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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jan 4, 2014 5:58:09 GMT -5
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jan 4, 2014 6:04:34 GMT -5
St. Clair River ice continues to halt shipping
1/4 - Tug Defiance and tug Everlast with their barges were cleared to proceed upbound early Friday afternoon. The small convoy reached the St. Clair Cutoff Channel before grinding to a halt about 2p.m. in the same area the downbound 1000-footer was stuck American Century.
The USCG Morro Bay worked with the pair, finally getting the Defiance and barge Ashtabula past Russell Island about 7:30 p.m. Morro Bay led the Defiance upbound, entering Lake Huron about 9:30 while the Defiance was stopping for fuel in Sarnia.
Tug Everlast and her barge remained stuck in the St. Clair Cutoff Channel all afternoon. The USCG Neah Bay arrived upbound to assist about 9:30 p.m.
Traffic delayed by the ice included Algosteel, anchored off Detroit, and Herbert C. Jack son and tug Olive L. Moore, anchored off Port Huron.
Port Reports - January 4
Marquette, Mich. - Rod Burdick
American Mariner unloaded the final cargo of the season for the Lower Harbor Shiras Dock on Friday. She delivered western coal from Superior and shifted to LS&I ore dock at the Upper Harbor late in the afternoon.
St. Marys River
Downbound traffic was moving slowly Friday morning at the Soo, with the Mesabi Miner clearing the first of the trouble spots at the Rock Cut around noon with the assistance of USCG Mackinaw. Sam Laud and American Integrity were lining up astern. However James R. Barker was having difficulty in the upbound channel near Johnson's Point and was was being assisted by CCGS Samuel Risley. Ojibway, Baie Comeau and Edwin H. Gott were waiting astern of the Barker for the way to become clear. The Barker, which had difficulty with ice getting into the Poe Lock when it eventually reached the harbor, finally locked upbound around 9 p.m. As the evening drew to a close, Hon. James L. Oberstar was waiting on the lower pier at the Soo Locks for daylight before resuming her downbound trip. Arthur M. Anderson, Stewart J. Cort and Paul R. Tregurtha were stopped in Hay Lake, waiting for morning before attempting the challenging West Neebish Cut.
Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
Algoma Enterprise arrived in the mid-afternoon on a very cold Friday afternoon to unload iron ore pellets at the Torco Dock. Two vessels both from American Steamship are tentatively scheduled for arrivals at Torco, weather and ice permitting: H. Lee White is expected to arrive on Sunday in the early morning, followed by her ASC fleetmate American Mariner on Monday in the early morning. American Courage was the first vessel of the season to lay up in this port, arriving late on Thursday evening. Her ASC fleetmate American Century was anchored in Lake Erie waiting to enter Toledo for winter layup. There were several other vessels in port, including the ferry Jiimaan and the tug John Spence. The Saginaw was also in port unloading a grain cargo from Thunder Bay.
Sandusky, Ohio - Jim Spencer
The Canadian Coast Guard cutter Griffon was expected to begin breaking ice in Western Lake Erie over the weekend. A U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said Friday the Canadian icebreaker was moving westward from Port Colborne, Ont. Among those awaiting the arrival of the Griffon is the Cuyahoga. Bright sunshine and few clouds did not prove helpful Friday as the Cuyahoga slowly and carefully edged her way through the iced-over outbound shipping channel in Sandusky Bay as she was finally able to pull away from the NS coal dock. The Lower Lakes Towing Co.’s 620-footer managed to make it to the end of the shipping channel and into Lake Erie before being force to hove to because of heavily packed lake ice. The self-unloader remained ice-bound well after dark. She had originally arrived at the NS dock on Tuesday, and began loading on New Year’s Day. Her destination has now been changed to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Ice delays shipping traffic at Soo Locks
1/4 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – Ice has slowed shipping traffic through the Soo Locks and on the surrounding Great Lakes. Crews have been working around the clock to clear paths to help ships travel since early December.
"You know, I've been here for 21 years and this is the worst I can remember this soon," Kurt Bunker, Soo Locks St. Marys River chief said. In fact, it's the earliest the ice has formed since the 1930s.
Over the course of the last month, the temperatures keep dropping and the ice continues to be a problem for shipping traffic. That's why the Coast Guard has been out in full force. Four out of the 11 Great Lakes ice cutters are on the St. Marys River.
"As the cutters in the lakes drive through the ice they turn it into smaller pieces which refreezes," Captain Steve Teschendor, USCG Sector Sault Ste. Marie Commander, said.
The USCG says in some areas along the river, ice chunks have clumped together creating ice that is nearly ten feet deep. "That blocks up and it has caught some freighters in the ice down there, which slows the traffic all the way up here," Bunker added.
1,000 foot freighters are waiting until a large enough path is cleared for travel. And for other ships making the trip, they might experience a few roadblocks when trying to get through the locks.
"When you get a lot of ice into the locks, we either have to flush the ice through, or we will send tugs in the scrape the ice off the walls," Bunker said.
Soo Locks and USCG crews have been doing their best to keep this multi-billion dollar shipping industry moving. "It's caused some delays, but we have not had any of what we call a waterway closure at this point, so things of been slowed but they are moving," Captain Teschendor said.
Ship captains are noticing delayed travel times and if they plan on making it through the locks they need to do so by January 15th. That's when the locks close for the season until March.
Lake Superior closer to normal level
1/4 - The level of Lake Superior dropped 2 inches in December, a month when the big lake usually goes down 3 inches, according to the International Lake Superior Board of Control.
The smaller-than- usual decline is thanks in part to above-normal precipitation. The big lake is now just 1 inch away from its long-term normal level for Jan. 1, and is a full foot above the level on Jan. 1, 2013. The lake generally has been trending closer to normal for about a year.
Meanwhile, the level of lakes Huron and Michigan declined by 2 inches in December, a month they usually drop by an inch. The lakes now sit 14 inches below their long-term normal to start the year but 14 inches higher than their level on Jan. 1, 2013.
Duluth News Tribune
Lookback # 48 – Nipiwan Park torpedoed off Nova Scotia on January 4, 1945
1/4 - The small Canadian tanker Nipiwan Park was built as Hull 123 of the Collingwood shipyard. It was launched on October 25, 1943, and delivered to the Government of Canada on November 28.
The 259-foot-long vessel left the lakes for saltwater service and was torpedoed 69 years ago today. The vessel was being operated by Imperial Oil when it was attacked in the Atlantic, off Egg Island, Nova Scotia, on January 4, 1945. The bow was blown away but the ship remained afloat, towed safely to Halifax and eventually repaired.
A new 150-foot bow, built by Pictou Foundry and Machine of Pictou, Nova Scotia, was attached and the vessel was returned to service on November 30, 1946.
Nipiwan Park saw Great Lakes service in 1950-1951 on charter to the British-American Oil Company, but spent most of its career around Maritime Canada. The vessel was purchased by the Irving Oil Company in 1952 and renamed Irvinglake.
The ship was re-powered with a GMC diesel engine about 1955 after mechanical problems. It grounded off Quebec City on August 7, 1956, and went to the Davie shipyard for repairs. There, on August 14, the vessel was wracked by an explosion that left nine injured.
Irvinglake stranded in the Baie of Chaleur, near Bathurst, New Brunswick, on November 27, 1963, during high winds and a rain squall. It struck off Bellona Point and became a total loss. The oil on board was pumped out in 1970 as concern over a potential pollution hazard developed. The remains of the hull may still be there.
Today in Great Lakes History - January 4
On January 4, 1978, IRVING S. OLDS was involved in a collision with the steamer ARMCO while convoying in heavy ice in the Livingstone Channel of the lower Detroit River. The OLDS hit a floe of heavy ice, came to a complete stop and the ARMCO, unable to stop, hit the OLDS' stern.
In 1952, the car ferry SPARTAN (Hull#369) was launched at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Christy Corp.
1966: FARO, a Liberty ship that had visited the Seaway in 1965, ran aground in heavy weather off Nojima, Japan, enroute from Muroran, Japan, to Keelung, Taiwan, in ballast. It had to be abandoned as a total loss. It was sold to Japanese shipbreakers in 1967 and broken up.
2012: FEDERAL MIRAMICHI was disabled by a mechanical problem during stormy weather on the English Channel, 12.8 miles northwest of Guernsey enroute from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Paranagua, Brazil, with 22,900 tons of urea. French authorities, fearing the ship could blow ashore, dispatched a tug and the vessel was towed into Cherbourg for repairs. It has been a frequent Seaway trader since 2006.
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Post by ppat324 on Jan 5, 2014 9:06:32 GMT -5
The keel was laid January 5, 1972, for ALGOWAY (Hull#200) at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd.
The wooden tug A. J. WRIGHT caught fire on 5 January 1893, while laid up at Grand Haven, Michigan. She burned to the water's edge. Her loss was valued at $20,000. She was owned by C. D. Thompson.
In 1970, PETER REISS broke her tail shaft while backing in heavy ice at the mouth of the Detroit River.
On January 5, 1976, Halco's tanker CHEMICAL TRANSPORT cleared Thunder Bay, Ontario, closing that port for the season.
1976: A.S. GLOSSBRENNER struck bottom entering Port McNicoll and had to be unloaded immediately due to the extensive hull damage. The ship was repaired at Port Weller Dry Docks in the spring. The vessel became b) ALGOGULF (ii) in 1987 and c) ALGOSTEEL (ii) in 1990.
1982: The Norwegian freighter NORHOLT first came through the Seaway in 1962 and made a total of 15 inland voyages. It was renamed b) SALVADOR in 1966 and returned once in 1967. The ship went aground as c) SAN JUAN off Shadwan Island enroute to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on this date. It was refloated January 22, 1982, towed to Suez Bay and laid up. Fire broke out on August 26, 1982, and the ship was abandoned and later beached. It was taken over by the Suez Canal Authority in 1983 and scrapped.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jan 6, 2014 5:40:44 GMT -5
Ice delays in the Straits
1/5 - 8:30 p.m. update - As the Hollyhock limps home behind the Biscayne Bay, the USCG Mobile Bay arrived at the site of the collision earlier today, freeing the Mesabi Miner with assistance from the USCG Katmai Bay.
According to the Mesabi Miner, he was stuck in two windrows, or compression ridges, one amidship and one at his bow. He also said it was these windrows that caused the 'snafu' this morning.
The Mobile Bay is waiting for the Arthur M. Anderson, which is not beset, to head out on the track of the Stewart J. Cort, and will then cut a track from ahead of the Mesabi Miner, towards its bow, and will then break ice on the freighter's port and starboard sides to relief ice pressure and break a track for the 1000-footer to head out on.
5:30 p.m. update - The USCG Hollyhock was underway moving at 4.5 knots on the track broken by the Biscayne Bay, returning to St. Ignace.
Joyce L Van Enkevort was moving at 8 knots and heading to open water that is just one-quarter mile or so past the Lee A Tregurtha according to the Tregurtha. However, the Oberstar and Indiana Harbor are slowing down behind the Van Enkevort. The Stewart J. Cort, Arthur M. Anderson and Mesabi Miner will likely shut down for the night and wait for assistance.
4 p.m. update - The USCG cutter Biscayne Bay, which is now underway west of the bridge to escort the Hollyhock back to St. Ignace and will then take over as the Straits asset for icebreaking. The Biscayne Bay noted that at this point it does not look like it will be breaking ice at night. When it returns to the convoy will depend in part on how smoothly the escort back to St. Ignace goes.
The Joyce L Van Enkevort returned east to the convoy briefly and now appears to be following its own track west again, possibly in an effort to avoid hard freezing of its barge notch and to try to make westward progress towards the Tregurtha and Calumet which are holding positions just North West of Garden Island.
The Oberstar and Indiana Harbor decided to follow the Joyce L Van Enkevort’s lead and try to head west. The Oberstar called the Van Enkevort, saying he’d stay around one and a half miles back. The Van Enkevort replied that keeping clear was a good idea, since he could see some ice windrows ahead.
12:30 p.m. update - USCG Sector Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan issued a securite call to vessels transiting the Straits of Mackinac informing them of a collision between the Mesabi Miner and the USCG cutter Hollyhock. At the time of the collision, the Mesabi Miner was the lead freighter in a convoy of 6 freighters following the track being cut by the Hollyhock. Shortly before the collision, the Hollyhock had reported to other vessels in the convoy on Marine Ch. 8 that it had encountered an ice pressure ridge and had to slow down, requesting that following vessels do the same.
All convoy vessels are stopped at a position northeast of Hog Island, around 22 nautical miles west of the Mackinac Bridge.
Original report: Several lakers overnighted west of the Mackinac Bridge, beset in ice, and icebreaking operations began at dawn Sunday morning to free them and break a westbound track.
USCG icebreaker Hollyhock first made a starboard pass around the Hon. James L. Oberstar, best just one-quarter mile west of the bridge, then it freed the Stewart J. Cort and the Arthur M. Andersen and led the convoy west toward the Mesabi Miner, which was beset in ice just northeast of Grays Reef. The westbound Indiana Harbor caught up with the group took up a position behind the Oberstar, not wanting to miss out on the convoy.
As it approached the Mesabi Miner, the Hollyhock slowed from around 8 knots to 4 knots in some tough ice, and the lakers, all maintaining around 1 mile spacing slowed in response. About 11 a.m. the Mesabi Miner reported that they had suffered bow damage and would report back. Unconfirmed reports say she may have made contact with the Hollyhock.
Sunday collision with Mesabi Miner in Straits ice sidelines cutter Hollyhock
1/6 - St. Ignace, Mich. – As night fell Sunday night, the United States Coast Guard cutter Hollyhock was docked in St. Ignace after a collision earlier in the day in the ice-choked Straits of Mackinac west of the Mackinac Bridge.
Meanwhile, some of the vessels that had been jammed in the ice were on the move again, while others were waiting for daylight for Coast Guard assistance.
The collision, at about 10:45 am Sunday with the 1,004-long motor vessel Mesabi Miner, occurred as the Hollyhock was leading a convoy of ships through a particularly solid ridge of ice. Mesabi Miner was astern of the Hollyhock and hit the Hollyhock’s stern when the cutter became stalled by ice and the Miner was unable to stop in time.
Keith Showalter, operations specialist first class for the USCG Sector Sault Ste. Marie, said the Hollyhock sustained significant damage to its stern and fantail. Mesabi Miner sustained damage to its bow.
No injuries and no pollution resulted from the collision, the Coast Guard said.
After her crew assessed damage to the stern port quarter, Hollyhock started toward St. Ignace, escorted by the USCG cutter Biscayne Bay, which was called from its icebreaking mission in the lower St. Marys River.
According to radio traffic from the Mesabi Miner, the vessel was stuck in two windrows, or compression ridges, one amidship and one at the bow. It was those windrows that caused the trouble Sunday morning. Mesabi Miner is carrying iron ore to Gary, Ind.
With Hollyhock sidelined, the USCG cutter Mobile Bay took up the mantle, working to free the other vessels in the Straits. Late in the afternoon, the tug Joyce L. Van Enkevort dropped her barge Great Lakes Trader in the ice and headed east to also assist the beset vessels before picking the barge back up and resuming her westerly course.
The Hon. James L. Oberstar and Indiana Harbor decided to follow the Joyce L Van Enkevort’s lead and try to head west. The Oberstar called the Van Enkevort, saying he’d stay around one and a half miles back. The Van Enkevort’s captain replied that keeping clear was a good idea, since he could see some ice windrows ahead.
As midnight approached, Stewart J. Cort and Arthur M. Anderson were moving at a good speed, however the eastbound Calumet and Lee A. Tregurtha were stopped. The Coast Guard said cutter assistance would return at first light Monday.
Robert Bemben, Port Huron Times Herald
Shifting ice complicates Coast Guard effort in St. Clair River
1/6 - Most traffic in the southern end of the St. Clair River was moving again Sunday night, thanks to the efforts to the CCGS Samuel Risley and the USCG cutters Neah Bay and Morro Bay. Earlier in the day, the dounbound Herbert C. Jackson had been beset, with the upbound CSL Laurentien and Algosteel had to stop in the ice off Buoy 14 in Lake St. Clair waiting for the downbound Jackson to clear. As midnight approached, the Jackson had reached her dock at Severstal Steel in the Rouge River. Algosteel was at anchor in the St. Clair River north of Marine City, with Sam Laud and Paul R. Tregurtha nearby.
Big boats battle icy harbor at Thunder Bay
1/6 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – The challenge is on to get boats in and out of Thunder Bay Harbor ahead of the Soo Locks’ closure on Jan. 15. It’s a challenge because of the thick ice that has settled into the harbor amid the cold snap that has embraced much of Canada.
“I haven’t seen ice this thick in 25 years,” Gerry Dawson, owner of the Point Valour tugboat that provides ice breaking services, said Thursday after leading the way for the Frontenac, which docked at Keefer Terminal to refuel before heading to the Mission grain terminal.
The thick ice called for some slick moves by both vessels.
“We have been spoiled in the last 5 to 10 years with minimal ice at this time of year,’’ said Dawson. “There is 15 inches of solid blue ice, and it’s making two to three inches every night on top of that,” he said.
Harbour master Guy Jarvis said the locks in Sault Ste. Marie officially close on Jan. 15 and the Port of Thunder Bay is expecting its last boat on Jan. 9 or 10.
“As long as the vessel operators can get icebreaking assistance through our local tug operators and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alder, they will continue doing traffic to the latest possible date,” said Jarvis. The locks are to reopen on March 25, launching the 2014 shipping season.
The Chronicle-Journal
More ice on Lake Michigan than seen in decades
1/6 - Muskegon, Mich. - Lake Michigan water levels hit historical lows last year, but this cold winter may be helping in the Great Lakes' recovery. According to Environment Canada, the Great Lakes haven't had this much ice so early in the season since the late 1980s.
Great Lakes ice can be a bad thing, especially for shipping: a week before Christmas, a freighter carrying 17,000 tons of coal got stuck on thick ice on Muskegon Lake. This meant Consumers Energy had to cancel its last two coal shipments of the winter.
On the plus side, ice has the benefit of raising water levels in the Great Lakes. Alan Steinman of the Annis Water Resources Institute explains, "When you have more ice formation, you have less direct contact with the atmosphere, less opportunity for evaporation and that keeps the water levels up."
For the last 20 years with lower ice coverage, more water had evaporated, contributing to the low water levels seen last year. "We were setting records for the lowest water level in recorded history," explains Steinman.
Another benefit to more ice coverage and less evaporation is less cloud cover and less lake effect snow. In other words, you will see the sun more.
From a historical perspective, the current ice level is on track to do something we haven't seen in decades: cover most of Lake Michigan. Looking at a NOAA ice coverage map from January of 1977 it looks a lot like the current ice coverage map today, according to WZZM 13 Chief Meteorologist George Lessens, "1977 was one of the coldest winters on record."
WZZM
ArcelorMittal to sell $1.1 billion stake in Canadian unit
1/6 - ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, will sell a 15 percent stake in one of its Canadian iron ore operations, raising $1.1 billion to help pay off debt at a time of sluggish demand. The group, which makes about 6-7 percent of the world's steel, will sell the stake in ArcelorMittal Mines Canada to a consortium including South Korean steelmaker POSCO and Taiwan-listed China Steel, it said on January 2.
It is the latest in a series of steps to raise funds as slow global economic growth and spending cuts in Europe dampen demand for steel used in the car and construction industry. "It's one of the more readily disposable parts of the business, and given they need to reduce debt I don't think its a massive surprise they are selling it," said Nomura analyst Neil Sampat.
ArcelorMittal wrote down the value of its European business by $4.3 billion last month and has had its credit rating cut to non-investment grade by all credit rating agencies.
Its net debt rose by $1.2 billion during the third quarter to $23.2 billion at the end of September. The World Steel Association in October forecast steel demand would rise 2.1 percent in 2012, down from 6.2 percent in 2011.
ArcelorMittal Mines Canada operates two large open-pit mines in the province of Quebec, where it also owns the Port-Cartier industrial complex that includes a pellet plant, storage areas and port facilities for shipping.
ArcelorMittal also owns the huge Mary River iron ore project in Canada's arctic, in which it sold a 20 percent stake to joint venture partner Nunavut last month. As part of the deal POSCO, China Steel and ArcelorMittal Mines Canada will enter into long-term iron ore supply agreements, ArcelorMittal said.
ArcelorMittal's shares rose 3.7 percent in January 02 trading after the deal was announced, while POSCO shares were up 2.6 percent and China Steel rose 0.9 percent.
The group needs the funds to help compensate a slump in Europe, where demand is estimated to have fallen about 8 percent in 2012 and 29 percent since the start of the financial crisis in 2007.
ArcelorMittal has already announced the closure of blast furnaces in Belgium and France, with other operations on the continent also being temporarily idled due to overcapacity. The Canadian deal will give POSCO, the world's fourth-biggest steelmaker, increased access to iron ore. POSCO currently imports nearly all of its key raw materials and owns a 12.5 percent stake in Australia's $10 billion Roy Hill project.
Earlier, a South Korean wire service Yonhap Infomax reported China Steel and POSCO would jointly contribute $540 million, while the remainder was expected to be paid by financial investors including South Korea's National Pension Service.
A POSCO spokeswoman confirmed a consortium involving POSCO signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire a stake in the iron ore mine operator, but declined to give details.
ArcelorMittal is one of Canada's top exporters of iron ore to steel markets around the world and its operations account for about 40 percent of Canada's iron ore output. The transaction is subject to approval from the Taiwanese government, and is expected to close in two installments in the first and second quarters of 2013.
Business Recorder
Lookback #50 – Rough voyage for Ontario No. 1 on January 6-7, 1924
1/6 - - It was not a pleasant ride across Lake Ontario for the crew of the Ontario No. 1 ninety years ago tonight. The rail car carrier was in service between Cobourg, Ontario, and Rochester, New York, for the Ontario Car Ferry Company, which was owned by the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railway.
The 316-foot, 1-inch long steamer was built at Toronto and began service on November 14, 1907. The ship might get in two round trips a day, usually with rail cars full of coal for use by Canadian locomotives, returning with the empty cars.
A wild winter storm churned up Lake Ontario on January 6, 1924, catching Ontario No. 1 out on the lake. The vessel kept heading into the wind, as it did not have a sea gate on the stern. The captain was finally able to anchor off Port Credit and, as the winds subsided, he took the ship into Toronto with an estimated three feet of ice on deck.
Ontario No. 1 operated until August 1, 1949. It was sold for scrap and towed to Port Colborne by the tug H.J.D. No. 1 on July 9, 1950. There the hull was dismantled at Ramey's Bend by Marine Salvage.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jan 7, 2014 6:12:19 GMT -5
Ice pulls Thalassa Desgagnes from dock
1/7 - Heavy ice in the St. Lawrence River caused the Thalassa Desgagnés to break free from her dock at the port of Sorel-Tracy and set the tanker adrift in the river.
"The vessel has drifted from its home port and maneuvers will be carried out to allow a tug to join him and bring him back safely," said Nathalie Letendre, spokesman for the Canadian Coast Guard.
A tug from Montreal is already in place and a second is on its way. There were no injuries or spill, and the ship suffered only minor damage.
The Desgagnes is carrying 6500 cubic meters of heavy fuel oil.
The ice on the river has also forced the interruption of ferry service between Sorel-Tracy at Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola "until the situation improves", said Ferry Company Quebec.
Sunday, all ferry trips between Matane in Baie-Comeau-Godbout were also canceled.
The Canadian Coast Guard has dispatched three icebreakers on Lake Saint-Pierre and near Trois-Rivières to prevent the formation of an ice jam. Two are already in place, a third is on the way.
The Coast Guard hopes to get a little boost from the weather. Warmer temperatures and winds in the direction of ice flow would help to move the ice.
Five ships are currently docked in Trois-Rivières. Two other boats were anchored in the middle of the fairway waiting to continue their trips.
Three ships carrying bauxite, alumina and coke to the port of La Baie are blocked by ice on the St. Lawrence, at different locations along the North Shore .
CBC Radio
Port Reports - January 7
St. Marys River
USCG Katmai Bay was overheard stating they would be unable to start the mains following several radio conversations with the Mackinaw and Biscayne Bay. During these conversations, the Katmai Bay was requesting a particular type of fuse. All three vessels were in the Little Rapids Cut shortly after 9 p.m.
Toronto, Ont. - Charlie Gibbons
Stephen B. Roman came in late Sunday afternoon to her usual berth.
Hollyhock hull, stern, fantail damaged
1/7 - Port Huron, Mich. - Officials said the United States Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock sustained damage to its hull, as well as its stern and fantail, after a freighter collided with the cutter in Lake Michigan Sunday.
The Hollyhock is undergoing damage assessment in St. Ignace this morning, said Levi Read, petty officer second class and public affairs specialist at the USCG District Office in Cleveland.
The collision happened about 10:45 a.m., 22 nautical miles west of the Straits of Mackinac.
The Hollyhock was breaking ice for the 1,004-foot Mesabi Miner when it hit a hard spot in the ice. The Mesabi Miner collided with the Hollyhocks stern, Coast Guard officials said Sunday.
According to a statement from the USCG District Office in Cleveland, the Hollyhock sustained two punctures to its hull about 20 feet above the waterline as well as significant damage to its stern and fantail.
The Mesabi Miner reported a 12-inch crack in the bow about 4 feet above the water line. The bow reportedly is pushed in 8 to 12 inches.
The collision resulted in no injuries and no pollution, Read said. Neither vessel reported any flooding.
The Hollyhock arrived at St. Ignace about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, escorted by the USCG Cutter Biscayne Bay. The Mesabi Miner, which was carrying iron ore, is being escorted to Gary, Ind. by the USCG Cutter Mobile Bay, Read said.
There are a total of nine cutters capable of ice breaking in the Great Lakes, Read said. The 225-foot Hollyhock was launched in 2003. When its not breaking ice or tending buoys, the Hollyhock is stationed on the St. Clair River at 2700 Omar Street, Port Huron.
Port Huron Times Herald
Lookback #51 Former Orient Explorer burned at Colombo on January 7, 1977
1/7 - The Orient Mid-East Line sent a number of ships into the Great Lakes in the early years of the Seaway. Some were noteworthy, such as Orient Merchant and Orient Trader, for the troubles they encountered on the Great Lakes. Another, the former Orient Explorer, caught fire at Colombo, Sri Lanka, thirty-seven years ago today.
The ship had been a Seaway saltie under three different names. It first came inland as the Norwegian flag freighter Barfonn in 1959 and returned as such in 1966. The 493-foot long, French-built, cargo carrier came back again as Orient Explorer on behalf of the Orient Mid-East Line in 1967 and 1968 and then as Aegean in 1971. The latter two visits were under the flag of Greece.
The ship was sold and registered in Singapore as Tong Thay in 1972 and was at Colombo when fire broke out on January 7, 1977. The 21-year old general cargo carrier was badly damaged and it arrived at Singapore Roads on January 10 for lay-up.
Following a sale to E. Chong Iron & Steel Works, the ship was taken to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, arriving March 24, 1978. Scrapping began on May 16, 1978, and another of our Seaway visitors was dismantled.
Today in Great Lakes History - January 7
07 January 1974 - EDMUND FITZGERALD (steel propeller bulk freighter, 711 foot, 13,632 gross tons, built in 1958, at River Rouge, Michigan) lost her anchor in the Detroit River when it snagged on ice. It was raised in July 1992. The anchor weighs 12,000 pounds and now resides outside the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan.
On January 7, 1970, the e.) ONG, a.) REDHEAD of 1930, had her Canadian registry closed. The tanker had been sold for use as a water tender at Antigua in the Lesser Antilles and had departed Toronto on December 1, 1969.
1924: The rail car ferry ONTARIO NO. 1 had a rough overnight crossing of Lake Ontario. The ship was diverted to Toronto with three feet of ice on the deck and anchored off Port Credit. With no seagate, it had to sail into the wind and could not make its docking at Cobourg as scheduled.
1943: ORNEFJELL came to the Great Lakes beginning in 1933 and returned as b) AKABAHRA after being sold in 1937. It was torpedoed and sunk on the Mediterranean in position 37.07 N / 4.38 E.
1977: BARFONN had visited the Seaway beginning in 1959 and returned as b) ORIENT EXPLORER in 1967 and as c) AEGEAN in 1971. It caught fire at Colombo, Sri Lanka, as d) TONG THAY and became a total loss. The vessel was taken to Singapore Roads, laid up, sold for scrap and arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for dismantling on March 24, 1978.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jan 8, 2014 5:55:14 GMT -5
Great Lakes Towing assists USCG Katmai Bay at Soo
1/8 - Cleveland, Ohio – The Great Lakes Towing Company came to the aid of the United States Coast Guard Monday night in the St. Marys River just two miles east of the U.S. Coast Guard Station, Sector Sault Ste. Marie. The 140-foot Bay-class Icebreaking tug Katmai Bay (WTGB 101) was dead in the icy waters and required towing assistance to its homeport dock. Around 10:45 pm Monday, the tug Missouri was dispatched to break ice and assist the Katmai Bay back to its dock two hours later.
The Missouri is homeported in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to assist vessels through the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers locks and to provide emergency rescue assistance and icebreaking when needed. This winter, the Missouri and other tugs of The Great Lakes Towing Company fleet have been extremely busy providing icebreaking assistance to vessels on all the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes Towing Company collaborates and coordinates its ice breaking operations with the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking task groups on the Great Lakes, namely Sector Detroit’s Operation Taconite and Sector Sault Ste. Marie’s Operation Coal Shovel. Operation Taconite is the largest domestic icebreaking operation in the United States.
For the past 115 years, the Towing Company has provided commercial ice breaking in ports and harbors throughout the Great Lakes. The U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards provide icebreaking assistance in waters where commercial icebreaking resources are either unavailable or incapable of handling the difficult ice conditions.
Great Lakes Towing Company
Port Reports - January 8
St. Marys River
The downbound American Mariner, which had been caught in ice in the Rock Cut for almost two days, was finally freed Tuesday afternoon by the USCG Mackinaw and the G tug Missouri. However she soon encountered more ice difficulty near Moon Island, from which she was ultimately extricated later in the evening. CSL Assiniboine was stopped at the locks waiting for the American Mariner to be freed. It took nearly 24 hours and assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Biscayne Bay for the CSL Assiniboine to makes its way from Isle Parisienne to the locks, a trip that takes about two hours in good weather. Meanwhile, the USCG Bristol Bay was assisting the upbound CSL Laurentien in the lower river Tuesday afternoon and evening, while USCG Biscayne Bay was helping the downbound Algocanada in the vicinity of Lime Island. Kaministiqua was also upbound north of Pipe Island.
Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
Tuesday morning the USCG cutter Mobile Bay was escorting the Paul R. Tregurtha westbound to Lansing Shoal after freeing it from ice just east of the Mackinac Bridge. The two vessels were in what the Coast Guard cutter’s master referred to as a minefield of windrows around one mile NNE of White Shoal Light. The two vessels are cutting a track just south of the LCA track to avoid the worst of them. At Lansing Shoal, the Mobile Bay will break out eastbound vessels Manitowoc, Algoeast and the Robert S. Pierson.
St. Clair River Although Edgar B. Speer and Algoma Olympic made it through upbound through heavy ice on Tuesday, Cuyahoga and the tug Victory and her barge were either stuck or hove to at the entrance to the St. Clair River south of Algonac late Tuesday night.
Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
H. Lee White was anchored off of Toledo in ice in Western Lake Erie on Tuesday waiting to unload an iron ore cargo from Marquette for the Torco Dock. The revised schedule for Torco now lists H. Lee White arriving on Wednesday during the morning, followed by the Lee A. Tregurtha on Saturday, January 11 in the early morning. Joyce L. Van Enkevort and Great Lakes Trader are expected to arrive on Saturday, January 25 to unload at the Torco Dock. On Sunday, in addition to the Buffalo arriving for winter lay-up another ASC vessel, the tug Ken Boothe Sr. and barge Lakes Contender also arrived on Sunday for lay-up at the CSX Docks. This is the first time that the duo has ever laid-up for the winter in Toledo. There are now four vessels that have arrived for winter lay-up with the American Courage, American Century, Buffalo and the Ken Boothe Sr. and Lakes Contender. Three ASC vessels still are in long-term lay-up the Adam E. Cornelius at the Old Interlake Iron Dock, while fleetmates American Fortitude and American Valor are out at the Lakefront Docks. The ferry Jiimaan still remains in port.
Buffalo, N.Y. - Brian W.
Heavy ice in the Niagara River caused a jam in the area of the North Grand Island bridge on January 7th. Strong winds out of west caused lake levels to surge and ice to overflow the Niagara River Boom in Buffalo. U.S. and Canadian Power Authorities sent out their ice breakers to try and get the ice moving again. Some flooding had been observed along the shore that evening. A blizzard rolled into town making conditions even worse and that much harder for crews to deal with it.
Lookback #52 – Cousteau's Calypso sank in a collision on January 8, 1996
1/8 - French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau was known all over the world. His famous vessel Calypso, converted from wooden hulled World War Two vintage minesweeper, was part of his research activity from 1951 until it sank, following a collision with a barge off the west coast of Singapore, 18 years ago today. The 332-gross ton vessel came to the Great Lakes in 1980 for exploratory work. It found the wreck of the Gunilda in 260 feet of water in Lake Superior on September 20. It also sent a mini-submarine to view and film the final resting places of the Edmund Fitzgerald near Whitefish Point and the gunboats Hamilton and Scourge in Lake Ontario. He made two films based on his research from this trip. These were “Cries from the Deep” and “St. Lawrence: Stairway to the Sea.” Following the sinking off Singapore, Calypso was refloated but did not resume its unique service. The ship was taken to Marseilles, France, and laid up pending possible restoration. Various controversies arose concerning the future of the ship and it was erroneously reported as sold for display at Nassau, Bahamas, as a tourist attraction. The ship is still intact, partially restored, and at a French shipyard as officials as the courts sort out the future of the well-known vessel. Cousteau died of a heart attack at Paris, France, on June 25, 1997, at the age of 87.
Today in Great Lakes History - January 8
On 08 January 2004, McKeil Marine’s CAPT. RALPH TUCKER was the first vessel of 2004 to arrive at the port of Manistee, Michigan. Once docked at the General Chemical facilities, Captain Bill Sullivan and Chief Engineer Otto Cooper were each presented with hand-carved Hackberry canes. This was a notable way for the vessel to start her last year of operation. Later that year she was sold for scrap.
JOHN HULST (Hull#286) was launched in 1938, at River Rouge, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.
On 8 January 1877, the tug KATE FELCHER burned at East Saginaw, Michigan. Her loss was valued at $3,000, but she was insured for only $2,000. She was named after the wife of her owner, the well-known Capt. James Felcher of East Saginaw.
In 1939, several tugs helped release the CHIEF WAWATAM, which had been aground since January 3.
In 1974, BENSON FORD, of 1924, became beset by ice in Western Lake Erie.
January 8, 1976, LEON FALK JR. closed the season at Superior, Wisconsin, after she departed the Burlington-Northern ore docks.
1996: The research ship CALYPSO, a converted wooden minesweeper, served noted deep-sea diver Jacques Cousteau for many years. It came to the Great Lakes in 1980 and explored several wrecks including the EDMUND FITZGERALD and GUNILDA. It sank at Singapore following a collision on this date. The hull was refloated but never repaired. Subsequently, there were disputes over ownership, with a later report saying the vessel would be displayed at the Bahamas as a tourist attraction.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jan 9, 2014 5:08:33 GMT -5
Coast Guard leading convoys through the St. Clair River
1/9 - Port Huron, Mich. – The United States Coast Guard is working with freighters along the St. Clair River to provide safe escort through the ice. Lt. Jillian Lamb, command center chief for the United States Coast Guard Sector Detroit, said convoys are required for all commercial vessels traveling the St. Clair River because of the ice.
Lamb said U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard officials are in regular contact with vessels, coordinating groups to be escorted down the St. Clair River by an icebreaker.
She said it’s not uncommon for freighters to anchor or moor along the river while they wait for members of their convoy or their lead icebreaker.
Four icebreakers are working in the areas of responsibility from the western basin of Lake Erie to the lower part of Lake Huron: The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Samuel Risley, the CCGS Griffon, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Morro Bay and the USCGC Neah Bay.
Port Huron Times Herald
Port Reports - January 9
St. Marys River – Jerry Masson
After a full day of icebreaking on the St Marys River, most icebreakers were heading for the dock Wednesday night. Ten to 18-hour days are being spent on breaking ice for stranded ships at the narrow turns in the river. As Rock Cut ice continues to clog the downbound lane, some are transiting through the upbound lane past Neebish and St Joseph islands. The Sugar Island ferry has been unable to make dock due to heavy ice packs on mainland side, and the cutter Mackinaw has been called to assist. As night fell, the CSL Assiniboine was downbound through the upbound Neebish Channel but was having difficulty in the Stribling Point area and at 10 p.m. was not moving. The downbound Kaye E. Barker was stopped below Six Mile Point for the night. The downbound Philip R. Clarke was tied up for the night on the lower Poe Lock pier. Several vessels were either stuck in the ice or stopped for the night above the locks, including Ojibway, James R. Barker and Roger Blough. Tecumseh was coming in past Ile Parisienne. The upbound Edgar B. Speer was stopped in the lower river north of Lime Island.
Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
After being escorted across the ice fields north of Beaver Island Tuesday by the USCG cutter Mobile Bay, Paul R. Tregurtha was cruising on the open waters of Lake Michigan until Wednesday morning when it entered the ice of Green Bay and was approaching Escanaba. Tuesday night, the Mobile Bay escorted the eastbound Manitowoc and Algoeast through the tough ice field between Lansing Shoal and White Shoal Light, then all three ships overnighted in the ice. Robert S. Pierson did not join this group and remained at Lansing Shoal. After escorting the Manitowoc and Algoeast through Round Island Passage Wednesday morning, Mobile Bay was headed back west for more Straits ice duty and likely to escort the Robert S. Pierson and possibly the Joyce Van Enkevort, which was headed up Lake Michigan towards Lansing Shoal.
Alpena, Mich. - Ben & Chanda McClain
The tugboat Manitou broke up ice in the shipping channel and into Lafarge for the Calumet late Monday night. Ice was 6-8 inches thick and the Calumet slowly made its way in with assistance from the Manitou as it docked on a frigid night. The Calumet proceeded to slowly unload coal on Tuesday and Wednesday. Fleetmate Manitowoc was headed for the same dock at Lafarge Wednesday evening so the Calumet was pushed by the tug Manitou out into the bay where it will have to wait to finish its unload once the Manitowoc departs. The Manitowoc unloaded into the storage hopper.
Detroit River - Robert Burns
On Wednesday around 11:30 a.m. the Manistee plowed through ice in the Trenton Channel on its way to the Trenton DTE power plant to unload coal. The Great Lakes Towing tug Superior assisted in the passage by breaking a path through the channel. This is the first time in over a decade that this part of the channel has frozen across this early in the year.
Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
H. Lee White arrived at the Torco Dock Tuesday to unload iron ore and was still there on Wednesday. After unloading, she will lay-up in Toledo for the winter. The updated schedule for the Torco Dock now has Lee A. Tregurtha arriving on Saturday, January 11 in the early morning and the tug Joyce L. Van Enkevort / barge Great Lakes Trader due on Saturday, January 25. Both arrivals are subject to change due to weather and ice conditions. The ASC 1,000 footer American Integrity arrived on Tuesday for winter lay-up in Toledo and now joins her ASC fleetmates American Courage, American Century, Buffalo and the tug Ken Boothe Sr. and barge Lakes Contender. Adam E. Cornelius, American Fortitude and the American Valor still remain in long-term lay-up. The ferry Jiimaan remains in port as well.
Great Lakes limestone trade up slightly in 2013
1/9 - Cleveland, Ohio – Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 27.6 million tons in 2013, an increase of 1.7 percent compared to 2012. The trade was, however, 4 percent below its long-term average.
Shipments from U.S. ports totaled 23.9 million tons, an increase of 5.7 percent compared to 2012. That total is also the highest for U.S. ports since 2008. Shipments from Canadian ports totaled 3.7 million tons, a decrease of 18 percent compared to 2013.
The stone trade was pretty well wrapped by mid-December. Shipments during the ice season that statistically began on December 16 totaled 313,000 tons, or 25 percent of the December float. The limestone trade does typically end sooner than iron ore and coal as much of the stone moving on the Lakes is washed prior to loading into vessels and hence susceptible to freezing as temperature plummet.
Lake Carriers Association
Winter fleet coming to Sturgeon Bay
1/9 - January is expected to be a busy month for the movement of vessels scheduled to over-winter in Sturgeon Bay. According to the tentative schedule put together for the Bay Shipbuilding winter fleet, the plan is for the Joseph Block and the Wilfred Sykes to arrive on Friday. The Arthur M. Anderson, which was previously set to reach port on Thursday of this week, is not expected to arrive until Sunday, January 12th, along with the Hon. James L. Oberstar. The tentative schedule also calls for eight other vessels to reach Sturgeon Bay in January.
WDOR
Steel production rises by 7,000 tons in Great Lakes states
1/9 - Raw steel production in the country's Great Lakes region fell to 666,000 tons in the week that ended Saturday, according to an American Iron and Steel Institute estimate.
Production dropped by about 7,000 tons, or about 1 percent, from the week prior. 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 607,000 tons, up from 569,000 tons a week earlier. Total domestic raw steel production last week was about 1.82 million tons, up from 1.77 million tons a week earlier.
U.S. steel mills had a capacity utilization rate of 76.1 percent last week, up from 74 percent a week earlier. The capacity utilization rate had been 74.4 percent at the same time last year.
Domestic mills have produced an estimated 1.82 million tons of steel this year, up 0.6 percent from the same period last year. The mills had made about 1.81 million tons of steel by Jan. 4, 2013.
Steel imports fell by 17 percent to 2.32 million tons in December, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
The United States imported about 31.9 tons of steel in 2013, a 5 percent decrease from 2012. Imports grabbed a 21 percent market share last year.
North West Indiana Times
Lookback #53 – Santona stranded in Red Sea on January 9, 1993
1/9 - The British freighter Santona was built at Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1959, the year the St. Lawrence Seaway opened, and the 294-foot long vessel made two trips to the Great Lakes during that navigation season.
Santona served the Donaldson Line and was a frequent caller at ports around the inland seas. By the end of 1967 the ship had made 36 Seaway transits in each direction. It was lengthened to 355 feet in 1966 increasing carrying capacity from 2530 tons deadweight to 3426 tons.
The vessel was sold to Maldives Shipping Ltd. in 1974 and renamed Maldive Trader. It stranded on North Jumna Shoal, in the Red Sea off Sudan, 31 years ago today. The hull was refloated, taken to Karachi, Pakistan, for examination and then sold for scrap. It arrived at Gadani Beach for dismantling on April 2, 1983, at the age of 24.
Today in Great Lakes History - January 9
On this day in 1973, the CHARLES M. BEEGHLY was the latest running Interlake vessel when she entered winter layup at Toledo, Ohio.
BAIE COMEAU II was laid up on January 9, 1983, at Sorel, Quebec, and was sold the following April to Progress Overseas Co. S.A., Panama renamed c.) AGIA TRIAS.
January 9, 1977 - The last survivor of the PERE MARQUETTE 18 disaster, Mike Bucholtz, died.
In 1974, a combination of wind and ice forced the beset BENSON FORD, of 1924, from the shipping channel in Western Lake Erie, running aground.
1974: MARDINA REEFER ran aground at the breakwall at Stephenville, Newfoundland, while inbound in stormy weather. The ship was scheduled to load pickled herring for Europe but became a total loss. Salvage efforts failed and the hull was pounded on the rocks and eventually split in two. The crew was rescued. The vessel had been through the Seaway in 1973.
1974: LUCIE SCHULTE had been a Pre-Seaway and Seaway visitor to the Great Lakes. It sank in bad weather as b) TEVEGA in the Bay of Biscay while enroute from Antwerp, Belgium, to Casablanca, Morocco, with a cargo of barley. Only one member of the crew survived.
1979: MARIGO M.F. had been a Seaway trader in 1973 and earlier as a) NEGO ANNE in 1971. The ship went aground off Alexandria, Egypt, and sustained hull and water damage. The bulk carrier was not worth repairing and sold to Brodospas of Split, Yugoslavia, for scrap. It arrived August 13, 1979, for dismantling.
1980: BILL CROSBIE was carrying steel when it got into trouble on the Atlantic on January 4, 1980. The vessel, a Seaway trader in 1974, was listing badly when it was brought into St. John's, Newfoundland, only to roll over and sink at the wharf on this date. The hull was towed out to sea, bottom up, on November 3, 1980, and scuttled 12 miles off shore.
1983: SANTONA stranded in the Red Sea off Sudan at North Jumna Shoal. The hull was refloated but sold for scrap. It arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, on April 4, 1983, for dismantling. It was a busy Seaway trader and had made 36 trips to the Great Lakes from 1959 to 1967.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jan 10, 2014 5:10:02 GMT -5
Icebreakers keep commercial shipping moving on Great Lakes
1/10 - Icebreakers from the U.S. and Canada are operating at full capacity as they work to keep shipping lanes open to Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. The Coast Guard cutter Biscayne Bay is putting in 12- to 14-hour days breaking 1-3 foot thick ice around the Soo Locks and St. Marys River. Captain Tom Przybyla says they've had two days off since December 12.
“We were lucky to be able to get Christmas off. We didn't get to pull in until two in the morning the day of Christmas. Then we got some sleep and got to have Christmas off,” Przybyla said. “We were back at it the next day.”
The long spells of subzero temperatures has all nine U.S. Great Lakes cutters on duty. Przybyla says virtually every ship needs help. So far, his Biscayne Bay has assisted some 20 lakers ... and, he says, it's gut-busting work.
“The ship vibrates a ton. You're vibrating all day. You're using a lot of power. The propellers are vibrating. The engines are vibrating, he says. It's pretty fun, too, but it is jarring to be doing that day after day. Absolutely.”
The 730-foot bulk freighter American Mariner was stuck in ice in the St. Marys River for two days before the Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw freed it Tuesday. (Then the Mariner was again caught in ice later that same day.)
Lieutenant Michael Patterson is the captain of the 140-foot ice breaker Katmai Bay. His boat was dead in the water Monday and had to be towed for repairs. Patterson says the ice is tough, and so is the job.
“It is. It's very noisy. It makes things like sleeping during ice breaking evolution for the crew that's not on watch difficult. But it's what these vessels were designed to do and they take that impact very well.”
The cutters will be on the job in the St. Marys River until the Soo Locks close January 15. Then they'll have to keep the Straits of Mackinaw clear for the rest of the winter for boats to go between Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan.
Port Reports - January 10
St. Marys River
Ice operations were mostly shut down for the night Thursday after the downbound Roger Blough reported it was beset in the ice above Six Mile Point. This left the James R. Barker tied up at the lower locks pier and Edwin H. Gott, Tecumseh, Defiance/Ashtabula and Whitefish Bay on the hook in Whitefish Bay. A flotilla of upbounders were also stopped below the Mud Lake junction buoy. Joyce L. Van Enkevort, Edgar B. Speer, Robert S. Pierson will be convoyed up the river in the morning by the USCG Mackinaw.
Sturgeon Bay, Wis. - Wendell Wilke
Hon. James L. Oberstar arrived overnight and was assisted into her slip Thursday by Selvick tugs.
Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
The USCG cutter Mobile Bay was working much of the day Thursday on the brash field near Lansing Shoal and was breaking ice near the beset Arthur M Anderson, approximately 3.5 nm WSW of Lansing Shoal. Mesabi Miner was approaching Lansing Shoal returning from Lake Michigan with a listed destination of Superior. Earlier, the Mobile Bay assisted the westbound Algoma Olympic and American Mariner. Transit times are long for these escorts covering a distance of approx. 47 nautical miles across ice fields with some difficult spots that appear to be concentrated between Lansing Shoal and White Shoal Light.
Alpena, Mich. - Ben & Chanda McClain
Manitowoc unloaded at Lafarge during the night and departed early Thursday morning. The tug Manitou helped the Calumet return to Lafarge Thursday morning so it could finish unloading coal. Around 9 pm the Manitou left its dock in the river to help the Calumet out through the bay. The Manitou is heading to Cheboygan, Mich., to do more icebreaking work.
Port Colborne - Peter Bates
On Thursday the CCGS Griffon is assisted Algoma Enterprise to enter Port Colborne piers for winter lay-up.
Kingston, Ont. - Ron Walsh
The shipping season has not quite ended in this area. At 1400 Thursday, Stephen B. Roman was approaching Picton to load cement. She will be battling ice in the Adolphus Reach. The Kingston harbor area is completely frozen over except for the ferry track. The ice was broken in the recent wind but is now a complete sheet. Last winter the harbor never froze over. The Frontenac II and the Frontenac Howe Islander had to stop service at times, in the recent winds, cold temperatures and snow. The Wolfe Islander III has been delayed due to broken ice in their track. The three “BIG” grain barges in Elevator Bay are frozen in solid.
Lookback #54 – Prindoc – January 10, 1967
1/10 - Sixty mile an hour winds dislodged the Prindoc from her winter berth at Cardinal 47 years ago today. The wayward ship began heading down the St. Lawrence with a crew of one, the shipkeeper, on board. He managed to get the vessel anchored before it reached the Iroquois Dam.
Prindoc, the third vessel of this name in the Paterson fleet, had been built by Davie Shipbuilding at Lauzon, Quebec, in 1966 and entered service in April of that year. It saw early work in the coal trade but, was soon handling a wide variety of cargoes.
The 315-foot long freighter was also engaged in coastal work venturing south along the Atlantic seaboard and on to Caribbean destinations. In 1973, the ship went to Colombia and then returned to Canada with sulphur loaded at New Orleans for Contrecouer.
Prindoc was sold and renamed Hankey in 1982. It loaded at Hamilton, Valleyfield and Cacouna before heading south. The ship was resold in 1990 and renamed CLARET III, again in 1992 becoming S. Saranta and finally Platana in 1997.
The 31 year old ship arrived at Aliaga,Turkey, on July 23, 1997, under her own power, and was broken up by Dortel Gemi Sokum Ticaret.
Today in Great Lakes History - January 10
On this day in 1952, EDWARD B. GREENE was launched at the American Shipbuilding yard at Toledo, Ohio. The 647-foot vessel joined the Cleveland Cliffs fleet. After lengthening over the winter of 1975-1976 and conversion to a self-unloader in 1981, the GREENE sailed briefly as the b.) BENSON FORD for Rouge Steel. She sails today as the c.) KAYE E BARKER of the Interlake fleet.
ONTADOC (Hull#207) was launched January 10, 1975, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd. For N.M. Paterson & Sons. Renamed b.) MELISSA DESGAGNES in 1990.
On January 10, 1977, the CHESTER A. POLING, b.) MOBIL ALBANY) broke in two and sank off the coast of Massachusetts.
January 10, 1998 - Glen Bowden, former co-owner of the Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation Company (MWT) died.
In 1974, the W.C. RICHARDSON was towed from her winter berth in Toledo to assist in lightering the grounded a.) BENSON FORD.
On Jan 10, 1978, the tanker JUPITER became stuck in 3 to 5-foot ridged ice off Erie, Pennsylvania. The U.S.C.G. tug OJIBWA was sent from Buffalo, New York, to free her, but she too became beset in the ice 3 miles from the JUPITER's position. The JUPITER was lost after an explosion at Bay City in 1990. The OJIBWA is now the tug GEN OGLETHORPE in Savannah, Georgia.
On 10 January 1898, Alexander Anderson of Marine City was awarded a contract to build a wooden steamer for A. F. Price of Freemont, Ohio, Isaac Lincoln of Dakota, and Capt. Peter Ekhert of Port Huron, Michigan. The vessel was to be named ISAAC LINCOLN and was to be 130 feet long and capable of carrying 400,000 feet of lumber. The contract price was $28,000. Her engine and boiler were to be built by Samuel F. Hodge of Detroit. The vessel was launched on 10 May 1898, and her cost had increased to $40,000. She lasted until 1931 when she was abandoned.
1967: PRINDOC (iii) was laid up for the winter at Cardinal, Ontario, when it broke its moorings in a storm and drifted down the St. Lawrence. The shipkeeper was able to get the anchor down and they held just above the Iroquois power dam, averting a major problem.
1970: IOANNA stranded near Sete, France, in a gale while inbound from Barcelona, Spain and had to be sold for scrap. The ship had been a Seaway trader as a) A.J. FALKLAND in 1959 and returned as b) PETER in 1960 and 1961.
1971: CATTARO came through the Seaway in 1959 for the Ellerman's Wilson Line. It caught fire in the engine room at Galatz, Romania, as b) VRACHOS and had to be beached. It was subsequently broken up for scrap.
1977: The tanker CHESTER A. POLING broke in two and sank off the coast of Massachusetts in a storm after an explosion in the forward pump room. Two members of the crew were lost. The ship had been a Great Lakes trader as a) PLATTSBURG SOCONY and as b) MOBIL ALBANY.
1981: SOL RIVER came to the Great Lakes in 1968. It ran aground as f) LIZA near Combi, Lemnos Island, Greece. The hull broke in two and sank January 15. The ship was carrying phosphate enroute from Sfax, Tunisia, to Kavalla, Greece, when it went down on the Aegean Sea with the loss of 5 lives.
2001: The Cypriot freighter ARETHUSA first came through the Seaway in 1987. Fire broke out in the engine room and spread to the bridge and accommodation area while the ship was in the northern Great Belt. The vessel, enroute from Casablanca, Morocco, to Gdansk, Poland, with phosphate, was towed to Gydnia, Poland, after the blaze was extinguished. Repairs to the 28-year-old vessel were not worthwhile and it arrived at the scrapyard at Aliaga, Turkey, for dismantling on March 26, 2001.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jan 11, 2014 6:44:18 GMT -5
Ships battle ice as Great Lakes shipping season wraps up
1/11 - Duluth, Minn. – It’s a fight against the ice to keep the Great Lakes shipping season open, and Mike Ojard and his tug boats are being tested. “I’m 68,” the owner of Heritage Marine said. “I’ve never seen a winter like this.”
Extreme cold for most of December and into the New Year has meant slow going for ships trying to work before the Soo Locks close on Wednesday. If they don’t make the window for deliveries or layups, they’ll be stuck until the next shipping season opens in late March.
“There’s so much ice,” Ojard said.
His Knife River-based team had to perform double duty Thursday in escorting the Baie Comeau out of the harbor. Although the U.S. Coast Guard’s cutter, the Alder, returned from Thunder Bay, Ontario, overnight, it was moored in Duluth. So Heritage Marine had to break ice and help guide the ship under the Aerial Lift Bridge and out to open water.
“It’s just nuts,” Ojard said. “This has been a killer. The cold is hard on equipment. You can’t believe the vibration on the hull and propeller from the ice.”
Eight ships that were active during the shipping season are planning layovers in the Twin Ports. Four have arrived while four remain in operation. The Presque Isle was in Detroit on Thursday. The Cason J. Callaway was in Sandusky, Ohio. The Mesabi Miner was on Lake Michigan and is underway, despite having its hull pierced in an accident with a Coast Guard cutter on Sunday. The Kaye E. Barker was near the Soo Locks with a plan to get one more load of ore in Silver Bay.
Tom Curelli, director of operations at Superior’s Fraser Shipyards, said conditions on the lake and in the ports is what one would usually expect in late January or February, after the shipping season has closed.
“I’ve seen it like this but not this early,” he said. “The ice is tough as steel, and it can cause some damage.”
Ships occasionally miss making it in for scheduled layups, when Fraser’s workers scramble to refurbish and ready ships for the next season a little more than two months away. One ship didn’t get to the locks in time last year.
Curelli said work hasn’t been slowed by the frigid weather. The ships that are already in came in early, allowing a head start.
The ice has been a problem across the Great Lakes. Sunday’s collision between the Mesabi Miner and the Coast Guard cutter Hollyhock, clearing a path on upper Lake Michigan, left the laker with a puncture about 4 feet above its waterline, the Coast Guard reported. The Hollyhock had stern and fantail damage and is moored in St. Ignace, Mich., for a damage assessment.
Other ships have been trapped in ice or are moving extremely slowly through it, the Coast Guard reported. Coast Guard maps show 80 to 90 percent ice coverage on Lake Superior from Duluth through the Apostle Islands.
There’s plenty of work to do to get all of the ships where they want to be, Ojard said. He’ll be looking for the Laurentien today. The Mesabi Miner plans to load coal Saturday for a run to Taconite Harbor before laying up. The Algowood also is expected Saturday. The remaining ships expected for layup are scheduled to arrive Monday.
“We’ll muscle our way through,” Ojard said.
Duluth News Tribune
Lake Erie icier, but not frozen over
1/11 - Lake Erie is freezing over in a hurry. The single-digit and subzero temperatures of the past few days has rapidly transformed Lake Erie from mostly open to nearly frozen over.
The lake is usually about 40 percent covered at this point of the year, said National Weather Service meteorologist Karen Clark. But the record low temperatures of the past week have left Lake Erie about 75 percent covered by ice.
Just 10 days ago, a very small part of the lake's western tip held ice.
The western half of the lake has completely frozen over, but satellite images suggest there are still open areas or areas with thin ice on the lake's eastern end near Buffalo.
What this means to Erie-area residents is the threat of lake-effect snow will be around for at least the near future. When the lake freezes over, it cuts off the supply of relatively warm moisture needed to feed the lake effect and generate large amounts of snowfall.
But with portions still uncovered, or under just thin ice, that moisture is far from shut off, said John Mayers, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland.
"I wouldn't expect the lake effect to shut off any time soon," Mayers said. "Especially with the warming trend we'll see over the weekend."
Clark said it is hard to estimate how much of the ice cover will melt away with a weekend's worth of temperatures in the low 30s and high 40s and rain.
She said ice from Long Point, Ontario, and farther west is likely thick enough to survive the warm weekend, but the ice cover is much thinner in the eastern portions of the lake, particularly near Buffalo.
Erie Times-News
Lookback #55 – Arcturus sank in Atlantic on January 11, 1962
1/11 - The Arcturus was laid up after sustaining considerable damage resulting from a collision with the T-2 tanker Wang Cavalier. The accident occurred on the Detroit River in June 1959 and the 53-year-old bulk carrier was tied up at River Rouge, Mich.
The 534-foot-long Arcturus had been built at West Bay City, and launched as James B. Wood on December 3, 1905. It began service the following year for the Gilchrist Transportation Co.
The ship joined the Interlake Steamship Co., on their formation in 1913, and was renamed Arcturus. It was engaged in the ore, coal and grain trades until the 1959 collision.
Following a sale to Norwegian shipbreakers, the ship was towed down the Welland Canal on October 23, 1961, by the tugs Graeme Stewart and Youville. They stopped at Toronto to load scrap steel before continuing on to the St. Lawrence.
Arcturus was prepared for the transatlantic tow and set out behind the tug Pria Grande. Trouble was encountered off the Azores and the ship sank 52 years ago today in position 46.10 N by 9.50 W.
Today in Great Lakes History - January 11
The steamer ROBERT S. McNAMARA, under tow, reached her intended destination of Santander, Spain on January 11, 1974, for scrapping.
In 1970, IRVING S. OLDS was the last ship of the season at the Soo Locks as she followed the PHILIP R. CLARKE downbound.
In 1973, ROGER BLOUGH collided with PHILIP R. CLARKE after the CLARKE encountered an ice pressure ridge and came to a stop in the Straits of Mackinac.
On 11 January 1962, ARCTURUS, formerly JAMES B. WOOD, was under tow of the Portuguese tug PRAIA GRANDE on the way to Norway to be scrapped when she foundered off the Azores at position 46.10N x 8.50W.
January 11, 1911 - ANN ARBOR NO 5 arrived in Frankfort, Michigan, on her maiden voyage.
On 11 January 1883, The Port Huron Times reported that a citizens' committee met to help Port Huron businesses. "A. N. Moffat decried the taxation of vessel property. High taxation of vessel property had driven much of it away from Port Huron. He cited the case of Capt. David Lester of Marine City who came to Port Huron a few years ago to live and would have brought here one of the largest fleets on the Great Lakes, but when he found what taxes would be, returned to Marine City."
1919: The laker CASTALIA left the lakes in two pieces and was rejoined at Lauzon, Quebec, for a new career on the Atlantic in 1918. The ship broke in two 65 miles off Sable Island, Nova Scotia, and the crew was rescued by the BERGENFJORD.
1962: The retired Interlake Steamship Company bulk carrier ARCTURUS was under tow of the tug PRIA GRANDE for scrapping in Europe when it sank in the Atlantic in position 46.10 N / 8.50 W.
1965: CELIA B. made 15 trips through the Seaway in 1959-1962 under Liberian registry. The vessel arrived at Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles, as f) SEA MAID with engine damage and having lost its propeller. The ship was ultimately deemed not worth repairing and arrived at Rotterdam, Netherlands, under tow for scrapping on June 22, 1966.
1974: The first FEDERAL HUDSON to visit the Great Lakes was sailing as d) GOLDEN KING when it struck the wreck of the THETIS off Chittagong, Bangladesh, while inbound from Singapore Roads. It was beached in sinking condition and sustained water damage at high tide. The vessel was refloated on February 13, 1974, and taken to Chittagong to unload and get repaired. It was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as d) CHAR HSIUNG in 1980.
1981: ARNA began Seaway trading in 1965. It stranded off Shimonoseki, Japan, as b) IQBALBAKSH and was declared a total loss. The vessel was sold to South Korean shipbreakers and arrived at Busan, under tow on August 2, 1981.
1993: EUROJOY was anchored off Cadiz, Spain, when a spontaneous combustion fire broke out in the cargo of coal that had been bound for Turkey. The ship was listed as a total loss and sold for scrap but was repaired. It sailed additional years until scrapping at Alang, India, as g) LENA II in 1998. It first visited the Seaway as a) ATLANTIC CHALLENGE in 1971 and returned as b) ANGEBALTIC in 1981, c) ASTURIAS in 1986 and e) EUROJOY in 1990.
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Post by ppat324 on Jan 12, 2014 9:57:42 GMT -5
1/12 - The tug Western Engineer, of Western Engineering, provided a mobile repair service at what is now Thunder Bay. The handy vessel met ships at the docks where they were loading or unloading. The tug brought company employees and their skills to the working ship. This reduced down time for the customers.
The tug had been built at Chester, Nova Scotia, in 1941 as Betty and was later known as Daisy and Col. McDonald. It was sold, brought to the Great Lakes, rebuilt and repowered. On August 16, 1948, the ship was renamed Western Engineer.
The 39-foot-long tug spent the next 31 years in and around the Canadian Lakehead communities of Fort William and Port Arthur, which became Thunder Bay on January 1, 1970. Its longest trip was reported as a 50-mile jaunt to Little Trout Bay to work on the pulpwood barge Swederope.
Thirty-five years ago today, a propane explosion on board Western Engineer resulted in extensive damage and injuries to two men. The vessel was never repaired and, on June 2, 1980, had been reported as having been broken up. However, Canadian registry was not closed until January 14, 1983.
CHI-CHEEMAUN (Hull#205) was launched January 12, 1974, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd.
GRAND HAVEN was gutted by fire on January 12, 1970, during scrapping operations at the United Steel & Refining Co. Ltd. dock at Hamilton, Ontario.
MENIHEK LAKE (Hull#163) was launched January 12, 1959, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd. She was used in a unique experiment with shunters in the Welland Canal in 1980. She was scrapped at Gijon, Spain in 1985.
On January 12, 1973, the VENUS had an engine room explosion shortly after unloading at Kipling, Michigan, near Gladstone on Little Bay De Noc, causing one loss of life.
On 12 January 1956, ANABEL II (probably a fish tug, 62 tons, built in 1928) was destroyed by fire at her winter lay-up at the Roen Steamship Co. dock at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
January 12, 1911 - ANN ARBOR NO 5 hit the rocks close to the south breakwater when entering Manistique harbor, tearing off her starboard shaft and wheel.
The wooden steam barge O.O. CARPENTER (127.5 foot, 364 gross tons) was sold by the Jenks Shipbuilding Company on 12 January 1892, to Mr. H. E. Runnels and Capt. Sinclair for $26,000. The vessel had been launched at Jenks yard on 13 May 1891.
The new EDWIN H GOTT departed Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in 1979, for final fitout at Milwaukee. 1970: BARON BERWICK made one trip inland in 1959 and returned as b) FILTRIC in 1967. The latter was abandoned 5 miles south of Cape Finistere on the northwest coast of Spain after the cargo shifted. The vessel was enroute from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Alexandria, Egypt, and it drifted aground the next day as a total loss.
1971: The West German freighter BRANDENBURG sank in the Straits of Dover, 7 miles south of Folkestone, England, after apparently hitting the wreck of TEXACO CARIBBEAN which had gone down the previous day following a collision. The former had been through the Seaway in 1969.
1979: A propane explosion aboard the tug WESTERN ENGINEER at Thunder Bay resulted in extensive damage. Two were injured. The ship was never repaired and noted as broken up in 1980.
1985: ATLANTIC HOPE first came inland when it was fresh from the shipyard in 1965. It was gutted by a fire in the accommodation area in position 9.22 N / 60.37 W as b) ALIVERI HOPE. The ship was abandoned but towed to Barbados and eventually into Mamonal, Colombia, on October 14, 1985, for dismantling.
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