TRAVERSE CITY, MI – The Great Lakes Maritime Academy held its 51st annual Mariner’s Memorial today to honor men and women lost at sea. The ceremony featured the ceremonial ringing of a bell 29 times in tribute to the crew of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. The annual memorial serves as a solemn tribute to mariners across Great Lakes and ocean fleets, connecting current maritime cadets with the traditions and risks of their profession.

Among those remembered during the roll call was Cadet David E. Weiss, a Great Lakes Maritime Academy student who was aboard the SS Edmund Fitzgerald when it foundered.

Kyle Johnstone, a cadet at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy who serves as president of the Propeller Club and acted as master of ceremonies for the 51st annual event, emphasized the importance of remembering historical maritime losses. “Regardless if you are pursuing a career on the lakes or you’re pursuing a career on the oceans. The lessons of those who have sacrificed before us are essential for us to be successful in our careers,” Johnstone said.

He described the atmosphere during the reading of the roll call and how the ceremony connects attendees directly to the fallen mariners. “The wind kind of picked up behind me and it almost feels like those names are there behind you. That’s exactly what these memorials should be invoking. For those of us, the cadets, the families, the communities…. they’re still there,” Johnstone said.

Johnstone also highlighted the personal connection between the academy and the Great Lakes shipping industry, pointing specifically to the loss of a student aboard the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. “We’re directly tied to every part of the Great Lakes fleet. We had a cadet David Wiess, who went down on the Fitzgerald. The connections are just fairly bound and tied between the academy,” Johnstone said.

Jerry Achenback, a retired U.S. Coast Guard officer and rear admiral in the U.S. Maritime Service, delivered the memorial address to open the ceremony. “We stand here today, a tradition is older to remember and to honor the men and women who went down to the sea and ships and never returned to port,” Achenback said. “We stand here today, a tradition is older to remember and to honor the men and women who went down to the sea and ships and never returned to port,” he added.

Achenback addressed the attending cadets directly, reminding them that their daily training and uniforms represent a commitment to carry forward the legacy of past mariners. “You cadets standing alongside us, look closely at the legacy that left behind the uniform you wear. The training you undergo are not merely routine. They are your preparation to carry forward the responsibility that those who came before you upheld so faithfully,” Achenback said.

River Farrow, a second-year cadet and engineering midshipman at the academy, spoke about the gravity of standing at the front of the memorial service. “It’s definitely not something to take lightly. Being front and center for a memorial, that’s a big deal, We’re honoring those we’ve lost. So it’s not something to take lightly,” Farrow said. “The biggest importance is remembering it wasn’t just a ship it was 29 souls and 29 families impacted.”

He also added, “it’s not only important to remember those lives, but the service is a reminder to those families that the maritime community remember.”

Farrow noted that the central ritual of ringing the bell 29 times for the Fitzgerald crew carries significant emotional weight for everyone present. He added that the ceremony serves as a reminder of the inherent dangers of working on the water and the service merchant mariners provide to the broader public. “Today kind of brings to light that there are sacrifices that people make, for most people at the time, but some sailors did pay, the ultimate price,” Farrow said.

The ceremony concluded with the official vessel roll call for the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, honoring command deck officers, engineering department personnel, deck crew watchmen, engine room maintenance workers and Weiss. The annual memorial service concluded with a pledge by academy speakers to carry the memory of fallen mariners on every future voyage and maintain the professional standards of the maritime craft.

9 & 10 News

Read more and view a video here.

The documentary “The Edmund Fitzgerald & The Inland Seas,” a part of the Culture Quest series with host Ian Grant, is now available to watch on YouTube and Facebook prior to a January release on PBS. The documentary features interviews with Fitzgerald family members, John U. Bacon (author of the New York Times best-selling book “Gales of November”)’ Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Director Bruce Lynn, Jerry Eliason (a well-known wreck hunter on the Great Lakes), Soo Locks Park Ranger Ed Cook and Great Lakes sailor Adam VonReidel (wheelsman on the Lee A. Tregurtha). Some of the music featured is by Meredith Moon (Gordon Lightfoot’s daughter).

Watch it here on YouTube.
Watch it here on Facebook (partial show only, no ads).

DETROIT, MI – It wasn’t just the hat that earned Edmund Fitzgerald crew member David Weiss his nickname “Cowboy.” It was his friend and Great Lakes Maritime Academy classmate David James, who had just watched Frank Zappa’s 1971 movie “200 Motels” featuring the character Lonesome Cowboy Burt. When James saw Weiss standing outside a classroom dressed in black and wearing a cowboy hat, the nickname came easily.”He looked a little different,” James said. Weiss was less “bummy” than the rest of their classmates, who dressed to emulate the sailors they were training to join. The day they met, James gave Weiss his nickname “Cowboy Burt.”

DuMouchelles auction house in downtown Detroit is selling letters written by a man killed in the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. The letters were written by David Weiss while he was on the Fitzgerald.

The friendship between Weiss and James is chronicled in a series of letters they exchanged while out on the inland seas in 1975, when Weiss was on the Edmund Fitzgerald and James on the Walter A. Sterling. The last was sent Oct. 30, about two weeks before Weiss went down with the Edmund Fitzgerald during a storm in Lake Superior. Twenty-eight crewmates perished along with him. The letters Weiss sent James that year are up for auction at DuMouchelles auction house in downtown Detroit along with photos, a postcard and other memorabilia, such as a letter Weiss’s mom wrote to James after Weiss’s death. The items are up for bid beginning Nov. 13 with a starting bid of $3,750. James approached the auction house early this year with an interest in selling the letters and memorabilia, Dumouchelles President and Auctioneer Joe Walker said. James was afraid the letters would be tossed when he passed away and wants them to go to someone who sees their value, Walker said. James has had the letters stored in a frame for about 30 years. James will be at DuMouchelles, 409 E. Jefferson Ave. in Detroit, from 6-6:30 p.m. on Nov. 10 to speak about the letters, his friendship with Weiss and the Great Lakes maritime industry with Joel Stone, sailor and former senior curator at the Detroit Historical Soceity’s Dossin Great Lakes Museum. An auction preview will take place from 5-7 p.m. The event is free to attend but people must register at rsvp@dumoart.com before 4 p.m.

DuMouchelles last year auctioned an Edmund Fitzgerald life ring that had been found by a man walking a Lake Superior beach shortly after the Fitzgerald sank in 1975.

James admits the letters he and Weiss exchanged are less than Shakespearean in an interview with Walker uploaded online. Weiss describes the difficulties of life as a young cadet dealing with older crew members who have “astounding” attitudes and his dreams for the commercial shipping off-season. “I need a lady, a bottle of wine and some tranquility,” Weiss wrote to James. “Beyond that, my mental health is par. I really don’t believe you could have it any worse, so I assume all has to be copacetic.”

Weiss was outspoken and determined to finish the season. He had “a lot of spirit,” James told Walker, the auctioneer.

James, while working on the Sterling, experienced the same November storm that caused the Fitzgerald to sink on Nov. 10, 1975. The Sterling was in western Lake Superior on its way to Silver Bay, Minnesota and was more protected from the storm because it was closer to shore. It had passed the Fitzgerald that day but their crews didn’t communicate. The storm was “a good one,” James told Walker, the auctioneer.

“It was a regular night except it was very, very rough,” he said. “Like I said, if it was rough for us since we were going into it, for them, I can’t imagine what it would become the farther east they got.”

James said he didn’t learn about the Fitzgerald’s sinking for about two days. The news stopped him in his tracks. He abandoned his dinner tray and walked up to the ship’s pilot house to see U.S. Coast Guard helicopters flying above, searching for debris. James isn’t grieving, exactly. He feels sentimental for his lost friend. “We never had an argument,” he told Walker. “It was all positive; there’s nothing I lament, there’s no feeling of remorse. There’s no grief here. There’s just happiness that I knew him.”

Carol Thompson – The Detroit News
Read the story here.

DULUTH, MN – The R/V Neil Armstrong arrived at Duluth Monday morning from its home port of Woods Hole, MA. The University of Minnesota Duluth is working with the research vessel to detect and observe neutrino interactions in Lake Superior. Neutrinos are the most abundant particles that have mass in the universe, and they pass through everything. They are very difficult to detect, so studying them requires special instruments.

A beam of neutrinos is already positioned by Fermilab that runs through Lake Vermilion and Lake Superior. The Neil Armstrong will deploy sensor frames on the lake bed of Lake Superior several miles offshore near Two Harbors. These frames are 30 feet tall and weigh 8,000 pounds each. When it’s dark at night, they will be able to detect neutrino particle beams underwater. They anticipate detecting several NuMI beam neutrinos per day during the experiments.

View an arrival video with a salute on Facebook here:

LUDINGTON, MI – Maritime historian, author and shipwreck explorer Valerie van Heest, whose work has helped shape the visitor experience at all three Mason County Historical Society museums, will be the featured speaker at the society’s annual dinner meeting Thursday, Dec. 3.

Van Heest, one of Michigan’s leading maritime historians and shipwreck researchers, will present “History of the Great Lakes,” based on her new book, “A History of the Great Lakes in Twelve Shipwrecks.” The program will explore 250 years of Great Lakes history through a dozen shipwrecks, showing how these underwater discoveries reveal broader stories of conflict, settlement, innovation and change.

The annual meeting will take place at the United Methodist Church of Ludington, 5810 Bryant Road. Doors will open at 5:45 p.m., with dinner beginning at 6 p.m. The society’s annual business meeting and organizational updates will follow dinner, and van Heest’s presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Van Heest is co-founder and president of the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association and has helped discover about 20 shipwrecks off Michigan’s west coast while participating in archaeological investigations at more than 50 shipwreck sites throughout the Great Lakes.

Her work combines archival research with underwater exploration, including side-scan sonar surveys, remotely operated vehicles and archaeological documentation. She has also spent years investigating the disappearance of Northwest Airlines Flight 2501, which vanished over Lake Michigan in 1950 with 58 people aboard.

Van Heest has strong ties to Mason County. Through her Holland-based firm, Lafferty van Heest & Associates, she has helped shape the visitor experience at all three Mason County Historical Society sites. She led exhibit design for the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum and the Rose Hawley Archives, designed the Heritage Trail interpretive signs at Historic White Pine Village and created the Mason County Sports Hall of Fame Museum exhibit, “Beyond the Game: The Value of Sports.”

An award-winning author, van Heest has written numerous books about Great Lakes maritime history, including “Lost on the Lady Elgin,” “Fatal Crossing: The Mysterious Disappearance of NWA Flight 2501,” “Lost & Found: Legendary Lake Michigan Shipwrecks” and “Buckets and Belts: Evolution of the Great Lakes Self-Unloader.”

Her newest book, “A History of the Great Lakes in Twelve Shipwrecks,” will be available for purchase at the meeting. Van Heest will also sign copies, providing attendees an opportunity to purchase signed books.

Tickets for the dinner and program are $40 per person. Reservations must be made by Monday, Nov. 23.

Tickets are available here.

MILWAUKEE, WI – Port Milwaukee is celebrating a record-breaking cruise ship season, welcoming nearly 20,000 passengers to the city in 2026 as Milwaukee continues to grow as a destination for Great Lakes cruises.

According to Port Milwaukee, 19,820 passengers visited the city aboard eight different cruise ships, which made a combined 62 stops between April 23 and October 31. That’s a significant increase from 2025, when approximately 11,000 passengers arrived on 22 cruise ship visits.

“Milwaukee’s 2026 cruise season was another exciting opportunity to showcase our city to visitors from around the world,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson said. “Each ship docked along our shoreline brings visitors who support our local businesses and restaurants, and contributes to the vibrancy of our waterfront.”

The record-breaking season also included the arrival of American Cruise Lines, which began offering Great Lakes itineraries through Milwaukee this year. On three occasions, the city welcomed three cruise ships at the same time.

The growth comes as Milwaukee prepares to open its new South Shore Cruise Dock. Construction remains on schedule and within budget, with completion expected by the end of 2026. The dock will accommodate some of the largest cruise ships operating on the Great Lakes.

Port Milwaukee Director Benji Timm says the new facility will create additional opportunities to bring visitors to the city.

“With continued interest in Milwaukee as a cruise destination and the upcoming opening of our new South Shore Cruise Dock, Port Milwaukee is well positioned to create more opportunities for visitors to experience our city,” Timm said.

The 2027 cruise season is scheduled to begin May 8, when the Viking Octantis arrives at the new South Shore Cruise Dock.

Port Milwaukee

SUPERIOR, WI – The final vessel has departed with coal from the Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior, bringing a half-century of major fossil fuel transshipment on the Twin Ports waterfront to an official close.

On Friday night, the 1,000-foot bulk carrier Walter J. McCarthy Jr. passed beneath the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge to take on the terminal’s concluding cargo before operations cease permanently. She departed mid-evening Saturday for the lower lakes.

Built in 1976, the Midwest Energy Resources Company facility served for decades as the largest coal transshipment hub on the Great Lakes, moving low-sulfur Powder River Basin rail coal onto giant lake freighters bound for lower Great Lakes utilities. With Detroit-based DTE Energy letting its waterfront property lease expire amid regional utility coal plant retirements, the closure will eliminate roughly 60 jobs while leaving city and port leaders searching for new industrial tenants for the 250-acre site.

Northern News Now and Wisconsin Public Radio

MONTREAL, QC – The bulk carrier Federal Beaufort arriving at the Port of Montreal Friday afternoon from downstream, reportedly struck the tanker Hinch Spirit, which was stationary and moored alongside at Section 35 while receiving bunkers.

The Hinch Spirit reportedly sustained damage to her port quarter and starboard side, while the Federal Beaufort sustained damage to her bow.

No injuries have been reported. Both vessels are currently moored alongside, awaiting divers and an investigation by Transport Canada.

Janey Anderson – Ship Junkies – Lakes, Locks & Rivers (LL&R)

SUPERIOR, WI – Walter J. McCarthy Jr. arrived under the Duluth Aerial Bridge Friday at 8 p.m. CST headed for the Superior Midwest Energy terminal dock (SMET) to load coal. This will be the last vessel to load at that dock, which has been decommissioned.

Midwest Energy Resources Company (MERC) built the terminal and began receiving coal in 1976. Over the past 50 years, millions of tons of coal have moved through the facility. The closure, due to declining demand for coal, will eliminate approximately 60 jobs. The Superior terminal is owned by DTE based in Michigan. DTE confirmed that a property lease expired in June and that the company did not intend to renew it.

The city of Superior and the Duluth-Superior Port Authority are looking for businesses to take over the site, according to the city.

Know Your Ships

DETROIT, MI – The oceanographic research vessel Neil Armstrong stopped in Detroit Friday to fuel. By 9 p.m. she was headed upriver and will pass Port Huron in the dark.

Owned by the Office of Naval Research, operated by WHOI, and shared by the US scientific community through University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS), Armstrong is on its first-ever research mission in fresh water!

The 238-foot ship is traveling through a network of rivers, locks, and inland waterways on an 11-day journey to Lake Superior. After voyaging 2500 nautical miles, it will stop in Duluth on Nov. 9.

Neil Schultheiss