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Rand Logistics reports wider loss; seeks recapitalization 8/18 - Jersey City, N.J. – Rand Logistics reported a wider loss for the fiscal first quarter of 2018 as the company still seeks a recapitalization. However the Great Lakes-focused shipping company says its contracted revenue backlog is better. The Jersey City-based Rand reported a net loss of $5.5 million for the quarter compared to a $2.9m net loss in the year earlier period. The results came in at a $0.30 per share loss. The company announced its financial results for the fiscal year 2018 first quarter, ended June 30, 2017 on Monday. Tradewinds, Rand Logistics |
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What’s going on with Lake Michigan’s water levels? 8/18 - Grand Rapids, Mich. – Lake Michigan’s water levels have been having a bit of an identity crisis in the past few years. In 2013, the lake’s water level hit it’s lowest in recorded history. But now, just four years later, they’re the highest they’ve been since 1997 – rising four feet in just that time. It has scientists taking notice. “The amount of recovery of water we’ve had in four years is tremendous,” said Brandon Hoving, with the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids. “Trillions and trillions and trillions of gallons of water.” Literally. In order to raise the water level of Lake Michigan by just one inch, 390-billion gallons of water need to be added to it. If you’ve noticed this spring and summer were particularly dry in West Michigan, you’re right. But it isn’t our side of the lake that’s contributing to the rises. This year, parts of Wisconsin and Illinois as well as parts of the Upper Peninsula have seen significant rainfall that’s adding height to the lake. “Wherever it’s been wetter than normal, that plays a role in how high the lakes are getting,” said Hoving. “Kind of the moral of the story is this year’s been quite wet for Michigan, in some cases 200 percent of normal precipitation.” Recent snow melt and seasonal rains – not just this year but over the past four – have contributed as well. Heavy rain in the UP and Illinois/Wisconsin areas have contributed to rising Lake Michigan water levels. For beach goers and those who own property near the water, it could be cause for concern, depending on what this winter brings. “For folks that are venturing out onto the piers and breakwaters, they’re fishing off those piers, those water levels – the waves themselves – are lapping over the pier. And so that over-wash has force to it and it can knock you off the pier,” said Hoving. “The beach is going to be churned up and chewed up a lot easier now because the lake is higher. So we’re seeing some of that erosion with some of the coastal properties on Lake Michigan.” Fox 17 |
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Port Reports - August 18
Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary A. Putney
Thunder Bay, Ont.
St. Marys River
Green Bay, Wis. – Paul Erspamer
Milwaukee, Wis. – Paul Erspamer
Southern Lake Michigan Ports
Calcite, Mich. – Jake H.
Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
Toledo, Ohio Regional and Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Buffalo:
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Bronte (Oakville):
Hamilton:
Clarkson:
Toronto:
Oshawa:
Colborne: |
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USCG, DeTour lighthouse group honor Coast Guard seaman 46 years after tragedy 8/18 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – A U.S. Coast Guardsman who lost his life more than 46 years ago while serving at the DeTour Reef Lighthouse in Upper Michigan, was honored and remembered by members of area Coast Guard units and the DeTour Reef Lighthouse Preservation Society during a ceremony in DeTour Village, Michigan, Thursday. Seaman Don Ashley Jr., 22, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, was making a trip on March 30, 1971 from the DeTour Reef Lighthouse to DeTour Village, Michigan to retrieve supplies and another Coast Guardsman when his 16-foot boat capsized in icy conditions. A large wave washed over Ashley and he never resurfaced. The lighthouse had just opened for the season and a spare boat was not yet available to rescue him. His remains were never recovered. He is the only Coast Guardsman to lose his life while serving on the DeTour Reef Light Station. Ashley’s siblings, Michael Ashley and Linda Ashley VandenHeuvel, traveled from Wisconsin to attend the ceremony, organized by Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie and the Preservation Society, and accepted a plaque of remembrance of their brother. The plaque will be permanently affixed to the DeTour Reef Lighthouse. “The Coast Guard men and women assembled today continue to stand the watch that Don so bravely stood nearly fifty years ago,” said Capt. Marko Broz, commander, Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie. “Michael and Susan, your brother died in the service of our Nation and while doing his best to protect those mariners who ply these beautiful, but unforgiving waters. We are proud to follow in his footsteps and strive to uphold the standards he set for us.” Broz, along with Lt. Cmdr. Joseph Roach, U.S. Navy chaplain, and the crews of the Coast Guard Cutter Buckthorn and Aids to Navigation Team Sault Ste. Marie, were in attendance to remember Ashley's the sacrifice. The DeTour Village Community Choir was also in attendance and sang the National Anthem and a powerful rendition of the Coast Guard anthem, “Semper Paratus.” For more information on Seaman Don Ashley and the DeTour Reef Light, contact the DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society at (906) 493-6609, or at DRLPS@drlps.com. USCG |
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Freighters, anglers clash in narrow channel 8/18 - Sarnia, Ont. – A great fishing season may be contributing to a rise in river rage incidents near the Blue Water Bridge, a veteran angler says. “Fishing is incredible this year and there are many more boats on the river. It’s probably bringing a lot of people here that are not familiar with how to behave,” said Brad Armstrong, a Bluewater Angler member who has fished the St. Clair River for decades. “It’s disappointing to hear there are some bad apples.” The pilots who maneuver huge freighters through the river straights between Sarnia and Port Huron say they’re seeing more risky behavior from small vessels venturing too close and moving too slowly out of the way. On July 2, two southbound freighters encountered a 16-foot aluminum fishing boat just north of the international span. The small vessel was steering toward the first freighter and refused to make way. The freighter captain signaled danger with five short horn blasts, but the fisherman didn’t move, said Capt. George Haynes, a registered pilot and vice-president of the Lakes Pilot Association based in Port Huron. “There’s 3.5 knots of current in that area and the channel is only 600 feet wide with several turns,” Haynes said. Some ships are as long as three football fields and can’t change direction once committed. “The first freighter had to begin turning early and the smaller boat was only 15 feet off the ship as they passed,” said Haynes. The captain reported the boater looked up at him and defiantly yelled, “You get out of my channel.” Forty minutes later, the same small boater repeated the behavior with a second freighter. Again the big ship had to turn early, pushing it closer to shallow waters. “It puts the ship in jeopardy of getting out of control and there’s potential for a collision,” said Haynes. “That fisherman’s behavior was very dangerous.” Small boats run the risk of being struck or sucked into the ship’s massive propeller. Haynes said he’s hearing numerous stories from other pilots about small vessels that aren’t staying clear. Some frightened boaters have even jumped overboard into the water, which is the worst thing they can do, Haynes said. “It’s very important that boaters stay onboard, or hang on to their boat if it overturns, in order to avoid being sucked in,” he said. “There are so many fishermen and pleasure boaters in that area between Port Huron and Sarnia. Most everyone has the common sense to get out of the way. I’ve never had someone intentionally get in the way. That’s a new one.” Many captains are fishermen themselves and respect the fact the waterways are for everyone, he said. “But we want them to realize that’s one of the trickiest spots in the region to navigate.” By the time the U.S. Coast Guard arrived on July 2 the fishing boat had left. The Lakes Pilots Association offered $200 for information leading to the man’s identity. Last week, the fisherman voluntarily came forward and is subject to an investigation that could result in a fine up to $3,000. Haynes said one positive was a meeting organized involving pilots, sport anglers, Canadian and U.S. Coast Guard, the OPP and Port Huron Sheriff’s office. One suggestion was to make the popular fishing spot north of the bridge a safety zone with heavy enforcement. Police said it was a good idea but impractical,” said Haynes. “They don’t have the assets. So education is the way to go. We don’t want anyone hurt in one of the busiest areas of the Great Lakes system.” Armstrong agrees. “It’s a standard rule that the ship gets the right-of-way,” he said. “I believe there are people who are coming to the area for the first time and they need to learn the laws. I’d say they are pushing their luck.” Sarnia Journal |
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Michigan’s shipwreck sanctuary preserving around 200 ships 8/18 - Alpena, Mich. – Most people have heard of a bird or wildlife sanctuary, but fewer are familiar with sanctuaries for shipwrecks. The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of only 14 national marine sanctuaries in the entire country operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and it’s situated in the northwest corner of Lake Huron, just off the shores of Alpena. Stephanie Gandulla, a maritime archaeologist at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and Guy Meadows, a professor at Michigan Technological University and director of the Great Lakes Research Center, work with the sanctuary to study and preserve its shipwrecks. Together, they joined Stateside today to explain what they’ve identified in the sanctuary’s 4,300 square miles of water, and what still remains a mystery. Listen, and view photos and video at this link: http://michiganradio.org/post/ever-heard-sanctuary-shipwrecks-michigan-has-one-and-it-s-preserving-around-200-ships |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 18 On 18 August 1871, GEN. WINFIELD SCOTT (wooden schooner, 114 foot, 213 tons, built in 1852, at Black River, Ohio) was carrying lumber from Menominee to Chicago when she sprang a leak during a gale and capsized off Spider Island near Death's Door on Lake Michigan. The crew clung to her for 13 hours until rescued by the passing schooner ETHAN ALLEN. CANADIAN ENTERPRISE (Hull#65) was float launched on August 18, 1979, at St. Catharines, Ontario by Port Weller Drydocks Ltd. for Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd. On August 18, 1972, $50,000 in bottom damage occurred when the CHAMPLAIN, of 1943, hit an obstruction in the Trenton Channel, on the lower Detroit River. The NORMAN B. REAM (Hull#70) was launched August 18, 1906, at Chicago, Illinois by the Chicago Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed b.) KINSMAN ENTERPRISE in 1965. She served as a storage barge in Port Huron from 1979 to 1989. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey in 1989. On 18 August 1907, KATE WHITE (wooden propeller steam tug, 62 foot, 28 gross tons, built at Erie, Pennsylvania in 1885, as a yacht) sank near the harbor entrance at Fairport, Ohio. On 18 August 1878, JAVA (iron twin propeller passenger/package freight vessel, 232 foot, 1,525 gross tons, built in 1873, at Buffalo, New York) was sailing from Bay City, Michigan for Chicago and Milwaukee with mixed merchandise, including 300 tons of fine household goods, parlor stoves, salt, etc. She was a twin-screw and the main theory of her loss in good weather was that her starboard shaft coupling came loose and the shaft slid out the stern, allowing water to flood through the sleeve. Nevertheless, she sank quickly, 15 miles off Big Sable Point on Lake Michigan in over 300 feet of water. The crew escaped in lifeboats and was picked up by passing steamers. 1919 – The former wooden bulk carrier NEOSHO was sold for off lakes service in 1917 and was operating as a barge, under tow of the tug NORFOLK, when she broke loose in a storm on Delaware Bay, got caught in the trough, struck a reef and broke up. 1927 – The first HENNEPIN foundered in Lake Michigan, 18 miles west of South Haven, enroute to Grand Haven to load. The hull was discovered in 2006 and is upright in 230 feet of water. 1966 – BAYGEORGE knocked off a lock fender in the downbound section of the Welland Canal Flight Locks and delayed navigation. Only the upbound side remained in use to handle traffic pending repairs. 1972 – The ocean going general cargo carrier FELTO caught fire at Bata, Equatorial Guinea, while discharging cement. The blaze broke out in the engineroom and spread to the accommodation area before the ship settled on the bottom as a total loss. The vessel had been a Great Lakes trader in 1968 and had previously come inland as a) FERDIA in 1953 and b) FAIRWAY in 1963. 1985 – CHI-CHEEMAUN went aground due to fog while departing South Baymouth and was released the following day. The Georgian Bay ferry went to Collingwood for repairs. 1996 – HERCEG NOVI, a Yugoslavian freighter dating from 1981, first came through the Seaway in 1989 bringing a cargo of newsprint to Detroit. It sank following a collision with the containership MING GALAXY off Singapore on this date in 1996. Local officials ordered the removal of the hull and this was done, in pieces, later in the year. Data from: Joe Barr, David Swayze, Skip Gillham, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series |
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U.S.-flag shipping on Great Lakes down slightly in July 8/17 - Cleveland, Ohio – U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters moved 9.7 million tons of cargo on the Great Lakes in July, a decrease of 1.5 percent compared to a year ago. July’s shipments also trailed the month’s long-term average by 8.4 percent. Iron ore cargos for steelmaking totaled 5 million tons, an increase of 8.7 percent compared to a year ago. Coal loadings slipped 16.7 percent to 1.4 million tons. Limestone cargos hauled in U.S. bottoms totaled 2.8 million tons, a decrease of 2.6 percent compared to a year ago. Year-over-year U.S.-flag cargos total 40.3 million tons, a slight decrease (95,000 tons) from the same point in 2016. Iron ore shipments have increased 6.3 percent to 22.9 million tons. Coal cargos have dipped 2.4 percent to 6 million tons. The 9.3 million tons of aggregate, fluxstone and scrubber stone shipped represent a decrease of 10.2 percent. Lake Carriers’ Association |
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Update on new Algoma Central Equinox-class vessels and construction 8/17 - An excerpt from the Algoma Central Corp.’s Bear Facts summer newsletter follows. Algoma Strongfield had an adventurous voyage prior to arriving in Canada. The voyage started in February, right after Chinese New Year, with a short tow from Nantong to Jiangyin, followed about 6 weeks later by a trip out the Yangtze River down to the Davao, Philippines for a nice bottom scrub and a few adjustments. The vessel then crossed the Pacific, transited the Panama Canal and finally sailed up the Atlantic coast to Sept Isle, QC, for flag change. A few days later she was a Canadian flag laker loading iron ore in Port Cartier, QC destined for ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton, ON. While the vessel was in Hamilton, the Algoma Ship Repair team removed the Delivery Voyage Stiffening (DVS) in less than a week, which is a new and impressive record. Hull 732 – Algoma Innovator: This vessel launched on December 29, 2016 and has been at the wharf at 3 Maj undergoing outfitting. Every area of the vessel is being worked on at this time and the vessel is looking more like a ship every day. The shipyard is working on completion of systems to allow harbor trials to start in earnest, with the majority of the equipment installed at this time and electrical and piping work progressing towards this goal. Delivery of the vessel is expected in 2017. Hull 73 – Algoma Endurance: The vessel was launched on June 8, and is expected to be delivered in 2018. Algoma Niagara and Algoma Sault: Last winter we reported that we had signed contracts and the pre-construction efforts for the new projects had advanced very well and this had allowed us to complete the keel laying for the first project, Algoma Niagara, well ahead of schedule. The rapid advance of the projects at Yangzijiang has continued since then with the launching of the Niagara happening on February 16. This milestone was followed closely with the keel laying of the M.V. Algoma Sault on March 3. Since these events the site team has been running flat out with pre-commissioning inspections for the Niagara and erection and outfitting work on the Sault. The shipyard has integrated the lessons learned very well into the second project and the condition of the ship at the time of launching will be well ahead of where the Niagara was when it was launched. The site team is very pleased with the work of the shipyard in maintaining a high quality standard for the Niagara and quickly adopting modifications and new ideas for the Sault which should prove beneficial during the commissioning and testing phases of the ship. At the time of launching, the Algoma Sault will be 100% complete for the steel assembly and have over 80% of the piping and electrical installations completed. Delivery of the Algoma Niagara is expected near the end of August this year and she should appear in service on the Great Lakes about the end of October. The Algoma Sault (was expected to be) launched on July 12 and delivery is expected in time to have the ship enter service for the 2018 shipping season. See the full story and view photos at this link: http://www.algonet.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/2017_Summer_Bearfacts-1.pdf |
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Port Reports - August 17
Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
Two Harbors - Silver Bay – Gary A. Putney
Thunder Bay, Ont.
St. Marys River
Cedarville, Mich. – Jake H.
Southern Lake Michigan Ports
Calcite, Mich. – Jake H.
Stoneport, Mich. – Jake H.
Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
Toledo, Ohio
Regional and Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Bronte (Oakville):
Hamilton:
Clarkson:
Bowmanville: |
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Rand Logistics receives ISM Code certification on eight Canadian vessels 8/17 - Jersey City, NJ – Rand Logistics, Inc., which operates a fleet of bulk freight vessels throughout the Great Lakes region, has received five-year International Safety Management (ISM) Code certifications on eight of its Canadian vessels by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), the company’s third-party surveyors. “Certification of our vessels to the ISM Code is a direct reflection of our commitment to our core values of safety, health, security and protection of the environment in which we operate,” said Gerald Ray, Vice President of Operations for Lower Lakes Towing, Ltd., the Company’s Canadian operations. “The teamwork and effort put forth by our shipboard and shoreside employees to achieve these certifications were admirable and correlate to the pride our employees have in operating in the Great Lakes region. “Each and every employee should be proud of these certifications, which align with our operational and safety excellence initiatives.” The first vessel in the Canadian fleet achieved ISM compliance in November 2016 and the eighth vessel obtained certification the week of July 17, 2017. It is expected that the ninth Canadian vessel will be certified after completion of its ISM audit in November, after returning to service to support the grain harvest. The International Safety Management (ISM) Code is an international standard for the safe operation of ships and for pollution prevention. The ISM Code, to which participation is voluntary, establishes safety-management objectives and requires a safety management system to be established by the company. Rand Logistics |
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Man who died in Lake Superior was hit by boat's prop while scattering dad's ashes 8/17 - Munising, Mich. – A Lake Orion, Mich., man who died in a weekend boating accident on Lake Superior was hit by the propeller of the 19-foot boat as it circled him in the water, sheriff's officials said. Robert Louis, 59, had been on the boat with six other people on a trip to scatter his father's ashes when all were swept off the craft near Autrain Island, off the coast of Munising, according to family members who spoke to WLUC. The elder Louis had died two weeks earlier from Alzheimer's, and his son had been a caretaker, according to the report. The other six people in the water were rescued by a group on a pontoon boat in the area. They were treated for hypothermia, police have said. Louis' body was found Monday afternoon by the Alger County Sheriff Department's dive team, with help from the U.S. Coast Guard. Police told WLUC the boat's throttle was still open when everyone fell out. The wooden boat had been constructed from a kit and belonged to a Marquette man, authorities have said. "What I gathered from the information was, he tried to grab the boat as it was circling around him or them and the prop hit him, and I'm not sure if it made it so he couldn't swim, or if it injured him bad enough to be life-threatening," Alger County Sheriff's Department Officer A.J. Schirschmidt told the news station. Police initially said all those swept overboard in Sunday's accident near Autrain Island had been on a pontoon boat. On Tuesday, police corrected that information, saying were aboard a 19-foot wooden boat that had been constructed from a kit. The boat's owner, Tim Preston of Marquette, Louis, and five others were on board near the island's south side when a large wave hit the boat, pushing everyone overboard. WLUC |
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Coast Guard relieves officer in charge of Station Ashtabula 8/17 - Cleveland, Ohio – The Coast Guard has temporarily relieved the officer in charge of Station Ashtabula in Ashtabula, Ohio due to loss of confidence, Tuesday. Chief Petty Officer Bryan Pate was temporarily removed from command by Rear Adm. Joanna Nunan, commander, Ninth Coast Guard District in Cleveland. Capt. Joe DuFresne, commander, Coast Guard Sector Buffalo, appointed Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Jones, executive petty officer of Station Ashtabula, to assume temporary command of the station. Pate was temporarily reassigned to the Marine Safety Unit in Cleveland until further notice. The change will not impact Station Ashtabula’s search and rescue response, maritime security or other vital mission operations. “While command of the station has changed, the Coast Guard’s unit readiness to respond, train, and operate has not,” said DuFresne. We’re always ready to respond.” USCG |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 17 On August 17, 1987, the CADILLAC was towed by the tugs GLENADA and ELMORE M. MISNER, from Toledo's Frog Pond on the first leg of her journey to be scrapped. At 4 p.m. on 17 August 1869, the schooner CARLINGFORD was launched at the Fitzgerald and Leighton yard in Port Huron, Michigan with plenty of spectators on hand. Robert Montgomery of Buffalo, the owner, built the vessel for the grain trade. Her capacity was 30,000 bushels of grain. After launching, she still had to have her masts (96 foot, 98 foot and 94 foot) and rigging installed. At the time, she was the largest sailing vessel built in Port Huron. Her dimensions were 155-foot keel, 165-foot overall, 31-foot-6- inch beam and 12-foot 8-inch depth. 50 men worked on her and she cost $35,000. 1905 – The wooden steamer CALEDONIA sank in Lake Superior while towing the barge JOHN M. HUTCHINSON. It was later refloated and returned to service. 1913 – The whaleback steamer ATIKOKAN went ashore in a spectacular grounding at Marine City but was released and returned to service. 1994 – INDIANA HARBOR went to Sturgeon Bay for repairs after going aground at Muskegon, Mich. Data from: Joe Barr, Max Hanley, Skip Gillam, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. |
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U.S. iron ore shipments remain strong; overall Seaway shipping up 18 percent 8/16 - Iron ore, dry bulk cargo and general cargo shipments remain strong on the St. Lawrence Seaway, with overall tonnage up 18 percent over last year. The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation reports that cargo shipments from March 20 through July 31 totaled more than 16 million metric tons – up 2.5 million metric tons over the same period in 2016. “We continue to see demand for raw materials that are needed for construction and in the manufacturing and automotive industries,” said Bruce Burrows, President of the Chamber of Marine Commerce. “Iron ore shipments have topped 3.7 million metric tons so far this year, that’s up nearly 68.5 percent from a year ago. The jump in iron ore shipments is fueled primarily by a surge in exports going from Minnesota to Japan and China,” Burrows added. Iron ore shipments through the Port of Duluth have shown steady increases this season. “It’s encouraging to have all six mines on Minnesota’s Iron Range operating once again,” said Adele Yorde, Duluth Seaway Port Authority public relations director. “Year-to-date tonnage for pellets was running a full 16 percent ahead of last year (at the end of June) and outpacing the five-year average by the same spread. Not only are domestic deliveries up on the lower lakes, overseas shipments have risen exponentially as well. More than 35 percent of the pellets moved through our port through June have been loaded onto Canadian carriers and shipped via the Seaway to Quebec for transshipment overseas.” Meanwhile, general cargo shipments (including specialty steel and project cargo) through the Seaway are up more than 35 percent, while dry bulk tonnage has increased 15.5 percent. Salt shipments are 42 percent above 2016 totals. Dave Gutheil, VP, Maritime Operations, at the Port of Cleveland added: “International tonnage at our port is up 10 percent through July versus the same period in 2016. Project cargo has more than doubled and containers have increased slightly.” At the Port of Green Bay, overall tonnage remains up despite a drop in shipping tonnage in July compared to a year ago. “Even with the decline in July, we are experiencing a solid shipping season so far, led by an increase of 49 percent in coal imports and a 95 percent jump in imports of domestic petroleum products,” said Dean Haen, director for the Port of Green Bay. “It’s not unusual to see month-to-month variances throughout the season.” Overall for the Port of Green Bay, shipping reached 810,000 tons through the end of July, a two percent increase over last year. The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation |
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Cleveland-Cliffs is back to original name 8/16 - Cleveland Cliffs is back. The company has gone back to its historical name, and is no longer known as Cliffs Natural Resources. The name change is part of the celebration of the 170th anniversary of the company, and is effective immediately. “The historical name Cleveland-Cliffs is synonymous with our strong heritage, and is the perfect one for our next era of growth,” said Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “As we did more than 60 years ago, when we adopted pelletizing as a smart business opportunity to utilize American iron ore and provide the domestic blast furnaces with customized pellets, Cleveland-Cliffs is once again reinventing itself as the supplier of high-quality iron units to the Great Lakes region. With our expansion into the production of Hot-Briquetted Iron to supply the growing electric arc furnace steel industry, Cleveland-Cliffs is the best name to represent our strong present and our bright future.” Cliffs had changed its name back in 2008, when it had planned on merging with Alpha Natural Resources. That merger fell through. WDIO |
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Port Reports - August 16
Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary A. Putney
Thunder Bay, Ont.
St. Marys River
Cedarville, Mich. – Jake H.
Green Bay, Wis. – Paul Erspamer
Milwaukee, Wis. – Paul Erspamer
Southern Lake Michigan Ports
Alpena, Mich. – Ben & Chanda McClain
Calcite, Mich. – Jake H.
Stoneport, Mich. – Jake H.
Toledo, Ohio
Nanticoke:
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Bronte (Oakville):
Hamilton:
Clarkson:
Bowmanville:
Colborne:
Rochester, N.Y. – Tom Brewer |
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Coast Guard responds to boat fires in Hammond Marina 8/16 - Hammond, Ind. – The Coast Guard responded to two recreational vessels that caught fire and sank in Hammond Marina in Hammond, Ind., following an explosion, Tuesday. Coast Guard Station Calumet Harbor received a call from 911 dispatch early Tuesday about two boats on fire in the marina. A boat crew launched aboard a 45-foot response boat and found the two vessels had already sunk. Pollution responders from Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago also arrived on scene to assess the marina for pollution. An initial sheen of approximately 50 feet by 50 feet resulting from gasoline from the vessels has been slowly dissipating throughout the day. Area contractors have placed boom around surrounding vessels in the marina for protection from the sheen. Tow Boat U.S. has presented a salvage plan to the Coast Guard for removing the two boats beginning this afternoon. The Coast Guard remains on scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation. USCG |
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Obituary: Corrine Dushane 8/16 - Corrine Dushane, mother of Denny Dushane, a long-time contributor to the BoatNerd discussion boards, passed away on Tuesday, August 15. She was predeceased by her husband James Dushane. She and her family were frequent visitors to Port Huron and the Soo. |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 16 On 18 August 1871, GEN. WINFIELD SCOTT (wooden schooner, 114 foot, 213 tons, built in 1852, at Black River, Ohio) was carrying lumber from Menominee to Chicago when she sprang a leak during a gale and capsized off Spider Island near Death's Door on Lake Michigan. The crew clung to her for 13 hours until rescued by the passing schooner ETHAN ALLEN. CANADIAN ENTERPRISE (Hull#65) was float launched on August 18, 1979, at St. Catharines, Ontario by Port Weller Drydocks Ltd. for Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd. On August 18, 1972, $50,000 in bottom damage occurred when the CHAMPLAIN, of 1943, hit an obstruction in the Trenton Channel, on the lower Detroit River. The NORMAN B. REAM (Hull#70) was launched August 18, 1906, at Chicago, Illinois by the Chicago Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed b.) KINSMAN ENTERPRISE in 1965. She served as a storage barge in Port Huron from 1979 to 1989. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey in 1989. On 18 August 1907, KATE WHITE (wooden propeller steam tug, 62 foot, 28 gross tons, built at Erie, Pennsylvania in 1885, as a yacht) sank near the harbor entrance at Fairport, Ohio. On 18 August 1878, JAVA (iron twin propeller passenger/package freight vessel, 232 foot, 1,525 gross tons, built in 1873, at Buffalo, New York) was sailing from Bay City, Michigan for Chicago and Milwaukee with mixed merchandise, including 300 tons of fine household goods, parlor stoves, salt, etc. She was a twin-screw and the main theory of her loss in good weather was that her starboard shaft coupling came loose and the shaft slid out the stern, allowing water to flood through the sleeve. Nevertheless, she sank quickly, 15 miles off Big Sable Point on Lake Michigan in over 300 feet of water. The crew escaped in lifeboats and was picked up by passing steamers. 1919 – The former wooden bulk carrier NEOSHO was sold for off lakes service in 1917 and was operating as a barge, under tow of the tug NORFOLK, when she broke loose in a storm on Delaware Bay, got caught in the trough, struck a reef and broke up. 1927 – The first HENNEPIN foundered in Lake Michigan, 18 miles west of South Haven, enroute to Grand Haven to load. The hull was discovered in 2006 and is upright in 230 feet of water. 1966 – BAYGEORGE knocked off a lock fender in the downbound section of the Welland Canal Flight Locks and delayed navigation. Only the upbound side remained in use to handle traffic pending repairs. 1972 – The ocean going general cargo carrier FELTO caught fire at Bata, Equatorial Guinea, while discharging cement. The blaze broke out in the engineroom and spread to the accommodation area before the ship settled on the bottom as a total loss. The vessel had been a Great Lakes trader in 1968 and had previously come inland as a) FERDIA in 1953 and b) FAIRWAY in 1963. 1985 – CHI-CHEEMAUN went aground due to fog while departing South Baymouth and was released the following day. The Georgian Bay ferry went to Collingwood for repairs. 1996 – HERCEG NOVI, a Yugoslavian freighter dating from 1981, first came through the Seaway in 1989 bringing a cargo of newsprint to Detroit. It sank following a collision with the containership MING GALAXY off Singapore on this date in 1996. Local officials ordered the removal of the hull and this was done, in pieces, later in the year. Data from: Joe Barr, David Swayze, Skip Gillham, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series |
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Lakes limestone trade up more than 15 percent in July 8/15 - Cleveland, Ohio – Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.9 million tons in July, an increase of 15.4 percent compared to a year ago. July’s loadings were also slightly ahead of the month’s 5-year average. Loadings from U.S. quarries totaled 3.16 million tons, an increase of 22.3 percent compared to a year ago. Shipments from Canadian quarries totaled 700,000 tons, a decrease of 60,000 tons. Year-to-date the Lakes limestone trade stands at 12.6 million tons, a decrease of 9.6 percent compared to a year ago. Loadings from Michigan and Ohio quarries total 10.3 million tons, a decrease of 1.4 percent. Shipments from Ontario quarries total 2.35 million tons, a decrease of 13.4 percent. Lake Carriers’ Association |
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Port Reports - August 15
Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary A. Putney
Thunder Bay, Ont.
St. Marys River
Menominee, Mich. – Scott Best
Milwaukee, Wis.
Southern Lake Michigan Ports
Alpena, Mich. – Ben & Chanda McClain
Calcite, Mich. – Jake H.
Stoneport, Mich. – Jake H.
Toledo, Ohio
Sandusky, Ohio
Huron, Ohio
Regional and Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Buffalo:
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Hamilton:
Clarkson:
Bowmanville:
Oswego:
Rochester, N.Y. (with Tom Brewer): |
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New “Schooner Days” book launch party Aug. 21 in Milwaukee 8/15 - “Schooner Days: The Story of Wisconsin’s Flagship, the S/V Denis Sullivan,” a new book by Great Lakes historian and author Chris Winters and Wisconsin Lake Schooner project founder Frank Steeves, will officially launch Monday, Aug. 21, 6 p.m. at Cielito Lindo Mexican restaurant, 733 S. 2nd Street in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood. Winters and Steeves will be on hand to sign copies of the lavishly illustrated hardcover volume. “Schooner Days” recounts the building the lake schooner Denis Sullivan, and the rebirth of Discovery World Museum on Milwaukee’s Municipal Pier, a remarkable stories of commitment, perseverance and philanthropy in the history of U.S. not-for-profit organizations. Today the Denis Sullivan sails as the official flagship of the State of Wisconsin, and remains a towering symbol of environmental awakening. Discovery World museum, the Sullivan’s home port, is a premier venue for experiential learning, and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to Milwaukee’s lakefront every year. People from all walks of life labored for over decade to breathe life into the Sullivan, a “Symbol of the Possible.” The vessel’s presence on Milwaukee’s waterfront reminds citizens and visitors of the region’s rich maritime heritage, and points directly at the city’s potential role in the future stewardship of the planet’s fragile and dwindling freshwater resources. Compiled over a period of nearly 25 years by award-winning Great Lakes photojournalist Winters – himself an early Lake Schooner volunteer – this account features an engaging memoir penned by Steeves, who led the project, first as its chairman, and later as co-chairman with philanthropist Michael Cudahy, from its inception in 1989 through 2008, when all aspects of the new Discovery World were fully operational. The book also contains an essay on Wisconsin’s roots as an engine of freshwater commerce and culture by eminent Milwaukee historian John Gurda. Featuring hundreds of contemporary and archival photographs, “Schooner Days” weaves the complex and colorful tale of the life and times of Wisconsin’s Flagship, and the creation of her new home port at Discovery World. The book is also available directly from Winters ($50 plus S&H) by emailing cwinters@runninglightpress.com |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 15 On this day in 1899, a major blockage of the St. Marys River occurred. The steamer MATOA was towing the barge MAIDA past Sailors Encampment when the steering chain of the MAIDA parted. The MAIDA ran ashore but the current swung her around to completely block the channel, and she sank. The lower St. Marys River was closed for several days and 80 - 90 boats were delayed. The whaleback barge 107 (steel whaleback barge, 276 foot, 1,295 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Co., at W. Superior, Wisconsin. She only lasted eight years. In 1898, she broke free from the tug ALVA B in rough weather and stranded near Cleveland, Ohio and was wrecked. JOSEPH L. BLOCK sailed light on her maiden voyage from the Bay Ship Building Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to load 32,600 long tons of taconite ore pellets at Escanaba, Michigan for delivery to Indiana Harbor, Indiana on August 15, 1976. In 1991, ALGOSTEEL was outbound at Superior when a small, smoky fire broke out in the electrical panel. The ship went to anchor and then returned to port for repairs. The trip resumed on August 24. The OTTERCLIFFE HALL, the last "straight deck" Great Lakes bulk freighter built with a pilot house forward, was bare boat chartered to Misener Transportation Ltd. on August 15, 1983, renamed b.) ROYALTON. In 1985, renamed c.) OTTERCLIFFE HALL, d.) PETER MISENER in 1988, and e.) CANADIAN TRADER in 1994. She was scrapped at Alang, India in 2004. Under threat of a strike on August 15, 1978, the uncompleted GEORGE A. STINSON was towed out of Lorain, Ohio by six tugs to River Rouge's Nicholson's Terminal & Dock Co. to finish her fit-out. She was renamed b.) AMERICAN SPIRIT in 2004. The LEON FALK JR. was laid up for the last time August 15, 1980, at the Great Lakes Engineering Work's old slip at River Rouge, Michigan. On August 15, 1985, the MENIHEK LAKE sailed under her own power to Quebec City (from there by tug), the first leg of her journey to the cutter’s torch in Spain. J.P. MORGAN JR arrived in tow of Hannah Marine's tug DARYL C. HANNAH at Buffalo, New York on August 15th where she was delayed until she could obtain clearance to transit the Welland Canal. Permission to pass down the Canal was refused because of the MORGAN JR's improper condition. By September 5, 1980, the situation was rectified and she was towed down the Welland Canal by the tugs BARBARA ANN, STORMONT and ARGUE MARTIN bound for Quebec City. On 15 August 1856, the WELLAND (sidewheel steamer, wood, passenger & package freight, 145 foot, 300 ton, built 1853, at St. Catharines, Ontario) burned to a total loss at her dock at Port Dalhousie, Ontario. She was owned by Port Dalhousie and Thorold Railroad Co. On 15 August 1873, Thomas Dunford and Frank Leighton announced a co-partnership in the shipbuilding business in Port Huron, Michigan. Their plans included operating from Dunford's yard. When they made their announcement, they already had an order for a large tug from Mr. George E. Brockway. This tug was the CRUSADER with the dimensions of 132 feet overall, 100 foot keel, and 23 foot beam. In 1914, the Panama Canal was officially opened to maritime traffic. Data from: Joe Barr, David Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Jim Olsson, Max Hanley, Skip Gillham, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. |
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Port Reports - August 14
Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary A. Putney
Thunder Bay, Ont.
St. Marys River
Cedarville, Mich.
Milwaukee, Wis.
Southern Lake Michigan Ports
Stoneport, Mich. – Jake H.
Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
Detroit, Mich. – Matt Miner
Toledo, Ohio
Sandusky, Ohio Regional and Welland Canal transits – by Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Buffalo (Tonawanda):
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Welland Canal docks:
Port Weller anchorage:
Port Colborne anchorage:
Hamilton:
Clarkson:
Bowmanville:
Picton: |
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St. Clair River to be closed for Port Huron Float Down 8/14 - Port Huron, Mich. – The U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian Coast Guard and multiple state and local agencies are advising the boating public that the St. Clair River is scheduled to be closed to all motor vessel traffic between noon and 8 p.m. Aug. 20, during the un-sanctioned marine event known as the Port Huron Float Down. The U.S. Coast Guard will establish a temporary regulation requiring minors under the age of 18 to wear life jackets during the event due to the high number of rafters expected to transit the 7.5 mile course on the St. Clair River between Lighthouse Beach in Port Huron, Michigan, and Chrysler Beach in Marysville, Michigan. Float Down poses significant and unusual hazards given the fast-moving current, large number of participants, lack of life jackets, alcohol consumption, potentially challenging weather conditions, water temperature, and limited rescue resources. Those who intend to participate, despite local, state, federal, and international safety advisories, are strongly encouraged to take safety precautions. For a list of safety recommendations, please look at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit’s Facebook page for a number of ways to improve your plan. All traffic requesting to enter the safety zone must receive approval from the patrol commander, Coast Guard Station Port Huron, via VHF channel 21A. For additional information, contact Lt. Jodie Knox or Lt. Ben Chamberlain, the public affairs officers for U.S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit, at (313) 701-6016. USCG |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 14 On this day in 1962, the ARTHUR M. ANDERSON departed Conneaut and headed downbound to become the first Pittsburgh boat to transit the Welland Canal and St. Lawrence Seaway. At 11 p.m., 14 August 1882, the steam barge CHICAGO, 206 foot, 935 gross tons of 1855, was carrying coal on Lake Michigan while towing the barge MANITOWOC, 210.5 feet, 569 gross tons of 1868. In mid-lake, near Fox Island, CHICAGO was discovered to be on fire. Within 15 minutes, she was ablaze. Her crew escaped to her barge-consort MANITOWOC. The CHICAGO burned to the water's edge and sank the following day. Sea trials for the HENRY FORD II took place on August 14, 1924, and shortly after she left on her maiden voyage with coal from Toledo, Ohio to Duluth, Minnesota and returned with iron ore to the Ford Rouge Plant at Dearborn. After been sold for scrap, the GOVERNOR MILLER was towed down the Soo Locks on August 14, 1980, for Milwaukee, Wisconsin to load scrap. On 14 August 1873, CHESTER B. JONES (3-mast, wooden schooner, 167 foot, 493 gross tons) was launched at East Saginaw, Michigan. She was built by Chesley Wheeler. The spars and top hamper ordered for her were broken in a logjam, so the 3-master received her spars at Buffalo, New York on her first trip. The 149 foot bark MARY E. PEREW was found floating west of the Manitou Islands by the propeller MONTGOMERY on 14 August 1871. The PEREW had been sailing to Milwaukee with a load of coal when a storm came upon her so quickly on 8 August (nearly a week before MONTGOMERY found her) that the crew did not have time to trim the sails. All three masts were snapped and the mizzen mast fell on the yawl, smashing it. So the crew was stuck on the ship, unable to navigate. The MONTGOMERY towed her to Milwaukee where she was rebuilt and she lasted until 1905. On 14 August 1900, the tug WILLIAM D of the Great Lakes Towing Co. got under the bow of the steamer WAWATAM at Ashtabula, Ohio, and was rolled over and sank. One drowned. August 14, 1899 - W. L. Mercereau, known as the "Father of the Fleet,” became Superintendent of Steamships for the Pere Marquette Railway. 1936: Registration for the wooden steamer MARY H. BOYCE was closed. The ship, which had burned at Fort William in 1928, was scuttled in deep water off Isle Royale in 1936.The vessel had been an early member of the Paterson fleet. 1950: The Canada Steamship Lines passenger carrier QUEBEC caught fire near Tadoussac, Quebec, and was able to reach the dock. Of the 426 passengers on board, 3 lives were lost. The blaze was considered suspicious as it began in a linen closet. The vessel was a total loss. 1961: The wooden diesel-powered tug NORTH STAR IV had visited the Great Lakes as b) ROCKY RIVER and had been used to handle the barges BLACK RIVER and PIC RIVER for the Quebec & Ontario Transportation Co. The vessel was serving under her fourth name when she stranded on a rock in James Bay while doing hydrographic survey work. The crew was rescued but the vessel was a total loss. The rocky area is now called North Star Shoal. 1986: GABRIELLA came through the Seaway in 1975 when only a year old. The ship capsized at Port Kembla, Australia, while discharging a 227-ton heavy lift on this date. The vessel was turned upside down, refloated in November 1986 and towed 30 miles out to sea and scuttled on December 9, 1986. 2004: FEDERAL MAAS was damaged at the Iroquois Lock when the wing of the pilothouse struck the edge of the bascule bridge. 2005: The Cypriot freighter ULLA visited the Seaway in September 1995 with cocoa beans for Valleyfield, QC and returned, in ballast, in November 1996 for Port Robinson. It was in a collision as f) REEF PEMBA with the GAS VISION and sank off Oman on this date in 2005. The crew was saved. Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Max Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. |
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Presque Isle tug finishes refit, re-enters service 8/13 - Tug Presque Isle, her refit complete, came off Port Weller Drydocks at 1520 Saturday afternoon and headed for Erie, Pa., to reunite with her barge. Presque Isle arrived at the drydock on June 20. Barry Andersen |
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Port Reports - August 13
Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary A. Putney
Thunder Bay, Ont.
Marquette, Mich. – Rod Burdick
St. Marys River
Milwaukee, Wis.
Southern Lake Michigan Ports
Stoneport, Mich. – Jake H.
Cedarville, Mich. – Jake H.
Calcite, Mich. – Jake H.
Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
Toledo, Ohio Regional and Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Buffalo (Tonawanda):
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Welland Canal docks:
Port Colborne anchorage:
Hamilton:
Toronto:
Bowmanville: |
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Coast Guard helicopter crew rescues man stranded on breakwall 8/13 - Cleveland, Ohio – The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a man via helicopter who was stranded on the Frankfort North Pier Head entrance to Betsie Lake, Frankfort, Mich., late Friday. The man had been fishing when the weather picked up and became stuck due to crashing waves over the break-wall. The Coast Guard received notification from Benzie County 911 Dispatch at approximately 9:25 p.m. and launched a Coast Guard Station Frankfort 25-foot response boat-small crew and a Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City MH-60 jayhawk helicopter crew. The response boat arrived on scene first and confirmed the man was on the wall but could not assist due to shallow water. The MH-60 helicopter crew hovered over the lighthouse on the pier and lowered a rescue swimmer who basket-hoisted the man to safety with no injuries before flying to Frankfort Dow Memorial Airport where local EMS were standing by. The Coast Guard reminds all fishermen to be aware of their surroundings and to check the weather before going out. The MH-60 jayhawk helicopters are new to Air Station Traverse City as the MH-65 dolphin helicopters are phased out. The jayhawk helicopters provide better capability, more power, and an ability to hoist more people. The last Air Station Traverse City MH-65 dolphin helicopter is scheduled to depart from the air station on Monday. USCG |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 13 Operated by a crew of retired Hanna captains, chief engineers and executives, the GEORGE M. HUMPHREY departed the old Great Lakes Engineering Works yard in Ecorse, Michigan, under her own power on August 13, 1986, for Lauzon, Quebec. The HUMPHREY cleared Lauzon September 3rd with the former Hanna steamer PAUL H. CARNAHAN in tow of the Dutch tug SMIT LLOYD 109. The tow locked through the Panama Canal, September 27-30, and arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan December 10, 1986 completing a trip of over 14,000 miles. The HUMPHREY was scrapped in 1987, by Shiong Yek Steel Corp. On 13 August 1899, H. G. CLEVELAND (wooden schooner, 137 foot 264 tons, built in 1867, at Black River, Ohio) sank with a full load of limestone, 7 miles from the Cleveland harbor entrance. August 13, 1980 - The ARTHUR K. ATKINSON returned to service after repairing a broken crankshaft suffered in 1973. She brought 18 railcars from Manitowoc to Frankfort. The 272 foot, 1,740 gross ton, wooden propeller freighter SITKA was launched by F. W. Wheeler (Hull#32) at W. Bay City, Michigan on 13 August 1887. 1986 INDIANA HARBOR set a Toledo and Lake Erie record, loading 55,047 tons of coal at Toledo for Marquette. 1917: The barge MIDDLESEX of the Ontario Transportation and Pulp Company broke loose and stranded at Rapide Plat in the St. Lawrence. The ship was abandoned to the insurers but salvaged and returned to service as b) WOODLANDS in 1918. 1979: IRISH OAK first came to the Great Lakes in 1960 for Irish Shipping Ltd. The vessel went aground near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as c) VEGAS on this date in 1979, while enroute from Piraeus, Greece, to Vietnam. The hull was refloated on October 28, 1979, and reached Jeddah on November 16, 1979. It was sold for scrapping at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, and arrived there on January 29, 1980. 1982: EUTHALIA visited the Seaway for the first time in 1972. It caught fire in the engine room as d) FORUM SPIRIT enroute from Port Said, Egypt, to Piraeus, Greece, and was abandoned by most of the crew. While it was towed into Piraeus on August 14, the vessel was declared a total loss. The ship arrived at Split, Yugoslavia, again under tow, for scrapping on March 6, 1984. 1993: The second CORFU ISLAND to visit the Great Lakes came inland in 1970. This SD14 cargo carrier had been built the previous year and returned as b) LOYALTY in 1980. Later that fall, the ship arrived at Basrah, Iraq, from Duluth with severe missile damage resulting from the Iraq-Iran War. The ship was declared a total loss but remained idle there until being towed away on August 13, 1993. LOYALTY arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, for scrapping on September 22, 1993. Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, David Swayze, Max Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series |
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Calumet freed, traffic begins to move on St. Marys River 8/12 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – With the help of two tugs and the use of her own engines, the grounded motor vessel Calumet was freed about 7:30 p.m. Friday from where she ran aground late Wednesday night just west of Mission Point at Sault Ste. Marie. With the Great Lakes Towing Co. tug Indiana on the bow and Missouri on the stern, and the Calumet firing up her own engines, she moved slowly off her strand and headed downbound under her own power. She dropped the hook in the Nine Mile Anchorage area for further inspection. The St. Marys River reopened to traffic at 9:40 p.m. Friday after a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers survey of the channel near the grounding was completed to make sure no large rocks or other debris had been dislodged during the operation. The three downbound vessels waiting on the lower locks piers – Walter J. McCarthy Jr., Paul R. Tregurtha and Algoma Discovery – left first, followed by Algoma Enterprise and Stewart J. Cort. Algoma Harvester headed upbound as those vessels began to clear the area. Other upbound vessels in the lineup, anchored below the Mud Lake Junction Buoy, were John G. Munson, Baie St. Paul, Tim S. Dool, CSL St-Laurent, Mesabi Miner and James L. Kuber/Victory. Frontenac was inbound DeTour at 11 p.m. Downbounders included Federal Margaree, Edwin H. Gott, James R. Barker, Hon. James L. Oberstar, American Integrity, Baie Comeau, Joyce L. VanEnkevort/Great Lakes Trader, Spruceglen, American Spirit and Roger Blough. Federal Kivalina was also downbound from the Essar Export Dock. Also on Lake Superior Friday night and headed down were Lee A. Tregurtha, Wicko, Thunder Bay, Indiana Harbor and Joseph L. Block. As soon as the Calumet was freed, the USCG cutter Biscayne Bay, which had arrived on scene in the afternoon, headed back downbound. The saltwater vessel Volgaborg was anchored above DeTour Friday awaiting orders. Grand River Navigation Inc., the vessel’s owner, submitted a salvage plan Friday afternoon to the Coast Guard’s Salvage Engineering Response Team for review. The plan, which included plans to offload ballast water and refloat the vessel, was approved. No explanation for the grounding has been released. |
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Windsor Port Authority reports spike in cargo volume 8/12 - Windsor, Ont. – The ebb and flow of cargo moving through Windsor's shipping port continues with an increase in traffic so far this year. Port authority officials report a 20 per cent overall jump in cargo, fuelled by higher volumes of grain, salt and steel. The figures come as welcome news for Windsor Port Authority president and CEO David Cree, particularly because cargo numbers took a bit of a dive in 2016, following a banner year in 2015. "We are obviously very pleased with these strong early results for the season," he said. "We had anticipated a slight recovery after the downturn in 2016, but these numbers have exceeded our projections." Grain volumes for the start of the year shot up 32 per cent, while salt shipments increased by 36 per cent. General cargo, which contains mostly steel products, was up by 25 per cent. Construction aggregates and petroleum volumes remain strong as well with numbers equaling that of last year. "It is also important to note that two of the largest gains for the year, grain and general cargo, are shipped -- to a large extent -- on foreign vessels, which utilize a significant portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway System, thus contributing significantly to the Seaway System's strong early results." Cargo volumes dipped last year with the number of ships docking in the port decreasing by 14.85 per cent, according to figures released in June. Overall tonnes of cargo dropped 15.49 per cent. CBC |
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Port Reports - August 12
Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary A. Putney
Cedarville, Mich. – Jake H.
Stoneport, Mich. – Jake H.
Calcite, Mich. – Jake H. Regional and Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Welland Canal docks:
Toronto:
Bowmanville: |
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Updates - August 12 |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 12 The C&O carferry SPARTAN, in a heavy fog while inbound from Kewaunee on the morning of August 12, 1976, struck rocks at the entrance to Ludington harbor. She suffered severe damage to about 120 feet of her bottom plating. She was taken to Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay on August 18th for repairs. There were no injuries as a result of this incident. TOM M. GIRDLER was christened August 12, 1951; she was the first of the C-4 conversions. MAUNALOA (Hull#37) was launched August 12, 1899 at Chicago, Illinois by Chicago Shipbuilding Co. for the Minnesota Steamship Co. Sold Canadian and renamed b.) MAUNALOA II in 1945. She was scrapped at Toronto in 1971. WILLIAM E. COREY sailed from Chicago on her maiden voyage August 12, 1905, bound for Duluth, Minnesota to load iron ore. She later became b.) RIDGETOWN in 1963. Used as a breakwater in Port Credit, Ontario, in 1974, and is still there. On 12 August 1882, FLORIDA (3-mast wooden schooner, 352 tons, built in 1875 at Batiscan, Ontario) was carrying 662 tons of coal from Black River to Toronto when she sprang a leak and sank 12 miles from Port Maitland, Ontario. She hailed from Quebec and was constructed mostly of pine and tamarack. 1941: The first EAGLESCLIFFE HALL was attacked by a German bomber from the Luftwaffe and was struck aft. The vessel was two miles east of Sunderland, England, at the time and one member of the crew was killed. The ship reached Sunderland for repairs and, at the end of the war, resumed Great Lakes service for the Hall Corporation. It later joined the Misener fleet as DAVID BARCLAY. 1960: A collision on the Detroit River between the Finnish freighter MARIA and the ALEXANDER T. WOOD damaged both vessels and put the latter aground in the Ballard Reef Channel. After being lightered of some grain by MAITLAND NO. 1, the vessel was released with the aid of the tug JOHN PURVES. MARIA, a pre-Seaway caller to the Great Lakes as BISCAYA and TAMMERFORS, was towed to the Great Lakes Engineering Works at Ecorse for repairs. It was eventually scrapped in Yugoslavia in 1968. ALEXANDER T. WOOD sank as VAINQUER after an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico on March 15, 1969. 1980: An explosion in the crankcase of the bulk carrier RALPH MISENER left one crew member killed and another four injured. One of the injured later died. The ship was loaded with coke and on the Saguenay River bound for Port Alfred. Repairs were carried out at Montreal. Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, David Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Jody L. Aho, Max Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. |
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Calumet remains aground while salvage plan considered 8/11 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The U.S. Coast Guard continues to monitor a 629-foot U.S. cargo ship that ran aground on the north side of Sugar Island in the St. Marys River, Wednesday, at about 11:40 p.m. Meanwhile, vessel traffic is starting to back up (see St. Marys River report below). At 6 p.m. Thursday, Soo Traffic told the captain of waiting vessels that no effort to move the Calumet would be made before Friday morning. A salvage plan is being evaluated. The merchant vessel Calumet departed Essar Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and was transiting downbound on the St. Marys River to its next port of call in Brevort, Mich., when it ran aground. The vessel was not carrying any cargo. The Army Corp of Engineers conducted an assessment of the river bottom around the vessel. Contracted divers conducted an initial assessment of the vessel's stern and determined that it is structurally sound. Divers were expected to survey the rest of the vessel later this afternoon. Grand River Navigation, the owners of the ship, has hired an Oil Spill Removal Organization to place boom on the surface of the water near the front of the vessel to protect the environment as a precaution. The Coast Guard conducted two aerial flights Thursday, one with an MH-60 helicopter from Air Station Traverse City, and one later in the day by a Coast Guard Auxiliary Air Patrol. A Coast Guard pollution aerial observer was aboard both flights and saw no pollution. An investigating officer and safety officer from the Coast Guard are on board the Calumet. In addition, a 45-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station Sault Ste. Marie remains on scene to monitor the safety of the vessel and any possible environmental impact. The Coast Guard Cutter Biscayne Bay is scheduled to arrive on scene Friday afternoon to provide support. The St. Marys River will remain closed to commercial vessels from the Soo Locks to 6 Mile Point. Grand River Navigation is finalizing a salvage plan and will present it to the U.S. Coast Guard for review and approval later Thursday. The cause of the grounding is under investigation. USCG |
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Speer sets new record at Soo Locks 8/11 - The Edgar B. Speer broke all previous vessel records for tonnage at the Soo Locks on July 25, 2017 when she locked through with 73,875 tons of iron ore bound for Gary, Indiana. It would take more than 2,900 trucks to haul this single load. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District |
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Clyde S. VanEnkevort tug rechristened at Cleveland 8/11 - A christening ceremony for the tug Clyde S. VanEnkevort was held Wednesday at the Port of Cleveland. The Clyde S. VanEnkevort is the former Ken Boothe Sr. She is mated with the barge Erie Trader, the former Lakes Contender. The pair had been operated by American Steamship Co. on lease, but were purchased this spring by VanEnkevort Tug & Barge of Escanaba, Mich. The fleet’s new stack marking was also unveiled. |
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Port Reports - August 11
Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary A. Putney
St. Marys River Traffic due for the river on Friday includes the upbound John G. Munson, Baie St. Paul, Tim S. Dool and CSL St-Laurent. Downbound vessels include Hon. James L. Oberstar, Algoma Enterprise, American Integrity, Baie Comeau, American Integrity and Great Lakes Trader. If the situation is not resolved, they will have to go to anchor. When it is resolved it will likely take some time to clear the traffic backlog.
Alpena, Mich. – Ben & Chanda McClain
Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas Regional and Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Welland Canal docks:
Hamilton:
Clarkson:
Toronto:
Bowmanville: |
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Montreal a major turnaround port for eastern voyages 8/11 - Montreal, Que. – We’re coming up on what is arguably the best time to visit the Canadian Maritimes. The bulk of Canada and New England cruises operate from late August until late October, and while some purely concentrate on the eastern seaboard, there are plenty of Canada and New England voyages that depart from and arrive from Montreal. Over the past few years, Montreal has become a major “turnaround” port for Eastern Canada — that is, a port where passengers from one voyage disembark, while another group of guests embarks for the next cruise. The city also has a swanky new cruise terminal to welcome visitors, with Holland America Line’s Maasdam being the first to dock at the terminal when it opened in June. The 1,258-guest ship has been a staunch favorite on the east coast for years, regularly operating week-long cruises between Montreal and Boston. This year, Maasdam is joined by her sister, Veendam, and fleetmate Rotterdam in offering cruises that explore Quebec, the St. Lawrence River and the Canadian Maritimes. Holland America will be making seven departures from Montreal alone this year between Sept. 1 and Oct. 14. These are fantastic voyages, and Holland America knows this region well. Holland America is the only “big ship” line to actually offer cruises departing from Montreal, though it’s worth noting that other big ship lines, such as Celebrity, Norwegian and Princess Cruises offer departures from Quebec City. Luxury lines Seabourn and Silversea) both offer voyages departing from Montreal this fall. Seabourn sends its 450-guest Seabourn Quest on a 10-day voyage between Montreal and Boston that offers port calls in Quebec City, Saguenay (Que.), Baie-Comeau (Que.), Gaspé (N.B.), Charlottetown, Halifax, and Bar Harbor (Maine). Departing on Sept. 12 and Oct. 2, these two voyages are supplemented by a third sailing on Oct. 22 — a one-off voyage from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Silversea, meanwhile, brings its brand-new, 596-guest Silver Muse to town on Sept. 28, for its inaugural visit to the city. Silver Muse will set sail that evening for Halifax before cruising the eastern seaboard of the United States, with visits to Portland (Maine), Boston, New York, Norfolk (Va.), and Savannah (Ga.), before arriving in Fort Lauderdale. Some cool things about Silver Muse’s first visit to Montreal: you can sail on a special seven-day voyage from St. John’s, N.L., to Montreal on Sept. 21; or pick up the ship in Montreal for a quick five-day jaunt down to Boston as part of her longer sailing to Fort Lauderdale. Silversea’s elegant 382-guest Silver Whisper also returns this year for a series of 11-day voyages between Montreal and New York. Also on the list of new-and-noteworthy ships offering turnaround days in Montreal is Viking Ocean Cruises’ new Viking Sky, which was just christened in June in Norway. She’ll head across the Atlantic from Bergen, Norway to Montreal on a sold-out 15-day In the Wake of the Vikings transatlantic crossing — though the same voyage on her sister, Viking Sea, still has some staterooms available on her Sept. 17 departure from Bergen. Passengers arriving and departing from Montreal’s new cruise terminal will find plenty to enjoy right at the pier, thanks to the Port’s new History of Ships exhibition that opened to the public in July. Models of ships of all kinds, along with information on the history of shipping in Montreal and Quebec, and the history of the Port of Montreal, are showcased in this unique space located on the cruise terminal’s second floor. “We are delighted to help Montrealers, and visitors, discover the Port of Montreal’s rich history through this exhibition for free. History of Ships aims to raise interest in our city’s maritime heritage and to showcase the benefits and value brought by the Port of Montreal. The year 2017 is a great opportunity to remember the bonds uniting the destinies of the Port, the City of Montreal and Canada,” said Sylvie Vachon, president and chief executive of the Montreal Port Authority. Taking a fall cruise doesn’t have to involve long flights and far-flung embarkation ports. These fall Canada and New England sailings from Quebec are a great opportunity to explore the unique cities and maritime culture that exist right in our own backyard. National Post |
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Friends of Point Betsie Lighthouse celebrate restoration milestone 8/11 - Frankfort, Mich. – Built three years before Abe Lincoln was inaugurated 16th president, the Point Betsie Lighthouse celebrated its 15th restoration birthday Aug. 1. Nestled in a postcard-like setting since 1858 and sitting 52 feet above Lake Michigan, the lighthouse with a candle range today of 15 miles marks the southern entrance to the Manitou Passage on Lake Michigan. With the lighthouse falling under disrepair and dilapidation during the mid and late 20th century — the site remained closed to the public for years — a citizens group was formed 15 years ago to give it new life. Enter the Friends of Point Betsie Lighthouse, Inc., known quite simply and affectionately as Friends. “This day was a celebration for the people who made our restoration happen,” said Nancy Weir, president of the Friends citizens group. “This celebration was our way of saying 'thank you — look at what we've accomplished.' I think we're all amazed to see how all this has happened so fast. Yes, these 15 years have went by fast. But over those years, a lot of good people have done a lot of good things.” Located about five miles north of Frankfort, the restored Lake Michigan beacon — now on the National Register of Historical Places — welcomes about 8,000 visitors every summer. Built as a United States Life-Saving Service station in the years before the Civil War, the lighthouse was replaced by the U.S Coast Guard in 1917 (the latter closing 20 years later, in 1937), and today it stands tall as a maritime museum. Lesa Huget, Friends board secretary and chairperson of the 15th birthday celebration, said her family had made annual summer excursions to to Benzie County for years. “One of the first places I fell in love with was this,” Huget said, turning to point at the lighthouse. “I love the romance of the Great Lakes, and the lighthouses. And this one, it's magical, very magical. It's romantic. “It's been worth working for all these years. It's been worth saving, worth working for. All this work has helped to preserve a time that had been lost to us. Not any more.” Besides the fully-restored lighthouse, the Friends have also put in place a gift shop, a boathouse, and museum exhibit areas that display artifacts from early maritime years on the Great Lakes. According to the Friends of the Point Betsie Lighthouse website, several organizations have shared a helping hand over the years, including “... the State of Michigan's Lighthouse Assistance Program, Rotary Charities of Traverse City, the Frankfort Rotary Club's Centennial Project, the Federal Government's distinguished 'Save America's Treasures' program, and The Nature Conservancy, as well as the contributions of thousands of individual donors.” Jonathan P. Hawley, author of “Point Betsie: Lightkeeping and Lifesaving in Northeastern Lake Michigan,” credited Benzie County commissioners, federal and state grants and awards, including the Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program, and the community for making the restoration possible. “A lot of people saw the significance in saving this wonderful site,” said Hawley. “Back in the days of schooners, steamers and early propeller ships, it was not uncommon to see a hundred or more pass the lighthouse in a single day." The lighthouse is expected to stay open through Oct. 29, with a reduced schedule after Sept. 7 of Thursday through Sunday. Record Eagle |
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Updates - August 11 |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 11 On 11 August 1899, the SIMON LANGELL (wooden propeller freighter, 195 foot, 845 gross tons, built in 1886, at St. Clair, Michigan) was towing the wooden schooner W K MOORE off Lakeport, Michigan on Lake Huron when they were struck by a squall. The schooner was thrown over on her beam ends and filled with water. The local Life Saving crew went to the rescue and took off two women passengers from the stricken vessel. The Moore was the towed to Port Huron, Michigan by the tug HAYNES and placed in dry dock for inspection and repairs. The H.M. GRIFFITH was the first self-unloader to unload grain at Robin Hood's new hopper unloading facility at Port Colborne, Ontario on August 11, 1987. She was renamed b.) RT HON PAUL J. MARTIN in 2000. On August 11, 1977, the THOMAS W. LAMONT was the first vessel to take on fuel at Shell's new fuel dock at Corunna, Ontario The dock's fueling rate was 60 to 70,000 gallons per hour and was built to accommodate 1,000- footers. Opening ceremonies for the whaleback tanker METEOR a.) FRANK ROCKEFELLER, museum ship were held on August 11, 1973, with the president of Cleveland Tankers present whose company had donated the ship. This historically unique ship was enshrined into the National Maritime Hall of Fame. The T.W. ROBINSON departed Quebec City on August 11, 1987, along with US265808 (former BENSON FORD in tow of the Polish tug JANTAR bound for Recife, Brazil where they arrived on September 22, 1987. Scrapping began the next month. On 11 August 1862, B F BRUCE (wooden propeller passenger steamer, 110 foot, 169 tons, built in 1852, at Buffalo, New York as a tug) was carrying staves when she caught fire a few miles off Port Stanley, Ontario in Lake Erie. She was run to the beach, where she burned to a total loss with no loss of life. Arson was suspected. She had been rebuilt from a tug to this small passenger steamer the winter before her loss. On 11 August 1908, TITANIA (iron propeller packet/tug/yacht, 98 foot, 73 gross tons, built in 1875, at Buffalo, New York) was rammed and sunk by the Canadian sidewheeler KINGSTON near the harbor entrance at Charlotte, New York on Lake Ontario. All 26 on board were rescued. The wooden scow-schooner SCOTTISH CHIEF had been battling a storm on Lake Michigan since Tuesday, 8 August 1871. By late afternoon of Friday, 11 August 1871, she was waterlogged. The galley was flooded and the food ruined. The crew stayed with the vessel until that night when they left in the lifeboat. They arrived in Chicago on Sunday morning, 13 August. 1865: A fire broke out at Sault Ste. Marie in the cargo of lime aboard the wooden passenger and freight carrier METEOR that was involved in the sinking of the PEWABIC on August 9. METEOR was scuttled in 30 feet of water to prevent its loss. The hull was pumped out and salvaged four days later and repaired. 1919: MURIEL W. hit a sunken crib off Port Weller and was partially sunk. An August 15, 1919, storm broke up the hull. 1928: W.H. SAWYER stranded off Harbor Beach Light in a storm. Her barges, A.B. KING and PESHTIGO, were blown aground and broken up by the waves. The trip had run for shelter but the effort ended 100 yards short of safety. The cook was a casualty. 1944: The Norwegian freighter ERLING LINDOE was built in 1917 and came to the Great Lakes for the first time in 1923. The ship struck a mine in the Kattegat Strait, off Varberg, Sweden, and sank with its cargo of pyrites. The number of casualties varies with one report noting the loss at 19 members of the crew, another at 17 and, yet another, had the death toll at 13. There were 6 survivors. 1976: The Panamanian freighter WOKAN was beached off Oman with a fractured hull enroute from the Ulsan, South Korea, to Kuwait. It was declared a total loss and abandoned. The 1952-built vessel first came through the Seaway as b) DAUPHINE in 1968 and returned as d) SPACE KING in 1975. 2001: Bridge 11 of the Welland Canal was lowered prematurely striking the downbound bulk carrier WINDOC taking the top off the pilothouse, toppling the stack and igniting a fire. The massive damage to the ship was never repaired and efforts for find work for the vessel as a barge were not a success. The hull arrived at Port Colborne for dismantling on November 9, 2010. 2004: ONEGO MERCHANT came through the Seaway for the first time in May 2004. Later that summer, the vessel sustained bow damage in a grounding near Larvik, Norway, but was refloated within hours. It returned to the Great Lakes in 2005 and 2006 and has sailed as b) VRIESENDIEP since 2009. Data from: Skip Gillham, Father Dowling Collection, Joe Barr, David Swayze, Jody L. Aho, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. |
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Calumet misses turn, runs around at the Soo 8/10 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. - Wednesday at 11:40 p.m. the downbound Calumet ran aground on the north side of the channel just above Mission Point on the St. Marys River. Calumet had departed Essar Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and was transiting downbound to its next port of call in Brevort, Michigan. The tug Anglian Lady and her barge were allowed to pass downbound and Algowood was able to pass upbound at slow speed. The downbound Walter J. McCarthy Jr. was instructed to tie up on the pier below the Poe Lock. The St. Marys River is closed to commercial vessels from the Soo Locks to 6 Mile Point. Grand River Navigation is taking precautionary measures to help ensure the safety of the environment and developing a salvage plan. The U.S. Coast Guard is on scene and no injuries have been reported. The vessel is currently aground and stable. The cause of the grounding is under investigation. |
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Agencies look at ways to prevent close calls between freighters, boaters 8/10 - Port Huron, Mich. – A close call in July between two lake freighters and a defiant angler in a 16-foot fishing boat brought agencies from both sides of the St. Clair River together this week to talk about the danger created when shipping rules aren't followed. The Lakes Pilots Association, which provides pilots for ships on the St. Clair River, hosted a meeting Tuesday at its offices in Port Huron, Mich., with the U.S. Coast Guard, Lambton OPP, St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, shipping companies, Transport Canada and local sport fishing associations to talk about the recent incident and the association's concerns. “Everybody has a right to be on the water, but it has to be done in a safe way and the freighters have right-of-way in the channels,” said Capt. George Haynes, a pilot and vice-president of the Lakes Pilots Association. “And, the smaller vessels need to know those rules, and use common sense.” The meeting was organized because of an incident in early July in the shipping channel near the mouth of the St. Clair River, not far from the Blue Water Bridge. Haynes said two freighters were heading to the river, within 30 to 40 minutes of each other, and came upon a small 16-foot fishing boat in the channel that didn't move when the ships sounded the recognized danger single of five short blasts on their horns. Encounters with small boats aren't unusual but the incident in July involving two freighters and the same angler was different, Haynes said. “He did not seem to want to get out of the way, and there were words passed between the freighters and himself.” Haynes said the freighters took action but passed within 15 to 20 feet of the fishing boat. “He had a stroke of defiance that we haven't really seen before.” Haynes said one of the freighter captains called out to the boater that he was in violation of the rules and the boater is said to have replied with “all sorts of obscenities, and told him to get out his channel.” Following the incident, the association offered a $200 US reward for information about the operator of the small boat. Since then, an individual has “reported himself to the U.S. Coast Guard,” Haynes said. “Everybody had a right to be out on the water, however there's international rules for collisions at sea that prohibit small vessels of less of 65 feet impeding the passage of large ships that can only navigate in the channel,” Haynes said. Along with offering the reward, the association reached out to agencies and user groups on the river. “It was a bad incident and nobody got hurt, but the good thing about it was it brought everybody to the table,” Haynes said. “We now all know each other and we're going to work together to make the waterways safer, to make the boaters understand the rules the better.” Const. Travis Parsons with Lambton OPP said its marine unit hasn't noted any increase recently in the number of calls it receives about conflicts between freighters and small boats on the river. Freighters have a fixed route in the shipping channel they need to travel to negotiate the waterway safely, Parsons said. “The onus is on the smaller vessels that they have to get out of the way, because these things aren't stopping.” The gathering Tuesday led to a good discussion, the sharing of the different points of view and clarification on what steps can be taken, Haynes said. “We came up with a good game plan of how to have better education for the boaters, more public outreach,” he said. Freighter operators also received clarification on how to report incidents, Haynes added. “We will take pictures, report registration numbers and we now know we call the Coast Guard and the OPP.” “It's only one or two per cent of the boaters out there that seem to have an attitude, and they seem to lack common sense, and knowledge of the rules,” Haynes said. Sarnia Observer |
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Federal government proposes grant for S.S. Badger docks 8/10 - Manitowoc, Wis. – The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing a $5 million grant to improve the docks for the S.S. Badger ferry in Manitowoc and in Ludington, Michigan. Improvements proposed for Manitowoc are a 420-foot-long timber fender system and a sheet pile dock wall. “Improving the infrastructure that connects our nation’s communities is a major priority of the Department and the Administration,” Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said in a news release. “This targeted investment in two communities connected by Lake Michigan will allow us to further improve economic and mobility outcomes.” The docking facilities are about 70 years old. Congress still needs to approve the grant. WLUK |
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Major expansion planned at Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor 8/10 - The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor is in line to receive a $9.85 million federal grant that would help bulk up its infrastructure to handle multimodal containers that can be loaded onto ships, barges, trucks or trains. The U.S. Department of Transportation is recommending partial federal funding for a $19.7 million expansion that also will boost the port's cargo handling capacity. The Indianapolis-based Ports of Indiana, a quasi-government agency that's run like an independent business, would fund the other half of the cost. The planned expansion would include a new 2.3-acre cargo terminal for transfers of multimodal containers, 4.4 miles of rail, and two new rail yards that could store 165 rail cars, accommodate a 90-car train and switch trains onto other tracks. Other projects would include the addition of 1,200 feet of usable dock space, a new 6-acre truck marshaling yard, the extension of a retailing wall on the west dock and the repaving of a dock apron. "These investments in Northwest Indiana will allow the Port of Indiana to increase its multimodal freight-handling capabilities to help meet anticipated future demand," Ports of Indiana Chief Executive Officer Rich Cooper said. "Our port companies and stevedores will benefit tremendously with this significant new infrastructure investment that will enhance productivity and efficiency for those who rely on the port's water, rail and highway connections. Our Portage port is regarded as one of the premier ports on all of the Great Lakes because of our continued reinvestments into the facility. This grant will permit us to further accelerate our investments to help attract new companies and new cargoes to the region." The funding — one of 10 FASTLANE small project grants for 2017 — is not guaranteed. Congress could vote to block the port expansion or any other similarly funded project within the next 60 days. The project has bipartisan support from both of Indiana's senators. NW Indiana Times |
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Port Reports - August 10
Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary A. Putney
Detroit, Mich. – Ken Borg Regional and Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Buffalo:
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Welland Canal docks:
Hamilton:
Toronto:
Bowmanville:
Oswego: |
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Groupe Océan’s latest tug is Océan Cartier 8/10 - Quebec City, Que. – The latest Groupe Océan acquisition, Océan Cartier, remains in Quebec City undergoing maintenance. Since acquiring the tug from Svitzer Canada, when that company pulled out of Montreal, the tug has been to the Groupe Océan shipyard at Ile-aux-Coudres and has been repainted in GO colors. The former Svitzer Cartier is a V-S tractor type tug, built in China in 2007 as Hai Gang 107. It was part of a group of tugs that Svitzer bought for use in Australia. However the tugs were rejected by crews due to suspected asbestos contamination. Svitzer then upgraded the tug for winter conditions, and working in ice, and brought it to Canada in early 2015 to work at Port-Cartier for ArcelorMittal. That assignment was short lived, and it was re-assigned to Montreal the same year. Under Groupe Océan ownership it is rumored to be headed to Hamilton, Ont. Mac Mackay – Tugfax |
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Volunteers work to raise awareness, funds to maintain Fairport Harbor’s lighthouse 8/10 - Fairport, Ohio – Like anything that’s been standing in the same spot for almost 150 years, the historic lighthouse in Fairport Harbor Village has its scratches and dents. It’s all part of the 146-year-old tower’s character. But, thanks in large part to its perch on the Northcoast, where harsh and windy conditions often prevail, that character can begin to crumble. Thankfully, the 68-foot tower isn’t doing any significant crumbling. But the iconic symbol of Lake County isn’t getting any younger, either. And it takes regular maintenance to preserve its integrity. In an ongoing effort, the all-volunteer Fairport Harbor Historical Society, which maintains the Fairport Harbor Marine Museum and Lighthouse at 129 Second St., is working to support a restoration project on the tower and keeper’s house, according to museum trustee and Fairport Harbor Village Councilman Tony Bertone, who oversees the buildings and grounds operation at the museum. “It’s masonry and it’s about 150 years old,” Bertone said. “So the masonry needs attention from time to time.” Read more and view a photo gallery at this link: http://www.news-herald.com/general-news/20170806/volunteers-work-to-raise-awareness-funds-to-maintain-fairport-harbors-historic-lighthouse |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 10 On 10 August 1890, TWO FANNIES (3-mast wooden bark, 152 foot, 492 gross tons, built in 1862, at Peshtigo, Wisconsin) was carrying 800 tons of iron ore on Lake Erie when a seam opened in rough weather. The crew kept at the pumps but to no avail. They all made it off of the vessel into the yawl just as the bark sank north of Bay Village Ohio. The CITY OF DETROIT tried to rescue the crew but the weather made the rescue attempt too dangerous and only two men were able to get to the steamer. The tug JAMES AMADEUS came out and got the rest of the crew, including the ship's cat, which was with them in the yawl. On August 10, 1952, the ARTHUR M. ANDERSON entered service for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. Exactly 14 years later, on August 10, 1966, the vessel's namesake, Arthur Marvin Anderson, passed away. In 1969, the EDMUND FITZGERALD set the last of many cargo records it set during the 1960s. The FITZGERALD loaded 27,402 gross tons of taconite pellets at Silver Bay on this date. This record was broken by the FITZGERALD's sister ship, the ARTHUR B. HOMER, during the 1970 shipping season. On 10 August 1937, B.H. BECKER (steel tug, 19 tons, built in 1932, at Marine City, Mich.) foundered in heavy seas, 9 miles north of Oscoda, Mich. In 1906, JOHN H. PAULEY (formerly THOMPSON KINSFORD, wooden propeller steam barge, 116 foot, 185 gross tons, built in 1880, at Oswego, New York) caught fire at Marine City, Mich. Her lines were burned through and she then drifted three miles down the St. Clair River before beaching near Port Lambton, Ont. and burning out. On 10 August 1922, ANNIE LAURA (wooden propeller sandsucker, 133 foot, 244 gross tons, built in 1871, at Marine City, Mich.) beached near Algonac, Mich., caught fire and burned to the waterline. 1899: The whaleback steamer JOHN B. TREVOR was rammed and sunk by her barge #131 in the St. Clair River. The accident was caused by CRESCENT CITY crossing the towline. The sunken ship was refloated and, in 1912, became the ATIKOKAN. 1967: PAUL L. TIETJEN and FORT WILLIAM were in a head-on collision on Lake Huron about 25 miles north of Port Huron. Both ships were damaged but were repaired and returned to service. 1975: CIMBRIA came through the Seaway for the first time in 1965 under West German registry. The ship was sailing as c) KOTA MENANG when it stranded on Nyali Reef, off Mombasa, Tanzania, due to a steering failure on August 10, 1975. The vessel received severe hull damage and was deemed a total loss. 1979: The Indian freighter JALARAJAN and the British flag LAURENTIC sustained minor damage in a collision at Kenosha, Wis. The former was dismantled at Calcutta, India, in 1988 while the latter was scrapped at Karachi, Pakistan, in 1984. 1992: MENASHA was set adrift and then sank in the St. Lawrence off Ogdensburg, N.Y. The former U.S. Navy tug was refloated and repaired. After some later service at Sarnia, the tug was resold and moved for Montreal for work as c) ESCORTE. 2007: NORDSTRAND came to the Great Lakes in 1990 and sank at the stern, alongside the Adriatica Shipyard at Bijela, Montenegro, as c) MEXICA, when the engine room flooded on this date. The ship was refloated on September 1, 2007, and arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, for scrapping on May 5, 2010. Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, David Swayze, Jody L. Aho, Max Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. |
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Edgar B. Speer breaks Soo Locks tonnage record 8/9 - Edgar B. Speer broke all previous vessel records for tonnage at the Soo Locks on July 25, 2017 when she locked through with 73,875 tons of iron ore bound for Gary, Ind. It would take more than 2,900 trucks to haul this single load. The Speer, operated by the Great Lakes Fleet of Duluth, Minn., is 1004 feet in length. She was christened in 1980. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District |
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Port Reports - August 9
Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary A. Putney
Sarnia, Ont. Regional and Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Erie, Pa:
Nanticoke:
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Welland Canal docks:
Port Colborne anchorage:
Hamilton:
Toronto:
Bowmanville:
Oswego: |
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National Museum nominated as top Ohio attraction 8/9 - Toledo, Ohio – The National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo has been nominated as a “Top 10 Ohio Attraction” by USA Today and independent travel writers in an online voting competition of 20 travel hot spots in the state. “We are so pleased to have been nominated and to be included with such important attractions at Cedar Point Amusement Park, Amish Country, Toledo Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art and the National Freedom Center in the state of Ohio,” said Executive Director Christopher Gillcrist. “I think it is critically important for the history of the Great Lakes that institutions preserving that history like the National Museum of the Great Lakes and a Michigan nominee, The Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, be highlighted as great tourist attractions. This is a great way to build awareness for all Great Lakes historical institutions,” added Gillcrist, who openly admitted he voted for Thunder Bay in the Michigan contest. Voting is open to the general public and does not require any registration. You can vote for the National Museum of the Great Lakes as an Ohio Top 10 Attraction – Readers’ Choice Awards by going to http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-ohio-attraction/ The National Museum of the Great Lakes |
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Win a short trip on a CSL boat, but only if you live in Ontario 8/9 - Win a short trip on a CSL boat, but only if you live in Ontario The Chamber of Marine Commerce has partnered with Canada Steamship Lines to give away a trip on a Great Lakes ship on the trip as part of its second summer festival program to raise awareness in Ontario of the marine industry and its investment in innovation and environmental stewardship. The contest – open to Ontario residents 18 or older – is for a trip on one of its Trillium-class vessels. “This is a rare opportunity to see first-hand all the bells and whistles on a world-class, 21st-century Great Lakes freighter as it sails through one of the most beautiful areas in the world. At the same time, the winner will get to stay overnight on the ship and see how a Great Lakes shipping crew lives and works as they support commercial trade in Canada,” said Bruce Burrows, Chamber of Marine Commerce president.
The contest is open to Ontario residents 18 or older. The prize is for the confirmed winner and one guest to participate in a one-and-a-half day experience aboard a CSL Trillium-class vessel between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31 of this year or May 1, 2018, and Oct. 31, 2018. Full details of the contest prize and rules can be found at
http://www.marinedelivers.com/ Welland Tribune |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 9 On 09 August 1910, the Eastland Navigation Company placed a half page advertisement in both the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Cleveland Leader offering $5,000 to anyone who could substantiate rumors that the excursion steamer EASTLAND was unsafe. No one claimed the reward. The keel was laid for the INDIANA HARBOR (Hull#719) on August 9, 1978, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Co. for Connecticut Bank & Trust Co. (American Steamship Co., mgr.). The HAMILDOC (Hull#642) was christened on August 9, 1963. The G.A. TOMLINSON (Hull#370) entered service August 9, 1909. Renamed b.) HENRY R. PLATT JR in 1959. Hull used as a breakwall at Burlington Bay, Ontario in 1971. The SIR THOMAS SHAUGHNESSY with the former CSL steamer ASHCROFT in tow of the Polish tug JANTAR arrived in Castellon, Spain for scrapping in 1969. On August 9, 1989, the tug FAIRPLAY IX departed Sorel with the FORT CHAMBLY and NIPIGON BAY in tandem tow bound for Aliaga, Turkey for scrapping. On the night of August 9, 1865, METEOR met her running mate, the propeller PEWABIC, off Thunder Bay on Lake Huron around 9 p.m. As the two approached, somehow METOER sheered and struck her sister, sinking the PEWABIC within minutes in 180 feet of water. About 125 people went down with her, and 86 others were saved. On 9 August 1850, CHAUTAUQUE (wooden sidewheel steamer, 124 foot 162 tons, built in 1839, at Buffalo, New York) caught fire in the St. Clair River and burned to a total loss. In previous years she had been driven ashore 1844, and sank twice - once in 1846, and again in 1848. In September 1846, she made the newspaper by purposely ramming a schooner that blocked her path while she was attempting to leave the harbor at Monroe, Michigan. On 9 August 1856, BRUNSWICK (wooden propeller, 164 foot, 512 tons, built in 1853, at Buffalo, New York) was carrying corn, scrap iron and lard from Chicago when she sprang a leak in a storm and was abandoned by the crew and passengers. One passenger drowned when one of the boats capsized, but the rest made it to shore near Sleeping Bear in the three other boats. BRUNSWICK went down in 50 fathoms of water, 6 miles south of South Manitou Island on Lake Michigan. On 9 August 1875, The Port Huron Times reported that the schooner HERO, while attempting to enter the piers at Holland, Michigan, was driven two miles to leeward and went to pieces. Her crew took to the boats, but the boats capsized. Luckily all made it safely to shore. August 9, 1938 - The Pere Marquette car ferries 17 and 18 left Milwaukee for Grand Haven carrying 600 United States Army Troops, bound for Army war maneuvers near Allegan and at Camp Custer. On 9 August 1870, ONTONAGON (wooden propeller bulk freight, 176 foot, 377 tons, built in 1856, at Buffalo, New York by Bidwell & Banta) sank after striking a rock near the Soo. She was initially abandoned but later that same year she was recovered, repaired and put back in service. In 1880, she stranded near Fairborn, Ohio and then three years later she finally met her demise when she was run ashore on Stag Island in the St. Clair River and succumbed to fire. The 204-foot wooden side-wheeler CUMBERLAND was launched at Melancthon Simpson's yard in Port Robinson, Ontario on 9 August 1871. She cost $101,000. Too large for the Welland Canal, she was towed up the Welland River to Chippewa and then up the Niagara River to Lake Erie. She operated on the Upper Lakes and carried soldiers to put down the Red River Rebellion. She survived being frozen in for the winter near Sault Ste. Marie in 1872, grounding in 1873, sinking in 1874, and another grounding in 1876. But she finally sank near Isle Royale on Lake Superior in 1877. In 1942, the sea-going tug POINT SUR was launched at Globe Shipbuilding Co. in Superior, Wisconsin and the Walter Butler Shipbuilders, in Superior, launched the coastal freighter WILLIAM BURSLEY. 1968 Labrador Steamships agreed to sell POINTE NOIRE to Upper Lakes Shipping. The vessel was operated by U.L.S. on charter until the sale was approved. Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, David Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Jody L. Aho, Max Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. |
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Port Reports - August 8
Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary A. Putney
St. Marys River
Green Bay, Wis. – Paul Erspamer
Milwaukee, Wis. – Paul Erspamer
Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Welland Canal docks:
Port Weller anchorage:
Port Colborne anchorage:
Hamilton:
Bronte:
Clarkson:
Toronto:
Oshawa:
Bowmanville:
Oswego: |
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Divers reach shipwreck of the Senator deep below Lake Michigan 8/8 - On Saturday August 5, a team of two technical divers reached the shipwreck of the Senator, resting in 440 feet of water in Lake Michigan, near Milwaukee, Wis. John Scoles from Farmington, Minn., and John Janzen from Waunakee, Wis., are the first divers to ever reach the Senator. This dive was a major technical achievement, utilizing mixed breathing gases and state of the art electronic life-support equipment known as closed-circuit rebreathers. At the Senator, there is no natural light and the water is nearly at the freezing point, making the dive dark, cold and very dangerous. The normal depth limit for SCUBA diving is 130 feet, which illustrates the extreme depth of the shipwreck. To return to the surface required two hours of decompression stops at many different depths. A second dive was made on August 6. The Senator sank on Halloween, Oct. 31, 1929, shortly after the Black Thursday stock market crash. The Senator’s cargo consisted of 268 factory new 1929 and 1930 Nash Motors automobiles. The wreck was located about a decade ago by Paul Ehorn from Elgin, Ill. After finding the famous shipwreck, Ehorn had a dream of placing divers on it and that dream has now been realized. The diver support team included Paul Ehorn, Chris Spoo and Tracy Xelowski, both from Chicago, IL. John Janzen |
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Lake Ontario is 12 inches lower since late May, record water releases continue 8/8 - As Lake Ontario's water level continues to fall, the U.S.-Canadian panel that manages the lake will continue with record out-flows at the Moses-Sanders dam in Massena for at least a few more days "provided conditions remain safe to do so." At its Aug. 1 meeting, the International Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River Board, which is affiliated with the International Joint Commission, noted the water level has dropped rapidly compared to average rates through the months of June and July. "The Board has been releasing the unprecedented outflow of 10,400 m3/s (367,300 cfs) since 14 June and, despite wet conditions, Lake Ontario levels have fallen 30 cm (12 in.) since peaking in late May," said IJC spokeswoman Sarah Lochan in a press release. " Lake Ontario levels remain above the IJC's high level threshold and the Board will continue releasing high outflows with the intent to provide all possible relief to Lake Ontario shoreline riparian interests, while balancing the impacts on other affected stakeholders on the St. Lawrence River." The board noted "total inflows to Lake Ontario have remained high for this time of year, as have Ottawa River flows into the St. Lawrence River. "Lake levels of Lake St. Louis (near Montreal) set a new record high for the month of July and remain close to record levels for this time of year," the release said. However to maintain safe conditions in the St. Lawrence Seaway, the outflow is expected to be reduced to 9,910 m3/s (349,970 cfs) on or before Aug. 8. This new outflow will be a record high for that time of year to provide all possible relief from high water levels in Lake Ontario while balancing the impacts downstream. 'Furthermore, as water levels on Lake Ontario decline and the outflow remains at 10,400 m3/s, velocities in the upper St. Lawrence river will increase resulting in hazardous conditions for shippers and recreational boaters," the board said. "In the interest of providing all possible relief to riparian owners, while balancing the safety risks associated with increased current velocities, outflows from Lake Ontario will need to be gradually reduced in the near future," the board noted. Meanwhile, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Thursday that he has authorized the Commissioner of New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to extend the 5 mile per hour boating speed limit on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River through Saturday, Sept.2. Vessels operating within 600 feet of shore must observe the 5 mile per hour speed limit to reduce impacts to shoreline residences and infrastructure caused by wave action and to promote safe boating. NewYorkUpstate.com |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 8 August 8, 1991 - The excursion ferry AMERICANA has been sold and passed down the Welland Canal bound for the Caribbean with registry in Panama. She was the former East Coast ferry BLOCK ISLAND that arrived in Buffalo just three years ago. On 08 August 1878, the Buffalo (wooden propeller package freighter, 258 foot, 1,762 gross tons) was launched at the yard of Thomas Quayle & Sons in Cleveland, Ohio for the Western Transportation Company. Her engine was a double Berry & Laig compound engine constructed by the Globe Iron Works in Buffalo, New York. She lasted until 1911, when she was abandoned at Marine City, Michigan. The JAMES R. BARKER became the longest vessel on the Great Lakes when it entered service on August 8, 1976. It held at least a tie for this honor until the WILLIAM J. DELANCEY entered service on May 10, 1981. The BARKER's deckhouse had been built at AmShip's Chicago yard and was transported in sections to Lorain on the deck of the steamer GEORGE D. GOBLE. The BUFFALO was christened August 8, 1978, for the Connecticut Bank & Trust Co. (American Steamship Co., mgr.) The E.B. BARBER along with the motor vessel SAGINAW BAY, a.) FRANK H. GOODYEAR of 1917, arrived August 8, 1985, under tow in Vigo, Spain. Demolition began on August 9, 1985, by Miguel Martins Periera at Guixar-Vigo. The Soo River Company was forced into receivership on August 8, 1982. On 8 August 1887, CITY OF ASHLAND (wooden sidewheel tug, 90 feet long 85 gross tons, built in 1883, at Ashland, Wisconsin) was towing a log raft near Washburn, Wisconsin in Lake Superior. Fire broke out near the boilers and quickly cut off the crew from the lifeboat. They jumped overboard and all but 1 or 2 were picked up by local tugs. The burned hull sank soon afterward. The wooden tug J E EAGLE was destroyed by fire at about 4:00 p.m. on 8 August 1869, while towing a raft of logs on Saginaw Bay to Bay City. Her loss was valued at $10,000, but she was insured for only $7,000. August 8, 1981 - The Ann Arbor carferry VIKING took part in a ceremony christening a body of water between Manitowoc and Two Rivers as "Maritime Bay". August 8, 1999 - The KAYE E. BARKER delivered the last shipment of limestone for Dow Chemical, Ludington. The plant later closed its lime plant and began lime deliveries by rail. On 8 August 1813, the U. S. Navy schooner HAMILTON (wooden 10-gun schooner, 112 foot, 76 tons, built in 1809, at Oswego, New York as a.) DIANA, was lying at anchor off the mouth of the Niagara River on Lake Ontario with her armed fleet-mate SCOURGE awaiting dawn when they planned to attack the British fleet. However, a quick rising storm swamped and sank both vessels. Since they were both built as commercial vessels, it has been suggested that their cannons may have made them top-heavy. The HAMILTON was found by sonar in 1975, sitting upright almost completely intact at the bottom of Lake Ontario. The Cousteau organization has dived to her and she was the subject of a live television dive by Robert Ballard in 1990. August 8, 1882 - An August snowstorm was reported by a ship on Lake Michigan, dumping 6 inches of snow and slush on the deck. Snow showers were reported at shore points that day. In 1942, the seven shipyards at Duluth-Superior were in full production and announced three launchings in two days. The submarine chaser SC-671 was launched on August 8, at Inland Waterways, Inc. on Park Point. 1941 An explosion aboard the Canadian tanker TRANSITER at River Rouge resulted in the loss of 2 lives. The ship was towed to Port Dalhousie for repairs and returned to work as b) TRANSTREAM in 1942. It was sold for off-lakes service as c) WITSUPPLY in 1969 and sank in heavy weather off Cabo de la Vela, Colombia, while apparently enroute to Cartagena, Colombia, for scrap, on February 23, 1981. 1964 ELLEN KLAUTSCHE suffered an engine failure while berthing at Toronto and rammed the docked NORDIA after just missing the tugs TERRY S. and WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE. The West German freighter was towed to Port Weller for repairs by the GRAEME STEWART. Later, as b) VARUNA YAN, it was detained in the Shatt-Al-Arab waterway and then, on April 3, 1984, was shelled becoming a CTL. Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, David Swayze, Lake Huron Lore Society, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Jody L. Aho, Brian Bernard , Max Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. |
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CSL bulk carrier Pineglen sold for scrap 8/7 - Canada Steamship Lines’ Pineglen was sold for scrap on July 24. All her CSL markings have been removed. She has been laid up at Montreal since last Dec. 28 and will likely get a new name for the tow to the scrapyard. Pineglen was launched on April 18, 1985 for N.M. Paterson & Sons Ltd. as the Paterson (2). She has the distinction of being the last lake built freighter built at the Collingwood Shipyards before they terminated operations September 12, 1986. The Paterson was also the last straight deck bulk freighter built on the Great Lakes. On March 20, 2002, N.M. Paterson & Sons Ltd. ended its long family history of operating Great Lakes vessels when they sold their active fleet of three vessels to Canada Steamship Lines. That year, Paterson became Pineglen. Rene Beauchamp |
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Tall ship Empire Sandy in minor collision with freighter 8/7 - Port Colborne, Ont. – The tall ship Empire Sandy has been involved in what is described as a minor collision at Lock 8 in Port Colborne during the city's annual Canal Days festival. An eyewitness said that at about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday the vessel collided with the lock. Arron Jeavons, was on deck when the ship “hit the right side of the lock somewhat hard,” after entering Lock 8. Right after that the ship hit the back of a freighter. The freighter has been identified as the Ina, a bulk carrier cargo ship registered in Liberia. Michelle Cuthbert, Port Colborne's marketing, customer relations and communications co-ordinator, said the St. Lawrence Seaway is currently investigating. Cuthbert confirmed there were no injuries due to the collision. At about 10:30 p.m. Jeavons and the rest of the Empire Sandy passengers were safely back in the lock. He said the mood was “upbeat” and people were “having fun.” “It's all good ... Some people dancing and having fun nonetheless. Music on and bar open,” he said via Facebook. It was Jeavon's first time on the Empire Sandy. The Brantford man said despite the minor crash he would go on another cruise on the tall ship. |
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Port Reports - August 7
Duluth, Minn. – Daniel Lindner
Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary A. Putney
St. Marys River
Milwaukee, Wis. – Paul Erspamer
Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Welland Canal docks:
Hamilton:
Bronte:
Clarkson:
Toronto: |
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Domestic coal shipments boost Indiana's ports for start of 2017 8/7 - Burns Harbor, Ind. – Burns Harbor, Mt. Vernon and Jeffersonville moved 19 percent more cargo in the first six months of this year than at the same time in 2016 – 5.7 million tons overall. Almost two-thirds of that went through the southwest port of Mt. Vernon, in the form of bulk cargoes – things like coal, ethanol, fertilizer and minerals, which get transferred between railcars, river barges and trucks. Mt. Vernon handled 38 percent more cargo total in the first half of this year than in 2016. That included a 76 percent bump in coal shipments, which Ports of Indiana CEO Rich Cooper says was all bound for domestic power plants. “People are encouraged about some of the rhetoric now coming out of Washington that they’re hopeful could be helpful to further coal production,” he says. The Trump administration has also promised to boost American steel through trade reform. Cooper says steel shipments have kept pace with last year at Indiana’s other two ports – Burns Harbor in the north and Jeffersonville in the south. He expects those steel shipments to do even better for the rest of the year. Burns Harbor ship traffic was up 14 percent overall compared to the start of 2016. The Lake Michigan port also moves lots of large project cargoes off big ships – things like wind turbine blades and brewery tanks. This year, it handled a house-sized, high-tech particle detector called ICARUS. The delicate device was en route from CERN in Switzerland to Fermilab in Illinois. “When companies around the world read about our capabilities, it gives Indiana a shot to handle more unique cargo, jumbo cargo projects like that one,” Cooper says. He says he hopes Burns Harbor will begin to handle more bulk cargo, too, with the help of a new, national stevedoring company, MetroPorts, which began its contract this summer. WBAA |
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Inside the aging lock that’s one breakdown away from crippling North America's economy 8/7 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The dispatch tower above the Soo Locks on a fine July day offers a spectacular view, but there is little time to admire it. There are five telephones and five radios, and at 9 a.m. a radio squawks. “Go ahead, captain,” says Chris Albrough, lockmaster with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “Can I have the upper and lower water levels?” asks someone who turns out to be captain of the M/V Burns Harbor, owned by the American Steamship Co. “Upper is plus 24 inches, lower is plus 31 inches,” Albrough replies, reading from one of five screens. Translation: the water in Lake Superior today is 24 inches above its mean level, whereas the St. Mary’s River is 31 inches above. He watches as the mammoth bulk carrier ship slips from the Poe Lock into Lake Superior. Few people ever think about locks. But the two U.S.-owned ones here, the MacArthur Lock and the Poe Lock, are linchpins of the Canadian and U.S. economies. More than 4,000 huge lake vessels each year haul treasure — especially iron ore and wheat — through the Poe, the only lock large enough to fit the big lakers. In other words, the Poe is the only link from Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean beyond, and it’s living on borrowed time. In two years, the Poe turns 50, and, with Congress reluctant to fund a new lock, concerns are growing about its reliability. The lock broke earlier this week, blowing an O ring on a hydraulic line that feeds the gate activator. Luckily, mechanics fixed it in 45 minutes. It was not a moment too soon. The North American economy needs this lock. The iron ore that passes through here each year becomes more than US$500 billion worth of cars, trucks, fridges, bridges and other things made of steel. A bigger failure would spell catastrophe and it’s an increasing probability. Read more and view photos and video at this link: http://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/inside-the-aging-lock-that-is-one-breakdown-away-from-crippling-north-americas-economy/wcm/957a842f-0bf6-4157-8855-9338a29b96ac |
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Life on Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge: Lots of ups, few downs 8/7 - Duluth, Minn. – Dave Campbell typically gets two questions when people learn he runs Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge. The first question — Why do you start raising the bridge when cargo ships are still a mile and a half away? — takes a few minutes to answer. The second — "Can I go for a ride?" — is easy. No, you can't. Being a lift bridge operator is a great gig, but it's not a game. The city's five lift bridge operators pilot the span up and down about 4,500 times every year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the Great Lakes shipping season that runs from March to January. Their office is the pilothouse, a one-room cabin perched in the middle of the bridge, above the roadway. It's outfitted with a control panel, computer, radio and satellite systems to monitor and communicate with boat traffic. On a recent, glorious Duluth day, Campbell offered a look behind the scenes at the delicate, daily ballet between giant boats and bridge. Read more and view video and photos at this link: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/08/05/duluth-aerial-lift-bridge-operator-day-life |
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Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding delivers second Kirby ATB 8/7 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wis., has delivered the second articulated tug-barge unit (ATB), the tug Paul McLernan and the 155,000-bbl. Kirby 155-02, to Kirby Corp. This completes the original contract signed in 2014, with the first ATB being delivered in the fall of 2016. The 6,000-hp Paul McLernan measures 123 foot long by 38 feet wide by 22 feet deep and is equipped with state-of-the-art navigation and communications technology. The 155,000-bbl., 521 foot long by 72 foot wide by 41 foot deep Kirby 155-02 is purpose-built to carry petroleum or chemical cargoes domestically. Todd Thayse, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding vice president and general manager, said in a prepared statement that the contract with Kirby to build a pair of ATBs was significant for Fincantieri. “This vessel is expected to exceed performance expectations as her sister vessel has already done over the past year. We are thankful for the loyalty and confidence our customers have demonstrated over the years, and we look forward to future newbuild programs with Kirby.” Kirby currently operates several ATB units built by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in the mid-2000s. Workboat |
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Wisconsin built USCGC Maple transits the Northwest Passage 8/7 - Anchorage, Alaska – The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Maple reached the Northwest Passage Thursday, August 3, during their historic voyage accompanied by the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier and crew underway in the Amundsen Gulf, Canada. On August 5, they were transiting Coronation Gulf without an icebreaker escort. Ice conditions in Victoria Strait and northward to Lancaster Sound are very difficult this summer so the Maple will wait at the ice edge for CCGS Terry Fox, 24,000 HP, to arrive in a few days to assist the Maple through this heavy ice. The Maple crew has transited 3,014 miles since they departed Sitka July 12. The cutter is serving as a ship of opportunity to conduct scientific research in support of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The Maple crew has deployed a sonographic buoy used to record acoustic sounds of marine mammals and assisted the research scientist aboard the cutter analyze the data retrieved from the buoys. The crew used their buoy-tending skills and equipment to recover a high-frequency acoustic recording package (HARP) that is attached to the buoy. The device was developed by the Whale Acoustics Laboratory at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and is used to record underwater sound in a broad range of frequencies, including the sounds made by Arctic marine mammals. The crew also assisted the scientist’s with zooplankton sampling and measuring the properties of seawater at various depths and locations after a successful recovery and reset of the HARP. “One of our primary missions during this transit is to provide scientific support,” said Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Armstrong, commanding officer of the Maple. “Maple is scheduled for a year-long dry dock in Baltimore this August for repairs and upgrades. It is exciting to transit the Northwest Passage with an opportunity to assist with research aimed at understanding various species in this remote part of the world. Protecting life here begins with understanding it.” The Maple crew will conclude their historic voyage in Baltimore, Maryland, Aug. 23. The cutter will undergo scheduled maintenance in dry dock at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore for repairs and upgrades. The crew will return to Sitka to take command of the 225-foot Coast Guard Cutter Kukui, which was previously homeported in Honolulu. This transit is a coordinated effort with the Canadian Coast Guard, and the planned activities reflect the long history of collaboration among our two Coast Guards including under the 1988 Canada-US Agreement on Arctic Cooperation. This summer marks the 60th anniversary of the three Coast Guard cutters and one Canadian ship that convoyed through the Northwest Passage. The crews the U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Storis, Spar and Bramble, along with the crew of the Canadian ice breaker HMCS Labrador, charted, recorded water depths and installed aids to navigation for future shipping lanes from May to September of 1957. All four crews became the first deep-draft ships to sail through the Northwest Passage, which are several passageways through the complex archipelago of the Canadian Arctic. Maple was built at Marinette Marine, Marinette, Wis., and commissioned in 2001. |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 7 August 7, 1789 - President George Washington signed the ninth act of the first United States Congress placing management of the lighthouses under the Department of the Treasury. August 7 in now "National Lighthouse Day". On 07 August 1890, the schooner CHARGER (wooden schooner, 136 foot, 277 gross tons, built in 1868, at Sodus, New York) was struck by the CITY OF CLEVELAND (wooden propeller freighter, 255 foot, 1,528 gross tons, built in 1882, at Cleveland, Ohio) near Bar Point near the mouth of the Detroit River on Lake Erie. The schooner sank, but her crew was saved. The JAMES R. BARKER was christened August 7, 1976. She was to become Interlake's first 1,000 footer and the flagship of the fleet for Moore McCormack Leasing, Inc. (Interlake Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio, mgr.). She was built at a cost of more than $43 million under Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970. She was the third 1,000-footer to sail on the Lakes and the first built entirely on the Lakes. On 7 August 1844, DANIEL WHITNEY, a wooden schooner, was found floating upside-down, with her crew of 4 missing and presumed dead. She was six miles off mouth of the Kalamazoo River in Lake Michigan. August 7, 1948 - Edward L. Ryerson, chairman of Inland Steel Company announced that the new ore boat under construction for Inland will be named the WILFRED SYKES in honor of the president of the company. Mr. Sykes had been associated with Inland since 1923, when he was employed to take charge of engineering and construction work. From 1927, to 1930, he served as assistant general superintendent and from 1930, to 1941, as assistant to the president in charge of operations. He became president of Inland in May, 1941. He had been a director of the company since 1935. The new ship was to be the largest and fastest on the Great Lakes, having a carrying capacity in intermediate depth of 20,000 gross tons. The ship will be 678 feet long, 70 feet wide and 37 feet deep, and will run at 16 miles per hour when loaded. While lying at the dock at the C & L. H. Railroad Yard in Port Huron on 7 August 1879, the scow MORNING LARK sank after the scow MAGRUDER ran into her at 4:00 a.m., MORNING LARK was raised and repaired at the Wolverine dry dock and was back in service on 20 September 1879. 1912 – A collision in heavy fog with the RENSSELAER sank the JAMES GAYLEY 43 miles east of Manitou Light, Lake Superior. The upbound coal-laden vessel was hit on the starboard side, about 65 feet from the bow, and went down in about 16 minutes. The two ships were held together long enough for the crew to cross over to RENSSELAER. 1921 – RUSSELL SAGE caught fire and burned on Lake Ontario while downbound with a load of wire. The ship sank off South Bay Point, about 30 miles west of Kingston. The crew took to the lifeboat and were saved. About 600 tons of wire were later salvaged. The hull has been found and is upright in 43 feet of water and numerous coils of wire remain on the bottom. 1958 – HURLBUT W. SMITH hit bottom off Picnic Island, near Little Current, Manitoulin Island, while outbound. The ship was inspected at Silver Bay and condemned. It was sold to Knudsen SB & DD of Superior and scrapped in 1958-1959. 1958 – The T-3 tanker GULFOIL caught fire following a collision with the S.E. GRAHAM off Newport, Rhode Island while carrying about 5 million gallons of gasoline. Both ships were a total loss and 17 lives were lost with another 36 sailors injured. The GULFOIL was rebuilt with a new mid-body and came to the Great Lakes as c) PIONEER CHALLENGER in 1961 and was renamed MIDDLETOWN in 1962 and e) AMERICAN VICTORY in 2006. 1964 – CARL LEVERS, a pre-Seaway visitor as a) HARPEFJELL and b) PRINS MAURITS, had come to the Great Lakes in 1957-1958. It had been an early Great Lakes trader for both the Fjell Line from Norway and the Dutch flag Oranje Lijn. The ship was cast adrift in a cyclone at Bombay, India, going aground on a pylon carrying electric wires off Mahul Creek and caught fire on August 24, 1964. The vessel was released and scrapped at Bombay later in the year. 1970 – ORIENT TRANSPORTER first came through the Seaway in 1966. It arrived at Beaumont, Texas, on this day in 1970, following an engine breakdown. The 1949 vintage ship was not considered worth repairing and was broken up at Darica, Turkey, in 1971. 1972 – The small Canadian tanker barge TRANSBAY, loaded with liquid asphalt and under tow of the JAMES WHALEN for Sept Iles, sank in a storm on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. There were no casualties. 1989 – CLARENVILLE, a former East Coast wooden passenger and freight carrier, came to the Great Lakes in 1981 for conversion to a floating restaurant at Owen Sound. The restaurant declared bankruptcy in May 1989 and a fire, of suspicious origin, broke out on this date. It was a long and difficult blaze to control and the ship sank. It broke apart during salvage in September 1989. The bow was clammed out in December 1989 and the stern removed in April 1990 and taken to the city dump. 1991 – FINNPOLARIS first came through the Seaway in 1985. It struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic off Greenland and sank in deep water the next day. All 17 on board were saved. 1994 – GUNDULIC came inland under Yugoslavian registry for the first time in 1971. The ship caught fire as c) PAVLINA ONE while loading at Mongla, Bangladesh, on this date and was abandoned by the crew on August 8. The blaze was extinguished August 9 but the gutted and listing freighter was beached and settled in shallow water. The hull was auctioned to a local demolition contractor in 1996 but was still listed as a hazard to navigation in 1999. Data from: Skip Gillham, Dave Wobser, Joe Barr, David Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. |
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Report IDs mariners' errors in freighter Roger Blough's grounding 8/6 - Duluth, Minn. – The shipmaster and "an observing captain" entered the pilothouse of the Roger Blough seven minutes before she ran aground on May 27, 2016. One moment they were getting coffee and confirming delivery of ship's provisions, respectively, and the next the lake freighter was grinding to a halt on the bedrock floor of Lake Superior — puncturing steel in multiple places and flooding her forward ballast tanks to the waterline less than 30 feet above the well-charted bottom of Whitefish Bay. Those details and more were part of the National Transportation Safety Board's marine accident brief, the "Grounding of Freighter Roger Blough," released in July. The report pinned responsibility for the grounding on the bridge's seasoned mariners, including a second mate in control of the ship who both failed to heed a verbal command from the ship's master to slow down, and "failed to use all navigational resources to determine the ship's position as it approached shallow water near Gros Cap Reefs." Stalled in the southeastern most part of the lake, the Blough was considered a "marine casualty." No one was hurt or pollution reported, but the damage to the ship was significant — $4.5 million worth to the Blough's hull and interior cargo system of tunnels, belts and pulleys. Freeing the Blough required a two-day lightering of her taconite iron ore cargo onto a pair of fleet mates, the Arthur M. Anderson and Philip R. Clarke. Afterward, the Blough was shepherded to a shipyard in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., to be out of commission for about two months of repairs. Read more and view photos at this link: http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4308056-report-ids-mariners-errors-freighter-roger-bloughs-grounding |
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Port Reports - August 6
Two Harbors/Silver Bay, Minn. – Gary A. Putney
St. Marys River
Toledo, Ohio
Erie, Pa. |
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Lake Superior July increase less than usual 8/6 - Duluth, Minn. – Water supplies to Lake Superior were less than normal in July and the big lake rose less than half an inch, far short of the usual two-inch increase for the month. That was the report Thursday from the International Lake Superior Board of Control. The big lake now sits nine inches above average and two inches above the Aug. 1 level last year. Lake Superior has been on a generally higher than normal trend for about three years. The lake usually remains in stable in August, and is expected to do so again this year, before starting its usual seasonal drop into winter. Lakes Huron-Michigan rose an inch in July, a month they usually remain stable. The lakes are now 17 inches above normal and seven inches above the Aug. 1, 2016 level. The upper lakes are nowhere near as high above normal levels as Lake Ontario which has been experiencing shoreline flooding in recent months after reaching its highest water levels in 100 years. Duluth News Tribune |
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Lighthouse in Lake Erie to be auctioned off 8/6 - Just east of Pointe Mouillee State Game Area, near the mouth of the Detroit River, boaters have been passing by the small lighthouse on Lake Erie for decades, now one lucky buyer will have a chance to own the property. An auction, with an indefinite end date, started July 27 with a $10,000 opening bid for the lighthouse but not the small piece of land it sits on. The lighthouse is on a man-made island located just south of the county line in Monroe County, though anyone who has went out on the lake from the Detroit River has passed by the black and white tower. Currently the lighthouse is owned by the State of Michigan and is listed for sale through gsaauctions.gov, which stands for Government Sales Auctions. The property contains a 55-foot tall white conical tower with black topping on a hexagonal concrete crib. Only the improvements are included in this sale. That includes the concrete crib, but not the land under it. Qualified bidders must put a $5,000 assurance in their account, and be affiliated with a non-profit organization. News Herald |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 6 On this day in 1953, a record 176 vessels passed through the Soo Locks. Early in the morning of 06 August 1899, the WILLIAM B. MORLEY (steel propeller freighter, 277 foot, 1,846 gross tons, built in 1888, at Marine City, Michigan) and the LANSDOWNE (iron side-wheel carferry, 294 foot, 1,571 gross tons, built in 1884, at Wyandotte, Michigan) collided head on in the Detroit River. Both vessels sank. The LANSDOWNE settled on the bottom in her slip at Windsor, Ontario and was raised four days later and repaired. The MORLEY was also repaired and lasted until 1918, when she stranded on Lake Superior. The BELLE RIVER’s bottom was damaged at the fit-out dock and required dry docking on August 6, 1977, for repairs prior to her maiden voyage. Renamed b.) WALTER J MC CARTHY JR in 1990. On 6 August 1871, the 3-mast wooden schooner GOLDEN FLEECE was down bound on Lake Huron laden with iron ore. The crew mistook the light at Port Austin for the light at Pointe Aux Barques and steered directly for the Port Austin Reef where the vessel grounded. After 200 tons of ore were removed, GOLDEN FLEECE was pulled off the reef then towed to Detroit by the tug GEORGE B MC CLELLAN and repaired. On 6 August 1900, the Mc Morran Wrecking Company secured the contract for raising the 203-foot 3-mast wooden schooner H W SAGE, which sank at Harsen's Island on 29 July 1900. The SAGE had been rammed by the steel steamer CHICAGO. Two lives had been lost; they were crushed in her forecastle. August 6, 1929 - The CITY OF SAGINAW 31 (Hull#246) was launched at Manitowoc, Wisconsin by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. for the Pere Marquette Railway. She was christened by Miss Ann Bur Townsend, daughter of the mayor of Saginaw. On 6 August 1870, the wooden propeller tug TORNADO had her boiler explode without warning four miles northwest of Oswego, New York. The tug sank quickly in deep water. Three of the six onboard lost their lives. Apparently the tug had a new boiler and it had been allowed to run almost dry. When cold water was let in to replenish the supply, the boiler exploded. 1907 – A building fire at the Toronto Island ferry terminal spread to the ferry SHAMROCK and it was badly burned and sank. Running mate MAYFLOWER also caught fire but was pulled from the dock by TURBINIA and this blaze was extinguished. SHAMROCK, however, was a total loss and was towed to Hanlan's Point. The latter ship was replaced by the still-active TRILLIUM in 1910. 1924 – The Lake Ontario rail car ferry ONTARIO NO. 2 went aground in fog on the beach at Cobourg, Ont., but was refloated the next day. 1928 – HURONIC went aground at Lucille Island and needed hull repairs after being released. 1985 – VANDOC, enroute from Quebec to Burns Harbor, went aground in the St. Lawrence outside the channel near St. Zotique, but was released the following day. 1994 – CATHERINE DESGAGNES, outbound at Lorain, struck about 30 pleasure boats when a bridge failed to open. 2000 – ANANGEL ENDEAVOUR was in a collision with the IVAN SUSANIN in the South-West Pass and was holed in the #2 cargo hold and began listing. The ship was anchored for examination, then docked at Violet, La., and declared a total loss. It was subsequently repaired as b) BOLMAR I and was operating as c) DORSET when it arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, for scrapping on April 24, 2009. The ship first came through the Seaway in 1983. Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Jody L. Aho , Joe Barr, David Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. |
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Great Lakes/Seaway iron ore trade up nearly 15 percent in July 8/5 - Cleveland, Ohio – Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway totaled 6.4 million tons in July, an increase of 14.7 percent compared to a year ago. However, shipments trailed the month’s 5-year average by 2.3 percent. Shipments from U.S. Great Lakes ports totaled 6 million tons in July, an increase of 21.7 percent compared to a year ago. Loadings at Canadian terminals in the Seaway totaled 391,000 tons, a drop of nearly 40 percent. Year-to-date the iron ore trade stands at 30.1 million tons, an increase of 12.4 percent compared to the same point in 2016. Year-over-year, loadings at U.S. ports total 27.5 million tons, an increase of 14.3 percent. Shipments from Canadian ports in the St. Lawrence Seaway total 2.65 million tons, a decrease of 4 percent. Lake Carriers’ Association |
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Port Reports - August 5
Two Harbors/Silver Bay, Minn. – Gary A. Putney
Alpena, Mich. – Ben & Chanda McClain
Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
Rochester, N.Y. – Tom Brewer Regional and Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Buffalo: (Tonawanda)
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Welland Canal docks:
Hamilton:
Bronte:
Clarkson:
Toronto:
Bowmanville:
Oswego: |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 5 On 05 August 1958, the tug GARY D (steel propeller tug, 18 tons) was destroyed by an explosion and fire near Strawberry Island Light on Lake Huron. The RICHARD M. MARSHALL, later b.) JOSEPH S. WOOD, c.) JOHN DYKSTRA, d.) BENSON FORD, and finally e.) US265808, entered service on August 5, 1953. From 1966, until it was retired at the end of 1984, this vessel and the WILLIAM CLAY FORD were fleet mates. There is only one other instance of two boats being owned by the same company at some point in their careers with as close or closer age difference. The CHARLES M. BEEGHLY (originally SHENANGO II) and the HERBERT C. JACKSON. The aft section of the BELLE RIVER (Hull#716), was float launched August 5, 1976. She was American Steamship's first thousand-footer and the first thousand-footer built at Bay Shipbuilding Co. She was renamed b.) WALTER J. MC CARTHY in 1990. The G.A. TOMLINSON, a.) D.O. MILLS of 1907, was sold outright to Columbia Transportation Div. (Oglebay Norton Co.), on August 5, 1971, along with the last two Tomlinson vessels, the SYLVANIA and the JAMES DAVIDSON. On 5 August 1850, ST. CLAIR (sidewheel steamer, passenger & package freight, 140 foot 210 tons, built in 1843, at Detroit, Michigan) was reported as lost with no details given whatsoever. The report of her loss was published 3 days BEFORE she was enrolled at Detroit by J. Watkin. The motor vessel BEAVER ISLANDER completed her maiden voyage to Charlevoix in 1962. At the time, she was the largest, fastest, and most advanced ship built for the run. She served as the flagship for 37 years, a record, until the EMERALD ISLE arrived in 1997. August 5, 1907 - A female passenger dived off the deck of the PERE MARQUETTE 18 of 1902, on a dare. Two of the 18's officers leapt over to rescue her. One of the officers nearly drowned and was rescued by the passenger. On 5 August 1866, AUTOCRAT (2-mast, wooden schooner, 345 tons, built in 1854, at Caltaraugus, New York) was carrying 15,000 bushels of corn and was lying off Chicago, waiting for a storm to die down. Just before dawn, the schooner J S NEWHOUSE was also seeking shelter when she ran into AUTOCRAT, sinking her in 7 fathoms of water. The crew was rescued by the tug UNION. On 5 August 1869, LAURA E. CALVIN (3-mast wooden schooner, 130 foot, 216 tons, built in 1863, at Garden Island, Ontario as a bark) sprang a leak during a storm and foundered 10 miles off Braddock's Point on Lake Ontario. No lives were lost. 1954 – A sudden blanket of fog descended on a section of the St. Lawrence near Waddington, N.Y., resulting in the two ships SELKIRK and DUNDEE losing their way and going aground. The former, a C.S.L. package freighter, was turned part way around by the current and was stuck until September 2. The latter was a British ship and was also spun by the current. The proximity of the rapids made salvage a challenge. The newly-built DUNDEE continued Great Lakes visits to the end of 1962. It foundered in the Mediterranean as g) VLYHO on September 15, 1978, following an engine room explosion. 1955 – FALCO, a pre-Seaway trader, hit a bridge at Montreal. The vessel later visited the Great Lakes as c) LABRADOR and was scrapped at Piraeus, Greece, as f) BONANZA in 1978 1972 – MANCHESTER VENTURE was built in 1956 and was a regular Great Lakes trader from 1956 to 1961. An explosion in the cargo hold as c) BAT TIRAN on this date in 1972 resulted in a major fire. The damaged hull was refloated in September and scrapped in Turkey in 1973. 1980 – The Liberian freighter BERTIE MICHAELS had been a Seaway trader in 1971 and had returned as the Greek flag c) DIMITRIS A. in 1976. It departed Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on August 4, 1980, for Belize City and reported her position on August 5. The vessel was never heard from again and was believed to have been a victim of Hurricane Allen that was in the area at the time. All 27 on board were lost. 1994 – The recently completed French freighter PENHIR began Great Lakes trading in 1971 and returned as b) MENHIR under Liberian registry in 1979. It arrived off Tolognaro, Madagascar, on this date in 1994 with hull cracks as d) WELLBORN and abandoned as a total loss. Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. Marine Historical Society of Detroit |
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Great Lakes/Seaway iron ore trade up 16 percent in June 8/4 - Cleveland, Ohio – Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway totaled 6.7 million tons in June, an increase of 16 percent compared to a year ago. Shipments also bettered the month’s 5-year average by 8 percent. Shipments from U.S. Great Lakes ports totaled 6 million tons in June, an increase of 15 percent compared to a year ago. Loadings at Canadian terminals in the Seaway totaled 698,000 tons, an increase of nearly 25 percent. Year-to-date the iron ore trade stands at 23.7 million tons, an increase of nearly 12 percent compared to the same point in 2016. Year-over-year, loadings at U.S. ports total 21.45 million tons, an increase of 12.4 percent. Shipments from Canadian ports in the St. Lawrence Seaway have risen 6.5 percent to 2.3 million tons. Lake Carriers’ Association |
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NW winds expected to make dangerous waves 8/4 - A gale warning has been issued for a large part of Lake Superior into Friday. A gale watch is in effect for much of Lake Michigan for Friday. Waves are expected to build to seven to 10 feet on Lake Superior, with a few maximum waves up to 16 feet possible. On Lake Michigan, significant waves up to 11 feet high are expected to be common, with an occasional wave up to 14 feet. Not only will boating be very dangerous, swimming and being on piers will also be very dangerous. Strong currents of every type are expected to develop Friday. Structural currents, longshore currents and rip currents are expected along the entire Lake Michigan shoreline. Conditions will become more dangerous through the day Friday. Read more at this link: http://www.mlive.com/weather/index.ssf/2017/08/dangerous_northwest_winds_expe.html |
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Port Reports - August 4
Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
Two Harbors/Silver Bay, Minn. – Gary A. Putney
Thunder Bay, Ont.
St. Marys River
Green Bay, Wis. – Paul Erspamer
Milwaukee, Wis. – Paul Erspamer
S. Lake Michigan Ports Regional and Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Buffalo: (Tonawanda)
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Welland Canal docks:
Hamilton:
Bronte:
Clarkson:
Toronto:
Bowmanville:
Oswego: |
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'River rage' worries freighter pilots and captains 8/4 - Port Huron, Mich. – Freighter pilots and captains are seeing a lack of common sense on the St. Clair River – and they're concerned the "river rage" is going to end badly with someone getting hurt. Capt. George Haynes, a registered pilot and vice president of the Lakes Pilots Association Inc. said small vessels have always been a concern to the captains and pilots who guide the massive freighters, which in some cases exceed the length of three football fields, "but the people I've talked to say it's increasing." He plans to meet with representatives of outdoor groups and agencies such as the U.S. and Canada Coast Guards and the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office. While recreational craft straying into the path of a large freighter has always been an issue, he said an incident July 2 precipitated the dialogue. According to Haynes, an angler in a 16-foot aluminum boat may have deliberately impeded both an ocean-going freighter being directed by a U.S. pilot and the Lee A. Tregurtha, an 826-foot laker. Haynes said the boater refused to move as the vessels bore down on him and screamed obscenities at the pilot and captain, telling one of the vessels to "get out of his channel." He said the captain of the Tregurtha saw the boat move into his path as he was trying to maneuver to miss him. "Why would you move toward them while they were turning?" he said. He said the incident happened near the Blue Water Bridge. "This incident caused two ships to turn early and come dangerously close to shallow water," he said. He called that stretch of the river near the bridge "the trickiest spot in the St. Clair River" because of strong currents and because vessels have to make a series of turns. "One vessel came so close to the shore it was dangerous to the vessel," he said. The Lakes Pilots Association is offering a $200 reward for information about the identity of the boater or the registration number of his boat. Send an email to info@lakespilots.com or call (810) 984-2541. Angler Bob Jury said he heard about the incident — and he doesn't mess with freighters. "I stay out of their way," he said. "The biggest thing in dealing with freighters is you know they're coming from a way way out. "I stay out of the channel and fish. "There are plenty of fish outside the channel." Haynes said in his career he's had about a dozen close encounters with pleasure craft. "The overall problem is we're seeing an increase in significant encounters with recreational fishing vessels," he said. "This is nothing new. We always have had encounters on the waterways with all types of smaller craft. ... The difference is we don't want to have any accidents where somebody is hurt or at risk of being hurt." He said there are more smaller boats using the river including personal watercraft and kayaks. "Everyone has a right to be on the waterways, but a lot of boaters need more education on the navigation rules," Haynes said. Jury also said there seems to be more boaters on the water. "I also think the guys are not paying attention," he said. "I've always been a little nervous of freighters myself. I'll take the extra 10 minutes and get out of the way." Freighters carry cargoes ranging from 20,000 tons to 60,000 tons. All that weight is subject to Newton's First Law of Motion: "... a body in motion at a constant velocity will remain in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an outside force." A pilot or captain can't slam on the brakes, as the crew of the Titanic discovered. "These ships, we can stop them, but it might take a mile and then you'd lose control of the ship," Haynes said. Ships of such a great size also can't make quick maneuvers. "We have to anticipate a problem before it occurs," Haynes said. The danger signal is five short blasts on the ship's horn or whistle, he said. "If you're on the water and you hear that from a ship, it could be you or somebody close by," he said. "You hear a danger signal, that means there's a risk of a collision." Haynes said boaters often delay before moving — and while they might know where they're going, but the pilot or captain who is planning his next move does not. "We have to assume they maybe won't get out of our way," he said. "That's why we start blowing the danger signal to let them they are potentially in danger of a collision with us. "The longer people wait to take action, the more concerned we are." He said recreational boaters should be aware of where they are on the river and if freighter traffic is approaching. He said most boaters use common sense and move out of the freighters' way. "There are some people who don't seem to understand," he said. "They don't know what I'm up against with a big ship." The Lakes Pilots Association is offering a $200 reward for information about a boat and boater involved in a July 2 incident near the Blue Water Bridge. The boat is described as a 16-foot, gray or white aluminum vessel with a starboard console and a walk-through windshield. It is described as having a black accent stripe below the deck edge. a vintage 40 to 60 horsepower Johnson outboard motor, a black bow-mounted trolling motor and two upright landing nets. People with information about the boat or boater should call (810) 984-2541 or send an email to info@lakespilots.com. Port Huron Times Herald |
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Top U.S., Canadian Coast Guard leaders hold summit in Grand Haven 8/4 - Grand Haven, Mich. – Admiral Paul Zukunft, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, hosted the Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard, Jeffery Hutchinson, in a one-day summit at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Sector Field Office located in Grand Haven. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Canadian Coast Guard share a long history of cooperation in numerous missions across their shared maritime border and the summit provided a great opportunity for both organizations to continue to strengthen that cooperation. During the summit, senior representatives from each organization discussed issues specific to executing responsibilities to prepare for and respond to oil and hazardous substance events under the auspices of their bilateral Joint Marine Pollution Contingency Plan. In addition, the group provided updates on joint initiatives specific to the Arctic, enhancing shipping safety and security, and enhancing cooperation with the critical indigenous populations of the U.S. and Canada. “The Canadian Coast Guard and United States Coast Guard have a long history of working hand-in-hand to protect our shared coastlines,” said Commissioner Hutchinson. “The economies of both countries rely heavily on the safe passage of goods through our waters. Updating of the Joint Marine Contingency Plan to reflect today’s environment is a demonstration of our shared and ongoing commitment to the safety of mariners at sea and the protection of our waters.” A highlight of the summit was the signing of the 2017 update to the Joint Marine Pollution Contingency Plan, which serves as a coordinated system for planning, preparedness, and responding to harmful substance incidents in the contiguous waters along the shared maritime borders of the U.S. and Canada. This plan supplements each country's national response systems and coordinates the interface of these systems for boundary areas. The summit was held in conjunction with the annual U.S. Coast Guard Day festivities in Grand Haven, a notable Coast Guard City as recognized by the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1998. USCG |
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Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority announces new executive director 8/4 - Detroit, Mich. – The Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority (DWCPA) will have new leadership as Kyle Burleson, current deputy director at the DWCPA, steps in as the interim executive director. Burleson will replace John Loftus as he transitions out of the executive director role, a position he has held since 2015. Burleson will hold the interim executive director position from August 1, 2017 to February 1, 2018, during which the DWCPA board of directors will conduct a search for a permanent executive director. Additionally, during this time, Delorean Holmes, current economic development manager at the DWCPA, will serve as the interim deputy director. “Our agency plays a vital role within southeast Michigan’s economic vitality,” said Burleson. “I’m excited to be able to continue my work with the DWCPA and be an essential partner in building greater Detroit’s future.” Prior to joining the DWCPA, Burleson acted as the legislative director in the office of Congresswoman Candice S. Miller where he handled a legislative portfolio consisting of judicial, energy, and environmental issues. Burleson has a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from the University of Michigan, and a doctorate in law from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Detroit Wayne County Port Authority |
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Trip auction ends Sunday 8/4 - Ever wanted to take a trip on a working Great Lakes freighter? Usually trips onboard working freighters are only available to shipping company customers, families of crewmembers or industry officials. Before this charity auction, the only way for the general public to take a cruise on a working Great Lakes freighter was to take a chance in a raffle drawing. Lower Lakes Towing Co. has donated a trip for two on a working freighter. Proceeds go to support the Port Colborne Historical and Marine Museum. If you are the highest bidder, you and a guest will rest comfortably in a private stateroom and view the scenery from the guest lounge. The auction ends August 6 at 5 p.m. (EDT). Find out more or bid at this link: http://www.boatnerd.com/trips/auctionsaginaw2017.htm |
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Updates - August 4 Saltie Gallery updated with pictures of the Argentia Desgagnes, Azoresborg, BBC Alberta, BBC Campana, Chem Polaris, COE Leni, Edenborg, Eemsborg, Erik, Federal Biscay, Federal Bristol, Federal Hunter, Greta C, Ina, Pride, Shoveler, Torrent, Volgaborg, and Wicko. |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 4 On this day in 1896, the whaleback COLGATE HOYT became the first boat to transport a load of iron ore through the new Poe lock. The man at the wheel of the HOYT, Thomas Small, was also at the wheel of the PHILIP R. CLARKE when the second Poe lock was opened to traffic 73 years later. On this day in 1910, a mutiny occurred aboard the Pittsburgh steamer DOUGLAS HOUGHTON when a deckhand was confined for peeping into the cabin window of 5 female passengers (relatives of officers of the United States Steel Corporation). It required one hour for Captain John Parke, loaded revolver in hand, to quell the mutiny, confine the ringleaders, and clear away the broken furniture. On the clear, almost perfect night of 4 August 1902, the SEGUIN (steel propeller freighter, 207 foot, 818 gross tons, built in 1890, at Owen Sound, Ontario) collided with the CITY OF VENICE (wooden propeller freighter, 301 foot, 2,108 gross tons, built in 1892, at W. Bay City, Michigan) abreast of Rondeau, Ontario on Lake Erie. The CITY OF VENICE, which was loaded with iron ore, sank and three of her crew were drowned. The U. S. Marshall impounded the SEGUIN for damages Two favorites of many boatwatchers entered service on August 4 – WILLIAM CLAY FORD on August 4, 1953, and EDWARD L. RYERSON on August 4, 1960. Paterson’s ONTADOC, built in 1975, sailed to the Netherlands with a load of bentonite from Chicago on August 4, 1979. Renamed b.) MELISSA DESGAGNES in 1990. The E. J. BLOCK was laid up for the last time at Indiana Harbor, Indiana on August 4, 1984. The E. J. BLOCK was sold for scrap in late May 1987. The D.M. CLEMSON left Superior on August 4, 1980, in tow of Malcolm Marine's TUG MALCOLM for Thunder Bay, Ont., where she was dismantled. HOCHELAGA (Hull#144) was launched August 4, 1949, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., for Canada Steamship Lines Ltd., Montreal, Quebec. On a foggy August 4, 1977, POINTE NOIRE went hard aground near the entrance to the Rock Cut in the St. Marys River and blocked the channel. After her grain cargo was lightered by Columbia Transportation's crane steamer BUCKEYE, POINTE NOIRE was released on August 6. She was reloaded in Hay Lake and continued her downbound trip. Repairs to her bottom damage were completed at Thunder Bay. Ontario. August 4, 1935 - The only time the ANN ARBOR NO 7 had the full limit of passengers when she ran an excursion from Frankfort, Michigan around Manitou Island and back with 375 passengers on board. LYCOMING (wooden propeller, 251 foot, 1,610 gross tons) was launched on 4 August 1880, at West Bay City, Michigan by F. W. Wheeler (Hull #7) as a 2-deck package freighter. She was rebuilt as a single deck bulk freighter after she burned in 1905. She was one of the few bulk freighters that still carried her arched hog-braces visible above deck. HIRAM W. SIBLEY (wooden propeller freighter, 221 foot, 1,419 gross tons) was launched at East Saginaw, Michigan on 4 August 1890. She only lasted eight years. While carrying 70,000 bushels of corn from Chicago for Detroit, she stranded on the northwest corner of South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan during blizzard on 26 November 1898. The tugs PROTECTOR and SWEEPSTAKES were dispatched for assistance but the SIBLEY re-floated herself during high water the following night, then was stranded on the southwest side of North Fox Island to prevent sinking. She broke in half; then completely broke up during a gale on 7 December 1898. 1985 – REGENT TAMPOPO, enroute from Japan to the Great Lakes with steel, was heavily damaged in the Pacific after a collision with the MING UNIVERSE. The vessel, which first came through the Seaway in 1982, was towed to Los Angeles but declared a total loss. It recrossed the Pacific under tow in 1986 and arrived at Hong Kong for scrapping on October 26, 1986. Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Military.com, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. |
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New NEAS vessel Nunalik will deliver to Arctic communities 8/3 - Iqaluit, Nunavut – NEAS (Nunavut Eastern Arctic Shipping) has announced the arrival of the motor vessel Nunalik. the newest vessel in the NEAS fleet of Canadian flag vessels. The vessel arrived in Canada on July 30th at the Port of Sorel in Quebec. This vessel will significantly increase NEAS’ lifting capacity with 2 by 180 tonnes cranes. “The MV Nunalik is another example of how NEAS contributes to the sustainable social and economic development of Nunavik and Nunavut,” said Andy Moorhouse, Vice-President, Economic Development at Makivik Corporation. “The MV Nunalik is the fifth NEAS vessel with Inuit ownership. This is a historic achievement.” In addition to the Nunalik, the NEAS fleet of Inuit-owned vessels includes the M/V Umiavut, the M/V Avataq, M/V Qamutik and the M/V Mitiq, purchased in 2000, 2007, 2008 and 2013 respectively. On August 3, the Nunalik sails for sites and communities across the Canadian Arctic. Check out the sailing schedule on NEAS.ca for complete details on all the stops of the NEAS vessels including the Nunalik’s sailing. Built in 2009 with a capacity of 665 TEUS, the Nunalik is a 138.07 meters (453 feet) ice class 1, multi-purpose tweendecker that offers 2 combinable cranes of 180 tons. She is multi-purpose, heavy lift vessel and will be the newest and largest in the NEAS fleet. Nunalik means “community” in Inuktitut. NEAS |
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Port Reports - August 3
Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary A. Putney
Thunder Bay, Ont.
St. Marys River
S. Lake Michigan Ports
Toledo, Ohio Regional and Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Buffalo: Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Welland Canal docks:
Hamilton:
Bronte:
Clarkson:
Toronto: Bowmanville: |
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Icebreaker museum ship Mackinaw seeks help funding repairs 8/3 - Mackinaw City, Mich. – A venerable part of Great Lakes maritime history needs a new paint job. The original U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Mackinaw needs about $365,000 worth of maintenance to get back into "ship shape," according to the nonprofit which operates the ship as a floating museum in Mackinaw City at the old railroad dock. The Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum has launched a fundraising campaign this summer to fix peeling and faded paint, rust and deteriorated deck surfaces on the ship. Harsh winters in the Straits of Mackinac followed by the heat of summer have taken a toll on the ship, said Lisa Pallagi, museum director. "When the ship was in service, you had a crew aboard all the time that was maintaining it," she said. Today, the ship needs a complete exterior resurfacing, which involves blasting off existing paint, applying new primer and repainting the hull and upper works. "It's a huge job," she said. Read more and view photos at this link: http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/08/icebreaker_museum_ship_mackina.html#incart_river_home |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 3 On this day in 1960, EDWARD L. RYERSON, new flagship of the Inland Steel fleet, successfully completed her sea trials. Under tow, the AVONDALE, a.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS of 1908, in tandem with former fleet mate FERNDALE. a.) LOUIS R. DAVIDSON of 1912, arrived at Castellon, Spain for scrapping in 1979. CANADOC left the St. Lawrence River on August 3, 1991, in tow bound for Mamonal, Colombia, for scrapping. August 3, 1946 - The third officer of the ANN ARBOR NO 6, drowned while painting her draft marks. He had apparently leaned too far and fell out of the rowboat. On 3 August 1900, FONTANA (wooden 2-mast schooner-barge, 231 foot, 1,164 gross tons, built in 1888, at St Clair, Michigan as a 4-mast schooner-barge) was carrying iron ore in tow of the steamer KALIYUGA. The FONTANA sheared off and collided with the big schooner-barge SANTIAGO and settled in the mouth of St. Clair River in the St. Clair Flats, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. After salvage was given up months later, she was dynamited several times to flatten and reduce her wreckage. Although officially no loss of life was reported, local newspaper reported that one crewman was drowned. The FONTANA was owned by Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co. On 3 Aug 1857, R.H. RAE (3-mast wooden bark, 136 foot, 344 tons, built in 1857, at St. Catharines, Ontario) capsized and sank in a "white squall" off Duck's Creek on Lake Ontario. She went down slowly enough for her people to abandon in her small boat. They were later picked up by the propeller COLONIST. There was a big effort to salvage her the next summer, but to no avail. She was a total loss of $20,000. She was reportedly built for the trans-Atlantic trade and looked more like a seagoing schooner. Some sources give the date of the loss as 4 August 1857. The wreck is in very good condition. The Cousteau organization lost a diver on her in 1980. On 3 August 1915, ALEXANDRIA (wooden sidewheel passenger/package freight, 174 foot 863 gross tons, built in 1866, at Hull, Quebec, formerly a.) CONSORT, was carrying foodstuffs in Lake Ontario when she was blown on a bar in a storm and fog. She broke up by wave action under the Scarborough Bluffs, east of Toronto. Lifesavers worked for hours and rescued the entire crew. GARDEN CITY was caught in the same storm as ALEXANDRIA. This ship sustained smashed windows and a hole in the hull but was able to reach safety. 1920 – The wooden steamer MAPLEGROVE sank in the Welland Canal. The vessel was salvaged and sold for further service as JED. It had been built at Marine City in 1889 as CHEROKEE. 1927 – The bulk canaller CASCO of the Lakes & St. Lawrence Transportation Co. went aground at Pipe Island in the lower St. Marys River and required lightering before floating free and proceeding for repairs. 1962 – MEDINA PRINCESS, a former “Empire ship,” first came to the Great Lakes under British registry in 1959. It made 5 trips through the Seaway but went aground on a reef near Djibouti while enroute from Bremen, Germany, to China. The hull was refloated August 31 but was laid up at Djibouti. It remained idle until breaking loose and going aground on September 4, 1964. The hull was a total loss and, at last report, the wreck was partially submerged. 1978 – The French freighter JEAN L.D. made 37 trips to the Great Lakes from 1959 to 1967. It was sailing as c) CAVO STARAS when the engine room become flooded during a voyage from Port Harcourt, Nigeria, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the overnight hours of August 3-4, 1978. The vessel was towed to Dakar, Sierra Leone, on August 14 and sold to Spanish shipbreakers, via auction, on May 8, 1979. It arrived at Barcelona, under tow, on June 18, 1978, and scrapping began July 5 of that year. 2010 – SIDSEL KNUTSEN lost power due to a fire in the engine room and went aground off St. Clair, Mich. It remained stuck until August 9 and was then refloated and cleared to proceed to Montreal. It was operating in Canadian service at the time under a special waiver. Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. |
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Lake Superior on verge of record high July water level 8/2 - The Lake Superior water level continues its fourth year of rising. As the water level rises on Lake Superior, it comes closer to the monthly record water level. In July 2017, Lake Superior fell just short of its July record high water level. In July 2017 the Lake Superior average was 602.85 feet. This number doesn't represent a water depth. It is a height measurement that is used to compare to water levels in other months and other years. It would be similar to if you put some markings on the side of your bathtub. Read more, and view a water level chart at this link |
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Alexander Henry museum ship destined for Pool Six dock 8/2 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – The path has been cleared for the Alexander Henry to be docked at the location preferred by the proponents who led the charge for the decommissioned icebreaker to be brought back to Thunder Bay. City council on Monday night approved a resolution directing administration to come to a lease agreement with the Thunder Bay Port Authority, allowing the former Canadian Coast Guard ship to be displayed at the Pool Six location. Charlie Brown, president of the Lakehead Museum Transportation Society group that led the way to acquiring the Alexander Henry, was pleased the icebreaker will be able to be situated along the city’s waterfront south of Prince Arthur’s Landing. “It has the physical requirements that we need for the Henry as far as the docking itself,” Brown said of the Pool Six site. “It’s in the marina location, which will give it the highest visibility and viability for our project for tourism and people coming down to visit it.” The icebreaker, which arrived in Thunder Bay on June 27 after being towed across the Great Lakes, has been docked at a private iron ore pier in the interim while city officials worked to determine its long-term spot. Administration had recommended the ship be located at the Kam River Heritage Park, citing reluctance to provide the indemnification the Port Authority had been seeking to allow a lease at Pool Six. That delay sunk plans for a grand opening during the August civic long weekend. Brown said plans are about a month behind schedule. “We are working presently on the Henry in the location it is right now cleaning it up. Hopefully this week we’ll get a spray wash on there and get the exterior clean,” Brown said. “We do have to do a lot of work on the site itself because it’s been grown over. We have to cut grass, move fences and get the electrical hooked up.” The icebreaker was built by the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company and was commissioned as a Coast Guard vessel in 1959 before a 25-year career where it was an annual fixture in the Lake Superior harbor to kick off the shipping season. Following its retirement in 1984, the ship was eventually a tourist attraction in Kingston operated by the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes. Brown is hopeful the community will be able to get an up close look at the ship before the end of the season. “We would like a grand opening in September if humanly possible,” Brown said. “The sooner we get it over there and cleaned up, the sooner we’ll be opening up for the public.” Thunder Bay Newswatch |
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Port Reports - August 2
Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
Two Harbors/Silver Bay, Minn. – Gary A. Putney
St. Marys River
S. Lake Michigan Ports
Alpena, Mich. - Ben & Chanda McClain
Detroit, Mich.
Toledo, Ohio
Rochester, N.Y. – Tom Brewer Regional and Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Buffalo:
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Welland Canal docks:
Port Weller anchorage:
Hamilton: At docks: Azoresborg (Nld) at 0015 on July 30, Tundra (Cyp) at 1134 on July 23, Arctic (ex Flinter Arctic-17) on July 28 at 2047, CSL St. Laurent at 1138 on July 30 and Florence Spirit at 2351 on July 30 and Finnborg (Nld) at 1752 on July 31
Clarkson:
Toronto:
Bowmanville: |
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USCG to hold change-of-command ceremony for commander of Great Lakes region 8/2 - Cleveland, Ohio – The U.S. Coast Guard is scheduled to hold a change-of-command ceremony for its 9th District which encompasses the five Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway and eight states in the surrounding region, at Windows on the River, downtown Cleveland, Wednesday at 10 a.m. Vice Adm. Karl L. Schultz, Coast Guard Atlantic Area commander, will preside over the ceremony to transfer command of the 9th District from Rear Adm. June E. Ryan to Rear Adm. Joanna Nunan. A retirement ceremony will be held for Rear Adm. June Ryan immediately following the change of command, which will be presided over by Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, commandant, U.S. Coast Guard. USCG |
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Marine museum demolition in Goderich underway this week 8/2 - Goderich, Ont. – Preparations to demolish the Huron County Marine Museum at the foot of West St. in Goderich are underway this week. CAO Larry McCabe says the museum is owned by the town, but was operated by the county. Earlier this year the county determined the number of visitors and the costs of bringing it up to current standards didn’t justify keeping it open. McCabe says the town conducted a hazardous study on the building and found lead paint and asbestos in the building, and a decision was made by council to demolish the structure. McCabe says the cost will be around $60,000 and will be paid by the town. McCabe adds discussions are underway with representatives of industry along the waterfront on the future of the land, and it could very well fit into the town’s waterfront master plan. However, there are no immediate plans at this time. Blackburn News |
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Twin Ports Lighthouse Days begin Thursday 8/2 - Duluth, Minn. – The 15th annual Twin Ports Lighthouse Days begins Thursday, with several days of events celebrating the lighthouses of the Twin Ports and elsewhere on Lake Superior. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District organizes the event, held in conjunction with the anniversary of President George Washington signing the ninth act of Congress — which made the nation’s lighthouses federal assets — on Aug. 7, 1789. From Thursday through Monday there will be kids’ activities from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day at the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center in Canal Park. History walks will take place at 1:15 and 3:15 p.m. each day, with hourly films on lighthouses in the museum’s lecture hall during the afternoon. At 12:45 p.m. Thursday the museum will host a program on the history and efforts to preserve the Minnesota Point Lighthouse. At 12:45 p.m. Friday and Monday, the museum will host a program on the 1905 Mataafa storm and the lighthouses that were built as a result. The events are free and open to the public. Duluth News Tribune |
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Casualties and demolitions 8/2 - The following information taken from the August 2017 Marine News - Journal of the World Ship Society:
Casualties: None Compiled by Barry Andersen and René Beauchamp |
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Spectators welcome Coast Guard ships to Grand Haven festival 8/2 - Grand Haven, Mich. – Thousands of people lined the Grand Haven channel to usher in five Coast Guard ships Monday as part of the annual Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival. Families of all sizes and people of all ages stood near the channel as the ships sailed in from Lake Michigan. The five ships included the USCGC Bristol Bay, USCGC Biscayne Bay, USCGC Alder, USCGC Mackinaw and CCGS Constable Carriere from Canada. The ships serve as tug boats, multi-mission buoy tenders to ice breakers, among other duties. The vessels also ranged in size from 140 feet to 240 feet in length. The crowd waved and cheered upon arrival of the ships whose crew members waved back and sounded their horns creating a family geared atmosphere. "We've been doing this for close to 20 years," said Grand Haven resident Larry Dutkiewicz, 62, who was at the event with his grandchildren. "It's just a fun thing to kick off the week of Coast Guard." The Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival runs through Sunday, Aug. 6. Read more and view photos at this link: http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2017/07/spectators_welcome_gigantic_co.html |
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August date set for Nautical Mart in Toledo 8/2 - Toledo, Ohio – The National Museum of the Great Lakes has announced the date of their semi-annual Nautical Mart as Saturday, August 26, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Vendors from across the Great Lakes will show their wares, including photographs, postcards, books, memorabilia, and artwork. The nautical mart will be held in the museum’s air conditioned community room and lobby. The price of admission to the Nautical Mart is included in the price of admission to the museum. Every paid admission on that Saturday will receive a complimentary maritime lithographic print (some signed and numbered – first come first served) from various artists. Vendors interested in a booth space should email glhs1@inlandseas.org. Space is limited. National Museum of the Great Lakes |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 2 On August 2, 1991, Paterson's 1961-built lake bulk carrier CANADOC, which had been in lay-up in Montreal since April 6, 1990, and sold for scrapping, cleared the port in tow of the Netherlands Antilles tug DALMAR SPIRIT, bound for Mamonal, Columbia, arriving there on August 26, 1991. On this day in 1880, the new Goodrich propeller CITY OF LUDINGTON was launched at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The CITY OF LUDINGTON was 170 feet loa x 35 feet x 11 feet, had 44 staterooms and a salon. She was built at a cost of $90,000. The CITY OF LUDINGTON was partially dismantled at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in 1930-1931, and the hull was towed to Big Summer Island, Lake Michigan in 1933, for use as a breakwall. On the morning of 02 August 1869, Deputy U. S. Marshall Insley sold at auction the scow AGNES HEAD to pay for debts incurred when she was repaired that spring by Mr. Muir and Mr. Stewart. Bidding started at $500 and ran very lively. Mr. John Stewart of Detroit purchased the vessel for $1,050. The AMERICAN MARINER (Hull#723) was launched on August 2, 1979, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Co. for the Connecticut Bank & Trust Co., (American Steamship Co., Buffalo, New York, mgr.). She was to be named CHICAGO, but that name was removed before launch. The U.S. Coast Guard's report on the sinking of the EDMUND FITZGERALD was released on August 2, 1977. It cited faulty hatch covers, lack of watertight cargo hold bulkheads and damage caused from an undetermined source as the cause of her loss. The BENSON FORD's maiden voyage was on August 2, 1924, with coal from Toledo, Ohio to Duluth, Minnesota and returned with iron ore to the Ford Rouge Plant at Dearborn. On August 2, 1990, the Lightship HURON was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark. LIGHTSHIP 103 had been almost completely restored and was opened to the public in 1974, for tours and remains so at this time. August 2, 1862 - John C. Ackerman was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. At the time of his death in 1916, he was commodore of the Pere Marquette carferry fleet based in Ludington. On 2 August 1877, GRACE A CHANNON (wooden schooner, 141 foot, 266 gross tons, built in 1873, at East Saginaw, Michigan) was bound from Chicago for Buffalo when she collided with the propeller tug FAVORITE and sank 12 miles south of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The young son of the owner of the CHANNON lost his life in this accident. In 1858, the wooden side-wheeler TELEGRAPH collided with the schooner MARQUETTE and sank 40 miles north of Cleveland. 1909 – GLENELLAH of Inland Navigation struck the east breakwall at Port Colborne, damaging both the ship and the structure. The vessel joined Canada Steamship Lines in 1913 becoming b) CALGARIAN (ii) in 1926. It was broken up at Hamilton in 1960. 1915 – KENORA went aground off Flat Point, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, enroute from Montreal to Sydney. The C.S.L. canal ship was operating on saltwater due to the demands of World War One and was soon refloated. 1931 – The RAPIDS KING took out the gates of Lock 2 of the St. Lawrence Canal at Montreal and SASKATOON was one of 7 ships left on the bottom of the channel. 1967 – The West German freighter JOHANN SCHULTE and the new Canadian self-unloader CANADIAN CENTURY brushed each other in the Welland Canal near Thorold. The former hit the bank and was holed but made it to the tie-up wall before settling on the bottom. The ship was travelling from Duluth-Superior to Poland with wheat. The 4-year old vessel was refloated August 5 and went to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs. It was scrapped in China as d) SINGAPORE CAR in 1984-1985. Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Lake Huron Lore Society, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. Marine Historical Society of Detroit. |
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Victory Cruise Lines adds second vessel for Great Lakes service 8/1 - Victory Cruise Lines has boosted its fleet with another ship. It has acquired the sistership to line's current coastal cruiser, Victory 1 (formerly Cape May Light, Sea Voyager, MS Saint Laurent). Victory 2 will be upgraded in order to match the 202-passenger Victory I, which has become a familiar sight on the Great Lakes since the service was launched in July 2016. Victory II was built as Cape Cod Light and was previously operated under the name Sea Discoverer. The scheduled official launch of the new service is early summer 2018. The 4954-ton, 220-passenger cruise ship Victory 2 was acquired from Bahamas-based Clipper Group by three European private investors, one of which is Copenhagen-based Albatros Travel company that operates expedition cruises and tours around the world. Cruise Management International provides the vessel's deck and engine management, while the sister company CMI Leisure handles its hotel operations. Victory 2’s itinerary calendar, following the Inaugural Cruise from Boston on May 20, 2018, has regularly scheduled 7-night Canada and New England cruises between Massachusetts (departures from Boston and Gloucester) and Nova Scotia (Halifax). Other itineraries include St Lawrence Seaway, Lake Michigan and the Canadian Maritimes, plus the company's first cruises on Lake Superior. The ship's itineraries are themed New England Splendor (between Halifax NS and Boston MS), St Lawrence Seaway and French Canadian Maritimes (between Halifax NS and Detroit MI) and Western Lake Superior (between Milwaukee WI, Thunder Bay ON and Detroit MI). |
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Boaters sought in Port Huron boater-freighter incident 8/1 - Port Huron, Mich. - On July 2, a recreational fisherman purposely impeded two downbound vessels at Huron Cut Buoys 1 & 2 in Port Huron, causing both vessels to take extreme evasive action. One was an oceangoing vessel under guidance of an American pilot, and the other following behind was the Lee A. Tregurtha. The boater purposely ignored danger signals and maneuvered into the path of the Tregurtha as it was taking action to avoid it. The boater screamed obscenities to both ship captains and told one to get out of "his" channel.
The boat is described as a 16 foot, grey or white aluminum vessel with a starboard console, walk-through windshield with black accent stripe below deck edge, vintage 40 to 60 HP Johnson outboard with orange stripe, black electric trolling motor on bow and two fishing nets upright. It seems the problems with fisherman are increasing. Lakes Pilots is hosting a meeting with USCG Sector Detroit, Station Port Huron, US and Canadian police authorities and some local sportfishing associations at its office on Aug. 8 to discuss the problem and possible remedies. Lakes Pilot Association |
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$2.4 million maintenance construction contract awarded for Poe Lock 8/1 - Detroit, Mich. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, has awarded a contract for major construction repairs at the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The contract for almost $2.4 million to replace Poe Lock quoin and miter blocks was awarded to Morrish-Wallace Construction Inc., of Cheboygan, Mich., (d.b.a.) Ryba Marine Construction. Ryba Marine will replace crucial aging and deteriorating infrastructure at the Soo Locks. This contract involves removing existing miter blocks and quoin blocks, then fabricating and replacing these steel blocks on Gates 1 and 3 of the Poe Lock at the St. Marys River navigational locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. “The Poe Lock provides a critical connection for navigation between the upper and lower Great Lakes,” said Lt. Col. Dennis Sugrue, district engineer. “Repairs like this are necessary to maintain reliable functionality of the Poe Lock gates. We are pleased to award this contract that helps to achieve our vision of a reliable and resilient Great Lakes Navigation System.” This key priority project will be performed during the winter shutdown of the Soo Locks facility from January to mid-March 2018 with completion by June 2018. The quoin block is a square, relatively flat block placed at the interface between the gate and the wall. Miter blocks are a similar block placed on each gate leaf where the gates contact each other. The gates are large doors that seal off the lock chamber from the upper and lower canal. These gates, called miter gates, when closed meet at an angle like a chevron with the pressure from the water level keeping the gates closed. |
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Port Reports - August 1
Two Harbors/Silver Bay, Minn. – Gary A. Putney
St. Marys River
Manistee, Mich.
Grand Haven, Mich – Sam Hankinson
Burns Harbor, Ind.
Indiana Harbor, Ind.
Calcite, Mich.
Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
Detroit, Mich.
Monroe, Mich.
Toledo, Ohio Regional and Welland Canal transits – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Welland Canal upbound:
Welland Canal downbound:
Welland Canal docks:
Hamilton:
Bronte:
Clarkson:
Toronto: |
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Today in Great Lakes History - August 1 In 1862, UNION (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 163 foot, 434 ton, built in 1861, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) was sold by the Goodrich Line to James H. Mead and J. F. Kirkland for $28,000. This was $9,000 more than Goodrich had paid to have the vessel built just the previous year. On August 1, 1982, the Canadian tanker L’ERABLE NO 1 entered service. Renamed b.) HUBERT GAUCHER in 1982. Sold foreign in 1996, renamed c.) RODIN and d.) OLYMPIC PRIDE in 2000. August 1957 - The PERE MARQUETTE 18 of 1911 was sold to Luria Brothers, Chicago scrap merchants, along with the PERE MARQUETTE 14. On 1 August 1871, the construction of the canal through the St. Clair Flats was finished at a cost of $365,000. It was the first real channel built to help ships through the shallow waters where the St. Clair River empties into Lake St. Clair and where there are seven mouths or passes. It took the Canadian contractor John Brown three years to dig the channel that measures 300 feet wide and 8,421 feet long. The water was 18 feet deep. It was protected on most of its sides by piers and dikes. The new channel was considered too small even as it was being dug. At only 300 feet wide, tows of log rafts were encouraged to sue the old shallower channels. Within 20 years, plans were made to deepen the channel to 20 feet. On 1 August 1849, CHICAGO (wooden passenger/package freight vessel, 95 foot, 151 tons, built in 1842, at Oswego, New York) burned in Buffalo harbor. No lives were lost. 1911 – Seven lives were lost when the wooden passenger ship SIRIUS capsized and sank in the St. Lawrence 8 miles from Massena, N.Y. There were 75 passengers on board headed for a picnic when the accident occurred. Apparently, many passengers had rushed to one side of the ship to see a woodchuck as the ship was turning in the current and this led to the ship going over. 1951 – The first SAGUENAY to sail for Canada Steamship Lines was built at Govan, Scotland, in 1913 for service between Quebec City and Saguenay River ports. It left Canada for the Far East as b) KIANG YONG in 1946 and became c) YANGTSE PHOENIX in 1949. The vessel dragged her anchors while riding out a typhoon near Tai Po, Hong Kong, on this date in 1951, went aground and was wrecked. 1969 – The British freighter HOPERIDGE made two trips to the Great Lakes in 1959. It sank on this date in 1969 as b) BETHLEHEM due to a collision with the SHOWA MARU while about 30 miles from Singapore. The ship was enroute from Tokyo to Aden and 7 of the crew were lost. Data from: Skip Gillham, Jody Aho, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. Marine Historical Society of Detroit. |
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