Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - April 8

08 April 1871, NAVARINO (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 184 foot, 761 tons, built in 1871, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) entered service for the Goodrich Transportation Company. She only lasted until 09 October 1871, since she burned in the Great Chicago Fire.

BAY CITY (wooden propeller stem barge, 152 foot, 262 gross tons, built in 1867, at Newport [Marine City], Michigan) had just been rebuilt at Bay City and then refitted at Fitzgerald & Leighton’s yard in Port Huron, Michigan. On 08 April 1871, (some sources give the date as 10 April 1871), on her first trip out from the shipyard, she caught fire and burned to the water line. She was rebuilt again and lasted until 1891, when she burned again.

The sea trials for AMERICAN REPUBLIC were conducted in Green Bay on April 8 thru 10, May 4 thru 11 and 18, 1981.

Interlake Steamship Co.’s steamer J. A. CAMPBELL of 1913, was the first bulk carrier to load taconite pellets that were shipped from Reserve Mining’s Davis Works at Silver Bay, Minn., on April 8, 1956.

In 1957, Great Lakes Steamship stockholders voted to sell the entire 16-ship fleet to four fleets.

In 1977 at Toledo, G.A. TOMLINSON required an estimated $235,000 to outfit her machinery for the upcoming season.

On April 8, 1905, Pittsburgh Steamship Co.’s steamer a.) ELBERT H. GARY (Hull#66) was launched by the Chicago Ship Building Co. Renamed b.) R.E. WEBSTER in 1963, she was scrapped in 1973 at Santander, Spain.

In 1969, LEON FALK JR. entered Duluth harbor to become the first vessel to arrive from the lower lake region opening the 1969, shipping season at the head of the lakes. She loaded almost 20,700 tons of iron ore bound for Great Lakes Steel’s Zug Island in Detroit.

April 8, 1998 - An unidentified worker was injured in a fall aboard the CITY OF MIDLAND 41, while it was being converted to a barge in Muskegon.

April 8, 1871, was a bad day on the St. Clair River. The schooner A MOSHER had favorable winds, so the captain decided to save the cost of a tow and sail up the St. Clair River without assistance from a tug. In the strong current at Port Huron, the vessel hit some old dock timbers, went out of control and collided with the down bound 3-masted schooner H.C. POST. The POST's main and fore masts were carried away in the collision. After some vehement arguing, the MOSHER sailed on while the POST anchored in mid-river while her skipper went ashore. The schooner JESSE ANDERSON then sailed out of the Black River and rammed right into the side of the POST. This finished the wrecking of the POST's aft mast. The ANDERSON went out of control and went aground on the riverbank. The tug GEORGE H. PARKER tried to assist the ANDERSON, but she also got stuck on the mud bank. It was several hours before everything got cleaned up and river traffic was back to normal.

The steam ferry JULIA, owned by C. Mc Elroy of St. Clair, Michigan, started running between St. Clair and Courtright, Ontario on 8 April 1878. She was formerly named U S SURVEYOR. Before JULIA took over this service, the ferries R.F. CHILDS and MARY MILLS served in this capacity.

The steamer f.) MANCOX (steel propeller crane freighter, 255 foot, 1,614 gross tons, built in 1903, at Superior, Wisconsin, as a.) H.G. DALTON) of Yankcanuck Steamship Lines was first through the Soo Locks for the 1958, season at 7:05 a.m. on 8 April 1958. In locking through the Canadian lock, the MANCOX became the first ship to come through the new lock gates, which were installed during the winter months. The American Soo Locks had been ready for traffic since March 26, but the Canadian lock had the first ship.

1941: The newly-built PRINS WILLEM II first came to the Great Lakes in May 1939. There was a mutiny on board at Sandusky, Ohio, in June 1940, as the crew did not want to return to their now-occupied homeland. The ship was torpedoed off Cape Farewell, Greenland, on April 8, 1941, while travelling from Halifax to London. An estimated 10-12 members of the crew perished.

1942: The first NOVADOC was sailing as g) ARA when it hit a mine and sank off Borkum, Germany, while en route from Gothenburg, Sweden, to Rotterdam, Holland in 1942. The ship had been built as CANADIAN PATHFINDER and was listed as Hull 69 of the Collingwood shipyard. It had also sailed the Great Lakes as b) NORMAN M. PATERSON and c) NOVADOC (i) before being sold to British interests in 1927.

1982: The Canadian-owned QUEBEC came through the Seaway in 1969. It had been built in 1959 as ALICE BOWATER but never came inland under that name. It was sailing as d) BLUE SEA when there was an engine room explosion and fire on April 8, 1982, in the Mediterranean near the Kerkennah Islands in the Gulf of Gabes off Tunisia. The gutted hull was towed to Sfax, Tunisia, on April 12. It was sold for scrap and arrived at Bizerta, Tunisia, for dismantling on July 7, 1984.

2001: The CHERYL C., the fifth name for the ship, was carrying a cargo of steel when it sank on April 8, 2001. The vessel ran aground near Peniche, Portugal, north of Lisbon, due to a navigational error. The 1597 gross ton ship had been built in 1983 and came through the Seaway, under Barbados registry, for the first time on April 22, 1998, with clay for Ashtabula. It made its last inland voyage in November 1999.



St. Marys River ice convoy continues upriver

4/8 - Sunday night the CCGS Samuel Risley escorted the tanker Algocanada to open water at DeTour, then returned to the ice in the lower river to prepare for Monday’s work. As the sun rose over the river, the Risley moved past all five ice-beset ships, ensuring as it did so that the Roger Blough was able to move. The Risley continued upbound toward the Mud Lake junction buoy to prepare the track while CCGS Pierre Radisson came downriver to start the Blough on her way up. Earlier on, a decision had been made to bring up one ship at a time, as the heavy ice conditions precluded bringing a convoy.

USCGC Mackinaw started upbound at the junction and groomed the track, ensuring the ice was broken and the track was wide enough for the ships to get through. Of particular importance are the turns in the track as the 1,000-footers must have lots of room to get their sterns to swing or they won't be able to get around.

The Radisson brought the Blough up to the junction buoy, where the Risley took over and continued up river. The Radisson went back down to break out the Edwin H Gott. Mackinaw continued her work grooming the track, not an easy job when the ice has nowhere to go and can't be flushed.

The Risley stopped just above Sailor's Encampment to look for a buoy reported to be under the ice in mid-channel. This would pose a threat to any ship that might ride over it and get the buoy mooring chain wrapped around her propeller. The buoy was not found, but the Risley had her crane and crew ready to lift it out of the water if it had been. This stoppage meant the Blough had to halt on the Sailor's Encampment ranges, and could not get moving once the channel was proved clear. Risley went back and broke her out and she carried on to the corner where she once again became stuck. Mackinaw broke her out and took her up for the rest of her transit to the Soo. Roger Blough was upbound at Mission Point 6:30 p.m. and stopped at the Carbide Dock for supplies and fuel. She finished about midnight and was expected to be the first commercial vessel upbound through the locks.

Meanwhile the Radisson had escorted the Edwin H. Gott upbound above the junction. She proceeded upbound, passing everyone on her way to the Soo. On the way she broke out the PML Ironmaster barge that had been stuck in the river all winter; it was taken up by Avenger IV and Anglian Lady.

The Gott continued upbound with assistance from the Risley and stopped at Nine Mile for the night. The Mackinaw came down to the Gott's position to be ready to proceed upbound in the morning. Meanwhile the Risley went back downriver for the night so she could start the next ship upbound in the morning. Tuesday will see the Gott finish her transit to the Soo. The Radisson will lock upbound and begin to establish a track through Whitefish Bay. Risley and Mackinaw will attempt to bring up the three remaining ships that are waiting at the junction buoy.

The ice in the area around Johnson's Point, the Dark Hole and Stribling Point ranges is very thick but the ice closest to shore is already melting and should provide a space for the heavier ice to move in the next few days.

Paul Beesley





Port Reports - April 8

Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
Traffic was light over the weekend. On Saturday, the USCG icebreaker Biscayne Bay assisted the Arthur M. Anderson near Lansing Shoal. The Anderson had made a run into the ice field Friday night and hove to there. It required just one assist from the Biscayne Bay as it traveled down the 241 degree LCA, and it was soon in open water. Monday was a convoy day. At 10 am, the Alpena was stuck in the ice off Whiskey Island, well east of the 241 degree LCA, and a westbound convoy was strung out from just east of Lansing Shoal to St. Helena Island. Taking the lead were Cason J. Callaway and John G. Munson, followed by Samuel de Champlain, Biscayne Bay and finally H. Lee White. At 11:30 am, the Biscayne Bay passed the Dde Champlain, Callaway and Munson on their port sides, then near Lansing Shoal, it turned southwest on a 220 degree heading towards the Alpena, passing just west of Squaw and Whiskey islands. This more southerly course may have been intended to stay in plate ice and avoid brash ice to the north. Around 12:15 pm, Biscayne Bay turned west and eventually to the northwest (295 degrees) towards the open water close to the shore west of Seul Choix Point. This open water area has been expanding in recent days. By 1:15 pm all vessels were moving well except H. Lee White, and Biscayne Bay returned to break out and escort the White. At 8 pm, the White was downbound off Washington Island at 12 knots and the Biscayne Bay appeared to be headed towards Charlevoix at around 5 knots.

Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
CSL's Thunder Bay arrived in Toledo on Saturday in the afternoon and became the first vessel to unload at Torco Dock for the 2014 shipping season. The revised schedule for the Toledo Docks has American Century loading coal at the CSX Dock on Tuesday during the early afternoon. American Mariner is due to load two cargoes at the CSX Coal Dock, with the first being on Friday in the morning and the other one on Saturday in the late afternoon. The Midwest Terminal Stone Dock is still closed for the season. American Mariner is scheduled to arrive at the Torco Dock on Thursday in the late evening hours. Lakes Contender is due to arrive on Tuesday, April 15 in the early afternoon at the Torco Dock along with the Salarium in the early evening. The James L. Kuber is due to arrive at the Torco Dock on Thursday, April 17 in the late afternoon and rounding out the schedule is the Lee A. Tregurtha on Easter Sunday, April 20 in the morning. All dates and times are subject to change due to ice and weather conditions. The tug Defiance and barge Ashtabula became the third vessel of the season to depart from winter lay-up on Sunday morning for Sandusky to load coal. Remaining vessels laid-up in Toledo include Adam E. Cornelius in long-term at the Old Interlake Iron Dock and fleetmate American Courage also at the Old Interlake Iron Company Dock. Manistee is at the Lakefront docks along with the American Fortitude and American Valor both in long-term lay-up. James L. Kuber and Victory along with Lewis J. Kuber and Olive L. Moore remain at the Torco Dock in lay-up. The ferry Jimaan also remains in Toledo.

Ashtabula, Ohio - Duff Rawlings and Lloyd Bogue
Cedarglen, the first vessel of the season, has arrived.





New Polsteam vessel Prosna due in Montreal

4/8 - The Polish Steamship Co. (Polsteam) vessel Prosna, built in 2012 and IMO number 9521849, is expected to arrive in Montreal April 15. The ship is coming from Norway and heading to Toledo, Ohio. It will be the first time that the vessel has visited the Great Lakes/Seaway system. Prosna is a new build from China.

Denny Dushane





Lakes ice stalls resumption of coal trade

4/8 - Cleveland, Ohio – Ice, sometimes more than 4 feet thick in places, effectively stalled the resumption of the coal trade on the Great Lakes in March. Only three coal cargos were loaded, one on Lake Superior, one on Lake Michigan and one on Lake Erie. Combined, the cargos totaled 102,000 tons, a decrease of 70 percent compared to a year ago. Compared to the month’s 5-year average, March loadings were down more than 80 percent. Year-to-date the Lakes coal trade stands at 475,000 tons, a decrease of 16 percent compared to a year ago, but 54 percent below the long-term average for the first quarter.

Lake Carriers Association





Port of Cleveland’s express ocean freight service underway

4/8 - Cleveland, Ohio – With the departure of the vessel Fortunagracht out of Antwerp, Belgium, over the weekend, the Cleveland-Europe Express service between Cleveland and Europe via the St. Lawrence Seaway has officially launched. The vessel, loaded with breakbulk and containerized cargo, is set to dock in Cleveland around April 17.

The Cleveland-Europe Express is the only regular, scheduled international container and non-containerized cargo service on the Great Lakes. The Port of Cleveland and Dutch company The Spliethoff Group entered into an agreement in November 2013 to begin the service. It is the fastest and greenest route between Europe and North America’s heartland, allowing regional companies to ship their goods up to four days faster than using water, rail, and truck routes via the U.S. East Coast ports.

Will Friedman, president & CEO of the Port of Cleveland, said the market is responding very favorably and in line with expectations.

“This is a significant first step in establishing the first scheduled ocean cargo service in decades between Europe and the Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence Seaway,” Friedman said. “We look forward to seeing the service grow. We know there’s a market for it.”

Bart Peters, manager of The Spliethoff Group’s America Service, said the company has received strong response to the regularly scheduled, direct line of trade between Europe and the industrial heartland of the U.S.A. The Spliethoff Group owns and operates a fleet of about 100 multi-purpose, heavy-lift, and ro-ro vessels ranging in size from 9,500 to 21,000 tons, all of which sail under the Dutch flag.

“The Cleveland-Europe Express offers fast transit service and carries a variety of cargo between Europe and Cleveland. We are very excited to see Fortunagracht embark on its first trip from Europe to Cleveland,” Peters said. “We are already booking cargo for the next voyage to Cleveland.”

The vessel will arrive in Cleveland carrying European exports, such as wind energy parts, machinery and smaller cargo in containers. The ship will depart for Antwerp on April 18th with machinery and containerized cargo. The Cleveland-Europe Express will continue to make one round trip a month, leaving with cargo from Europe at the beginning of each month and arriving in Cleveland mid-month to unload that cargo, and then collecting exports to carry back to Europe. As demand rises, the port will be able to add a second ship, allowing for a vessel in port every two weeks.

The express ocean freight service comes at a time when cargo moving through the port is on the increase. In 2013, the port had its highest annual tonnage level since the 2008 calendar year. This April’s tonnage is anticipated to be the highest since 2003.

The Port of Cleveland will be posting daily links on its website and Facebook page for the public to track the ship as it makes its way across the ocean and through the St. Lawrence Seaway to Cleveland. For more information, visit the Port of Cleveland on Facebook or www.portofcleveland.com.

Port of Cleveland





Sanctuary receives donation from Shipmasters’ Association

4/8 - Alpena, Mich. – The International Shipmasters' Association Lodge 19 has donated $500 to the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary to help defer the costs associated with bussing students to the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center for field trips. For over six years the association has been donating $500 that is matched by the schools coming to the center for transportation costs.

"This is a great place for students to visit," association member Max Lund said. "By helping with bus travel and having it matched by the schools, students are able to learn even more about the Great Lakes."

The International Shipmasters' Association has been around since 1893, and the local lodge has been in operation since 1983. The association has been involved with the sanctuary and its education opportunities for several years.

"This donation helps bus all the kids and get them to the sanctuary building to look at the history of the lakes, or get out on the water and help with their education," ISMA Lodge 19 president Lee Barnhill said. "When we first started this we were helping to get 800 students here, now thousands come to the sanctuary every year."

The sanctuary offers many different opportunities for student education through interactive exhibits such as Science on a Sphere, and is the docking site of the Glass Bottom Boat Tours. These educational opportunities provide students with a close-up look at shipwreck artifacts, maritime history and features of the Great Lakes.

The Alpena News





Beaver Island, Green Bay icebreaking scheduled

4/8 - The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Biscayne Bay will be conducting icebreaking operations in and around St. James Harbor, Beaver Island, on April 9. On April 10, the U.S. Coast Guard will begin icebreaking operations in the waters of Green Bay. These operations will likely occur in some areas used by recreational users such as but not limited to the Fox River and lower Green Bay, Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, Little Bay De Noc, and the entrance channel into Marinette and Menominee. These icebreaking efforts will expand and increase in frequency after the 10th of April as ice conditions and demands of shipping require. This will include all navigable waters in and around the ports of Green Bay, Sturgeon Bay, Marinette, Menominee and Escanaba.





Port Huron area marine live audio feed returns

4/8 - The streaming scanner covering the marine band for the St. Clair River and lower Lake Huron from Vantage Point is back online Click here to listen







Lookback #142 – Former Quebec suffered an engine room explosion on April 8, 1982

4/8 - While it was quite common to see the fine looking freighters of the Bowater Steamship Company on the Great Lakes in the 1960s, their Alice Bowater did not come through the Seaway until after being sold and renamed.

It was built at Birkenhead, England, and launched on October 28, 1958. The ship was completed in January 1959 and was well suited for the newsprint trade. The 325-foot, 5-inch-long cargo carrier was sold to Massabec Ltee. and renamed Quebec in 1969. It made its first appearance on the Great Lakes that year and also worked for the Rimouski Marine Institute providing training for future career sailors.

Quebec was resold to Greek interests in 1976 and was renamed George F. It also came into the Seaway that year but spent most of its career trading on the Mediterranean.

George F. was resold to the Blue Sea Shipping Corp. in 1981 and renamed Blue Sea. It was en route to Gabes, Tunisia, when there was an engine room explosion near Kerkenna Island, off Tunisia, 32 years ago today. The vessel's mid-ship accommodation area was gutted and Blue Sea was towed into Sfax, Tunisia, on April 12. It remained there until sold to Tunisian shipbreakers. The hull was towed to Bizerta, Tunisia, on July 7, 1984, and was soon broken up for scrap.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - April 9

09 April 1890 - W.H. SAWYER (wooden propeller freighter, 201 foot, 746 gross tons) was launched by F. W. Wheeler (Hull #66) at West Bay City, Michigan. She lasted until 1928, when she sank off Harbor Beach, Michigan.

On 09 April 1868, SEABIRD (wooden side-wheel steamer, 638 tons, built in 1859, at Newport (Marine City), Michigan, was sailing on her first trip of the season from Manitowoc to Chicago. At 6 a.m. off Waukegan, Illinois, the porter cleaned out the ashes in the cabin stove and threw the hot coals overboard into the wind.



The coals were blown back aboard and a blaze quickly engulfed the vessel. Only two survived. They were picked up by the schooner CORNELIA. 102 were lost. The vessel was uninsured and this was a severe financial blow to the new Goodrich Transportation Company.

On April 9, 1960, Canada Steamship Lines Ltd.'s a.) MURRAY BAY (Hull#164), of Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., entered service as the first Canadian 730-footer. Renamed b.) COMEAUDOC in 1963, she was scrapped at Port Colborne in 2003.

LAWRENDOC (Hull#174) was christened jointly with her Collingwood-built sister ship MONDOC (Hull#173) on April 9, 1962.

The Wilson Marine Transit Co., Cleveland purchased the b.) FINLAND, a.) HARRY COULBY (Hull#163) of the Detroit Ship Building Co., on April 9, 1957, and resold her the same day to the Republic Steel Corp., Cleveland with Wilson Marine acting as manager. Renamed c.) PETER ROBERTSON in 1969 and d.) MARINSAL in 1975.

On April 9, 1930, the CITY OF FLINT 32 entered service under the command of Estan Bayle.

On 9 April 1871, the wooden "rabbit" BAY CITY (152 foot, 372 gross tons, built in 1867, at Marine City, Michigan) had just loaded 270,000 feet of lumber in Bay City for Tonawanda, New York, when a fire broke out ashore. The ship was set adrift at 11 a.m. to get away from the lumberyard blaze. However, as the crew watched the shore fire, sparks smoldered in the ship's cargo. At 2 p.m., she burst into flame. Four tugs and a steam-powered fire engine brought alongside on a lighter fought the blaze to no avail. The vessel was scuttled to put out the fire. A few days later she was raised and repaired at a cost of $4,000.

On 9 April 1885, the laid-up vessels BURLINGTON and CHURCH were hit by the barge ALLEN and forced into the Military Street bridge at Port Huron, Michigan, crashing into the structure and completely blocking the Black River and disabling the bridge. The blame was placed on the spring thaw.

1913: Ice sliced through the wooden hull of the steamer UGANDA in the Straits of Mackinac and the vessel sank near White Shoal. The crew was rescued by the JOHN A. DONALDSON, and there was no loss of life.

1962: On November 28, 1961, fire had broken out aboard the IQUITOS off the coast of Mexico while the ship was en route from Callao, Peru, to Manzanillo, Mexico, with a cargo of fishmeal. The vessel had been a pre-Seaway trader as RUTENFJELL beginning in 1936 and as POLYRIVER beginning in 1951. The blazing freighter was abandoned by the crew. The ship did not sink and drifted for weeks before being spotted February 2, 1962. The hull was considered a hazard to navigation and was sunk on this date, southeast of the Christmas Islands by a U.S. destroyer, in 1962.

1968: MENIHEK LAKE was in a minor collision with the anchored PETITE HERMINE in the Lake St. Francis section of the St. Lawrence, and the latter's anchor chain damaged the propeller of MENIHEK LAKE.


St Marys River: Don't mess with Mother Nature edition

4/9 - Tuesday was another gorgeous day on the river. There was lots of sunshine, light wind, spring-like temperatures and a growing lineup of ships wanting to go upbound.

USCGC Mackinaw started the day taking the Edwin H. Gott from Nine Mile up to the Soo. Then she came back downriver to groom the track in anticipation of more upbound ships. CCGS Samuel Risley went down to the Junction Buoy to start the Stewart J Cort upbound. Unfortunately the brash (slush) in the track had spread out and attained a glue-like property that glommed onto the sides of the Cort and prevented her from proceeding. This was very true in places where the channel turned. The Risley managed to get her part way up the Sailor's Encampment ranges, but the Cort continued to experience heavy ice. As the Mackinaw was working at the top of this channel and was nearby, she came down and worked with the Cort until they had her turned at Johnson Point.

More difficulty was experienced there, so the Risley came back up to work with the Mackinaw, one at the bow and one at the stern of the Cort. This worked well but took most of the day. The Cort finally managed to get to Nine Mile and continued upbound with the assistance of the G-tug Missouri. Mackinaw continued up to her base for the night and the Risley went back downriver to escort the Sam Laud upbound. As the Laud is a smaller ship than the footers, she was capable of proceeding easily with only minimum assistance.

Further upriver, CCGS Pierre Radisson completed her logistics necessities at the Soo and locked upbound in the early afternoon. She went up to Gros Cap and found the ice to be quite workable in that section. Radisson and Mackinaw will assist ships from the locks to Whitefish Point and across Lake Superior. Tuesday’s satellite imagery showed lots and lots of ice still in the eastern part of the lake. It’s great fun if you enjoy working on an icebreaker.

Paul Beesley





First Minnesota taconite of season hits steel mill

4/9 - Duluth, Minn. It took 11 days to make the distance usually covered in about 30 hours, but the first Minnesota taconite iron ore has reached its steel mill destination in Indiana. The ore boats Cason J. Callaway and John G. Munson arrived at the U.S. Steel Gary Works on Tuesday, and just in time.

The Gary Works had been idled in recent days because it had run out of ore to make steel with, said Courtney Boone, U.S. Steel spokeswoman.

The steel mill partially reopened Sunday after U.S. Steel managed to transfer pellets from its Great Lakes Works near Detroit on a freighter. Still, Boone said, the Gary mill “continues to run at a reduced capacity’’ because of the lack of raw material.

The Munson and Calloway left Duluth on March 23 for Two Harbors, where they picked up taconite. But thick, stubborn ice on Lake Superior damaged one of their escort ships and stalled their trip down the lakes. The ore boats were forced to sit for several days until the Coast Guard icebreaker Mackinaw caught up from other duties to escort them to Gary.

The Callaway was the first commercial ship through the Soo Locks on Friday, 11 days after the locks officially opened, with many other freighters unable to make progress in what has been described as among the most difficult Great Lakes openings ever due to the ice.

The Great Lakes remain about 50 percent covered with ice, with Lake Superior about 78 percent ice-covered by official estimates. But the most difficult ice remains in narrow areas where boats must traverse into ports and locks. More than a dozen U.S. and Canadian icebreakers are working on the lakes, but even with more sunshine and temperatures above freezing, it could be several more days before freighters can make the round trip without assistance from icebreakers.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard icebreaker Morro Bay slipped under the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth early Tuesday afternoon after spending more than a week in port to make repairs to a rudder damaged in operations in Thunder Bay, Ontario. It was headed up the North Shore to continue ice-breaking in Thunder Bay.

Several key bolts that attached the Morro Bay’s rudder to a control post were gone by the time the vessel got back to Duluth with help from its sister ships, the Katmai Bay and the Alder.

The 140-foot Morro Bay encountered challenging ice conditions as it joined the Katmai Bay and the cutter Mackinaw in clearing the way for the Munson, Callaway and Presque Isle.

The ships were bound for the Soo Locks, but the Morro Bay and the Presque Isle turned back after experiencing difficulties. The Morro Bay and the Katmai Bay went to Thunder Bay to help break ice there. But the Katmai Bay ended up towing the Morro Bay most of the way back to Duluth, before the Alder took over 8 miles from its own home port in Duluth.

Duluth News Tribune





Port Reports - April 9

St. Marys River
The Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Pierre Radisson locked up Tuesday morning, followed by Roger Blough and Edwin H. Gott. Both vessels took on fuel and stores at the Carbide Dock in the lower harbor before passing upbound. The USCG Mackinaw and CCG Samuel Risley were working with the Stewart J. Cort in the east Neebish channel Tuesday afternoon. The Cort, which made it to Soo Harbor by Tuesday night, is part of an upbound convoy in the lower river the includes Sam Laud, Edgar B. Speer, Algoma Discovery, Algoma Enterprise, Algoma Equinox and Algoma Olympic. Robert S. Pierson and Michipicoten remain in winter layup at Essar Steel, although both are showing AIS signals.

Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
At 3 p.m. on Tuesday, the westbound laker Thunder Bay had transited the Straits on its own, headed for Lansing Shoal. Apparently the track from the bridge is holding up well. The USCG icebreaker Hollyhock was breaking ice from the 241 degree LCA westward just north of the 45 deg. 50 min. latitude line. At 3:15 p.m., it was heading back southwest, crossing the latitude line. Every time the icebreakers come out, they seem to be exploring new paths to get to the open water that is close to the Garden Peninsula. At one point on Monday, the Biscayne Bay asked the captain of a laker whether he saw a clear route ahead. The view from a laker’s bridge is definitely higher than from the bridge of a 140-foot icebreaker. Maybe they could benefit from some aerial reconnaissance, although conditions are changing daily. Meanwhile, the USCG icebreaker Biscayne Bay was working on a track from Charlevoix to Beaver Island. The track does not follow the charted ferry route. Instead it heads west from Charlevoix then nearly due north (5 degrees) towards St. James along the eastern shore of Beaver Island. The Emerald Isle has already fired up its AIS transceiver, but is not moving yet. At 9 pm, the Biscayne Bay was hove to in the ice off the southeast shore of Beaver Island, while the Hollyhock was in the ice near White Shoal. The tugs Prentiss Brown and the Erika Kobasic were off Charlevoix.

Escanaba, Mich. - Rod Burdick
Hon. James L. Oberstar loaded ore Tuesday evening on the north side of the CN dock. American Mariner, on her first trip of the season, waited to load on the south side.

Sarnia, Ont. – Frank Frisk
Tecumseh departed Sarnia harbor about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday for Thunder Bay, Ont.

Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
The updated schedule shows American Century loading at the CSX Coal Dock on Wednesday during the morning. American Mariner is due to load two cargoes at the CSX Dock, with the first one being on Sunday in the morning followed by the second cargo of coal on Monday, April 14 during the early afternoon. The Midwest Terminal Stone Dock remains closed yet for the season. At the Torco Dock, the American Mariner is due to arrive on Saturday in the early evening, followed by the Lakes Contender, due on Tuesday, April 15 in the early afternoon. Salarium is also due on April 15 in the early evening, and rounding out the schedule will be the James L. Kuber due on Thursday, April 17 in the late afternoon.

Lorain, Ohio
Great Lakes Trader cleared the Charles Berry Bridge at 2:22 p.m. Tuesday.

Toronto, Ont. - Frank Hood, Jens Juhl
The arrival of Polsteam’s Lubie with a cargo of sugar marked the beginning of the 2014 shipping season. Tuesday morning the event was celebrated on board the Lubie with the 153rd Beaver Hat Crowning. Dignitaries and notables were on board to watch Toronto Harbor Master Angus Armstrong "crown" Captain Jacek Kurpiel with the 200-year-old silk and beaver top hat. English River and the Algoma Navigator sailed yesterday. The Algoma Progress remains in winter lay up at pier 35. Algoma Navigator departed Toronto over the weekend of April 5th.





Icebreaking crews work to open Great Lakes to business

4/9 - Indianapolis, Ind. – U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard crews kept up their battle Monday to clear pathways for vessels hauling vital raw materials on the ice-clogged Great Lakes, where a shipping logjam forced a weeklong shutdown of the nation’s largest steel factory.

Traffic remained largely at a crawl after a winter that produced some of the heaviest ice on record across the five inland seas, where more than half the surface area remained solid this week. Icebreaking ships slogging across Lake Superior were still encountering ice layers 2 feet to 3 feet thick. In some areas, wind and wave action created walls of ice up to 14 feet high.

United States Steel Corp.’s plant in Gary, Ind., resumed limited operations after receiving a shipment over the weekend of iron ore from a company mill near Detroit, which was sending one additional load, spokeswoman Courtney Boone said.

Two ships were scheduled to arrive Tuesday with ore from mines in northern Minnesota following a two-week voyage across Lake Superior, which ordinarily would take three days. Other companies were hoping their supplies would be adequate to avoid significant disruptions.

“Nobody’s stockpile situation is very good,” said Glen Nekvasil, a spokesman for the Lake Carriers’ Association, which represents companies that operate 57 U.S.-flagged freighters on the Great Lakes. “It’s still very slow sledding.”

Only three ships were able to haul coal on the lakes in March, their cargos combining for 102,000 tons — down 70 percent from the same month in 2013, he said. Coal trade was 54 percent below the long-term first-quarter average.

The Gary Works mill generates steel for industries such as construction and auto manufacturing. Production resumed at one of the mill’s three furnaces after Sunday’s shipment was received, Boone said. The Gary Works is capable of producing 7.5 million tons of steel per year.

U.S. Steel was able to operate off stockpiles for some time before the ice began affecting production, Boone said.

Charles Bradford, a steel industry analyst, said the company should have done better planning even though this winter was among the harshest in recent memory. At one point, ice extended across 92 percent of the Great Lakes, falling just short of the record set in 1979.

“They know that every winter the Great Lakes freeze over,” Bradford said. Boone declined to comment.

The shipping season officially began two weeks ago with the opening of navigational locks on the St. Marys River connecting Lakes Superior and Huron, a bottleneck for vessels hauling iron ore and coal to manufacturers and electric power plants. But just one convoy of vessels — including two icebreakers and the two ships hauling iron ore — had traversed Superior with loads of freight.

Two other coal haulers were docked in Superior, Wis., waiting to make deliveries to a power plant in Marquette, Mich., said Mark Gill, director of vessel traffic service for the U.S. Coast Guard in Sault Ste. Marie. Five empty vessels were expected to begin crossing Lake Superior on Tuesday to pick up iron ore.

The We Energies Presque Isle power plant in Marquette was operating just three of its five generating units to conserve coal until more arrives, spokesman Barry McNulty said. Even so, there wasn’t enough demand to disrupt service, he said. The plant serves about 22,000 customers, mostly in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

DTE Energy, which operates five coal-fired plants in southeastern Michigan, has dealt with dwindling stocks by taking some units out of production for maintenance ahead of schedule and making up for the loss by buying power from the grid, spokesman Scott Simons said.

“This will hold us over until we can rebuild our supplies,” Simons said.

General Motors has not had any delays or material shortages because of Great Lakes shipping problems, spokesman Tom Henderson said.

Nine U.S. Coast Guard ships are capable of breaking ice but only one, the Mackinaw, is equipped to deal with the thickest formations, Gill said. The Canadian Coast Guard dispatched two heavy-duty vessels to assist.

About three-quarters of Lake Superior, the largest and deepest of the Great Lakes, remained ice-covered. Gill estimated it would be about two weeks before the surface is clear enough for freighters to make the crossing without an icebreaker escort.

Even then, the icebreakers probably will be on duty well into May and possibly as late as Memorial Day.

“We’ll be constantly on search-and-destroy missions, finding big pieces of ice and breaking them into smaller pieces,” Gill said.

The Detroit News





Shipping season opens with promise of more diversified cargo

4/9 - Hamilton, Ont. – A new shipping season has set sail in Hamilton. The first foreign freighter slipped into the port Sunday evening, two days after the first laker docked here.

"The new season is off and running," said Ian Hamilton, development and real estate vice-president for the Hamilton Port Authority.

The first ocean-going vessel into the harbor was the Netherlands-registered Africaborg, followed closely by her sister ship, Volgaborg. Both will load corn destined for Ireland. Their arrival followed the docking Friday of the first laker of the season, the Canadian-registered Algoma Guardian, carrying iron ore to ArcelorMittal Dofasco.

The 2014 shipping season started a little later than usual because of heavy ice in the Great Lakes, Welland Canal and St. Lawrence River, but those conditions are finally lifting. In fact, the ice cover on the Great Lakes is the third heaviest since records have been kept. Only the winters of 1979 and 1994 were worse.

Ice remains an issue for the Upper Great Lakes, where Canadian and American icebreakers are expected to be busy until early May. Grain movement is expected to be the big story in the port of Hamilton this year.

"There is a lot of optimism around grain this year because a lot of grain didn't get out last year," Hamilton said. "Almost all of the silos throughout the system are full."

He explained movement of last year's grain crop to world markets was held back by a wet harvest season on the plains, which kept farmers off their land. "On top of all that, they had a bumper crop last year," Hamilton said.

Moving grain has been an important part of the Hamilton Port Authority's diversification campaign — an effort to reduce its near total reliance on steel cargo as the basis of its business. Steel and its ingredients once represented almost 80 per cent of the cargo through Hamilton, but that has shrunk to just over 73 per cent between 2009 and last year.

During the same period, agricultural products, including grain and fertilizer, have risen to almost 18 per cent of the volume from less than 10 per cent.

This year, the St. Lawrence Seaway is expected to handle 38 million tonnes, up from 37 million tonnes last year. Total cargo through the Port of Hamilton during the 2013 shipping season was more than 10 million tonnes, essentially flat compared to 10.3 million tonnes in 2012 and 10 million in 2011.

The Hamilton Port Authority is also pinning some of its growth hopes on a new internet-based system for matching ships with cargo capacity for sale with shippers looking for a way to move their cargo around the world.

Dubbed Marinegateway.net, the portal "fills a niche by highlighting unused vessel capacity for cargo owners and freight forwarders to consider, making it more viable to choose marine for smaller loads," the authority said in a news release.

The portal was launched at the end of last year.

The Port of Hamilton handles more than 600 vessels each season, carrying 28 per cent of all of the cargo that travels through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway.

Hamilton Spectator





Harsh winter unearths shipwreck

4/9 - Traverse City, Mich. – Ward Lamphere wasn’t sure what to make of the object that appeared before him on the beach along Lake Michigan. A string of large, worn wooden ribs jutted skyward, poking from the sand like a partially unearthed whale skeleton. But the object clearly was man-made.

“I saw the spine, and the horizontal curve,” he said of his March 31 discovery in Leelanau County. “Because it’s not the entire boat, my first impression was it was a big row boat. I thought it was just a smaller boat like that.”

Lamphere, who owns a condo at the nearby Homestead Resort, recalled that someone spotted pieces of what might be a shipwreck near the spot a handful of years ago. But piles of raking ice and violent winter storms worked to unearth something more — a 40-foot-long section of the center beam and ribs of a wooden boat.

“It’s probably been there for years and now it’s uncovered,” Lamphere said.

An August 2009 local newspaper article told of a group of children who unearthed some ship’s ribs near the spot as they dug in the sand during a family vacation.

Lamphere quickly looked for local experts and found Kerry Kelly, chairman of the board for Friends of the Sleeping Bear. Kelly made a trek to look at the site last week.

“It’s a pretty good-size artifact,” Kelly said. “It is one-half of a boat. It is pretty old because there are no threads or bolts or anything like that. You’ve been walking on that beach many times and all of a sudden something is there.”

Kelly recorded the specifications, then photographed and took a GPS location of the new discovery. The information, though it’s a bit north of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, will be logged into a database maintained by the park museum. It joins 13 other shipwrecks in the database and is one of the largest finds.

The men measured the section — part of it lurks under the sand, the other part extends into the water. The center beam is about 40 feet long and the attached ribs extend 12 feet to one side.

Kelly is certain the wreckage is more than 100 years old because of the absence of threads on bolts still buried in the main beam. But he was reluctant to take a guess at the type of boat or its age.

Laura Quackenbush, museum technician and archivist at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, said another fragment of a shipwreck was found near the mouth of the Crystal River about five years ago. But it is difficult to determine the name and origin of such pieces that wash up on shore.

“People want to know what ship it is, but we very rarely find out,” she said. “The shoreline shipwreck fragments are problematic. They travel quite a bit. They get ground down by the sand and ice and gravel.”

Dozens of ships sank in the region’s waters during the 19th century. Beach-goers often discover parts of those shipwrecks, albeit in much smaller pieces than the section Lamphere stumbled across.

Wayne Lusardi, state maritime archaeologist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, said the section of boat appears to be one he hasn’t yet documented.

“The coastline is pretty dynamic, especially over in that neck of the woods,” he said. “Sand can move and come and go. Anytime, particularly after harsh weather events, wreckage will appear where it had never been seen before.”

The wreckage shows construction consistent with that of a schooner — a type of sailing vessel common to the Great Lakes during the 1800s, Lusardi said after he surveyed photos of the structure.

“It certainly makes you wonder what else is there,” he said. “As you walk up and down the coast, what else is beneath your feet?”

Lusardi believes the newly unearthed wreckage may be related to a large piece he sketched and documented in 2006. But he won’t be sure until he gets an up-close view.

“I’d like to take a look at it,” he said. “You never know when it’s going to go away. So far as I know it’s not on my database anyway. It’s pretty close to where I’ve seen stuff.”

Anyone who would like to visit the site should walk from Glen Arbor north about a mile along the beach to the site on the south side of where the Crystal River enters Lake Michigan, Quackenbush said.

The Homestead Resort, which owns the property along that section of shoreline probably wouldn’t appreciate people trespassing to get to the beach, she added.

Observers should not disturb the shipwreck or any others they find on area beaches. The sites are protected by the Manitou Passage Underwater Preserve. Damaging or otherwise disturbing shipwrecks is a crime, Quackenbush said.

Traverse City Record-Eagle





Ferry traffic ends winter’s grip on Lake Erie islands

4/9 - Catawba Island, Ohio - That first robin poking around for worms in a leaf pile, a crocus pushing its way up through the damp mulch to absorb the sun’s life-giving rays, or anglers shoulder-to-shoulder in the Maumee and Sandusky rivers — are all signs of spring to most of us.

But for the residents of the Lake Erie islands, it’s not really spring until they hear the deep bellow of the ferry horn, signaling that the lifeline between this rocky archipelago and the mainland is once again connected and flowing.

On Sunday, the Miller Boat Line made the first runs between its depot on the northern tip of the Catawba peninsula and the Lime Kiln Dock on the southern edge of South Bass Island. The Kelleys Island Ferry Boat Line began service on Monday from its dock on the southwest side of the island to the mainland dock at Marblehead. Miller will add ferry service to Middle Bass Island on Thursday, weather permitting.

“It’s most definitely a sure sign of spring to have the ferries back in operation,” said Captain Matt Miller, who skippered some of the early runs to and from South Bass Island. “Especially after the kind of winter we’ve had. We’re usually running a month earlier than this, but we had the most ice we’ve seen in eight or nine years and that really delayed things.”

Miller said the ferry line made its last run to South Bass Island on Dec. 14, so the 400-500 full-time residents of the 1,600-acre island have had to rely on air transport for supplies, an option that adds significant freight costs to everything. The Kelleys Island ferry shut down just before Christmas, so the 350-some year-round residents there were equally dependent on small planes to bring in any needed material.

“As soon as word got around that we were up and running, a lot of islanders took advantage of the opportunity to go to the mainland and restock,” Miller said about the South Bass populace. “There’s no doubt that the ferry is a lifeline for the residents of the islands. There’s a lot of goods and supplies coming back across the lake, now that we’re running again.”

The 54-year-old Miller, a resident of the Lake Erie islands since the 1970s and a ferry captain for 25 years, said the gas station in the community of Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island was rationing gasoline as the winter lingered, and that there was a shortage of propane on Middle Bass, so he expects there will be a lot of fuel being transported on the initial ferry runs.

Miller, who is not related to William M. and Mary Miller, previous owners of the ferry line, said the company’s fleet of four vessels is not pulled from the water during the winter. The workhorse ferries, which are 90-96 feet in length and all powered by twin diesel engines that produce up to 1,300 horsepower, are frozen in place in the protected harbor of Put-in-Bay until the ice comes off.

“It takes a little bit to get them to turn over after a harsh winter like we had,” he said. “You can tell they have been shut down for quite a while.”

Miller said that on the early runs across the open water he is especially vigilant about encountering any remaining chunks of ice, or debris that has been flushed out of area rivers by the spring thaw.

“You are wary of what’s out there, especially after the high water we’ve had in the rivers. As they go higher, they pick up stuff like downed trees and stumps, and eventually it all ends up out here in the lake,” he said.

“And when the wind is blowing the right way, the water level rises and picks up stuff that has been washed up on the beaches. Most of the ice has been blown to the east end of the lake, but we have to be on the lookout for everything else.”

Both ferry lines expect to run a regular schedule of service to and from the islands for at least the next eight months, unless severe weather intervenes.

The Toledo Blade





Lake levels hold steady as cold hangs on

4/9 - Water levels in Lake Michigan held steady compared to last month, but are above last year and expected to rise as more snowpack melts with the warmer spring weather.

“We are expecting to see an increase in April,” said John Allis, chief of Great Lakes hydraulics and hydrology of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit.

March usually sees an increase in water levels, but the continued cold and ice on the lakes along with continued snow cover has delayed the bump, he said.

The water level for Lakes Michigan-Huron in March was 577.26 feet above sea level, 1.03 feet above last year’s average of 576.23 feet and 1.12 feet below the long-term average of 578.38 feet from 1918 to 2013, according to Corps figures.

The two lakes are treated as one because they are joined at the Straits of Mackinac.

February’s level was about the same — 577.27 feet above sea level.

The lake hit a record low of 576.02 feet in January 2012, but has rebounded since then and is expected to rise another 14 inches through August — 2 inches more than the average 12-inch seasonal rise. The heavy snowfall this winter will start to effect the lake soon, Allis said.

All the unmelted snow on the land around Lake Michigan-Huron is equivalent to 4 to 8 inches of water — the largest amount of snow-water equivalent in the past decade — and that will help the lake levels rise.

Though warmer temperatures have melted much of the snow in West Michigan, the Northern Great Lakes region of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota that touch lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior is still 56.2 percent covered in snow with an average depth of 10.3 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

Lake Michigan is still 37.6 percent covered in ice, much of it along the eastern shore of the lake and the northern section. Lake Huron is 78 percent covered in ice, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

If the ice lasts well into spring, the water temperatures will be below average and decrease evaporation in the summer and fall, helping maintain or increase water levels next year.

Holland Sentinel





Princess Wenonah, Islander cruise boats moving

4/9 - Bay City, Mich. - For the first time in 16 years, the Princess Wenonah and the Islander cruise boats won’t be moored along the Saginaw River in downtown Bay City beginning this spring, but the family-owned Bay City Boat Lines business will still be offering trips up to the Saginaw Bay starting next month.

With construction ongoing at the new Uptown Bay City site, and with no plans by the developer of that property, at this time, to incorporate the Princess Wenonah and Islander, the business is forced to dock its boats near Bay City’s Middlegrounds Island.

On May 15, the start of its 17th season, the Princess Wenonah and Islander will be docked outside of Scotty’s Sandbar Banquet Hall, 1501 Evergreen Drive.

“We’re very happy to have somewhere to operate, but we really want to be back in the downtown Bay City area,” said Michelle Judd, marketing and reservation coordinator for the business, adding there's plenty of parking at the new location to accommodate the thousands of customers they serve annually. “We’ve been there forever, and people know that we’re here, so we’re determined to be part of that downtown traffic.”

Those interested in driving to the location should turn south off Lafayette Bridge, near the Boys and Girls Club of Bay County, and drive for about a half mile.

Bay City Boat Lines began operations from Wenonah Park in 1998 and moved a few years later near Ninth Street, behind the F.P. Horak building, before construction on the Doubletree hotel and conference center began. In 2005, the business moved to the Uptown site.

The business signed a lease agreement with Bay City in January 2012 to operate at the Uptown site for at least one more season, before the site was sold to SSP Associates, the developer of Uptown, later that year. The lease also transferred as part of the purchase agreement.

As of today, Uptown officials don't have plans to incorporate Bay City Boat Lines into the development, said Judd.

“Years before construction started on the development, we were contacted and were under the impression that we were going to be part of that master plan,” she said.

Al Warr, a project manager for SSP Associates, said his team is still exploring options on including cruise boats as part of the Uptown Development and declined to comment on the possibility of incorporating Bay City Boat Lines’ business.

Candace Bales, director of Bay City's Downtown Development Authority, said the downtown will miss the presence of the Princess Wenonah and Islander boats this season.

"It's just so cool when you come over (Veterans Memorial) bridge and see the boat out there on the water," she said. "It's not just a business of picking up and dropping off people — those boats are always out there.

"It's funny how limited the available space really is. Our stretch of downtown is really not that long, and most of the available space along the water is privately owned. We hope they find an area to come back to."

For the short-term, Judd said the family boat business can deal with leasing a property, but it would ultimately want something permanent that it owns.

“We don’t want to move again,” she said. “We’ve already been uprooted three times.”

Earlier this year, the Bay City DDA held a brainstorming session on ways downtown Bay City and Uptown could be connected using a slew of transportation options, one being by water taxi. Judd says while her family’s business plans to continue focusing on larger charters, the taxi business wouldn’t be out of the question.

“That type of thing could possibly exist in the future, if the traffic warrants it,” she said.

For now, Judd says the business is focused on finding that permanent site. She declined to comment on specific sites, but said her family plans on meeting with landowners in the coming months to find a location.

Bay City Boat Lines offers private charters, themed-music cruises for the public and historic tours throughout its season, which closes Oct. 15. About 15,000 customers ride the boats each year.

Bill Fournier, father of Judd, brought the former Wm. M. Miller to Bay City in 1998 and re-christened the 60-foot boat Princess Wenonah. The cruise boat, which features a graphic of Princess Wenonah, mother of Hiawatha, can hold about 180-200 passengers. It was built in 1954 in Sturgeon Bay, Wis.

A few years into his business, Fournier brought the Islander into Bay City, which can hold about 100 passengers. The 53-foot boat was constructed in 1946 in Superior, Wis.

Bay City Boat Lines will continue its Friday night, themed-music cruises beginning in July, after the annual Fireworks Festival. For $30, the public gets three hours on the boat, dinner and a live band.

Private parties can also reserve time on the boats. Those looking to book a trip should call 989-893-0251.

Mlive





Lookback #143 – Menihek Lake in collision on April 9, 1968

4/9 - Menihek Lake was Hull 163 from the Collingwood shipyard. It was launched on January 12, 1959, and, at 715 feet, 3 inches in length, was one of the early vessels constructed for use in the new St. Lawrence Seaway system. The bulk carrier sailed for Carryore Ltd. in the ore and grain trades.

It was 46 years ago today that the vessel was in a collision with the Petite Hermine (later Canadian Hunter) while the latter was anchored in the Lake Francis section of the St. Lawrence. Menihek Lake sustained propeller damage when it caught the anchor chain on April 9, 1968.

Over the years Menihek Lake had other minor accidents including hitting a dock at Ashtabula, Ohio, on Oct. 18, 1959, a bridge at Chicago while under tow of tugs on May 1, 1974, the approach wall at the Iroquois Lock on Oct. 2, 1974, and another wall in the Seaway on Oct. 26 1977. But this was a good carrier for the company until changing economic conditions sent the vessel to the wall at Hamilton on August 10, 1984.

Following a sale for scrap, Menihek Lake raised steam one last time and departed Hamilton on August 15, 1985, for the trip down the Seaway under her own power. The deep-sea tug Capt. Ioannis S. took the ship across the Atlantic to Vigo, Spain, departing on Aug. 30, 1985, and arriving, in tandem with the Leon Falk Jr., on Sept. 26. Both lakers were scrapped although the latter ship moved on to Gijon, Spain, on Sept. 28 for dismantling.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - April 10

10 April 1868 The ALPENA (wooden side-wheel passenger-package freight steamer, 653 tons, built in 1867, at Marine City, Michigan) was purchased by Capt. A. E. Goodrich from Gardner, Ward & Gardner for $80,000.

On 10 April 1861, UNION (wooden propeller, 170 foot, 465 tons) was launched and christened at the Bates yard in Manitowoc, Wisconsin for the Goodrich Line. She cost $19,000. The engines, machinery and many of the fittings were from the OGONTZ of 1858. This was the first steamer built by the Bates yard.

The tanker TEXACO CHIEF (Hull#193), was christened April 10, 1969. She was renamed b.) A G FARQUHARSON in 1986 and c.) ALGONOVA in 1998. She was sold Panamanian in 2007 and renamed PACIFICO TRADER.

The d.) GODERICH of 1908 was sold April 10, 1963, to the Algoma Central & Hudson Bay Railway Co. and renamed e.) AGAWA. Renamed f.) LIONEL PARSONS in 1968, and served as a storage barge at Goderich, Ontario until 1983, when she was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The keel was laid April 10, 1952, for the steamer WILLIAM CLAY FORD (Hull#300) of the Great Lakes Engineering Works.

The SINCLAIR GREAT LAKES (Hull#1577) of the Ingalls Iron Works, Decatur, Alabama, was christened on April 10, 1963.

On April 10, 1973, the ARTHUR B. HOMER departed the shipyard at Lorain, Ohio, with a new pilothouse. She had suffered extensive damage on October 5, 1972, in a head on collision with the saltie NAVISHIPPER on the Detroit River.

April 10, 1912 - ANN ARBOR NO 5 struck her stern against the channel in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, bending her rudder, and damaging her port shaft.

On 10 April 1875, the propeller EMMA E. THOMPSON was launched at East Saginaw, Michigan. She was built for Capt. D.F. Edwards of Toledo and cost $20,000. Her dimensions were 125 feet x 26 feet x 10 feet. In 1880, she was rebuilt as a schooner and then returned to a propeller in 1881, when she was given the engine from the propeller AKRON.

On 10 April 1882, ESPINDOLA (wooden schooner, 54 tons, built in 1869, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) was carrying railroad ties when she was overwhelmed by a storm and went to pieces one mile north of the Chicago waterfront. No lives were lost, but four crewmen were rescued by a tug after having been in the water for some time.

MANZZUTTI (steel crane ship, 246 foot, 1558 gross tons, built in 1903, at Buffalo, New York as a.) J S KEEFE) of the Yankcanuck Steamship Ltd., was the first vessel through the Canadian locks at the Soo for the 1954 navigation season. She entered the Canadian canal on 10 April about 8:15 a.m. The locking of the MANZZUTTI was not considered the official opening of the season at the Soo since she wintered in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and the first vessel must come up the St. Marys River from Lake Huron or Michigan. President Dave Bows of the Kiwanis Club, pointed out the club’s $1,000 marine contest is based on the first such vessel though the Michigan Sault locks only. The U.S. Coast Guard reported six-inch ice in the lower St. Marys River.

1905: The 400-foot steel-hulled bulk carrier GEORGE B. LEONARD arrived in Cleveland with ice damage and leaking bow seams.

1941: The first CEDARBRANCH ran aground at the mouth of the Etobicoke Creek, west of Toronto and had to be lightered to float free.

1949: The former J.H. PLUMMER, once part of Canada Steamship Lines, was reported wrecked, due to stranding in fog, while six miles southwest of Shaweishan on this date in 1949. The vessel was sailing as f) TUNG AN, and was en route from Tsingtao to Shanghai, with scrap steel.

1953: The Finnish freighter ANGELA came to the Great Lakes in 1952 and was wrecked on April 10, 1953, at Frisland, Isle of Coll, due to heavy weather. The vessel was travelling in ballast from Larne, Northern Ireland, to Goole, UK, and was a total loss.

1965: A collision in the Lake St. Peter section of the St. Lawrence involved the TRANSATLANTIC and HERMES. The former, a West German freighter, caught fire and capsized with the loss of three lives. The vessel was salvaged in August and eventually scrapped at Sorel. It had been coming to the Great Lakes for the Poseidon Line since 1961. The latter, a Dutch carrier, never came through the Seaway and was scrapped at Calcutta, India, as NIKI R. in 1985-1986.

1977: HILDA MARJANNE ran aground on a sandbar at Sarnia after leaving the Government Dock with a cargo of corn. It was released the next day with the help of the tug DARYL C. HANNAH.

1989: The canal-sized bulk carrier IROQUOIS, b) TROISDOC (ii), was built in 1955 but left the Seaway as c) KOBA in 1983. That vessel foundered in the Gulf of Mexico, near Isla de Lobos, on this date in 1989 while en route from Tampico to Progresso, Mexico.


Tuesday was a good day for St. Marys River icebreaking

4/10 - Work continues in an attempt to move ships up the St Marys River. Ice conditions have moderated and a track has been established that the ships can work through with minimum assistance from icebreakers. As the weather warms and the ice deteriorates, it will break into larger pans and float with the current and the wind and will accumulate in the tight areas of the river and once again cause havoc. Not only will they block the track, but large pans of ice can actually push a ship out of the channel as the ice moves. This will require icebreaker assistance to break the pans of ice ahead of a ship. These pans can be more than 100 feet across, two feet thick and weigh a significant amount.

Wednesday, however, was a good day on the river. USCGC Mackinaw went down to the junction buoy and brought up the Edgar B Speer. The Speer had no difficulty, and with her width and straight sides, made an excellent track for other ships to follow. The Mackinaw continued to the locks and went upbound later in the day to join CCGS Pierre Radisson with the first westbound convoy across Lake Superior.

That left CCGS Samuel Risley alone in the river until a Bay-class cutter arrives in a day or two. The Risley went to the Soo, Ont., for a quick logistics stop, then proceeded downbound to assist shipping and maintain the track. Algoma Discovery came up with the Risley, while Algoma Enterprise made her way up to the locks unassisted. At the end of the day, the Risley went down to the junction to await daylight when she will assist the next group of upbounders toward the locks at the Soo.

With two icebreakers heading west on Lake Superior there are none left for convoys on that lake until the Mac and Radisson return. Therefore, there is no urgency to bring ships to the locks, as they will have to wait in Whitefish Bay for an undetermined time. Consequently ships are coming up one or two at a time with no set number of transits per day. This also prevents several ships from getting into difficulty at different locations at the same time with only one icebreaker to answer the call.

Tuesday night the rain started. Rain is a wonderful way to clean snow off ice. This makes the ice less reflective and more able to absorb the heat of the sun and quicker to melt.

Paul Beesley, aboard the CCGS Samuel Risley





Federal Nakagawa freed from ice under Bridge 19 in Port Colborne

4/10 - Port Colborne, Ont. – Nearly five hours after it became stuck in ice under Bridge 19 in Port Colborne, Ont., the vessel Federal Nakagawa was freed Wednesday.

The vessel started moving just as a truck full of hot water showed up to try and melt the ice alongside the ship in the Welland Canal Wednesday evening. A St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. employee said the ice ran the length of the port side of the 200-metre long ship, flagged out of Hong Kong. The Federal Nakagawa started to move under Bridge 19, the Main Street bridge, sometime around 3:30 p.m. and became stuck. The vessel was headed toward Lake Erie.

The tug Seahound was brought down the canal from its dock on West Street about an hour after the Federal Nakagawa became wedged under the bridge. Seahound positioned itself on the starboard side at first and then moved to the port side. It used its propellers to create prop wash down the port side of cargo ship in an attempt to melt or move the ice. Federal Nakagawa could also been seen pumping water from the bow area, as residents came to see what was going on at the bridge.

At 7:30 p.m., the truck filled with hot water moved to the east side of the canal. Just as its operator started to unroll hose lines, the Federal Nakagawa started to move backwards. It backed up the canal as the Seahound cleared ice the under the bridge.

The Seaway employee said the Federal Nakagawa would dock for the night and join a convoy of ships leaving Port Colborne on Thursday morning. The convoy will be led by the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Des Groseilliers, which has been leading ships through the ice on Lake Erie for the last week.

Dave Johnson - Erie Media and Nathan Attard





Port Reports - April 10

Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
On Wednesday morning, the USCG icebreaker Biscayne Bay resumed its Beaver Island track icebreaking mission, heading due north to St. James just off the eastern shore of Beaver Island. The track from Beaver Island is now a right-angle that runs south and then turns east to Charlevoix. Later on Wednesday the Biscayne Bay crossed Lake Michigan to Washington Island where she is moored.

Also on the move Wednesday morning was the Paul R. Tregurtha, which was upbound on Lake Michigan at over 13 knots heading towards Seul Choix Point. The Tregurtha found an effective route to Lansing Shoal, choosing a NNE course, and then turning east (095) for the final five or so mile approach to Lansing Shoal. She gradually slowed to a stop around 1-2 miles west of fleetmate James R. Barker, which was already waiting there.

The USCG icebreaker Hollyhock, which had spent the night north of Garden Island, came to assist the two freighters that were stopped in very thick plate ice. After breaking the two lakers out, the Hollyhock led them eastbound. Near Garden Island, the Hollyhock pulled off the track to the south to let the Tregurtha and Barker pass, then it followed until the freighters were making good progress in the well-established track. The Tregurtha had to slow a bit near White Shoal when the ice was binding up on the hull, but things got much smoother the rest of the way to the bridge and Round Island. The Barker complained of being bounced back and forth by the large ice chunks and noted that its bow was flipping over ice plates 5 feet long. Wednesday night, the Tregurtha and Barker were in the second Lake Superior convoy group that has assembled in the lower St. Marys River.

The Hollyhock returned to her station north of Garden Island, and was waiting to escort a larger convoy upbound on Lake Michigan. At 9:30 pm the group was off Sturgeon Bay: John G. Munson, Indiana Harbor, Cason J Callaway and Burns Harbor. The Munson and Callaway turned back south for a good distance in the late afternoon before resuming a northbound course with the Indiana Harbor and the Burns Harbor.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Chris Gaziano
Arthur M. Anderson came in during the early morning Wednesday with a load of coal. Thunder Bay also came in during the morning with salt. Both were finished and out on the lake by late afternoon. The Alpena made her second visit of the season to the LaFarge terminal. Indiana Harbor departed from winter lay up sometime late Tuesday night, while CSL Niagara is still moored in the inner harbor. Also, the Lake Express ferry was moved from its winter home on the Menomonee River out to the ferry terminal on the lake.





Water levels are rising, but how big a jump is expected?

4/10 - Lake Michigan and Lake Huron water levels have started their annual rise. The forecast is out for the projected increase in water levels this summer.

Water levels on Lake Michigan- Huron typically rise from March through July. Lake Michigan- Huron has risen one inch since early March, but is 13 inches higher than this same time last year. Although the above two lakes are higher, they are still 16 inches below the long-term average for this date.

The rise in the lakes in the past month was the result of melting snow. Precipitation didn't help much to the rise in lake levels, as March was fairly dry. The dry pattern in March was good for helping Michigan avoid major flooding. However, heavy rain would have really boosted lake water levels. March precipitation over the Lake Michigan-Huron drainage basin was only 1.49 inches, which was 69 percent of normal.

One of the reasons Lake Michigan-Huron could be higher this summer is a higher lake level start right now. This winter the lake level only dropped six inches. In comparison, last winter Lake Michigan-Huron fell 20 inches, and dropped to record low levels.

The forecast calls for Lake Michigan-Huron to rise another 13 inches and peak in July or August seven inches higher than last summer. If this rise occurs, Lake Michigan-Huron would only be 10 inches below the long term average. The high side of the forecast says the lakes could end up 14 inches higher than last summer, and would be only four inches below the long-term average. This would occur if we had much above normal precipitation on the drainage basin. The low end of the forecast would have the lake level ending up the same as last summer, and would happen if we were extremely dry for the rest of this spring and early summer.

Another interesting condition helping the rise of Lake Michigan-Huron is the difference in water coming in from Lake Superior minus the water going out through the St. Clair River. The inflow into Lake Michigan-Huron from Lake Superior is expected to be above average. The outflow from Lake Michigan-Huron through the St. Clair River is expected to be below average. To compare this to taking a bath, you would have the faucet running faster than the drain would carry water out.

With this lake level forecast, low water levels that hinder boating should not be a problem this summer. In fact, it is likely that water levels will continue to improve for boating.

M Live





Lake Michigan Carferry: Work underway on new ash-retention system

4/10 - Ludington, Mich. – The installation of the first phase of the new combustion control component of the multi-million dollar ash retention system aboard the S.S. Badger is underway and will be completed before the start of the 2014 sailing season on May 16.

The Badger is undergoing major changes during the off-season in compliance with the consent decree that will ultimately end the discharge of ash by the start of the 2015 sailing season. A sophisticated combustion control system is being installed this winter and is the first phase of a multi-million dollar ash retention system. The second phase will be completed during the winter of 2014 - 2015.

"This technology has never been executed on a coal fired steam ship,” said Chuck Leonard, Vice President of Navigation for LMC. “The new combustion system will allow the ship to be more efficient – burning less coal and generating less ash."

According to Chief Engineer Charles Cart, "Researching, designing and implementing new combustion controls is an involved process. Removing the old equipment and installing the new in the course of our brief off-season while continuing the cycle of maintenance to the machinery, hull and appearance of a ship is a major challenge. Accomplishing all of this over an unusually hard winter demonstrates the high level of personal dedication and community involvement typical of our crew and supporting contractors here in Ludington."

To better accommodate the needs of their passengers LMC has also adjusted the sailing schedule this season. An earlier daily departure time of 8:30 a.m. from Ludington, Mich., will allow extra time for passengers to experience attractions in the community of Manitowoc, Wis.

LMCC

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - April 11

11 April 1890 - CHENANGO (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 176 foot, 696 gross tons, built in 1887, at Detroit, Michigan) was carrying 40,000 bushels of wheat from Toledo, Ohio, to Buffalo, New York, when she caught fire off Erie, Pennsylvania. She was partially consumed by the fire and sank in four fathoms of water with no loss of life. She was later raised at great expense and rebuilt as the steamer LIZZIE MADDEN.

On 11 April 1882, GALATEA (3-mast wooden schooner, 180 foot, 606 gross tons) was launched by F. W. Wheeler (Hull#13) at W. Bay City, Michigan. She lasted until she stranded and broke up at Grand Marais, Michigan, in the "Big Storm" of 1905.

The tanker IMPERIAL ST. CLAIR (Hull#57) of the Port Weller Drydocks Ltd., entered service on April 11, 1974, running light for Montreal, Quebec.

Canada Steamship Lines’ J.W. MC GIFFIN (Hull#197) was christened at Collingwood on April 11, 1972. Port Weller Drydocks attached a new forebody in 1999, and she was renamed b.) CSL NIAGARA.

Pioneer Steamship's steamer PHILIP D. BLOCK sailed on her maiden voyage April 11, 1925, with coal from Huron, Ohio, bound for delivery at Indiana Harbor, Indiana.

Wilkinson Transportation Co.'s steamer A.E. NETTLETON (Hull#176) of the Detroit Ship Building Co., was launched April 11, 1908. She was scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1973.

On April 11, 1970, in Lake Superior's Whitefish Bay, CSL's steamer STADACONA of 1952 encountered thick ice and suffered bow damage. She developed a hairline crack in her bow and to alleviate the leakage her cargo was shifted from her forward hold to her after compartments using her self-unloading equipment. This maneuver raised her bow enough to keep her from sinking before she reached safety.

Pittsburgh Steamship Co.'s steamer ENDERS M. VOORHEES (Hull#288), of the Great Lakes Engineering Works, was launched on April 11, 1942. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey in 1989.

On April 11, 1964, while upbound on Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior, a boiler burst on board the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.'s WILLIAM A. IRVIN, killing one of the crew and injuring two others.

April 11, 1948 - ANN ARBOR NO 7 ran aground just south of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

On 11 April 1874, the new tug E.H. MILLER burned at her dock at Willow Island in the Saginaw River. Her loss was valued at $9,000 and there was no insurance. Although considered to be a total loss, she was rebuilt and lasted another 46 years.

On 11 April 1878, ALASKA, a wooden bulk freighter, was launched at J. P. Clark's yard in Detroit, Michigan. Her dimensions were 180 feet overall, 28 foot beam, and 10 foot depth.

The navigation season at the Canadian Sault Canal was unofficially opened on 11 April 1955, at 7:15 a.m., when the MANZZUTTI (steel crane ship, 246 foot, 1,558 gross tons, built in 1903, at Buffalo, New York as J.S. KEEFE) locked up bound for the Algoma Steel dock. Because the MANZZUTTI wintered over at the Soo, its Captain, John B. Perry, was not eligible for the traditional top hat and silk gloves presented to the first captain through the locks. So this was not the official opening of navigation at the Soo. The first boat through the American locks was expected the following day.

1964: NORCO had been used to carry pulpwood from Michipicoten to Green Bay from about 1938 to 1957. The vessel had been built at Ecorse, Michigan, for deep-sea service as INCA in 1915, and returned inland in the 1920s. It went back to the sea in 1959 and stranded at Little Corn Island, Nicaragua, on this date in 1964 while en route from Tampa to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, with a cargo of phosphate.

1994: AMERICAN MARINER was downbound in the St. Marys River when it struck a rock above the Soo Locks and had to go to the shipyard in Erie to repair the damage.



Lake Superior convoy makes slow progress, Blough damaged by ice

4/11 - Roger Blough, Edwin H. Gott, Stewart J. Cort, Sam Laud and Edgar B. Speer set out on Lake Superior Thursday morning escorted by the CCGS Pierre Radisson and USCG Mackinaw. The convoy took a southerly route and made slow progress, covering only about eight miles and stopping two miles off the beach west of Whitefish Point. The Blough turned back Thursday evening after reportedly suffering damage in the ice, and the Mackinaw was escorting the Blough down Whitefish Bay to the Soo.

Chris Stephens





Icebreaking continued Thursday on lower St Marys River

4/11 - Thursday was another day of changing ice conditions and weather that greeted the ships waiting to move upriver. The track in the ice remains and most of the snow has gone courtesy of some overnight rain. The ice close to shore and in shoal areas continues to noticeably thin. Three ships were brought upbound Thursday: Algoma Equinox and Algoma Olympic early in the day, and Radcliffe R Latimer in the afternoon. All three secured at the lock approaches. The ice in the area of Sailor's Encampment remains problematic but the rest of the track is workable for most ships. Interlake has four ships waiting in the lower river and Lower Lakes has one. More ships are due at the river in the near future.

Paul Beesley





Ice keeps ship from moving in Welland Canal

4/11 - Port Colborne, Ont. – For the second day, ice kept the Federal Nakagawa from moving through the Welland Canal at Port Colborne. The 200-metre long vessel was forced to back out of Lock 8 Thursday afternoon and move back behind Bridge 19.

Federal Nakagawa, a Hong-Kong registered cargo ship, was stuck in ice under Bridge 19 for nearly five hours on Wednesday afternoon. It eventually worked itself free with the help of Nadro Marine’s tug Seahound, which was working in front of the Federal Nakagawa as it tried to move through the lock Thursday.

St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. spokesman Andrew Bogora said winds out of the southwest pushed ice off of Lake Erie into the Welland Canal and lock. “It’s weather-related phenomenon … we can’t really forecast to what extent it will happen in the week to come,” said Bogora from Seaway headquarters in Cornwall, Ont.

He said there’s no doubt ice delayed shipping in the canal over the past couple of days and he expects more delays to occur over the next week or two.

With the ice in the Welland Canal’s southern entrance, and heavy ice still on lakes Erie, Huron and Superior, shipping is down somewhat compared to last year, said Bogora. The canal and St. Lawrence Seaway have been open for almost two weeks now and Bogora said domestic shipping is moving at a slower pace. The fact that ships are traveling at slower speeds, operating only in daylight hours in some areas and traveling in convoys is part of the reason for the slow start to the 2014 season.

“It’s a reflection of the current ice conditions, but we’re optimistic that it will pick up,” he said.

Bogora said he’s been with the Seaway since 2001 and this was the most remarkable winter on the lakes during his time with the organization.

“I’m told to see comparable winters you have to look back to 1994, or in certain circumstances back to 1979.”

As of Thursday evening, the Federal Nakagawa and another ship, the saltwater vessel Brant, were docked above Bridge 19, while the tug-barge combination Wilf Seymour was sitting off of the breakwall on Lake Erie. The CCGS Des Groseilliers, and icebreaker, has been working the entrance of the canal and escorting the Wilf Seymour to Port Colborne at noon Thursday, but had moved west down the lake.

Erie Media





Port Reports - April 11

Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
At 6 a.m. Thursday, a convoy of seven ships sped up Lake Michigan in what looked very much like a naval battle formation: John G. Munson and Indiana Harbor side by side, followed by Hon. James L Oberstar and Cason J Callaway side by side and the Thunder Bay and Burns Harbor, also side by side. Taking up the rear guard was the Arthur M. Anderson.

By 8 a.m., the lead ships began to encounter the enemy in battle, the ice field southwest of Lansing Shoal. They each approached the ice field from different directions, some more successfully than others. At first, the Oberstar appeared to have chosen the right line going NNE, as the Paul R. Tregurtha did with success on Wednesday, but then it turned east early and became stuck. There may have been no correct line Thursday, because of southerly winds that was creating ice pressure and closing tracks soon after they were opened.

At 10 a.m., after many of the ships had stopped, the USCG icebreaker Hollyhock approached the convoy from Lansing Shoal to assist, but five hours later only one ship had made it to Lansing Shoal, the Indiana Harbor. The rest were all mired in very thick lake ice. The Hollyhock assisted the Oberstar first. Although the Oberstar was doing all right for a mile or so, it soon came to a stop. The Hollyhock said that it was typically seeing three-foot thick ice with slush on top and that the Biscayne Bay would be arriving from Green Bay to assist.

By 3 p.m., Hollyhock had lined up all of the ships so that they could be freed one by one and then moved together in a single track. But that did not turn out to be easy. Biscayne Bay and two more upbound ships – the American Mariner and the Alpena – had also arrived.

By 9:30 p.m., Hollyhock and Biscayne Bay, working their way down the line of ships, succeeded in getting the Munson and Thunder Bay moving towards Lansing Shoal at good speed. Earlier the Indiana Harbor made it to the better track east of Lansing Shoal and shortly after 9 p.m. she was already east of White Shoal and heading for the bridge. However, six freighters were not moving yet, and the icebreakers were continuing to work on freeing them into the night.

Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
The revised schedule now lists American Century loading coal at the CSX Coal Dock on Saturday morning. American Mariner is also due to load on Sunday in the morning and the John D. Leitch is also due to load Sunday in the evening. The Midwest Terminal Stone Dock dock is still closed for the season. At the Torco Dock, the list of vessels arriving with iron ore cargoes include the American Mariner, due on Saturday in the late evening, followed by the James L. Kuber, which is due to arrive on Tuesday, April 15 in the early evening. Salarium is due to arrive on Thursday, April 17 during the late afternoon, and the Kaye E. Barker is due to arrive at the Thursday, April 17 in the early evening. Two more vessels have departed Toledo in the past few days. The tug Ken Boothe Sr. and barge Lakes Contender left on Tuesday evening and headed to Ashtabula to load. The tug Victory and the barge James L. Kuber departed lay-up on Wednesday and proceeded to Sandusky to load. Adam E. Cornelius is still in long-term at the Old Interlake Iron Dock. Her fleetmate American Courage is expected to sail sometime in April. The Buffalo is at the CSX Docks and also expected to sail sometime in April. American Fortitude and American Valor remain in long-term lay-up at the Lakefront Docks. Manistee also remains at the Lakefront Dock but is expected to sail soob. The tug Olive L. Moore and barge Lewis J. Kuber remain in lay-up across from the Torco Dock. The ferry Jiimaan still remains in Toledo.





Ice blockade halves U.S.-flag lakes shipping in March

4/11 - Cleveland, Ohio – Ice formations the likes of which have not been seen in decades severely limited cargo movement in U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes in March. Shipments of iron ore, coal and cement in lakers totaled 980,000 tons, a decrease of 55 percent compared to a year ago. Some of the cargo that was loaded in March was not delivered until April 7 or later.

Iron ore cargos totaled 827,000 tons, a decrease of 47 percent compared to a year ago. Most of the ore was loaded at Escanaba, Michigan, or shuttled within Cleveland Harbor. Only 67,000 tons were loaded at a Lake Superior port, and the ice formations on Lake Superior and the St. Marys River were so thick that that those cargos were not delivered until April 7 or later. Under normal circumstances those cargos should have been delivered in late March or early April.

Resumption of the coal trade was likewise slowed by winter’s grip on the Lakes. Shipments totaled 103,000 tons, a decrease of 44.5 percent compared to a year ago.

The only other dry-bulk cargo to move in March was cement, and shipments fell to 52,000 tons, a decrease of 67 percent compared to a year ago.

Through March 31, U.S.-flag cargos total 3.2 million tons, a decrease of nearly 39 percent compared to the same point in 2013.

The extreme ice conditions will have an impact on cargo movement in April was well. As of April 1, only 23 U.S.-flag lakers were in service. A year earlier 38 vessels were in operation. Forty U.S.-flag lakers were moving on April 1, 2012.

Lake Carriers Association





Icebreaking operations to begin on Lake Huron, Georgian Bay

4/11 - The Canadian Coast Guard says spring icebreaking operations in Georgian Bay and on Lake Huron are to start this weekend. An icebreaker will make its way into Georgian Bay for April 13th and will proceed with icebreaking in the Owen Sound, Midland and Whitefish River areas. The Coast Guard says dates and routes are subject to change with little or no notice due to operational requirements or changes to weather and ice conditions.

The Canadian Press





Coast Guard warns Saginaw Bay residents of upcoming ice-breaking activity

4/11 - Detroit, Mich. – The Coast Guard is advising Saginaw Bay residents that the Coast Guard Cutter Neah Bay is scheduled to conduct ice-breaking operations in Saginaw Bay Saturday morning. The Coast Guard is advising residents and visitors that any ice in the area may be particularly unstable and dangerous. The cutter is scheduled to conduct the initial fracture of the Saginaw Bay Entrance Channel, from Gravelly Shoal to the entrance of the Saginaw River. All efforts are being made to limit the impact on winter activities on the ice, however the Coast Guard advises everyone to stay clear of this area.





Lake Superior museum seeks volunteers for the SS Meteor Spring Work Weekend

4/11 - Superior, Wis. - The Lake Superior Marine Museum Association (LSMMA), in conjunction with the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society and Superior Public Museum, is seeking volunteers for the SS Meteor Spring Work Weekend.

The event, which is Saturday, April 26 (9 am-5 pm) and Sunday, April 27 (9 am-4 pm) helps maintain the last whaleback ship designed by Captain Alexander McDougall.

A complimentary soup and sandwich lunch will be provided. For more information, or to volunteer, please contact Sara at Superior Public Museums - 715-394-5712.

According to the group, “This year not only do we have our large list of tasks to complete, we also have another project coming up on the horizon. The black part of the hull hasn’t been painted for very long time. If fact nobody knows when the last time it was painted. This is going to take many gallons of special paint. Superior Public Museums is conducting a special program to encourage folks to Buy and Sponsor a Gallon Bucket of Paint to help restore and preserve the hull of the world’s last whaleback ship. The cost of sponsoring a bucket of paint is $50 per bucket. The bucket of paint will be displayed in the tower of ‘Thanks’ in the S.S. Meteor Museum with your name on it throughout the 2014 tourist season. This will provide notoriety for the folks that helped with purchasing the paint and ultimately the new look of the painted hull.”

Here’s how to buy a sponsored bucket of paint: Purchase and Sponsor a Bucket of Paint.





Lookback #145 – Former Labrador tied up at Piraeus, Greece, on April 11, 1978

4/11 - The long and fascinating career of the ship that first visited the Seaway as Labrador in 1959, was approaching the end when it tied up for good at Piraeus, Greece, 36 years ago today.

The vessel had been designed for transatlantic service to Detroit and Chicago when construction got underway at Temse, Belgium, in 1940. However the invading Germans confiscated the hull and it was launched as Tanger on Nov. 7, 1942. The Nazis planned to convert the ship into a blockade runner named Sperrbrecher 155.

The vessel was towed to Antwerp for completion on May 11, 1944, but ultimately filled with 900 tons of concrete and scuttled on Sept. 3, 1944, in an attempt to block the Allied liberation forces. It was refloated in May 1945 and returned to the original owners for completion. At last, the ship was commissioned as Ardea on March 13, 1947.

Ardea finally came to the Great Lakes in 1953 and was back as the Dutch flag Falco in 1954, operating between the Mediterranean and Chicago. It became Labrador in 1956 and continued Great Lakes service, this time under the flag of Panama, until the Seaway opened.

The 258-foot-long vessel was lengthened to 305 feet in 1959 and made another six trips to the Great Lakes in the Seaway era, with a final visit in 1961. Beginning in 1966, the ship sailed as Senegal for Greek and then Cypriot interests before becoming Tea and then Bonanza, still flying the flag of Cyprus, in 1976

Service ended when Bonanza tied up at Piraeus on April 11, 1978. Before the end of the year, it had been sold to local shipbreakers and the dismantling of the hull got underway on October 25, 1978.

[yachtsmanwilly]

St Marys River icebreaking job includes off-station buoy repositioning

4/12 - Overnight Thursday into Friday, cold temperatures froze the brash ice in the track around Stribling Point, but by later in the day the warm temperatures had loosened it up again. At the corner of the river near Dark Hole, one of the buoys was about 500 feet off advertised position, no doubt carried there by early winter ice, and no longer marking the turn properly. Friday offered ideal weather to pick the buoy up and place it back where it belonged.

CCGS Samuel Risley was on the way downriver and, being always ready for whatever tasks come her way, stopped to reposition the buoy. This is a USCG buoy in US waters, but the two coast guards complement each other in several ways – this was one example. The buoy itself had a 4,000-pound anchor and 48 feet of chain attached, so the deck crew lifted the entire unit out of the water, inspected the chain and all connections, then prepared it for placing. Once the Risley was at the correct position, the buoy and anchor were dropped and the Risley backed away, continuing downbound to return to ice escort work.

Among the waiting ships in the lower river were Tecumseh and Lee A. Tregurtha. Both were advised that their time had come, and they followed the Risley upriver to the Hay Lake anchorage, close to Nine Mile. Before they arrived, the Risley broke the ice in the anchorage to allow the ships to take advantage of this space closer to the locks. There is still a gathering of the ships in the Soo and little space for others to join, especially after the Roger Blough returned for repairs on Friday.

Several hours behind the Tecumseh and Tregurtha were Algosteel and Saginaw. Both ships made the journey without direct assistance although they reported the channel on the Sailor's Encampment ranges was still very “sticky.” Saginaw is going to the mill in Soo, Ont., while the Algosteel is reported to be joining the convoy attempting to make the trip west on Lake Superior.

With all the troubles in Port Colborne/Eastern Lake Erie, Mackinac Strait, Lower Seaway and the yet-to-be-broken Georgian Bay, there appears to be no immediate relief or extra icebreakers in sight.

Paul Beesley





Port Reports - April 12

Twin Ports - Dale Stewart
Friday the Great Republic was moved out of the drydock at Fraser shipyard sporting the Great Lakes Fleet paint scheme. About 3 p.m. the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alder departed eastbound, with the Mesabi Miner following about 45 minutes later. At 4:20 the Kaye E. Barker departed, followed shortly by the USCG Katmai Bay and Morro Bay. Morro Bay and Katmai Bay took up escort of the Miner and Barker heading for Marquette, Michigan.

Lake Superior
The westbound convoy had another day of little progress Friday, only traveling a few miles. Roger Blough, damaged by ice, departed the convoy and returned to the Soo with Coast Guard escort, arriving there on Friday. The damaged area is reported to be on the starboard side in the engine room.

Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
Two westbound vessels, the Joyce L. Van Enkevort and Algowood, passed Lansing Shoal around 10 am on Friday, assisted by the USCG icebreakers Hollyhock and Biscayne Bay. At the same time, the eastbound Samuel de Champlain was stuck in ice around six miles southwest of Lansing Shoal. Biscayne Bay handed off escort duty to the Hollyhock and returned east towards St. Ignace, possibly to assist the freighter Gadwall (AIS destination of Chicago). By 2 pm, the Enkevort and Algowood were downbound on Lake Michigan (west of Trout Island) moving at 11-12 knots. The Samuel de Champlain was north of Hog Island and also moving at good speed towards the Mackinac Bridge. Thursday’s eastbound convoy of nine ships all cleared Lansing Shoal late at night, and by Friday morning they were in the lower St. Marys River with two exceptions: John G Munson and Cason W Callaway were still on northern Lake Huron west of Detour.

Toronto, Ont. - Frank Hood
Lubie departed Toronto Thursday evening. Redhead and English River arrived in Toronto Thursday evening.





The big melt: Once-in-a-generation ice on lakes delays shipping season

4/12 - Green Bay, Wis. - The U.S. Coast Guard began ice-breaking operations in the waters of Green Bay on Thursday. Recreational users are cautioned to plan activities carefully and stay away from shipping channels and the charted lake Carriers Association track lines.

Ice-breaking efforts will expand and increase in frequency after Thursday as ice conditions and demands of shipping require. This will include all navigable waters in and around the ports of Green Bay, Sturgeon Bay, Marinette, Menominee and Escanaba. Icebreaking will impact the Fox River and lower Green Bay, Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, Little Bay De Noc, and the entrance channel into Marinette and Menominee.

A long, cold winter that froze huge swaths of the Great Lakes continues to be felt well into the spring with a slow start to the 2014 commercial shipping season.

The Port of Green Bay has yet to see its first vessel for the season. The first ship usually comes in between March 28 and about April 3, said Dean Haen, head of Brown County's Port and Resource Recovery Department.

“This is very atypical, he said. “In years with mild winters we’ve had ships in as early as March 15, but more typically toward the end of March and early April. It’s less than typical when we approach the middle of April.”

More than a dozen businesses are located in the port and use the facility for bulk transportation of goods like cement and coal. Winter weather trimmed about two weeks off the end of the 2013 shipping season in Green Bay and its now delaying the start.

“It’s a pinch for those businesses that have real limited supply,” Haen said. “We shut down early and there was still product that needed to be moved, and now were starting up late and that product is either waiting for the port or its being served by another mode.”

Some businesses have turned to getting supplies by train and trucks until the bay is again open, he said. The port handled 2.2 million tons of cargo last year. Ice-breaking on Green Bay got underway this week.

The U.S. Coast Guard cutters Mobile Bay and Biscayne Bay are assigned to clear the way through the ice into the Port of the Green Bay, with the goal of opening it for commercial traffic as soon as Sunday, said Mark Gill, director of vessel traffic services with the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

“This is a once-in-a-generation ice year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said we have more ice than we have seen in 35-plus years,” he said. “For the most part, nobody has seen this before.”

U.S. and Canadian crews have been working to clear shipping lanes through the iced-over lakes.

The cold winter produced some of the heaviest ice on record across the five inland seas, where more than half the surface area remained solid into April. Ice-breaking ships working in Lake Superior were encountering ice layers 2 to 3 feet thick. In some areas, wind and wave action created walls of ice up to 14 feet high.

About three-quarters of Lake Superior, the largest and deepest of the Great Lakes, remained ice-covered. It could be about two weeks before the surface is clear enough for freighters to make the crossing without an icebreaker escort.

“We’re probably two-three weeks behind where we would be in a traditional winter,” Gill said. “Based on what we had 10 days ago we were still not above freezing on average daily temperatures (winter has) just now started to let go.”

The shipping season officially began March 25 with the opening of navigational locks on the St. Marys River connecting Lakes Superior and Huron, a key transit point for vessels hauling iron ore and coal to manufacturers and electric power plants. Through the start of the week, just one convoy of vessels including two icebreakers and the two ships hauling iron ore had crossed Superior with loads of freight.

The amount of cargo moving on the great lakes was down more than 50 percent last month due to ice conditions, the Ohio-based Lake Carriers Association said Thursday.

U.S. ships moved 980,000 tons of cargo in March, down 55 percent from a year ago. Some of the cargo loaded in March did not reach its destination until April 7 or later. Under normal circumstances, those cargoes should have been delivered in late March or early April, the association said in its monthly report.

Through March 31, U.S. cargo total 3.2 million tons, a decrease of nearly 39 percent compared with the same point in 2013. This is the latest start to the season Haen has seen in his 15 years with the department.

“Even during bad economic times, wed had ships in already,” he said. “It’s all ice related.”

The Associated Press





Cleaner, updated S.S. Badger to set sail on May 16

4/12 - Ludington, Mich. – The S.S. Badger in Ludington is undergoing some major improvements, but will be set to sail on May 16, according to the Mason County Press.

Officials are working on the first phase of the S.S. Badger’s new combustion control component ash retention system, and that work is expected to be completed before the start of the 2014 sailing season on May 16, according to the Press.

The current changes will bring the ship into compliance with the federal government-ordered consent decree. The changes reportedly are designed to end the discharge of ash by the start of the 2015 sailing season.

The Badger -- the last coal-fired ship operating on the Great Lakes -- is operated by Lake Michigan Carferry between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wis. The Environmental Protection Agency had ordered the Badger to quit dumping coal ash into Lake Michigan, according to an MLive article.

MLive Muskegon Chronicle reported in October that U.S. District Court Judge Janet Neff had signed a three-way agreement between the operator of the coal-fired S.S. Badger, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice.

The agreement allows the Badger to keep sailing, but sets a schedule for the Badger to quit dumping coal ash into Lake Michigan, with fines for non-compliance.

Mlive





Coast Guard rescues dog in Sturgeon Bay ship canal

4/12 - Cleveland, Ohio – The Coast Guard rescued a dog that was in the Sturgeon Bay, Wis., ship canal Friday afternoon. At 1:45 p.m., members of Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay noticed three people who were trying to assist a dog out of the canal near the station. Members of the ice rescue team from the station launched aboard the stations ice rescue craft and rescued the dog, transported it to shore, and returned it to its owner.

This rescue occurred near where the Door County Sheriffs Department rescued five people Thursday who fell through the ice, and the Coast Guard warned residents and visitors of weakening ice due to warming temperatures. In March, the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay rescued a dog off the ice, and a member of the crew was able to document the rescue with photographs.





Coast Guard cancels planned ice-breaking operations in Saginaw Bay

4/12 - Detroit, Mich. – The Coast Guard has canceled ice-breaking operations that were scheduled to take place in Saginaw Bay, beginning Saturday morning. The ice-breaking operations were announced Thursday in a news release.





Lookback #146 – Former H.M.C.S. Battleford wrecked on April 12, 1949

4/12 - The World War II-vintage H.M.C.S. Battleford was built as Hull 95 at Collingwood and launched for the Royal Canadian Navy on April 15, 1941. It was commissioned at Montreal on July 31, 1941, and headed to the Atlantic for escort duty.

The ship was initially based at Halifax and then Sydney, Nova Scotia. It had an active part in the war and rescued 50 survivors from the American freighter Kaimoku on August 8, 1942. The latter was traveling from New York to Immingham, England, with steel and munitions when it was torpedoed by U-379 and sunk on the Atlantic. The freighter, built in 1919 as Crisfield, went down in four minutes but only four on board were lost.

H.M.C.S. Battleford was part of convoy ONS 154 that was badly mauled by the German U-boats and lost 14 ships on their crossing in December 1942. Later that month, the ship helped in the destruction of U-356.

Battleford paid off at Sorel on July 18, 1945. Many of the wartime corvettes were broken up for scrap while others were rebuilt as general cargo or even passenger ships. Battleford was sold to the Venezuelan Navy in 1946 and served that country as Libertad until it ran aground and was wrecked off Western Venezuela on April 12, 1949, 65 years ago today.


Today in Great Lakes History - April 12

On 12 April 1896, PETER DALTON (propeller tug, 63 foot 49 gross tons, built in 1880, at Grand Haven, Michigan) caught fire off Grosse Pointe, Illinois, while returning to Chicago with the salvaged schooner A.J. DEWEY in tow and the boiler of the JOHNSON. The fire burned her in two before she finally sank. The DALTON's crew and the DEWEY were rescued by the tug WELCOME.

On 12 April 1874, the tug D.N. RUNNELS was launched Runnel's yard at the north end of the 7th Street Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan. As the tug splashed into the Black River, the flag at her bow was unfurled with her name on it. Commodore Runnels distributed oranges to the crowd of onlookers.

The tanker a.) LANA (Hull#151) was launched April 12, 1967, by Aktiebolaget Lodose Varv A/B at Lodose, Sweden. Renamed b.) NEW ORLEANS in 1988 and c.) NANCY ORR GAUCHER in 1989, she departed the Lakes in 1994. Renamed d.) PETRAWAK in 1996 and e.) TONGA in 2000.

Tanker LAKESHELL (Hull#389) of Marine Industries Ltd., Sorel, Quebec, was launched April 12, 1969, for Shell Canada Ltd.

Pioneer Steamship's steamer a.) A.A. AUGUSTUS (Hull#374) of American Ship Building Co., Lorain, Ohio, departed Cleveland on her maiden voyage April 12, 1910, bound for Green Bay, Wisconsin, with a load of coal. She was sold to Canadian registry in 1961, and renamed b.) HOWARD HINDMAN. She was scrapped at Bilbao, Spain, in 1969.

Hall Corp. of Canada's tanker HUDSON TRANSPORT (Hull#629) of the Davie Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Lauzon, Quebec, was launched April 12, 1962.

On April 12, 1955, while upbound from Monroe, Michigan to load iron ore at Duluth, the ENDERS M. VOORHEES had the honor of opening the second century of navigation through the St. Marys Falls Ship Canal, celebrated with great pomp and ceremony.

On 12 April 1880, the wooden 2-mast schooner-barge JUPITER was launched at Marysville, Michigan, after being rebuilt under the supervision of James Bowers. She was originally built in 1857, at Irving, New York, and after this rebuild, she lasted another 21 years.

On 12 April 1892, UGANDA (wooden propeller, 291 foot, 2,053 gross tons) was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan, at F.W. Wheeler's yard (Hull #88).

1949: The corvette H.M.C.S. BATTLEFORD was Hull 95 from the Collingwood Shipyard and it was commissioned at Montreal on July 31, 1941. The ship was sold to the Venezuelan Navy becoming b) LIBERTAD in 1946 and was wrecked on this date in 1949.

1991: CHANDA hailed from India and first came to the Great Lakes in 1978. The ship was laid up Bombay, India, on May 5, 1988, after 20 years of service. It was moved to the scrapyard on April 11, 1991, but a major fire erupted in the engine room April 12 during dismantling operations.

1993: MELISSA DESGAGNES ran aground in the St. Lawrence, two miles east of the Eisenhower Lock, at 2352 hours. The ship was en route from Windsor to Newfoundland with wheat and floated free, after being lightered, on April 15.

2009: SCARAB was 16 years old when it first came through the Seaway in 1999. The ship was sold and renamed JASPER in 2002 and never returned to our shores. It was anchored off Fatsa, Turkey, when it got blown aground on this date in 2009. Some 2000 tons of fertilizer had to be removed for the ship to float free and it went to Tuzla, Turkey, for repairs.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Lake Superior convoys making progress

4/13 - The USCG Morro Bay reached Marquette Saturday night followed by the USCG Katmai Bay, Kaye E. Barker and Mesabi Miner. The convoy departed Duluth on Friday; the relatively easy progress to Marquette was a welcome surprise. The westbound convoy that departed Whitefish Bay early in the week made progress on Saturday, and was slugging it out 40 miles north of Marquette heading for the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula.





Port Reports - April 13

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Chris Gaziano
Algowood came in during the early morning Saturday with a load of salt and partially unloaded inside the inner harbor. Then it swung around and finished unloading inside terminal building #4 on the outside piers. The vessel finished unloading and was heading out by early evening. H. Lee White came during the evening with a load of coal. The Lafarge tug G.L. Ostrander and barge Integrity also departed during the day, making their way south for Chicago.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
The Saginaw River is still awaiting the first commercial vessel delivery of the 2014 shipping season, but even with all of the delays and troubles across the Great Lakes due to ice it is not unusual to not have a commercial vessel passage at this point of the year. Over the past nine seasons, here are the dates for the first commercial vessel passage on the Saginaw River:

2013 April 16
2012 April 2
2011 April 12
2010 March 31
2009 April 18
2008 March 27
2007 March 25
2006 March 26
2005 March 28
The U.S. Coast Guard has twice scheduled a break out of the Saginaw River Entrance Channel and has then cancelled it both times due to assets being needed elsewhere. Currently the Saginaw River is ice free, and at the mouth of the river the shipping channel is open water out to at least the Confined Disposal Island.

Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
American Century, although docked at the CSX Coal Dock in the past few days, has not loaded and is undergoing ballast tank repair. The revised schedule for the Toledo Docks has American Mariner loading at the CSX Coal Dock on Monday at noon followed by the Buffalo on Tuesday also at noon. John D. Leitch is due to load Wednesday in the morning and the Calumet is due to load Saturday, April 19 in the late afternoon-early evening. One vessel is on the schedule for the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock – CSL Niagara is expected to arrive on Friday, May 16, in the late evening. Due at the Torco Dock was American Mariner on Saturday in the morning to unload iron ore. Kaye E. Barker is due on Wednesday in the late evening, followed by CSL's Baie Comeau on Thursday evening. Rounding out the schedule will be the Lakes Contender, due on Saturday, April 19 in the morning. The ferry Jiimaan departed Toledo on Friday morning. Vessels that remain in lay-up include the Adam E. Cornelius in long-term at the Old Interlake Iron Co. Dock and the American Courage also at the Interlake Iron Dock, although she is expected to sail sometime in April. Buffalo is at the CSX Dock although she is also expected to sail soon. The tug Olive L. Moore and barge Lewis J. Kuber are both in lay-up across from the Torco Dock. American Fortitude and American Valor are both in long-term lay-up yet at the Lakefront Docks. Manistee is still laid-up at the Lakefront Docks.





Ice prompts cancellation of Beaver Island ferry runs

4/13 - Charlevoix, Mich. – Because of lingering ice cover on Lake Michigan, the Beaver Island Boat Co. is postponing the seasonal start of ferry service between Charlevoix and Beaver Island by a week.

Ferry trips that were planned for Monday, Wednesday and Friday, April 14, 16 and 18, have been canceled. If weather cooperates, the company anticipates starting boat runs on Monday, April 21.

Cathy Dewey, a marketing specialist with Beaver Island Boat Co., noted that the U.S. Coast Guard recently has been performing icebreaking operations along the ferry route, and that the company hopes weather conditions will also help in dispersing the ice.

The company is rescheduling reservations for customers who had arranged to have vehicles transported on the ferry, Dewey said. The ferry service does not take passenger reservations.

For more information about ferry service, see bibco.com or call Beaver Island Boat Co.'s Charlevoix office at [phone]. The office is open 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Petoskey News-Review





Windsor police unveil new river patrol boat

4/13 - Windsor, Ont. – Windsor police unveiled its new high-tech 29-foot rapid response boat “Defender” — the first of its kind in Canada — during a ceremony Thursday at Lakeview Park Marina.

Several dozen people attended the ceremony near the marina’s wind-battered docks, including representatives of U.S. Homeland Security, RCMP, OPP and Detroit police along with Canadian and American coast guards and border patrols.

Police will use the boat to do patrols, enforcement and rescues on Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River and Lake Erie.

“We’re obligated by the legislation to patrol our waterways,” said Chief Al Frederick. “Our waterway happens to be an international border. We’re the first responder.”

“So it’s absolutely critical that we respond to any type of emergency that happens out here, in addition to enforcement and public relations. When there’s a critical incident out there we have to be able to respond. This gives us that capability.”

The police service’s previous boat, dubbed Guardian, was about 25 years old. Frederick said updating it would have costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. The new vessel, built by SAFE Boats International, cost $350,000. Windsor police and the Windsor Port Authority split that down the middle.

“This was a unique opportunity to go in a completely different direction,” said Frederick. “It’s the first boat of its kind in all of Canada. It’s specific to managing our waterways.”

Marine unit leader Const. Shannon Tennant said the thing that makes it really unique in Canada is the boat’s pressurized hull with air chambers and dense foam that gives it buoyancy and stability.

“This boat, if it’s capsized, can right itself back up because of the hull design, the pressure of air in the hull chambers,” said Tennant.

He said the vessel design is so unique that police had to get an engineer to certify it so Transport Canada would allow it into the country.

The new boat also has an enclosed cabin with a “walk-around platform” that allows officers to move around the whole deck.

“You’ve got the comfort of a full cabin with air-conditioning and heat for the extreme elements,” said Tennant. “It’s soundproof so we can communicate better with our dispatchers, Homeland Security and U.S. Coast Guard. It also gives you the benefit of walking around with the hand railings and the 3M deck tape.”

The boat — touted as the most advanced small security vessel of its kind in Canada — has a small draft that allows it to go into shallow water during emergencies. It has peppy twin four-stroke 300-horsepower outboard motors, which makes repairs and maintenance easier.

“This boat will get us there faster than the other boat in an efficient manner to where we need to be for search and rescues and waterway emergencies,” said Tennant.

Other bells and whistles include a climate control cabin, fire pump, generator, integrated navigation package, thermal camera, remote spotlight, side scan sonar and even shock mitigating seats.

Two years of research and testing went into buying the boat. The cost and effort all seemed to be worth it Thursday.

Windsor Star





Toronto Marine Historical Society annual auction underway

4/13 - Attention all those who collect Great Lakes shipping memorabilia, artifacts and books, the 17th Annual Auction by the Toronto Marine Historical Society has started. Bids will be accepted up to 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 5, 2014. Please visit www.tmhs.ca/Auction%20List2014.pdf for a full list and order form.





Lookback #147 – Ice pushed George M. Humphrey on a shoal on April 13, 1956

4/13 - The American ore carrier George M. Humphrey was only two years old when it got trapped in ice crossing Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior, 58 years ago today. The vessel was downbound with an early load of iron ore when it got caught and guided onto a shoal by the shifting pack of ice.

In time, the crane ship O.S. McFarland was able to come alongside and remove enough cargo to enable the 710-foot-long bulk carrier, the pride of the Hanna fleet, to be refloated. The ship continued to Cleveland to unload and then sailed to the shipyard at Lorain, where it had been built, for repairs.

When new in 1954, the George M. Humphrey was the first laker with a 75-foot beam and was soon in the record books carrying 22,605 tons of iron ore out of Allouez. That mark stood until 1960.

While most of its work was on the upper four Great Lakes, the George M. Humphrey traded through the Seaway in at least 1959, 1974 and 1977.

The ship tied up at Ecorse, Michigan on Dec. 13, 1983, and seemed a far too good a ship to have only sailed for 30 seasons. It remained idle until departing Aug. 13, 1986, following a sale for scrap. After going down the Seaway under her own power, the tug Smit-Lloyd 109 picked up the now 32-year-old laker and, along with fleetmate Paul H. Carnahan, began the long journey to Taiwan, via the Panama Canal and Pacific.

They arrived at Kaohsiung on Dec. 10, 1986, just shy of four months after the George M. Humphrey departed Ecorse, for a rendezvous with the shipbreakers


Today in Great Lakes History - April 13

13 April 1872 - The schooners MARY TAYLOR and ANTELOPE wooden were racing to Oswego, New York, trying to beat a large block of drifting ice. The ice won and blocked the harbor entrance. The ANTELOPE became icebound about a quarter of a mile from the piers and remained there for one day. The MARY TAYLOR got within 500 feet of the pier and remained there for five days until the tug MAJOR DANA broke through the ice.

RICHARD REISS lost her boom April 13, 1994 when it collapsed at Fairport, Ohio.

On 13 April 1872, the wooden schooner-barge JOSEPH PAIGE was launched at the Wolf & Davidson yard in Milwaukee. Her dimensions were 190 feet x 32 feet x 12 feet, 626 gross tons.

The passenger/package freight vessel OCEAN was launched at Andrews & Sons shipyard in Port Dalhousie, Ontario, on 13 April 1872. She was placed in service on 27 April 1872, loading iron at Kingston for Chicago.

1917: The steel canaller STRATHCONA was built at Dundee, Scotland, in 1900 and came to the Great Lakes that summer. The ship had several owners before being requisitioned for war service in 1915. It was stopped by U-78 near Ronaldshay, England, while traveling from Tyne, England, to Marseilles, France, with a cargo of coal on this date in 1917. Enemy bombers attacked sinking the ship. Nine crew members were lost while another 3 were taken prisoner.

1937: The Norwegian freighter REIN was a frequent pre-Seaway caller to the Great Lakes. It had been built in 1900 and was inland as early as 1908. The ship was carrying wood pulp when it was wrecked off Helman Island, 2 miles south of Wick, Scotland, while traveling from Lyngor, Norway, to Preston, UK on this date in 1937. REIN was a total loss.

1956 Winds and ice pushed the ore laden GEORGE M. HUMPHREY on a shoal in Whitefish Bay en route from Superior to Zug Island. The vessel was salvaged and taken to Lorain for repairs.

1959: GLENEAGLES was proceeding through ice in Lake Erie when it abruptly stopped. The trailing WESTMOUNT could not stop as quickly and rammed the stern of its CSL fleetmate. GLENEAGLES had to be towed to Lorain for repairs that included a new rudder.

2010: The rebuilt ALGOBAY went aground while upbound in the St. Marys River on its first trip to the upper lakes. The vessel had to go to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs.

[yachtsmanwilly]

On St. Marys River, attention turns to Whitefish Bay and upbound convoy

4/16 - On Monday, the CCGS Samuel Risley moved from the Pipe Island area to Sault Ste. Marie. On the way, she made sure the upbound track was usable by all but the largest of ships. Then the Risley passed through the Poe Lock on her way to Whitefish Bay. Once above the lock an unexpected glitch popped up, and she had to tie up before attempting her next task. Considering the vibrations and heavy use to which icebreakers are submitted, it is a surprise that they work as well as they do. The designers and builders deserve praise for their contributions to icebreakers. The crews that keep them running in adverse conditions are nothing short of amazing.

On Tuesday, the Risley went up above the locks to see what the ice was like in Whitefish Bay. There is a long waiting list of ships heading for Lake Superior ports and the intention was to move a number of them into Whitefish Bay to free up the lower river for newcomers. There are two established tracks above Gros Cap, the ice is firm and able to hold ships in position so a number of them moved upbound. Among them were Roger Blough, Algoma Enterprise, Algoma Olympic, Algosteel and Radcliffe R. Latimer. Lee A. Tregurtha stopped at the Carbide Dock Tuesday for fuel and stores, then locked upbound. Herbert C. Jackson moved up to Nine Mile. Five 1,000-footers were anchored below Mud Lake Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, the Risley secured for the night at USCG Station Soo. This will enable her to load in the morning for her next task. Weather in the Soo was frigid. Monday night the temperature dropped to -10 C. Tuesday night it was forecast to plummet to -18 C. This makes lots of new ice and refreezes all the ice that has been broken.

A word of explanation about rotten or rotting ice: As outside temperatures increase ice begins to lose its strength and hardness. In mid winter ice will crack when hit with a ship, much as a piece of tempered glass would crack if given a sharp rap. As the ice loses strength and hardness it tends to easily break and fall apart. This is rotten ice. Compare it to a Popsicle fresh from the freezer. They are very hard to split the two sections apart unless they can be cracked on a sharp edge. The same Popsicle after it has been at room temperature for a while is easy to separate into two sections and it can be broken off in your mouth very easily - sort of soft, mushy-like. Rotten ice is like that - instead of going “crack” it goes kinda “bluuh.”

Paul Beesley





Port Reports - April 16

Duluth - Ed Labernik
Just past noon Tuesday, a convoy of four vessels departed Duluth escorted by the USCG Mackinaw and headed across Lake Superior for the Soo Locks. As the convoy formed up, the CSL Tadoussac took the lead, followed by the St. Clair, American Sprit and the Mackinaw.

Marquette, Mich. - Rod Burdick
On Tuesday at the Upper Harbor ore dock, Kaye E. Barker (loaded with ore) and Mesabi Miner (empty after unloading coal) waited for USCG escorts.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Chris Gaziano
CSL Niagara departed Tuesday and made her way north on Lake Michigan.

Lorain, Ohio
The tug Defiance and barge Ashtabula departed Lorain Tuesday, heading under the Charles Berry bridge on their way out at 6:46 p.m.

Hamilton, Ont. – Eric Holmes
Manitoba departed winter lay-up at 7 p.m.

Toronto, Ont. - Jens Juhl
This past Sunday’s delivery of salt by the Whitefish Bay was timely. The big laker discharged its cargo of salt in a little over eight hours, departing just before midnight Sunday. After a long, nasty polar vortex winter, the Cargill De-icing Solution’s salt storage facility was pretty well down to its last grain of salt. Tuesday morning's heavy spring snowfall created a constant procession of trucks to pick up the just-in-time arrived road salt.

Seaway Traffic – Ron Walsh
The CCGS Griffon has been doing ice track maintenance from the Cape Vincent Pilot Station to Lake Ontario. Monday she assisted Algosoo, Atlantic Huron and the CSL Laurentien. Tuesday morning fog was too thick for the Cape Vincent pilot boat to go out. When the fog cleared, they had about 300 yards of broken ice preventing them from going to ships. The CCGS Griffon finally broke a channel and by 4 p.m. the Federal Satsuki, Federal Ems and Federal Shimanto all had lake pilots and were under way towards the lake. The Griffon called the Satsuki and said that the ice was broken from the pilot station to Lake Ontario so the ships should be able to make their own way. The Griffon will remain in the area and is ready to assist if needed. English River has been anchored in Prince Edward By since 2:55 a.m.





Great Lakes Shipyard completes winter work

4/16 - Cleveland, Ohio Winter layup season is wrapping up at Great Lakes Shipyard. Repair work took place on American Steamship Co.'s Sam Laud, Grand River Navigation's Manitowoc, Interlake Steamship Co.'s articulated tug-barge Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder, McKeil Marine's Tug Leonard M and barge Huron Spirit, and Ryba Marine's tug Kathy Lynn and barge OBE 185.

The vessels were berthed in the yard for planned repairs and routine maintenance, as well as various inspections and miscellaneous renewals. The brutal winter made the effort a real challenge. Great Lakes Shipyard also completed industrial maintenance and winter repairs at Cleveland Bulk Terminal. That work included rebuilding one of the facility's field conveyor hoppers. Carmeuse Lime & Stone operates the port-owned Cleveland Bulk Terminal, handling iron ore and limestone that arrive by ship from other Great Lakes ports.

The shipyard's current order book includes drydocking and overhaul of The Great Lakes Towing Company's tugs Pennsylvania, South Carolina and California. In addition, the shipyard was recently awarded a contract to perform drydocking and repairs on the USCG cutter Biscayne Bay, to commence in May. To learn more, visit www.thegreatlakesgroup.com.





Sturgeon Bay proclaimed an official Coast Guard City

4/16 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – On January 23, after a 90-day review by the United States Congress, Admiral R. J. Papp, Jr. the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, signed a proclamation designating the City of Sturgeon Bay a Coast Guard City.

The entire community is invited to celebrate this prestigious honor at an official proclamation ceremony scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 10th at Sawyer Park on the city’s waterfront. Sturgeon Bay is one of only 16 communities nationwide to be named a Coast Guard City and is the first, and only, in Wisconsin.

The May celebration will kick-off with patriotic music by the Peninsula Symphonic Band at 10:30 a.m. followed by the official proclamation ceremony at 11. Rear Admiral Fred Midgette, Commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District, will be the presiding official at the proclamation ceremony. Congressman Reid Ribble, Sturgeon Bay Mayor Thad Birmingham and senior officials from the United States Navy League will also participate.

The Saturday festivities conclude with a community family picnic immediately after the ceremony. There will be a nominal charge for food and beverages for the public. The local Coast Guard units will display boats and equipment from their own units as well as a few surprises.

All events will take place in or near the Sawyer Park Pavilion at 36 S. Neenah Ave. on Sturgeon Bay’s west side adjacent to the Maple-Oregon Street Bridge. In the event of inclement weather, the celebration and picnic will be moved to the Sturgeon Bay Fire Station/City Hall at 421 Michigan St.

The festivities continue the next morning with a Mothers’ Day Community Breakfast at the Fire Station from 8 to 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 1. The Community Breakfast on Sunday will be hosted by the Sturgeon Bay Fire Department and will honor all mothers attending in addition to the local Coast Guard personnel and their families.





Lookback #150 – T.R. McLagan aground in Lake Ontario on April 16, 1959

4/16 - The T.R. McLagan, at 714 feet 6 inches in overall length, was the largest ship on the Great Lakes when it was launched on Nov. 7, 1953. It was also the last ship built at the Midland shipyard before that facility was closed.

While most of the media's marine emphasis of 55 years ago today was concerned with the pending opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the T.R. McLagan made the news by going aground in eastern Lake Ontario off Amherst Island. It took two days to refloat the big Canada Steamship Lines bulk carrier, but it was soon back in service.

The ship had set some early cargo records but these were soon surpassed in the Seaway era. With changing business conditions, T.R. McLagan was laid up at Kingston on November 3, 1984, after only 30 years of service. It resumed trading in May 1988, on charter to P. & H. Shipping, and the latter purchased the vessel in 1990.

Renamed Oakglen (ii), it concentrated in the grain trade, making the news again in 2001 as the first downbound ship of the year in both the Welland Canal and lower Seaway. It rejoined Canada Steamship Lines in 2001 when P. & H. sold its fleet and Oakglen operated through December 20, 2002, before tying up at Montreal.

Following a sale for scrap, Oakglen departed on October 17, 2003, behind the tug Seaways 5. The pair arrived off Alang, India, on Feb. 11, 2004, after a 117-day-tow via South Africa. The ship was beached for dismantling two days later.



Today in Great Lakes History - April 16

16 April 1907 - In a blinding snowstorm, the LOUIS PAHLOW (wooden propeller package freighter, 155 foot, 366 gross tons, built in 1882, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin) was towing the DELTA (wooden schooner, 134 foot, 269 gross tons, built in 1890, at Algonac, Michigan) on Lake Michigan. She went off course and ran onto the rocks at the Clay Banks, six miles south of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The DELTA made it to anchorage before she also grounded. The Lifesaving Service rescued both crews. Both vessels were eventually freed, repaired and put back in service.

On 16 April 1872, the THOMAS W. FERRY (wooden schooner, 180 feet) was launched at the J. Jones yard at Detroit, Michigan. She cost $40,000 and was owned by P. J. Ralph & Son and A. C. Burt.

ALGOWOOD departed on her maiden voyage April 16, 1981, from Owen Sound, Ontario, in ballast for Stoneport, Michigan, taking on limestone there for Sarnia, Ontario.

ALGOLAKE's sea trials were held April 16, 1977.

BURNS HARBOR's keel was laid at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, as (Hull#720) for Wilmington Trust Co., Bethlehem Steel Co., manager, on April 16, 1979.

CEMENTKARRIER (Hull#175) of the Furness Shipbuilding Co. Ltd at Haverton Hill-on-Tees, England, was launched April 16, 1930, for Canada Cement Transport Ltd.

Reiss Steamship Co.'s a.) W.K. BIXBY entered service on April 16, 1906. Renamed b.) J. L. REISS in 1920 and c.) SIDNEY E. SMITH JR in 1971. She sank in a collision with the Hindman steamer PARKER EVANS under the Blue Water Bridge on June 5, 1972.

On April 16, 1986, U.S. Steel's steamer WILLIAM A. IRVIN was sold for $110,000 to the Duluth Convention Center Board.

On 16 April 1870, the fore-and-aft schooner L.W. PERRY was launched at the Fitzgerald & Leighton yard in Port Huron, Michigan. She was owned by J. L. Woods of Lexington, Michigan and commanded by Capt. M. Hyde. Her dimensions were 128 foot keel, 133 foot overall, 26 foot beam and 9 foot depth. She cost $29,000 and was built for the lumber trade.

On 16 April 1873, DAVID BALLENTINE (wooden propeller, 221 foot, 972 gross tons) was launched at Bangor, Michigan. She was built by Thomas Boston.

1897: The wooden schooner INGEBORG FORREST was a total loss in a spring gale near the entrance to Pentwater, Michigan, on this date in 1897.

1906: EUGENE ZIMMERMAN was upbound with coal on its maiden voyage when it collided with the SAXONA in the Mud Lake section of the St. Marys River on this day in 1906. The new bulk carrier was hit on the port bow and sank. The hull was raised on May 20, repaired and returned to service. It was renamed b) GRAND ISLAND in 1916 and last operated in 1960. After work as a grain storage hull named c) POWEREAUX CHRIS, the vessel was towed to Hamburg, West Germany, for scrapping in 1964.

1959: T.R. McLAGAN of Canada Steamship Lines ran aground on a shoal off Amherst Island, Lake Ontario, and was released on April 18.

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






Twin Ports opened on Monday

4/16 - Duluth, Minn. – The first upbound convoy arrived Monday morning. Stewart J. Cort was the first vessel to arrive, passing through the Duluth Ship Canal at 6 a.m. and heading to Superior to load. USCG Mackinaw, Sam Laud and Algoma Discovery all arrived about 9 a.m., Discovery waited off port in the ice. St. Clair waited off port for eastbound escort. CSL Tadoussac also arrived Monday morning from Thunder Bay. The Canadian Coast Guard ship Pierre Radisson is in Thunder Bay.





Port Reports - April 16

St Marys River - Paul Beesley
Monday was another quiet day on the river. Mother Nature is doing her best to melt and move the ice from the river with a little help from the Coast Guard. CCGS Samuel Risley was given two tasks on this day. The first involved working the ice around the Burns Harbor so that ship could move out of the center of the channel. She had originally stopped when ice conditions were much heavier and the track that had been cut through the ice passed to one side. As the conditions improved it became necessary for her to move a bit to accommodate any ships that may need to pass. The second task was to break up the fast ice (ice that is attached to the shore and does not move) east of Pipe Island. It is on the east side that the upbound route is located and also the anchorage for ships that are required to wait in the river for passage. As the ice conditions deteriorate some ships may have to use this anchorage, as they will no longer be able to stop and be held in position by ice. With the break up of the ice the wind and current carries it into Lake Huron where it will quickly melt. East of Pipe Island the ice is attached to a number of islands large and small and, once the area is frozen completely, does not move all winter. Ice in the middle of lakes will move with current and wind throughout the winter.

Owen Sound, Ont. - Shane Ruther
Algomarine departed winter lay-up on Monday.





Coast Guard cutter-turned-museum Bramble gets ship-shape

4/16 - Port Huron, Mich. – Not all of the improvements on the decommissioned U.S. Coast Guard cutter Bramble will be evident when tours of the ship resume today. But organizers hope the biggest changes will be apparent by the end of summer.

“Our goal for 2014 is to have the ship 100 percent operational and have it underway,” said Bob Klingler, co-owner of the ship with his wife, Sara. “By the end of the summer, we’re going to push off and go somewhere.”

Bob Klingler said about 20 different volunteers — many of them former “Coasties” — have been meeting regularly for about a year to restore the ship to its former glory. “It is a collection of people that contribute to keep her in place,” Bob Klinger said.

On Saturday, the group marked a large milestone, revving up two generators and the bow thruster for the first time in several years.

Next on their to-do list is the restoration of the generator and engine that swing a crane over the ship to lower a smaller watercraft into the water. Then, they’ll tackle the restoration of two main engines for the ship. “It’s slowly coming back to life,” Sara Klingler said.

The U.S. Coast Guard ship was decommissioned more than a decade ago on May 22, 2003. The Klinglers bought the ship from the Port Huron Museum Jan. 31, 2013. Next Tuesday, April 22, will mark 70 years since the ship was commissioned in 1944.

“The community should be very thankful to this couple for what they’ve done to save this ship,” Mike Murray, a volunteer on the ship, said.

Bob Klingler said the crew is bringing the engine room back to life so that it’s ready for future opportunities.

In 2013, the Klinglers were in talks for the ship to be featured in the fourth installment of the “Transformers” films. The studio passed on the Bramble, but Bob Klingler said there have been discussions since then to include the ship in other films.

He also has discussed the possibility of using the ship in expeditions to Great Lakes shipwreck dives.

While people coming aboard for tours may not immediately notice improvements in the engine room, they can expect other changes, Klingler said.

Two audio visual stations have been added to show the work the Bramble did in atomic testing and Arctic navigation. A radio room plays excerpts from the distress calls of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Klingler said the Bramble wasn’t involved in the response to the Edmund Fitzgerald, but it did play a part in similar emergency responses and rescues.

He said tour groups or individuals have the option of taking the Boatswain’s Tour — a general tour of the ship and its different areas — or a Commandant’s Tour — an in-depth tour of the ship and its history.

“A lot of people come on and want that detail,” Klingler said.

Klingler said stepping on board is like stepping back into maritime history. The ship’s complement of several retired Coast Guard members makes that history come alive.

“They have really good answers because they lived it,” he said. “You can learn a lot. There’re life lessons here; there’s history here.”

Starting Tuesday, the ship is open for tours 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week. For more information about the ship and its tours, or to make a reservation, visit www.uscgcbramble.com.





Dredging, shipwreck removal resumes on Fox River

4/16 - Green Bay, Wis. – Dredging and shipwreck removal has resumed on the Fox River near Green Bay.

Press-Gazette Media reported Sunday that dredging resumed last week after workers called it quits for the winter last fall. Tetra Tech, the company overseeing the work, also plans to resume removing tugboat and barge wreckage behind its Green Bay facility.

Green Bay-area paper companies are under federal orders to remove polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, from the river. PCBs are chemicals used in the 1950s and 1960s to produce carbonless copy paper.

Workers have dredged more than 2.16 million cubic yards of sediment since cleanup began in 2009. They expect to remove about 670,000 cubic yards before ending work for the season this fall.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Real time NOAH weather photo:









Ships at Soo Locks await ice cutter convoy to cross Lake Superior

4/17 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – It has been almost a month since the Soo Locks opened for business, but traffic is still moving at a historically slow pace. There are currently more than 40 ships waiting to get through the locks, and at this point the flow of traffic is at Mother Nature's mercy.

Ships are lined up throughout the St. Marys River system, waiting for their turn to go west across Lake Superior. "The next outbound convoy is probably going to be Sunday, but that is a guess," Jim Peach, Soo Locks Assistant Area Engineer said.

Due to the thickness of the ice, it takes two Coast Guard ice cutters to escort ships carrying iron ore and coal. "They can only come five or six at a time," Peach said.

That can take more than a week to do so. By the time they get to the Soo Locks, many of the ships and their crews are fatigued.

"Some of them are running out of fuel so were fueling them," Dennis Campbell, Soo Locks Chief Lock Master said. Because the trips are so long many of them are running out of supplies.

"We've actually given permission to them to load supplies across our piers, which is very unusual, that's not what we consider the piers to be for," Peach said.

For ships going south, their travels will likely be a lot smoother while passing through Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. But lock engineers anticipate problems with ice on Lake Superior until mid-May.

"This is one for the record books as far as anybody living memory as for anybody on our staff this is the first time with experienced this much delay," Peach said.

Up North Live





Port Reports - April 17

Eastern Lake Superior -
The downbound convoy from Duluth made steady progress Wednesday and were 20 miles from Whitefish Point late Wednesday night. Roger Blough, Algoma Enterprise, Algosteel, Radcliffe R. Latimer, Tecumseh, Lee A. Tregurtha and Herbert C. Jackson are all staged on Whitefish Bay waiting for upbound escort across the lake.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Chris Gaziano
Alpena came in early Wednesday afternoon for the Lafarge terminal.

Grand Haven, Mich. - Dick Fox
The articulated tug barge Undaunted/Pere Marquette 41 brought in the first inbound load for the season to Verplank's Dock in Ferrysburg Wednesday morning.

Calcite, Mich. - Denny Dushane
The tug Joyce L. Van Enkevort and barge Great Lakes Trader was the first vessel of the 2014 season to load at Calcite's docks on Monday during the early morning. They loaded a limestone cargo at the North Dock. Due in on Thursday in the early morning is the tug Defiance and the barge Ashtabula for the South Dock. Due Friday in the morning are the tug Olive L. Moore / barge Lewis J. Kuber, also loading at the South Dock.

Stoneport, Mich. - Denny Dushane
The Hon. James L. Oberstar was the first vessel for the 2014 season on Tuesday. John G. Munson loaded on Wednesday. Also due on Wednesday was the James L. Kuber, arriving in the early evening to load. There are no boats scheduled for Thursday. Due in on Friday to load is the Lewis J. Kuber in the evening. Arthur M. Anderson is due in on Saturday in the early afternoon. No boats are scheduled on Easter. Due on Monday in the early morning is the Lewis J. Kuber.

Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
John D. Leitch was expected to arrive on Wednesday in the late evening to load at the CSX Coal Dock. Other vessels scheduled to load include the Buffalo on Friday in the early afternoon. John D. Leitch returns to load at CSX again on Easter Sunday in the early evening. Algosoo is due to load at CSX on Sunday, April 27, in the morning. There is nothing due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock. Vessels arriving at the Torco Dock with iron ore cargoes include the Baie Comeau and Kaye E. Barker, both due on Saturday in the morning. Lakes Contender is due on Tuesday, April 22 in the early morning and James L. Kuber is due in on Friday, April 25 in the mid-afternoon. Two vessels have since left their lay-up docks. American Courage departed on Tuesday and sailed for Marblehead to load limestone. Buffalo departed Toledo during the early morning on Wednesday.

Hamilton, Ont. - Eric Holmes
Federal Satsuki arrived at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. Helosise arrived at 3 p.m. The Group Ocean tug Omni Richelieu arrived at 3:30 p.m. Mississagi departed at 9 p.m. with slag.

Toronto, Ont. - Jens Juhl
The bulker Redhead did its required end-for-end turn around at Redpath Tuesday night. Late Wednesday morning it was in the final stage of discharging sugar when the Sennebogen unloader experienced a mechanical malfunction. What appeared to be a huge counterweight came adrift and crashed down onto the conveyor transfer system, damaging and disabling it. The system moves the raw sugar from the Sennebogen hopper and on into the sugar storage shed. There were no reports of injuries.

Oswego, N.Y. - Ned Goebricher
The first ships of the season, the cement carriers Stephen B. Roman and English River, arrived on Wednbesday.

Seaway - René Beauchamp
The first new salty of the year, Fortunagracht, entered the Seaway on Wednesday afternoon bound for Cleveland. Another new one expected later on this week is the Duzgit Endeavour, which called at Montreal during the winter.





“Know Your Ships” annual book signing Saturday in Port Huron

4/17 - Port Huron, Mich. – Editor/publisher Roger LeLievre will be on hand from 10 am-3 p.m. at the Great Lakes Maritime Center Saturday to sell and sign copies of the 2014 Know Your Ships. BoatNerd tee shirts and hats will also be available. The Maritime Center is at 51 Water St. There is no admission charge.

www.knowyourships.com





Lookback #151 – Houston, the former Freeman Hatch, sank in the Bay of Pigs on April 17, 1961

4/17 - The Freeman Hatch was one of the N3-S-A1 cargo ships built during World War Two. Many slid down the ways at Great Lakes shipyards and headed to the Atlantic as soon as they were ready.

This vessel was constructed by the Leatham D. Smith Shipbuilding Co., in Sturgeon Bay, WI and completed in December 1942. The 258 foot, 10 inch long freighter left the lakes via the St. Lawrence Canals and was soon operating overseas on charter to the British Ministry of War Transport. The two cargo holds, serviced by four hatches, were regularly filled with war supplies and the ship managed to avoid enemy threats from above, below and on the surface of the water. It would not always be so lucky.

Freeman Hatch remained overseas and became Charles M. when it was sold to Metcalf Coasters in 1950. It operated under the British flag until 1953 when it was resold for Liberian flag service as Houston.

Houston continued to operate on saltwater without much notoriety until it became part of the infamous anti-Castro invasion at the Bay of Pigs on the coast of Cuba. The small vessel was serving as a troop carrier and had been able to land as many as 270 Cuban exiles before being hit by rockets from Castro's Cuban Air Force. The ship was also attacked by ground fire and the vessel had to be beached. The remaining fighters who managed to get ashore safely were no match for the Cuban army, as most of their weapons and equipment were lost aboard the ship.

The short-lived attempt to stir up an uprising against Fidel Castro was a failure. Many lives were lost among the exiles and the ship was also a total loss 53 years ago today.


Today in Great Lakes History - April 17

17 April 1871 - The wooden brig ST. JOSEPH was carrying lumber from Ludington, Michigan, to Chicago, Illinois. Her hold was filled and lumber was stacked on deck so she was indeed overloaded. A gale developed and the deck load shifted, then was lost. ST. JOSEPH became waterlogged in mid-lake. Her crew remained with her until 19 April when the propeller ST. LEWIS found them 35 miles southwest of Pentwater, Michigan, and took them there. The tug ALDRICH towed the waterlogged brig in for repairs.

The first vessels through the Straits of Mackinac for the 1870 season were the CITY OF BOSTON and the CITY OF NEW YORK, both owned by the Northern Transportation Company. They passed through the Straits on 17 April 1870. The following day they passed Port Huron but could only go as far as Algonac, Michigan, since the St. Clair River had an ice jam which raised the water level by two feet and was causing flooding.

The Collingwood-built, 610-foot aft section of the JOHN B. AIRD passed up bound through the St. Marys Falls Canal on April 17, 1983, in tow of the tugs WILFRED M. COHEN and JOHN MC LEAN heading for Thunder Bay, Ontario, where it was assembled with the 120-foot bow section.

Canada Steamship Lines a.) STADACONA (Hull#24) was launched April 17, 1929, by Midland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. She was renamed b.) NORDALE in 1969 and was scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario, in 1983. She was the first vessel scrapped at the old Algoma Steel Dock in Port Colborne.

April 17, 1970 - CITY OF FLINT 32 was sold to the Norfolk & Western Railway for $100,000.

On 17 April 1840, the wooden side-wheeler CATARAQUI was burned to a total loss during a great fire, which destroyed much of the waterfront area of Kingston, Ontario.

On 17 April 1874, CHARLES J. KERSHAW (wooden propeller, 223 foot, 1,324 gross tons) was launched at the Ballentine shipyard at Bangor, Michigan.

1961: FREEMAN HATCH was built at Sturgeon Bay and completed in December 1942. It left the Great Lakes the following spring for service for the British Ministry of War Transport. It was sold and renamed b) CHARLES M. in 1950 and became c) HOUSTON in 1953. The vessel was sunk on this date in 1962 during the attempted, anti-Castro, Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.

1982: CHEMICAL TRANSPORT ran aground in the St. Lawrence near Dark Island as channel markers were out of position due to the wind and ice conditions. The vessel lightered some cargo to fleetmate JAMES TRANSPORT and then went to Sorel for repairs. In 2009, the ship was reported as lying burned out and derelict near Lagos, Nigeria, after an explosion and fire as c) REAL PROGRESS on June 1, 2001.

1990: RESERVE ran aground in the St. Marys River while downbound with a load of iron ore for Toledo on this date in 1990. The ship stranded in a snowstorm and had to be lightered to the WILLIAM R. ROESCH before going to Fraser Shipyard for repairs.

1997: ALGOLAKE got stuck on Vidal Shoal, St. Marys River while bound for Algoma Steel with a cargo of iron ore. The ship was lightered and released. After unloading, the vessel went to Thunder Bay for repairs.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Downbound Lake Superior convoy reaches the Soo

4/18 - The downbound vessel convoy finally arrived off Whitefish Point late Thursday, assisted by the USCG Mackinaw, Morro Bay and Katmai Bay, which arrived with the Kaye E. Barker from Marquette, and the big Canadian Coast Guard ship Pierre Radisson. It was slow going to cover the last 20 miles, finally reaching the upper St. Marys River about 11 p.m. The convoy included the American Spirit, St. Clair, Walter J. McCarthy Jr. CSL Tadoussac, Kaye E. Barker and Presque Isle. The AIS feed was packed with vessel names as the downbound convoy met the upbound convoy.





CCGS Samuel Risley helps engineers make annual Rock Cut bottom survey

4/18 - St. Marys River – In an example of inter-agency and international co-operation, the CCGS Samuel Risley loaded a survey launch at USCG Soo early Wednesday morning together with four operators. The launch and personnel belong to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Their task was to survey the Rock Cut, an annual requirement before the channel is opened to shipping. The Risley's task was to transport them to the bottom end of the Rock Cut, launch their craft and stand by to recover them once the operation was complete.

Because the Rock Cut is not yet open, the Risley had to take the East Neebish Channel downbound before altering course upbound at the Mud Lake Junction buoy. The Rock Cut was mostly open water with a very strong current flowing downstream. The Corps of Engineers do this each year because large ships, such as 1,000-footers, can peel back the limestone bottom with their propeller wash if they are trying to work through ice in the late fall. This results in holes about four feet deep with tailings about two feet above the bottom, and makes the channel unfit for deep-laden ships.

Upon completion of this task, the USACE personnel were dropped off and the Risley went to Stribling Point to free the tug Victory and barge James L. Kuber, which had been stuck there for several hours. The Victory was successfully brought down through East Neebish, only to become beset further down river later in the night.

Thursday morning the Risley brought the Paul R. Tregurtha upriver, but not without a fight from the ice. The turns are still difficult with all the brash that has no place to flow out and the recent very cold temperatures that have refrozen much of what had been broken in the past two weeks. Later in the day the Risley picked up the James R. Barker and escorted her upriver with the same ice challenges.

Paul Beesley





Port Reports - April 18

Milwaukee, Wis. - Chris Gaziano
Alpena was outbound for the lake before sunrise after unloading overnight. The Polsteam vessel Lubie came inside the inner harbor during the early morning to take on a load from the Nideria elevator. Algoway and the Baie St. Paul also came in with loads of salt.

Muskegon, Mich. - Tyler Fairfield
Alpena made her way into Muskegon on Thursday to unload cement.

Toronto, Ont. - Jens Juhl
At Redpath the big repair job to the cargo unloading system is underway, as workers have started to remove twisted and mangled metal from the conveyor transfer structure. The bulker Redhead, which had been scheduled to depart last night, remains alongside.

Rochester, N.Y. - Tom Brewer
The shipping season opened for the port of Rochester with the arrival of tug Evans McKeil with Essroc's barge Metis on Thursday morning.





Ice stymies ore shipments on lakes in March

4/18 - Cleveland, Ohio - Massive, thick ice formations on the Great Lakes limited iron ore shipments in March to 1.1 million tons, a decrease of 43 percent compared to a year ago. Shipments from U.S. Great Lakes ports fell even more, 52 percent.

Some of the ore that was loaded in March did not reach its intended destination until well into April. Two vessels that departed Duluth/Superior at the western end of Lake Superior on March 26 did not arrive in Gary, Indiana, until April 7. Under normal circumstances, the 797-mile voyage takes about 62 hours.

An iron ore cargo loaded in Escanaba, Mich., on March 5 destined for Cleveland, Ohio, a voyage of 545 miles, was in transit for 12 days rather than the normal 50 hours.

Through March, the Lakes ore trade stands at 3.5 million tons, a decrease of 33 percent. The decrease would be more, but in an effort to maintain steel production, 370,000 tons of iron ore moved in February, usually a month with no shipments. The ice on the lakes was not the only challenge faced. The sub-zero temperatures nearly paralyzed the docks and one cargo took more than three days to load. The vessel should have been full in about six hours.

Lake Carriers Association





First freighter of season arrives at Presque Isle quarry

4/18 - Alpena, Mich. – The shipping season is finally under way for Lafarge's Presque Isle Quarry, and members of the local International Shipmaster's Association lodge greeted the captain and crew of the first freighter of the season to arrive at Stoneport.

The 806-foot Hon. James L. Oberstar arrived Tuesday, and Capt. Joseph Ruch said the freighter was there to take on 21,000 tons of stone. From there, it'll head south to DTE Energy's power plant in Monroe, where the stone will be used in the plant's pollution control system.

It's been a tough start for Great Lakes shipping, and Ruch said it took the freighter nearly three days to break out of the ice in Sturgeon Point, Wis., to start its season. The Oberstar has been running for a month now, and has an extra engineer on board to help get the ship through the ice. The Oberstar typically hauls iron ore from Marquette to Dearborn or Duluth to Indiana Harbor, and Ruch said he's glad he isn't headed to points north just yet.

"There's a lot of ships lined up to go north, but they're not making a lot of progress," he said. "They're all stuck. It's been a tough spring."

ISMA Lodge President Lee Barnhill and members Ted Rayha and Paul LaBrecque came out to greet Ruch as part of a centuries-old tradition. In the pilothouse of the freighter, they presented Ruch with a calendar and some cigars for him and Chief Engineer Mark St. Pierre. Ruch is a member of ISMA as well, and Barnhill said he was glad to greet a fellow member that day.

Plant Manager Allan Idalski and materials performance supervisor Tim Cordes came along. Idalski said he was glad for the opportunity to show off the plant, and to meet Ruch.

"It's great to greet the captains like that," he said. "We don't get to meet them as often as you'd think. It's a great opportunity to see the vessel and see where it goes from here."

Presque Isle Quarry plans to ship 6 1/2 million tons of aggregate this year, and produce about seven million tons, Idalski said. It should be a fairly good year for the quarry, especially after hitting a low of shipping five million tons in 2009. The quarry ships high-calcium limestone, with 60 percent of it going to the metallurgical market and much of the rest used for road building.

April 15 is a late start for the quarry's shipping season, Idalski said.

"Typically, we'd be trying to start up by mid-March," he said.

The Alpena News





Gary Works running at reduced capacity due to ore shortage

4/18 - Gary, Ind. – The nation's largest steel mill is still running at reduced capacity, and iron ore sourcing problems persist because of the worst winter for Great Lakes shipping in decades.

U.S. Steel notified customers three weeks ago it was forced to curtail production at Gary Works, a fully integrated mill that stretches for seven miles along the southern shore of Lake Michigan, because icy conditions kept it from getting enough iron ore. The raw material gets shipped over the Great Lakes and is essential to the steelmaking process.

Two of the four blast furnaces at Gary Works were in use earlier this week, but that has since changed and the situation remains fluid, spokeswoman Sarah Cassella said. Iron ore shipments arrived last week after lengthy delays, which were brought on by thick shelf ice and windrows of up to 14-feet-tall in Lake Superior.

"Gary Works is still operating at reduced capacity because of iron ore," Cassella said.

Northwest Indiana steel mills were not able to stockpile enough iron ore, coal and limestone – vital ingredients in the steelmaking process – this winter because the Great Lakes started to freeze on Dec. 6, said Glen Nekvasil, vice president for Lake Carriers' Association. That was the earliest point on record the Lakes began to freeze.

Lake freighters have struggled to make the voyage from the Iron Range in Minnesota to Northwest Indiana mills, which depend on shipments of iron ore or other raw materials.

"This is the worst winter since 1993 or 1994," Nekvasil said. "The last time ice breakers were out this late in the season convoying vessles was 1996. It's been a very brutal winter."

The United States and Canada operate five heavy icebreakers on the Great Lakes, and that was not enough this winter, Nekvasil said.

Many ships are not even trying to plow through shelf ice that is 40 inches thick in Lake Superior. The number of active commercial freighters on April 1 dropped to 23 from 39 a year ago. A few vessels forged ahead anyway since their customers desperately needed the cargo.

But a voyage that normally takes a freighter 2 1/2 days ended up lasting 13 days earlier this month.

"There are tens of thousands of jobs riding on this cargo, and we need to take a look at the adequacy of the icebreaking resources on the lakes," Nekvasil said. "The weather has moderated but the ice is too quick to melt on sunny days. Mother Nature is not going to get us out of this quickly."

NW Times





Cleveland ready to welcome the Cleveland Europe Express

4/18 - Cleveland, Ohio –Fortunagracht, a 12,000-ton cargo ship from Amsterdam, is threading the St. Lawrence Seaway on its way to Cleveland and maritime history. She's the lead ship in the Cleveland-Europe Express – the first regularly scheduled container shipping between the Great Lakes and Europe.

The vessel is expected to sail into the Port of Cleveland Friday night or Saturday morning with a load of machinery, specialty steel and windmill parts. She'll load up with Midwest exports and head back to Europe, but not before experiencing a Great Lakes greeting.

A private welcoming ceremony for the captain and crew of the Fortunagracht, as well as for her owners, the Spliethoff Group of Amsterdam, will take place at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Aloft Hotel on the East Bank of the Flats. Port officials plan to escort guests to the observation deck of the Ernst & Young Tower for a bird's-eye view of the port and its uncommon visitor.

For public viewing, the West Ninth Street ramp into the port will be open for people to walk down toward the docks for a better look at the ship, which likely will be loading cargo.

The Fortunagracht is what's known as a Seaway class "combi," a combination vessel able to carry both bulk and containerized cargo through the locks of the Seaway. She will become the first container ship to call on Cleveland in decades.

The Fortunagracht left Antwerp, Belgium, on April 5 and reached the Saint Lawrence River Tuesday after some rough weather in the North Atlantic.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer





High flows in St. Marys Rapids expected this summer

4/18 - Sault Ste. Marie – The International Lake Superior Board of Control is anticipating a potentially large increase in Lake Superior outflows in the coming months, and higher than normal flows and water levels in the St. Marys Rapids.

Forecasts indicate that expected flows may require multiple gates to be opened in the control structure at the head of the St. Marys Rapids as early as May, with potentially higher flows expected to follow during the summer months.

The board, under authority granted to it by the International Joint Commission, sets the Lake Superior outflow each month by applying Plan 1977-A, the regulation plan for Lake Superior.

The plan-prescribed outflow depends on water levels of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan-Huron. Lake Superior water levels have rebounded considerably over the past year, rising above average in March and reaching their highest level since March 1998. Lake Michigan-Huron water levels have also increased during the past year, but remain well-below average.

Forecasts of water levels and flows are subject to considerable uncertainty, as they depend on the net supply of water to the lakes and their surrounding drainage basins in the form of precipitation, runoff, and evaporation. As such, the Board reviews multiple water supply scenarios to forecast water levels and flows that could be expected given a range of possible conditions.

Under near-normal water supply conditions, the Board anticipates needing to open at least five gates fully in June and July, and three gates fully in August The significant snowpack that remains in the region or a particularly wet spring would result in above-average water supplies to Lake Superior and continued above-average water levels and flows, such that four gates may be opened as early as May, and six or more gates may be opened in June, July and August.

The Board hopes that this early advisement will help those that may be affected to mitigate or eliminate any adverse impacts that the higher than normal water levels and flows may cause. The Board will reassess conditions throughout the coming months and will advise the International Joint Commission accordingly.







Coast Guard suspends active search for missing fishermen in Lake Erie

4/18 - Cleveland, Ohio – The Coast Guard has suspended its search for the two remaining people in the water near South Bass Island in Lake Erie, Thursday, pending any new developments.

Two bodies were recovered and a boat was found five miles northeast of Locust Point, Ohio, Thursday morning. The Coast Guard is not releasing the names of the missing people or the recovered individuals at the request of the families. Both recovered people where wearing life jackets at the time of their recovery.

Involved in the search were boat crews aboard response boats from Coast Guard Stations Marblehead, Ohio, and Toledo, Ohio; air crews aboard Dolphin helicopters from Coast Guard Air Station Detroit and an air crew aboard a Guardian fixed-wing search jet from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas; Canadian Coast Guard aircrews aboard a fixed-wing search aircraft from Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton, Ontario; a dive team from the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department; water search teams from Customs and Border Protection and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources; and other local agencies.

The search commenced at 2 a.m. after a watchstander at Sector Detroit received a report that a fishing group was overdue on returning home. The boat was discovered on Toussaint Reef, approximately five miles northeast of Locust Point. The group's truck and boat trailer were found at the Locust Point boat ramp.

Search crews searched a combined more than 200 square nautical miles of the lake.







Belle Isle Gala May 3 at Dossin Great Lakes Museum

4/18 - Detroit, Mich. – Join the Detroit Historical Society for its Spring Into Belle Isle Gala on Saturday, May 3 from 5 p.m.-12 a.m. at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum.

Spring Into Belle Isle is the new annual fundraising event for the Dossin Museum, presented in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Belle Isle Conservancy. This exciting evening begins with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the museum, followed by trolley tours of the island. The tours will feature some of Belle Isle’s best attractions including the nation’s oldest aquarium, the Anna Scripps Conservatory, the Scott Fountain and, of course, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum. A strolling dinner and entertainment will begin at 7 p.m.

Benefactor ticketholders can arrive at 4 p.m. to enjoy a reception aboard luxury yachts at the Detroit Yacht Club. Benefactor tickets are available for $350, with patron tickets priced at $200 and Next Generation tickets for guests 40 and under at $75.

For information about Gala sponsorship packages or to purchase Gala tickets, please contact Kristin Rossi at [e-mail] or [phone].





Help wanted: City of Toronto - ticket collector, deckhand and marine engineer 2

4/18 - Ticket Collector who collects fares from passengers boarding ferries and issues vehicle permits details

Deckhand working under the supervision of the captain, the deckhand is required to perform duties of a varied nature on a vessel. details

Marine Engineer 2 operates and maintains diesel engines and related mechanical equipment such as marine hoisting equipment on vessels. details

See links for more details Interested applicants are requested to send their resume and cover letter to the City of Toronto's website. Please visit www.toronto.ca/jobs, by April 24 to view entire job postings referenced above.





Help Wanted: First Officer/Pilot Position - M/V Ranger III, Isle Royale National Park

4/18 - The National Park Service is accepting applications for the position of First Officer, M/V Ranger III. Interested parties should apply through the USAJobs.gov web page under announcement number MWRC-14-EX-0101. www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/366903100





Lookback #152 – Former Buccaneer was seized on April 18, 2012

4/18 - Two years ago today the ocean going freighter Atlantic Cruiser was towed into Iskenduran, Turkey, and placed under arrest. There was a suggestion that the cargo included weapons destined for Syria and officials insisted that the ship be unloaded and each container checked. Much to their chagrin, no arms were found and Atlantic Cruiser was reloaded and cleared to go.

This ship was a Seaway trader under two names. The 351 foot, 7 inch freighter had been built at Gadansk, Poland, in 2001 and initially sailed as BBC Italy. It became Buccaneer later that year and was inbound through the Seaway for Thunder Bay on October 17, 2001.

The vessel resumed sailing as BBC Italy in 2003 and remained under the flag of Antigua. It was back on the Great Lakes in November bound for Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., with steel before loading grain at Thunder Bay. It made its last trip inland in June 2009.

Atlantic Cruiser was chartered to Ukrainian interests when it was falsely accused of smuggling arms. It was sold later in 2012 and was last reported as sailing under the flag of India as Allcargo Susheela.


Today in Great Lakes History - April 18

18 April 1907 - At least 20 freighters were anchored at De Tour, Michigan, waiting for the frozen St. Marys River to break up. The vessels found their provisions running low after waiting for about a week and they bought everything edible in De Tour.

The U.S. Lighthouse Service Tender ASPEN (steel propeller tender, 117 foot, 277 gross tons, built in 1906, at Toledo, Ohio) was sent to Cheboygan, Michigan to get more provisions. De Tour did not have railroad facilities at this time and therefore was compelled to stretch the provisions from the last boat in the fall through winter until a boatload of supplies was delivered in the Spring.

On 18 April 1889, the CITY OF RACINE (wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 220 foot, 1,041 tons) was launched by Burger & Burger at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, for the Goodrich Transportation Company. The vessel was ready for service three months later. Her total cost was $125,000.

On her maiden voyage April 18, 1980, the AMERICAN MARINER left Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in ballast for Escanaba, Michigan to load 31,322 gross tons of taconite pellets for Ashtabula, Ohio and arrived there on April 26th.

Hall Corp. of Canada’s b.) MONTCLIFFE HALL began trading on the Great Lakes on April 18, 1978. Renamed c.) CARTIERDOC in 1988 and d.) CEDARGLEN in 2002. Built in 1959 in Germany as the a.) EMS ORE, she was purchased by Hall Corp. in 1977. Converted to a bulk carrier with the addition of a forward cargo section at Davie Shipbuilding in Lauzon, Quebec.

PATERSON (Hull#231) was launched April 18, 1985, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. She was the last straight deck bulk freighter built on the Lakes and was built to the maximum size permitted to lock through the Seaway. Renamed b.) PINEGLEN in 2002.

Johnstown Steamship's a) MIDVALE (Hull#167) of Great Lakes Engineering Works was launched April 18, 1917. Renamed b.) BETHLEHEM in 1925 and scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1974.

Problems occurred on the ALASTAIR GUTHRIE's first trip of the year on April 18, 1979, when she began taking on water in the engine room while loading grain at the International Multifoods elevator at Duluth, Minnesota. Her stern settled to the bottom of the slip with 12 feet of water in the engine room.

Upper Lakes Shipping's RED WING was sold for scrap on April 18, 1986.

On April 18, 1960, the ROBERT C. STANLEY struck Vidal Shoal in St. Marys River about 1.5 miles above the Soo Locks, and tore a hole in her bottom.

Superior Steamship Co.'s a.) SINALOA (Hull#609) of the West Bay City Shipbuilding Co., was launched April 18, 1903, as a straight deck bulk freighter. Renamed b.) WILLIAM F. RAPPRICH in 1924, c.) SINALOA in 1927. Converted to a self unloader in 1931. Renamed d.) STONEFAX in 1960. Scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1971.

April 18, 1936 - Albert W. Ackerman, chief engineer of the Pere Marquette car ferries for 35 years, died (Friday afternoon) at the Paulina Stearns hospital.

On 18 April 1848, the wooden schooner TRIBUNE went missing in lower Lake Michigan. Her fate was unknown until native fishermen discovered her masts standing upright off Cathead Point in November 1849. All 10 of her crew were lost.

On 18 April 1885, the schooner-barge ELEANOR was launched at Mount Clemens, Michigan. Her dimensions were 185 foot overall, 32 foot beam and 11 foot 3 inch depth. She had three spars and was the consort of the steam barge A WESTON. She was built for the Tonawanda Barge Line and was named after Capt. William Du Lac's wife.

1945 The steel barge GEORGE T. DAVIE, en route from Oswego to Kingston with 1,100 tons of coal and under tow of the SALVAGE PRINCE, began leaking and sank off Nine Mile Point, Lake Ontario, in 85 feet of water. The hull was located by divers in 1999. The ship had once been part of Canada Steamship Lines.

1989 ENERCHEM AVANCE spent 7 hours aground in the St. Marys River below the Soo Locks on this day in 1989. At last report the ship was under Nigerian registry as e) ERINGA.

[Avenger]

19 April 1884 - The KASOTA (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 246 foot, 1660 gross tons, built in 1884 at Cleveland, Ohio) was launched by Thomas Quayles & Sons at Cleveland, Ohio for Capt. Thomas Wilson of Cleveland, Ohio. The hull was painted green with white bulwarks and upper works.

On 19 April 1956, the newly-converted cement carrier E.M. FORD had her steering equipment break when she was abeam of Harsens Island on the St. Clair River. She plowed head-on into the down bound freighter A.M. BYERS which was loaded with dolomite for Buffalo, New York. The BYERS sank in just 17 minutes and the FORD anchored. No lives were lost.

Sea trials were completed for Upper Lakes Shipping's CANADIAN TRANSPORT on April 19, 1979, and she departed Port Weller Dry Docks Ltd., on her maiden voyage the next morning.

The GEORGE A. STINSON's self-unloading boom collapsed onto her deck due to a mechanical failure on the night of April 19, 1983, at Detroit, Michigan. No injuries were reported. She continued hauling cargoes without a boom most of the year until it was replaced on September 20. She sails today as b.) AMERICAN SPIRIT.

On April 19, 1951, the CLIFFS VICTORY began her much publicized 1,000 mile journey up the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers through the Illinois Waterway pushed by a towboat to Lockport, Illinois where two Great Lakes Towing Co., tugs took up the tow through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Hall Corp. of Canada's a.) HUTCHCLIFFE HALL (Hull#261) by Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal, Quebec, was launched April 19, 1954.

Pittsburgh Steamship's steamer RICHARD TRIMBLE (Hull#707) of the American Ship Building Co., Lorain, Ohio, was launched April 19, 1913. She was scrapped at Duluth, Minnesota between 1978 and 1981.

On April 19, 1950, the WILFRED SYKES entered service, departing Lorain, Ohio for Toledo to load coal on her maiden voyage. The SYKES also became the largest vessel on the Great Lakes, taking the honor from Pittsburgh Steamship Company's LEON FRASER class (the "Supers"), which had held it since June 21, 1942.

April 19, 1917 - ANN ARBOR NO 5 broke off her starboard shaft and bent the rudder stock on the rocky corner of the old Goodrich dock in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

On 19 April 1880, the Port Huron Times reported the results of a severe gale: "The schooner CHRIS GROVER, ashore near Oscoda, Michigan, is reported going to pieces. The crew is aboard. The schooner ATHENIAN, lumber laden, is reported to have gone ashore off Au Sable and to be a complete wreck. The schooner HATTIE JOHNSON is abandoned on Goose Island shoal. The cabin and part of her deck are gone. The stern is gone from her mizzen and the gale probably broke her up completely and her outfit and cargo may prove a total loss." The GROVE and the JOHNSON were later recovered and put back in service.

On 19 April 1884, EUROPE (wooden propeller, passenger/package freight vessel, 136 foot, 628 gross tons, built in 1870 at St. Catharines, Ontario) was almost totally destroyed by fire at St. Catharines. The remains of her hull were later rebuilt as the barge REGINA.

1915: PALIKI of the Algoma Central Railway fleet was carrying steel rails to Chicago when it ran aground on Simmons Reef near the Straits of Mackinac.

1922: LAMBTON, a steel lighthouse tender, was last seen on the date by the MIDLAND PRINCE. It was lost with all hands on Lake Superior somewhere south of Michipicoten Island while delivering lighthouse keepers to their stations. Wreckage was later located but no bodies were ever found.

1927: DAVID S. TROXEL was damaged in a storm on Lake Superior. Plates and rivets worked loose and there were problems with the rudder. The ship was renamed c) SONOMA later in 1927 and was scrapped by Stelco in Hamilton as d) FRED L. HEWITT in 1962.

1938: REDRIVER had loaded coal at Charlotte, NY and was crossing Lake Ontario when it ran aground, due to fog, near Point Petre.

1939: VALLEY CAMP ran aground on Cole's Shoal, near Brockville, due to fog and part of the cargo of coal had to be lightered before the ship was refloated with the help of the tug SALVAGE PRINCE on April 24.

1940: SANDLAND battled through heavy ice to open the port of Port Colborne on this date in 1940. The ship had a cargo of scrap steel from Detroit for the Algoma Steel mill.

1956: A.M. BYERS was loaded with limestone and bound from Drummond Island to Buffalo when it sank in the St. Clair River following a collision with the E.M. FORD on this date in 1956. The ship was hit on the port side abreast of the pilothouse but all on board were rescued. The ship was later salvaged and repaired becoming b) CLEMENS A. REISS (ii) in 1959 and c) JACK WIRT in 1970.