Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

Great Lakes increase one of Canada's Top Ten weather stories for 2013

12/23 - At the beginning of the year, the Great Lakes were not looking so great. Water levels on each of the lakes were well below their long-term average. In fact, Lake Michigan-Huron was at its lowest level in recorded history. Too many warm record-dry seasons combined with year-round evaporation and half the ice cover of 30 years ago were to blame. Nature just couldn’t deliver enough runoff, rain and snow to counterbalance the moisture loss and outflows.

In January, Lake Michigan-Huron dipped 1 cm below its previous record low monthly level set in March 1964. The water level was more than two metres below the lake’s record high set in October 1986 and lower than it had ever been for any month since modern record-keeping began in 1918.

The lower lake levels and expanding shorelines spelled trouble for lakeside businesses, commercial shippers and the environment, and were leaving cottagers and recreational boaters high and dry. At the beginning of spring, water levels ranged from 17 cm below the 1918-2012 average in Lake Ontario to 68 cm below the long-term average for Lake Michigan-Huron, and were significantly lower than levels the same time last year. Levels and flows in connecting rivers were also lower than normal, including the St. Lawrence at Montreal where an exceptionally dry summer in 2012 resulted in record low water levels from July through September.

By summer of 2013 there was some good news – a snowy winter and a much wetter-than-normal spring resulted in water levels throughout the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River system rising significantly. This year was one of the top five wettest in 66 years and the Great Lakes levels responded with a welcome rise. All ended the year higher than they were at the same time last year. The level of Lake Ontario was a few centimetres above its 1918-2012 long-term average, and lakes Superior, St. Clair and Erie were within 15 cm of their long-term averages.

While Lake Michigan-Huron remained 40 cm below the average, wet conditions kept it well above its record low levels. By the beginning of November, all the Great Lakes had gained between 10 and 31 cm relative to the monthly average over the course of the year. Downstream, levels in the St. Lawrence River also recovered, fluctuating around average values throughout much of the spring and early summer before falling somewhat below average during the late summer. Still, they were well above the record lows experienced the previous year.

Environment Canada



Lookback #36 – Montcalm helped in dramatic rescue at sea on December 23, 1963

12/23 - The British freighter Montcalm was a regular Seaway trader for many years. It first came inland in 1960 shortly after being completed that May by Wm. Doxford & Sons (S.B.) Ltd. at Sunderland, England. The 440-foot, 1-inch long general cargo carrier made a total of 29 trips in and out of the lakes to the end of 1967.

Fifty years ago today, on December 23, 1963, the captain responded to a distress call from the passenger liner Lakonia. The latter was on fire off Madiera and was in dire need of assistance. Along with the freighter Salta, they were able to rescue 475 passengers and crew but another 128 lives, 95 passengers and 33 crew, were lost.

Montcalm, the former Dutch flag passenger liner Johan Van Odenbarnevelt, dated from 1930 and had only recently been rebuilt for Greek flag cruising service. It had left Southampton, England, on December 19 for an 11-day cruise. The fatal fire broke out in the ship's barbershop and was blamed on an electrical short circuit. Eight members of the crew were charged with negligence.

The hull was taken in tow but heeled over and sank 250 miles west of Gibraltar on December 29.

Montcalm was sold and renamed Capo San Marco in 1971. It visited the Seaway that year under the flag of Italy.

The ship was rebuilt as the livestock carrier Sibea Ebolo in 1983 and, after five more years of service, arrived at Chittagong, Bangladesh, for scrapping on August 8, 1988.



Today in Great Lakes History - December 23

IMPERIAL ST CLAIR was selected to participate in the three-year winter navigation experiment during which the Soo Locks remained open all year. On December 23, 1976, at the very onset, she ran aground entering ice-jammed Parry Sound on Georgian Bay in a blinding snow squall. One of her cargo tanks ruptured spilling 1,800 barrels of diesel oil.

The SAVIC, c.) CLIFFS VICTORY was down bound past Detroit, Michigan, December 23, 1985, by-passing a 15,000 ton load of scrap because of the lack of time to clear the Seaway.

CHARLES DICK was sold for scrap to Marine Salvage Ltd., Port Colborne, Ontario, on December 23, 1976.

SIR TREVOR DAWSON was laid up after the Great War until December 23, 1920, when she was sold to Pioneer Steamship Co. and renamed c) CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON.

On 23 December 1905, JAMES B. WOOD (steel propeller freighter, 514 foot, 7,159 gross tons) was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan. In 1913, she was renamed b.) ARCTURUS.

On 23 December 1885, MARY MARTINI (wooden propeller passenger-package freight vessel, 85 foot, 91 gross tons, built in 1877, at W. Bay City, Michigan) stranded on Brule Point, 13 miles east of Grand Marais, Minnesota, on Lake Superior in fair weather. A navigational error was blamed. She became a total loss but her passengers and crew were taken off by the Duluth tug T H CAMP.

In 1903, the PERE MARQUETTE 20 arrived Ludington on her maiden voyage.

1916: A.B. WOLVIN, a former Great Lakes bulk carrier that went to sea in 1911, sank in a gale on the Atlantic southeast of Bermuda. The crew of 26 were picked up by the BRAZIL, a two-year old Norwegian freighter.

1954: The former FEDERAL AMBASSADOR, while not a Great Lakes trader but once part of the Federal Commerce & Navigation of Montreal, foundered in the North Sea as c) GERDA TOFT

1963: The Greek passenger liner LAKONIA caught fire off Madeira with 1041 passengers and crew on board. While 132 lives were lost in the tragedy, another 470 were rescued by the freighters SALTA and MONTCALM. The latter was a regular Seaway trader beginning in 1960 and returned as b) CAPO SAN MARCO in 1971.

1986: MARINE COASTER, a Great Lakes visitor as e) EVA MARIE in the mid-1960s, was scuttled off Newfoundland.



Traffic resumes at St. Lambert lock, repair expected

12/22 - 2:30 update - Seaway Beauharnois has announced the closure of the St. Lambert Lock today at 2 p.m. Replacement of the ship arrestor is expected to take a minimum of twelve hours.

During repairs the Seaway has stated that the four ships now anchored below Beauharnois Lock #3 at the Point Fortier anchorage will be moved into the South Shore Canal, close to St. Lambert Lock. Movement of the vessels closer to St. lambert Lock will expedite the downbound transits once repairs are completed. At the Point Fortier anchorage are the, Federal Oshima, Lalandia Swan, Americaborg and the Baie Comeau. The four vessels will transit the canal once the Wilf Seymor clears the South Shore Canal upbound. The Algowood is downbound approaching Beauharnois Lock #4 with a green light for Lock #3 also, but has not yet been included as part of the downbound convoy.

The tug and barge Wilf Seymor were instructed to secure to the Cote Ste Catharine lower wall because the ship arrestor at that lock is not functional at this time. The Wilf Seymor was informed by Seaway Beauharnois that repairs were expected to take one hour. Once replacement of the St. Lambert ship arrestor is completed, and the four downbound vessels clear St. Lambert Lock, the remaining upbound vessels will be permitted to proceed.

Just prior to closing the St. Lambert lock the John Spence attempted to enter the lock without success due to ice build-up on the lock walls. She was instructed to back out of the lock and secure once again to the lower approach wall and await the replacement of the ship arrestor before proceeding.

Also secured at the St. Lambert lower wall is the the tug Salvor and the Evans Mckeil.

Four other vessels remain in Montreal Harbor awaiting upbound transit. They are the Algoma Navigator, Baie St. Paul, Algoma Discovery and the John B. Aird.

Original Report - The repairs to the ship arrestor at St. Lambert Lock have been completed and the Kaministiqua has passed down through to Montreal Harbor. After her, there are 27 more ships on the list for St. Lambert Lock.

Repairs to the St. Lambert Lock are expected to take place today and will consist of replacing the ship arrester. A convoy of five vessels have transited the lock downbound and five will transit upbound before the lock once again closes for the necessary repairs. The closure will leave vessels anchored below the Beauharnois locks at the Point Fortier anchorage and below St. Lambert in Montreal Harbor awaiting repairs. The exact time of the closure has not been announced but is expected Sunday morning. On average, if all equipment and crew are in place, the replacement of the ship arrester should take about twelve hours. Heavy snow and freezing rain at Montreal may hamper those efforts to open the Seaway once again.




Channel closings for winter

12/22 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The Coast Guard will close the South Channel, in the waters between Cheboygan Michigan and Bois Blanc Island, Michigan, at 8 a.m. Monday.





Extent of early lakes ice greatest since 1990

12/22 - C - A recent historic comparison of ice shows that the ice this season is heaviest since 1990.

Chuck Miller




Lookback #35 – Martha Hindman sank in Goderich harbor on December 22, 1978

12/22 - As the bulk carrier Martha Hindman, sailing in its first season with the Quebec & Ontario Transportation Co. fleet, approached the Lake Huron port of Goderich, it struck the breakwall and tore open the hull on the starboard side.

It was now a race for the dock and the ship reached the shallower area and settled on the bottom 35 years ago today. The grain-laden steamer was patched, pumped out, unloaded and able to resume trading the next spring, but this time as Lac Des Iles.

It only put in two years under this name and, after a grounding in the Detroit River on October 6, 1980, the vessel required drydocking. The damage was extensive and Lac Des Iles tied up at Toronto on November 18.

Following a sale for scrap and a resale for work as a storage barge in Tampico, Mexico, the ship headed south, under tow, passing through the Seaway on May 5, 1981. Heavy weather struck off the coast of Virginia and the old freighter, now classed as a barge, sank ESE of Cape Charles on June 1, 1981.

The 550-foot long vessel enjoyed a 76-year career in five different fleets beginning with the L.C. Smith Transportation Co. as Lyman C. Smith in 1905 before coming into Canadian service for Hindman Transportation in 1966.





Today in Great Lakes History - December 22

SAVIC, b.) CLIFFS VICTORY finally arrived at Masan, South Korea, December 22, 1986, for dismantling, which was completed in 1987.

DETROIT EDISON grounded on Gray's Reef in northern Lake Michigan December 22, 1980, inflicting heavy damage to 350 feet of her bottom. She was later sold for scrap.

GORDON C. LEITCH (i), no longer economically able to compete, was laid up on December 22, 1981, and was used for grain storage at Toronto.

RAYMOND H REISS arrived at Ramey's Bend, Port Colborne, Ontario, on December 22, 1980, for scrapping there.

LIGHTSHIP 103 was commissioned December 22, 1920.

On 22 December 1922, CORNELL (wooden propeller tug, 72 foot, 66 gross tons, built in 1888, at Buffalo, New York) foundered somewhere between Cleveland and Erie, Pennsylvania while enroute to new owners in Syracuse, New York. She had a crew of 8. The weather was clear and mild with almost no wind. She had just been put back into service and inspected after several years of idleness. Her ice-encrusted lifeboat was found on 26 December, 25 miles east of Long Point, containing the frozen body of the fireman.

1978: MARTHA HINDMAN hit the breakwall while inbound with a winter storage cargo of grain at Goderich and tore open the hull on the starboard side. The vessel settled on the bottom but was patched, pumped out and unloaded. It returned to service in 1979 as LAC DES ILES.

1982: NETANYA began Great Lakes trading for the Zim Israel Navigation Co. in 1960. It went aground off Diamond Point, Cuba, as c) KRIOS and sustained heavy damage. It was taken over by salvors and, while refloated, only saw brief service as a barge before being dismantled.

2001: The former Fednav bulk carrier FEDERAL SKEENA (i), was too big for the Seaway. It had been sold and was sailing as c) CHRISTOPHER when it disappeared, with all 27 on board lost, in the Atlantic north of the Azores.

2004: CANADIAN PROVIDER hit the dock at Redpath Sugar in Toronto and both the vessel and structure were damaged. The ship was inactive in 2005 but returned to service in May 2006.

[yachtsmanwilly]

End may be near for former Seaway tanker Eastern Shell

12/24 - Things are not looking good for the former Eastern Shell (ii). The vessel was spotted anchored along the shore at Colon, Panama, on December 7. Her name was painted out and it appears that some of the cabin windows are broken. A trip to a scrap yard may be in the vessel's future before too long.

After a 30- year career on the Great Lakes, the ship went south in 1992 for a new service as a refueling tanker around the Panama Canal. It was named Colon Trader that year and then became Cypress Point in 2003. It seems to have served at both Colon and Cristobal providing bunker service to ships transiting the busy waterway.

This was Hull 176 from the Collingwood shipyard and it was launched for the Canadian Oil Company as W. Harold Rea on August 25, 1962. The 355-foot, 6-inch long tanker operated out of Sarnia to company storage facilities carrying their “White Rose” brand of fuel.

Shell purchased the Canadian Oil Co. in 1963 and waited until 1970 to rename the ship as their second Eastern Shell. It provided Great Lakes and St. Lawrence service as well as trading around Maritime Canada. The vessel underwent a significant upgrade at Saint John, NB at the end of the 1980 season with new tanks coating and improved accommodations.

Eastern Shell sustained fire damage while a cargo tank was being repaired at Sarnia on May 16, 1988, but there were no injuries. A grounding near Parry Sound due to fog on May 10, 1990, resulted in repairs at Portship in Thunder Bay.

The ship was sold to Socanav in 1988 and the name was changed to Le Cedre in 1991. The vessel was laid up at Sorel in 1992 when it was sold for Panama Canal service.


Seaway closing: Change in agreement date for Montreal-Lake Ontario section

12/24 - Mariners are advised that due to high traffic levels and navigation conditions, the cut off date for acceptance of a downbound transit through the Montreal to Lake Ontario Section under special agreement has been modified as follows: Subject to favorable operating conditions, any ship calling in downbound at CVC after 23:59 hours, December 24 , 2013, but before 02:00 December 28, 2013,may be accepted to transit the Montreal to Lake Ontario section, under special agreement. The date for upbound vessels has not changed. Therefore, any ship calling in upbound at CIP2 after 23:59 hours, December 24, but before 12:00 December 29, 2013, may be accepted to transit the Montreal to Lake Ontario section, under special agreement and subject to favorable operating conditions. For both instances, all vessels must be clear of the Montreal to Lake Ontario Section by 23:59 December 30th, 2013.



Lookback #37 – Spud-laden Tukwila Chief caught fire in Atlantic on December 24, 1982

12/24 - The small Panamanian flag freighter Tukwila Chief had loaded a cargo of potatoes at Souris, Prince Edward Island, and was two days out in the Atlantic when a fire broke out in the engine room. The blaze eventually spread through the cabins and gutted the after end of the ship. One crewman lost his life.

The blaze of 31 years ago today ended the career of the vessel. The hull was towed into Sydney, Nova Scotia, on December 28 and declared a total loss. Some of the cargo was salvaged before the Tukwila Chief made one last trip into the Atlantic where it was scuttled in deep water on September 20, 1983.

This general cargo carrier had been built at Papenburg, West Germany, in 1961 as Esther Charlotte Schulte. It began Seaway service the next year, on charter to the Hamburg-Chicago Line, making four trips to the Great Lakes.

It became Tukwila Chief in 1980 and made one trip through the Seaway bringing animal feed to Hamilton earlier in December 1982. The 308-foot freighter was outbound when it took on its final cargo of famous P.E.I. Potatoes.




Today in Great Lakes History - December 24

In 1973, a crewman from the Cleveland Cliffs steamer FRONTENAC fell overboard at 11:41 p.m. while the boat was at anchor off Stoneport, Mich. The FRONTENAC launched a lifeboat to search for the missing man. When he could not be found and the lifeboat had trouble returning to the FRONTENAC, a distress call went out. The American Steamship Co. steamer McKEE SONS, Captain Robert J. Laughlin, responded and received a Citation of Merit for rescuing the six sailors in the lifeboat on Christmas morning.

December 24, 1969 - The CITY OF FLINT 32 made her last trip out of Ludington, Mich., pulled by two tugs. She was sold to Norfolk and Western Railway Company to be converted into a river ferry barge and renamed b.) ROANOKE by Nicholson’s Terminal & Dock Co. at Ecorse, Mich.

On 24 December 1910, ALASKA (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 165 foot, 348 tons, built in 1879, at Detroit, Michigan) was sheltering from a storm a few miles from Tobermory, Ont., when she caught fire from an overheated boiler and burned to a total loss. She was originally built as a side-wheel passenger vessel, her engine came from the JOHN SHERMAN of 1865 and went into the steamer FRANK E. KIRBY of 1890.

On 24 December 1875, the Port Huron Times listed the following vessels at winter lay-up at St. Clair, Mich. -- Scows: ANNA H MOORE, A MONROE, MYRTLE, CLIPPER VISION, J SNADERS and B MONROE; Steamers: BERTIE DAHLKE and HELEN; Schooners: JOHN RICE and M R GOFFE; Barges: MILLIN and JUSTIN R. WHITING; Tug: C.M. FARRAR; and Dredge: H LIFIAN.

On Christmas Eve 1979, while at her temporary dock in Milwaukee, Wis., the steamer E. M. FORD sank when gale force winds forced her from her moorings and repeatedly slammed her bow into the dock facing. By Christmas morning her stern was settled on the bottom, her engine room flooded. Her storage cargo of powdered cement was partially flooded also. By afternoon, the proud steamer lay sunken at her dock. She stayed on the bottom for several weeks as crews had to remove a solid 3 feet of hardened cement and patch her holed bow. On January 20th, 1980, she was refloated and towed to Bay Shipbuilding where work began on rebuilding her.

1976: The former MARIA K., of 1956, visited the Seaway in 1963. It sustained a fire in the engine room as c) ASTYANAX at Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The vessel was loaded with cement and became a total loss. It was scuttled in the Atlantic south of Abidjan, on November 18, 1977, after the cargo had solidified.

1977: The West German freighter MAGDEBURG began visiting the Seaway in 1959 and had made 31 voyages inland to the end of 1967. It was sailing from Hull, England, and Antwerp, Belgium, for East Africa when it ran aground at Haisborough Sand in bad weather. The ship was refloated the same day but with serious damage. It was sold for scrap and dismantling began in May 1978.

1982: TUKWILA CHIEF came through the Seaway in 1982 after previous visits as a) ESTHER CHARLOTTE SCHULTE as early as 1962. Fire broke out on board, two days out of Souris, PEI, with a cargo of potatoes. The blaze spread through the cabins and the ship was gutted. One sailor was lost but the remainder was rescued. The ship was brought to Sydney and, on September 20, 1983, was towed out into the deep waters of the Atlantic and scuttled.

1983: The Welland Canal pilot boat CISCOE was enroute to Port Dover for the winter when it lost power in heavy seas. The GRIFFON took the small ship in tow but it flipped over, broke loose and eventually sank. The 2 members of the crew were saved.

1987: The tug G.W. ROGERS left the Great lakes in November 1987 but sank at Albany, on this date during the trip south to the Netherlands Antilles. While refloated, it never made it south and was noted at Liberty Park, New York, in October 1997.

1997: The barge DUPUIS No. 10, under tow of the tug TECHNO-ST. LAURENT, sank in Lake Erie while bound from Buffalo to the Welland Canal. There were no casualties.

1999: The BARDE TEAM, enroute from Singapore with steel pipes, began taking on water, developed a list and sank in the Indian Ocean. It first came through the Seaway in 1976 as a) SAMSON SCAN and returned under her final name in 1992.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Cutters work to free vessels as ice stalls traffic in lower St. Marys River

12/25 - Freezing temperatures and thick ice played havoc with shipping in the lower St. Marys River in the vicinity of Neebish Island Tuesday. At first light, in sub-zero temperatures and surrounded by sea smoke, the upbound Paul R. Tregurtha finally got moving, assisted by the CCGS Samuel Risley. The Tregurtha was followed by a parade of vessels that included American Century, Roger Blough, American Spirit, Edgar B. Speer, tugs Wilfred M. Cohen / Avenger IV and barge, Walter J. McCarthy Jr., St. Clair, Herbert C. Jackson (bound for Essar Steel) and Calumet.

The USCG Biscayne Bay, which was working with the Stewart J. Cort, stuck at the lower end of the Rock Cut in the morning, spent most of the late afternoon and evening Tuesday freeing Mesabi Miner, also beset in the cut. With the Miner blocking the way, Kaye E Barker and Algoma Spirit hove to in the ice for several hours until the channel was opened.

As Christmas Eve neared its close, the tug Defiance and barge Ashtabula, rare visitors to the area, were upbound north of Lime Island and struggling with the ice, followed by the tug Leonard M and her barge, which were not moving as of 11 p.m. and may have stopped for the night. Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin was approaching DeTour Passage.

Three vessels were downbound above the locks in the late evening, however with no Coast Guard assistance in the Rock Cut available until first light Wednesday, Cedarglen and Tecumseh planned to spend the night on the piers below the locks, while Joyce L. VanEnkevort/Great Lakes Trader headed to the Hay Lake anchorage at Nine Mile.

As the day ended, Samuel Risley was hove to in the Rock Cut, while Biscayne Bay was underway in the vicinity of Pipe Island. The cutter Mackinaw spent the day Tuesday tied up at the USCG dock in Sault Ste. Marie. Saginaw was at the Essar Export Dock above the locks. The forecast Wednesday calls for snow and strong winds from the south which, coupled with at least two more nights of sub-zero temperatures, will not make the Rock Cut situation any easier.


Seaway tolls to Increase by 2.5 percent in 2014

12/25 - The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) announced a toll rate increase of 2.5 percent for the 2014 navigation season. The new revised tariff will be posted and available on the Seaway website on January 6, 2014.


Army Corps: Fish can breach Chicago barrier designed to stop Asian carp

12/25 - Detroit, Mich. – A new research report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says that fish are capable of crossing an electrical barrier designed to keep Asian carp from using the Chicago ship canal to enter the Great Lakes.

The report says there’s no evidence that Asian carp are bypassing the barriers, which were established to prevent billions of dollars in potential damage to the Great Lakes fisheries. But the report says that initial findings show that passing vessels can capture fish and transport them beyond the electrical barriers. In addition, the report says that certain barge configurations could affect the strength of the electrical field.

The report says that could let schools of 2- to 4-inch fish pass the barrier. The Army Corps released the report Friday.

Detroit Free Press



Door County museum speaker series resumes with shipwright

12/25 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – The Door County Maritime Museums Maritime Speaker Series continues Thursday evening, Jan. 2, with a presentation by shipwright Keith Kollberg. Well known on the Door Peninsula for his stunning boat restoration efforts, Kollberg will reflect on his business, Star Board Wooden Boatworks, as well as the restoration of an historic 16-foot rowing skiff currently on exhibit at the Sturgeon Bay museum.

Kollberg restored the 16-foot wooden skiff in 2006. The boat is on permanent display in the museum’s John Roen Asher Gallery alongside other historic wooden small boats. It has significant local interest since it dates back to 1918 and was constructed in Sturgeon Bay. It is one of the earliest creations of Sturgeon Bay Boatworks, which was founded in 1918 by Hans Johnson and Herman Gmack. The business would ultimately become internationally renowned yacht-builder Palmer Johnson Yachts, Inc. Interestingly, many decades after Sturgeon Bay Boatworks was founded, Kollberg’s talents have been employed by Palmer Johnson on a number of high-profile projects.

The Maritime Speaker Series continues the first Thursday of the month through March. On February 6, Mark Holey of the United States Fish & Wildlife Service will present a program on the local fishery. The series concludes on March 6 when Lt Cdr. John Kaser, Supervisor of the United Sates Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment in Sturgeon Bay, will present a program on the duties of his Sturgeon Bay-based office.

All programs begin at 7 pm in the Reddin Bridge Room at the Sturgeon Bay museum and are free and open to the public visit www.dcmm.org for more information.




Today in Great Lakes History - December 25

E.G. GRACE carried 14,797 tons of taconite ore on her last trip out of Taconite Harbor, Minnesota bound for South Chicago, Illinois and then was laid up at Ashtabula, Ohio on December 25, 1976, with engine trouble which often plagued the six "Al" ships powered with Lentz-Poppet engines. The lay-up of the E.G. GRACE lasted until April 1984, when she became the first Maritimer to be sold for scrap.

On 25 December 1849 the SISKAWIT (wooden schooner, 50 t, built in 1840) was sailing light on Lake Superior when a storm drove her onto a bar near the mouth of the Chocolay River, southeast of Marquette, Michigan, where she was wrecked. Those aboard had “kidnapped” her and her cargo at L’Anse a few days earlier.

1975: GEORGE M. CARL (ii), inbound at Toronto with a winter storage cargo of grain, missed the turn for the Western Gap and stranded in Humber Bay. Tugs pulled the ship free on December 27.

1981: The Halco tanker HUDSON TRANSPORT caught fire 200 miles east of Quebec City enroute from Montreal to the Magdalen Islands with 40,000 barrels of Bunker C. oil. The accommodation area was destroyed and 7 lives were lost. The ship was towed to Sept-Iles, unloaded and then to Montreal where it was declared a total loss. It later saw brief service as the barge b) SCURRY and went to Nigeria in 1992 as c) REMI.

1985: The former CLIFFS VICTORY passed down the Welland Canal as c) SAVIC, enroute to eventual scrapping in South Korea. It does not arrive there until Dec. 12, 1986.

2000: TWINSISTER had come to the Great Lakes in 1985. The vessel was reported to have caught fire in the engineroom as d) MELATI off Vung Tau, Vietnam, with the blaze spreading to the accommodation area. The listing freighter was abandoned by the 18-member crew and the ship was presumed to have sunk. It was located December 31 and found to have been looted by pirates. The ship arrived in Singapore, under tow, on January 4, 2001, and was apparently repaired, becoming e) WIN DUKE in 2003 and f) HAN LORD in 2006.

[yachtsmanwilly]

St. Marys River traffic mostly on the move Christmas day

12/26 - Vessel traffic in the lower St. Marys River came to life slowly Christmas morning, with early snow hampering visibility.

Vessels that spent the previous night in the ice, including Mesabi Miner, Algoma Spirit and Kaye E. Barker, all began moving downbound past the still-stalled Defiance/Ashtabula. Great Lakes Trader made it down through the Rock Cut with no problems, thanks to the early morning work of the CCGS Samuel Risely.

At noon, Cedarglen was approaching the Rock Cut downbound with USCG Mackinaw leading the way. She was followed in the afternoon by Tecumseh, Lee A. Tregurtha and Arthur M. Anderson. Meanwhile, the upbound Mississagi, Manitowoc and the tug Leonard M. were all stopped south of Lime Island waiting for downbound traffic to clear, while Edwin H. Gott was near Pipe Island, with the seemingly indefatigable Risley on the scene. All upbounders were eventually cleared except the Leonard M and her barge, which was spending Wednesday night in the ice near Johnson’s Point waiting for a commercial tug to come to her aid Thursday morning.

As the evening drew to a close, Indiana Harbor and Buffalo were downbound above the lock. Algoma Spirit and Tecumseh were at anchor north of DeTour, with the latter told to expect a vessel inspector in the morning. The reason for the inspection was not known.



Lookback #39 – Former Colgate Hoyt wrecked on December 26, 1909

12/26 - The whaleback steamer Colgate Hoyt was built at West Superior, Wisconsin, and launched on June 9, 1890. The vessel entered service on July 29 and was heralded as the first whaleback steamer, as the previous ships of this design had all been barges.

Colgate Hoyt served the American Steel Barge Co. to 1900, the Bessemer Steamship Co. to 1901 and finished its Great Lakes service as part of the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. in 1905.

The 292-foot long vessel was sold to the Boutell Steel Barge Co., that year, cut in two at Ecorse, Michigan, and towed from the Great Lakes for reassembly at the Canadian Vickers shipyard in Montreal. The ship then began saltwater service as Bay City and usually operated in the East Coast coal trade.

Bay City joined the Seaboard Transportation Co. in 1909 and was renamed Thurmond on December 14 of that year. It was wrecked within two weeks. Thurmond was carrying coal from Newport News, Virginia, for Portland, Maine, when it was wrecked on the Toms River Bar off New Jersey 104 years ago today. While the vessel was a total loss, all 20 sailors on board were rescued.



Today in Great Lakes History - December 26

In 1981, the steamer ENDERS M. VOORHEES laid up for the last time at the Hallett Dock #5 in Duluth, Minnesota.

On 26 December 1916, the wreck of the wooden self-unloading freighter TOPEKA was leveled by dynamiting. She sank just off Windsor/Sandwich, Ontario, in the Detroit River on 15 April 1916, in a collision with the small steamer CHRISTOPHER. Her machinery was removed prior to dynamiting.

1909: The former whaleback steamer COLGATE HOYT, operating on the East Coast since 1906, was wrecked as c) THURMOND in a storm at Tom's River Bay, NJ enroute from Newport News, VA to Portland, ME with a cargo of coal.

1973: The Liberian freighter ADELFOI, a Seaway caller in 1972 and 1973, was under tow on the St. Lawrence due to engine trouble. The ship broke loose and came ashore at St. Laurent, Ile d'Orleans and became a total loss. It was refloated on May 9, 1974, and eventually towed to Santander,Spain, for scrapping.

1982: BELMONA was newly built when it visited the Great Lakes in 1962. It sank as e) RHODIAN SAILOR south of Taiwan after the holds were flooded in a storm. The ship was carrying bagged cement and there was only one survivor.


Army Corps: Fish can breach Chicago barrier designed to stop Asian carp
- Detroit, Mich. – A new research report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says that fish are capable of crossing an electrical barrier designed to keep Asian carp from using the Chicago ship canal to enter the Great Lakes.

The report says there’s no evidence that Asian carp are bypassing the barriers, which were established to prevent billions of dollars in potential damage to the Great Lakes fisheries. But the report says that initial findings show that passing vessels can capture fish and transport them beyond the electrical barriers. In addition, the report says that certain barge configurations could affect the strength of the electrical field.

The report says that could let schools of 2- to 4-inch fish pass the barrier. The Army Corps released the report Friday.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Icebreakers keeping traffic moving on the St. Marys River

12/27 - For much of the day Thursday the only vessels moving in the St. Marys River were the icebreakers, as Neebish Island’s upbound and downbound channels continued to be icy choke points.

USCG Mackinaw worked for most of the morning and into the afternoon to free the 1,000-footer Indiana Harbor on the downbound side of the Rock Cut, while the CCGS Samuel Risley, the Purvis Marine tug Wilfred M. Cohen and the G-tug Missouri were working with the stuck tug Leonard M and barge Huron Spirit on the upbound side. All traffic was halted while the icebreaking efforts continued.

In the mid-afternoon, Indiana Harbor was finally released, allowing the delayed Buffalo, Algoma Progress, Victory/James L. Kuber, American Mariner and Cason J. Callaway to get moving downbound. Although the first three vessels transited the Rock Cut without getting stuck, the American Mariner wasn’t so lucky. She was beset at the lower end of the Rock Cut, requiring the efforts of the Mackinaw to finally free her. As the day came to a close, the Callaway was attempting to pass through the Rock Cut on her own, as icebreaker assistance had stopped for the night. In the case of McKeil’s Leonard M / Huron Spirit, they spent 20 hours beset in the ice in the Stribling dyke area on the northeast end of Neebish Island. They were finally on their way to Essar Steel at Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., late in the afternoon to load steel coils, followed up river by H. Lee White.

Ice has not been a problem above the locks, and the Saginaw departed Essar’s Export dock Wednesday night for Thunder Bay without assistance.

At 11 p.m. Thursday, the Ken Boothe Sr. and barge Lakes Contender were hove to in Maude Bay awaiting daylight to continue their upbound transit, while Joseph L. Block was upbound at Point Aux Frenes and considering stopping for the night. Presque Isle was downbound above Ile Parisienne.



Icebreakers, tugs helping vessels fight Seaway ice

12/27 - Three ice breakers assisting and two tugs are working to keep traffic moving in the St. Lawrence Seaway.

USCG Neah Bay is stationed at the Marine Base between Eisenhower and Snell locks and is working on keeping the track clear in that area from the Wilson Hill anchorage on down. CCGS Griffon is working in the Beauharnois sector, maintaining the track from Lake St. Francis to the lock. CCGS Martha L Black is working from Lake St. Louis down to the lock at St. Lambert. The tugs Ocean Golf and La Prairie are stationed at Cote Ste Catherine Lock and St. Lambert Lock respectively. The do a lot of work cutting ice off lock walls with their bows. Wednesday night, Ocean Golf had to pull Federal Kivalina out of the lock at Cote because she was jammed in the entrance. On Thursday night, CSL Laurentien seemed to be in the same predicament. Any ship with a 78-foot beam in the lower canal can easily get stuck when ice slides into the lock with the ship.

For the last two days there has been a steady stream of ships moving downbound. A backlog of salties has been cleared, but there are still six more above Iroquois, with Federal Sakura approaching Iroquois. The Seaway has been promising the upbound ships that have been waiting for two to three days that they will get their turn. This may clear the anchorage at St. Zotique out where two tows and Algoma Navigator have been waiting, but they have to get the ships cleared out of the south shore canal first, and that may take all night.

In a few days, temperatures are going to drop into the -20C range, which will cause more delays for any ships remaining in the system.



Coast Guard announces channel closure

12/27 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – On Sunday the Coast Guard will close the waters between St Ignace, Mich., and Mackinac Island, effective 11 a.m. This will allow an ice bridge to form allowing island residents to cross to St. Ignace.



Canadian Coast Guard reviewing navigation and icebreaking fees, services

12/27 - Ottawa, Ont. - For the first time in 15 years, Canada’s coast guard is reviewing the amount it charges transport ships, ferries and other commercial vessels for navigational and icebreaking services.

The move comes as the coast guard works to manage a combination of mounting costs, budget cuts and growing demand for its services.

Canadian Coast Guard deputy commissioner Jody Thomas said the fee review is part of a larger examination of what services Canada’s commercial maritime industry need from the coast guard — and what might be phased out or reduced. “Our stakeholders want to ensure that they get good value for money,” she said in an interview.

“So it becomes a discussion of the fee base and the fee structure and what the range of services we offer are, and how we should work with them going forward.”

A working group that also involves industry representatives has been established to review the marine navigation services fee and icebreaking services fee, neither of which has changed since being introduced in 1996 and 1998, respectively.

The coast guard expects any proposed changes to be tabled in Parliament in the next year or two — though some officials would likely prefer sooner rather than later.

A secret briefing paper prepared in December 2012 for the Department of Fisheries’ and Oceans top bureaucrat, Matthew King, says the fees are an important source of revenue for the coast guard. But while they generate about $33 million each year, the paper notes that is significantly less than the coast guard’s $41-million “revenue target.”

“While the Marine Navigation Services Fee generally meets or exceeds its annual revenue target,” the briefing paper reads, “the revenue target shortfall associated with the Icebreaking Services Fee is approximately $8 (million) annually.”

That is even more significant given $56.8 million in spending reductions ordered by the federal Conservative government over the past three years, combined with growing demand for coast guard services.

“Rising marine traffic, technological changes, climate change impacts (such as fluctuating water levels), and extended shipping seasons are among the factors expected to place increased demands on coast guard services,” reads the briefing paper, which was obtained through access to information laws.

“(The) coast guard is trying to address these demands to the extent possible within its budget.”

Thomas described the coast guard’s financial situation as “tight,” but she said it is managing as best it can without compromising service to Canadians. “There’s not a government department in town that wouldn’t say, ‘Sure I could use more money,’ and given the choice we’d rather have more than less,” she said.

“But we’re very confident that our level of service is consistent with what we’ve offered in the past and that we’re not putting mariners at risk by the decisions we’ve made.”

Canadian Shipowners’ Association president Robert Lewis-Manning said the review provides an ideal opportunity to get a handle on what services industry needs from the Canadian Coast Guard and what can be reduced.

“When you’re talking about Canadian domestic shipping, ships that are registered and operate in Canadian waters or North American waters, we don’t see a big need for a lot of the physical navigational aids like buoys and markers,” he said.

But Lewis-Manning said any change — particularly an increase in fees — must strike a balance to ensure it doesn’t hurt Canada’s maritime industry.

“It’s not the marine industry that is the sole user of the coast guard’s services,” he said. “So we’ll try to work with the coast guard to figure out what that balance is. But no, it’s not a case of the industry can just absorb it. Or our customers.”

The marine navigation services fee was introduced in 1996 to help recover part of the cost of providing navigational buoys, lighthouses, maritime traffic information and other aids to commercial ships operating in Canadian waters.

The amount varies by vessel, and there are exceptions for ships travelling to and from the Arctic Circle.

The icebreaking services fee was created in 1998 costs $3,100 per vessel and applies to those ships travelling to or from ports along the northeast coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River and Gulf of St. Lawrence during certain times of the year.

Postmedia News


Lookback # 40 – Ciudad De Inca sank in a storm at Kingston on December 27, 1985

12/27 - The wooden sailing ship Ciudad De Inca dated from 1858 and, while rebuilt from time to time, it later became very popular at Tall Ship events at various locations.

The 125-foot-long vessel came to the Great Lakes for the Lake Ontario Tall Ships Extravaganza in 1984 but, because of legal difficulties arising over the loss of the Marques, owned by the same company, it stayed out of American waters during these events once it was on the lakes.

Ciudad De Inca remained on the Great Lakes afterwards and was moored at Kingston, first by the Marine Museum and later to the west at Portsmouth. It sank at the latter location in a snowstorm 28 years ago today.

The hull was refloated with only machinery damage but was later seized by the Federal Court over salvage costs.

The vessel was released in 1987 and left the Great Lakes. It was renamed Maria Assumpta in 1988 but broke up off the southwest coast of England with the loss of three lives on May 30, 1995.




Today in Great Lakes History - December 27

SAVIC, b.) CLIFFS VICTORY cleared the Welland Canal on Christmas night 1985, and finally anchored at Pointe aux Trembles near Montreal, Quebec, on December 27, awaiting another load of scrap. The SAVIC remained there the entire winter, because the underwriters ordered that her hull be re-enforced by welding straps to her stress points for her overseas journey.

THOMAS W. LAMONT as a single tow arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, on December 27, 1987, where she was scrapped. The LAMONT was one of the last bulkers that retained her telescoping hatch covers to the very end.

1985:The wooden sailing ship CIUDAD DE INCA sank in shallow water at Portsmouth, Ontario, during a snowstorm. The vessel was refloated January 10, 1986, with machinery but no structural damage. It had come inland for the Lake Ontario Tall Ships Extravaganza in 1984. Due to an earlier problem, it had to stay out of American waters where it was subject to an arrest warrant due to the sinking of the MARQUES, owned by the same company, in a Tall Ships race from Bermuda to Halifax

[yachtsmanwilly]

Orsula freed after grain unloaded

12/30 - On Sunday the Fednav saltie Orsula, grounded since Christmas day off Tibbets Point, at the entry to the St. Lawrence Seaway near Cape Vincent, N.Y., was released after a portion of her grain cargo was unloaded into the barge Lambert Spirit. She departed the area around 6 p.m., and dropped the hook about a mile below Carleton Island for a damage survey. Orsula was escorted by three tugs from McKeil – Salvor, Evans McKeil, and Molly M 1 – all of which assisted in freeing the vessel.

On Sunday evening she was listed to arrive at Iroquois Lock after midnight, and she may be making a run to get out of the Seaway before it closes for the season. The Seaway closes for the winter on Monday, so there's a push to get the ship going.

The Orsula, 656 feet long, was coming from Duluth, Minn., with a cargo of durum wheat bound for Italy. Salvage crews worked overnight unloading part of the cargo to try to float the ship free, because of weather and time concerns. Cause of the grounding remains under investigation.




Passengers airlifted from container ship off Newfoundland

12/30 - St. John’s. NL – The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax says four people have been rescued from a container ship in trouble off the coast of Portugal Cove South.

JRCC Spokesman Maj. Martell Thompson said four passengers were transported to a makeshift command centre in Portugal Cove South with no injuries to report. The 902-foot-long MSC Montery was en route from Belgium to New Jersey when the crew sent out a distress call at about 11 a.m, reporting a crack in the hull.

Thompson says two Cormorant helicopters from Gander were on scene, a Hercules aircraft from Greenwood, as well as a Coast Guard ship. Though 20 members of the crew remain at sea, Thompson says they are not in immediate danger, and the matter is now in the hands of Transport Canada. Reports Sunday night indicated the vessel was at anchor.

The MSC Monterey was built in 2007 at Daewoo Mangalia Heavy Industries in Romania.

This news comes about six months after the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines’-owned containership MOL Comfort broke in half and sank while sailing through the Indian Ocean in rough seas. The incident also comes almost two years after the MSC Flaminia caught fire while underway in the north Atlantic and the 2007 MSC Napoli incident in the English Channel. In 2011, MSC lost one of their containerships after it went aground on New Zealand’s Astrolabe Reef.

VOCM News, g-Captain



Lookback # 43 – Ziya S. closed Seaway season on December 30, 1984

12/30 - Every year since 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway has closed for the winter during December. The earliest date was December 1, 1961. The latest closing was on December 30. Only in 1984, did the final transit pass downbound on this day. That occurred 29 years ago today and it is the latest, so far, closing for a Seaway saltie at the St. Lambert Lock.

The final transit for 1984 was the Turkish freighter Ziya S. The ship had begun coming to the Great Lakes with one trip in November 1983 and was back on two occasions in 1984. Her departure on closing day 1984 was the last we would see of this vessel on the lakes.

The 481-foot 1-inchlong by 69-foot-wide bulk carrier was built at La Spezia, Italy, in 1969 and first sailed under the flag of South Korea as Tosong. It was sold and re-registered in Liberia as New Song in 1979 before becoming Ziya S. for Turkish interests later that year.

Another sale in 1990 resulted in the ship spending its last years as Su Ying with registry in St. Vincent. The vessel was deleted from Lloyds on June 14, 2011 as “existence in doubt.”




Today in Great Lakes History - December 30

On December 30, 1987, the THOMAS WILSON, under tow in the North Atlantic heading to be scrapped, parted her towline and sank near position 34.08'N by 61.35'12"W (approximately in line with Cape Hatteras, North Carolina) early the next day.

GEORGE M. HUMPHREY (Hull#796) was launched December 30, 1926, for Kinsman Transit Co. at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co. Renamed b.) CAPT JOHN ROEN in 1945, c.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1948 and d.) CONSUMERS POWER in 1958, scrapped at Taiwan in 1988.

The first steel carferry, PERE MARQUETTE, was launched in nearly completed form on December 30, 1896. The ship was built for the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad (predecessor to the Pere Marquette) and entered service just a few weeks later.

1981: VISHVA DHARMA came through the Seaway when new in 1970. The vessel was in a collision on this date with the ADMIRAL S. ALTINCAN and sustained damage to the forecastle and sides. The ship reached Istanbul, Turkey, enroute to Russia on January 7, 1982. The damage was repaired and it survived until scrapping at Bombay, India, in 1988.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - December 31

In 1905, B. F. JONES (Hull#15), 530 x 56 x 31 with a capacity of 10,000 tons, slid down the ways at Great Lakes Engineering Works, Ecorse, Mich. The JONES was built at a cost of $400,000 for Jones and Laughlin Steel. She was declared a constructive total loss after a collision with the CASON J. CALLAWAY in the St. Marys River on August 21, 1955. Most of the hull was scrapped at Superior, Wis., in 1956. Part of the hull became the crane barge SSC-1. Her forward cabins and hatch crane and covers were installed on the SPARKMAN D. FOSTER.

In 1952, a total of 35 boats were laid up for the season at Cleveland. The WILLIAM FAIRBAIRN, GEORGE STEPHENSON, and ANDREW S. UPSON had storage cargoes of flax, the MICHAEL GALLAGHER had a storage cargo of wheat, and the remaining 31 vessels were empty.

In 1941, at the close of the shipping season, the Great Lakes fleet consisted of 513 boats of U.S. Registry and 279 boats of Canadian Registry.

At 4:00 p.m., 31 December 1895, the PURITAN (wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 172 foot, 289 gross tons, built in 1887, at Benton Harbor, Michigan) burned at the dock in Oak Hill (Manistee), Michigan. She was a total loss.

Upon suggestion from the U.S. Maritime Commission, surplus World War II cargo vessels, many of which had laid up on the James River, were made available for sale under the Great Lakes Vessel Sales Act of 1950 (enacted September 28, 1950) to be converted for Great Lakes use. The act allowed Great Lakes fleets to purchase up to 10 surplus ships by December 31, 1951, and receive a 90% cost subsidy to convert and refurbish them for lakes use. The first such conversion occurred when the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co. of Cleveland, Ohio bought the NOTRE DAME VICTORY (later CLIFFS VICTORY) on December 10, 1950.

GEORGE M. HUMPHREY of 1953 was laid up for the last time at the old Great Lakes Engineering Works slip at River Rouge, Mich., beginning December 31, 1983.

The QUEDOC, a.) NEW QUEDOC, was laid up for the last time on December 31, 1984, at Toronto, Ont., alongside the SENATOR OF CANADA.

On 31 December 1884, ADMIRAL (wooden propeller steam tug, 49 gross tons, built in 1883, at Chicago, Ill.) had her boiler explode in Chicago harbor. All four of the crew was killed.

In 1884, the PERE MARQUETTE NO 1 ran aground at Ludington, Mich.

December 31, 1919 - The entire Ann Arbor carferry fleet was tied up in Frankfort, Mich., due to bad weather.

On 31 December 1889, H. M. Loud of Oscoda, Mich., sold the 551-ton wooden schooner ANGUS SMITH to Mitchell Brothers of Marine City, Mich., for $16,000. The vessel was built in 1871.

1905: The whaleback Barge 126 had left the Great Lakes earlier in the year and was renamed b) BADEN. It stranded at Buzzard's Bay, Mass., enroute from Newport News, Va., to New Bedford, Mass., with coal and was a total loss. The crew of six was also lost.



Lookback #44 – Former Harald Rinde capsized on December 31, 1986

12/31 - The Norwegian general cargo freighter Harald Rinde was built at Drammen, Norway, in 1967 and began Seaway trading the next year for A/S Holmen-Hellefos. The 378-foot, 2-inch long carrier was Norwegian owned and diesel powered.

The ship was sold to Greek flag interests in 1973 and became Fulmar. It retained that registry as Trias III beginning in 1977 but moved under the flag of Turkey as Gunes Mete in 1982. It received its fifth name of Yavuz Selim in 1984 and was anchored off Istanbul, Turkey, when trouble developed on December 20, 1986. The anchors dragged in heavy weather and the ship grounded off Kumpapi, Turkey. Then, 27 years ago today, the vessel capsized and eventually broke apart.

The former Seaway trader was a total loss. The bow was removed on June 2, 1989, and ultimately the hull was salvaged in pieces and broken up for scrap.


Orsula successfully refloated; Coast Guard reports no pollution or injuries

12/31 - Cleveland, Ohio – The Coast Guard oversaw the successful refloating of the Orsula, which was completed Sunday. Orsula, a 656-foot Marshall Islands flagged ship, ran aground in the vicinity of Tibbets Point in the St. Lawrence Seaway, Christmas Day.

At about 5:50 p.m., response personnel from Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Massena, N.Y., reported the successful refloating of the vessel to prevention branch personnel at Coast Guard Sector Buffalo, N.Y. The vessel is currently making way toward Montreal and is being escorted by the tug Salvor.

A dive survey was conducted to inspect the entire hull of the vessel to ensure it is safe for the vessel to continue its transit. The vessels class society and personnel from the U.S. and Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Corporations cleared the vessel to transit to Montreal.

McKeil Marine was hired by the ships company to conduct salvage operations that included the lightering of the vessel to a barge, which commenced at about 6 p.m., Saturday, and was completed at about 6:30 a.m., Sunday.

The Coast Guard worked with the ship’s company and the salvage company to ensure the vessel was safely refloated.

"Our job is to make sure the ship's crew follows its own vessel response plan, which includes contacting their contracted responders, and we also make sure proper procedures are followed to safely refloat their vessel," said Lt. Andrew Sweeney, chief Inspections Division for Sector Buffalo. "We also gather information concerning the marine casualty investigation."

A contracted oil spill removal organization was on scene throughout the operations for refloating the vessel as a precaution. No pollution, flooding or injury associated with the grounding was reported . The cause of the incident is still under investigation.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Traffic moving on the St. Marys as New Year's Eve draws to close

1/1 - The St. Marys River was a busy place New Year's Eve. Downbound traffic lined up at or above the locks most of the day for the tug Wilfred M. Cohen and her barge to clear the ice-jammed Rock Cut. When she was freed by the USCG Mackinaw, with Anglian Lady and and G tug Missouri, traffic slowly started moving downbound, led by Defiance/Ashtabula. Downbound vessels were still lined up for the Poe Lock as the evening came to a close. Meanwhile, upbound traffic that had been delayed by the American Spirit being beset in the east Neebish Channel were proceeding upbound on a slow bell due to congestion at the locks. Those included Presque Isle, Algowood and Kaministiqua. Earlier in the day, CSL Assiniboine left her dock at Essar Steel, a rare unload port for her, and headed up Lake Superior, passing fleetmate Frontenac, anchored for weather in the lee of Whitefish Point.


Lookback #45 Hamildoc foundered on Caribbean on January 1, 1943

1/1 - The first of three ships to sail as Hamildoc in the Paterson Steamship fleet foundered on the Caribbean 71 years ago today. The ship was at anchor due to a three day gale when it broke in two in position 9.10 N / 60.30 W. The vessel had been en route from Georgetown, British Guiana, to Trinidad & Tobago when it was lost. All of the crew were rescued.

Hamildoc had been built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson at Sunderland, England, and launched on April 29, 1927. It set out for Canada in May and service in the bulk trades through the existing canals of that day. The 259 foot length and 43 foot, 4 inch beam made the vessel a good fit in the St. Lawrence and Third Welland Canals.

During World War Two, the size and shallow draft also made Hamildoc, and a number of running mates, very useful in the South American bauxite trade. They brought cargoes from inland river ports to the transshipment center at the island of Trinidad. Several of these ships did not survive the war, falling victim to Nazi U-boats or stormy weather.

Hamildoc had been chartered to Saguenay Terminals on May 5, 1941, and had completed a number of successful voyages before being overwhelmed by the storm on January 1, 1943.




Today in Great Lakes History - January 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Tugs, icebreakers work to free icebound barge

12/31 - 4 p.m. Update: After several hours' worth of effort by the U.S. Coast Guard and commercial tugs, a Purvis Marine barge believed to be PML Ironmaster was freed during the afternoon Tuesday from the ice that was holding her trapped in the West Neebish channel. Assisting the Cohen were the Purvis tug Anglian Lady and the Great Lakes Towing tug Missouri. Downbounders delayed were Defiance/Ashtabula, Manitowoc, Kaye E. Barker, Joseph L. Block, Ken Boothe Sr./Lakes Contender and Olive L. Moore/Lewis J. Kuber. Also on Tuesday afternoon, the American Spirit became beset in the East Neebish, or upbound, channel. She was being assisted by the USCG Biscayne Bay. Behind her were Presque Isle and Algowood, with Kaministiqua inbound at DeTour. USCG Hollyhock was also working ice in the lower river. Earlier in the day, the Frontenac passed through the area with little trouble on her way to Thunder Bay.

12/31 - Downbound traffic in the St. Marys River was at a standstill Tuesday morning as U.S. Coast Guard and commercial tugs worked to extricate a tug and barge from the West Neebish (Rock Cut) channel. The USCG Mackinaw, as well as the Purvis Marine tugs Wilfred M. Cohen and Anglian Lady and the G tug Missouri were all on scene trying to get a barge, believed to be PML Ironmaster, which had been stuck since Tuesday, moving. Downbounders delayed were Defiance/Ashtabula, Manitowoc, Kaye E. Barker, Joseph L. Block and Ken Boothe Sr./Lakes Contender. The upbound Frontenac made it through the East Neebish channel and was approaching the locks in the late morning. American Spirit was upbound in Mud Lake, Presque Isle was upbound at Lime Island and Algowood was inbound at DeTour.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - January 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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




Lookback #46 – Former Pre-Seaway trader Grenland sank on January 2, 1967

1/2 - The saltwater freighter Raagan sank on the North Sea, about 60 miles north of the Dutch coast, 47 years ago today. The vessel began leaking while traveling from Egersund, Denmark, to Dordrecht, Netherlands, with a cargo of titanium ore, forcing the crew to abandon the sinking ship. All were rescued.

While Raagan had not been a Great Lakes trader, the ship had been inland in the pre-Seaway era under three previous names. The 257-foot, 10-inch long freighter had been built at Bergen, Norway, in 1919 and first came to our shores as Erich Lindoe in the 1920s.

It was sold and renamed Grenland in 1928 and returned to the lakes in at least 1933. After becoming Hildur I in 1937, the ship came back in both the pre and post war era.

It was renamed Raagan in 1956 and spent all of its 48 years in Norwegian registry.




Port Reports - January 2

Two Harbors, Minn.
Mesabi Miner was in Two Harbors loading ore for three days; normal loading time is roughly eight hours. They have been having major problems loading, as temperatures have not been above zero for the last five days.

Marquette, Mich. - Rod Burdick
H. Lee White and Michipicoten loaded ore at the Upper Harbor on New Year's Day.

St. Marys River
As night fell, the tug Olive L. Moore and her barge Lewis J. Kuber were stuck in the downbound West Neebish channel. Icebreakers appear to be waiting until first light to resume their efforts to free the pair. Herbert C. Jackson was hove to above the Rock Cut, waiting for the way to be cleared. Capt. Henry Jackman, Walter J. McCarthy and Roger Blough were nearing DeTour as the day drew to a close, after being free from the ice in the Straits earlier in the day.

Straits of Mackinac
Vessels were fighting ice for most of New Year’s Day west of the Mackinac Bridge. The USCG cutter Hollyhock freed several freighters Wednesday afternoon beset in ice NE of Gray's Reef, including Samuel de Champlain and her barge, and the Manitowoc. Algoeast followed westbound in the tracks of the Hollyhock as it extricated the two other freighters. Also freed were Roger Blough, Buffalo and Capt. Henry Jackman, beset in ice north of Garden Island.

St. Clair, Mich.- Denny Dushane
The Interlake 1,000 footer James R. Barker was expected to arrive at the St. Clair Power Plant in the early afternoon on New Year's Eve to unload the last coal cargo for the year 2013. There are still three more coal shipments by vessel to arrive at the power plant during January, two by Paul R. Tregurtha and one by Mesabi Miner. The Tregurtha is expected to unload the last coal cargo of the season at the St. Clair Power Plant. She is scheduled to arrive on January 9 in the early morning, however this is subject to change due to weather and ice conditions. It has been a busy year at the St. Clair Power Plant with almost 160 visits by vessel as of the end of the 2013 year. With three more shipments to arrive in January, this total will end up at about 162 to 163 visits by vessels. It is also the first time in quite a few years that the St. Clair Power Plant has received coal shipments by vessel into January.

Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
Whitefish Bay arrived at the Torco Dock on Monday and unloaded iron ore. She was still in port on New Year's Eve unloading. Two vessels were due on New Year's Day, with the Algoma Enterprise arriving first followed by H. Lee White. American Mariner is due on Saturday, January 4 during the early afternoon. Rounding out the schedule will be the Ken Boothe Sr. and the Lakes Contender, due on Monday, January 6 in the late morning. The ferry Jiimaan remains in port, as do the tug Victory and the barge James L. Kuber.

Buffalo, N.Y. – Brian W.
Algomarine departed the Gateway Metroport Main Dock in Lackawanna Wednesday and was making 1.6 knots through the ice towards the Outer Harbor piers with an AIS destination of Thunder Bay. Toronto, Ont. - Jens Juhl
During New Year’s Eve, the Algoma Olympic arrived to lay up at Terminal 35. At the same time, the venerable Algoma Navigator tied up at Terminal 52 north wall for winter lay up. Shortly before noon the new Algoma Equinox arrived and laid up at Terminal 52 west wall. It has been a few years since Toronto has had this many lakers tie up for the winter.

Toronto, Ont. - Charlie Gibbons and Jens Juhl
Algoma navigator tied up for the winter at Pier 52 North Tuesday afternoon, assisted the by tug M. R. Kane breaking the ice in the shipping channel for her. Algoma Progress came in to Pier 35 just before midnight Tuesday to tie up for the winter. Algoma Equinox came in for lay-up early New Year's Day, at Pier 52 West.

Kingston, Ont. - Ron Walsh
Algoma Equinox was the last ship to pass Cape Vincent Tuesday. The CCGS Griffon passed upbound earlier and is now at Port Weller. The Evans McKeil, with the Lambert Spirit in tow, departed Cape Vincent Wednesday morning, headed for Hamilton. This barge was used in the Orsula lightering and her original tug, Salvor, shadowed the Orsula to Montreal. Stephen B. Roman left Picton Wednesday morning and appeared to be headed for Toronto. The three "Big" grain barges appear to be in winter layup here. Tuesday the CCGS Griffon was westbound with an eta of 10:30 p.m. for Sodus Point. Tim S. Dool anchored in Prince Edward Bay due to weather. She has a destination of Hamilton. Gale warnings were effect with west winds of 35 knots, which will fall to 25 knots near midnight.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Vessels waiting for weather around the lakes

1/3 - The blizzard that has held the Great Lakes tightly within its grasp for most of the week by Thursday night had made the anchor the most popular tool on board lake ships. On the hook off Toledo were the Algoma Enterprise, the 135-foot tug John Spence, and the tug Ken Boothe Sr., which is mated with the barge Lakes Contender. The tug Dorothy Ann and barge Pathfinder remained at anchor off Cleveland where they have been for the past two days. At Sandusky, Cuyahoga remained at the NS coal dock for a third day. Due to sail for Hamilton when the storm breaks, the 630-footer loaded on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, similar tales of being at anchor, waiting for the weather or for daylight, were being told. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock was on the hook just west of the Straits of Mackinac where she has been helping freighters through heavy ice in the vicinity of Gray's Reef. Ice continued to slow traffic on the St. Marys River.

Weathermen are predicting the heavy snow and high winds will ease on Friday and Saturday, but very cold temperatures are expected across the Great Lakes in next week, continuing the warnings of ice build-up on vessel hulls, a NOAA spokesman said.



Icebreaker Griffon heads to Upper Lakes

1/3 - The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Griffon transited the Welland Canal upbound late Wednesday evening, well after the scheduled closure of the canal to commercial traffic. As of 5 p.m. Thursday the cutter was tied up at Port Colborne. Each winter the Griffon works the lower lakes ice breaking.



St. Marys Challenger conversion underway

1/3 - Chicago, Ill. – When the St. Marys Challenger next docks in Chicago, the 107-year-old, 562-foot vessel will have the same name, travel the same routes and carry the same cargo.

But the freighter, the longest to use the Chicago River, will no longer be the oldest powered ship operating on the Great Lakes. It took its final voyage under its own power in November and is now being converted to a barge. The pilothouse, fuel tanks and part of the stern section have already been removed.

Repowering the vessel, outfitting it with a new diesel engine and returning it to Lake Michigan as a freighter would have cost about $20 million nearly double the cost of converting it to a barge, said Chuck Canestraight, president of Port City Steamship Holding, which owns the ship.

A barge is also cheaper to operate, he said. It took a crew of 25 to operate the Challenger, but the tugboat and barge will need only 11 people, since the tugboat is smaller and newer, requiring fewer manual tasks.

Canestraight said he's hoping the barge will make its first trip to Chicago around Memorial Day, pushed by the tugboat Prentiss Brown.

Some of the Challenger's crew will be offered positions on the tugboat, Canestraight said. The rest will wait for new postings, likely a month or two at a time on five or more boats each year, said Michael Cushman, of Gaylord, Mich., who was the Challenger's wheelsman, steering the vessel for 26 years.

Cushman, 52, said he'd happily take any sailing job he can get, though he's not pushing for a spot on the Prentiss Brown. "Tugs are terrible. They're small, noisy and there's six people sharing a bathroom," he said.

There had been talk of converting the steamer to a barge for years, but the crew was never officially told about the decision, Cushman said. "It was a really good clue when they started getting estimates for the work," he said.

For the Challenger's final journey, the crew bought steaks and lobster and made a send-off dinner on the stern, Cushman said. While he said he never thought too much about the ship's history "for us, it's our job and we see it every day," some got a little choked up, he said.

The Challenger was the last of her generation running the Great Lakes. The next oldest vessels still servicing the inland waters were built in 1942, said Roger LeLievre, editor of the Know Your Ships guide.

The Alpena and Lee A. Tregurtha were originally built as part of the World War II war effort, LeLievre said, and continue to call on ports. The Alpena now transports cement, he said, while the Tregurtha hauls taconite pellets, stone and coal.

Caitlin Clyne, of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, said a few older ships are still on the Great Lakes, but they're essentially "floating storage containers" that don't move.

Though the Challenger will continue visiting Chicago in its new form, many of its fans are mourning the loss of engines and pilothouse but will be able to see at least parts of it on dry land. A few museums have expressed interest in acquiring parts of the vessel for their collections, including the Challenger's pilothouse, Canestraight said.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime shot to get an incredible artifact that was part of Chicago's maritime history," said Thatcher Waller, a member of the Chicago Maritime Museum's board of directors. Waller remembers watching the ship steaming up the Chicago River in the 1960s and '70s, sometimes leaving a trail of malfunctioning bridges in its wake. The ship's tendency to disrupt downtown traffic earned it the nickname the "jinx ship."

Libby Mahoney, senior curator for the Chicago History Museum, said she has been in touch with the Challenger's owners. While she's interested in learning more, Mahoney said she wasn't sure yet whether the museum would ultimately want to acquire any pieces of the freighter.

"We're in the very early stages, but it did pique our interest because of the historic nature of that vessel," she said.

Canestraight said memorabilia that might be of interest to museums is currently in storage. He said he'd made an effort to preserve things that would be unique to a vessel of the Challenger's era, such as a set of antique brass steam gauges and the chadburn, a device the pilot used to communicate with engineers operating the ship's power plant.

"It was a difficult decision to make because of the nostalgia, but we will deliver memorabilia of interest so that those who have an interest can continue to see it," Canestraight said. He expects that what is left of the ship will continue traversing the Great Lakes for years to come.

"The freshwater is very friendly to hulls," Canestraight said. "There's no reason a 125-year life span is out of order."

Chicago Tribune




Port Reports - January 3

St. Marys River – Soo Locks
Low temperatures stopped the upbound Roger Blough in lower lock approach Thursday evening due to heavy ice buildup at the lock piers. Earlier it had been stuck making the turn at Six Mile. The temperature at the Soo is minus 15 and falling. Most of the traffic in the river has stopped for the night, with one exception being the upbound Walter J. McCarthy Jr., which battled ice most of the day in the upbound channel on the north end of Neebish Island. Also upbound but stopped were Ojibway, Baie Comeau and James R. Barker. The downbound Mesabi Miner was anchored in Hay Lake awaiting daylight before transiting the ice-choked West Neebish channel, where the tug Olive L. Moore / barge Lewis J. Kuber had been stuck most of Thursday. In Lake Superior's Whitefish Bay, the Stewart J. Cort, H. Lee White, Paul R. Tregurtha and American Integrity stopped as night fell.

Escanaba, Mich. - Rod Burdick
Wilfred Sykes loaded ore at CN on Thursday. She was outbound after dark with the help of the tug Erica Kobasic.

Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
Algoma Enterprise was stuck in ice in Lake Erie off of Toledo on Thursday. She is loaded with iron ore pellets for the Torco Dock. There are two vessels listed to arrive at Torco with iron ore – H. Lee White due on Saturday in the early morning followed by the American Mariner, due to arrive on Sunday in the mid-afternoon. Both vessel arrivals are subject to change due to weather and ice conditions. So far no vessels have entered lay-up in Toledo although, the American Century is on her way to Toledo from Lake Michigan and is expected to arrive for winter layup sometime in the next few days. The American Courage also appeared to be stuck in ice as well off of Toledo on Thursday and she is probably be heading into Toledo for winter lay-up. The ferry Jiimaan still is in port.

Seaway and Welland - Ron Beaupre
Wednesday the grounding-damaged saltie Orsula cleared St. Lambert lock at 13:30 and docked in Montreal harbor. She will be loaded with additional grain for the trip overseas. According to the Port of Montreal web site, her next destination is a port in Spain. The lighted buoys near the shoal had been removed prior to the stranding, but in light of today's advanced navigation systems, that could hardly be used as a legitimate excuse. The next downbound lockages at St. Lambert were the tugs Salvor and Groupe Ocean's Ocean Ross Gaudrault, followed by CCGS Martha L Black. The latter had plenty of work getting the last several ships through thick ice. They were the last vessels with one exception being the tug La Prairie. Upbound through the Welland Canal Thursday were CSL Laurentien followed by CCGS Griffon.

Lookback #47 – Former Koiku Maru wrecked overnight off Tartous, Syria in 1979

1/3 - The Japanese general cargo carrier Koiku Maru was nine years old when it first came through the Seaway in 1967. The 479-foot-long vessel was part of the Japan Line Ltd. and it made two trips inland that year.

The ship was sold and registered in Cyprus as Elna in 1971 and put under the flag of Greece as Eurowave following another sale in 1977.

During the overnight hours of January 3-4, 1979, the ship ran aground in stormy weather off Tartous, Syria. The accident of 35 years ago today resulted in Eurowave becoming a total loss, but it appears that all on board were saved.




Today in Great Lakes History - January 3

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

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

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

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

1945: While not a Great Lakes event, what is considered the deadliest marine disaster in world history occurred on this date. The little-remembered event claimed the German passenger liner WILHELM GUSTLOFF loaded with over 10,000 refugees and naval personnel fleeing Germany in the latter stages of World War Two. It was torpedoed by a Russian submarine on the Baltic Sea and a reported 9,343 lives were lost. Another 1,239 reached safety.

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