Today in Great Lakes History

[Avenger]

Today in Great Lakes History - August 16

On 16 August 1890, the ANNIE WATT (wooden propeller, passenger and package freight "packet,” 75 foot, 62 gross ton, built in 1884, at Lion's Head, Ontario) collided with the ship WM. ALDERSON and sank off of Gunn Point, Ontario. Just the previous year (8 November 1889), ANNIE WATT had burned and been declared total loss, but she was rebuilt.

The captain of the 2 year old, 125-foot wooden schooner-barge JOHN F. RITCHIE brought his wife, two other women and several small children as guests on a voyage from Bay City, Michigan to Buffalo, New York. The RITCHIE was one of a string of four barges loaded with lumber in tow of the tug ZOUAVE. As the tow entered Lake Erie, they were struck by a terrifying storm. The RITCHIE broke her towline and was cast adrift. The deck load of lumber broke loose and everyone was in danger. The women and children were brought out of the cabin since it was considered to be a death trap and they were lashed on deck for safety. Soon the vessel was waterlogged and the cabin was actually washed away. On 17 August, a passing steamer took everyone aboard and towed the RITCHIE in to Cleveland, Ohio where she was repaired. Amazingly, no lives were lost.

August 16, 1902 - The PERE MARQUETTE 18 (Hull#412) was launched at Cleveland, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co. for the Pere Marquette Railway.

1921 – The wooden steamer H.N. JEX foundered off Long Point, Lake Ontario, while carrying coal between Sodus and Kingston. All on board were rescued.

1927 – NORTHERN LIGHT, a steel package freighter, left the Great Lakes for saltwater service in two sections in 1917. The vessel was ravaged by a fire that began in the coal bunker, at Mobile, AL. on this date in 1927. The engine was removed in 1928 and the hull converted to a barge. It foundered off the Florida Keys on November 8, 1930.

1966 – The PEAVEY PIONEER, laid up with damage from a May 31, 1966, grounding at Ashland, was traded to the U.S. Maritime Administration by Sea-Land Services for the C-4 transport GENERAL H.G. FREEMAN.

1967 – The third GEORGE HINDMAN went aground and sustained heavy damage in the St. Lawrence off Clayton, N.Y. The ship was inspected at Collingwood and considered beyond economical repair. It was sold to Marine Salvage for scrap and resold to Hyman-Michaels for dismantling at Duluth, arriving there on October 13, 1967.

[Avenger]

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.

[Avenger]

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.

[Avenger]

Today in Great Lakes History - August 19

On this day in 1865, the PEWABIC, Captain George P. McKay, was down bound on Lake Huron when she was rammed by her sister ship, METEOR. The PEWABIC sank with an estimated loss of 125 lives and a cargo of copper ingots, ore and hides valued at $500,000.

On 19 August 1902, OMAR D. CONGER (wooden propeller ferry, 92 foot, 200 gross tons, built in 1887, at Port Huron, Michigan) burned at Port Huron, Michigan. The entire upper works burned and the lower deck was also badly burned. She had burned on 20 June 1901, and had been rebuilt over the winter. She was again rebuilt and lasted until 1922.

The ROBERT S. PIERSON (i) was sold to P & H. Shipping Ltd. on August 19, 1982, and renamed e) SPRUCEGLEN.

The package freighter ARIZONA was launched on August 19, 1868, at Cleveland, Ohio by Quayle & Martin for E.T. & J.C. Evans of Buffalo, New York.

The CARDINAL, a.) WINDSOLITE, was towed to the Strathearne Terminal in Hamilton, Ontario on August 19, 1974, for scrapping.

On 19 August 1909, CITY OF GREEN BAY (wooden propeller passenger/package freight, 134 foot, 257 gross tons, built in 1880, at Fort Howard, Wisconsin as the sidewheeler M C HAWLEY) caught fire while crossing Saginaw Bay, burned to the waterline and sank. This wasn't her first experience with this type of accident since on 17 November 1887, she had burned to a "total loss" in Lake Michigan.

August 19, 1930 - The ANN ARBOR NO 7 towed the disabled tug FRED C GREILING from Frankfort, Michigan to Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.

The propeller QUEBEC was launched at the Chisholm & Simpson yard at Chatham, Ontario on 19 August 1874. She was built for the Beatty Line and designed to run between Sarnia and Duluth.

1906 – GOVERNOR SMITH, a wooden package freight carrier, sank in Lake Huron, about 8 miles off Pointe aux Barques, after a collision with the URANUS. All 20 on board were rescued.

1915 – The wooden passenger and freight carrier HENRY PEDWELL burned at Wiarton, ON but was salvaged and rebuilt at Owen Sound in 1916

1960 – BELLE ISLE II caught fire and sank after a collision with the HOLMSIDE on Lac St. Pierre in the St. Lawrence near Trois Rivieres. The ship had originally been the “Castle Class” corvette H.M.S. WOLVESEY CASTLE and later H.M.C.S. HUNTSVILLE for the Canadian Navy. It was rebuilt for cargo service as c) WELLINGTON KENT in 1947 becoming d) BELLE ISLE II in 1951. The hull was salvaged and towed up the Seaway to Portsmouth, ON on November 2, 1960, and broken up at Whitby, ON during the winter of 1965-1966. HOLMSIDE was later a casualty as b) CABINDA after hitting a jetty while inbound at Casablanca on December 28, 1980, with the loss of 9 lives.

1966 – JOHN E.F. MISENER went aground on Hard Island in the St. Lawrence and had to be lightered before being released on August 21.

1967 – The retired Paterson steamer SASKADOC, which last operated in 1966, was downbound at the Iroquois Lock under tow of GRAEME STEWART and SALVAGE MONARCH enroute to the scrapyard. It arrived at Santander, Spain, on September 24, 1967, along with the AUGUSTUS B. WOLVIN, behind the Polish tug JANTAR.

1988 – The Greek owned, Cypriot flag, freighter BLUESTONE arrived at Halifax to load flour, but the crew reported “hull cracks” and the Coast Guard said repairs must be made. The vessel first visited the Great Lakes as a) ASIA SWALLOW in 1980 and returned as b) BLUESTONE for the first time in 1985. The work was carried out. The ship finally cleared September 13 and operated until arriving at Chittagong, Bangladesh, for scrapping as e) VRITA N. about August 31, 1998.

[Avenger]

Today in Great Lakes History - August 20

On 20 August 1881, MICHIGAN (Hull#48), (iron propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 215 foot, 1,183 tons) was launched by the Detroit Dry Dock Company at Wyandotte, Michigan for the Goodrich Transportation Company. She was then taken to Milwaukee for fitting out and completion. She cost $159,212. She was designed by Frank E. Kirby especially for cross-lake winter service.

INDUSTRIAL TRANSPORT arrived at Toronto, Ontario, August 20, 1969, on her maiden voyage, with fuel oil.

R. BRUCE ANGUS in tandem tow with the ULS steamer GORDON C. LEITCH (i) behind the tug IRVING CEDAR arrived at Setœbal, Portugal August 20, 1985, where they were broken up. The a.) IRVING CEDAR is now Purvis Marine's c.) RELIANCE.

August 20, 1920 the WILLIS L. KING, upbound light in Whitefish Bay, was in collision with and sank the down bound Steel Trust steamer SUPERIOR CITY. The SUPERIOR CITY was struck nearly amidships and when the cold water reached her engine room, her boilers exploded. She sank immediately with 29 of her 33 crew members aboard.

The US266029, a.) WILLIAM CLAY FORD departed her lay-up berth at the Rouge slip on August 20, 1986, in tow of Gaelic tugs and she was taken to Detroit Marine Terminals on the Rouge River, where her pilothouse was removed to be displayed at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Detroit's Belle Isle.

On 20 August 1899, the HUNTER SAVIDGE (2-mast, wooden schooner, 117 foot, 152 gross tons, built in 1879, at Grand Haven, Michigan) capsized in a squall or tornado in Lake Huron. 5 survivors, including Capt. Fred Sharpstein, were rescued from the overturned schooner by the steamer ALEX MC VITTIE. However, 5 lost their lives, including the captain's wife and their son, the ship's owner's wife and daughter, and the Mate. Capt. Sharpstein patrolled the beaches looking for the bodies of his wife and son for months but they were never found. The wreck was found in 1987, near Grindstone City, Michigan.

On 20 August 1852, ATLANTIC (wooden sidewheeler, 267 foot, 1,155 tons, built in 1849, at Detroit, Michigan) was loaded with immigrants when she collided with the propeller freighter OGDENSBURG and quickly sank south of Long Point on Lake Erie at about 2:30 a.m. Of the 600 on board, estimates of death range from 150 to 250. Numerous salvage attempts have been made through the years up through 1989, since there were supposed to be valuables on board when she went down.

1874 – The CITY OF LONDON, built by Louis Shickluna at St. Catharines in 1865, was destroyed by a fire at Collins Inlet. The engine was later removed for installation in the CITY OF OWEN SOUND.

1900 – CAPTAIN THOMAS WILSON was launched at Port Huron for the Wilson Transit Co.

1903 – QUEEN OF THE WEST sank in a Lake Erie storm off Fairport, Ohio but the crew was rescued by the CODORUS. One sailor perished in the transfer between the two ships.

1919 – MOHEGAN was built as a wooden steam barge at Marine City in 1894. It left the lakes for ocean service in 1917. The ship was anchored at Rio de Janiero, Brazil, on this date in 1919 when an explosion and fire destroyed the vessel. All on board survived.

1964 – TEXACO WARRIOR hit bottom and settled in the Welland Canal with a punctured tank at Thorold South near Bridge 10. The ship was refloated and resumed service. It was scrapped at Sorel, QC, in 1978 as LAKE TRANSPORT (i).

1969 – PETER ROBERTSON, sold for scrap and anchored in western Lake Ontario, dragged her anchors in a storm and landed on the beach near Jordan Harbour, Ontario. The vessel was released August 24 and headed down the Seaway August 27 between the tugs SALVAGE MONARCH and HELEN M. McALLISTER on the next leg of the journey to Spain for scrapping.

1972 – VILLE DE QUEBEC was a pre-Seaway trader to the Great Lakes from 1955 to 1958 and returned inland, for three trips, in 1959. The ship sank off the coast of Albania, due to heavy weather, on this date as c) SUZY in 1972. It was enroute from Durres, Albania, to Patras, Greece. Eleven members of the crew were lost while only 7 survived.

1975 – The coastal freighter AIGLE D'OCEAN struck an iceberg off Port Burwell, Labrador, and sank. Only five crew were rescued. The ship had been inland on several occasions.

1977 – CAPO MELE first came through the Seaway as a) PIERRE L.D. in 1959 and again, for 3 trips, in 1960. It was sold and renamed b) CAPO MELE in 1961 and made 22 voyages to the Great Lakes from then through 1967. The ship sustained heavy damage from an engine room fire as e) PAULINA at Banjul, Gambia, and was sold for scrap. The vessel arrived at Santander, Spain, on October 17, 1977, for dismantling.

[Avenger]

Today in Great Lakes History - August 21

August 21, 1996 - The former U. S. Army Corps of Engineers tug MARQUETTE was downbound past Detroit on her delivery trip to her new owners, based in Key West, Florida. Renamed MONA LARUE in 1997, she is no longer in documentation.

At 7:10 p.m. on August 21, 1901, the whaleback steamer ALEXANDER McDOUGALL (steel propeller modified whaleback freighter, 413 foot, 3,686 gross tons, built in 1898, at W. Superior, Wisconsin) ran into and cut in two the tug GEORGE STAUBER (wooden propeller tug, 55 foot, 43 gross tons, built in 1883, at Buffalo, New York) in the rapids at the mouth of the St. Clair River. The STAUBER sank immediately in about 60 feet of water. No lives were lost. The steam barge IDA assisted in retrieving people in the water. The McDOUGALL did not stop.

BUFFALO's sea trials were conducted from August 21 through August 24, 1978.

GEORGE A. STINSON was christened at Detroit, Michigan on August 21, 1978.

CEDARGLEN, a.) WILLIAM C. ATWATER arrived under tow at Port Maitland, Ontario, on August 21, 1994, where she was scrapped.

THE HARVESTER cleared Lorain, Ohio, August 21, 1911, on her maiden voyage loaded with coal for Duluth, Minnesota.

IMPERIAL QUEBEC (Hull#161) was launched August 21, 1957, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for Imperial Oil Ltd.

Cleveland Tankers VENUS was sold to Acme Metals Inc. and was towed to Ashtabula, Ohio on August 21, 1975, where she was broken up in 1976.

On August 21, 1971, CHARLES DICK severed two underwater cables in the Maumee River, cutting off power to east Toledo and the Cherry Street Bridge. Massive traffic jams developed on Toledo's streets.

The graceful schooner HUNTER SAVIDGE was launched on August 21, 1879, by the Grand Haven Ship Building Company.

On August 21, 1856, CHARTER (wooden, propeller vessel, 132 foot, 197 tons, built in 1849, at Huron, Ohio as a sidewheeler), was bound from Cleveland for Buffalo with flour, oats and rye. She swamped and sank in a storm 6 miles above Fairport, Ohio. By the end of August, she had been damaged beyond repair but her machinery was recovered as she lay in relatively shallow water.

On August 21, 1861, BANSHEE (wooden propeller freighter, 119 foot, 166 tons, built in 1852, at Portsmouth, Ontario, named HERO in 1860-61) was carrying wheat, flour and butter to Montreal when her engine failed (broken shaft) and she was helpless in a storm on Lake Ontario. She foundered near Timber Island on Lake Ontario. One passenger died, but the crew of 10 made it to Timber Island. She was owned by Howard & Rowe of Quebec.

1954 - The British freighter PERTH, enroute from Toronto to St. John's, N.F., with general cargo, was damaged in a collision with an unidentified vessel off the south coast of Newfoundland. The pre-Seaway trader to the Great Lakes had been built as LOCHEE in 1937 and had also made a total of 3 inland voyages in 1959 and 1960.

1955 - A collision between the CASON J. CALLAWAY and the B.F. JONES occurred above Lime Island in the St. Marys River. The latter, upbound and light, was declared a total loss and taken to Superior. Part of the bottom of the hull was saved for use as the shipyard lighter SCC 1, the cabins were transplanted to the SPARKMAN D. FOSTER and the hatches, hatch lifter and funnel become part of the LYMAN C. SMITH. The three-year-old CASON J. CALLAWAY was repaired, outlasts all of the other ships and remains in service under the same name.

1973 - The first KINSMAN INDEPENDENT lost steering in the Neebish Rock Cut and went aground with heavy bottom damage. After being refloated, the ship was laid up at Lorain and, in 1974, sold to Marine Salvage for scrap. She arrived at Santander, Spain, for dismantling under tow of the Polish tug JANTAR, and in tandem with the JAMES DAVIDSON, on July 21, 1974

[yachtsmanwilly]

Littoral combat ship program under scrutiny

8/23 - Milwaukee, Wis. – A federal watchdog agency and at least two key lawmakers are questioning the wisdom of the U.S. Navy's $40 billion littoral combat ship program, which is supporting thousands of jobs and has already injected hundreds of millions of dollars into Wisconsin's economy.

A recent report from the Government Accountability Office says the warships — which cost up to $480 million each and are under construction in Marinette and in Mobile, Ala. — might not perform as expected. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is among the lawmakers expressing serious reservations about the program.

"LCS must not be allowed to become yet another failed program in an already unacceptably long list of amorphous acronyms that, after squandering literally billions of taxpayer dollars, have long since lost meaning," McCain said.

So far, two of the ships have been built by Wisconsin's Marinette Marine under a contract with Lockheed Martin Corp. Four more are under construction in Marinette, and two more are under contract for construction there in 2015.

The littoral program has been dogged by problems, including early cost overruns. The completed ships have suffered from mechanical problems as well as from delays in producing switchable mission modules aimed at making the ships adaptable to varied types of warfare.

Testing has revealed deficiencies with "core ship systems," according to the July 25 GAO report, which says Congress should consider restricting funding for additional littoral combat ships until the Navy completes technical and design studies.

Littoral combat ships are meant to be fast and capable of operating in shallow waters close to shore in places such as the Persian Gulf.

"We continue to believe that the acquisition approach for this program, with large quantities of ships and modules being bought ahead of key test events, is risky, especially for a new class of ship like LCS," Paul Francis, a GAO official, said in recent testimony before a House of Representatives subcommittee looking into the program.

"The current LCS program is not the program envisioned over a decade ago," Francis said, adding the Navy still doesn't know how well the ships will perform their missions, how well the unique crew and maintenance concepts will work, or how much it will cost to equip and support the ships.

Further, the Navy is still considering changes to the ships and determining whether there are advantages to having two radically different designs — one built by Lockheed and Marinette, and the other by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala.

"These are things the Navy and Congress should know before contracting for more than half of the ships," Francis said.

The Navy wants to buy 52 of the high-speed warships over 15 years at a cost of more than $40 billion, including the expense of add-on mission modules.

For the initial 20 ships, the work is being divided between Marinette and Austal, creating thousands of jobs at the shipyards and their suppliers and pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the surrounding communities.

Initially, the program experienced cost overruns that doubled the cost per vessel. USS Freedom, the first littoral ship built by Marinette, suffered several setbacks, including a 6-inch crack in the hull, a failed gas turbine, problems with the jet propulsion system and a leak in the port-shaft seal that caused flooding inside the vessel.

In late July, USS Freedom took another hit when it was forced back to its base in Singapore for maintenance while participating in international training exercises.

The ship briefly lost propulsion but never lost complete power, according to the Navy, which later said the problem resulted from the diesel generators' overheating and shutting down.

McCain took aim at the program in July 30 remarks on the Senate floor. The Navy plans to purchase many, if not most, of the ships before knowing whether they will work as advertised, he said.

"The decision to deploy USS Freedom prior to the completion of critical developmental and operational testing may be good salesmanship on the part of the Navy. But the current plan to buy more than half of the total LCS fleet prior to the completion of operational testing plainly contradicts defense acquisition guidelines and best procurement practices — and amounts to a case of 'buy before you fly,' to borrow a phrase from aircraft acquisitions," McCain said.

"In terms of actual cost and cost to our national security, we simply cannot afford to continue committing our limited resources to an unproven program that may eventually account for more than a third of the surface-combatant fleet," McCain said.

Another key lawmaker, U.S. Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), chairman of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, also questioned the program, noting that concerns have been raised about the "survivability" of the ships in combat.

The Navy, however, says it's not backing away from the littoral combat ship and its plug-and-play mission modules, which are to be loaded on the vessels for specific missions such as sweeping for mines, hunting submarines and defeating fast attack boats in coastal waters.

Even if the modules can't be switched out in several days, as originally anticipated, the ships will be adaptable to new tactics and technologies, according to Rear Adm. Thomas Rowden, who has defended the program.

Some of the cost overruns and mechanical problems with USS Freedom were to be expected for a ship that's the first of its kind, Marinette Marine says.

About 80% of the improvements the Navy wanted after early reviews of the Freedom were included in the construction of the next ship, USS Fort Worth, said Joe North, vice president of the LCS program at Lockheed Martin.

The Fort Worth was delivered two months ahead of schedule in June 2012 and was on budget at a price of $360 million, according to North.

The shipbuilding program has resulted in thousands of jobs at Marinette and 700 suppliers in 43 states, including more than 120 Wisconsin companies. At its peak in 2014, the program is expected to support up to 13, 000 jobs.

About 90% of the 1,400 Marinette Marine shipyard employees are working on the littoral combat ships, according to the company, which has only one other ship, an Alaskan fisheries research vessel, under construction.

"We are basically focused on giving the Navy what we promised. I can't speculate on what Congress might decide to do or not do, but we are going to deliver ships as promised and continue to make improvements and increase efficiencies," North said.

The GAO report is the latest red flag that's been raised about the program.

A confidential Navy report completed last year, and obtained by Bloomberg News, warned that the ships may not be able to perform their missions because they're too lightly staffed and armed. The Navy has since increased staffing levels on the ship by 25%, to 50 crew members.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) says the Navy has told him the LCS program is a high priority even as the Department of Defense faces billions of dollars in sequestration-related budget cuts.

"They acknowledged there were problems with the first ships built, but they're still very supportive of the mission," Johnson said.

It would take a lot to sink the program at this point, given that the Navy has already committed billions of dollars and years worth of work, according to some Washington insiders.

"Everyone agrees there are important issues that need to be worked out. But I think the Navy is confident they can remedy them over time," said John Rogers, a former high-ranking Department of Defense official and now president of Capstone National Partners, a Milwaukee-based consulting firm. Slowing down the program would be the worst mistake the Navy could make, said Robert Work, former undersecretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2013.

"Everything about this ship is different. So we shouldn't be surprised that we are learning as we go, because it's such a different kettle of fish," Work said.

But some other experts disagree, including Norman Polmar, who has been an adviser or consultant to three U.S. secretaries of the Navy and two chiefs of Naval Operations.

The littoral combat ship was a great concept that's been poorly executed, according to Polmar, who says that nine years into the program, none of the original three mission modules is ready for production.

"I am really opposed to this project because of the way it has been managed. We should stop producing the ships right now, put the program on hold, and immediately convene an objective Navy and civilian review group to look at the whole program and decide what to do," Polmar said.

Canceling the program, or putting it on hold, could result in heavy job losses at the shipyards and their suppliers. It would have a significant impact throughout northeast Wisconsin, said Jim Golembeski, executive director of the Bay Area Workforce Development Board in Green Bay.

Gov. Scott Walker, in a recent letter to Wisconsin's congressional delegation, underscored the importance of the program and urged that it not be canceled.

"Some in Congress are considering amending the National Defense Authorization Act to stop or disrupt production of the littoral combat ships. I respectfully request that you oppose those efforts," Walker wrote.

But it doesn't make sense to continue pouring billions of dollars into a flawed program just because the Navy is already deep into it, according to Polmar.

"The basic concept is flawed," he said. "And when you add to that the costs, the delays, and the fact that the Navy is buying two designs of these ships ... I am far from impressed."

For now, the program continues: On Friday, the Navy announced that the next littoral ship to be built in Marinette — contingent on congressional approval — will be named USS Indianapolis, after the World War II ship famous for escorting convoys and attacking submarines.



Coast Guard pursues, assists in apprehension of boater suspected of felony evasion of law enforcement officer

8/23 - Cleveland, Ohio – Coast Guard crews pursued and assisted in the apprehension of a boater who is suspected of felony evading of a law enforcement officer Monday night on Lake Erie.

At about 9:15 p.m., a Coast Guard Station Marblehead, Ohio, boatcrew aboard a 47-foot Motor Life Boat reported to the Coast Guard Sector Detroit command center that, while they were conducting hoist training with an aircrew aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Detroit, they witnessed a 30-foot high performance vessel cross within 100 yards of the MLBs bow at a high rate of speed with no navigation lights on.

Sector Detroit diverted the MLB and helicopter crews from training to pursue the vessel. A second Station Marblehead boatcrew aboard a 33-foot Special Purpose Craft-Law Enforcement was launched to assist. The vessel operator failed to stop, even after the MLB crew energized its law enforcement lights.

The helicopter crew followed the vessel to the Willow Cove Marina in Sandusky, Ohio, where the vessel moored. Sector Detroit contacted the Sandusky Police Department and Customs and Border Protection who dispatched officers as well.

Once on scene, the Sandusky PD charged the operator with felony evading a law enforcement officer and took him into custody.


National Transportation Safety Board releases report on Patrice McAllister

8/23 - Several crewmen were injured and the chief engineer lost his life in a fire, which occurred on Lake Ontario on March 27, 2012 as the tug, which formerly sailed the lakes as the Cleveland, was being delivered to new, East Coast owners. Read the full report here
www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2013/MAB1310.pdf


Today in Great Lakes History - August 24

At 2:00 a.m. on 24 August 1892, the GEORGE N. BRADY (wooden propeller tug, 102 foot, 165 gross tons, built in 1865, at Detroit or Marine City, Michigan) was engaged in pulling a raft of logs across Lake St. Clair along with the tug SUMNER. Fire was discovered around the BRADY's smokestack and the flames quickly spread. The crew was taken off of the stricken vessel by the SUMNER, and the BRADY was cut free of the raft. The blazing vessel drifted to the American shore where she sank about three miles north of Grosse Pointe, Michigan. No lives were lost.

LEON SIMARD (Hull#413) was launched August 24, 1974, at Sorel, Quebec by Marine Industries Ltd. for Branch Lines Ltd. Renamed b.) L'ORME NO 1 in 1982. Sold off the lakes in 1997, renamed c.) TRADEWIND OCEAN d.) AMARA in 2001 and MENNA in 2008

On August 24, 1910, the THOMAS F. COLE ran aground on a shoal in the St. Marys River, severely damaging her hull plates.

The WARD AMES (Hull #518) was launched on August 24, 1907, at West Superior, Wisconsin by Superior Ship Building Co. for the Acme Steamship Co. (Augustus B. Wolvin, mgr.). Renamed b.) C.H. McCULLOUGH JR. in 1916. She was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario in 1980.

On August 24, 1985, PAUL H. CARNAHAN arrived for her final lay up at Nicholson's in Ecorse, Michigan. Ironically, only a few hours later, her near sister LEON FALK JR departed the same slip on her final trip bound for Quebec City and overseas scrapping.

The steam barge BURLINGTON of 1857, 137 foot, 276 gross tons ex-package freighter, burned to the water's edge in the Straits of Mackinac on August 24, 1895.

On 24 August 1885, IOSCO (wooden schooner-barge, 124 foot, 230 gross tons, built at Alabaster, Michigan in 1873) was heavily damaged by fire. She was rebuilt as an unrigged barge and lasted until 1912.

On 24 August 1882, The Port Huron Times reported that "the long looked for launch of the Stave Company's new river steamer MARY took place this afternoon between 4 and 5 o'clock and was witnessed by hundreds of spectators. The last support being knocked away, she slid very gracefully as far as the ways reached and then landed anything but gracefully in the mud where she now lies." She remained stuck in the mud until she was pulled free five days later.

1901: The wooden barge H.A. BARR of the Algoma Central Railway was lost in Lake Erie 30 miles from Port Stanley after breaking the towline in a storm. The vessel was enroute from Michipicoten to Buffalo with a cargo of iron ore. All on board were rescued by the towing steamer THEANO.

1979: The retired steamer KINSMAN ENTERPRISE (i), sold for $145,000, arrived at Port Huron from Toledo, under tow of the tug MALCOLM, for use as the storage barge HULL NO. 1.

1998: CANADIAN LEADER went aground near DeTour, Mich., and had to be lightered. The ship was able to proceed to Montreal for unloading her cargo of grain and then arrived at Port Weller Dry Docks August 31 for repairs.

2005: The Dutch salty VLIEBORG lost power and failed to complete a turn departing Duluth, striking the north pier, toppling a light standard and damaging the steel piling. The vessel had begun Seaway service in 2001. In 2012, it was renamed c) ANTARCTIC SEA and placed under Norwegian registry.

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


Great Lakes Shipyard to fabricate new floating breakwater for Whiskey Island

8/24 - Cleveland, Ohio – Great Lakes Shipyard has been awarded a contract by Whiskey Island Marina to fabricate a new floating breakwater. The shipyard will build two 150-foot-long steel cylindrical modules that will be bolted together and anchored in the lake bottom in front of the marina. The project is to be completed by mid-November.

The 10-foot diameter breakwater is used for wake attenuation to protect the boats and docks in the marina basin from heavy weather and is ballasted to the 6.5 waterline.

The shipyard built a similar floating breakwater for Perry’s Landing Marina in Erie, Pa., in 2010. That project involved the assembly of five 40 x 5 wide x 8 sections, ballasted to the 4.5 waterline.

To learn more, visit www.thegreatlakesgroup.com.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - August 26

In 1791, John Fitch was granted a United States patent for the steamboat.

On August 26,1872, wooden propeller steamer LAKE BREEZE of 1868, was steaming from Saginaw to Mackinaw City with freight and about 40 passengers when fire broke out in the kitchen while off Au Sable, Michigan. Captain M. S. Lathrop ordered the engines shut down and the steam pumps activated. The crew battled the blaze with fire hoses and put the flames out. When the LAKE BREEZE pulled into Mackinaw City that night, the partially burned vessel was still smoking.

The EDGAR B. SPEER's sea trials were successfully completed on August 26, 1980.

The BEECHGLEN was towed out of Owen Sound by the McKeil tug KAY COLE on August 26, 1994, in route to Port Maitland, Ontario, for scrapping.

The HENRY C. FRICK (Hull#615) was launched August 26, 1905, at West Bay City, Michigan, by West Bay City Ship Building Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. Renamed b.) MICHIPICOTEN in 1964, she foundered off Anticosti Island on November 17, 1972, while being towed overseas for scrapping.

EMORY L. FORD entered service on August 26, 1916, to load iron ore at Marquette, Michigan. Renamed b.) RAYMOND H. REISS in 1965. She was scrapped at Ramey's Bend in 1980.

The GLENEAGLES (Hull#14) was launched August 26, 1925, at Midland, Ontario, by Midland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. for the Great Lakes Transportation Co. Ltd. (James Playfair, mgr.). Converted to a self-unloader in 1963. Renamed b.) SILVERDALE in 1978. She was scrapped at Windsor, Ontario, in 1984.

The CHIEF WAWATAM (Hull#119) was launched on August 26, 1911, at Toledo, Ohio, by Toledo Ship Building Co. for the Mackinaw Transportation Co. She was built with three large propellers, two in the stern for propulsion and one in the bow for icebreaking. She was sold to Purvis Marine Ltd., of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in 1988, and cut down to a barge.

The Port Weller Drydocks Ltd., built, passenger-cargo ship FEDERAL PALM (Hull#29) was christened August 26, 1961, for the West Indies Shipping Corp., Ltd. She was built on the Great Lakes, but never served their ports. Renamed b.) CENPAC ROUNDER in 1975, she was scrapped in 1979.

On August 26, 1934, while on a Sunday sightseeing cruise, MIDLAND CITY of 1871, a.) MAUD 153.2 foot, 521 gross tons, damaged her bottom on a shoal near Present Island in Georgian Bay. She settled with her stern under water and her bow high in the air.

On 26 August 1875, COMET (propeller passenger/package freight, 181 foot, 744 tons, built in 1857, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying ore and pig iron in Lake Superior on a foggy night. While trying to pass the Beatty Line steamer MANITOBA, 7 miles SE of Whitefish Point, signals were misunderstood and COMET veered into the path of MANITOBA. COMET was rammed amidships and sank in ten minutes. 11 of the 21 aboard lost their lives. This wasn't the first such accident for COMET. In October 1869, she suffered a similar mishap with the propeller HUNTER and that time both vessels sank.

The schooner MATTHEW McNAIR was launched at the Lee & Lamoree shipyard in Oswego, New York, on August 26,1857. Her dimensions were 103 foot keel, 24 foot 6 inch beam and 9 foot 6 inch depth.

1911 CITY OF GENOA, downbound in the St. Clair River with 125,000 bushels of corn, collided with the W.H. GILBERT and sank 100 yards offshore. The crew was rescued and the hull salvaged by Reid on September 20, 1911, but was irreparable and a total loss.

1955 JOHANNA, a West German freighter, went aground at Point Iroquois and received damage to bottom plates. The tugs SALVAGE PRINCE, RIVAL, CAPT. M.B. DONNELLY and lighter COBOURG helped release the vessel on September 3 and it went to Kingston for repairs. JOHANNA was later a Seaway trader and made 18 inland voyages from 1959 to 1965.

1978 The second AVONDALE was damaged by an arson fire in the pilothouse while laid up along the Welland Canal below Lock 8.

1979 QUEBECOIS went aground on a mud bank near the entrance to Lake St. Clair after an electronic malfunction but was released in 9 hours

1988 A challenging fire in the bowthruster tunnel aboard ALGOMARINE at Port Weller Dry Docks in St. Catharines sent two firemen to hospital. Some plates were buckled. The ship was being converted to a self-unloader at the time.



Wooden beam gets CT scan in hope of linking it to Griffin shipwreck

8/26 - Gaylord, Mich. - Technicians at a northern Michigan hospital used a CT scan machine Saturday to take X-rays of a wooden beam that could be part of the Griffin, a ship commanded by the French explorer La Salle that has been missing for more than three centuries.

The procedure was the latest twist in a decades-old quest by diver and history buff Steve Libert to locate the vessel, which disappeared in 1679 after setting sail from an island near Lake Michigan's Green Bay with a crew of six and a cargo of furs. A dive team retrieved the timber in June after discovering to their disappointment that it wasn't attached to buried wreckage.

They hope the CT scan, which produced images of tree rings inside the beam, will help determine whether it was cut down around the time the Griffin was built. A Cornell University expert in dendrochronology -- a scientific technique that uses ring patterns to date trees -- has agreed to analyze the images, which were recorded on compact discs.

"It's very important," Libert said. "Now this comes down to science."

He said the timber could be the Griffin's bowsprit -- a spur or pole that extends from a vessel's stem. Michigan's state archaeologist, Dean Anderson, has said he isn't convinced the beam is part of a ship and contends it could be a stake from a "pound net," a type of fishing gear used in past centuries.

A small crowd watched, many snapping photos, as crewmen with Libert's Great Lakes Exploration Group unloaded the nearly 20-foot-long timber from a trailer at Otsego Memorial Hospital in Gaylord, about 225 miles northwest of Detroit. The hospital is near the timber's storage spot-- a location Libert is keeping secret to prevent theft or vandalism.

The oak beam has been submerged in water and preservative chemicals. One end is split, and three peg-like pieces of wood protrude from the side. Libert said they are "tree nails" and provide further evidence the beam was fashioned by humans.

For the scan, it was wrapped in a permeable fabric and placed inside a cradle made of PVC pipe. Eight men lowered the slab, which weighs about 400 pounds, onto dollies and wheeled it down a hallway to the hospital's radiology section, manoeuvring carefully around corners and through doorways. Then they donned rubber gloves and hefted it into the room with the scanning machine.

There, it was placed on an examining table usually occupied by patients being X-rayed to detect cancerous tumors, blockages in blood vessels or other internal ailments. The mechanical table eased one end of the timber -- a nearly five-foot-long section -- into the doughnut-shaped scanning machine, where a spinning X-ray camera recorded cross-section images of the interior. Readings were taken about an inch apart for 10 minutes.

The crew then lugged the timber into the hallway, turned it around and took it back for a scan of the other end.

A computer read the images and projected them onto screens in an adjacent room. Tree rings were clearly visible, and radiology director Andy Lanway said technicians counted at least 29. Carol Griggs, the Cornell specialist, has said 50 or more might be needed to determine when the tree was felled by matching ring patterns with those of other trees in the university's archive.

"I'm not sure it's going to be enough," Libert acknowledged. But he added, "There might be more rings. They might be so tight that we couldn't see them with the naked eye."

The rings weren't as clear as those of treated lumber that the hospital scanned earlier as a test, Lanway said. "That may be due to the age, or its being in the water for so long," he said.

Regardless of the outcome, Lanway said the hospital was glad to have taken part in the experiment.

"If this is what they think it is, it's of great historical significance," he said.

Griggs has said it could take up to a year to complete her study and write a report. If it's inconclusive, Libert said the next step might be extracting a core sample for a carbon 14 test, another dating method.

In the meantime, he said he intends to keep searching the floor of northern Lake Michigan near uninhabited Poverty Island for other signs of the Griffin, which he's convinced is nearby. He found the possible bowsprit there during a 2001 dive. But because of a legal dispute with the state over ownership of the timber, it took until this year to get permits to excavate the lakebed.

"Most of us think this is the Griffin," said Tom Gouin, vice-president of operations for Great Lakes Diving and Salvage, the Gaylord company that provided the dive crew. "We're all excited to get back out there and find the rest of it."

CTV News



Algoma Equinox preparing for sea trials before voyage to Canada

8/26 - The Algoma Equinox, the first in a series of Equinox Class bulk carriers offering significantly-enhanced operating and environmental efficiencies, is in the final stages of preparation at Nantong Mingde Heavy Industries shipyard in China prior to imminent sea trials and the long voyage to Canada to begin service on the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Waterway.

"We hope to see her trading on the waterway by mid-fall 2013," Wayne Smith, Vice-President Commercial of Algoma Central Corporation (ACC), told Maritime Magazine.

Algoma Central Corporation of St. Catharines, Ontario, has invested about C$400 million for eight new ships, including six Equinox Class bulk carriers.

The naming ceremony for the Algoma Equinox took place last April at Nantong.

Among special features are fresh water gas scrubbers removing 97% of sulphur dioxide emissions and two-stroke engines that consume 45% less fuel per cargo tonne than the older four-stroke engines. Additional cargo space results from an innovative hull design.

Maritime Magazine



U.S.-Flag Cargo Movement on Lakes Off Slightly in July

8/26 - Cleveland, Ohio – U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters (lakers) carried 10.3 million tons of dry-bulk cargo in July, a slight increase over June, but a decrease of 2.2 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. The July float was also down 6.6 percent from the months long-term average.

U.S.-flag lakers moved 4.6 million tons of iron ore in July, 76.7 percent of all ore moving on the Lakes/Seaway that month. The 4.6 million tons represent a 6.7 increase compared to a year ago, but a drop of 5.7 percent compared to the months long-term average.

Coal shipments in U.S. hulls totaled 2 million tons in July, 70.6 percent of all coal moving on the Lakes that month. The 2 million tons represent an increase of 13.5 percent compared to a year ago, but a decrease of 14.4 percent compared to the months long-term average.

The 3.1 million tons of limestone hauled by U.S.-flag lakers in July represent 87 percent of the Lakes trade in that commodity that month. However, the 3.1 million tons represent a decrease of 20 percent compared to a year ago. The decrease is much more modest 3.3 percent compared to the months long-term average.

Through July, the U.S.-flag float stands at 43.1 million tons, a decrease of 4.1 percent compared to a year ago. Iron ore cargos are down by 3.7 percent. Coal loadings are virtually unchanged from a year ago. Shipments of limestone are 7.8 percent off last years pace.

Lake Carriers Association

[yachtsmanwilly]

Tug capsizes, captain rescued in Welland Canal

8/27 - Thorold, Ont. - The captain of a tugboat had to be rescued from Welland Canal waters after his vessel capsized.

"It's extremely rare," said St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. spokesman Jean Aubry-Morin. "I don't recall the last time this happened." Aubry-Morin said the incident took place shortly before 1 a.m. Monday at Lock 4 in Thorold.

Mariners are advised that due to the incident, the west side of the flight locks will be out of service until further notice

Two tugboats, the Andrew J. and Kimberly Anne, were pushing an upbound barge inside the flight locks. As the lock was filling with water, the smaller tug Andrew J. capsized and sank for unknown reasons.

The captain of the tug — the only occupant — escaped from his vessel, and was immediately rescued from the water by his counterpart in the other tug. There were no injuries, but the rescued man was taken to hospital for observation.

"Obviously, there was some fright as it was a traumatic event," said Aubry-Morin. "There were no other injuries of the crew, or ground crew."

A small amount of diesel spilled into the water. Aubry-Morin said the west lane of the flight locks will be out of operation as the salvage operation continues through the day. A large crane is assisting in the effort.

The Welland Canal is otherwise open to northbound and southbound shipping, though passages will be slower today.

"We hope before the end of the day (Monday), everything will be back to normal," Aubry-Morin said. He said the Seaway would be investigating to find out why the boat sank.

St. Catharines Standard



Beaver Island Ferry removed from run again

8/27 - Beaver Island, Mich. – A problem with a routine engine oil test result prompted officials with the Beaver Island Boat Company and the Beaver Island Transportation Authority to take the island’s main ferry, the Emerald Isle, out of service Thursday.

Authority executive director Barb Schwartzfisher said the bad test results came back Thursday afternoon when the Emerald Isle was in Charlevoix, and officials took the ferry out of service as a precautionary measure. The ferry returned to the island under its own power without passengers and crews are now working to determine what caused the bad test result.

Schwartzfisher said it's unknown how long the Emerald Isle will be out of service, but she expects it to only be a matter of days – much less time than earlier this summer when the ferry’s port engine failed, leaving the vessel out of commission for about a month.

In the meantime, the island’s secondary ferry, the Beaver Islander, will again be handling the bulk of the islands water-based transportation needs. Schwartzfisher said the switch to the Beaver Islander will cause some changes to the Beaver Island Boat Company’s schedule until the Emerald Isle is back in service. She recommends those with travel plans visit www.bibco.com for updates.

Courier





Today in Great Lakes History - August 27

The new Poe Lock at the Soo was first flooded on 27 August 1968.

On August 27, 1886, The Detroit Evening News reported that a fireman on the tug J. H. HACKLEY of 1874, was sent to watch for a leak in the boiler, which was being filled with cold water at a dock in Chicago. He fell asleep and the boiler overflowed, very nearly sinking the vessel before another tug could pump her dry.

AGAWA CANYON (Hull#195) was launched in 1971, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for Algoma Central Railway Ltd.

C.C.G.S. SAMUEL RISLEY arrived at Toronto, Ontario, on August 27, 1985, on her way to Thunder Bay, Ontario, where she replaced the retired C.C.G.C. ALEXANDER HENRY.

JOHN O. McKELLAR (Hull#12) was launched August 27, 1952, at St. Catharines, Ontario, by Port Weller Drydocks Ltd. for the Colonial Steamship Co. Ltd. (Scott Misener, mgr.), Port Colborne, Ontario. Renamed b.) ELMGLEN in 1984.

The WILLIAM CLAY FORD, then renamed b.) US266029, departed her lay-up berth at the Rouge slip on August 20, 1986, in tow of Gaelic tugs and was taken to Detroit Marine Terminals on the Rouge River, where her pilothouse was removed to be displayed at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Detroit's Belle Isle. The hull was moved to Nicholson's River Rouge dock on August 27.

WILLIAM B. DICKSON (Hull#75) was launched August 27, 1910, at Ecorse, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed b.) MERLE M. McCURDY in 1969, she was scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario, in 1989.

The U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender MESQUITE (WAGL-305) was commissioned on August 27, 1943, and served on the Pacific Ocean in the 7th Fleet in 1944 and 1945.

On August 27, 1940, the WILLIAM A. IRVIN set the Great Lakes record for the fastest unloading of an iron ore cargo using shore side equipment. The IRVIN unloaded 13,856 gross tons of iron ore in 2 hours, 55 minutes (including the time to arrive and depart the dock) in Conneaut, Ohio. This record still stands, and consequently the IRVIN is one of the few Great Lakes vessels to be retired while still holding a Great Lakes cargo record.

On August 27, 1929, the MYRON C. TAYLOR entered service.

On August 27, 1924, CITY QUEEN (wooden propeller steam tug, 71 foot, 69 gross tons, built in 1900, at Midland, Ontario) burned to a total loss 14 miles east of the Manitou Dock in Georgian Bay.

The keel for the tug CRUSADER was laid on August 27, 1873, at the Leighton & Dunford yard in Port Huron, Michigan. The tug's dimensions were 100 foot keel, 132 foot overall, and 23 foot beam. She was built for George E. Brockway.

1909: PRESCOTT, a wooden sidewheel passenger ship used on the Toronto to Montreal run, was destroyed by a fire at Montreal. It burned to the waterline and sank at Victoria Pier.

1940: BOLIVAR, built at Wyandotte as LAKE FACKLER, had returned to the Great Lakes in 1933. The ship foundered in the Bay of Bengal again known as d) BOLIVAR

1952: Ten tons of sugar aboard the CITY OF KINGSTON burned in a one-hour fire at Montreal.

1965: The Swedish freighter EVA JEANETTE ran up over the stern of the tug VEGCO in Lock 4 of the Welland Canal, sinking the latter vessel. There were no injuries and the tug was salvaged. EVA JEANETTE arrived at Chittagong, Bangladesh, for scrapping as d) SKOPELOS STAR on January 21, 1984. The tug later sailed as d) NORWICH and became e) SEAGULL in 1998.

2008: GERTJE, a Seaway trader in 1991, sent out a distress call as h) LADY F. with water entering the holds. A tug arrived and removed the six crew members. The vessel was towed into Bougas, Bulgaria, the next day. The ship was repaired and became i) SAMER F. in 2010.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - August 28

St. Marys River
Fog brought traffic to a stop Tuesday morning. Among the vessels delayed were the downbound James R. Barker, Hon. James L. Oberstar, St. Clair and Stewart J. Cort, as well as the upbound American Integrity. The Cort was further delayed by an inspection of an unknown nature; she didn’t lock down until mid-afternoon. In the early afternoon, the new Thunder Bay was upbound. Manistee, an unusual visitor, spent the day unloading at Essar Steel before heading downbound just after dark. Two tugs from Duluth-based Heritage Marine – Edward H and Nels J – were headed upbound mid-day Tuesday, bound back to Duluth after a stint at the MCM Marine drydock.

Lorain, Ohio - Phil Leon
Dorothy Ann and barge Pathfinder were just starting to pass under the Charles Berry bridge at 02:10 a.m. Tuesday to head out into Lake Erie after unloading in port.



Coast Guard Station Port Huron begins training on new response boat

8/28 - Port Huron, Mich. – The crew of Coast Guard Station Port Huron, Mich., began training on the station's new 45-foot Response-Boat-Medium, Monday. The crew took possession of the boat Thursday.

The RB-M can respond faster than previous boats of similar size with a top speed in excess of 40 knots, has advanced search capability with an installed forward-looking infrared search technology. Additionally, with twin jet propulsion, the vessel is able to respond in shallower water.

"We are excited to bring a new and improved boat to the Blue Water Area," said Chief Petty Officer Kevin J. Stryker, officer-in-charge of Station Port Huron. "This new 45-foot response boat will replace the aging 41-foot Utility Boat, greatly enhancing the Coast Guard's capabilities and response time and allowing us to better serve the public."

The boat has a deep-V double-chine hull, which provides a balance of performance and stability. The vessel is also self-righting; if it capsizes in rough seas, the boat is designed to roll back over. It can handle heavy seas and waves up to 12 feet and carry up to 24 people.

The RB-M is being added to Station Port Huron's current craft complement, consisting of the 41-foot UTB and one 25-foot Response Boat-Small.

With a top speed of more than 40 knots, the highly capable RB-M allows crews to arrive on scene faster. Station Port Huron's crew will continue to use the UTB as the RB-M becomes fully operational and all crewmembers are qualified. Right now, plans are to continue using the UTB until it is removed from the water for the Great Lakes ice season, at which point it will be divested.

The RB-M was built by Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wis.



Steel production falls by 13,000 tons in Great Lakes states

8/28 - Raw steel production in the country's Great Lakes region was about 604,000 tons in the week ending Aug. 24, according to an American Iron and Steel Institute estimate.

Production fell by 13,000 tons or about 2.1 percent from the week prior, marking the sixth straight week steel production has declined in the Great Lakes region. Most of the raw steel production in the Great Lakes region takes place in Indiana and the Chicago area.

Production in the Southern District was estimated at 707,000 tons last week, down slightly from 709,000 tons a week earlier.

Total domestic raw steel production last week was about 1.86 million tons, down from 1.88 million tons the week prior.

U.S. steel mills had a capacity utilization rate of 77.7 percent last week, which is down from 78.4 percent a week earlier. The capacity utilization rate had been 76.3 percent at the same time last year. So far this year, domestic steel producers have had a capacity utilization rate of 77.1 percent, which is down from 77.8 during the same period in 2012.

Domestic mills have produced an estimated 62.8 million tons of steel this year, down 4.4 percent from the same period last year. The mills had made about 65.7 million tons of steel by Aug. 24 in 2012. Steel imports inched up in July, but the market remained weaker than last year, according to the American Institute for International Steel. Total steel imports in July were 2.47 million tons, a 0.6 percent increase over June but a 10.9 percent decrease from July 2012.

So far this year, steel imports have decreased by 10.8 percent to 18.2 million tons.

NWI Times




St. Clair County river walk under construction

8/28 - Port Huron, Mich. – The Blue Water River Walk is taking shape along the shoreline of the St. Clair River, and St. Clair County commissioners got a look Thursday at the progress.

Chairman Jeff Bohm asked Randy Maiers, president and chief executive officer of the Community Foundation of St. Clair County, to show the board what has been accomplished so far and talk about what should be done by the end of the year.

“I wanted everybody to get an idea of the magnitude of this project,” Bohm said. “It is one thing to hear about everything that is going on; it is another to see it. I honestly believe this is the next area that we have to keep on our radar for development and so we need to know what is happening.”

The foundation is in the midst of several projects to restore the shoreline to make it more accessible. Maiers said while most of the work will be complete this year, more attractions and features will continue to show up next year.

The cost of the entire project, which involves several community partners, is estimated to be between $5 million and $6 million.

Large limestone blocks are beginning to outline public use spaces, such as the outdoor classroom and fishing piers that will line the nearly 4,300-foot-long paved pedestrian path. The path is expected to be complete this fall.

“Public access is one of the keys,” Maiers said, standing on one of the limestone steps at the outdoor classroom at the north end of the River Walk. “Imagine being here for the Port Huron/Sarnia power boat races and the view you will have, or the fireworks for that matter.”

Maiers said that while the county has an abundance of riverfront access, much of it is boardwalk. The areas where people can walk down to the water are few — but just up the shoreline from the outdoor classroom, the public gets that opportunity.

A 300-foot pebble beach was completed in the beginning of the project last year. On Thursday, about a dozen people lounged on the limestone rocks while kids splashed in the river. A second pebble beach is under construction on the southern end of the River Walk.

Commissioner Howard Heidemann said that interaction with the water is what makes this project stand out. “That is what this is all about,” he said. “That’s just great.”

While the project is increasing public access to the shoreline, it also is making the space habitable for the natural flora and fauna that once thrived there before it became an industrial area.

Crews have installed a snake bed, complete with a number of flexible plastic pipes for them to burrow in and an abundance of rocks to create the cracks and crevices their prey favor for hiding places. River mink have returned to the shoreline. Shallow water spawning beds are being recreated.

The southern-most end of the River Walk will feature 2.75 acres of wetlands recreated by St. Clair County with the help of the Sustain Our Great Lakes program with the Michigan National Resources TrustFund.

“The key to getting big federal dollars is that you have to restore habitat,” Maiers said. “Habitat for critters and bugs and birds and turtles and snakes.”

He said there will be long stretches of the shoreline along the River Walk where public access will be discouraged by planting shrubberies and other natural barriers. A railing of rope and wooden posts also will line the path to direct people into areas that are designed for public access.

Maiers said the contractors the River Walk developers are working with to build an artificial reef also have worked on the Detroit shoreline. This will be the first time a reef also will be used to protecta shoreline from ice floes such as those that build up on the St. Clair River, he said.

Maiers said care has been taken to preserve some of the historic features residents love. One key example is the old railroad ferry dock.

“The River Walk is trying to embrace the heritage of this area,” he said. “It would have been real easy to rip out (the old ferry dock), saying it’s not worth the time and energy. As soon as our donors heard about the project, they came forward and said, ‘We will cover the cost.’”

Crews are resurfacing the deck with Brazilian walnut, a durable wood that costs about twice as much as treated wood, but won’t have to be stained, painted or treated. Maiers said the contractors told him it is the hardest thing they have ever worked with in terms of durability.

A task force also is considering adding a facility to house the D.B. Harrington, a small Porter 2-4-0 locomotive that once worked in the lumberyards of Michigan, as a nod to the area’s history.

Port Huron Times-Herald



Research ship docked in Windsor for Tall Ship Festival

8/28 - Windsor, Ont. – The Sea Dragon has made its way into Windsor for the Tall Ship Festival but the sailing vessel is more than just a crowd attraction. Besides taking people on tours, the crew conducts research on marine life, collecting samples for water quality and pollution testing.

“Here in the Great Lakes we’re looking at two different things. We’re looking at plastic particulate, which is plastic floating in the water. We’ve also been looking at persistent pollutants like fire retardants and PCBs in the water,” said ship captain Eric Loss.

The ship, which is docked at Dieppe Gardens, sailed the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans collecting samples before making its way to the Great Lakes.

“The samples still have to go back to the lab and get analyzed, which could take six months to a year before results get published, but we have found just looking at samples as we’ve been going by, things like … lots of small pieces of plastic broken down from bottles and various other items that get washed in and float around in the lakes and become part of the food chain,” Loss said.

The Tall Ships Festival runs from Friday Aug. 30 to Sunday Sep. 1 at Dieppe Gardens and features deck tours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday to Sunday. Tours are $5 per ship or $15 for an all access pass. More details visit coastaltrails.ca/windsor-event-schedule/



National Museum in Toledo to recruit volunteers

8/28 - Toledo, Ohio – On Friday August 30 at 5 p.m., the National Museum of the Great Lakes will hold a meeting at its new museum site in Toledo to discuss volunteer opportunities with interested parties. Christopher Gillcrist, Executive Director of the new museum, said “volunteers are the lifeblood of any not-for-profit venture and we counting on volunteers to help make this new museum a great success. “

Gillcrist added not only do volunteers help any organization to control costs, more importantly, volunteers bring unique skills and knowledge that so often improves a visitors experience.

The National Museum of the Great Lakes is looking to match the interest and skills of potential volunteers to the needs of the organization. Docents, administration, fundraising, grounds maintenance, research and museum gift shop activities are all areas that the National Museum hopes people will offer their time and energy to helping.

Gillcrist was motivated to expand the volunteer approach because of the successful use of volunteers aboard the Col. James. M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship, now an integral part of the National Museum experience. “The volunteers on the boat are the reason why this boat is in existence today. Without their efforts over the years, this boat probably would have been scrapped five years ago,” he said.

People interested in volunteering at the new National Museum can simply attend the meeting this Friday at 5 p.m. at 1701 Front Street, Toledo, Ohio. Those who cannot attend but would like more information can contact the museum at [e-mail].




Today in Great Lakes History - August 28

On this day in 1939, the RICHARD J. REISS collided with the YOSEMITE on the St. Clair River. There were no casualties but damage to the Reiss amounted to $26,593.80 and damage to the YOSEMITE amounted to $23,443.09. The REISS was built in 1901, as the a.) GEORGE W. PEAVEY. Renamed b.) RICHARD J. REISS in 1917, c.) SUPERIOR in 1943. She was scrapped at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1947. The YOSEMITE carried her name throughout her career, built in 1901, and scrapped at Buffalo, New York, in 1954.

Capt. Frank R. West took his 8-year-old son Robert and the boy's friend, 8-year-old Edward Erickson aboard the new schooner LOUIS MEEKER as guests on a trip carrying 27,000 bushels of oats from Chicago to Buffalo. There was hardly any wind and it took them four days to creep north as far as Pentwater, Michigan. On August 28, 1872, Captain West saw a storm coming and he had the sails taken in as a precaution. The winds came so suddenly and they hit the vessel so hard that the schooner was knocked over on her beam ends. Little Robert West, his dad and three sailors were lost when the vessel sank 15 minutes later near Big Sable Point. Peter Danielson dove and tried to cut away the lifeboat as the schooner was sinking and he almost drowned in that unsuccessful attempt. The mizzen gaff broke free and seven sailors plus little Edward Erickson clung to it until they were picked up by the schooner WILLIAM O. BROWN six hours later.

Mr. Edwin H. Gott, 78, of Pittsburgh, died on August 28, 1986. The namesake of the 1,000 footer, he retired as Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Steel in 1973.

On August 28, 1962, the EDWARD L. RYERSON set a Great Lakes cargo record for iron ore. The RYERSON loaded 25,018 gross tons of iron ore in Superior, Wisconsin, breaking by 14 tons the record held by the Canadian bulk freighter RED WING that was set in the 1961 season. The RYERSON held this record well into 1965.

The PERE MARQUETTE 22 was repowered with two 2,850 ihp four cylinder Skinner Uniflow steeple compound steam engines, 19 1/2", 43" dia. X 26" stroke, built in 1953, by the Skinner Engine Co., Erie, Pennsylvania, and four coal-fired Foster-Wheeler water tube boilers with a total heating surface of 25,032 sq. ft. built in 1953. The repowering work was completed on August 28, 1954. Her 1954, tonnage was 3551 gross tons, 1925 net tons, 2450 deadweight tons. A new starboard tail shaft was installed at this time. Her service speed increased to 18 knots (20.7 mph).

The JOHN ANDERSON, a.) LUZON of 1902, was outbound through the Duluth Ship Canal on August 28, 1928, when the vessel struck the north pier suffering $18,000 in damage. Renamed c.) G. G. POST in 1935. The POST was scrapped at Istanbul, Turkey, in 1972.

Gulf Oil Corp., tanker REGENT entered service on August 28, 1934. She was built for low clearances on the New York State Barge Canal and was equipped with five cargo tanks and one dry cargo hold.

The WILLIAM A. REISS, a.) JOHN A. TOPPING, was laid up for the last time on August 28, 1981, at Toledo, Ohio, and remained idle there until July 15, 1994, when she was towed to be scrapped.

On August 28, 1870, CHASKA (wooden scow-schooner, 72 foot, 50 tons, built in 1869, at Duluth, Minnesota originally as a scow-brig) was wrecked in a northwesterly storm near Duluth. Reportedly she's the first vessel built at Duluth.

On August 28, 1763, BEAVER, an armed wooden British sloop built the previous year, was carrying provisions to Detroit to relieve the fort there which was under siege by the Indians led by Pontiac, however the vessel foundered in a storm at Cat Fish Creek, 14 miles from the site of Buffalo. 185 barrels of her cargo were salvaged and went on to Detroit on the schooner GLADWIN.

2002: FRASER, the former SELKIRK SETTLER, went aground in fog at Duluth-Superior and was released without damage with the aid of four tugs. The ship now sails as SPRUCEGLEN of Canada Steamship Lines.