORY was towed, bound for New Orleans, Louisiana, with her deck houses, stack, propeller, rudder and above deck fittings stored on or below her spar deck for bridge clearance. She was outfitted with two 120-foot pontoons, which were built at the Baltimore yard, that were attached to her hull at the stern to reduce her draft to eight feet for passage in the shallow sections of the river/canal system.

LEON FALK JR. was launched April 2, 1945, as a.) WINTER HILL, a T2-SE-Al, World War II, a single-screw fuel tanker for U.S. Maritime Commission.

CLIFFORD F. HOOD was launched April 2, 1902, as the straight deck bulk freighter a.) BRANSFORD for the Bransford Transit Co., (W. A. Hawgood, mgr.).

SENATOR OF CANADA sailed under her own power on April 2, 1985, to Toronto, Ontario, where she was put into ordinary next to her fleet mate the QUEDOC. She was scrapped in Venezuela in 1986.

WHEAT KING was lengthened by an addition of a 172 foot 6 inch mid-section (Hull #61) and received a 1,000 h.p. bowthruster. This work reportedly cost $3.8 million Canadian and was completed on April 2, 1976.

On April 2, 1953, the straight deck bulk freighter J. L. MAUTHE (Hull#298) of the Great Lakes Engineering Works entered service for Interlake Steamship Co. She operates currently for Interlake as the self-unloading barge PATHFINDER.

April 2, 1975 - The State of Michigan filed a Federal Court suit to stop the Grand Trunk Railway from selling the GRAND RAPIDS. It was felt that selling the ferry would build a stronger case for abandonment of the entire ferry service.

On 2 April 1874, A. H. HUNTER (wooden propeller tug, 58 foot, 28 gross tons) was launched at Saginaw, Michigan. She was built for Donnelly & Clark of Saginaw by Wheeler. The engine was built by Bartlett & Co. of Saginaw. Her boiler and some other equipment were from the almost new tug KATY REID that burned at Salzburg, Michigan in October 1873.

1976: WHEAT KING was refloated at Port Weller Dry Docks. It had arrived on December 12, 1975, and was lengthened to 730 feet over the winter. The ship would only sail six years with the new dimensions and was retired at the end of the 1981 season.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Jody Aho, Russ Plumb, “Ahoy & Farewell II,” Father Dowling Collection and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series

Port reports are compiled from volunteer 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). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions. We are particularly looking for reporters for the St. Marys River, Southern Lake Michigan ports and the Hamilton/Toronto area.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary Putney
Edgar B. Speer departed Two Harbors on 3/28 at 21:07 for Conneaut. Wilfred Sykes got underway off Duluth at 17:30 and arrived Two Harbors at 21:54. She departed Two Harbors on 3/29 at 08;13 for Indiana Harbor. CSL Laurentien arrived Two Harbors stern first at 09:11 after getting underway off Duluth at 05:20 on 3/29. At 19:30 on 3/29 she looks like she's about ready to get underway. CSL Tadoussac got underway off Duluth at 19:05 for Two Harbors. She had been anchored in Bete Grise Bay but got underway at approx. 21:00 on 3/28 for Duluth. Due Two Harbors are CSL Niagara and Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin. At 19:30 CSL Niagara was in Whitefish Bay and the Martin was below the Locks. Scheduled for Northshore Mining in Silver Bay on 3/30 is Joyce L. VanEnkevort/Great Lakes Trader.

Thunder Bay, ON
Sunday; 21:02 Harvest Spirit departed for Windsor. Algoma Harvester shifted to the Richardson Current River Terminal to finish loading. Monday; 10:44 Algoma Equinox arrived at the Richardson Main Terminal to load wheat. 13:09 The CSL self unloader Thunder Bay departed for Becancour. 13:18 CSL St Laurent weighed anchor and proceeded to Viterra A to load wheat. 14:21 Algoma Mariner departed for Hamilton.15:38 Baie St Paul departed for Quebec City.16:09 G3 Marquis weighed anchor and proceeded to the G3 Terminal to load wheat. 17:01 Tim S Dool arrived at the Superior Elevator to load wheat.

Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
Tug John Marshall arrived from Calumet Harbor at 03:37 Monday (03/29) with three barges to be loaded at the COFCO elevator. Also in the inner harbor were GL Ostrander/Integrity rafted to Innovation at the Lafarge dock, Bradshaw McKee with St. Marys Conquest at the Heavy Lift Dock.

Northern Lake Huron
Stoneport: Monday; 14:35 Defiance / Ashtabula arrived to load limestone.

Stoneport, MI – Denny Dushane
The tug Defiance and barge Ashtabula were expected to arrive during the mid-afternoon on Monday to load. There is nothing else due in or expected until Saturday, April 3 when the Sam Laud is due to arrive during the late morning to load.

Toledo, OH – Denny Dushane
Algoma Conveyor arrived at the CSX Coal Dock on Sunday and was still at the dock on Monday. They were expected to begin loading coal at the CSX Coal Dock on Monday morning at 7 a.m. Also due at CSX on Monday was the Manitowoc. Kaye E. Barker is due at CSX on Friday, April 2 in the early morning. At the Torco Dock, the tug Dirk S. VanEnkevort and barge Michigan Trader are due on Saturday, April 3 in the early morning to unload, followed by the American Mariner also on Saturday, April 3 in the early morning to unload.

Lake Erie Ports – Bill Kloss
Cleveland: Arriving Monday morning was Herbert C. Jackson at 07:54. She is back on the shuttles. Departures were NACC Capri at 08:33 for Bath, ON and Manitowoc at 15:09 for Toledo. New York was at Marathon. Mesabi Miner arrived very early Tuesday morning to unload at the Bulk Terminal.
Nanticoke: Algoterra was at Imperial Oil. Still at anchor off of Port Dover were Algonova, Algosea and Algocanada.

The tanker CHEMICAL MAR arrived at Brownsville, Texas on March 30, 1983, in tow of the tug FORT LIBERTE to be scrapped. Built in 1966, as a.) BIRK. In 1979, she was renamed b.) COASTAL TRANSPORT by Hall Corp. of Canada, but never came to the lakes. She was sold by Hall and was renamed c.) CHEMICAL MAR in 1981.

March 30, 1985 - CITY OF MIDLAND's departure was delayed when her anchor snagged one that she had lost in Pere Marquette Lake the previous summer.

March 30, 1900, the carferry ANN ARBOR NO 2, grounded on the rocks east of the approach to the channel at Manistique, Michigan. She was pulled off quickly by the ANN ARBOR NO 3 and the tug GIFFORD. She was found to have bent a propeller shaft and broken rudder, resulting in a trip to the drydock at Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1917: GERMANIC was the last wooden passenger ship built in Collingwood. It was completed there in 1899 and burned there, at the dock, on this date in 1917. The ship was part of Canada Steamship Lines at the time of loss. The hull settled on the bottom but was raised, towed towards Wasaga Beach, and run aground. The remains were torn apart for firewood during the Depression.

1940: The first THORDOC, a) J.A. McKEE, stranded at Winging Point, 10 miles southwest of Louisbourg, N.S., due to heavy fog. The ship was abandoned on April 1 and declared a total loss. This member of the Paterson fleet had been travelling in ballast and had been involved in Great Lakes trading since 1908.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, “Ahoy & Farewell II” and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.

Soo Locks to open early: Shipping season begins this week

3/23 - Sault Ste. Marie, MI - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District’s Soo Area Office will open the Poe Lock at noon Wednesday, marking the start of the 2021 Great Lakes shipping season.

The office believes the start will provide a safer timeframe for vessels to transit Whitefish Bay and the St. Marys River. It also facilitates U.S. Coast Guard ice breaking prior to and after the initial lock transits, said James Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers Association, in a news release.

“The efficiency of icebreaking for the first transits is the primary driver for this request,” Weakley said. “The shipping industry requested an early season opening to ensure safety of the vessels, officials said.

The Detroit District accommodated an early opening request due to being ahead of schedule and completing all required maintenance tasks during the annual winter season closure, said District Commander Lt. Col. Scott Katalenich in a news release.

The locks officially closed Jan. 15 to undergo critical repairs and maintenance during the 10-week winter shutdown. Maintenance crews performed a variety of tasks on the Poe Lock, including dry docking and repairing a barge, performing upstream and downstream miter gate structural repair work, replacing ice flushing valves on the upstream miter gates and making repairs to a filling valve and an emptying valve.

Other work included intermediate gate sill repairs, cleaning the Poe Lock’s underfloor drainage system, replacing fender timbers on the piers, and inspecting and performing preventative maintenance on electrical and mechanical systems for the Poe and MacArthur locks.

“We worked hard to accelerate work up front during our annual closure, with crews working 10 hours for six days straight to optimize the short time available for critical maintenance and repairs,” Katalenich said. “Due to the hard work of our maintenance crews and some mild weather at the beginning of our closure period, we’ve been able to accomplish all required work ahead of schedule.”

Poe Lock rewatering began March 15, which will support U.S. Coast Guard ice breakers preparing the shipping channels for the opening of the navigation season. nThe MacArthur Lock, located south of the Poe, will remain closed until mid-April.

“We welcome visitors into the park for the 2021 Soo Locks season opening,” Katalenich said. “The park and viewing platform will be open, but we ask everyone entering the park follow (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines and (Department of Defense) instructions to wear masks on federal property, including outdoor shared spaces when social distancing cannot be maintained.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on plans to open the Soo Locks Visitor Center on May 9, depending on health condition as well as CDC, federal and state requirements.

“We’re excited about the possibility of opening the visitor center and have several new exhibits for visitors to enjoy,” chief park ranger Michelle Briggs said in a news release.

The Mining Journal

Baie St. Paul opens Seaway, other vessels sail on first trips of the season

3/23 - Baie St. Paul was given the Top Hat for first upbound ship at Montreal and the St. Lambert Lock Monday, however the Tim S. Dool was the first overall upbound vessel, departing Cote Ste. Catherine where they were laid-up for the winter.

Departures from layup included:
Burns Harbor March 22 to BNSF #5 to load.
Edwin H. Gott March 22 from Toledo to Two Harbors.
Indiana Harbor March 21 from Ashtabula to Two Harbors.
Joseph L. Block March 22 from Sturgeon Bay to Two Harbors.
Manitowoc March 22 from Ashtabula to Stoneport.
Presque Isle March 22 from Erie to Two Harbors.

It was a busy opening day at the Seaway locks, with Thunder Bay sailing from Montreal and Spruceglen from Toronto. Algoma Mariner and Algonorth were also upbound in the Seaway Monday.

Denny Dushane

Port reports are compiled from volunteer 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). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions.

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
Burns Harbor left her layup dock at Lakehead Pipeline in Superior around 16:00 Monday afternoon and shifted to Husky Energy for fuel. She left the dock and moved down to Burlington Northern at 19:30 to load her first cargo of the season; her departure on Tuesday will mark the official beginning of the 2021 season in the Twin Ports. Paul R. Tregurtha, Lee A. Tregurtha and Hon. James L. Oberstar remain laid up in the harbor but should all be departing to begin their seasons within the next week or two.

St. Marys River
CCGS Samuel Risley, USCGC Katmai Bay, and USCGC Morro Bay locked up Monday to break ice in the upper river, while the Risley headed to Thunder Bay. The tug Laura L. VanEnkevort / barge Joseph H. Thompson may be the first upbound commercial lockage, headed for Marquette. The pair were at anchor above DeTour Monday along with fleetmates Joyce L. VanEnkevort/Great Lakes Trader.

Sturgeon Bay, WI – Daniel Lindner
Joseph L. Block left Bay Shipbuilding and departed Sturgeon Bay at 13:45 Monday afternoon, becoming the second vessel after Kaye E. Barker to leave winter layup. Her fleetmate Wilfred Sykes, which has been in layup since May of 2020, is expected to depart on Tuesday, while the rest of the layup fleet should follow suit in the following days.

Holland, MI – Bill Van Appledorn
The Undaunted/PM41 arrived late Monday afternoon to load scrap metal at the Padnos dock.

Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
After delivering liquid asphalt, Sarah Andrie/A-390 cleared for Indiana Harbor at 20:50 Saturday (03/20). Tug John Marshall arrived at 00:45 Sunday (03/21) with three river barges for loading at the COFCO elevator. Still in the harbor for winter lay-up are Stewart J. Cort, tug/barge Albert/Margaret and barge Innovation. No other marine traffic is currently expected.

Northern Lake Michigan
Lower St Marys River: Sunday; 22:13 Laura L Van Enkevort / Joseph H Thompson went to anchor. Monday; 7:18 Joyce L Van Enkevort / Great Lakes Trader went to anchor. Both are north of De Tour waiting for the Sault Locks to open Wednesday at noon and are bound for Marquette.
Cheboygan: Monday; 8:51 The tug Michigan and tanker barge Great Lakes arrived at the US Oil Co. terminal to unload petroleum products. 9:25 USCG Mackinaw departed to conduct ice ops east of Bois Blanc Island.

Lake Erie Ports Monday – Bill Kloss
Toledo: Monday departures were the Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin at 06:07, Edwin H. Gott at 14:20 for Two Harbors and Dirk S. VanEnkevort for Marquette at 15:08. Cleveland: McKeil Spirit arrived on Monday at 10:25 for Lehigh Cement. Sea Eagle II is at St. Mary's Cement. Herbert C. Jackson is on the shuttles. New York left yesterday evening at 18:42.
Ashtabula: Leaving Monday were Kaye E. Barker at 08:47 for Dearborn and Manitowoc at 13:18 for Stoneport.
Erie, PA: Presque Isle departed Monday at 10:37 for Two Harbors.
Nanticoke: Harvest Spirit is at Stelco loading for Monroe, MI.

Toronto, ON – Gerry Ouderkirk
Toronto Drydock Co.'s tug Radium Yellowknife and barge Metis departed for Picton on Friday morning, arriving there Saturday afternoon. It was their first trip of the season.

Museum tug LT-5 rescued after drifting into harbor, police investigating

3/23 - Oswego, NY – The Port City’s historic harbor tugboat was successfully returned to its dock after becoming unmoored this past weekend, and authorities are investigating if someone deliberately set the vessel adrift.

Crews from the Oswego Fire Department, Oswego Police Department, H. Lee White Maritime Museum, Port of Oswego Authority and other agencies gathered at the end of the West First Street Pier on Sunday morning to attempt the recovery of the U.S. Army Transport LT-5, also known as the Elisha K. Henson. The 78-year-old tugboat was built in New York City and saw action in the English Channel during World War II. It's also a National Historic Landmark and was granted more than $350,000 for maintenance under the federal "Save America's Treasures" effort.

The United States Coast Guard first reported the ship was untethered from its seasonal moorings, according to Oswego Fire Department (OFD) Chief Randy Griffin.

“We’re not sure how much of it is sitting aground,” Griffin told The Palladium-Times as two of his officers approached and boarded the LT-5 from the department’s light watercraft. “When (the LT-5) broke free, or was let free, she started to drift away and she’s pretty steady on the sand right now.”

The portion of the Oswego Harbor adjacent to the West First Street Pier is dredged to allow the Coast Guard and United States Geological Survey to enter and exit, but the LT-5 drifted far enough to become stuck.

OFD personnel secured the ship’s lines, then brought the lines back to shore where they were attached to a waiting tow truck. The truck’s torque, combined with guidance from firefighters and other first responders, was able to guide the ship gently back to its berth. The entire process took roughly 15 minutes.

Officials said they’re investigating how the ship broke free. The LT-5's ropes were recently purchased and installed by the museum, and the lack of damage to the ropes raised immediate questions regarding the circumstances.

“(The LT-5) was here, like she has been all winter, and the lines were intact,” Griffin said. “If the rope was still here and broken in the middle, I’d think maybe it broke free. But it’s pretty clean.”

The LT-5 is owned by the Port of Oswego Authority, which also oversees the H. Lee White Maritime Museum. City officials confirmed that they are treating the matter as a potential criminal act, and on Sunday said the police department was pulling security footage from nearby cameras. The investigation is ongoing.

CSL focuses on testing green fuels and technologies as 2021 season begins

3/23 - Montreal, QC – On Monday, Canada Steamship Lines’ Trillium Class self-unloading ship Baie St. Paul was the first vessel to transit St. Lambert Lock, marking the official beginning of the St. Lawrence Seaway’s 63rd navigation season.

This is the second Seaway opening for Baie St. Paul, which began operating on the Great Lakes in 2013 as the first in a new class of smarter, cleaner and more efficient ships.

During the Seaway Opening ceremony, Louis Martel, President and CEO, The CSL Group, announced that CSL will be testing second generation biodiesel on half of its fleet over the course of the 2021 navigation season – a first for the Great Lakes shipping industry. These tests are a follow-up to the successful trials of B100 biodiesel fuel on the main engines of two CSL ships last year.

“Replacing fossil fuel with biodiesel on vessels requires no modification of existing equipment and provides a viable carbon neutral fuel source over its lifecycle, Mr. Martel explained. “This is what makes biofuels a very attractive option to reduce our environmental footprint, and we are eager to continue testing them and other solutions that offer the potential to contribute to cleaner air and waterways.”

CSL has aligned with Canada’s nationally determined targets under the Paris Climate Agreement with a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35% below 2005 levels by 2030.

To achieve this ambitious objective, CSL is taking concrete actions by building more efficient ships, investing in R&D and innovation, and exploring and testing new technologies, fuels and digital solutions.

Among them, CSL is building a new 26,000 DWT diesel-electric self-unloading ship, purpose-built for Windsor Salt with the most advanced environmental technologies. The vessel will service Windsor Salt’s Mines Seleine located in the eco-sensitive marine environment of the Magdalene Islands.

“The pace of transformation and digitalization we are witnessing in shipping today is a game-changer, and we are fully committed to modernizing and investing in the long-term viability, sustainability and success of our company and sector,” said Louis Martel.

“Marine transportation continues to be the most efficient, reliable and eco-responsible choice for shipping large cargos, and investments made today in green solutions will have positive impacts for generations to come.”

CSL

The National Transportation Safety Board unanimously voted on March 23,1978, to reject the U. S. Coast Guard's official report supporting the theory of faulty hatches in their EDMUND FITZGERALD investigation. Later the N.T.S.B. revised its verdict and reached a majority vote to agree that the sinking was caused by taking on water through one or more hatch covers damaged by the impact of heavy seas over her deck. This is contrary to the Lake Carriers Association's contention that her foundering was caused by flooding through bottom and ballast tank damage resulting from bottoming on the Six Fathom Shoal between Caribou and Michipicoten Islands.

On 23 March 1850, TROY (wooden side-wheel passenger/package freighter, 182 foot, 546 tons, built in 1845, at Maumee, Ohio) exploded and burned at Black Rock, New York. Up to 22 lives were lost. She was recovered and rebuilt the next year and lasted until 1860.

On 23 March 1886, Mr. D. N. Runnels purchased the tug KITTIE HAIGHT.

The 3,280 ton motor vessel YANKCANUCK commanded by Captain W. E. Dexter, docked at the Canadian Soo on 23 March 1964, to officially open the 1964 navigation season for that port. Captain Dexter received the traditional silk hat from Harbormaster Frank Parr in a brief ceremony aboard the vessel. The ship arrived in the Sault from Windsor, Ontario. Captain Dexter said the trip from Windsor was uneventful and he had no trouble with ice. This was the first time a ship from the Yankcanuck line had won the honor of opening the Sault Harbor.

1986: EBN MAGID visited the Seaway in 1970 as a) ADEL WEERT WIARDS and was on the cover of Know Your Ships for 1971. Following 2 explosions and a fire at sea at the end of January, the vessel docked this day at Milford Haven, U.K. to be unloaded. It was then sold to Belgian shipbreakers.

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

Tanker Dara Desgagnés sold for off-lakes service

3/22 - Reported for sale a few weeks ago, was the tanker Dara Desgagnés wintering in Montreal. It was recently sold to Soonoil, a company in the Dominican Republic. On paper, she was renamed Caribbean Energy and will sail under the Mongolian flag, port of registration Ulaanbaatar. As of Saturday morning, only the Desgagnés logo on the stack had been removed

René Beauchamp – Seaway News

Port reports are compiled from volunteer 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). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions.

St. Marys River
Algonova tanker departed the Purvis dock at 9:55 a.m on Sunday March 21, headed down bound to Sarnia. CCGS Samuel Risley, USCGC Katmai Bay, USCGC Biscayne Bay and USCGC Morro Bay were working ice ops in the lower river getting ready for Wednesday’s season opener. The Risley will eventually be heading to Thunder Bay. The tug Laura L. VanEnkevort / barge Joseph H. Thompson may be the first upbound commercial lockage, headed for Marquette. The pair was inbound at DeTour Sunday just before 10 pm. Joyce L. VanEnkevort/Great Lakes Trader was upbound on Lake Huron Sunday night, also for MarquetteV S. Lake Michigan Ports
Steamer Alpena was unloading cement Sunday at S. Chicago.

Northern Lake Michigan
Charlevoix: Sunday; 6:41 Prentiss Brown / St Marys Challenger arrived to load cement products.

Courtright, ON – Rod Burdick
McKeil Tug/Barge Sharon M I/Huron Spirit arrived and opened the brine dock on Sunday for the 2021-22 shipping season.

Lake Erie Ports Sunday – Bill Kloss, Michael Hopkins
Toledo: Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin arrived Sunday morning at 08:49 from Port Colborne, ON. Laura L. VanEnkevort left Saturday 3/20 at 12:36 pm. Joyce L. Van Enkevort left Saturday 3/20 at 5 p.m.

Cleveland: Sunday arrivals were the tugs George Gradel from Sandusky at 14:53 and Sea Eagle II at 20:12. She proceeded to St. Marys Cement to unload.

Ashtabula: Indiana Harbor departed for Toledo Sunday afternoon at 16:11.

Nanticoke: Harvest Spirit arrived Sunday at 05:28 to load steel coils destined for Monroe, MI.

Seaway – Rene Beauchamp
Tim S. Dool is scheduled to leave the dock at Côte Ste-Catherine Monday morning upbound on opening day. Thunder Bay is the destination given on her AIS.

USS The Sullivans saved from sinking thanks to generous donations

3/22 - Buffalo, NY – USS The Sullivans, named for five Irish-American brothers who perished together in WWII, has received emergency funding to prevent it from sinking.

The Buffalo and Erie County Military & Naval Park announced on March 2 that it had exceeded its fundraising goal for emergency hull repairs for USS The Sullivans (DD-537), but noted that there is more work to be done to help preserve the historic ship.

A total of $230,000 has so far been raised, more than doubling the initial $100,00 goal, with more donations coming in. The fundraising campaign is now being extended to raise $1,000,000 to permanently repair USS The Sullivans.

USS The Sullivans (DD-537), a retired United States Navy Fletcher-class destroyer that was commissioned in September 1943, was named for the five Irish-American Sullivan brothers, George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert. It was the first ship commissioned in the Navy that honored more than one person.

The five brothers, aged 20 to 27, all died when the USS Juneau, the ship on which they were all serving, was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942. The death of the Sullivan brothers was the greatest military loss by any one American family during World War II.

Irish Central

On 22 March 1922, the Goodrich Transit Company purchased the assets and properties of the Chicago, Racine and Milwaukee Steamship Company. This sale included two steamers: ILLINOIS (steel propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 240 foot, 2,427 gross tons, built in 1899, at S. Chicago, Illinois) and PILGRIM (iron propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 209 foot, 1,921 gross tons, built in 1881, at Wyandotte, Michigan).

The GULF MACKENZIE sailed light March 22, 1977, on her maiden voyage from Sorel to Montreal, Quebec.

The tanker COMET (Hull#705) was launched March 22, 1913, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. for the Standard Transportation Co. of New York.

THOMAS W. LAMONT (Hull#184) was launched March 22, 1930, at Toledo, Ohio by Toledo Shipbuilding Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

March 22, 1885 - The Goodrich steamer MICHIGAN was crushed in heavy ice off Grand Haven, Michigan and sank. Captain Redmond Prindiville was in command, Joseph Russell was the first mate.

On 22 March 1873, TYPO, a wooden schooner/canaller, was launched at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She cost $25,000 and was commanded by Captain William Callaway.

On 22 March 1871, Engineer George Smith and two firemen were badly scalded on the propeller LAKE BREEZE when a steam pipe they were working on blew away from the side of the boiler. They were getting the engines ready for the new shipping season.

On 22 March 1938, CITY OF BUFFALO (steel side-wheeler passenger/package freight vessel, 340 foot, 2,940 gross tons, built in 1896, at Wyandotte, Michigan) caught fire during preparations for the spring season while at her winter moorings at the East Ninth Street dock in Cleveland, Ohio. She was totally gutted. The hulk was towed to Detroit for conversion to a freighter, but this failed to materialize. She was cut up for scrap there in 1940.

On 22 March 1987, the pilothouse of the 1901, steamer ALTADOC, which was used as a gift shop and 2-room hotel near Copper Harbor, Michigan, was destroyed by fire.

1973: The Swedish built NORSE VARIANT first came to the Great Lakes in 1965 just after completion. On March 22, 1973, the vessel was en route from Norfolk, VA, to Hamburg, Germany, with a cargo of coal when it ran into an early spring storm with 40 foot waves southeast of Cape May, N.J. The vessel was overwhelmed and sank with the loss of 29 lives. Only one man survived.

2006: The Collingwood-built Canadian Coast Guard ship SIR WILFRID LAURIER came to the rescue of those aboard the passenger ship QUEEN OF THE NORTH when the latter sank with the loss of two lives off the coast of British Columbia.

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

Picton company to begin container service to Great Lakes from Halifax

3/20 - Picton, ON – A new company based in Picton, ON, Doornekamp Lines, will begin container ship service in the Great Lakes from Halifax in May and a secondhand vessel has been purchased. This is the Gesina Schepers built in China in 2007. She sailed under the name Eemsdijk until 2018. She will be renamed Peyton Lynn C.

René Beauchamp Seaway News

Welland Canal opens for the season

3/20 - Port Colborne, ON – Florence Spirit was the first upbound vessel for 2021 at the Welland Canal and at Lock 3. CSL Tadoussac was the first downbound vessel. They were the first downbound at Lock 3 in 2020 as well. CSL Tadoussac wintered in Port Colborne and departed their lay-up dock heading downbound in the canal to Bowmanville to load cement clinkers for Detroit.

Traditionally, a top hat ceremony would be held to mark the occasion, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, the yearly event was not possible. The Montreal-Lake Ontario section doesn't open until Monday, March 22nd.

Denny Dushane

Port reports are compiled from volunteer 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). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions.

St. Marys River
Algonova arrived in Sault Ste. Marie ahead of schedule and tied up at the Purvis dock at 12:10 p.m on Friday March 19/2021 to unload petroleum products.

Green Bay, WI – Jon
At 1:30 pm Thursday the Alpena arrived from Alpena, MI with cargo of cement to the Lafarge Terminal. It was the first ship of the 21-22 shipping season.

Northern Lake Huron
Cheboygan: Friday; 15:24 The tug Michigan and tanker barge Great Lakes departed for Sarnia.

Lake Erie Ports Friday – Bill Kloss
Nanticoke: Algosea departed for Sarnia at 09:46 Friday morning. The Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin arrived from Port Colborne at 16:54 Friday afternoon.

Rochester, NY – Tom Brewer
McKeil Spirit departed Friday evening, in ballast, for Picton, Ont.

Significant changes to ATONs in Saginaw Bay channel listed

3/20 - Lake Huron - Saginaw Bay Channel - Chart 14867 The following will be made to Saginaw Bay Channel Aids to Navigation during the week of 11 April 2021. In summary between Saginaw Bay Channel Light "1" and "12" the unlighted buoy gates will be eliminated. The lighted buoy gates will repositioned from their current distance of 2 miles to 1.7 miles and the range of the light will be increased from 4 statute miles to 6 statute miles. From Light "12" to Lighted Buoy "28" the physical unlighted buoy gates will be eliminated and replaced with VAIS.

The aids will be renumbered as described below:

Saginaw Bay Channel Buoy "3" (LLNR 10590) move the buoy to approximant position 43-46-52.020N / 083-44-23.280W. Change the buoy from an unlighted buoy to a seasonal lighted buoy maintained from April 21 to December 1 replaced by a can winter mark. The light characteristic will be Fl G 4s with a nominal range of 5 statute miles.

Saginaw Bay Channel Buoy "4" (LLNR 10595) move the buoy to approximant position 43-46-53.763N / 083-44-27.273W gated with Lighted Buoy "3".

Change the buoy from an unlighted buoy to a seasonal lighted buoy maintained from April 21 to December 1 replaced by a nun winter mark. The light characteristic will be Fl R 4s with a nominal range of 5 statute miles.

Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "5" (LLNR 10600) move the buoy to approximant position 43-45-22.814 / 083-45-38.213W. The buoy will be seasonal maintained from April 21 to December 1 replaced by a can winter mark. The characteristic will remain Fl G 4s with a nominal range of 5 statute miles.

Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "6" (LLNR 10605) move the buoy to approximate position 43-45-24.338N / 083-45-42.298W gated with Lighted Buoy "5". The buoy will be seasonal maintained from April 21 to December 1 replaced by a nun winter mark. The characteristic will remain Fl R 4s with a nominal range of 5 statute miles.

Saginaw Bay Channel Buoy "7" (LLNR 10610) move the buoy to approximant position 43-43-54.183N / 083-46-51.978W gated with Light "8" (same position as lighted buoy "11" LLNR 10640). Change the buoy from an unlighted buoy to a seasonal lighted buoy maintained from April 21 to December 1 replaced by a can winter mark. The light characteristic will be Fl G 2.5s with a nominal range of 5 statute miles.

Saginaw Bay Channel Buoy "8" (LLNR 10615) permanently discontinue the aid.
Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "9" (LLNR 10620) permanently discontinue the aid.
Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "10" (LLNR 10625) permanently discontinue the aid.
Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "11" (LLNR 10640) permanently discontinue the aid and replace it with new Lighted Buoy "7" (LLNR 10610) Saginaw Bay Channel Light "12" (LLNR 10644) Change the name of the light to Saginaw Bay Channel Light "8" (LLNR 10644.) The characteristic will remain Fl G 2.5s with a nominal range of 6 statute miles.
Saginaw Bay Channel Buoy "13" (LLNR 10650) permanently discontinue the physical aid and replace it with VAIS Port Hand Mark "9".
Saginaw Bay Channel Buoy "14" (LLNR 10655) permanently discontinue the physical aid and replace it with VAIS Starboard Hand Mark "10".
Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "15" (LLNR 10660) Change the name of the aid to Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "11".
Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "16" (LLNR 10665) Change the name of the aid to Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "12".
Saginaw Bay Channel Buoy "17" (LLNR 10670) permanently discontinue the physical aid and replace it with VAIS Port Hand Mark "13".
Saginaw Bay Channel Buoy "18" (LLNR 10675) permanently discontinue the physical aid and replace it with VAIS Starboard Hand Mark "14".
Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "19" (LLNR 10680) Change the name of the aid to Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "15".
Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "20" (LLNR 10685) Change the name of the aid to Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "16".
Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "21" (LLNR 10710) Change the name of the aid to Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "17".
Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy"22" (LLNR 10715) Change the name of the aid to Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "18".
Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "23" (LLNR 10720) Change the name of the aid to Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "19".
Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "24" (LLNR 10725) Change the name of the aid to Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "20".
Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "25" (LLNR 10735) Change the name of the aid to Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "21".
Saginaw Bay Channel Light "26" (LLNR 10730) Change the name of the aid to Saginaw Bay Channel Light "22".
Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "28" (LLNR 10740) Change the name of the aid to Saginaw Bay Channel Lighted Buoy "24"

USCG

Chapter seven of Seaway Queens now available

3/20 - Thank you for your ongoing support of Seaway Queens. Chapter seven is ready for order at this link: https://mailchi.mp/452cb60ba14a/seawayqueens

The Seaway Queens Crew

On 20 March 1885, MICHIGAN (Hull#48), (iron propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 215 foot, 1,183 tons) of the Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railroad was sunk by ice off Grand Haven, Michigan.

The sidewheeler NEW YORK was sold Canadian in 1877, hopefully at a bargain price, because when she was hauled out on the ways on 20 March 1878, at Rathburn's yard in Kingston, Ontario, to have her boiler removed, her decayed hull fell apart and could not be repaired. Her remains were burned to clear the ways.

On 20 March 1883, the E. H. MILLER of Alpena, Michigan (wooden propeller tug, 62 foot, 30 gross tons, built in 1874, at East Saginaw, Michigan) was renamed RALPH. She was abandoned in 1920.

1938: ¬ A fire of an undetermined cause destroyed the passenger steamer CITY OF BUFFALO while it was fitting out for the 1938 season at the East 9th St. Pier in Cleveland The blaze began late the previous day and 11 fire companies responded. The nearby CITY OF ERIE escaped the flames, as did the SEEANDBEE.

2011” ¬ The Indian freighter APJ ANJLI was built in 1982 and began visiting the Great Lakes in 1990. It was sailing as c) MIRACH, and loaded with 25,842 tons of iron ore, when it ran aground 3 miles off the coast of India on March 20, 2011. Four holds were flooded and the crew of 25 was removed. The hull subsequently broke in two and was a total loss.

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

Port reports are compiled from volunteer 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). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions.

Northern Lake Huron
Alpena: Thursday; 8:01 The cement carrier Alpena departed for Green Bay.

Lake Erie Ports Thursday – Bill Kloss
High winds on Lake Erie had boats staying off the lake on Thursday. Cleveland: Herbert C. Jackson was at Cliffs.
Ashtabula: Kaye E. Barker was in port.
Nanticoke: Algocanada was at anchor off of Port Dover. Algosea as at Imperial Oil.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Florence Spirit departed Hamilton early morning Thursday and headed east to check all her systems, arriving off Port Weller at 1610. She will be the first upbound vessel, leaving tie-up wall at 0700 hours. Algoterra was at anchor off Port Colborne, awaiting the order of turn for lock 8. CSL Tadoussac and Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin are still tied above lock 8 at winter berths.

Toronto, ON – Gerry Ouderkirk
Wednesday evening Spruceglen was moved from her winter berth at Pier 51 to the Redpath Sugar dock, with the assistance of Omni Richelieu. She will be turned later this week to facilitate unloading operation.

Seaway News – René Beauchamp
There are only four days until the Seaway opens. As of Thursday morning, only one foreign-flagged vessel was en route to a Seaway / Great Lakes port, Federal Cedar, destination Sault Ste. Marie. It should transit between March 22 and 28. The following foreign vessels are also likely to transit but will need to be confirmed: Atlantic Spirit, Heerengracht, Trinityborg, Federal Yoshino, RF Stella, Rodopi and Tufty.

Shifting sand, water reveal shipwreck

3/19 - Whitehall, MI – A change in Lake Michigan water levels has revealed a shipwreck from the 1880s that is visible in western Michigan for the first time since 2018. Experts believe it’s the wooden spine of the Contest, said Craig Rich, director of the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association.

The wreckage is along the shore in Muskegon County, near where the White Lake channel meets Lake Michigan. In 2018, parts were seen for the first time since 1974, a result of changes in lake current, water levels and sand. Now the wreckage is visible again.

“The lake is a very living organism and it changes every day, basically,” Rich said Wednesday. “Things get covered and uncovered all the time.”

Traverse City Record Eagle and AP

W. R. STAFFORD (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 184 foot, 744 gross tons, built in 1886, at W. Bay City, Michigan) was freed from the ice at 2:00 a.m. on 19 March 1903, by the Goodrich Line’s ATLANTA. When the STAFFORD was freed, the ice then closed around the ATLANTA and imprisoned her for several hours. Both vessels struggled all night and finally reached Grand Haven, Michigan, at 5 a.m. They left for Chicago later that day in spite of the fact that an ice floe 2 miles wide, 14 miles long and 20 feet deep was off shore.

CARTIERCLIFFE HALL was launched March 19, 1960, as a.) RUHR ORE (Hull # 536) at Hamburg, Germany, by Schlieker-Werft Shipyard.

INDIANA HARBOR (Hull#719) was launched March 19, 1979, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, by Bay Shipbuilding Corp.

CITY OF GREEN BAY was launched March 19, 1927, as a.) WABASH (Hull#177) at Toledo, Ohio, by Toledo Ship Building Co., for the Wabash Railway Co.

ALFRED CYTACKI was launched March 19, 1932, as a.) LAKESHELL (Hull#1426) at Newcastle-on-Tyne, England by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd.

On 19 March 1886, the PICKUP (wooden passenger/package freight steamer, 80 foot, 136 gross tons, built in 1883, at Marine City, Michigan, was renamed LUCILE. She lasted until she sank off the Maumee River Light (Toledo Harbor Light), Toledo, Ohio, Lake Erie, on August 8, 1906.

1916 The canal-sized PORT DALHOUSIE saw only brief service on the Great Lakes. It was built in England as TYNEMOUNT in 1913 and came to Canada as PORT DALHOUSIE in 1914. It left for saltwater in 1915 and was torpedoed and sunk by UB-10 while carrying steel billets to Nantes, France. It went down March 19,1916, south and west of the Kentish Knock Light vessel and 12 lives were lost.

1978 BELKARIN was a Norwegian cargo carrier that made one trip inland in 1963. It struck a sunken warship in Suez Bay on March 19, 1978, as c) NAHOST JUMBO and the engine room was holed. The vessel, en route from Aqaba, Jordan, to Holland, settled in shallow water. The hull was refloated in January 1979 and sold for scrap.

1990 On March 19, an explosion in a container on board the Norwegian freighter POLLUX at La Baie, QC, killed two sailors, seriously injured a third as well as 7 Alcan dock employees. The ship made its first trip up the Seaway coming to to Port Weller Dry Docks May 18 for repairs. It was renamed there and left the lakes in August as d) NOMADIC POLLUX. This ship returned inland in 1997, 1998 and 1999 and was back as e) BALTICLAND in May 2004.

1993 An explosion and fire rocked the tanker SHIOKAZE in the North Sea en route to Rotterdam killing one member of the crew. The vessel had first been a Seaway trader in 1986 and returned in 1998 as DILMUN TERN bound for Hamilton with palm oil. It was scrapped, after 30 years of service, arriving at Alang, India, on June 14, 2010, as c) THERESA III.

2002 A hull crack of close to 13 feet was found on LAKE CARLING off Cape Breton Island while traveling from Sept-Iles to Trinidad with iron ore. Originally ZIEMIA CIESZYNSKA, the vessel first came to the Great Lakes in 1993 and was renamed LAKE CARLING at Chicago in October. The crack widened to 25 feet before the vessel could reach safety but the damage was repaired and it returned to service. The original name was restored in 2004 and the vessel was last on the lakes in 2009.

2003 A fire in the after end of the CALEDONIA on the Heddle Dry Dock in Hamilton was contained to one deck. The vessel was there for conversion to a sailing ship and the work was eventually completed. The ship had visited the Great Lakes as the coastal freighter PETREL in the late 1970s but was much more at home around Maritime Canada and Hudson Bay. As a sailing ship, it carries 77 passengers and visits Caribbean ports.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Father Dowling Collection, The Marine Historical Society of Detroit, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.

Port reports are compiled from volunteer 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). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions.

Thunder Bay, ON
Wednesday; 9:19 USCG Alder resumed ice operations. 15:42 USCG Alder departed for Duluth.

St. Marys River – Know Your Ships
USCG cutters Katmai Bay, Neah Bay and Morro Bay were engaged in ice ops in the lower river on Wednesday.

Sturgeon Bay, WI
Central Marine Logistics ships Wilfred Sykes and Joseph L. Block, at Bay Shipbuilding, have had new Cleveland-Cliffs logos affixed to their stacks.

Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
Tug Sarah Andrie arrived from Sturgeon Bay at 22:19 Tuesday (03/16) and was reunited with barge A-390. Fleetmate Rebecca Lynn, which had brought A-390 to Milwaukee Tuesday morning, cleared for Muskegon at 00:43 Wednesday (03/17). After A-390’s cargo of liquid asphalt was discharged at Construction Resources Management, Sarah Andrie/A-390 cleared for Indiana Harbor at 05:39. No other marine traffic is currently expected.

Northern Lake Huron:
Cheboygan: Wednesday; 13:25 USCG Mackinaw arrived at the coast guard station.
Alpena: Wednesday; 19:05 The cement carrier Alpena arrived at the Lafarge plant to load.

Lake Erie Ports Wednesday – Bill Kloss
Cleveland: Herbert C. Jackson is scheduled for 12 shuttles.
Ashtabula: Kaye E. Barker arrived from layup at 23:30.
Nanticoke: Algosea came in from anchorage at 06:47. Algocanada was still at Imperial Oil.

Rochester, NY – Tom Brewer
McKeil Spirit arrived Wednesday afternoon at Lehigh Cement.

Seaway – Yvan Gingras and René Beauchamp
At around 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, the hovercraft Sipu Muin broke the ice at the entrance to the Seaway, the section between Longueuil and the Saint-Lambert lock. The work was done quickly.

Milwaukee Clipper calls for volunteers to renovate historic passenger steamer

3/18 - https://www.wzzm13.com/video/news/milwaukee-clipper-calls-all-aboard-volunteers-needed-to-renovate-historic-passenger-steamer/69-8fe78de0-a1a6-44d1-aa99-5b9543173bc8

Boatnerd lay-up list

3/18 - Please send fit-out information to news@boatnerd.com. Please include date of departure. View the list at this link: http://www.boatnerd.com/layup/layup20-21.htm

Virtual Visitor Center event: Centuries of Innovations: Great Lakes Vessel Evolution

3/18 - From the Griffon to the Paul R. Tregurtha, Great Lakes ships have carried innovation through time. Join Rangers Kasey and Scott from the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center to explore the trials and triumphs of Great Lakes vessel evolution.

The free program begins at 12:30 EST (11:30 CST), today, Thursday, March 18 in the Virtual Visitor Center, use a Chrome browser to join on the web: https://www.gotomeet.me/VirtualVisitorCenter/vessel-evolution. The Virtual Visitor Center is a cooperative endeavor between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Soo Locks Visitor Center Association and Lake Superior Marine Museum Association. https://www.facebook.com/events/2782583908724178/

For those unable to attend live, the program will be recorded and posted later on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqtbMFyAaYYO9TIAaaK2HTLr0Ph4A5FRF.

Obituary: John Meyland

3/18 - Our friend and Boatnerd John C. Meyland of Clarkston, MI, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 14th at the age of 80. John was a very active participant in Boatnerd activities and events for many years. He may be best remembered for his photography skills and was proud to share them with anyone interested. A private family funeral will be held this week.

In 1967, under the command of Captain Ray I. McGrath, the Columbia Transportation Company's HURON (steel propeller self-unloader bulk freighter, 415 foot, 4,810 gross tons, built in 1914, at Ecorse, Michigan) cleared Fairport, Ohio, and headed to Toledo, Ohio for a load of coal. She was the first freighter to sail in the new season. She sailed on the same day that the U. S. Steel's Bradley Fleet of seven vessels started fitting out.

On 18 March 1906, the Goodrich Line's ATLANTA (wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 200 foot, 1,129 gross tons, built in 1891, at Cleveland, Ohio) was sailing from Sheboygan, Wisconsin for Milwaukee. When she was 14 miles south of Sheboygan, fire was discovered in the aft hold and quickly spread to the engine room. She ran out of steam, making the fire pumps inoperable. There were 65 persons aboard and Capt. Mc Cauley gave the order to abandon. The fish tug TESSLER came to help and only one life was lost. As the TESSLER was steaming to port, the Goodrich Line's GEORGIA came into view and took on all of the survivors. The hull of the ATLANTA was beached by the TESSLER. Later, the burned hull was purchased by D. O. Smith of Port Washington.

ARSENE SIMARD (Hull#404) was launched March 18, 1972, at Sorel, Quebec, by Marine Industries Ltd., for Branch Lines Ltd.

PERE MARQUETTE 21 (Hull#209) was launched March 18, 1924, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. She was christened by Mrs. Charles C. West, wife of the president of Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.

The straight-deck bulk carrier SYLVANIA (Hull#613) was launched March 18, 1905, at West Bay City, Michigan by West Bay City Ship Building Co., for the Tomlinson Fleet Corp.

On 18 March 1890, CITY OF CHICAGO (steel sidewheeler, 211 foot, 1,073 gross tons) was launched at West Bay City, Michigan by F. W. Wheeler & Co. (Hull#68) for the Graham & Morton Line. CITY OF CHICAGO was lengthened to 226 feet at Wheeler's yard one year later (1891). She was again lengthened in 1905-06, this time to 254 feet. On the same day and at the same yard the 3-mast wooden schooner A.C. TUXBURY was stern launched.

On 18 March 1928, M. T. GREENE (wooden propeller freighter, 155 foot, 524 gross tons, built in 1887, at Gibraltar, Michigan) burned to a total loss near Brigdeburg, Ontario, on the Niagara River.

1923 The wooden steamer JAMES P. DONALDSON was built in 1880 and often worked in the lumber trade. At the end, it was used by N.M. Paterson & Sons Ltd. to bring wet grain to the company elevator for drying. The ship caught fire at the Canadian Lakehead on this date and the remains were sunk off Isle Royale, Lake Superior, on May 6, 1923.

1991 The Canadian Coast Guard ship GRIFFON collided with the fishing trawler CAPTAIN K. sinking it in Lake Erie. Three lives were lost.

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

100-year-old tugboat being used as Bayview Yacht Club's temporary clubhouse sinks

3/17 - Detroit, MI – An old tugboat that the Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit was using as a temporary clubhouse while it renovates its permanent one sank Sunday to the bottom of Connor Creek.

Images of the Queen City going down were captured by a local captain, Alex Haggart, who happened to be in the area. Photos show the boat listing and then sinking. "I couldn't tell you what happened," Haggart said late Monday morning, noting that he doesn't think anyone was injured. "Except, the boat is supposed to be in the creek, not the creek in the boat."

The boat took on water overnight, but it's unclear how or why, the club said late Monday. The boat began listing heavily to starboard, broke free of her moorings and then settled on the creek bottom. There is no engine, fuel tanks or hazardous material on the boat, the club added.

The boat is more than 100 years old and was recently renovated. It is unknown why the boat sank or whether it is salvageable.

Detroit Free Press

Thunder Bay, ON
Tuesday, 9:52 USCG Alder arrived to begin ice operations. The Alder broke out the Current River and Intercity elevators, Keefer Terminal and the mouth of the Mission River. At 17:55 she went to anchor off of the mouth of the Kam River.

Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
Pulling barge A-390, tug Rebecca Lynn arrived from Indiana Harbor at 10:22 Tuesday (03/16) with liquid asphalt for the Construction Resources Management terminal. Once inside the breakwater, the tug ran around the barge and slipped into its notch before heading for the inner harbor. This is the pair’s fourth visit this March. A-390’s listed capacity is 39,000 barrels, which equates to roughly 5,900 metric tons of liquid asphalt. No other marine traffic is currently expected.

Lake Erie Ports – Bill Kloss
Cleveland: After taking a delay at the Bulk Terminal, Herbert C. Jackson headed to Cliffs Tuesday to begin running ore shuttles.
Nanticoke: Algosea remained anchored and Algocanada was at Imperial Oil. Algonova departed for Sarnia at 18:42.

Coast Guard veterans who served on historic cutters to gather in Port Huron

3/17 - Port Huron, MI – A local group is seeking veterans who served on the three U.S. Coast Guard cutters that completed the historic Northwest Passage in the summer of 1957. Veterans who served aboard the Bramble, Storis and Spar are invited to a reunion being held this July at the Blue Water Convention Center in Port Huron.

“It’s a matter of bringing together the crews and their families, in some cases their surviving family members, to celebrate the history of the ships and the history they all made together,” said Jon Ottman, one of the event’s organizers. “Through thick and thin, the good times and the bad times sailing together and the various missions they executed through the years.”

Several veterans who sailed on the ships during the Northwest Passage voyage are planning to attend, Ottman said. “There’s so much history between those three ships and their service,” he said.

During the three-day event, a meet-and-greet will be held, as well as a banquet. Stories will be shared, and a documentary about the cutter Storis will be screened.

The event runs July 18 thru 21 at the Blue Water Convention Center. Registration is $100, $50 for children under 16, and includes the Sunday and Tuesday night meals. To RSVP, email coastiephreunion21@gmail.com. COVID precautions will be observed.

Times Herald

Online Event: Webinar on the development of the Soo Locks

3/17 - Wed, April 14, 2021 - 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Join NMGL for the webinar "Illustrated History of the Soo Locks". The Soo Locks are one of North America’s engineering marvels. The first lock on the St. Marys River opened in 1798, the largest opened in 1969 and work began last year to build a new lock.

The story of this amazing manmade behemoth is constantly evolving. Using hundreds of historic images, some dating from the 1860s, Michelle Briggs, chief park ranger at the Soo Locks, leads an in-depth exploration of the National Historic Landmark facility and the lynch pin of Great Lakes navigation.

Michelle Briggs has been the Chief Park Ranger at the Soo Locks since 2009. Before joining for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers she spent 15 years working in museums throughout the Great Lakes region and earned Bachelors’ and Masters’ degrees in history from Western Michigan University focusing on Great Lakes Maritime history and museum studies topics.

Once you register, you will receive multiple emails in the days prior to the presentation as a reminder. You should receive an email about 10 minutes before it starts with directions to connect to the zoom.

National Museum of the Great Lakes

Help wanted: Captain, Owen Sound Transportation Co. / Pelee Island Transportation

3/17 - The Owen Sound Transportation Co. / Pelee Island Transportation Service is currently accepting applications for the position of Captain on the Pelee Islander II vehicle / passenger ferry.

In service since the fall of 2018 the Pelee Islander II is a 62 metre RORO ferry capable of carrying 36 vehicles from the Ontario mainland (Leamington / Kingsville) to Pelee Island Ontario on Lake Erie. A typical work rotation consists of 7 days on / 7 days off during the sailing season. The Pelee Islander II is powered by a Schottel steer prop (Z Drive) system.

Compensation: OSTC offers a competitive wage ($93 600.00 - Currently under review), generous benefit plan and enrollment in the OPB Pension plan. The OPB Pension plan is a defined benefit pension plan.

Qualifications: The position requires a valid TC approved Master, Near Coastal certificate. The successful candidate must also demonstrate leadership abilities for both people and processes. The ability to work in a customer service environment is very important. A copy of your CoC is to be included with your resume.

Shiphandling experience with steer prop (Z Drive) systems is beneficial.

The Owen Sound Transportation Company is an Agency of the Province of Ontario. The Owen Sound Transportation Company is an equal opportunity employer.

Resumes are to be forwarded to Stephen Shaw - VP - Operations at stephen.shaw@ontarioferries.com. The email title is to be called - Resume - Captain - Pelee Islander II.

Boatnerd lay-up list

3/17 - Please send fit-out information to news@boatnerd.com. Please include date of departure. View the list at this link: http://www.boatnerd.com/layup/layup20-21.htm

On 17 March 1995, a fire started on the AMERICAN MARINER's self-unloading conveyor belt from welding being done on the vessel at the Toledo Ship & Repair Company in Toledo, Ohio. About $100,000 in damage was done. The Toledo fire department had the blaze out in half an hour.

The tanker LAKESHELL reportedly leaked over 21,000 gallons of Bunker C oil into the St. Lawrence River on March 17, 1982, after suffering a crack in her cargo compartment caused by striking an ice floe.

GEORGE R. FINK was launched March 17, 1923, as a.) WORRELL CLARKSON (Hull#174) at Toledo, Ohio, by Toledo Ship Building Co., for the Kinsman Transit Co.

On 17 March 1916, CITY OF MIDLAND (wooden propeller passenger-package freighter, 176 foot, 974 tons, built in 1890, at Owen Sound, Ontario) burned at the Grand Trunk Railway dock at Collingwood, Ontario, while fitting out for the coming season. No lives were lost.

In 1945 Stadium Boat Works of Cleveland Ohio launched the SOUTH SHORE (US. 247657) for Miller Boat Line of Put-In-Bay, Ohio. She carried 6 autos and 120 passengers. In 1973, she was sold to Beaver Island Boat Company until retired at the end of the 1997 season. In April of 1999, sailed to Chicago where she was docked at the foot of Navy Pier as a storage vessel for Shoreline Cruises.

1906: SOVEREIGN, a steel hulled passenger ship that operated on the St. Lawrence in the Montreal area, was destroyed by a fire at Lachine, Quebec. The vessel was rebuilt that year as IMPERIAL and remained in service until 1928 when the boilers and hull were condemned.

1916: CITY OF MIDLAND, a passenger and freight steamer for Canada Steamship Lines, caught fire at the Grant Trunk Railway Dock in Collingwood and was a total loss.

1973: A wild late winter storm swept into Goderich off Lake Huron on March 17-18. Eleven ships got loose, while only the PATERSON (i) remained fast at the dock. It sustained bow damage when struck by fleetmate MONDOC (iii). Varying amounts of damage were inflicted to other ships.

1980: SUNPOLYNA was built in 1956 and provided service for Saguenay Shipping between Eastern Canada and the West Indies. The ship first came through the Seaway in 1963 and, on May 16, 1967, it ran aground near Thorold. It was sailing as d) TEMERAIRE when abandoned by the crew on March 17, 1980, in position 28.16 S / 21.04 W after the hull had cracked. The ship was en route from Santos, Brazil, to Mina Qaboos, Oman, and, after drifting to northwest for several days, sank on March 21.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, “Ahoy & Farewell II” and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.

Michigan mariners kick off shipping season with Blessing of the Fleet

3/16 - Detroit, MI – The Mariners' Church of Detroit and mariners from around the state are welcoming the shipping season, starting with its annual Blessing of the Fleet service on Sunday, hosted with certain COVID-19 restrictions in place.

Due to the pandemic, in-person attendance was limited to about 70 guests and was by reservation only. Usually, the church sees close to 300 people. Face masks and social distancing between families were required throughout the service.

The Blessing of the Fleet is a historic tradition that includes an honor guard of members of the International Ship Masters Association, the Coast Guard and military personnel who participate in a procession alongside Michigan Sea Cadets.

The Rev. Jeffery Hubbard, rector of the Mariners' Church of Detroit, said the event is "kind of a spiritual kickoff to the shipping season."

Participants "pray prayers of blessing at the end of the service," Fr. Hubbard said. "It's a prayer for everyone who will sail our Great Lakes in the upcoming season. Everyone from the Coast Guard, to recreational boaters, to commercial freighters and everything in between. We pray prayers of blessing for a safe and prosperous shipping season."

The service included a memorial for deceased mariners. "Everyone who's part of the maritime community that has died in the last year, we remember them," Hubbard said. "We also present the Captain Lewis Ludington Award, (which) was established in the 1990s."

This year, the award was presented to Captains Lee Barnhill, Jay M. Downen and Thomas Foster for their efforts to promote and perpetuate the virtues and good works of the International Ship Masters’ Association, according to the church.

Each year, local boaters are invited to bring their burgees, colors, pennants and pennons to the church for a blessing.

Read more and view photos at this link: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2021/03/14/boaters-celebrate-blessing-fleet-mariners-church/4665060001

St. Marys River – Know Your Ships
Crews at the Soo Locks completed their planned lock maintenance tasks and began the process of rewatering the Poe Lock Monday morning. Opening day is 12 hours earlier than normal this year. The shipping industry requested an early open to the navigation season to ensure adequate supply of raw materials are available for their customers. The locks are opening for the shipping season at noon on March 24. The park and viewing platform will be open, following social distancing guidelines. USCG Katmai Bay and Neah Bay were working the ice in the lower river on Monday.

St. Joseph, MI – St. Joseph and Benton Harbor Shipping News
On Monday, the steamer Alpena arrived with cement for Lafarge.

Sturgeon Bay, WI – Denny Dushane
Kaye E. Barker departed Monday morning for Ashtabula, Ohio, to load. The Barker is the first laker to depart winter quarters at Sturgeon Bay to begin the 2021 shipping season.

Today in Great Lakes History March 16 On 16 March 1901, ARGO (steel passenger/package freight propeller, 173 foot, 1,089 gross tons) was launched at the Craig Ship Building Company (Hull #81) at Toledo, Ohio, for the A. Booth Company. She left the Lakes in 1917, and was last recorded in 1938, out of Brest, France.

BUFFALO (Hull#721) was launched March 16, 1978, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Corp., for the American Steamship Co.

On 16 March 1883, The Port Huron Times announced that the passenger and package freight steamer PICKUP would be built in Marine City, Michigan and would run on the St. Clair River between Port Huron and Algonac. The machinery from the burned steamer CARRIE H. BLOOD was to be installed in her. In fact, her construction was completed that year and she went into service in September 1883. Her dimensions were 80 foot x 19 foot x 7 foot, 137 gross tons, 107 net tons.

The Niagara Harbor & Dock Company, a shipbuilding firm, was incorporated on 16 March 1831, at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

On 16 March 1886, the tug MOCKING BIRD was sold by Mr. D. N. Runnels to Mr. James Reid of St. Ignace, Michigan. Mr. Runnels received the tug JAMES L. REID as partial payment.

1924: MOHAWK of the Western Transit Co. was known as a fast ship. It was built at Detroit in 1893 and was renamed AMERICA in 1916. It was cut in two to exit the Great Lakes and re-assembled at Montreal for East Coast service. The ship was renamed BERMUDEZ in 1921 and sank in the Erie Basin at Brooklyn on March 16, 1924, with the stern resting on the bottom and the bow afloat. The hull was pumped out but scrapped at New York in January 1925.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Father Dowling Collection, “Ahoy & Farewell II” and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.

M.S. Norgoma could find a new home in Owen Sound

3/14 - Sault Ste. Marie, ON – Investors behind the sunken proposal to relocate the M.S. Norgoma to Tobermory are now floating the idea of a move to Owen Sound’s harborfront as early as the fall of this year.

Tobermory Real Estate Investors Inc. says the 188-foot vessel could function as a marine heritage site, coffee shop and a base for marine studies programs offered by Georgian College, according to a presentation made to the city of Owen Sound’s community development, tourism and culture advisory committee Friday.

Sault Ste. Marie city council agreed to sell the former floating museum ship to Michael Goman and business partner Dr. George Harpur for $2,500 in July 2020. The investors initially planned to convert the former floating museum ship into a coffee shop and tourist destination in Tobermory, but their own feasibility study determined the Norgoma could not be relocated to Tobermory's Little Tub Harbour without "significant disruption" to the existing dockage.

The community development committee in Owen Sound is recommending that city council support the Norgoma relocation project in principle, according to a staff report from the manager of community development and marketing for the City of Owen Sound issued Friday.

The Norgoma has been situated at Algoma Steel since June 2019, following a decision by city council earlier that year to permanently remove it from the Roberta Bondar Marina.

Soo Today

Capt. Lee Barnhill receives prestigious maritime award

3/14 - Alpena, MI – A long-time tug captain with Alpena roots will be honored Sunday for his work on the Great Lakes. Capt. Lee Barnhill, who became an Alpena businessman at age 20 when he took ownership of a diving store and shipwreck charter in 1995, was chosen by his peers to receive the Captain Lewis Ludington Award.

The honor, given annually to a member of the International Ship Masters’ Association to a member who upholds the virtues and work of the organization, will be bestowed Sunday during a Blessing of the Fleet ceremony at Mariners’ Church of Detroit.

“Captain Slim” Barnhill, an Alpena resident who has spent 22 years as a Great Lakes tugboat captain, said he’s deeply honored to have been unanimously nominated as one of three recipients of this year’s award. “It’s nice when you see what your peers actually think of you,” Barnhill said.

The captain began his career on the water at age 15 as a commercial fisherman near his home in the Upper Peninsula. An elective college class in scuba diving steered him from a planned future in accounting to the ownership of Thunder Bay Divers store and shipwreck charters at age 20.

At the same time, Barnhill took over Alpena Diving Service, hired to inspect underwater surfaces from dams to the bottom of freighters while wearing what he described as scuba gear with a hard hat.

During a commercial dive in Rogers City in 1999, where a freighter had touched bottom, Barnhill was “discovered” by a company that learned he had a captain’s license and put him aboard a tug. Since then, Barnhill has run tug projects from repairing break walls to deepening the Soo Locks to installing offshore wind farm power cables in the Atlantic Ocean.

Barnhill’s current project involves hauling foot-wide cables, weighing 70 pounds per foot, across the Straits of Mackinac as part of the Line 5 reconstruction.

Barnhill has been involved with the International Ship Masters’ Association since 2001 and was named Grand President in 2017.

Even as a young man running a diving business in Alpena, he knew work on the water was part of his future, Barnhill said. Few young people aspire to a maritime career these days, he said, but the waters around Michigan are still waiting to be explored. “I always tell people, the world is 75% water,” Barnhill said. “You might as well get in there and see what’s down there.”

Alpena News

Muskegon, MI
Alpena unloaded at Lafarge and departed Saturday afternoon.

Lake Erie Ports – Bill Kloss
Nanticoke: Algocanada arrived from Sarnia at 16:24 Saturday and joined Algonova at anchor. Algosea and Algoterra are still at Imperial Oil.

Toronto, ON
Florence Spirit arrived at about 1600 hours on Saturday.

March 14, 1959 - The ANN ARBOR NO 6 returned to service as the b.) ARTHUR K ATKINSON after an extensive refit.

In 1880, the harbor tug GEORGE LAMONT sank with her crew of three off Pentwater, Michigan after being overcome by weather during a race with her rival, the harbor tug GEM. The LAMONT was the only steamer to disappear with all hands during the many races that took place among steamers during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

On 14 March 1873, the new railroad carferry SAGINAW went into the Port Huron Dry Dock Company's dry dock where her engine was installed along with her shaft and propeller. Workmen had to break up the ice in the dry dock to release the schooner MARY E. PEREW so that work could begin on the SAGINAW. The work was done quickly since SAGINAW was needed to fill in for a disabled ferry in Detroit. Mr. Francois Baby was granted a "ferry lease" between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan on 14 March 1843. He built the steamer ALLIANCE for this ferry service and Capt. Tom Chilvers was the skipper. In 1851, Capt. Chilvers leased the steamer from Mr. Baby and ran it on the same route until the late 1850s.

On 14 March 1878, the first vessel of the navigation season passed through the Straits of Mackinac. This was the earliest opening of the navigation season at the Straits since 1854.

1918 ISLAND QUEEN, a wooden-hulled Toronto Island ferry, was destroyed by a fire at Hanlan's Point in Toronto. The ship was valued at $25,000 and the hull was left to rot.

1962: MILLY made one trip through the Seaway in 1959. It had been launched at Stockton, CA on May 13, 1915, as PORTHCAWL and became d) MILLY in 1950. The 295 foot freighter, sailing as f) HEDIA, last reported March 14 near Galita Island on the Mediterranean close to Malta and en route from Casablanca, Morocco, to Venice, Italy, with a cargo of phosphate. It was posted as missing and then lost with all hands.

1993: The Freedom Class freighter SHAMALY was a year old when it came through the Seaway in 1969. It returned December 1, 1990, as c) WALVIS BAY for Ogdensburg, NY to load corn gluten The 9650 gross ton freighter ran aground south of Greece off Cape Morakis in 1993 en route from Piraeus to Scotland as d) LIPARIT BAY. The hull was not worth repairing and sold for scrap. Renamed e) NORA for the delivery tow, it arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, April 4, 1994, for dismantling and work began May 16.

1999: The Panamanian freighter EVANGELIA PETRAKIS was built in Muroran, Japan, in 1978 as N.J. PATERAS. It came through the Seaway in 1988 and was renamed c) AMER VED in 1990. It survived a grounding off Horsetail Bank, UK on November 19, 1996, only to suffer serious damage in a collision with the newly built, 57,947 gross ton, Maltese flag tanker SEAPRIDE I off Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates. The damage to the 21-year old freighter was not worth repairs so it arrived at Alang, India, for scrapping on June 19, 1999.

1964: MARIA G.L. went aground at Suno Saki, Japan, about 30 miles south of Yokohama, in fog. This Liberty ship had been a Great Lakes trader in 1961. It was enroute from Long Beach, California, to Chiba, Japan, with a cargo of phosphates and broke in two as a total loss.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Shawn B-K, Joe Barr, Father Dowling Collection, “Ahoy & Farewell II” and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.

Coast Guard to open Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, Port of Green Bay to shipping

3/13 - Sault Ste. Marie, MI – U.S. Coast Guard cutters Mackinaw and Mobile Bay will begin the breakout of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, Monday March 15. On Monday afternoon, the Kaye E. Barker will depart Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding and proceed west then north into the bay of Green Bay.

On Tuesday March 16, 2021 Captain of the Port Lake Michigan will open the southern half of Green Bay to commercial navigation. The regulated navigation area previously closed will be reopened as the two Coast Guard icebreakers proceed south creating a track through the ice from Sturgeon Bay to the Fox River Entrance. The Port of Green Bay resumes commercial shipping activity on March 18th their first vessel Alpena delivering dry bulk cement.

These icebreaking operations will likely occur in areas used by recreational users such as, but not limited to, the Fox River, Green Bay Entrance Channel, the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, Menominee River Entrance, and the waters of Green Bay from Minneapolis Shoal Light to the Fox River Entrance. Next week, these icebreaking efforts will increase in frequency as ice conditions deteriorate and commercial navigation increases.

Unlike some previous winters, regional ice cover did not reach traditional thicknesses. The forecast for the next seven to ten days calls for temperatures supporting the rapid deterioration of ice.

USCG

Bayfield, WI
Madeline Island Ferry Line made its first trip of the new season Friday. The Island Queen left Bayfield at 11 a.m. and got to La Pointe on Madeline Island at 1:38 p.m.

St. Marys River
USCC Neah Bay arrived at Group Soo in the early afternoon Friday.

Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
Rebecca Lynn/A-390 arrived from Indiana Harbor at 15:12 Thursday with liquid asphalt for the Construction Resources Management terminal. After discharging cargo, the unit headed back to Indiana Harbor at 07:20 Friday (03/12). Tug John Marshall arrived from Calumet Harbor at 21:33 Thursday with one freight barge and tied up at the Heavy Lift Dock just behind the Cort. After port cranes pulled out some oversized crates, tug and barge cleared for Manitowoc at 15:27 Friday. No other marine traffic is currently expected.

Northern Lake Huron
Alpena: Thursday; 18:26 The tug Manitou departed downbound on Lake Huron.
North Channel: Friday CCGS Griffon continued ice ops.

Lake Erie Ports – Bill Kloss
Nanticoke: Algosea and Algoterra remained at Imperial Oil Friday, while Algonova was still at anchor. Algocanada is due on Saturday.

The keel for the tanker IMPERIAL REDWATER (Hull#106) was laid March 13, 1950, at Port Arthur, Ontario, by Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. She was converted to a bulk freighter at Collingwood, Ontario and renamed b.) R. BRUCE ANGUS in 1954. The ANGUS operated for Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd., until she was scrapped at Setubal, Portugal in 1985.

On March 13, 1989, the Rouge Steel Co. announced the sale of its marine operations to Lakes Shipping, Cleveland (Interlake Steamship, mgr.).

1994: SHIPBROKER was built at Varna, Bulgaria, in 1980 as OCEAN SEAGULL and came through the Seaway that year on July 3. It was renamed SHIPBROKER in 1986 and made its maiden voyage to the Great Lakes on November 19, 1991. The ship was in a collision with the Cypriot tanker NASSIA in the Bosporus Strait on March 14, 1994, and caught fire. It burned for days and 29 members of the crew of 33 plus four on the tanker, were lost. Following a sale for scrap, the gutted bulk carrier arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, under tow on December 3, 1994, and dismantling began April 5, 1995.

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

Alpena arrival at Muskegon delayed by weather

3/12 - Due to very high winds blowing through the Straits of Mackinac, the steamer Alpena went to anchor east of St. Ignace on Thursday. A new ETA for Muskegon in unknown. USCG Hollyhock was stopped in the same area.

Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
Rebecca Lynn/A-390 should arrive from Indiana Harbor Thursday afternoon with liquid asphalt for the Construction Resources Management terminal. This will be the pair’s third visit to Milwaukee in the past eight days. Rebecca Lynn has been pushing A-390 while Sarah Andrie is at Sturgeon Bay.

Northern Lake Huron
Calcite: Thursday; 2:15 The tug Michigan and tanker barge Great Lakes departed for Cheboygan.

Cheboygan: Thursday; 5:52 The tug Michigan and tanker barge Great Lakes arrived to unload petroleum products.

North Channel: Thursday; CCGS Griffon spent the day breaking a track from the Mississagi Straits to Thessalon and Bruce Mines and at 19:00 was breaking a track east to Spragge.

Lake Erie Ports – Bill Kloss
Nanticoke: Algosea arrived at 14:28 on Wednesday and joined Algoterra at Imperial Oil. Algonova arrived at 08:16 and went to anchor off of Port Dover.

The b.) RUTH HINDMAN was launched March 12, 1910, as a.) NORWAY (Hull#115) at Toledo, Ohio by Toledo Shipbuilding Co., for the United States Transportation Co. She was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario, in 1978.

G.A. TOMLINSON was launched March 12, 1907, as a) D.O. MILLS (Hull#29) at Ecorse, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works for the Mesaba Steamship Co.

March 12, 1941 - The ferry CITY OF MIDLAND 41 arrived in Ludington, Michigan, on her maiden voyage. She loaded cars of paper at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and then picked up some cars of canned milk at Kewaunee, with Captain Charles Robertson in command.On 12 March 1883, the steam barge R. MC DONALD was renamed IDA M. TORRENT.

1917: ALGONQUIN was built at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1888 and saw service for several companies on the Great Lakes. The ship was torpedoed by U-62 when it was 65 miles off Cornwall, England, while west of Bishop's Rock and en route from New York to London with general cargo. It was the first American merchant ship lost due to enemy action in World War One.

1942: ¬CRAIGROWNIE was a World War One Laker and had been launched at Ashtabula on April 12, 1919. It was sailing as d) OLGA when torpedoed by U-126, 20 miles off Nuevital Light, Cuba, while en route from Port Everglades, FL, to Beracoa, Cuba. One crewmember was lost but 32 were rescued and taken to Cuba.

1947: EXANTHIA struck a mine in the Mediterranean while 12 miles from the island of Elba while traveling from Istanbul to New York. The ship was flooded and abandoned but reboarded and eventually towed to New York for repairs. The ship sailed for the American Export Lines and came to the Great Lakes on nine occasions from 1959-1961. After a few years in the James River Reserve Fleet, the vessel was taken to Brownsville, Texas, in 1975 and broken up.

1971: SUNCLIPPER, a Seaway trader in 1966, was built in 1953 as BOW BRASIL. It ran aground at Haifa Bay as f) CLIPPER when the anchors dragged in a storm. The ship was refloated April 10, and taken to Perama, Greece. It was sold “as lies” to Turkish ship breakers, and arrived at Istanbul, Turkey, for scrapping on August 29, 1972.

1985: LETITIA was the 96th and final addition to the British flag Donaldson Line. It made four trips through the Seaway in 1966 and three more in 1967. It was sailing as d) TEPORA when it caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico en route to Veracruz, Mexico, on March 12, 1985. The Honduran-flagged freighter was abandoned by the crew. The fire was apparently extinguished and the vessel reboarded. It was taken in tow but the blaze broke out again and the ship sank on March 14.

Data from: Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Skip Gillham, the Father Dowling Collection, “Ahoy & Farewell II” and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series

All Great Lakes going down quickly, distancing from last year’s record water levels

3/6 - The Great Lakes aren’t in just a normal water decline mode. They are now going down faster than usual and putting some distance between current water levels and last year’s record water levels.

February saw water levels decline on all of the Great Lakes. This is a normal seasonal decline, plus more decline. Due to the lack of precipitation and lack of ice cover, some of the Great Lakes dropped even more than is usually expected in February. The forecast for March is also to continue the water level decline on each Great Lake.

Lake Superior’s water level fell 3 inches in February and is now 7 inches below this time last year. Going into summer, Lake Superior is expected to be 3 to 6 inches below last year and 9 inches below record water levels.

Lakes Michigan and Huron also went down 3 inches in February on dry weather and increasing evaporation due to lack of ice. The water is still 27 inches above average, but 10 inches below last year- when it was at record levels. Lake Michigan-Huron is forecast to be nowhere near record levels this summer, remaining nine to 11 inches below last summer’s record water levels.

https://www.mlive.com/weather/2021/03/all-great-lakes-going-down-quickly-distancing-from-last-years-record-water-levels.html

Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
Rebecca Lynn/A-390 cleared for Indiana Harbor at 08:28 Friday (03/05) after delivering liquid asphalt to the Construction Resources Management terminal. No other marine traffic is currently expected.

Mackinac Island
The ferry Huron arrived from St. Ignace on its first scheduled trip Friday since the ice stopped service almost four weeks ago.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Sault and Algoma Intrepid expected next.

Lake Erie Ports – William Kloss
Monroe: New York/DS509A arrived from Detroit on Friday at 05:09. Nanticoke: Algosea arrived from Sarnia at 06:18. Algonova departed Thursday night for Sarnia

Corps lowers impact to fish spawning near Soo Locks

3/6 - Sault Ste. Marie, MI – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) officials will use dry blasting during new lock at the Soo construction to avoid or drastically minimize impacts to fish larvae and adult fish spawning near the Soo Locks.

The Soo Locks on the St. Marys River allow vessels to navigate the 21 ft elevation change between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. A new Poe-sized lock being built will provide necessary redundancy in the Great Lakes Navigation System’s critical infrastructure.

To build the new lock, deepening the channel on the upstream side (west) of the Poe lock is necessary. Dredging is scheduled to occur in 2021-2022. Drilling and blasting are required to fragment the bedrock and concrete for dredging.

Ground vibration, underwater shockwaves from blasting, and the potential physical impacts to nearby fish and fish eggs in the St. Mary’s River are concerns for USACE and Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) conducted an assessment on dry and underwater blasting and its impacts on fish spawning. The team found nine data sources and reviewed them to determine the upper limit of vibrations and sudden change in water pressure brought on from blasting. The team developed estimated thresholds to protect fish spawning habitat in the immediate dredging area.

To remove existing concrete floor and underlying bedrock for the new lock construction, blasting is expected to occur out of water, called dry blasting, in the current Sabin Lock between upstream and downstream cofferdams.

The ERDC assessment notes, “potential impacts from dry blasting to the local fish population are dependent on a number of site-specific factors ranging from the blasting details (type and amount of explosive charge, blast confinement method, water depth, substrate type, charge delay, etc confinement, etc.) and the size, life-stage (e.g., eggs, larval, adult), and morphology of the fish”.

Based on new lock blasting plans details, ERDC engineers and scientists determined dry blasting as an alternative to underwater blasting will effectively minimize the sudden change in water pressure to species a primary means for injury to fish.

“Shock waves generated by in-water blasting have greater lethal effects as compared to those propagated from ground to water due to the sharper pressure-time signature, the ERDC assessment says. For dry blasting, part of the blasting energy is reflected and lost at the ground-water interface.”

The results indicate vibrations and water overpressures from dry blasting will be sufficiently protective of fish spawning habitats for fish eggs, according to the ERDC assessment.

Dr. Andrew McQueen, an ERDC research biologist involved in this study said, “the St. Marys rapids near the new Soo Lock construction serve as a spawning ground and habitat for a variety of ecologically and recreationally important fish species, and our goal is to provide science-informed risk management to protect these resources”.

USACE strives to achieve environmental sustainability of USACE civil works projects and operations by evaluating project proposals for environmental soundness, making recommendations for project modifications that reduce environmental impacts and/or provide environmental enhancements.

Read the full ERDC report at: https://go.usa.gov/xsnDP

Salties sold for demolition

3/6 - Vessels with Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Seaway connection reported as a casualty or sold for demolition, taken from March 2021 issue of Marine News – Journal of the World Ship Society

Casualties: None
Demolitions:
HAMOUDI (8012231; Togo) (Hamoudi B-20, Star Unity-05, Eastern Steamer-04, Lux Colonial-89 - 1st seaway transit 1987,Pardela-87) - 7,747 / 1982 - bulk carrier. By AB Maritime SA, Honduras, to Ayan Shipbreakers, Pakistan and arrived Gadani Beach 3.09.2020 - commenced demolition 3.09.2020

NAZLICAN (7531357; Panama) (Defiant II-09, Holiman-08, Deneb-91 - 1st seaway transit 1989, Donny-88 - 1st seaway transit 1984, Dania-83 - 1st seaway transit 1980) - 8,383 / 1978 - general cargo ship - By BAF Bunkering & Shipping S de RL (Yenal Gemi Acenteligi AS (Yenal Shipping Agency AS), Panama, to Venture Green Recyclers, Pakistan and arrived Gadani Beach 24.09.2020 - commenced demolition 3.10.2020

RITAJ-A (8214877l Tanzania (Zanzibar) (Royal Garnet-14, Tan Binh 20-09, Joint Grace-06, Rainbow Sky-97, Maya No. 6-95 - 1st seaway transit 1986, Ho Ming No. 6-85 - 1st seaway transit 1983) - 6,686 / 1982 - general cargo ship - By Ritaj Maritime SA (IMS Greece Co), Belize, to S.S. Enterprises, Pakistan and arrived Gadani Beach 18.09.2020 - commenced demolition 8.10.2020

TAILWIND (8908868; Liberia) Regal-16, Rega-13 - 1st seaway transit 2002, Fossnes-02 - 1st seaway transit 1996) 11,542 / 1995 - general cargo ship - By Tailwind Shipping & Trading Corp (Anmax Trading Corp Pte Ltd), Liberia, to Bereket Gemi Sokum Ltd Sti, Turkey and arrived Aliaga 2.09.2020 - commenced demolition 5.09.2020

TRANSFAIR (7627302; Panama) (Captain Rashad-12, San Wai-07, Unison Great-96, Maya No. 7-93, Ho Ming 7-86 - 1st seaway transit 1984, Nusantara IV-82 - 5,985 / 1977 - general cargo ship - By Shejar Maritime SA (Tempus Maritime Sarl), Panama, to Hussain Sheth Ispat (SB), India and arrived Alang 27.09.2020 - commenced demolition 7.10.2020

Report prepared by Barry Andersen and René Beauchamp

EUGENE J. BUFFINGTON (Hull#366) was launched March 6, 1909, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. She lasted until 1980, when she was towed to San Esteban de Pravia, Spain, for scrapping.

At noon on 6 March 1873, the steam railroad carferry SAGINAW was launched at the Port Huron Dry Dock Co. She did not get off the ways at first and had to be hauled off by the tug KATE MOFFAT. She was built for use between Port Huron and Sarnia.

On 6 March 1892, SAGINAW (wooden 4-car propeller carferry, 142 foot, 365 tons, built in 1873, at Port Huron, Michigan) burned at the dock in Windsor, Ontario where she had been laid up since 1884. The hull was later recovered and converted to an odd-looking tug, a well-known wrecker in the Detroit River area until broken up about 1940.

1982 INDIANA was chartered to Swedish interests when it made four trips to the Great Lakes in 1962. It was sailing as d) ZOE II, under Liberian registry, when it was abandoned in the Adriatic Sea, south of Pula, Yugoslavia, (now Croatia) after a severe list had developed while on a voyage from Koper, Yugoslavia, (now Slovenia) to Ancona, Italy, on March 6, 1982. No further trace of the ship was ever found.

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

American Steamship Co. lays off 95 workers

3/2 - Buffalo, NY – American Steamship Co. has laid off 95 workers, according to a notice filed with New York state.

The company, which was founded in 1907, operates a fleet of vessels used to ship products from port to port on the Great Lakes. In a state WARN, the company cited lingering impacts of the Covid-19 crisis, the downturn of the U.S. economy and transformational changes that have impacted its customer base and increased competition from lower-cost carriers.

American Steamship said it made the decision not to operate five vessels in the 2021 sailing season and to charter them to other carriers. The company said the sailing season starts on March 24 and a portion of the workers laid off may not be recalled.

Employees of the company are represented by the Seafarers International Union and American Maritime Officers.

A message left for comment from Kevin McMonagle, American Steamship’s president, was not immediately returned.

Buffalo Business First

Ship catches fire while being scrapped in Duluth harbor

3/2 - Duluth, MN – A fire broke out on a decommissioned ship in the Duluth harbor Monday afternoon. Azcon Metals was in the process of scrapping the J.B. Ford when a spark started a small fire in the ship's wooden cabin, according to Duluth Fire Department spokesperson Kate Van Daele. The fire department responded to the fire just after 3:15 p.m. and Van Daele said it was mostly contained as of 4:15 p.m.

"They're just putting out hotspots," she said. "They were able to contain the fire to the cabin, ensuring it didn't spread to the rest of the ship."

Azcon Vice President and General Manager Lynn D. Bergstedt said it was "not that big of a fire" and that it would not impact the company's scrapping work, as it only damaged the wood. "We like the steel," Bergstedt said. No one was injured in the incident.

The J.B. Ford was first launched as the Edwin F. Holmes in 1903. It is 440 feet long, with a beam of 50 feet, a depth of 28 feet and a capacity of 8,000 tons. Azcon purchased the 118-year-old ship for scrap in 2015.

Duluth News Tribune View a video of the fire at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxEoTFpgPjM&fbclid=IwAR2hxpypPdjYe1Yi1pgpGvVfqX5em7TIzVAT7WJCkGPSC-Z8d9360UFczOU

Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
Michigan/Great Lakes cleared for Sarnia at 21:34 Sunday (02/28). Algoma Sault should arrive Tuesday morning with salt from Goderich.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Intrepid cleared 7.25 pm upbound Sunday for Chicago with salt.

Toledo, OH – Angie Williams
Manitoulin left Toledo Monday morning bound for Sarnia.

Lake Erie Ports
Toledo: Manitoulin departed for Sarnia at 06:23 Monday.
Nanticoke: Algonova arrived at 06:20 and went to anchor off of Port Dover. Algoterra arrived at 15:42 and also went to anchor off of Port Dover.

Sykes, Ryerson Captain Treece charts new course as a Great Lakes pilot

3/2 - Post via the S.S. Wilfred Sykes Facebook page: “There is a day in everyone’s life when you will be faced with making a difficult decision in your career. That day has come for me. For the last 30+ years I have sailed for arguably the BEST company in the Great Lakes shipping industry. No matter where I go from here on out the highlight of my career will being able to say “I sailed the Edward L. Ryerson.” I spent the last 11 years as the master of the Wilfred Sykes, another Great Lakes favorite and also very dear to my heart. Only sailors and boatnerds will understand how a floating hunk of steel could hold a special place in one’s heart, but it can. That being said, on March 23, I will fit out the SS Wilfred Sykes for the last time in my career. On April 15, I will begin a new chapter in my life as a trainee for the Western Great Lakes Pilots Association. It was not an easy decision to make, but in the end, it just felt like this was a great opportunity for trying something new and taking on a different kind of challenge. It’s something I am really looking forward to! Captain Eric Treece.”

Help wanted: AB Deckhand – Interlake Logistics Solutions

3/2 - Interlake Logistics Solutions is looking for a full-time employee willing to work on board a Great Lakes ship. Employees work 28 days on and 14 days off. March thru December. Large excavator, Front End Loader, and Welding Experience is a plus, but not necessary. Responsibilities include (not limited to) Operating/ Maintaining/Keeping clean Equipment and Cargo spaces around the vessel, knowing and understanding Safety signals and procedures and observing safety policies in effect, performing necessary duties with arriving and departing docking, and answering to the mate on duty. No conviction history accepted. Competitive pay, benefits and 401k. Person must be able to pass a pre-employment drug screening and physical.

Job Type: Full-time
Pay: From $20 per hour
PLEASE EMAIL RESUME TO: thartley@interlakems.com

Annual Mariners’ Service at Point Edward

3/2 - Point Edward, ON – It is again time for the Annual Mariners’ Service. As in other years, it will be held on the first Sunday in March. However, this year we will be conducting our service virtually. The service will be available on our Facebook page facebook.com/stpaulspointedward or on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoJFHFVF_QpBWEjBeWpZCjA

Although we cannot be together this year, we hope that you will be able to watch and then next year we can all be together again once our lives return to normal.

St. Paul's Anglican Church

On 02 March 1889, the U.S. Congress passed two acts for establishment of a light station at Old Mackinac Point and appropriated $5,500 for construction of a fog signal building. The following year, funds were appropriated for the construction of the light tower and dwelling.

March 2, 1938 - Harold Lillie, crewmember of the ANN ARBOR NO 6, stepped onto the apron as the carferry was approaching and fell into the water and suffered a broken neck.

March 2, 1998, a fire broke out on the ALGOSOO causing serious damage to the self-unloading belts and other nearby equipment. Almost 12 years earlier in 1986, a similar fire gutted the aft cabins.

On 02 March 1893, the MARY E. MC LACHLAN (3-mast wooden schooner, 251 foot, 1,394 gross tons) was launched at F. W. Wheeler's yard in West Bay City, Michigan as (Hull #96). The launch turned into a disaster when the huge wave generated by the vessel entering the water hit the freighter KITTIE FORBES (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 209 foot, 968 gross tons, built in 1883, at W. Bay City, Michigan). The FORBES had numerous spectators onboard and when the wave struck, many were injured and there was one confirmed death.

1972 - HARMATTAN, a Seaway trader beginning in 1971, arrived at Karachi, Pakistan, for scrapping after suffering missile damage at sea from Indian Naval units during a conflict between the two countries.

1976 - BROOK, a former Seaway trader as EXBROOk beginning in 1968, arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for scrapping.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, and Steve Haverty

Mackinaw to break ice in Green Bay

3/1 - Sault Ste Marie, MI – U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw will enter Green Bay at Rock Island Passage this week to conduct several days of ice trials in northern Green Bay.

While in Green Bay, Mackinaw will perform a series of operational tests to evaluate and record the performance of their shipboard systems in the thick plate ice. The cutter will not purposely interact with shore fast ice, not enter any port, and plans to spend each night out on the ice. USCGC Mackinaw will operate in the vicinity of Chambers Island remaining north and east of Green Island and west of Washington Island. Recreational users of the ice should plan their activity carefully, use caution near the ice and remain clear of these prescribed areas.

USCG

Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
After a week of warmer temperatures, Milwaukee’s harbor is now mostly ice-free. Michigan/Great Lakes arrived from Cheboygan at 07:37 Sunday (02/28) and tied up at the Liquid Cargo Pier. The pair is likely here to load ethanol. Algoma Sault is expected Monday with salt from Goderich.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Sault cleared 3.26 am Sunday upbound for Milwaukee with salt. Algoma Intrepid was loading at Compass Minerals and departed in the evening.

Toledo, OH – Michael G Hopkins
Sam Laud went from lay up at the Ironville Dock to the Toledo shipyard dry dock on Jan 27.

Buffalo, NY – Brain R. Wroblewski
Sucro Sourcing, the company behind the new sugar refining operations at the Gateway Metroport in Lackawanna, have announced a major expansion project for 2021. On January 27, the company revealed plans to spend $19 million to refurbish three old steel plant buildings on site to house a larger amount of business. They want to use them for more storage space, an enlarged sugar refinery, packaging and office space. The derelict buildings being rebuilt for the Sucro project, from north to south, are Bethlehem Steel’s former Power House #1, Boiler House #3, Engine House #3, and the concrete pad left over from the now demolished Steam Station #1. The company expects to see at least 10 ocean going freighters arrive every year there after the expansion comes on line.

Construction was to start during this February with the plant reaching full production capacity at some point over the next two years.

The fire tug Cotter was out breaking ice ahead of a thaw on February 23. She went from the slip at Michigan Street to the lake and back that morning with a little extra work being done around the stern of the tug Victory at the Frontier elevator so she can move the Maumee later in March for unloading. They were back at it again on the section from Michigan Street to the Buckeye Terminal above South Park Ave. on the 25th. Then on the 26th they had to do it again because the ice was not flowing out at all due to a return to cold temps overnight and a quick refreeze of everything they had just broken the day before. Ice was seen to be approximately four inches thick for the most part.

Preserving History: Saving the Squaw Island Lighthouse

3/1 - A historic lighthouse was in trouble on a small island in northern Lake Michigan. The owners of Squaw Island stepped up to save it. But this is no ordinary project. See how a dedicated construction crew overcame isolation, lack of power, and poison ivy to stop the decay of the lighthouse. Along the way, they also learned a little about themselves. View the full report here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB04s4MYd6A

HENRY FORD II (Hull#788) was launched on March 1, 1924, at Lorain, Ohio by the American Ship Building Co. She served as flagship of the Ford Motor Company fleet for many years and was eventually sold to Interlake Steamship Company when Ford sold its Great Lakes division. It was renamed b.) SAMUEL MATHER, but never sailed under that name. It was scrapped in 1994, at Port Maitland, Ontario by Marine Recycling & Salvage Ltd.

In 1881 the steamship JOHN B. LYON was launched at Cleveland, Ohio by Thomas Quayle & Son for Capt. Frank Perew. She was a four mast, double-decker with the following dimensions: 255 foot keel, 275 feet overall, 38 foot beam, and 20 foot depth.

On March 1, 1884 the I.N. FOSTER (wooden schooner, 134 foot, 319 gross tons, built in 1872, at Port Huron, Michigan) was sold by Clark I. Boots to E. Chilson. This vessel lasted until 1927, when she was abandoned in Buffalo, New York.

1926 - The passenger ship WHITE STAR of Canada Steamship Lines burned at Hamilton. It then became a coal barge and was rebuilt in 1950 as the diesel powered, self-unloading sandsucker S.M. DOUGLAS. It operated mainly on the St. Lawrence and was sunk as a breakwall at Kingston, ON in 1975.

1972 - The Dutch passenger and freight carrier PRINSES ANNA first visited the Great Lakes in 1967. It was lost in Osumi Strait, 18 miles south of Cape Sata, Japan, as HWA PO while on a voyage from Nagoya to Whampoa, China. The cargo shifted and 20 of the 36 on board were lost when the ship went down.

1980 - The Swedish freighter BARBARA was 4-years old when it first came inland in 1966. It returned through the Seaway as BARKAND in 1968 and as MARIANNA in 1969. The ship was under a fourth name of MARIA BACOLITSA and in bound from Brazil with pig iron for Constanza, Romania, when it went down on the Black Sea with all hands. An S.O.S. had been sent out without giving the location and rescuers were helpless to lend any assistance.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Steve Haverty, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, “Ahoy & Farewell II” and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.