Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

USCG Hollyhock returns to ice breaking duty

1/13 - Port Huron, Mich. – The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Hollyhock has left St. Ignace, Mich., according to information from Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Yaw, Coast Guard 9th District Public Affairs.

The Hollyhock, which is normally berthed on the St. Clair River in Port Huron, was hit by the freighter Mesabi Miner while breaking ice Jan. 5 in Lake Michigan. There were no injuries, but both ships were damaged.

According to information from Yaw, the crew has made temporary repairs to the Hollyhock, and the ship is back breaking ice. The cause of the collision still is being investigated.

Port Huron Times Herald



Ice coverage grows on Great Lakes

1/13 - West Michigan - It’s no secret that around and across the Great Lakes in the winter we see ice. What is unusual this time is how quick the coverage has increased with the recent Arctic blast.

Ice concentration across Lake Superior went from 14 percent ice cover on January 1 to 37 percent ice cover on January 10. Lake Michigan went from 19 percent ice cover on January 1 to 36 percent ice cover now.

Lake Huron went from 32 percent ice to 46 percent ice coverage in the same time frame, while Lake Erie had 25 percent ice cover on January 1 and is now 80 percent covered in ice. It’s common for Lake Erie, which usually freezes over completely since it’s so shallow.

All the Door County peninsula around Green Bay, Wisconsin has completely iced over.

Fox 17



Lake Erie ice likely to survive warm-up

1/13 - Erie, Pa. – Officials at the National Weather Service in Cleveland now say Lake Erie is about 80 percent covered with ice, and they don't expect that to change much even with the warm temperatures and rains expected over the weekend.

Weather service meteorologists estimated the lake was about 75 percent covered immediately following the extreme cold temperatures caused by the polar vortex, but cautioned those numbers were a rough estimate because of cloud cover on satellite photos of the lake.

The shallower western half of the lake is completely frozen over. The deeper eastern half is traditionally harder to freeze, and a few patches closer to Buffalo are still open as of Sunday.

Saturday's high temperature was expected to hit 48 degrees, but that might not translate to melting ice.

"We're not thinking there will be much of any change over the weekend," said National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Mitchell. "There could be some shifting of the ice, leaving some areas that are currently covered now uncovered."

Less than half of the lake is usually frozen over in early January.

Erie Times-News



Lookback #57 – Shipyard fire aboard Sir Denys Lowson on January 13, 1964

1/13 - Algoma Central was expanding its fleet in the early years of the St. Lawrence Seaway and ordered a 605-foot long by 62-foot wide bulk carrier from the Collingwood shipyard. The keel for the 16,325-ton capacity vessel was laid on May 15, 1963, and the modern freighter was launched on November 27, 1963.

Christened Sir Denys Lowson, the ship was undergoing final work in preparation to begin service with the opening of the 1964 navigation season when a fire broke out in the forward cabin 50 years ago today.

The blaze did considerable damage to the structure and the loss was reported at $250,000. Once the fire was out, crews got to work, cleaned up the mess, and still managed to complete the ship on schedule. Sir Denys Lowson began sea trials on March 26 and was in service up bound at Sault Ste. Marie on April 2.

The vessel was part of the Algoma fleet until sold to N.M. Paterson & Sons Ltd. in 1979. Renamed Vandoc, it is remembered for a grounding, apparently due to a steering failure, in the Brockville Narrows on November 13, 1979. The accident sent the vessel to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs.

Vandoc arrived at Thunder Bay for lay-up on December 21, 1991, and never sailed again. It was sold to Purvis Marine for scrap in 2002 and arrived at Sault Ste. Marie for dismantling, under tow of the tug Reliance, on June 12, 2002.



Today in Great Lakes History - January 13

13 January 2005 - GENESIS EXPLORER (steel propeller tanker, 435 foot, built in 1974, at Port Weller, Ontario, formerly a.) IMPERIAL ST. CLAIR & b.) ALGOSAR) sailed from Halifax for Quebec City. She was registered in the Comoros Islands. She was carrying a few members of her former crew for training purposes, but her new crew was African.

On 13 January 1918, the Goodrich Line’s ALABAMA and the Grand Trunk ferries MILWAUKEE and GRAND HAVEN all became stuck in the ice off Grand Haven, Michigan. The vessels remained imprisoned in the ice for the next two weeks. When the wind changed, they were freed but Grand Haven’s harbor was still inaccessible. The ALABAMA sailed for Muskegon and stalled in the 18-inch thick ice on Muskegon Lake.

After lightering 3,000 tons of coal, the a.) BENSON FORD was refloated in 1974 and proceeded to the Toledo Overseas Terminal to be reloaded.

In 1979, the U.S.C.G. tug ARUNDEL was beset by windrowed ice at Minneapolis Shoal in Green Bay. Strong winds piled the ice on her stern and soon she had a 25-degree list. The crew feared that she may sink and abandoned the tug, walking across the ice with the help of a spotlight onboard the ACACIA, which also became beset by the heavy ice. The MACKINAW, SUNDEW and a Coast Guard helicopter were dispatched to the scene, but northwest winds relieved the ice pressure and the crew was able to re-board the ARUNDEL. The ARUNDEL sails today as the tug c.) ERIKA KOBASIC.

On January 13, 1970, the lower engine room and holds of the SEWELL AVERY accidentally flooded, sinking her to the bottom of Duluth Harbor causing minimal damage, other than an immense cleanup effort.

January 13, 1909 - The PERE MARQUETTE 17 was freed after her grounding the previous December.



Several boats arriving this week for winter fleet
- Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – The Hon. James L. Oberstar, the first true winter fleet vessel, arrived Wednesday and made its way to the ship yard at Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay via the ship canal. But several more are on their way.

The Oberstar is one of many ships that lay over for winter at Bay Shipbuilding as the commercial season comes to a close.

Commercial shipping on the Great Lakes comes to a halt after Jan. 15, when the Soo Locks shut down for yearly maintenance, explained U.S. Coast Guard Commander John Stone, who heads the ice cutter Mobile Bay stationed in Sturgeon Bay. Stone and a crew of 22 are currently breaking ice along the St. Marys River, escorting vessels back and forth through the Straits of Mackinac.

This year’s ice is the worst Stone has ever seen.

“This is the largest accumulation of ice in the past 24 years,” he said, “and it is the second largest in the past 34 years.”

The Mobile Bay began its icebreaking mission Dec. 16, and came back to port in Sturgeon Bay on Christmas Eve. It left again Dec. 26 in time to escort the Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin arriving at Bay Ship. Stone said they don’t know exactly when they will return home, but the cold temperatures have been both challenging and busy.

“The ice came early in December and affected our aids to navigation run,” he said. “It’s been a long couple weeks. We’re pretty tired.”

There were buoys in Green Bay that were shifted by early ice floes. One buoy was found about seven miles from its station after being pushed away by ice, he said.

Stone said he was not concerned about being stuck, but there were locations at the top end of the Mobile Bays capabilities. The main difference between the icebreaker and large vessels is the shape of the hull, which cuts through the ice. The Mobile Bay breaks ice by rising up on it, then coming down, throwing a tremendous weight to break it apart, he said. For commercial ships now entering the Sturgeon Bay canal, Selvick Marine’s tug, the Jimmy L, does the job.

This year’s early and heavy ice also means commercial shippers are all clamoring to finish their runs before lay-up. The commercial vessels are trying to get salt, fuel oil, coal and iron ore to ports. The industry will start up again when the locks reopen March 25.

Todd Thayse, vice president and general manager of Bay Shipbuilding, also said the winter conditions over the past 10 days have caused delays in the winter fleet arrivals as navigation became difficult.

“Vessels are stuck in ice or moving very slowly throughout the Great Lakes and, in several cases, final layup ports have been re-directed due to the difficulty of transiting through the ice-covered navigational routes,” Thayse said. “Passage to the yard from the north is going to be very difficult.”

Winter is also a busy time for work for Bay Shipbuilding, as workers are needed for repairs and maintenance as ships are tied up over the next couple of months. The company has called back all workers previously laid off, he said, and is now hiring weekly.

“We are certainly in a hiring mode,” he said,” looking for basically all disciplines of the ship building and repairing trades. Experience is a plus but on-the-job training will be offered.”

For those who prefer watching the ships come in rather than working on them, Thayse provided a schedule, but all dates change daily and some expected have not yet arrived. On Friday, the Stewart J. Cort was the next expected to arrive, but several could appear over the weekend.

Stone also cautioned those who use the ice for fishing, snowmobiling and other recreation that water is open for the shipping channels. These channels are marked on charts but visually there are no markers, so plan activities carefully.

Door County Advocate

[yachtsmanwilly]

Formidable ice has had a major impact on shipping

1/14 - Ships, including iron ore freighters bound for Northwest Indiana steel mills, have been jamming up the ice-choked St. Marys River in recent weeks as they rush to make deliveries before the Soo Locks close this week.

The river that separates Michigan from Canada and connects Lake Superior to the rest of the Great Lakes serves as a key shipping channel that links the local steel industry with the raw materials — iron ore, coal and limestone — it forges into metal.

Bitterly cold winter weather caused the river and the Great Lakes to start freezing over in late November — the earliest point in recent history. Since early December, U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers have been shearing through ice that is so thick it has knitted back up after the ships passed through.

Freezing temperatures have turned shipping on the Great Lakes into an ice-gripped struggle this winter. Lake Michigan is now more than 35 percent frozen over, a level of iciness that has not occurred in five years, let alone at such an early juncture, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data.

"It's had a major impact on shipping," said Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Lake Carriers' Association, which represents the commercial shipping industry on the Great Lakes. "We've had to cancel cargoes. We've been dealing with formidable ice conditions."

The Great Lakes shipping industry has not grappled with such extreme cold and inhospitable conditions since 2004, Nekvasil said. Ships are getting stuck in ice, or moving slowly through it. Voyages are being delayed by 40 to 50 hours. Shipments are being canceled.

Lake Michigan usually does not get this frozen until February, and it has not had such extensive ice coverage at all over the past few mild winters, said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist George Leshkevich, who studies ice, snow and chlorophyll on the Great Lakes.

In an average winter, about 55 percent of Lake Michigan's surface gets covered with ice. Ice coverage has been more in the range of 20 percent over the past four years, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data.

This year, the extreme cold may freeze over as much as 62 percent of Lake Michigan, Leshkevich said. The lake is now about 36 percent frozen over, as compared to 2 percent at the same time last year.

"The very cold and frigid temperatures helped the ice to form and to build in the lakes a little earlier this year," he said.

Freighters and other ships have had to wait on U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers to clear paths and lead them in convoys. But one of the nine icebreakers the Coast Guard deploys to escort commercial ships during the winter has been sidelined because of mechanical issues. A second cutter — the Hollyhock — collided with a nearly 1,000-foot-long super-carrier after a chunk of ice proved sturdier than it appeared.

The icebreakers have been battling thick ice that has clogged two main points of passage: the Straits of Mackinac and the Saint Marys River. Both channels are key links that allow lake freighters to haul iron ore pellets mined in the Iron Range in upper Minnesota to the Northwest Indiana steel mills.

"The reason the steel mills are on Lake Michigan is that it's most cost-effective to move raw materials by boat," Nekvasil said. "It's very raw material-intensive. It takes 1.5 tons of iron ore to make a ton of steel."

Typically, 50 million tons to 60 million tons of iron ore gets shipped across the Great Lakes on the average year. About 25 million tons to 35 million go to Northwest Indiana ports at steel mills in East Chicago, Gary and Burns Harbor.

Much of it goes from ports in upper Minnesota across Lake Superior, into the Saint Marys River, through the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie in Northern Michigan, down past the Straits of Mackinac and south to the mills at Lake Michigan's southern shore. The voyage usually lasts two and a half days but has been taking nearly twice as long because of the ice. A further delay occurs because the Coast Guard will not break ice at night for safety reasons, Nekvasil said.

As much as 20 percent of the ore gets shipped during the icebreaking season, which runs between mid-December and mid-April. The past few weeks have been especially crucial since steel mills have been stockpiling iron ore pellets in anticipation of the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie closing Wednesday. They won't reopen until late March.

The port of Escanaba in upper Michigan will continue to send iron ore shipments for a few more weeks, but mills largely will have to get by on stockpiled inventory.

"Escanaba alone cannot supply the entire steel industry," Nekvasil said.

When the Soo Locks close and the iron ore freighters stop coming, the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor in Portage will continue to handle barges from the Illinois, Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Much of the cargo passes through the inland rivers and the Gulf of Mexico on its way to international markets.

The port also continues to get a fair amount of lake vessels after the traditional shipping season ends. When needed, icebreakers will help them move their cargo.

For now, tug boats have been able to manage the wintry conditions, which include icing in the harbor, spokeswoman Heather Bunning said. The tugboats bring in the ships when they decide it is safe to do so. Last Friday, the 1,000-foot-long Burns Harbor freighter stopped in port to make a delivery to ArcerlorMittal.

"It's a year-round operation," Bunning said.

North West Indiana Times


Algoma Olympic loses power on Lake Michigan

1/14 - About 10 p.m. Sunday, the Algoma Olympic lost power and was drifting in Lake Michigan off Sheboygan, Wis. At about 5 a.m. Monday, the tug Mary E. Hannah left South Chicago to take the ship to Milwaukee. Algoma Olympic did have electrical power, however there were steering limitations. There were also gale warnings on Lake Michigan at the time. AIS showed the vessel had arrived at Milwaukee Monday.


St. Marys River ice thickest in decades

1/14 - Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. – Winter came early this year to Sault Ste. Marie and area residents, with sub-zero temperatures throughout December and snow piling up unusually high compared to recent years.

The sustained cold has also caused thicker ice than usual to develop in the St. Marys River and Great Lakes region, which has slowed traffic in river and shipping channels in recent weeks.

“We've pretty much been handling each delay on a case-by-case” basis, said Justin Bravatto, a Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., based vessel traffic management specialist with the U.S. Coast Guard.

A few vessels have been delayed for about a day while waiting for cutters to clear a path through the one-to-three-foot ice, but general delays have been “less than that.”

“We've been putting a cutter on everybody,” Bravatto said Thursday afternoon. “We're having our assets out there working the vessels along as they become stopped ... You try to get a convoy together and take everybody at once.”

The U.S. service has four icebreakers working in the area, which is more than usual for this time of year, Bravatto said. And they've been busy.

Cutters include the Bristol Bay, from Detroit; the Mackinaw, homeported in Cheboygan; and the Biscayne Bay, out of St. Ignace. Mobile Bay, from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, is working the Mackinaw Straits area.

“We're just rotating them around,” Bravatto said. “They've been putting in a lot of hours working these boats through. Typically we don't see this amount of ice for this time of year.”

He said the ice is probably thicker than it has been “in the last 30 years. The most ice we've seen in this area, as far as in the river.”

The heavy ice has not hindered Purvis Marine Ltd. tugs from plying the St. Marys River. Jack Purvis, owner of the local business, says his ships have ferried crew, and in one case supplies, out to vessels that had been delayed in the river. But those trips weren't made because ships had been delayed for an unusual length of time.

“We took a crew out yesterday (Wednesday) and some groceries out the day before. There's nothing different about it, nothing unusual,” Purvis said Thursday. He agreed ice is exceptionally thick this year.

“Probably the heaviest (it's been) in the last 20 years ... I don't know officially about that, but that's what I hear.”

In a related incident, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Hollyhock was damaged last Sunday morning while breaking ice in northern Lake Michigan.

The 225-foot sea-going buoy tender Hollyhock, homeported in Port Huron, Mich., was rammed from behind by the Mesabi Minier, a 990-foot freighter. Both vessels were damaged but able to continue.

The Hollyhock suffered significant damage to the stern and fantail, as well as two punctures in the hull about 20 feet above the waterline. Mesabi Miner reported a 12-inch crack in the bow about four feet above the waterline.

The Michigan Sault locks will close Jan. 15, which means traffic to Lake Superior will ceases for the season. Limited shipping traffic will continue in other areas.

Sault Star



Ice no stranger to Lake Michigan, but hard to predict complete freezeover

1/14 - Question: How many times has Lake Michigan frozen over so much that it stopped all navigation? Answer: OK, it’s a bit of a trick question. You’d be hard pressed to find any kind of watercraft on Lake Michigan now. Even the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., which allow ships to pass down into Lake Michigan from Lake Superior, close from Jan. 15 to March 25.

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter in Sturgeon Bay helps break up the ice to keep the shipping lanes open to the northeast before the locks close each winter, said Petty Officer Colleen McCarthy, senior officer in charge of the Coast Guard Station in Kenosha.

As for a complete freeze-over, that’s another complicated answer. Certainly very large sections of the lake turn to ice.

According to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab at Ann Arbor, Mich., there have been times when Lake Michigan was more than 90 percent ice-covered, including the winters of 1903-’04, 1976-’77 and 1978-’79.

In an average winter, ice will cover a little less than half the lake. Most of the open water is at the south end where the cold is less severe, according to WGN chief meteorologist Tom Skilling in a 2002 Chicago Tribune article.

At present, it is estimated the lake is 36 percent frozen over.



Most powerful Canadian icebreaking tug enters service

1/14 - The tug Ocean Tundra has been commissioned by owners Ocean Groupe Inc. (Ocean) of Quebec City, Canada. This icebreaking escort tug, say designers Robert Allan, becomes the most powerful tug in Canadian registry, and heralds a new generation of tugs which will provide year-round escort towing to Canada’s east coast and the St. Lawrence River and Seaway system.

The 36m long Ocean Tundra is the latest addition to the TundRA 100 series (with a nominal 100 tonnes bollard pull) of icebreaking tugs designed by Robert Allan Ltd., Naval Architects of Vancouver B.C. This tug was built to the highest standards at Ocean’s own shipyard, Ocean Industries, on Iles aux Coudres, Quebec. The launching of te heavy tug was a major challenge for the shipyard, due to its high weight and draft. The tug was therefore launched with additional flotation provided by inflatable bags surrounding the hull.

This powerful tug has been designed to provide a wide range of services, including tanker escort, terminal support, general ship-docking operations and icebreaking/ice-management services in various ports along the St. Lawrence River. The vessel is also equipped for coastal and rescue towing and is equipped with a major fire-fighting capability. In addition the vessel is equipped to carry lube oil as cargo, for transfer to transiting ships.

Trials of the Ocean Tundra, classed by LR, were completed in early January 2014, and a free running speed of 15.12 knots was recorded. The range is 3,700 nautical miles at 12 knots. The ahead bollard pull was 110.3 tonnes.

The main propulsion for Ocean Tundra consists of a pair of MAK 9M25C diesel engines, each rated 3000 kW at 750 rpm, and each driving a Rolls-Royce US 305 CPP, 3000 mm. diameter Z-drive unit, in ASD configuration. The main engines, auxiliary engines are resiliently mounted for maximum noise and vibration isolation.

The electrical plant comprises three identical diesel gen-sets, Caterpillar C9, each with a power output of 250ekW, designed for independent or parallel operation.

Marline Link


USS Milwaukee set for christening, launch Wednesday

1/14 - Marinette, Wis.– The ground reverberated with a thud when the hull of the USS Fort Worth hit the waters of the Menominee River at Marinette Marine Corp. in December 2010. That scene will be repeated Wednesday with the christening and launch of the USS Milwaukee, which is one of four Littoral Combat Ships under construction at the Marinette shipyard.

The Milwaukee is about 80 percent finished. Work on the ship will continue through the winter before it starts testing and trials next year.

“It marks the point where we’re done with the erection of the ship,” Chuck Goddard, president and CEO of Marinette Marine Corp., said about the launch. “Her major structures are in place and her major systems are installed. ... The engines, the reduction gears, the water jets, and the major mission systems are on board.”

Work on the $437 million ship started in 2011. In addition to the ships already under construction, funding has been authorized for two similar vessels to be built at Marinette.

The future Milwaukee is expected to be delivered to the navy in early 2015 before leaving Marinette that summer, said Joe North, vice president of Littoral Ship Systems for Lockheed Martin.

With a major overhaul of the shipyard complete, Lockheed Martin and Marinette Marine officials say LCS production has entered a phase where multiple ships are under construction at the same time. “We’re in the testing mode (on Milwaukee) already,” North said. “This is go time. We’ve finished the ship from the modular production side and now we get her into the water and will go into full test mode and the final outfitting.

“It makes way for one (more ship) right behind it,” he said.

The ships are comprised of 46 modular sections that are pulled together to form the vessel.

The Littoral Combat Ship program has followed a long and contested path to development on topics ranging from cost to design of the ships to the plan to procure two different designs of the Littoral Combat Ship.

The Navy is buying dramatically different versions of the ships from Lockheed Martin and Austal USA. Marinette Marine, owned by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, is building the Lockheed Martin design of the ship. The other version of the LCS is being built by Austal in Alabama.

The ships are designed to fulfill a number of duties, including surface and anti-submarine warfare, designed to change out equipment for those different roles. Some of that equipment is still undergoing testing and development.

Despite scrutiny over the program’s high cost from Congress, Navy leadership said it backs the Littoral Combat Ship program and would like to acquire more than 50 of the ships in the coming decades.

The shipyard is among the last shipbuilders in the nation to launch ships sideways into the water. Milwaukee will drop about 6 feet into the water and hit the surface at roughly 10 mph, Goddard said.

Green Bay Press Gazette



Lookback #58 – Maitland No. 1 tipped over on January 14, 1981

1/14 - The former Lake Erie rail car ferry Maitland No. 1 had an eventful career. It was built at Ecorse, Mich., in 1916 for the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Navigation Co. and served both Canadian Pacific and the New York Central rail interests under the American flag.

The 350-foot-long steamer initially operated across Lake Erie between Ashtabula, Ohio, and Port Maitland, Ontario, until being retired on June 28, 1932. It found a second career carrying autos between Milwaukee and Muskegon but had to tie up after 16 months because the ship was partly Canadian owned while operating between two American ports.

Maitland No.1 was laid up at Ashtabula from 1937 until 1942 when the engines were purchased and removed. The intent was to scrap the hull but it was resold for use as a barge in the pulpwood trade. It also saw service as lighter, a lumber carrier, steel ingot and cement carrier. It also brought parts for a new distillery to Oswego, NY, in 1975 and then loaded scrap steel for its departure from the lakes in 1980.

Thirty-two years ago today Maitland No.1 was under tow for Port Everglades, Fla., when it tipped over between Yarmouth, NS and Rockland, Maine. An attempt to tow the hull, bottom up, was not successful and the 65-year old vessel slipped beneath the surface.

There has been speculation that the barge was renamed Trio Trado at Quebec City on the way to the Atlantic but this is not definite. It was slated for new service the Gulf of Mexico carrying scrap to Progresso, Mexico, under Honduran registry.




Today in Great Lakes History - January 14

On this day in 1970, IRVING S. OLDS entered winter layup at Lorain to close the longest season in Great Lakes shipping history.

On 14 January 1945, the W. Butler Shipyard built C1-M-AV1 ship LEBANON (Hull#40) was the last vessel through the Soo Locks. Ice was a serious problem. The newly-commissioned icebreaker U.S.C.G.C. MACKINAW escorted the LEBANON to Lake Huron. The locks had never before been open this late in January. They were kept open to allow newly-built cargo vessels to sail from Superior, Wisconsin, to the Atlantic Ocean where they were needed for the war effort.

Scrapping began on CHICAGO TRIBUNE in 1989, by International Marine Salvage in Port Colborne, Ontario.

January 14, 1920 - The Grand Trunk carferry GRAND HAVEN was fast in the ice three miles out of Grand Haven.

In 1977, CANADIAN MARINER laid up at the Consol Fuel dock in Windsor after her attempt to reach Port Colborne was thwarted by heavy ice off Long Point.

On Jan 14, 1978, JAMES R. BARKER departed the Soo Line ore dock in Ashland, Wisconsin, where she had been laid-up since August 7, 1977, due to the iron ore miner’s strike.

1946: The BADGER STATE, a former Great Lakes canal ship as a) FORDONIAN, b) YUKONDOC and c) GEORGIAN, foundered off the mouth of the Grijalva River in the Gulf of Mexico.

1969: SAGAMO, retired former flagship of the Lake Muskoka passenger ships in Central Ontario, burned at the dock in Gravenhurst as a total loss.

1981: The former Lake Erie rail car ferry and later barge MAITLAND NO. 1 rolled over between Yarmouth, NS and Rockland, ME. An attempt to tow the vessel upside down failed and it sank. The ship was under tow of IRVING MAPLE and bound for Port Everglades, FL with a load of scrap. It may have been renamed b) TRIO TRADO at Quebec City on the way south.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - January 15

St. Marys River
Kaye E. Barker was upbound headed for winter layup at Superior Tuesday night. Saginaw was downbound in the lower river and Edgar B. Speer was inbound at DeTour, also headed for layup. The tug Victory and her barge Lewis J. Kuber were downbound off the Keweenaw Peninsula with an AIS destination listed as Detroit on Jan. 17. The Soo Locks close for the winter at midnight Wednesday.

St. Clair River - Chuck Miller
The downbound Joyce L. Van Enkevort volunteered to help the Coast Guard in freeing the beset Anglian Lady in the Southeast Bend. Joyce L. decoupled from her barge, Great Lakes Trader, just above buoy 20 in the South Channel and headed downriver to help in the ongoing effort around buoy 11.

Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
Lee A. Tregurtha arrived at the Torco Dock in the early morning on Tuesday to unload iron ore pellets. After completing her unload, it is expected the vessel will head to Nicholson's Dock in Ecorse, Mich., for layup. Joyce L. Van Enkevort/Great Lakes Trader are due to arrive at the Torco Dock Wednesday, January 29, during the late evening, weather and ice conditions permitting.

Erie, Pa. - Gene Polaski
Edwin H. Gott arrived at the Erie harbor entrance about 8:15 a.m. Monday after anchoring in the lake overnight. While the channel entrance was open, there was ice in the turning basin in the bay and the Gott had to move forward and astern in order to make a path sufficiently open to turn and back into the west slip next to DonJon Shipyard. The ice appeared to be 10 inches in some places but mostly thinner elsewhere. Several ice fishermen did not seem to be deterred and set up their hut less than 0.8 miles from the turning basin. The Gott will layup for the winter at DonJon. Several other vessels are expected this week also.





Coast Guard closes Neebish Channel

1/15 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mi. – The Coast Guard will close the downbound West Neebish Channel at 8 a.m. Friday. Alternating one-way traffic will be established through the normally upbound only Munuscong and Middle Neebish channels. With the locks closed at that time the only traffic affected will be those headed to or from Sault St. Marie.





Coast Guard Air Station aids drifting ship that lost power on Lake Michigan

1/15 - Traverse City, Mich. – Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City crews recently aided a drifting carrier that lost power on Lake Michigan.

The Air Station posted on its Facebook page Monday, Jan. 13, that Coast Guard personnel received a radio call from Algoma Olympic stating the ship had lost power and was unable to move from its position about 16 nautical miles south of Sheboygan, Wis. The vessel was drifting northeast.

The Algoma Olympic's satellite phone wasn't working and crews contacted Coast Guard personnel with a handheld VHF radio that had about 11 hours of battery life. An Air Station helicopter launched from Traverse City and delivered two radios to prevent a loss of communication.

The Algoma Olympic later received temporary repairs to restore its navigation lights and some power and was headed south toward Milwaukee on Monday night, according to the Coast Guard.

MLive





Polar vortex drives Great Lakes to highest ice cover in 20 years

1/15 - Click here to view this story from Minnesota Public Radio. The story uses many images and is best viewed in its original format.





Lookback #59 – Former Paulina C. aground on January 15, 1986

1/15 - Paulina C. was flying the flag of Greece on the stern when the 585-foot-long bulk carrier came to the Great Lakes for the first time in 1976. The vessel had been built at La Spezia, Italy, and completed in January 1971 as Rosewood for the St. Helen's Shipping Co. Ltd. of Great Britain.

It moved to John I. Jacobs & Co. in 1972 and operated on saltwater routes before being sold and renamed Paulina C. in 1975. The diesel-powered vessel could handle 25,478 dead weight tons of cargo at saltwater draft.

Paulina C. traded through the Seaway on several occasions, but got into trouble striking the ship arrester and lock gates at Beauharnois on November 1, 1983. The accident held up shipping for a period of time, and when released Paulina C. sailed to Baie Comeau to top up her cargo of grain.

After being sold and renamed Rio Grande in 1984, the ship never returned to our shores. Registered in Malta, the vessel went hard aground off the Dutch coast, not far from Rotterdam, 28 years ago today. It was stuck for eight days before being pulled free on January 23, 1986.

Sold to Honduras flag interests later in 1986, this vessel spent its final months as Neptunia. It was soon resold the ship breakers in India and arrived at Bombay, on December 3, 1986, for dismantling in 1987.



Today in Great Lakes History - January 15

In 1978, the upbound McKEE SONS, LEON FALK JR, WILLIAM P. SNYDER JR, A.H. FERBERT and CHAMPLAIN became stuck in heavy ice outside Cleveland Harbor. Eventually they were freed with the help of the U.S.C.G. icebreaker NORTHWIND and the U.S.C.G. MARIPOSA.

FORT YORK (Hull#160) was launched January 15, 1958, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd.

In 1917, the ANN ARBOR NO 6 left Ecorse for Frankfort on her maiden voyage.

On 15 January 1873, A. Muir began building a wooden 3-mast schooner ("full sized canaller") at his shipyard in Port Huron. Fourteen men were employed to work on her, including master builder James Perry. The schooner was to be the exact counterpart of the GROTON, the first vessel built at that yard. The vessel's dimensions were 138-foot keel, 145 foot overall, 26 foot 2 inches beam and 11 foot 6 inch depth.

On 15 January 1886, the tug KITTIE HAIGHT was sold to Mr. Fisken of Toronto for $3,900.

1986: The former Greek freighter PAULINA C., a Seaway trader beginning in 1976, ran aground off the Dutch coast near Rotterdam as c) RIO GRANDE. It was refloated January 23 and became d) NEPTUNIA later in 1986. It arrived at Bombay, India, for scrapping on December 3, 1986.

1990: The tanker MAYA FARBER came through the Seaway in 1981. It was anchored off Port Sudan as e) RAAD AL-BAKRY VIII when there was an explosion in a cargo tank. Fire broke out and the vessel was gutted. The hull later broke in two and the after end sank. The forebody was sold for scrap and arrived at Alang, India, for dismantling on March 28, 1990.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Soo Locks close for season with downbound passages

1/16 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. - With the downbound passage of the U.S.C.G. Cutter Bristol Bay, the 2013 navigation season came to an end at the Soo Locks around 4 p.m. Wednesday. Earlier in the afternoon, the downbound tug Victory and barge James L. Kuber were the final commercial vessels through the locks for the season. Crews will be busy at the Soo Locks with maintenance projects until they re-open March 25.





Port Reports - January 16

St. Marys River
Philip R. Clarke was upbound in Lake Huron off Alpena Wednesday night, bound for the former Carbide Dock in Soo Harbor with a cargo of coal. The coal will be trucked across the border to Essar Steel. She should arrive Thursday. Michipicoten was upbound from Essar Wednesday night, headed for Marquette.

Marquette, Mich. - Rod Burdick
Robert S. Pierson arrived early Wednesday morning at the Upper Harbor ore dock and waited to load ore during the day into the evening.

Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
Algowood and the Coast Guard cutter Biscayne Bay spent Tuesday night west of the Mackinac Bridge, locked in firm ice. Icebreaking began early Wednesday morning and the Biscayne Bay freed the Algowood. The next westbound vessel was the Manitowoc, while the CG Biscayne Bay was cutting track and escorting the Edgar B. Speer through the tougher ice near White Shoal Light. One more laker, the Calumet, will pass westbound Thursday on its way to Gary.

Milwaukee, Wis. - John N. Vogel
Roger Blough arrived in Milwaukee at 5 p.m. on Wednesday for winter lay up.

Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
Joyce L. Van Enkevort and Great Lakes Trader are expected to arrive in Toledo on Thursday, January 30 to unload iron ore pellets at the Torco Dock. They are scheduled to return once again on Thursday, February 13. Manistee arrived for lay-up late on Tuesday evening. Manistee's arrival brings a total of eight ships now wintering in Toledo. The list also includes American Century, American, Integrity, American Courage, H. Lee White, Buffalo, Ken Boothe Sr./Lakes Contender, Olive L. Moore/Lewis J. Kuber.

Erie, Pa. - Gene Polaski
Kaministiqua arrived at the channel entrance light at 8:20 a.m. Wednesday to be put into dry dock at the DonJon Shipyard. She proceeded into the bay only to find out that the dock was not ready; a barge had to be moved out, and then the gates of the dry dock would not open. Kaministiqua reported to be without her bow thrusters and went to anchor in the bay with a starboard anchor. Two tugs, the New York and the Rhode Island, had arrived earlier from Ashtabula and were busy breaking ice in preparation to move the barge and assist the Kaministiqua if needed. The ice was broken Tuesday with the arrival of the Edwin H. Gott.





Duluth-Superior shipping season winds to a close; lakers arrive for winter layup

1/16 - Duluth, Minn. – For ship savvy boatnerds, Wednesday was a day of mixed emotions as the Soo Locks closed for the season and the last three wintering vessels headed for the Port of Duluth-Superior, officially heralding the end of the 2013 Great Lakes shipping season in the Twin Ports. Cason J Callaway arrives for winter layup at 9:55 a.m. Wednesday, with Mesabi Miner and Kaye E. Barker expected to follow. In all, 10 Great Lakes freighters will be wintering here; that total includes two vessels that remain in layup from last year.

While ships crews take the next few, well-deserved weeks off, there is no real down time on the waterfront. Hundreds of workers engineers, welders, pipefitters, mechanics, electricians and others will spend the next eight weeks doing heavy-duty repair and maintenance work so these vessels are ready to sail when the Soo Locks reopen on March 25 and the 2014 shipping season gets underway. On average, that equates to investments of approximately $500,000 to $1 million per vessel.

Duluth Seaway Port Authority





Next generation of eco-friendly Great Lakes vessels unveiled in Toronto

1/16 - Toronto, Ont. – Algoma Central Corporation, Canada’s largest domestic ship operator in the Great Lakes, unveiled its new environmentally and technologically advanced vessel Algoma Equinox to the media and customers during the shipping industry’s annual Marine Club gathering in Toronto.

Part of a $400 million investment in fleet renewal by St. Catharines-based Algoma Central, the vessel is the first dry-bulk cargo ship in the Great Lakes to be designed to operate with fully integrated, closed loop, exhaust gas scrubbing system that eliminates 97 per cent of all sulphur oxide emissions from its engines.

This ship and seven sister vessels that will arrive throughout 2014 and 2015 will meet the most stringent new air emission standards being phased in over the next 10 years. Designed to reduce every aspect of its environmental footprint and equipped with the most advanced technology available, Algoma’s Equinox Class vessels are part of a fleet renewal that moves Great Lakes shipping into the 21st century.

The Equinox class of vessels are being built at Nantong Mingde Shipyard in China. All of the vessels are Canadian-flagged with Canadian crews. Six of the vessels will be owned by Algoma Central and two will be owned by CWB Inc., formerly the Canadian Wheat Board, and managed and operated by Algoma Central.

Algoma Equinox, will carry iron ore for companies like ArcelorMittal Dofasco, as well as North American grain.

Marine Delivers





Marine Mart Saturday at Brockville Museum

1/16 - Brockville, Ont. - 1:30-3:30 p.m. for this month only, ship-related books, photos, and memorabilia will be available for sale or swap (there are likely to be some rail or aviation items too). All members of the public are welcome to look around and find things to add to their collections. Anyone wishing to set up a table of items that they wish to part with are welcome to do so (table fees are 10% of sales). Free admission. If you are interested in ships, the Seaway, or shipping on the Great Lakes please join us, the Seaway Ship Enthusiasts. We meet every second month in the Carriage Hall of the Brockville Museum, 5 Henry St. Brockville, Ont. For more information please contact Viktor at the Brockville Museum at [e-mail].





Help Wanted: Port of Milwaukee Trade Development Representative-Senior

1/16 - The City of Milwaukee is accepting applications for the Trade Development Representative-Senior (Port of Milwaukee)

Purpose: Under the direction of the Port Marketing Manager, the Trade Development Representative-Senior develops business opportunities for the Port of Milwaukee and brings this potential to fruition, generating cargo, revenue, job growth, and economic development in the region.

Click here for more details





Lookback #60 – Ashland dragged anchor and grounded on January 16, 1988

1/16 - Ashland was one of the sixteen “Maritime Class” bulk carriers of World War II. The 620-foot-long vessel was a product of the Great Lakes Engineering Works and launched at Ashtabula, Ohio, on December 19, 1942. It was completed the next year and traded to the Pioneer Steamship Co. for obsolete tonnage enabling the company to upgrade its fleet and carry more raw materials during the war era.

The vessel entered service as Clarence B. Randall, heading to Two Harbors to load iron ore on July 19, 1943. It made many similar trips up and down the lakes and this continued in peacetime.

In 1962, the ship was sold to the Columbia Transportation Co. (Oglebay-Norton) and was renamed Ashland. It continued Great Lakes service until tying up at Toledo on December 19, 1979.

Following a sale for scrap, the vessel was towed down the Welland Canal by the tugs Tusker and Thunder Cape on September 17, 1987, en route to Lauzon, Quebec, and a rendezvous with the deep-sea tug Osa Ravensturm. They departed there, along with another Maritime Class and former Columbia Transportation steamer, the Thomas Wilson.

The towline broke off Cape Hatteras and the two ships drifted for miles. Thomas Wilson was never recovered, but the Ashland was eventually taken in tow again and arrived at Bermuda and anchored on January 10, 1988. Severe winds caused the anchors to drag and Ashland ended up on the rocks 26 years ago today.

While Ashland was refloated, it was leaking badly. The tow eventually reached Mamonal, Colombia, on February 5, 1988, just in time, as officials believed the vessel would only have lasted one more day on the high seas. Instead, after being pumped out, the hull was broken up for scrap at Mamonal beginning in July 1988.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - January 16

COLONEL JAMES PICKANDS (Hull#791) was launched in 1926, at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co.

In 1987, DETROIT EDISON, at Brownsville, Texas, for scrapping, was raised after being scuttled by vandals.

On 16 January 1909, TECUMSEH (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 200 foot, 839 gross tons, built in 1873, at Chatham, Ontario) burned to a total loss at her winter berth at Goderich, Ontario.

In 1978, CANADIAN CENTURY and NORTHERN VENTURE departed Toronto for Hamilton with coal after laying up at that port due to the bridge tender’s strike, which closed the Burlington Lift Bridge to navigation.

On 16 January 1875, The Port Huron Times printed the following list of vessels that were total losses in 1874: Tug IDA H. LEE by collision in Milwaukee, Tug TAWAS by explosion off Sand Beach, Steamer W H BARNUM by collision in the Pelee Passage, Steamer TOLEDO by partially burning at Manistee, Tug WAVE by burning on Saginaw Bay, Tug DOUGLAS by burning on the Detroit River, Steamer BROOKLYN by explosion on the Detroit River, Steamer LOTTA BERNARD by foundering on Lake Superior.

1926: The wooden steamer PALM BAY caught fire while laid up at Portsmouth, Ontario, and was scuttled in Lake Ontario the next year. It had previously sailed as a) PUEBLO and b) RICHARD W.

1988: ASHLAND, enroute to scrapping in Taiwan, dragged anchor off Bermuda and ran aground on the rocks in severe winds. It was pulled free 4 days later with heavy bottom damage and barely made Mamonal, Colombia, for scrapping on February 5.

[yachtsmanwilly]

This threds been up since inception in may of 2010. That's 3 years and 9 months, or 45 months with 34,437 views comes out to almost 25-30 views per day.... I feel vindicated after all. Whos gonna take over when Im gone in 11 days??? ws

[yachtsmanwilly]

Seaway concludes season with surge in grain shipments

1/17 - Cornwall, Ont. – For the second consecutive year, a surge in grain movements led to a strong finish for the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) announced Thursday that the Seaway closed for the season on Jan. 1 with the eastbound vessel Orsula transiting the St. Lambert Lock in Montreal at 1:29 p.m. The last vessel to exit the Welland Canal was the CSL Laurentien, which transited Lock 8 at 3:38 p.m. the same day. Consequently, both sections of the Seaway were open for 286 days, given an opening date of March 22.

A relatively late harvest in the Prairies producing record-breaking volumes led to a delay in the movement of grain. Once the grain began to move, the Seaway played a key role in enabling farmers to move their crops to market, contributing to a surge in Seaway cargo during December. Despite the cold snap enveloping much of North America, a total of 4.4 million tonnes of cargo moved through the Seaway in December, exceeding last years December volume by 130,000 tonnes, and eclipsing the five year December average by some 20 percent.

“The record breaking crop proved to be both a bounty for farmers and a logistical challenge for the grain handling industry” said Terence Bowles, President and CEO of the SLSMC. “Once again, marine carriers moving grain through the Seaway proved to be an invaluable part of the transportation network, enabling farmers to reach markets that they may otherwise not have been able to profit from.

“While we had planned to close the season on December 30, the unusually cold weather brought about transit delays, necessitating an additional two days of operation. We are particularly proud of our employees who worked tirelessly during late December’s frigid conditions, to enable vessels to finish their transits.”

Seaway tonnage for the 2013 navigation season, which began on March 22, amounted to 37 million tonnes, some 5.3 percent lower than the volumes experienced in 2012. Despite the late season surge in grain, overall grain tonnage was down 3.2 percent in 2013 as much of the record crop was quite late. However, the high volumes of grain currently going into storage and the pent up demand for grain movements bodes well for the start of the Seaway’s 2014 navigation season.

The bright spot in the Seaway’s cargo mix was a 12 percent increase in liquid bulk, as double-hulled tankers moved volumes of petroleum distillates between distribution locations to smooth out inventory levels and ensure adequate supplies in key markets. In other sectors, iron ore was down 4 percent, reflecting the challenging climate within the North American steel industry. Reduced imports of steel products contributed to a 20 percent decline in break-bulk cargo. Movements of dry bulk were down 12 percent as reduced construction activity in infrastructure projects lowered the demand for cargoes such as cement and aggregates.

The influx of new state-of-the art vessels, purpose built for Seaway use, continued during the 2013 navigation season. Boasting sharp increases in fuel efficiency and reductions in emission levels, these new vessels are part of a billion dollar fleet renewal effort being undertaken by both domestic and ocean carriers. Combined with a $400 million program underway at the SLSMC to renew infrastructure, these investments testify to the Seaway’s enduring value and the faith of both carriers and the government in its future.

Some 227,000 jobs and $34 billion in economic activity are supported by the movement of goods within the Great Lakes / Seaway waterway.

St. Lawrence Seaway





Port Reports - January 17

Duluth/Superior - Mark Jackson & Ed Labernik
On Thursday, as the Cason J. Callaway entered the Duluth Harbor for winter layup, the USCG Cutter Alder was breaking ice near the Fraser Shipyard in Superior as well as Superior Bay and St. Louis Bay. The ice breaking was primarily for the later inbound Mesabi Miner and the Kaye E. Barker. The Miner was due to tie up for the winter at Superior Midwest Energy and the Barker was headed for the Fraser Shipyards.

Marquette, Mich. - Rod Burdick
Michipicoten arrived at the Upper Harbor ore dock Thursday morning on what could be her last trip of the shipping season and Marquette's last vessel of the season.

Soo
Philip R. Clarke arrived Thursday with coal for the Carbide Dock. The coal will eventually be trucked across the border to Essar Steel. The Clarke will remain at the dock until Friday morning before proceeding down the river. A few more coal shipments are scheduled, and tanker transits to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., are anticipated a couple times a month over the winter. Late Thursday night, Robert S. Pierson was in the upper river headed to Essar with ore from Marquette.

Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
Calumet spent the night firmly anchored in the ice north of Garden Island and was broken free Thursday by the USCG cutter Biscayne Bay and escorted to Lansing Shoal. Late Thursday night she was downbound off Washington Island.

South Chicago - Lou Gerard and Matt M.
Algosteel arrived at the North American Salt dock Wednesday night for a partial unload. By mid-morning Thursday, she had completed the unload and was headed toward the lake in early afternoon.





Icebreaking planned for Lake Manistee

1/17 - The U.S. Coast Guard is alerting residents, particularly ice fishermen and other recreational users of Lake Manistee, of ice-breaking activities scheduled begin Saturday and continue for the next two weeks. The vessels Calumet and Manitowoc, assisted by the tug Manitou, are scheduled to transit through Lake Manistee for coal deliveries Jan. 18-26. The tug and freighters will make four transits, making stops at the Tondu Energy Station at the southwest corner of Lake Manistee and the Morton Terminal in the northwest.





Great Lakes visitor has trouble in Atlantic

1/17 - The tanker Hellespont Charger lost power in Force 7 winds and close to 10 foot waves in the Atlantic about 118 miles west of Loop Island, Ireland, on Jan. 12. The 472-foot-long vessel was traveling from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Aughinish, Ireland, and carrying 15,000 metric tonnes of caustic soda when the trouble began.

While the vessel rolled badly, it appeared that the ship and the 22-member crew were in no danger. The Irish Naval Service patrol ship LE Aisling arrived on the scene and stood by in rough seas and poor visibility. The tug Thrax arrived and took up the tow on January 14, bound for the Aughinish Alumina plant on the River Shannon sailing at 3 knots.

Hellespont Charger was built at Mokpo, South Korea, and completed in December 2009. It first came through the Seaway in May 2011 headed to Nanticoke and Sarnia. It is registered in the Marshall Islands.

Barry Andersen & Skip Gillham





Saguenay scrapping continues at brisk pace in Turkey

1/17 - The scrapping of the former Canada Steamship Lines bulk carrier Saguenay is proceeding quickly at Aliaga, Turkey. The vessel departed Montreal under her own power on Nov 6, 2013, and arrived off Aliaga on Nov. 30. The ship was soon beached and scrapping got underway immediately. As of Jan. 15, over half of the hull had been dismantled and cutting was just beginning at the top of the pilothouse. The former saltwater ship had also been a regular Seaway trader from 1981 through 2012 under her two previous names, Federal Thames and Lake Superior.

Skip Gillham







Shipping season ends on upper Great Lakes

1/17 - Duluth, Minn. – The Cason J. Callaway was the first of three last ships expected to enter the Port of Duluth-Superior on Wednesday as the closing of the Soo Locks at midnight marks the official end to the Great Lakes shipping season.

The Callaway was preparing to go into dock for layup at 10 a.m., said Mike Ojard, owner of Heritage Marine. His tugs have been breaking ice in the harbor for most of the late season and escorting ships that have come and gone through several weeks of subzero temperatures this winter.

The Mesabi Miner was expected for layup Wednesday evening and the Kaye E. Barker early Thursday after a run to Silver Bay for iron ore pellets. The Presque Isle came in Tuesday.

Ten Great Lakes freighters will be wintering in the Twin Ports this year, including two that didn’t go out for the past shipping season.

The shipping end means things ramp up for the hundreds of engineers, welders, pipefitters, mechanics, electricians and others who will spend the next eight weeks doing heavy-duty repair and maintenance work at places like the Fraser Shipyards in Superior. On average, $500,000 to $1 million of work is done on each ship during the offseason.

The locks are set to open March 25.

Duluth News Tribune





Port of Thunder Bay ends shipping season

1/17 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – The Port of Thunder Bay has seen the last ship of the season depart. This brings an end to the 2013 shipping season. On Monday with the departure of Saginaw, the last ship of the season, left port. The vessel loaded a total of 13,000 tonnes of canola at two elevators: Viterra A and Superior Elevator.

The vessel sailed at 21:20 on Monday, January 13. The Saginaw passed through the Soo Locks just ahead of their seasonal closure, which took place at midnight Wednesday.

Two vessels have laid up for the winter in the Port of Thunder Bay: Capt. Henry Jackman will spend the winter at Lakehead Marine Industrial and CSL Tadoussac will winter at Keefer Terminal.

Net News Ledger





First freighter arrives in Erie for winter repairs

1/17 - Erie, Pa. – Thick ice on the Great Lakes made it a difficult trip. But Tuesday, the first of four large lake freighters arrived in Erie for winter repairs. The work will keep crews and contractors busy for the next couple of months.

The 1,000 foot freighter Edwin H. Gott was delayed by ice in the Detroit River and then the crew had to cope with ice on Presque Isle Bay. The ship spent about four hours in the icy bay to get into the proper position to move into the old ore dock. It is expected to remain in Erie for about two months for steel and cargo bay repairs.

In the coming days, three more large ships are due at the Don Jon Shipyard. Two of the freighters are scheduled for normal repairs, while the third ship – Kaministiqua – will be in the massive dry dock.

"Ships have to be dry docked every 6 years. When you dry dock then you don't know how much work has to be done but normally it is substantial,” Ray Schreckengost of the Erie Port Authority said.

The schedules can vary but the big ships usually leave Erie in mid-March to resume hauling freight on the Great Lakes.

Erie TV News





Toledo Maritime Academy to get simulators upgrade

1/17 - Toledo, Ohio – The installation of a high-tech, virtual-reality simulator center is set to begin at the Maritime Academy of Toledo once the preparations are completed next week.

The first simulator is expected to be installed in January and be up and running by Feb. 1 so that students at the academy can learn to pilot various types of ships through various types of waterways, ports, and weather.

This would not be possible without the preparatory work donated by two local unions, academy officials said.

The academy, 803 Water St., which offers classes to students in the 5th through 12th grades, will first get a radar-simulation classroom and a full-mission bridge, at which students will have a 240-degree frontal view and 60-degree rear view, and later” a tugboat simulator and an engine-room simulator, complete with 10 years of support and updates.

“We are very excited,” said Renee Marazon, president and superintendent of the 246-student charter school. “I express my deepest gratitude and appreciation, and sincerest thanks to the 20 skilled union carpenters of Local 351 and to the IBEW Local 8 [electrical construction] workers.”

“Their dedication and commitment is forever etched in our minds and literally in the footprint of the new bridge-and-radar simulator, making them a significant part of our history and of our mission,” she said.

The preparations for the project were expected to be complete Friday but were pushed back a few days by bad weather. The project was announced in September.

Ms. Marazon said the academy had only $30,000 and a short period of time to complete the reconfiguration of the second floor of the academy building at One Maritime Plaza.

Without the donations, the academy would have never completed it on time, she said.

Over the last two months, about 20 members of Local 351 and some of their contractors donated more than 690 hours of labor, working daily.

They built new bridge walls, painted the bridge simulator area, raised the floor for the new bridge simulator, and removed walls from the radar classroom. They also painted the radar classroom, and installed new ceilings in the bridge and radar classroom. Plus they donated and laid new carpeting for the radar simulator room, and donated materials for the new simulator consoles.

“The thing that really got us is the fact that the kids really needed that simulator for their course work. And if we weren’t going to do it, the kids wouldn’t have their simulator in time for their program,” Dan Morey, financial secretary for Local 351, said.

Workers with the IBEW Local 8 reviewed all electrical requirements for the new simulators, moved existing outlets, and moved and installed electrical equipment for the simulator center. The IBEW Local 8 donated more than 120 hours of labor, and about $5,000 worth of electrical supplies.

“We wanted to be involved in the community,” Joe Cousino, business manager at Local 8, said. “The maritime academy is an organization that is educating the students who will be getting decent middle-class jobs. ... Our members are not just electricians but community members who are willing to help.”

The volunteer work sets the stage for an engineering team from VSTEP, a Netherlands-based company, to install a full-mission bridge simulator and a radar simulation Class-A bridge simulator.

Most of the work is scheduled for completion by early February, with the simulators expected to become operational in several phases through 2017.

The company agreed on a significant discount in return for using the academy as the company’s first U.S. demonstration site, with the school’s initial investment of about $100,000 for the simulators that normally would retail for about $1 million, academy officials have said. Replacement parts for the academy’s old, DOS-based simulators from the early 1990s were no longer available and the cost of new, high-tech simulators was prohibitive.

In addition to the donations from the unions, the academy received a $30,000 economic development grant from the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority in November to help fund the project.

Toledo Blade





Coast Guard icebreakers come to rescue of frozen Great Lakes

1/17 - CBS News – Thick ice is crippling the shipping industry in the Great Lakes. The Coast Guard is working around the clock to cut through the ice, but this winter's weather is making the battle unusually tough.

Freighters loaded with vital cargo are trying to make their way through frozen waters to steel mills and factories before a crucial passageway is closed for the winter. Leading the way are the battering rams of the U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers.

If you absolutely need a shipment of iron ore for your steel mill in Indiana, the crew members of the Coast Guard icebreaker, the Mackinaw, are your best friends. Captain Mike Davanzo is a 30-year veteran.

"It really impacts the Great Lakes region and really the global economy,” he said.

Without the Coast Guard icebreaker ships, freighters would never make it through the icy waters on cold winter days. That doesn't just impact the freight companies, but it also impacts the plants and the people who work at the plants using the coal and ore they're carrying.

Sub-zero temperatures arrived early this year and one freighter got so trapped in the ice it took the Coast Guard icebreaker 17 hours to free it.

Davanzo told CBS News’ Don Dahler that last week’s bitter-cold weather was a “difficult and challenging” time for his team. “Boats were getting stuck,” he said. “It was a lot of work real close aboard to other ships to break them free."

Most icebreakers use their weight to break the ice; the 3,500-ton Mackinaw does too, but it has another trick. Ensign Michael Cooper manipulates the ship's propulsion system to churn up the ice like a blender, creating a path wide enough for freighters, but the thick ice made for a challenging few days.

“When you're getting reports from a range finder saying you're six feet away from a 1,000-foot vessel, you get pretty nervous,” he said.

Seaman Terrence McCabe is one of those range finders, who had to stand outside in minus-18 degree temperatures to measure distances. “Any exposed skin would pretty much start burning,” he said. “Your eyes were watering, then once the water would start freezing shut your eyes, your eye lashes.”

Members of the ship were limited to only 10 minutes outside during the worst of the frigid weather, but more than the cold, they told Dahler that the constant vibrations from the ships smashing the ice is the hard part, making it feel like they're living in an earthquake, 18 hours a day.

Despite the weather, the Mackinaw and eight other Coast Guard icebreaker will be out in the water all winter, but weather predictions say that most of the shipping channels will be iced over until late March.

Video from this story

CBS News






St. Clair Inn's fate in tangles: Broker says he has interested buyers

1/17 - Port Huron, Mich. – The deadline for the St. Clair Inn LLC to retain ownership of the icon on the river is just about up. The six-month foreclosure redemption period ends Feb. 9.

The redemption period allows the current owners, St. Clair Inn LLC, a chance to get up-to-date on payments for the property. St. Clair Inn LLC owes more than $95,000 in taxes, $2.1 million to the bank plus about $355 in interest per day since the foreclosure Aug. 8.

Joe Joachim of Premier Properties has been working to sell the inn for the past two years. It was listed for $3.5 million in 2012.

Florida-based TransCapital Bank has purchased the sheriff deed and paid the taxes, according to the St. Clair County Register of Deeds.

While rumors have swirled about the inn’s closure, Joachim said it will remain in operation, although the restaurant and bar are no longer open seven days a week. “I do know things are tight for them, but I think they’ll be able to stay open until the 9th,” he said.

Joachim said it’s important for the inn to stay in operation so the property is maintained in sellable condition. He said two developers are interested in the 88-year-old riverside landmark. “I have two, but I can’t clear the title, even yet,” Joachim said.

The title issues stem from the hotel’s 2005 sale. When Waterfront Hotel Ventures sold to St. Clair Inn LLC, it held on to one of the parcels that comprise the hotel site. Waterfront kept back the parcel south of the inn, known as the location of the former captain’s house.

Joachim said that violated the city’s zoning ordinance, which wouldn’t allow the parcels to be separated. Without the separation, Waterfront and St. Clair Inn LLC could not get clear title to either property.And without clear title, the St. Clair Inn LLC can’t sell the property. It sued Waterfront Hotel Ventures, and won.

Nick Chapie, who represented the inn, said Waterfront Ventures filed an appeal, leaving the title in limbo. “That’s common. That’s not necessarily anything abnormal,” he said.

But Joachim said it needs to come to an end. There have been discussions and he hopes a settlement will be reached. He said no one will win if the case remains open for another year, putting a hold on the sale and future development of the site.

While he’s spent two years trying to sell it, Joachim said he hasn’t given up hope the inn will thrive once again. “The two people we have interested in the property are capable of restoring it,” he said. “This is the last icon left of anything that’s St. Clair.”

The inn was opened in 1926 at 500 N. Riverside Ave. In October 1994, the inn became a Michigan Historic Landmark. In 1995, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Mayor Bill Cedar said he hopes the next owner brings in fine dining and renovates the inn. “I hope whoever it is is from around this area,” he said. “These people who live a thousand miles away, I don’t think an absent owner is what’s best for the St. Clair Inn.”

Cedar said the inn is vital not just to St. Clair, but to the Blue Water Area. Turning it back into a destination will boost tourism.

Calls to Waterfront Hotel Ventures and TransCapital Bank were not returned. A woman who answered the phone at the inn said no one was available to comment.

Port Huron Times Herald





Lookback #61 – Currents and ice pack caught Federal Vibeke on January 17, 2000

1/17 - The ocean going bulk carrier Federal Vibeke came through the Seaway to the Great Lakes under six of its eight names. It got caught in an ice pack on the St. Lawrence, 14 years ago today, and was at the mercy of the winds and currents. Fortunately, there was a happy ending but, for a time, it appeared that a collision with the bridge at Quebec City was a possibility.

This ship was built at Sunderland, England, as Nosira Lin in 1981 and came to the Great Lakes for the first time that year. The 617 foot, 4 inch long freighter was under British registry and made several calls inland.

It was sold and renamed Don Bauta in 1989 and came to our shores under the flag of Denmark. It was back as Kristianiafjord for Norwegian service in 1990 before a charter to Fednav brought a rename of Federal Vibeke in 1993. It then traveled to the lakes on a regular basis making its final trip in August 1999.

Sold to Greek interests and renamed Kalisti in 2000, it resumed Seaway service that May making a total of three trips inland until another sale and rename of Nobility in 2002. But, it was back again in 2004, still flying the flag of Greece.

The ship acquired Liberian registry as Ability in 2007 and moved under the flag of Panama as Opal II in 2009. Neither ship returned to the once familiar Great Lakes.

On November 1, 2012, following a sale to shipbreakers in India, the vessel arrived at Alang. It was beached November 12 and dismantled by Kasturi Commodities Pte. Ltd.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - January 17

NORTHERN VENTURE closed the Welland Canal for the season as she passed downbound for Hamilton with coal in 1975.

In 1978, the CLIFFS VICTORY, JOSEPH H. FRANTZ, WILLIAM G. MATHER, ROBERT C. NORTON, CRISPIN OGLEBAY and J. BURTON AYERS formed a convoy in the Detroit River bound for Cleveland.

PHILIP D. BLOCK (Hull#789) was launched at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building in 1925.

The tanker GREAT LAKES was launched in 1963, as the a.) SINCLAIR GREAT LAKES (Hull#1577) at Decatur, Alabama, by Ingalls Iron Works Co.

JOHN E. F. MISENER was float launched in 1951, as a.) SCOTT MISENER (Hull#11) at St. Catharines, Ontario, by Port Weller Drydocks, Ltd.

January 17, 1902 - PERE MARQUETTE 2 ran aground at Ludington.

PERE MARQUETTE 19 grounded in limited visibility on January 17, 1916, two miles south of Big Point Sable, Michigan, 600 feet off shore. The captain made three unsuccessful attempts to find the Ludington Harbor entrance and on the turn around for the fourth attempt she grounded.

On 17 January 1899, the GERMANIA (wooden propeller freighter, 136 foot, 237 gross tons, built in 1875, at Marine City, Michigan) caught fire and burned to the water's edge at Ecorse, Michigan. The previous day, Norman Reno of Ecorse did some painting inside the cabin and it was presumed that the stove used to heat the cabin may have caused the blaze. The vessel was in winter lay-up at the rear of the home of Mr. W. G. Smith, her owner.

2000: FEDERAL VIBEKE got stuck in the ice on the St. Lawrence and was almost carried into the bridge at Quebec City. The vessel was bound for Sorel with steel. It first came to the Great Lakes in 1993 after previous visits as a) NOSIRA LIN beginning in 1981, b) DAN BAUTA in 1989, and c) KRISTIANIAFJORD in 1991. It was back as e) KALISTI in 2000 and f) NOBILITY in 2004. This bulk carrier arrived at Alang, India, for scrapping as h) OPAL II and was beached on November 14, 2012.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - January 20

Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
With the Soo Locks closed, iron ore traffic has shifted to Escanaba. Other than the various Algoma lakers escorted across the Straits on Friday, traffic has been very quiet. Gale warnings were posted for all of Lake Michigan Sunday as a strong cold front moves through followed by several days of single-digit arctic chill that will consolidate the ice. The USCG icebreaker Mackinaw is moored at the State Dock in Mackinaw City for the third day.

Escanaba, Mich.
Wilfred Sykes and Great Lakes Trader spent most of Sunday at the shiploader. By early evening, the Sykes was headed downbound for Indiana Harbor, escorted by the tug Erika Kobasic.

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. - Mitch Custer
James R. Barker arrived in Sturgeon Bay Sunday for winter lay-up. It took two tries to get through the Old Steel Bridge downtown (also known as the Michigan Street Bridge).





Most Great Lakes shipping frozen over for the winter

1/20 - Escanaba, Mich. – While the winter season shows no signs of letting up, shipping on the Great Lakes has slowed down considerably. The Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie were closed Wednesday and will not reopen until March 25, according to Randy Elliott, vessel traffic manager for the U.S. Coast Guard in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

"That does not end the shipping season, but it certainly curtails much of the shipping," he said.

As part of the locks' closure, one of the Coast Guard's missions is finding ships a pier to dock at, or to lay up, as the vast majority of ships are tied up for the winter, said Elliott.

"Everything quiets down because nature has told the shipping industry over many, many years, that it's a difficult time to run," he noted of the winter season.

Most ships that trade on the Great Lakes go to lay up at or near a shipyard for maintenance and repairs so they are ready to start back up again come spring.

Despite the locks' closure through the end of March, Elliott said waters such as the Green Bay waterway into Escanaba, the Straits of Mackinac, and St. Marys River remain open all winter long, but see limited traffic.

There is also some limited tanker traffic that continues on the Great Lakes over the next few months, with ships transporting fuel, diesel, and gasoline, but that is down to only a fraction of what shipping had been just one week ago, said Elliott.

As for the biggest struggle facing the Coast Guard with the shipping season slow-down? "As we approach the close of the shipping season, this is the worst ice we've seen in 20 years," said Elliott.

He noted that many times the Coast Guard does not dispatch icebreakers until the beginning of January, but this year they started around Dec. 9 - close to a month earlier than usual.

Elliott suspects the 2013 shipping season is comparative to 2012, but noted iron ore was likely down overall.

Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Lake Carriers' Association (LCA), a trade organization that represents U.S.-flag vessel operators on the Great Lakes, said in general, iron ore trade on the Great Lakes was down a bit from 2012, which he attributes in part due to the early, harsh winter causing many delays in December. On the other hand, shipments out of Escanaba were up from previous years, he said.

According to a press release issued by the LCA, shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 58.3 million tons in 2013, down 5.3 percent from 2012.

The totals account for the Great Lakes and seaway ports of Escanaba and Presque Isle, Mich.; Duluth, Two Harbors, and Silver Bay, Minn.; Superior, Wis., and Cleveland, Ohio; as well as the Canadian seaway ports of Pointe Noire, Port Cartier, and Sept Iles, Quebec.

Shipments from U.S. only Great Lakes ports totaled 51.8 million tons in 2013, down 3.5 percent from a year ago. Shipments from Canadian ports to Great Lakes destinations totaled 6.5 million tons in 2013 - down 18.2 percent from 2012.

The LCA said, in total, the trade had been significantly behind 2012's pace through November, but the gap grew significantly when an early and harsh start to winter limited total shipments to just 5.1 million tons in December - a decrease of 20 percent from last year.

In Escanaba, 3.7 million tons of iron ore was shipped in 2013 - more than the 2.7 million tons shipped in 2012, but down slightly from its 2008-2012 average of 3.8 million tons and its highest year in recent memory of 5.3 million tons in 2008.

The Daily Press





Lookback #64 – William Nottingham aground on January 20, 1907

1/20 - A ferocious winter storm struck Buffalo with reported winds of 84 mph, and flooding 107 years ago today. Numerous ships broke loose, and when the winds and high water subsided the five-year-old bulk carrier William Nottingham was aground a quarter mile from the river. The 400-foot-long steamer was high and dry. A channel had to be dug to refloat the ship and bring it back to the shipping lane.

William Nottingham had been built at Buffalo in 1902 and was part of the United States Transportation Co. It moved to the Great Lakes Steamship Company, when the latter was formed in 1911, and remained in their colors to the end of World War II.

This ship was part of a trade of obsolete tonnage with the United States Maritime Commission in 1943 that resulted in two of the new Maritime Class bulk carriers, J. Burton Ayers and J.H. Hillman Jr., moving to the G.L.S.S. Co. William Nottingham was chartered back to Great Lakes for the duration of the war and then retired.

In 1946, the vessel was sold to the Steel Company of Canada, towed to Hamilton, and broken up for scrap. Meanwhile, the two Maritimers that joined G.L.S.S. are still with us. The J. Burton Ayers continues to sail as Cuyahoga while the mid-body and bow of the J.H. Hillman Jr. form part of the Algoma Transfer.

Today in Great Lakes History - January 20

20 January 1980 - The E. M. FORD (406 foot, 4,498 gross tons, built in 1898, at Lorain, Ohio as a bulk freighter, converted to self-unloading bulk cement carrier in 1956, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin) was raised at her dock in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She sank on Christmas Eve of 1979, when gale force winds forced her from her moorings and repeatedly slammed her bow into the dock facing. Crews had to remove a solid three feet of hardened cement and patch her holed bow before she could be re-floated.

NORDIC BLOSSOM was launched January 20, 1981 as the a.) NORDIC SUN.

On January 20, 1917, American Ship Building's Lorain yard launched the steel bulk freighter EUGENE W. PARGNY for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

January 20, 1911 - The ANN ARBOR NO 5 made her first trip into Kewaunee. On 20 January 1923, CHOCTAW (steel propeller packet, 75 foot, 53 gross tons, built in 1911, at Collingwood) burned at her dock at Port Stanley, Ontario.

On 20 January 1978, HARRY L. ALLEN (formerly JOHN B. COWLE, built in 1910) burned at her winter lay-up berth at Capital 4 grain elevator dock in Duluth. She was declared a total loss.

1907: WILLIAM NOTTINGHAM broke loose in wild winds and flooding at Buffalo. When the storm subsided, the ship had come to rest high and dry about 440 yards from the channel. A total of 12 vessels stranded in the storm but this one was the biggest challenge. A new channel had to be dug to refloat the vessel.

1960: LAKE KYTTLE, under tow as b) JAMES SHERIDAN, foundered in a storm on Long Island Sound. The ship had been built at Manitowoc in 1918 and converted to a barge at River Rouge in 1927 before returning to the sea about 1945.

1962: The Liberty ship FIDES was a Seaway visitor in 1961. It went aground at Grosser Vogelsand, in the Elbe Estuary and broke in two as a total loss.

1975: The tug CATHY McALLISTER sank alongside the dock at Montreal after suffering some grounding damage on the St. Lawrence. The vessel was salvaged on February 13, 1975. It was scrapped at Port Weller as d) DOC MORIN in the fall of 2011.

1979: ZAMOSC first came to the Great Lakes in 1971. It was enroute from Montreal to Antwerp when in a collision with the JINEI MARU off Terneuzen, Holland. The damaged ship was beached but it heeled over in the sand and had to be broken up.

1981: The former SILVER FIR, a Seaway caller in 1977, ran aground and became a total off Libya as d) GALAXY II.

1983: The YDRA sustained an engine room fire and went aground about a mile east of Bizerta, Tunisia, as a total loss. All on board were saved and the hull is still there. The ship first came to the Great Lakes as a) MANCHESTER PORT in 1966 and was back as b) BIOKOVO in 1972.

1990: IMPERIAL ACADIA received major damage at the island of Miquelon due to a storm and had to be transported to Halifax aboard the semi-submersible MIGHT SERVANT for repairs. The vessel arrived at Chittagong, Bangladesh, for scrapping as e) RALPH TUCKER on October 26, 2004.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.






Port Reports - January 19

St. Marys River
Ashtabula and Defiance were in the Nine Mile Anchorage Saturday night.

Escanaba, Mich.
Wildred Sykes was loading Saturday night. Great Lakes Trader arrived to load earlier in the day.

Erie, Pa. - Gene Polaski
CSL Laurentian arrived in Erie harbor about 9 a.m. Saturday from anchor. She proceeded through open water to her dock space at DonJon Shipyard and just fit into the slip next to the McKee Sons, which has been there since last winter. The temperature was 17F with a light wind and light snow.

Port Colborne, Ont. – Denny Dushane
Whitefish Bay arrived early this afternoon the 18th and was secured at Wharf 18-2 Port Colborne Fuel Dock. Also earlier Saturday the Baie Comeau arrived at the Southeast Wall Lock 8 during the afternoon for winter lay-up.





Great Lakes see sizable gains in water levels over 2013

1/19 - Macomb County, Mich. — The Great Lakes have come closer than they have in years to returning to their long-term average water levels, thanks to 2013’s wet weather, according to hydrologists with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Lake Erie rose 4 inches from December 2012 to December 2013, the Lake Michigan-Huron system rose 11 inches, and Lake St. Clair was up 8 inches, according to Jim Lewis, hydraulic engineer with the Corps of Engineers.

“It was a really wet year in 2013,” Lewis said. “For example, the Michigan-Huron level stayed steady from October to November this fall, and that time of year is when it’s at its deepest decline.”

NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab Hydrologist Drew Gronewald said the lake levels in Erie, Superior and Michigan-Huron — which is counted as one lake system — dropped around 1998, and did not change much for the ensuing decade.

“The water levels on all the Great Lakes go up and down over a variety of different timescales,” he said. “For example, the natural range on Michigan and Huron is around 2 meters, or six feet.”

That stability ended in 2012, however, due to a dry winter and ensuing drought, he said. The aftermath saw lake levels drop to record lows. The long-term data showed the last time they had dropped that low was in the 1960s, Gronewald said.

“Water temperatures were very high and we had above-average evaporation rates, which led to precipitous drop in water levels,” Gronewald said of 2012. “It was unprecedented. Lake Erie has never failed to rise in the spring, but it did that year because of drought.”

Lewis said the standard lake cycle sees water levels decline in the fall and winter before getting boosted back up in the spring and summer from precipitation and the snowpack melting. The snowfall in early 2013, coupled with the rest of the year seeing above-average rainfall even into the typically drier October and November seasons, brought water levels close to where they should be.

Gronewald said that January tends to be the point where the lakes are at their lowest in the entire year, but they have recovered to the point they were all at two years ago, before the drought.

Additionally, Lewis said that while it is difficult to guess what will happen down the line, the Corps is forecasting that the lakes will, at the least, likely stay where they currently are through June, in terms of water levels.

Lewis said that if precipitation is reasonably strong, it is possible that Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie could hit or exceed their long-term average amounts of water within that six-month span, as both are near that point already. The Lake Michigan-Huron system is 14 inches below its long-term average, however, and will take more time and precipitation to return.

Precipitation is only one factor in the water levels in the lakes, Lewis said. Evaporation is an issue that the lakes face throughout the year, but the temperature difference between the water and air can help slow it down or exacerbate it.

Evaporation occurs in the winter when colder air moves across warmer water, he said, but if a layer of ice develops, it will slow down evaporation.

“In a given winter, you may have a bunch of evaporation from the cold air, but you also may develop a lot of ice, so it’s not always easy to identify,” Lewis said. “If we do have a lot of ice as it gets into spring and early summer, the water temperature stays cooler. That can influence the next fall, as the water stays the lower temperature and doesn’t evaporate as much.”

Gronewald said the water levels in the Great Lakes have a very limited impact on inland rivers and lakes, though those can see their own water levels impacted by the same meteorological trends.

“The regional climate factors that draw the flow in the tributaries of the lakes and the inland lakes are similar across certain special scales, but the lakes themselves don’t have that much of an effect, in terms of near-shore hydrology into the rivers and lakes,” Gronewald said. “But they do have impact on the climate of the region, in terms of how moisture leaves the lake into the air and into the rest of the system — like the lake-effect snow.”

He said smaller lakes could have a different material as a lakebed, such as a bed of clay, which impacts how water gets out of the lake and into the ground, as well.

“Not necessarily everything is different, but there is a lot of variability on what can affect smaller lakes,” Gronewald said.

C & G News

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - January 21

St. Marys River
The tug Victory and her barge were upbound in the lower river Monday night headed for the Carbide Dock with coal eventually consigned to Essar Steel. The tug Wilfred M. Cohen was on hand to assist them through the tight turns at the northeast tip of Neebish Island.

Escanaba, Mich.
Joyce L. Van Enkevort and Great Lakes Trader were loading taconite Monday night. Philip R. Clarke was downbound on Lake Michigan with destination of Gary, Ind., listed. Algomarine was headed to Milwaukee with salt. Wilfred Sykes was unloading at Indiana Harbor, after which she is expected to head to layup at Sturgeon Bay.

Toledo, Ohio – Jim Hoffman
The CCGS Samuel Risley escorted the Barbara Andrie and the Meredith Ashton with her barge through the Toledo Ship Channel Monday. The cargo was a Knockout Drum for BP's refinery expansion. The drum was manufactured in Oklahoma and transloaded onto a heavy-lift barge in South Chicago.





U.S.-flag fleets plan to invest more than $70 million in their vessels this winter

1/21 - Cleveland, Ohio – After a season in which U.S.-flag lakers will have sailed more than 2,500,000 miles and carried nearly 90 million tons of cargo, a $70-plus million tune-up awaits the fleet. One ship arrived in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, to undergo conversion to a barge in early November, but the bulk of the fleet began tying up at their winter berths starting in late December and the final lay-ups will come in short order now that the locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, are closed. Upwards of 1,200 shipyard workers then will labor virtually non-stop to ready the vessels for the 2014 season that will begin in mid-March.

Despite the challenges that winter weather presents in the Great Lakes region, the first quarter of the year is the prime time for maintaining and modernizing vessels. Vessels have to operate 24/7 during the season to meet the needs of commerce, so the closing of the Soo Locks means employment at Great Lakes shipyards is about to peak.

The steel industry is Great Lakes shipping’s largest customer, so it is perhaps fitting that steel is the primary material used in maintaining and modernizing the fleet each year. This winter approximately 1,100 tons of steel will be used to renew sections of hulls and cargo holds. The various grades of steel used in vessels must meet exacting standards set by the American Bureau of Shipping and so must be ordered months in advance.

While the Lakes freshwater environment is gentle on vessels, U.S. law requires lakers be dry-docked at regularly scheduled intervals so the U.S. Coast Guard and American Bureau of Shipping can examine the hull below the waterline. Massive concrete and wooden blocks are positioned in the drydock and support the vessel once the chamber has been drained. Several vessels will undergo out-of-water inspections this winter.

Much attention will be paid to the vessels massive engines, some capable of generating nearly 20,000 horsepower. The engines are shut down only long enough to load and discharge cargo during the late March/mid-January shipping season, so must be primed for nearly continuous operation. Navigation, fire fighting and lifesaving equipment will also be carefully checked.

The major shipyards on the Lakes are located in Sturgeon Bay and Superior, Wisconsin; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Toledo, Ohio. Smaller top-side repair operations are located in Cleveland, Ohio; Escanaba, Michigan; Buffalo, New York; and several cities in Michigan. The industry’s annual payroll approaches $50 million and it is estimated that additional $800,000 in economic activity is generated per vessel in the community in which it is wintering.

Great Lakes shipyards made a number of improvements during the year to better service the fleet this winter. One yard in Wisconsin added a 7,000-ton floating drydock. Another yard in Wisconsin continued to add hundreds of feet of sheet pile berthing dock to allow it to service more vessels.

Communities far from the Lakes also benefit from the winter work program. Hundreds of feet of high-strength conveyor belts for the vessels unloading systems are being manufactured in Marysville, Ohio, and new galley ranges to feed the crew of 23 on a 1,000-foot-long vessel are being produced in Smithsville, Tennessee.

Over the course of the season, about 1,600 men and women work on U.S.-flag lakers. Some will assist with maintenance of the vessels during the winter. Others will upgrade their skills at classes sponsored by their employers and unions.

Lake Carriers Association





Historic St. Clair Inn has closed

1/21 - St. Clair, Mich. – After opening its doors 88 years ago, the St. Clair Inn has closed. Glenn Staley, the inn's general manager, said Saturday was the last day in operation.

"We had to give up," he said. Staley said the closure was due to a lack of support from the community. "It's a sad thing for this city," he said. The inn went into foreclosure in August. The six-month redemption period ends Feb. 9.

The redemption period allows the current owners, St. Clair Inn LLC, a chance to get up-to-date on payments for the property. St. Clair Inn LLC owes more than $95,000 in taxes, $2.1 million to the bank plus about $355 in interest per day since the foreclosure Aug. 8.

Port Huron Times Herald



LOOKBACK #65 – MacGilvray Shiras on the loose at Buffalo on January 21, 1959

1/21 - Gale force winds and a winter storm resulted in an unusually heavy current flowing in the Buffalo River 55 years ago today. Soon after nightfall, the steamer MacGilvray Shiras, moored for the winter, broke loose and drifted down the river.

Two other laid up bulk carriers, Merton E. Farr and Michael K. Tewksbury, were struck with the latter also getting loose. Efforts to raise the Michigan Ave. bridge were unsuccessful and the structure was hit, heavily damaged and eventually had to be demolished.

The fate of the MacGilvray Shiras, a Kinsman Transit steamship, was no better. The 440 foot long, 55-year member of the Kinsman fleet was declared beyond economical repair and arrived at Hamilton, under tow, in June 1959 for scrapping by the Steel Co. of Canada.

The other two ships involved in the escapade were later sold to Canadian interests with Merton E. Farr becoming Nixon Berry in the Misener fleet and Michael K. Tewksbury sailing for Quebec & Ontario Transportation as their second Outarde.


Today in Great Lakes History - January 21

On 21 January 1895, CHICORA (wooden propeller passenger/package freight vessel, 199 foot, 1,123 gross tons, built in 1892, at Detroit, Michigan) was bound from Milwaukee for St. Joseph on a mid-winter run when he foundered with little trace. All 25 on board were lost. The ship's dog was found wandering on the beach by St. Joseph, Michigan, a few days later. A well-organized search for the wreck continued until mid-June. Many small pieces of wreckage were washed ashore in the spring.

On January 21, 1978, the Multifood Elevator #4 at Duluth, Minnesota, caught fire and collapsed onto the deck of the steamer HARRY L. ALLEN, which was laid up beneath the elevator. Her pilothouse was destroyed by fire. Severe warping and cracking of her plating occurred when cold water was poured onto her red-hot deck. Declared a constructive total loss, she was scrapped at Duluth in 1978.

1904: HENDRICK S. HOLDEN was torn loose by flooding on the Black River at Lorain, Ohio, and the vessel smashed a coal dump. It also crushed and sank the tug GULL on its way into Lake Erie. The bulk carrier last sailed as VANDOC (i) in 1965.

1921: G.J. BOYCE had been sold off-lakes in 1916. It was inbound for a Cuban port when it lost its rudder. The wooden schooner stranded near Porto Padre and broke up as a total loss.

1928: The Lake Michigan rail car ferry MADISON struck a sand bar off Grand Haven and went aground with close to $50,000 in damage. High winds and ice were a factor.

1959: High winds at Buffalo tore the MacGILVRAY SHIRAS loose when a heavy current swept the Buffalo River. The wayward vessel struck MICHAEL K. TEWSBURY and MERTON E. FARR and eventually demolished the Michigan Ave. Bridge. The damaged SHIRAS was not repaired and arrived in Hamilton in June 1959 for scrapping.

1978: VESLEFJELL was sailing as e) MARLEN when abandoned by the crew after developing leaks in heavy seas near the Canary Islands. The vessel was enroute to Nigeria with cement when it went down. It had been a Great Lakes trader beginning in 1951 and last called inland in 1962.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - January 22

St. Marys River
Victory and her barge James L. Kuber were unloading another coal cargo at the Carbide Dock Tuesday. Arthur M. Anderson was entering the lower St. Clair River Tuesday night, also headed to the Soo with coal.

Lake Michigan
Wilfred Sykes was off Algoma, Wis., Tuesday night, headed for Sturgeon Bay and layup.

Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
In keeping with the Coast Guard’s announced mission to keep the Straits of Mackinac open to shipping all winter, the CG cutter Mobile Bay remains on station north of Hog Island. Keeping the Straits open also means keeping a large stretch of northern Lake Michigan open to Lansing Shoal and beyond. On Monday morning, the CG Mobile Bay escorted the Algomarine westbound, and its next escort will likely be the Algosteel, which is westbound. The typical approach is to let a westbound laker make a run down the track until they slow to a stop, which in recent weeks has been in ice windrows just west of White Shoal Light. Then they are freed from the ice and escorted the rest of the way. In escorting the Algomarine, the CG cutter Mobile Bay must have encountered tough ice just west of Whiskey Island, and it deviated east for an easier track. As the ice field thickens and expands in the latest influx of Arctic air, escorts are going further distances well south of Lansing Shoal.





Sault, Ont. museum ship Norgoma likely to be scrapped

1/22 - Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. – The former Owen Sound-based package freighter turned museum ship Norgoma is likely to be broken up as Sault Ste. Marie city council weighs options to abandon ship.

The former passenger ferry was purchased by the City of Sault Ste. Marie for a dollar in 1975. Docked at Roberta Bondar Marina near Foster Drive, the museum ship draws little tourism traffic and finds few allies at city hall willing to keep it afloat.

Annual Sault Ste. Marie funding of $15,000 for St. Marys River Marine Heritage Centre was supposed to end in 2012. But the group responsible to operate the vessel asked for, and received, an extra year’s boatload of dollars last spring. At the same time, council asked how the city could cut its nearly 40-year ties with the ferry.

A report from STEM Engineering offers three suggestions. The Norgoma could be demolished on site. Estimated cost is more than $500,000. Or, the Norgoma could be partially demolished at its current location and then tugged to a ship breaking yard for demolition. Estimated cost is $200,000 to $240,000. Or, the marina docks could be removed, the marina basin around the Norgoma’s stern dredged and the ferry brought by tug to a shipbreaking yard. This choice could cost $200,000 to $300,000.

STEM Engineering recommends the city opt for the third possibility.

“The option is comparable in price to the option with the lowest estimated cost, but has the benefit of least involvement by the city, reduced exposure to environmental liability, partial dredging of the marina for improved operations and significantly less disturbance to the surrounding site,” reads the document.

In his report to council, commissioner of community services Nick Apostle says the third option would also allow the city “to dredge the entire marina to desired depths while the docks are temporarily removed:’

The engineering firm mentions another possible fate for the Norgoma. It could be turned over to Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve for use as a dive site. Only brief contact was made with the Michigan preserve’s past president.

The preserve features seven vessels and a car. “Depending on the requirements of the GTBUP the ship may need to have all hazardous material removed before the GTBUP would be willing to take ownership of it,” the report says.

“More discussions with the GTBUP are required to determine their interest in the project and what level of participation they would have in the removal costs:’ The Norgoma contains lead paint, asbestos and potential ozone depleting refrigerants in the galley refrigerator.

Built in Collingwood 1950, the Norgoma carried passengers and cargo between Owen Sound and the Soo for 13 years. Highway improvements made the route less profitable and it was refitted for car ferry service between Tobermory and South Baymouth, which it started in 1964 alongside the Norisle. The two ships were replaced by the much larger Chi-Cheemaun in 1974.

Owen Sound Sun Times.





Badger 2014 sailing season announced; work begins on combustion control system

1/22 - Ludington, Mich. – The Lake Michigan Carferry S.S. Badger has announced the following schedule for this season: Start of season May 16 (Friday); Start of doubles: June 6 (Friday); End of doubles: September 2 (Tuesday); End of season: October 26 (Sunday).

Shoreline cruises are scheduled as follows: May 31 - Manitowoc Shoreline Cruise; June 7 - Ludington Shoreline Cruise; July 4 - Fourth of July Shoreline Cruise. Reservations available in the spring.

At this time, LMC is making progress implementing a modern combustion control system for the boilers aboard the S. S. Badger. The new combustion system will allow the ship to be more efficient - burning less coal and generating less ash. At this time, we have started receiving components for the boilers combustion control system.

The Marine Shop "Winter Gang" is making good progress in the preparations for installing the Badger's new combustion controls. The stokers have been removed from all four boilers and we are ready to tackle removing the boiler fronts.





Lookback #66 – Former Seaway trader Ingrid Weide stranded on January 22, 1976

1/22 - The newly-built Ingrid Weide began Great Lakes trading in 1953. The 259-foot-long West German freighter had been completed at Hamburg during October 1953, and visited the Great Lakes before the navigation season ended.

During an early trip inland, the vessel was bound for Muskegon, Michigan, but missed that port and arrived at Grand Haven to the south. A U.S. Coast Guard vessel provided an escort back to Muskegon. The ship was also a regular user of the newly-built St. Lawrence Seaway making 23 trips up bound in the waterway from 1959 through 1965.

Sold and renamed Deneb in 1968, the vessel operated under the flag of Italy and then, beginning in early 1976, as Deneb B. with registry in Cyprus.

The latter did not sail long as it stranded at Borkum Island, West Germany, 38 years ago today, during a voyage from Arklow, Ireland, to Emden, West Germany, with a cargo of stone. The hull broke in two the next day and eventually sank. All on board were rescued.





Today in Great Lakes History - January 22

The c.) WOODLAND, a.) FRENCH RIVER) was sold to International Capital Equipment of Canada and cleared the lakes from Montreal January 22, 1991, under the Bahamian flag with the modified name to d.) WOODLANDS.

GOLDEN HIND was sold on January 22, 1973, to Trico Enterprises Ltd., Hamilton, Bermuda (Quebec & Ontario Transportation Co. Ltd., Thorold, Ontario, mgr.).

January 22, 1913 - SAINTE MARIE (Hull#127) was launched at Toledo, Ohio, by Craig Shipbuilding Co.

1976: INGRID WEIDE first came to the Great Lakes in 1953, and the West German freighter returned on many occasions including 23 trips through the Seaway to the end of 1965. The vessel stranded as c) DENEB B. off Borkum Island, West Germany, while inbound for Emden with a cargo of stone. The hull broke in two and sank but all on board were rescued.

[skycheney]

Jan 22, 2014 7:05:05 GMT -5 yachtsmanwilly said:

Sault, Ont. museum ship Norgoma likely to be scrapped

1/22 - Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. – The former Owen Sound-based package freighter turned museum ship Norgoma is likely to be broken up as Sault Ste. Marie city council weighs options to abandon ship.

The former passenger ferry was purchased by the City of Sault Ste. Marie for a dollar in 1975. Docked at Roberta Bondar Marina near Foster Drive, the museum ship draws little tourism traffic and finds few allies at city hall willing to keep it afloat.

Annual Sault Ste. Marie funding of $15,000 for St. Marys River Marine Heritage Centre was supposed to end in 2012. But the group responsible to operate the vessel asked for, and received, an extra year’s boatload of dollars last spring. At the same time, council asked how the city could cut its nearly 40-year ties with the ferry.

A report from STEM Engineering offers three suggestions. The Norgoma could be demolished on site. Estimated cost is more than $500,000. Or, the Norgoma could be partially demolished at its current location and then tugged to a ship breaking yard for demolition. Estimated cost is $200,000 to $240,000. Or, the marina docks could be removed, the marina basin around the Norgoma’s stern dredged and the ferry brought by tug to a shipbreaking yard. This choice could cost $200,000 to $300,000.

STEM Engineering recommends the city opt for the third possibility.

“The option is comparable in price to the option with the lowest estimated cost, but has the benefit of least involvement by the city, reduced exposure to environmental liability, partial dredging of the marina for improved operations and significantly less disturbance to the surrounding site,” reads the document.

In his report to council, commissioner of community services Nick Apostle says the third option would also allow the city “to dredge the entire marina to desired depths while the docks are temporarily removed:’

The engineering firm mentions another possible fate for the Norgoma. It could be turned over to Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve for use as a dive site. Only brief contact was made with the Michigan preserve’s past president.

The preserve features seven vessels and a car. “Depending on the requirements of the GTBUP the ship may need to have all hazardous material removed before the GTBUP would be willing to take ownership of it,” the report says.

“More discussions with the GTBUP are required to determine their interest in the project and what level of participation they would have in the removal costs:’ The Norgoma contains lead paint, asbestos and potential ozone depleting refrigerants in the galley refrigerator.

Built in Collingwood 1950, the Norgoma carried passengers and cargo between Owen Sound and the Soo for 13 years. Highway improvements made the route less profitable and it was refitted for car ferry service between Tobermory and South Baymouth, which it started in 1964 alongside the Norisle. The two ships were replaced by the much larger Chi-Cheemaun in 1974.

Owen Sound Sun Times.

She wasn't looking too good last summer when I was there. According to the marina staff, the marina wasn't getting much in the way of funding either. It's a shame as it was once a very nice place but it all needs to be redone now. The electric service was terrible and the docks were falling apart.