Today in Great Lakes History

[Avenger]

Today in Great Lakes History - April 20

20 April 1874 - Bailiff Smith boarded the little tug IDA SEARNS at Port Rowan, Ontario, with orders to seize the vessel. However, the skipper, Captain Tregent, weighed anchor and gave the bailiff the opportunity of a free ride to Detroit. Bailiff Smith had been on such an excursion once before and hastily jumped onto the dock. The tug quickly steamed out of the harbor.

On 20 April 1851, the COMET (wooden side-wheel steamer, 174 foot, 337 gross tons, built in 1848, at Portsmouth [Kingston], Ontario) had her boiler explode as she was departing Oswego, New York. Eight crewmembers were killed. The vessel was later raised, rebuilt in Montreal, and put back in service as the MAYFLOWER. She last until 1861, when she sank in Lake Ontario when she collided with the schooner EXCHANGE.

On April 20, 1960, Bethlehem Steel's ARTHUR B. HOMER (Hull#303) entered service. She was the last vessel built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works. She was scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario, in 1986.

The 3-mast schooner CAMDEN was launched at Cleveland, Ohio, on 20 April 1872.

1909: Ice cut open a big hole in the wooden hull of the steamer EBER WARD while traveling 6 miles west of Mackinaw City. The vessel hit heavy pack ice and the corn-laden steamer sank. Five lives were lost but the rest of the crew was picked up by the BENNINGTON.

1916: The wooden bulk carrier LANSING was built at Trenton, MI in 1887 and was sold off lakes in 1913. It was operating as a lumber barge when in a collision with the tug TRANSFER NO. 15 off the Battery in Brooklyn on this date in 1916. The bow was stove in and the ship sank at the foot of 27th St. The hull was salvaged on May 10 1916, and was repaired for further service.

1947: EDMUND P. SMITH went aground at Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., perhaps while delivering coal to Algoma Steel. This vessel came down the Welland Canal under her own power November 9, 1963, bound for Hamilton for scrapping at Stelco.

[Avenger]

Sorry for the delay in postings while ppat's out of town. Since I'm temporarily displaced from home I don't any significant internet access on weekends.

Today in Great Lakes History - April 21

21 April 1907 Peter West, a fireman on the JOHN C. GAULT (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 218 foot, 519 gross tons, built in 1881, at Buffalo, New York, converted to a bulk freighter in 1906, at Detroit, Michigan) fell overboard and drowned in Lake Huron. The news was reported to Capt. J. W. Westcott when the GAULT sailed past Detroit, Michigan, on 23 April 1907.

On 21 April 1863, SEABIRD (wooden side-wheel steamer, 638 tons, built in 1859, at Newport [Marine City], Michigan) was purchased by Capt. A. E. Goodrich from Capt. E. Ward for $36,000. She served primarily on the Lake Michigan west-shore and Lake Superior routes until she burned in 1868.

EDWIN H. GOTT cleared Two Harbors, Minn., with her first cargo, 59,375 tons of iron ore, on April 21, 1979, bound for Gary, Indiana.

Interstate Steamship's a.) WILLIS L. KING (Hull#79) by the Great Lakes Engineering Works, departed on her maiden voyage with a load of coal from Toledo, Ohio on April 21, 1911, bound for Superior, Wisconsin. Renamed b) C. L. AUSTIN in 1952 and was scrapped at Ashtabula, Ohio, in 1985.

On April 21, 1988, P & H Shipping Ltd.'s, d.) BIRCHGLEN, a.) WILLIAM MC LAUGHLIN, was towed off the Great Lakes by the tugs ELMORE M. MISNER and ATOMIC bound for Sydney, Nova Scotia, to be scrapped. Panda Steamship Co., G. A. Tomlinson, mgr.'s a.) WILLIAM H. WARNER (Hull#784) by American Ship building Co., was launched April 21, 1923. Renamed b.) THE INTERNATIONAL in 1934, c.) MAXINE in 1977, d.) J. F. VAUGHAN in 1981 and e.) OAKGLEN in 1983. Scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey, in 1989.

Pittsburgh Steamship Co's, HOMER D. WILLIAMS (Hull#720) by American Ship Building Co., Lorain, Ohio, was launched in 1917.

April 21, 1998 - PERE MARQUETTE 41 (former CITY OF MIDLAND 41) was towed to Sturgeon Bay from Muskegon for the remainder of the conversion. She was towed by the tugs MARY PAGE HANNAH and the CARL WILLIAM SELVICK.

On 21 April 1868, GERTRUDE (2-mast wooden schooner, 137 foot, 268 tons, built in 1855, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying corn from Chicago to Buffalo when she was cut by the ice four miles west of Mackinaw City and sank in deep water. Her crew made it to shore in the yawl.

1963: The hull of the Swedish freighter HELGA SMITH cracked en route from Montreal to Kristiansand, Norway, and the crew abandoned the ship. The vessel was taken in tow but sank April 23 while ten miles off Cape Broyle, Newfoundland. The ship had been completed in December 1944 and had been a Seaway trader since 1960.

1981: The Italian freighter DONATELLA PARODI first came inland in 1965 at the age of 8. It was sailing as f) MARIKA K. when a fire broke out in the engineroom on this day in 1981. The vessel was en route from Varna, Bulgaria, to Karachi, Pakistan, when the blaze erupted on the Mediterranean some 60 miles east of Crete. The ship was abandoned by the crew but towed to Eleusis, Greece. It was laid up, later put under arrest and was partially sunk. Following an auction, the hull was pumped out, towed into Aliaga, Turkey, on May 18, 1987, and broken up.

1986: ALGOPORT was inbound at Grand Haven, MI with a cargo of salt when it hit the seawall.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Fantastic job Scrod! I thank you. Im still recovering from the knee job and the meds are keeping me in the IDGAF mood which I hate!. Today, no dope, so I am trying to hit Menards and wally world. Thatll probably do me in... so on to the weather... ws

[yachtsmanwilly]

Ice conditions improve on St. Marys River

4/22 - Mother Nature, in a show of spring-like conditions, has totally changed the ice conditions on the St Marys River. While there remains lots of ice most of it is quickly melting and rotting, especially the shore-fast ice (ice outside the track and undisturbed since it formed in December). The ice in the track is now mostly thick brash (slush) and it is slowly moving downstream with the current. It also moves into and around the track with any wind that may blow and with the actions of the various ships that pass through.

Many ships are now making the transit unassisted, although the empty 1,000-footers still have troubles at the corners. Fortunately the USCGC Katmai Bay was in the river on Easter Sunday, and did a wonderful job of cleaning up the corner at Stribling Point. CCGS Martha L. Black also went upriver on Sunday and helped the Samuel Risley to get the Indiana Harbor through the turn at the Mud Lake Junction Bouy. All three ships had difficulties due to the extremely thick brash, but after several hours they were on the move again.

There is still a line-up in the lower river, with the Burns Harbor being the longest resident of the queue. Now that the river is workable, the issue becomes accommodating downbound traffic in the upbound lane, dock space in the Soo, holding space in Whitefish Bay and convoy work across Lake Superior. Both CCGS Pierre Radisson and USCGC Mackinaw continue to work with Superior convoys while CCGS Martha Black will make her way to Thunder Bay to assist USCGC Alder with harbor breakout there. CCGS Des Groseilliers, which had been assisting vessels on the upper lakes, is now on her way back to Quebec.

On Tuesday the Rock Cut opens for icebreakers only. The downbound passage will be broken out and, at some point, a USACE dredge will be brought down to the Rock Cut to clean up the bottom of the channel before commercial traffic is allowed to start.

Note: This will probably be my last report from the 2014 winter-that-won't-go-away, as we are doing a crew change in the Soo on Wednesday at noon. Once home I will bask in the heat alongside the Welland Canal and marvel at how easily the ships move through open water! I hope the last two weeks have given readers some idea of the efforts required by all involved to keep cargo moving and the economy rolling. This is one of those rare cases where borders become invisible for a time and everyone contributes to the common good.

Paul Beesley





Shipping season began Monday, marking latest start ever

4/22 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – Two ships were due to arrive in the port of Thunder Bay on Monday, marking the latest start to a shipping season there. An extremely cold winter left most of Lake Superior frozen over, and the ice in Thunder Bay harbor is still as much as a 3 feet thick in some places.

A U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker has been working to break up the ice, but harbormaster Guy Jarvis says a Canadian Coast Guard ship is on its way to help.

"We still ... have 36 to 42 inches of ice in the harbor. So a heavier icebreaker to continuously move the ice around will help," Jarvis said, adding he expects the CCGS Martha L. Black to arrive on Wednesday. Jarvis says the effects of the cold have been felt throughout the province.

"Things in the lower Great Lakes were probably delayed 7-10 days because of the ice conditions in the Welland Canal and the St. Clair River, but I think winter's hanging around a little bit longer in the Lake Superior region," he said.

Jarvis says there are still as many as 50 ships waiting for an escort to cross Lake Superior.

CBC





Port Reports - April 22

Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
Ice charts posted by the US and Canadian ice services are now showing plenty of open water on northern Lake Michigan, so fortunately it appears that Straits convoys will soon be a thing of the past. A couple of major convoys took place on Easter Sunday and Monday, however. At 9 am on Sunday, the USCG icebreaker Hollyhock orchestrated an eastbound convoy southwest of Lansing Shoal led by the Cason J. Callaway followed by the Baie St. Paul, Algoway, Alpena, USEPA Lake Guardian and Whitefish Bay. Then, around 4:30 pm, the Hollyhock was escorting a small westbound group – Buffalo, Calumet and Walter J. McCarthy Jr. – just west of the bridge. There was also a group of freighters east of Round Island Passage waiting for passage up the St. Marys River: John G. Munson, Frontenac, Algoma Guardian and American Courage. On Monday, the Hollyhock escorted the Samuel de Champlain and the Ken Boothe Sr. eastbound from Lansing Shoal.

Green Bay
Alpena arrived Monday morning with a load of cement for Lafarge Terminal. Also, the Buffalo arrived with coal for the Fox River Dock Terminal.

Milwaukee, Wis. - Chris Gaziano
Federal Nakagawa was inbound at sunrise Monday and was assisted into south slip No. 1 by G-Tug Oklahoma.

Stoneport & Calcite, Mich. - Denny Dushane
At Stoneport, Pathfinder loaded on Monday and was expected to depart around 8-8:30 p.m. Mississagi was at anchor waiting and was due to take the dock between 8:30-9 p.m. Due on Tuesday is the Joseph H. Thompson in the morning. Three vessels are due to load on Wednesday, with Manistee and Calumet due in the early morning. Lewis J. Kuber rounds out the schedule, arriving in the late evening on Wednesday. At Calcite, American Courage loaded on Monday and was expected to depart at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. The only other vessel on the schedule for the remainder of the week is the Manitowoc, due in on Friday in the morning.

Sarnia, Ont.
Kaministiqua and Ojibway departed Sarnia and were headed up Lake Huron on Monday.

Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
John D. Leitch loaded coal on Monday at the CSX Coal Dock. Lewis J. Kuber is due to load at the CSX Coal Dock on Tuesday during the late evening. There is nothing due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock. At the Torco Dock, Lakes Contender is due to arrive during the early evening on Tuesday and the James L. Kuber rounds out the schedule Saturday in the early morning to unload at Torco.

Hamilton, Ont. - Eric Holmes
Vlieborg arrived at 9 p.m. Tim S. Dool arrived at 1 p.m. with iron ore pellets from Port Cartier for Dofasco. Tug Omni Richelieu departed at 4 p.m. for Clarkson to help the Duzgit Endeavour dock and returned to port at 8 p.m. Cuyahoga arrived in ballast at 6:30 p.m. Heloise departed at 6:30 p.m. from Pier 25 with grain. Thunder Bay arrived at 8:15 pm. with coal from Nanticoke for US Steel.





Coast Guard concludes icebreaking operations on lower Great Lakes

4/22 - Detroit, Mich. – The Coast Guard concluded icebreaking operations on the lower Great Lakes Monday, more than four months after they started. Operation Coal Shovel is a bi-national domestic icebreaking effort covering the St. Lawrence Seaway, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, the Detroit/St. Clair River System, and southern Lake Huron.

Crews aboard Coast Guard cutters Mackinaw, Hollyhock, Bristol Bay, Neah Bay and Morro Bay were joined by crews from Canadian Coast Guard Ships Samuel Risley, Griffon and Des Groseilliers during this year’s operation. They teamed together to ensure commercial traffic transited the waterways safely and mitigate any flooding concerns. In total, the Coast Guard crews alone conducted more than 2,100 icebreaking hours during the 128 days of Operation Coal Shovel.

Also assisting the ships with ice reconnaissance were aircrews from Coast Guard Air Station Detroit, which flew more than 40 hours in support of the operation, and aircrews from the Canadian Coast Guard. The aircraft provided valuable aerial information on ice concentrations to help allocate icebreakers in the most needed areas and minimize risk to commercial shippers.

During Operation Coal Shovel, U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard crews assisted 184 vessels and provided harbor breakouts to relieve or prevent flooding in four U.S. and one Canadian community.

Each year the Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard partner to ensure foreign ships depart the Great Lakes before the St. Lawrence Seaway closes, conduct wintertime search and rescue, minimize potential for flooding, provide assistance to island residents for critical supplies and services, and ensure the safe movement of critical cargoes on lakers during the winter months.

"Although the majority of ice has melted from the waterways in the Operation Coal Shovel area of responsibility, there may still be lingering ice that could pose hazards to recreational vessels," said Chief Petty Officer Gabriel Settel, chief of Coast Guard Sector Detroit Command Center. "Likewise, the water temperatures are still very low and could cause hypothermia within a matter of minutes. Recreational users of the waterways should closely consider these factors before venturing onto the water."

This year's Operation Coal Shovel lasted significantly longer than last year's, which ran from Jan. 3 through March 23, 2013.





New salties due in Montreal

4/22 - Two new saltwater vessels making their debut visits to the Great Lakes/Seaway system were expected to arrive in Montreal on Monday. They are the Olza of Liberian registry (IMO 9521837) of the Polish Steamship Co., built in 2012, and the Diana of Antigua/Barbuda registry (IMO 9370082) built in 2007. These two saltwater vessels join three additional vessels – Fortunagracht of the Netherlands registry (IMO 9507609), tanker Duzgit Endeavour of Turkish flag (IMO 9581007) and the Prosna of Liberian registry (IMO 9521849) – which have already made their debuts on the Great Lakes/Seaway system. Olza will be heading to Duluth-Superior. She is one of eight new Handy-size ships that Polsteam has ordered since 2011 from the Sanfu Ship Engineering, Taizhou Jiangsu, China. The first in the series to visit the Great Lakes/Seaway system in 2012 was the Ina. Afterward, two additional ships – the Raba and Regalica – both visited in 2013. Each vessel is registered from Liberia and flies that nation's flag. Of the eight ships built in China for Polsteam, only the Narew, San and Skawa have yet to visit the Great Lakes/Seaway system. Each vessel measures 149.96 meters in length with a beam of 23.6 meters in width.

Denny Dushane





Coast Guard announces channel opening

4/22 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The Coast Guard will open the waters between St Ignace and Mackinac Island at 8 a.m. on Thursday. Each winter this area is allowed to freeze over and commercial traffic is restricted from the area to allow an ice bridge to form to the Island.





Lookback #156 – Neepawah sunk by bombs on April 22, 1917

4/22 - Neepawah was a steel package freight carrier that came to Canada, following construction at Greenock, Scotland, in 1903. It first worked for the New Ontario Steamship Co. and then Inland Lines Ltd., before joining Canada Steamship Line on the fleet’s formation in 1913.

Neepawah had survived at grounding off Otter Head, Lake Superior, on August 17, 1908, and a collision with the Dundee near Thunder Cape, Lake Superior, on May 5, 1912.

The 253-foot-long ship was requisitioned for war service in 1915 and re-crossed the Atlantic for coastal trading. All went well until 97 years ago today when the vessel was captured by the German submarine U-53. Neepawah was on a voyage from Huelva, Spain, to Rouen, France, with a cargo of pyrites when taken over. The latter, long known as "Fool's Gold,” has been used commercially to produce sulfur dioxide for a variety of industrial enterprises.

The Germans put timed bombs on board and, when detonated, Neepawah sank about 120 miles west of Bishop Rock at the westernmost tip of the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, England. The Guinness Book of records lists this as the world's smallest island with a building on it.


Today in Great Lakes History - April 22

22 April 1873 - ST. JOSEPH (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 150 feet, 473 gross tons, built in 18,67 at Buffalo, New York) was sold by the Goodrich Transportation Company to Charles Chamberlain and others of Detroit, Michigan, for $30,000.

On 22 April 1872, Capt. L. R. Boynton brought the wooden propeller WENONA into Thunder Bay to unload passengers and freight at Alpena, Michigan. The 15-inch-thick ice stopped him a mile from the harbor. The passengers got off and walked across the ice to town. Later, because of the novelty of it, a couple hundred people from Alpena walked out to see the steamer. In the evening, Capt. Boynton steamed back to Detroit without unloading any of the cargo.

American Steamship Co.'s, ST. CLAIR (Hull#714) was christened April 22, 1976, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Corp.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE of 1930, laid up for the last time at Toronto on April 22, 1986.

CSL's HOCHELAGA lost her self-unloading boom during a windstorm at Windsor, Ontario, on April 22, 1980. As a consequence, she made 10 trips hauling grain as a straight-decker.

CHARLES M. WHITE was commissioned April 22, 1952, at South Chicago, Illinois. She was soon recognized as one of the fastest ships on the Great Lakes because of her ability to reach speeds in excess of 17 knots (19.6 mph).

On 22 April 1871, the 210-foot, 4-masted wooden schooner JAMES COUCH was launched at Port Huron, Michigan. She was named for a prominent Chicago businessman of the time.

On 22 April 1872, EVA M. CONE (wooden schooner, 25 tons, built in 1859, at Oconto, Wisconsin) was carrying lumber from Port Washington to Milwaukee on an early-season run when she struck on ice floe, capsized and sank just outside of Milwaukee harbor. Her crew made it to safety in her lifeboat.

1917: NEEPAWAH, formerly part of Canada Steamship Lines, was captured by U53 a German submarine and sunk by timed bombs. The vessel had been carrying pyrites from Huelva, Spain, to Rouen, France, and went down about 120 miles west of Bishop's Rock.

1924: BROOKTON lost her way in heavy snow and ran aground on Russell Island Shoal near Owen Sound. The vessel was released the next day with the help of a tug. Her career ended with scrapping at Hamilton as g) BROOKDALE (i) in 1966-1967.

1947: HARRY YATES (ii) stranded on Tecumseh Reef, Lake Erie, but was soon released. The vessel became c) BLANCHE HINDMAN (ii) in 1960 and was scrapped at Santander, Spain, in 1968.

1955: Fire destroyed the historic wooden passenger steamers MAID OF THE MIST and MAID OF THE MIST II at their winter quarters in Niagara Falls, ON. The blaze broke out due to an errant welding spark during the annual fit-out and the Niagara Falls Fire Chief suffered a heart attack and died at the scene.

1968: ALHELI, a Lebanese registered Liberty ship, made three trips to the Great Lakes in 1964. The vessel began leaking 900 miles east of Bermuda while en route from Almeria, Spain, to Wilminton, DE, with fluorspar on this date and was abandoned by the crew. The ship went down April 24.

1972: CHAMPLAIN arrived in Canada from overseas in 1959 and saw occasional Great Lakes service. It became f) GILANI in 1970 and toppled on her side at Vercheres due to the swell from a passing ship on April 22, 1972. The ship was refloated several days later.

1973: An explosion in the engine room of the C.P. AMBASSADOR blew a six-foot-hole in the side of the hull during a storm about 420 miles east of Newfoundland. The ship was abandoned, save for the captain and chief engineer, and was towed into St. John's, NF on May 4. It had been a Great Lakes visitor as a) BEAVEROAK beginning when new in 1965. The damage was repaired and the vessel resumed service on July 14, 1973. It was eventually scrapped as f) FLAMINGO at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, following arrival on April 30, 1984.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - April 23

Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
Tuesday morning, the USCG cutter Hollyhock led an eastbound convoy from Lansing Shoal: Joseph H. Thompson, Victory and St. Clair. With northwest winds that built through the day, the convoy chose a route at least one mile north of the LCA line. At 12:30 pm, the St. Clair was two miles north of the LCA line and turning southward to avoid Simmons Reef. Later on Tuesday, the Hollyhock escorted the Stewart J. Cort and Samuel de Champlain westbound. At 9 pm, they were downbound on Lake Michigan, and the Hollyhock was stopped near Lansing Shoal as was the saltie Isolda (AIS destination Toledo). East of Round Island Passage there was a large congregation of freighters Tuesday evening, most of them at anchor just off the north shore for protection from the northwest winds. From Detour Light to the Les Cheneaux Islands they were the John G. Munson, Kaministiqua, Arthur M. Anderson, Frontenac, Algoma Guardian, Algoma Transport, Hon. James L. Oberstar, Cason J. Callaway and Ojibway. The Whitefish Bay and Baie St. Paul were off Bois Blanc Island, and the Michigan and St. Clair east of Mackinac Island. Most appear to be waiting for passage up the St. Marys River.

Milwaukee, Wis. - Chris Gaziano
G.L Ostrander and Integrity departed Tuesday morning.

Alpena, Mich. - Ben & Chanda McClain
The Alpena loaded cement at Lafarge Sunday night. The tug Samuel de Champlain and barge Innovation made their way into port on a foggy Monday night to take on cargo at Lafarge. The research vessel Spencer F. Baird is tied up in the river. The tug Spartan and its barge anchored off Alpena on Tuesday, likely waiting out the windy weather.

Lorain, Ohio
Joyce Van Enkevort and barge Great Lakes Trader left dock 3 and headed out to the lake at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday. She arrived about 10:30 a.m.

Toronto, Ont. - Frank Hood and Jens Juhl
Redhead departed Toronto on Tuesday. Whistler was in inner harbor at 5:30 p.m. to dock at Redpath. Sutherland and Shultz, a Cambridge Ont.-based multi-trade industrial contractor, completed the repairs at Redpath yesterday morning. Unloading of the remaining sugar in Redhead's number 5 hold began at noon and finished at noon Tuesday. The bulker departed at 1:30 Tuesday afternoon and the Whistler cleared the East Gap inbound about an hour later. On hand to provide docking assist were the Group Ocean tugs Jerry G. and Omni Richelieu. As the Whistler approached the dock in a brisk westerly crosswind, disaster struck again. The bulker’s bow struck the right front support leg of the old Colby unloader and put a sizeable ding in it. The bow tug, Jerry G., went astern and probably prevented worse damage. The docking was aborted and the tugs pushed the bulker out into the harbor head to wind so that it could come to anchor. Engineers will be assessing the structural integrity of the crane, and it could mean more work for Sutherlan and Shultz, as the firm’s specialty is the repair or dismantling of industrial structures and large heavy machinery.





Cleveland-Europe Express may add another ship

4/23 - Cleveland, Ohio – Even before longshoremen finished loading the Fortunagracht with cargo bound for Europe, representatives of the Port of Cleveland and a Dutch shipping giant were talking about adding a second vessel to the Cleveland-Europe Express.

The Seaway-sized container ship was scheduled to leave a busy Cleveland Harbor on Tuesday half empty – but many in the shipping business saw a ship half full.

They say the debut of regularly scheduled container service between Europe and the Great Lakes made just the right splash, and that keen interest from shippers may warrant a second vessel by midsummer. That would change the port of call from monthly to biweekly.

"We have been validated by shippers from throughout the Midwest and in Europe," Marc Krantz, the chairman of the port authority, told a crowd gathered in a banquet room at the Aloft Hotel on Tuesday morning. "The Cleveland-Europe Express gives this region global reach, and all of Cleveland will benefit from that."

The welcome reception drew more than 150 people, many from the shipping industry and the region's international communities. Groups ascended to the observation deck of the Ernst & Young Tower for a panoramic view of a harbor being visited by five massive ships – one a container ship from Holland.

Torin Swartout, a vice president for ship-owner the Spliethoff Group, agreed with Krantz that the Express shows promise, even though it could have carried more cargo. He likened the start of a shipping service to the launch of a restaurant, saying he preferred a soft opening while the port and its staff learned to handle containerized cargo.

"We now have the infrastructure in place" and are ready to market the service widely, Swartout said.

"I think we'll fill the ship, sure," he said, adding that a second vessel would make the express more attractive to exporters. "If I was a betting man I'd say, 'Yes, I think we'll do that.'"

Hoping to stoke an export economy, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority has forged a two-year agreement with the Amsterdam-based Spliethoff Group to charter vessels for regular cargo runs between Cleveland and northern Europe via the Saint Lawrence Seaway.

The new route allows Midwest manufacturers to avoid trucking exports to East Coast seaports, saving time and money, the port maintains.

The red-hulled Fortunagracht arrived late Friday night, having sailed nearly two weeks and 4,000 miles from Antwerp, Belgium. Hundreds came down to the port over the weekend to view the ship, which was to sail off Tuesday night on its return voyage.

Krantz told the gathering the launch of container shipping presented port officials with several surprises. Cargo for export came from businesses throughout Ohio, as expected, but also from Indiana, Iowa and even California. The most unusual export, a yellow school bus, is destined for an American school bus buff in Germany.

Great Lakes Brewery shipped some 30 cases of its beer to be handed out at a European trade show. Company founder Pat Conway said the brewer does not make enough beer to export to Europe, but if and when it does, "It's nice to know the Express is a mile from our brewery."

Much of the cargo was not stopping in Europe. It was destined for Saudi Arabia, Korea, Singapore and South America.

As they celebrated an historic voyage, city and port officials recognized people who played key roles in making it work. Thanks went out to members of Local 1317 of the International Longshoreman's Association, who worked a long and anxious weekend unloading ships.

John Baker, the union president, said the crew still includes a few members who unloaded container vessels in the 1970s and 1980s and that helped speed the work.

By chance, an unprecedented five ships arrived in Cleveland Harbor in recent days, all with cargo to be unloaded. "We love it," Baker said. "It's what we're here for."

Special recognition was showered upon the man many credit for creating the Cleveland-Europe Express, the late Charles "Arnie" de la Porte, a Dutch immigrant who for years championed transatlantic trade from Cleveland.

Mayor Frank Jackson recalled being on city council a dozen years ago when de la Porte first pressed upon him his vision.

"And he was persistent about it," the mayor said. "And he talked about this consistently -- how we needed to connect Cleveland to The Netherlands. I am happy his family is here today to see this."

De la Porte died suddenly last fall, without seeing his dream realized.

Port President Will Friedman presented to de la Porte's son, Peter, a street sign bearing the new name of Erieside Avenue as it winds through the port: "Arnie de la Porte Way."

The Plain Dealer





Arnold Line may not ferry passengers to Mackinac Island this year

4/23 - Mackinac Island, Mich. - Questions are being raised about the future of Arnold Transit Co. after Mackinac Island's oldest ferry service lost a major client and missed a deadline to declare whether it would operate in 2014.

According to sources on the island, Arnold Line may not operate passenger ferry service this summer after losing Mission Point Resort as a client this week.

An electricity shut-off at the Arnold Line dock and ferry terminal has islanders wondering about the financial stability of the ferry service, which has undergone recent turnover among the company leadership.

“There are lots of questions right now about Arnold Transit,” said Melanie Libby, a developer on the island who owns a bike shop at the head of the Arnold dock.

Libby spoke to Matt Stuck, Arnold Line vice president, on Tuesday and was told the ferries would be running freight between the island and its docks in Mackinaw City and St. Ignace this summer, but passenger service was still a question mark.

Libby and partner Ira Green own the land between the dock and Main Street on the island, a parcel that's been a source of controversy in recent months. Arnold pays them to keep access open for passengers and cargo.

“They have a number of issues,” Libby said. “At present, it is the economics of it. They are short on cash.”

For several months, the city council has been discussing possible impacts on the island economy and operation if the Arnold Line were to close. On Monday, Arnold Transit Co. missed a deadline to notify the city of Mackinac Island whether it would operate this season. Deputy Clerk Linda Price said mid-day Tuesday the city “has no idea when they are going to be running.”

“We are still iced-in and no boat lines are running,” Price said. Transportation between the island and the mainland has been reliant on air service of late.

There has been recent activity seen on Arnold boats in the icy island harbor. The company fleet includes three catamarans, five traditional ferries and three freight service boats.

Arnold is “planning on running, but we don’t have any details,” Price said. “There’s a lot of people wanting answers and we don’t have them to give.” Messages left with Arnold Line leaders were not returned Tuesday, April 22.

On Facebook, Mission Point Resort touted a new partnership with Star Line for passenger ferry service this year. Resort managers say they switched guest and freight services to Star Line and Shepler's, respectively, given the state of flux surrounding Arnold Line's 2014 outlook.

“We did our best to maintain the Arnold relationship,” said Bradley McCallum, resort general manager. "Unfortunately, the management of Arnold Transit conveyed to us deep uncertainty over whether they would continue to operate. With our resort being so close to opening its doors for the season, we needed to do what is best for our guests and our resort, which includes providing strong, healthy ferry service partners.”

Arnold President Brent Rippe told Interlochen Public Radio on Tuesday that the situation was “fluid” and acknowledged some financial difficulties. Rippe was announced as the new Arnold Line president in early April.

The company called it a “move in a different direction” after several years under former owner and president James Wynn, who sparked litigation in 2010 after an attempt to get exclusive ferry service rights to the island.

Under Wynn’s leadership, former Arnold Line corporate parent Union Terminal Piers began selling land on the island in order to raise cash for ferry operations.

Mackinac Island Ferry Capital, an investment group from Cincinnati, Ohio, now controls the company. Arnold Line has been operating since 1878.

"We hope they figure it out," Libby said. "They are still working on the passenger side of things. We all have our fingers crossed."

Mlive





Chequamegon Bay ice breaking operations canceled

4/23 - The previously reported U.S. Coast Guard ice breaking operations in the South Channel of Chequamegon Bay is canceled. The Madeline Island ferry is fully operational and is no longer in need of icebreaker assistance.





Obituary: Elmer Dunn

4/23 - Elmer Dunn of Dearborn Heights, Mich., passed away on Friday, April 18. Born two weeks after the S/S Titanic sank, was just 10 days shy of his 102nd birthday. His career on the Great Lakes spanned six decades, and was spent mostly aboard vessels of the Ford Motor Company fleet. He was a long-time member of the International Shipmasters Association.

One notable event of his career occurred on November 10, 1975, when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank on Lake Superior. Mr. Dunn was 2nd mate aboard the William Clay Ford, which under the guidance of Captain Don Erickson, left safe anchorage in Whitefish Bay to search for survivors from the Fitzgerald.

In addition to ISMA, Elmer was also a member of the American Legion and Knights of Columbus. He is survived by three children and two grandchildren. His wife Margaret passed away in 1992.





Lookback #157 – Riverton, later the Seaway trader Eftychia, was torpedoed on April 23, 1945

4/23 - The Greek freighter Eftychia came through the Seaway for one trip in 1961. Earlier, during World War Two, the vessel was torpedoed and almost sunk off the southwest coast of England. The ship was sailing at the time as Riverton when it was attacked 69 years ago today.

Riverton had been a product of the Burntisland Shipbuilding Co. and was launched at Burntisland, Scotland, on August 2, 1943. The 436-foot-long general cargo carrier was part of the Cambay Steamship Co. until 1960.

Riverton was torpedoed and almost sunk when attacked by U-1023 on April 23, 1945. Three sailors on board lost their lives. The ship received heavy damage and was almost a casualty itself. But Riverton made port where the vessel was repaired and returned to service.

The steamer was later sold to Greek interests for 82,000 British pounds and delivered to the new owners at Cork, Ireland, on June 28, 1960. It operated on behalf of Demetrios P. Margaronis until resold for Panamanian flag service as Boaz in 1965. By this time the selling price had dropped to 70,000 pounds.

On March 20, 1969, the 26-year-old steamship arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and it was broken up for scrap at that location by the Nang Kwang Steel and Iron Co.


Today in Great Lakes History - April 23

23 April 1907 - The SEARCHLIGHT (wooden propeller fish tug, 40 foot, built in 1899, at Saginaw, Michigan) capsized and sank while returning to Harbor Beach, Michigan, with a load of fish. The vessel had been purchased by Captain Walter Brown and his son from the Robert Beutel Fish Company of Toledo, Ohio, just ten days before. The sale agreement stated that the tug was to be paid for with fish, not cash. All six crew members drowned.

On 23 April 1883, STEPHEN S. BATES (wooden schooner, 97 foot, 139 tons, built in 1856, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) was bound from Horne's Pier, Wisconsin, with posts and hardware for Chicago when she was driven into the shallows just north of Grosse Point, Illinois, by a storm and broke up. No lives were lost.

In 1953, the PERE MARQUETTE 22 was cut in half, then pulled apart and lengthened by 40 feet, as part of a major refit at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Also during this refit, her triple-expansion engines were replaced with Skinner Unaflows, and her double stacks were replaced with a single, tapered stack. The refit was completed August 28, 1953.

On April 23, 1966, the b.) JOSEPH S. WOOD, a.) RICHARD M. MARSHALL of 1953, was towed to the Ford Rouge complex at Dearborn, Michigan by her new owners, the Ford Motor Company. She was renamed c.) JOHN DYKSTRA.

Canada Steamship Lines’ FORT YORK was commissioned April 23, 1958.

On April 23, 1980, the ARTHUR B. HOMER's bow thruster failed while maneuvering through ice at Taconite Harbor, Minnesota, resulting in a grounding which damaged her bow and one ballast tank.

The a.) GRIFFIN (Hull#12) of the Cleveland Ship Building Co. was launched April 23, 1891, for the Lake Superior Iron Mining Co. Renamed b.) JOSEPH S. SCOBELL in 1938, she was scrapped at Rameys Bend, Ontario, in 1971.

On April 23, 1972, PAUL H. CARNAHAN arrived at the Burlington Northern Docks at Superior, Wisconsin, to load 22,402 gross tons of iron ore bound for Detroit, opening the 1972, shipping season at Superior.

On 23 April 1859, at about midnight, the schooner S. BUTTLES was fighting a severe gale. She was carrying staves from Port Burwell, Ontario, to Clayton, New York, and sprang a leak while battling the gale. While manning the pumps, one man was washed overboard, but his shipmates quickly rescued him. Capt. Alexander Pollock beached the vessel to save her about 10 miles east of the Genesee River.

On 23 April 1882, GALLATIN (2-mast wooden schooner, 138 foot, 422 tons, built in 1863, at Oswego, New York) was carrying pig iron from St. Ignace, Michigan, to Erie, Pennsylvania, when she sprang a leak in a storm on Lake Erie. She struck bottom on Chickanolee Reef and foundered in shallow water at Point Pelee. Her crew was saved from the rigging by the fishing sloop LIZZIE.

1916: The grain laden COLLINGWOOD stranded in Whitefish Bay due to ice and fog and was not released until April 27.

1929: The canaller IMARI was on its delivery trip from Port Talbot, Wales, to Canada when it lost the propeller blades, due to ice, off Scaterie Island, Nova Scotia. The vessel later sailed the Great Lakes as b) DELAWARE, d) MANICOUAGAN, e) WASHINGTON TIMES HERALD and f) MANITOULIN.

1945: EFTYCHIA, a Greek freighter, came to the Great Lakes for one trip in 1961. Earlier, as the British freighter RIVERTON, it had been torpedoed by U-1023 off southwest England on April 23, 1945, and three lives were lost. The vessel arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as c) BOAZ ESPERANZA for scrapping on March 20, 1969.

1975: WESTDALE (ii) ran aground at the entrance to Goderich harbour while inbound with grain and was stuck for 15 hours before being pulled free.

1988: QUEDOC (iii) was upbound in the Seaway when it was in a collision with the BIRCHGLEN (I) under tow for scrap, and went aground in Lake St. Louis near Buoy 2A. Four tugs were needed to pull the ship free and it went to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs.

1991: MARINE TRANSPORT operated around Maritime Canada but had come to the Great Lakes as c) C. OMER MARIE. It ran into ice and sank on April 23, 1991, about 10 miles off Cape Race, NF. The vessel was under R.C.M.P. surveillance when it was lost, and all on board were rescued only to be arrested.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - April 24

Milwaukee, Wis. - Chris Otto
After attempting to leave on Monday 4/21 and returning to the salt dock with the assistance of tug Oklahoma, Algorail is undergoing repairs in Milwaukee's inner harbor. Metalworkers appeared to be adding patches to the hull close to the bow on the right side on Wednesday afternoon.

Toronto, Ont. - Jens Juhl
Ironworkers and welders are making repairs to the old Colby crane at Redpath. The upper right rear rail bogey, being inline with the point of impact, suffered the most damage. Although it did not come off the rail, it buckled outward to a pretty severe degree causing some severe metal cracks and breaks. Welders were installing heavy metal doublers and supports in the damaged area in order to restore structural integrity. The Whistler remains at anchor in the harbor.





South Channel opening

4/24 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The Coast Guard will open the waters between Cheboygan Michigan and Bois Blanc Island Michigan known as South Channel Sunday at 7 p.m.





Lookback #158 – Harry L. Findlay and John Irwin collided on April 24, 1948

4/24 - The 1948 shipping season was barely underway when a collision between the American bulk carrier Harry L. Findlay and the Canadian tanker John Irwin occurred in the St. Clair River near Recors Point. Both ship were damaged in the encounter of 66 years ago today.

Harry L. Findlay had been built at Cleveland as Matthew Andrews in 1907 and was part of the Kinsman fleet. The 552 foot long steamship could carry in the range of 11,200 tons of cargo and was active in the ore, coal and grain trades. It became Harry L. Findlay in 1933, and received a twisted stem bar plus dented and fractured hull plates in the accident. Repairs were carried out at Lorain and cost a reported $39,000.

John Irwin, the second tanker of this name to see Great Lakes service, was built at Sorel, Quebec, in 1944 for wartime service. Originally the Eglinton Park, it was sold by the War Assets Corp. for $350,000 in 1945 and joined the Canadian Oil Co. as John Irwin.

Repairs after the April 24, 1968, collision were reported to cost $46,000 and the ship resumed trading. It became White Rose II in 1956, White Rose in 1957, and Fuel Marketer in 1970. It was idle at Toronto from 1977 until 1989 as a school for commercial divers.

Harry L. Findlay became the Paul L. Tietjen in 1965 and last operated in 1977. It was scrapped at Ashtabula in 1979 after arriving there, under tow of the tug Ohio from Toledo, on October 11, 1978. The tanker arrived at Port Colborne between the tugs Glenevis and Argue Martin on May 10, 1989, and was dismantled by International Marine Salvage.


Today in Great Lakes History - April 24

24 April 1882 - The ferry HAWKINS (wooden propeller ferry, 73 foot, 86 gross tons, built in 1873, at Au Sable, Michigan) was renamed JAMES BEARD. She had received a thorough overhaul and was put in service between Port Huron, Michigan, and Sarnia, Ontario, on 25 April 1882. She lasted until 1927, when she was abandoned.

On 24 April 1872, the 3-mast wooden schooner JENNIE GRAHAM was sailing up Lake Huron to pick up a load of lumber. She was light and at full sail when a sudden squall caused her to capsize. Two crewmembers were trapped below decks and died. Captain Duncan Graham was washed away and drowned. The remaining seven crewmembers clung to the overturned hull for about an hour and then the vessel unexpectedly turned upwards and lay on one side. The crew was then able to cut away a lifeboat and get in it. They were later picked up by the schooner SWEEPSTAKES. The GRAHAM was salvaged and taken to Port Huron for repairs.

ONTADOC sailed from Collingwood, Ontario, on her maiden voyage on April 24, 1975, for Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to load steel for Duluth, Minnesota. She was renamed b) MELISSA DESGAGNES in 1990. Pittsburgh Steamship Co.'s D.M. CLEMSON (Hull#716) of the American Ship Building Co., departed Lorain on her maiden voyage April 24, 1917, to load iron ore at Duluth, Minnesota.

The B.F. JONES left Quebec on April 24, 1973, in tandem with her former fleet mate EDWARD S. KENDRICK towed by the Polish tug KORAL heading for scrapping in Spain. The wooden schooner WELLAND CANAL was launched at Russell Armington's shipyard at St. Catharines, Ontario. She was the first ship built at St. Catharines and the first to navigate the Welland Canal when it opened between St. Catharine's and Lake Ontario on 10 May 1828.

1948 A collision between the HARRY L. FINDLAY and the Canadian tanker JOHN IRWIN occurred in the St. Clair River, near Recors Point on this date. The stem bar was twisted and plates set back on the American bulk carrier and these were repaired at Lorain. It later sailed as c) PAUL L. TIETJEN. The tanker saw further service as c) WHITE ROSE II, d) WHITE ROSE and e) FUEL MARKETER (ii).

1975 The Canadian self-unloader SAGUENAY sustained minor damage in a collision in Lake St. Clair with the Panamanian freighter FESTIVITY on this date. The latter had begun coming to the Great Lakes in 1966. It had been damaged in a grounding on July 18, 1977, and arrived at Bilbao, Spain, for scrapping on November 9, 1977.

1989 GENERAL VARGAS arrived at Green Bay and was being towed by the tug MINNIE SELVICK when the latter was crushed against pilings around a railway bridge and sank. All on board were rescued but the tug was a total loss. The Philippine registered freighter had begun Great Lakes trading as a) BRUNTO in 1977 and reacquired that name in 1994. It was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey, as f) LINDEN after arriving on July 19, 2011.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Record ice still covers large chunk of Great Lakes; ship convoys continue

4/25 - The cold winter and spring have caused a record amount of ice to remain on the Great Lakes, wreaking havoc with shipping and wildlife, according to data from Environment Canada, a government agency.

"It's been a very tough ice season on shipping," especially in the upper Lakes, says George Leshkevich, a scientist with the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He added that the unusual ice cover "has had societal, economic and ecological impacts."

As of Wednesday, ice covered 33.9 percent of the Great Lakes, the largest ice cover so late in the season since accurate measurements from satellites began in the late 1970s. Usually by this time, all but about 2 percent of the Great Lakes are free of ice.

"Great Lakes ice coverage is shrinking but is still incredibly high for this time of year," says AccuWeather meteorologist Brett Anderson. "Even though the ice cover on the Great Lakes has steadily declined over the past month, the area of ice that remains is the highest in over 30 years."

Meanwhile, convoys through Whitefish Bay and into Lake Superior are continuing, with the Canadian Coast Guard cutters Pierre Radisson and Samuel Risley on station in Whitefish Bay. Thursday night, the downbound Algoma Olympic, Algosteel and Mesabi Miner were stopped off Whitefish Point waiting to come down, as were Edwin H. Gott and Cason J. Callaway, stopped closer to the locks. The next upbound convoy, waiting off and to the south of Ile Parisienne Thursday night, included Indiana Harbor, Burns Harbor, CSL Assiniboine, Kaministiqua, Robert S. Pierson, Arthur M. Anderson, Frontenac, Ojibway, American Century, Hon. James L. Oberstar and American Courage. Behind them, the next convoy is forming up off DeTour, and includes Algoma Transport, Algoma Guardian, Baie St. Paul and Whitefish Bay.







Port Reports - April 25

Marquette, Mich.
Herbert C. Jackson was loading Thursday night, while Michipicoten and Kaye E. Barker were stopped offshore, either waiting to load or waiting to resume their downbound trips when conditions permit.

Port Inland & Cedarville, Mich. - Denny Dushane
At Port Inland, the Buffalo was the first arrival of the 2014 season on Wednesday evening. The barge Pere Marquette 41 and tug Undaunted were due to arrive on Thursday in the morning. Wilfred Sykes rounds out the schedule, arriving on Saturday in the early morning. At Cedarville, the first vessel for the 2014 season is expected to be the Calumet, Saturday in the early evening.

Burns Harbor and Gary, Ind.
Algoma Navigator, Stewart J. Cort and Federal Shimanto were all at Burns Harbor Thursday night. American Spirit continues a several-day layover at Gary, and reports indicate she may have mechanical issues.

Stoneport & Calcite, Mich. - Denny Dushane
At Stoneport, the Great Lakes Trader loaded on Thursday and was expected to depart around noon. The Lewis J. Kuber was expected to arrive during the late morning on Thursday, followed by the Pathfinder during the late afternoon. There are no vessels scheduled for Friday. For Saturday two vessels are scheduled, with the Manitowoc arriving in the early morning followed by a return visit of the Lewis J. Kuber in the early afternoon. Two more vessels are due on Sunday, with the Great Lakes Trader returning in the morning followed by another return trip by the Lewis J. Kuber in the early evening.

At Calcite, no vessels were scheduled to load on Thursday and there is nothing due in for Friday. On Saturday the Sam Laud is expected in during the morning for the North Dock. After the Laud, there is nothing scheduled until Wednesday, April 30, when the Manitowoc is due to arrive in the late evening for the North Dock.

Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
John D. Leitch loaded coal at the CSX Coal Dock on Thursday. Due next is Lewis J. Kuber on Sunday in the morning, followed by the Algosoo on Monday in the late afternoon. Two vessels are due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock, with Mississagi arriving on Saturday in the late morning to be followed by the Robert S. Pierson arriving on Monday during the late morning. Vessel arrivals at the Torco Dock with iron ore loads include the James L. Kuber on Saturday in the morning. Lakes Contender is due on Tuesday in the late afternoon. Rounding out the schedule are two arrivals for Thursday, May 1 – CSL Laurentien arriving in the early morning followed by the James L. Kuber in the late evening.







National Museum of the Great Lakes opening this weekend

4/25 - Toledo, Ohio – Toledo will be the center of the maritime world this weekend with the grand opening of the National Museum of the Great Lakes. They're keeping the inside under wraps for Saturday, but outside, the museum features educational markers and a huge walkable map of the Great Lakes.

There was previously a small Great Lakes Museum in Vermillion, Ohio, but they ran out of space. The City of Toledo has welcomed them here.

The main museum building will have dozens of exhibits and artifacts, such as a life raft from the Edmund Fitzgerald, which sunk in Lake Superior. A ribbon cutting will be held Saturday, April 26, at 10 a.m.

While there will be a section devoted to Toledo's role in the Great Lakes, the museum will highlight all five Great Lakes.

There are also multiple jobs available, as they're planning on keeping the museum open six days a week.

"We're looking for some different part-time positions within the museum. We also will be hiring a full-time position for an education and programs manager," said museum worker Anna Kolin. "We will also be looking for a lot of volunteers."

The museum will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 10-5, and Sundays from 12-5.





Madeline Island Ferry is up and running

4/25 - Bayfield, Wis. – Sure signs of spring are not so sure around here this year, but here is another clue that the snow and ice will eventually go away. The Madeline Island Ferry was up and running as of Tuesday, despite lingering ice. The long winter has made getting the four boats of the ferry line ready a drawn out job.

"The challenge is you have to work between snowflakes. Last week, we had a snowstorm so our crew paints a little and then deals with the weather and paint more and scrape some more so it's always a challenge,” the Madeline Island ferry’s Mike Radtke, said.

Indeed, part of the challenge is scraping and painting the four large vessels.

"The anchor isn't so much a big job but when you look at the boat, it looks a little daunting," Bayfield, Wis., resident, Joni Vaughan, said.

Also daunting are the ice chunks still floating on the waters of Lake Superior – chunks the ferry coxswains are trained to spot.

“You never know when you're going to hit something hard so they're aware of it and take it easy,” Radtke said.

Two of the four ferries are icebreakers, so passage on the boats is safe despite the ice. And, they are important parts of the tourist economies in both Bayfield and LaPointe.

Radtke has been with the ferry line for 20 years. He said the boats are tourist attractions themselves. “There aren't many ferry services in the Midwest. There are on the west coast and east coast like Seattle but not here in the Midwest, so taking a ferry a ferry boat ride is a unique experience and especially in ice.” Radtke explained.

One of the ice breaking ferries went back into service Tuesday. The other will follow Wednesday. The non-ice-breaking boats will fire up when all the ice melts.






Battle over ballast water rules continues

4/25 - Brockville, Ont. – New United States regulations on ballast water in the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes system discriminate against Canadian shippers, says Leeds-Grenville MP Gord Brown

The Conservative MP is getting some support on Capitol Hill in a campaign to reform the restrictions recently put in place by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Eleven members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed a letter to EPA administrator Gina McCarthy expressing concerns that the new ballast water regulations “may have a negative impact on the Great Lakes economy.”

The new EPA ballast water rules, which took effect January 1, require the use of ballast water treatment systems to limit the spread of aquatic invasive species. Ballast water is taken on by ships to balance loads.

The bipartisan letter follows lobbying by Brown, a co-chairman of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, and the group’s vice-chairman, Conservative MP Rick Dykstra, who represents St. Catharines.

The representatives argue the technology needed to comply with the Great Lakes ballast water performance standards does not yet exist.

“We’re all concerned about ballast water and invasive species, but it’s not what’s the issue here,” said Brown. “It’s discriminatory against Canadian shippers.”

The MP takes issue with an exemption offered by the EPA to vessels built before 2009 solely operating west of Anticosti Island, near the mouth of the St. Lawrence.

The exemption will give a pass to “a significant majority of the US fleet,” while at least half the Canadian fleet will not be eligible, noted Brown. “The Canadian vessels are newer,” added Brown. “The Canadian fleet is the one that is going to be most affected.”

American ships are not affected because they operate entirely upstream from Anticosti, said Stephen Brooks, president of the binational Chamber of Marine Commerce.

“As soon as they (ships) go east of Anticosti Island and seek to come back to American waters, then they need to have these treatment systems, treatment systems that do not exist at this point,” said Brooks.

In recognition of this, added Brooks, the EPA has indicated the Great Lakes ballast rules have “a low enforcement priority.”

“They’re just turning a blind eye to what they would have to recognize is a ridiculous set of standards,” he added.

Brown remains concerned about the impact of the rules on the local economy. He pointed to the $35 million upgrade of the Port of Johnstown as an indication of the importance of Great Lakes and seaway shipping to the area.

“We have pilots who live in our area who pilot the ships from Cape Vincent to Montreal,” added Brown.

In their letter, the Congress members urge the EPA to develop ballast water regulations that “treat U.S. and Canadian Great Lakes fleets fairly” and are “practical and technologically feasible.”

In an email to The Recorder and Times, EPA officials said the agency is still reviewing the letter.

The statement adds that existing vessels operating exclusively in the Great Lakes would be required to “implement best management practices to control their ballast water discharges instead of meeting the numeric limits.”

“This is because EPA determined that technologies are not currently available and economically achievable for such vessels,” the agency adds.

Those stricter limits do apply to “vessels that engage in both trade in the Great Lakes and travel in and out of the Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence Seaway, including many Canadian vessels,” the statement adds.

“This is because the EPA found that technologies are available and economically achievable for use by those vessels.”

Treatment systems exist for saltwater, or oceangoing, vessels, but the United States Coast Guard has yet to approve such a system for vessels operating in the freshwater Great Lakes, notes Stephen Brooks, president of the binational Chamber of Marine Commerce.

He expects it will take a long time for such a system to emerge, since the freshwater vessel market is significantly smaller than the oceangoing market.







Mackinac Island prepares for tourists, but ice freezes out spring

4/25 - Mackinac Island, Mich. – It’s not exactly spring on Mackinac Island. After the coldest winter in memory, spring is barely to be found on Mackinac, which usually welcomes its first tourists by May 1. Not a single ferry is running. The horses are not back. There are 10-foot snowbanks on the island. And one ferry line, Arnold Transit, may not open for business at all.

It’s the latest spring Chris Shepler, president of Shepler’s Ferry, can ever remember. Usually, by mid-April, the island is bustling with preparations.

“I have never seen it like this before, and I am 51,” he said today.

Tourism is Michigan’s second-largest industry, and Mackinac Island is its premiere attraction. Without a warmup soon, Michigan tourism dollars will likely take a hit.

Seasonal ferry service usually begins by April 21, but the ice is so thick in Lake Huron that ferry companies need the U.S. Coast Guard to break ice — and that has not happened as of today. The icebreaker is due to arrive by 8 a.m. Thursday to help clear ice that is up to 3 feet thick in Lake Huron in spots between St. Ignace and the island.

“We can’t do anything till the icebreaker comes,” he said.

Meanwhile, every single thing for the resorts, stores and restaurants to prepare for tourism season must be flown in from St. Ignace, on a constant loop between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Normally, supplies are shipped by boat the short 5 miles from St. Ignace to the island — paint, wallpaper, food and construction supplies. Not this year. Even seasonal staff is being flown in.

“We are running about five airplanes, with three on freight, and a couple hauling people, and trying to get the Grand Hotel and Mission Point and other resorts open,” said Paul Fullerton, owner of Great Lakes Air in St. Ignace. “The Grand Hotel needs 5,000 pounds of food a day. Today, we had to take some granite countertops over. We just took a group of employees for Mission Point over to the island.”

It is slow going. Each plane holds only five to nine passengers. Great Lakes Air has even summoned two extra planes from Lansing and Beaver Island to assist with freight and passengers until the ice breaks.

From his plane, however, Fullerton can see “there’s a lot of ice out there yet.”

Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel is supposed to open Friday, and Dan Musser III, Grand Hotel president, said that will happen on schedule.

“We have informed guests if Shepler’s is not running as of that day, they can travel to Mackinac Island via Great Lakes Air from the St. Ignace Airport,” he said.

Horses are essential during tourist season on the island, because it allows no motorized vehicles. But they’re not back yet because the ferries are not running. And it’s still cold.

“There are presently 16 horses here, the horses that have been here all winter, but there are supposed to be 600,” said Bradley McCallum, general manager of Mission Point Resort. From his office window, he can see east to the expanse of lawn and Lake Huron beyond. Today, he saw bright sunshine, but also daffodils and crocuses trying to come up amid snowbanks still 10 feet tall.

Ditto for downtown.

“We’ve still got snow piles everywhere, and I can still see ice in the harbor,” said Rob Grenke, liquor manager for Doud’s Market on Main Street. He spent the long, harsh winter on the island.

“Everybody is wondering, when are the boats going to start?” he said. “We heard rumors it would be tomorrow, but now we’re hearing Monday.”

As an added complication, the long financially troubled, 135-year-old Arnold Transit ferry line has suspended service until further notice.

Brent Rippe, CEO of the line, told the Free Press today that Arnold intends to run both freight and passenger service this year if it can quickly reorganize and find an operating partner. He intends the freight service to open first, followed by passenger service, under the Arnold name.

What about horse transport? Arnold traditionally has been the carrier. The horses need to get to the island, fast.

“We understand the concern,” he said. “We are working hard to get an operational program in place.”

One horse owner waiting for news is Dale Gough. He needs to move his 100 horses back to Mackinac Island by May 4 or 5 so they are ready for tourists to ride at Cindy’s Riding Stable and other outlets. During the winter, Gough keeps the animals at his Pickford farm northeast of St. Ignace. Now he needs to get them back to work.

“I would suspect we will get them there one way or another,” he said.

If the Arnold line does not run, he’ll transport the horses in their trailers a few at a time across the lake on another ferry. However, his riding horses are not as critical to Mackinac Island right now as the freight-hauling horses are.

“Before any freight can be transported to the island, the horses have to get there first,” he says.

Even if the Coast Guard clears the ice Thursday and it slowly starts breaking up, ferry companies still will have to break ice for the final half mile to their St. Ignace docks, Shepler says.

Shepler’s will first run its freight boat, which can break ice and hold 150 passengers. Regular ferry boats will start running about 10 days later. Mackinac City service will come later.

“We could be running by the weekend. We just don’t want to make a public announcement. We don’t give anyone a fictitious time frame. We were supposed to be running this past Monday.”

If Arnold Transit fails to resume passenger service, Star and Shepler’s lines can absorb the tourist traffic, Shepler said.

McCallum said Mission Point and other resorts will be ready for tourists next week, ice or no ice, snow or no snow.

“I have every confidence there will be boats running by May 1st,” he said.








4/25 - The 2014 Boatnerd Badger Gathering will include a round-trip crossing of Lake Michigan from Ludington, Mich., to Manitowoc, Wis., on Saturday, May 31, 2014, aboard the Lake Michigan Carferry’s SS Badger.

Join us in traveling aboard the only coal-fired steamer left on the Great Lakes. Visit the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc and see the operating restored forward engine from the legendary railroad ferry Chief Wawatam, and the WWII submarine Cobia, OR re-board the Badger for a two-hour Wisconsin shoreline cruise with live entertainment and a party buffet.

Optional on Friday night, May 30, is an opportunity to stay overnight in a Badger stateroom. Staterooms sleep two at the same price. Includes breakfast buffet on Saturday morning. We need a minimum of 10 room reservations for Friday night, in order for this option to be available. Only 28 staterooms are available. BoatNerds will be the only passengers sleeping on the boat. You will keep your stateroom until we return to Ludington.






Don’t be left on the dock: Reserve now for Engineer’s Day Soo Cruise

4/25 - We are hosting the annual freighter-chasing cruise on the St. Marys River, on June 27, as part of the annual Engineer’s Day Gathering in Sault Ste. Marie. The cruise will be three hours long, we will travel through both the U.S. and Canadian locks and do our best to find photo opportunities for any vessel traffic in the river.





Lookback #159: Everetton aground on April 25, 1968

4/25 - The 60-year-old bulk carrier Everetton, part of the Misener fleet, did not have a good start to what turned out to be a shortened 1968 navigation season. On April 11, a fender boom was prematurely lowered across the stern in the Welland Canal resulting in what was termed minor damage.

Then, two weeks later, on April 25, the 482-foot-long steamship went aground in the St. Lawrence River resulting in more damage to the hull. It was soon sold to Marine Salvage of Port Colborne and resold to Spanish shipbreakers. Everetton departed Quebec City behind the tug Rotesand on August 26, 1968, and arrived at Bilbao, in tandem with the Charles E. Dunlap, on September 23.

Originally an American steamer, Everetton had a diverse career under four different names. It served as the ore, grain and coal carrier M.A. Bradley and then, beginning in 1929, as the auto carrier Graham C. Woodruff. Later, due to the demands of World War Two, it resumed bulk carrier service as Fred L. Hewitt and had several owners over the years.

While neither accident of 46 years ago was considered serious, those complications plus the age and limited capacity of the vessel, led to the decision to sell it for scrap.



Today in Great Lakes History - April 25

25 April 1890 - The Collins Bay Rafting Company’s tug ALANSON SUMNER (wooden propeller tug, 127 foot, 300 gross tons, built in 1872, at Oswego, New York) burned at Kingston, Ontario. She had $25,000 worth of wrecking machinery onboard. The SUMNER was repaired and put back in service.

On 25 April 1888, JESSIE MAGGIE (wooden schooner, 63 foot, 49 gross tons) was re-registered as a 2-masted schooner. She was built on a farm in Kilmanagh, Michigan, in 1887, as a 3-masted schooner and she was launched near Sebewaing, Michigan. It took 16 spans of oxen to haul her over frozen ground to the launch site. She lasted until 1904.

Interlake Steamship’s WILLIAM J. DE LANCEY (Hull#909) of American Ship Building Co., was christened April 25, 1981. Renamed b.) PAUL R. TREGURTHA in 1990.

On April 25, 1973, the self-unloading boom on Canada Steamship Lines a.) TADOUSSAC of 1969, collapsed while she was at Sandusky, Ohio. She sails today as b.) CSL TADOUSSAC.

In 1925, the ANN ARBOR 4 was back in service after running aground on February 13th off Kewaunee, Wisconsin.

In 1973, it was announced that the CITY OF SAGINAW 31, would be scrapped, after a fire which destroyed her cabin deck in 1971.

Hall Corp. of Canada's bulk canaller a.) ROCKCLIFFE HALL (Hull#615) by Davie Shipbuilding & Repair Ltd., was launched April 25, 1958. Converted to a tanker in 1972, renamed b.) ISLAND TRANSPORT, and c.) ENERCHEM LAKER in 1987.

Pittsburgh Steamship Co.'s BENJAMIN F. FAIRLESS (Hull#824) by American Ship Building Co., was launched April 25, 1942.

Mutual Steamship Co.'s WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE (Hull#41) by Great Lakes Engineering Works, was launched April 25, 1908. Renamed b.) S B WAY in 1936 and c.) CRISPIN OGLEBAY in 1948. She was scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1974.

The PERCIVAL ROBERTS JR sailed light on her maiden voyage April 25, 1913, from Lorain to load ore at Two Harbors, Minnesota.

On April 25, 1954, CSL's, T.R. MC LAGAN entered service. At 714 feet 6 inches, she took the title for longest vessel on the Great Lakes from the JOSEPH H. THOMPSON, beating the THOMPSON by three inches. The THOMPSON had held the honor since November 4, 1952. MC LAGAN was renamed b.) OAKGLEN in 1990, and was scrapped at Alang, India in 2004.

Whaleback a.) FRANK ROCKEFELLER (Hull#136) by the American Steel Barge Co., was launched in 1896, for the American Steel barge Co., Pickands, Mather & Co., mgr. Converted to a sand dredge and renamed b.) SOUTH PARK in 1927, and converted to a tanker and renamed c.) METEOR in 1945.

On April 25, 1949, CSL's, GRAINMOTOR collided with the abutment of the railroad bridge above Lock 2 of the Lachine Canal.

The wooden schooner OTTAWA was launched on 25 April 1874, at Grand Haven, Michigan. She was owned by Capt. William R. Loutill and could carry 180,000 feet of lumber.

T S CHRISTIE (wooden propeller, 160 foot, 533 gross tons) was launched at F. W. Wheeler's yard (Hull #22) in W. Bay City, Michigan, on 25 April 1885. She was built for the Bay City & Cleveland Transportation Company at a cost of $45,000. Originally built as a double-deck vessel, she was cut down to a single decker at Chicago in 1902.

1941 The CANADIAN SIGNALLER was built at Collingwood as Hull 63 in 1919. It was torpedoed and sunk as d) POLYANA by U-103 en route from from Sunderland, UK to Freetown, Sierre Leone, with a cargo of coal. It was attacked just before midnight April 24 and sank in the early hours on this date with all 25 on board being lost.

1968 The Misener steamer EVERETTON ran aground in the St. Lawrence on this date in 1968. Although the damage was considered minor, the ship was sold to Marine Salvage for scrap, resold to Spanish shipbrakers and arrived under tow at Bilbao, on September 23, 1968, for dismantling.

1998 The wooden goelettes MONT NOTRE DAME and MONT ROYAL were destroyed by a fire at St. Joseph-de-la-Rive, Quebec, where they were being preserved ashore as museum ships. MONT NOTRE DAME was one of the first units in the Transport Desgagnes fleet while MONT ROYAL was known to have been a Great Lakes visitor.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - April 28

St. Marys River
Great Republic was downbound Sunday on her first trip of the season. During a recent refit at Superior, she received the Great Lakes Fleet red hull and bow stripes. Sunday night, Algowood was tied up at the Carbide Dock for unknown reasons. Federal Nakagawa was locking through upbound. Vessels stopped in the upper river included CSL Tadoussac, Algomarine, Thunder Bay, Mapleglen, Baie Comeau and Baie St. Paul. Vessels anchored in the lower river awaiting an upbound convoy include Federal Rideau, Cedarglen, Lee A. Tregurtha and American Integrity. Pineglen, Federal Danube and Algoma Guardian are stopped in northern Lake Huron awaiting entry into the river.

Marquette, Mich. - Rod Burdick
Kaye E. Barker, Herbert C. Jackson, Michipicoten and James L. Kuber, all loaded with ore, remained secured at LS&I on Sunday waiting for a USCG escort.

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. - Daniel Lindner
American Spirit arrived Sturgeon Bay at 21:30 on Saturday for repairs. She joined Edgar B. Speer and John G. Munson at the shipyard, although the Munson left on Sunday. Philip R. Clarke remains in winter layup, and the St. Marys Challenger's barge conversion continues.

Milwaukee, Wis. – Chris Gaziano
The Lower Lakes tug/barge combo Defiance and Ashtabula came in during the early morning Sunday with a load of salt. They were finished unloading and heading out for the lake by mid-afternoon.

Alpena, Mich. - Ben & Chanda McClain
The Manitowoc arrived at Lafarge Saturday evening and unloaded a cargo of coal. Sunday was a busy day with the tug Samuel de Champlain and barge Innovation taking on cement in the morning. Fleetmate G.L Ostrander and barge Integrity tied up at the silos Sunday afternoon. The McKeil Marine tug Leonard M and its barge Huron Spirit made its way into Lafarge around 8pm on Sunday. The barge is loaded with some type of cargo which will be unloaded at the dock.

Port Colborne - Scott Moore
On Sunday, the saltie Bluebilll became stuck in Lock 8 of the Welland Canal. Ice was the reported cause.

Toronto, Ont. - Jens Juhl
After doing the end-for-end turn around Saturday morning, Whistler completed discharging sugar overnight and departed before noon Sunday. At 2 pm, Polsteam's handy-size Series 5 bulker Mamry arrived at Redpath. All of the recent ship movements have enjoyed extra tugboat muscle with the more powerful twin-screw Ocean Golf and Laprairie replacing the single-screw Jerry G. and Omni Richelieu. The Canadian Coast Guard vessel CCGS Constable Carriere also arrived in port Sunday afternoon. The new Hero-class mid-shore patrol vessel is based on the Dutch Damen Stan Patrol 4207 design, which is also used by the United States Coast Guard.

Rochester, NY - Tom Brewer
The tug Evans McKeil with the barge Metis arrived Sunday afternoon with a load of bulk cement for Essroc.





Lake Superior ice continues to delay Great Lakes shipping

4/28 - Duluth, Minn. – Thick ice on Lake Superior is causing shipping delays, with about 60 ships waiting to enter the area, according to the Coast Guard.

The ships are “certainly not delivering the raw material at the frequency that the facilities need,” said Mark Gill, director of vessel traffic services for the Coast Guard at the Soo Locks between Lakes Superior and the lower lakes. “That’s put a drain universally on steel production, power production, grain shipments, and many other industries that suffer as a result of that.”

Lake Superior is still about 60 percent ice covered, Gill said. Three heavy icebreakers are escorting convoys of five ships across the lake, where wind-blown ice is still eight feet thick in places.

The season’s first trip from Duluth to lower Lake Michigan took two weeks. It normally takes less than three days. Some steel mills and power plants around the Great Lakes have run low on supplies of iron ore and coal.

Gill hopes convoys will only be needed for another week to 10 days.

Minnesota Public Radio News





Museum of the Great Lakes honors maritime tradition

4/28 - Toledo, Ohio – Toledo's ship has finally come in. The National Museum of the Great Lakes is now open.

Visitors like Debra Souldis and her grandson have been looking forward to the museum. "This side of town, on the East Side, we have been waiting for something spectacular and we got it. I think it's just great."

Located at 1701 Front St., the 12,000-square-foot museum took six years to complete and is filled with more than 250 artifacts from the Great Lakes as well as 40 hands-on displays. One of the highlights is an inflatable life raft saved from the wreckage of the Edmund Fitzgerald after is sank to the bottom of Lake Superior nearly 40 years ago.

The largest artifact is a boat, the Col. James M. Schoonmaker, which has long ties to Toledo and was restored specifically for the museum.

The total cost of the museum: $12 million - paid for by private donations, grants and the Great Lakes Historical Society. The museum hopes to welcome for than 40,000 visitors a year.

Hours are Tuesday - Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Learn more about the museum by visiting www.inlandseas.org/museum

WTVG





Lookback #162 – Former Redfern sank as Zenava on April 28, 1971

4/28 - Redfern had been one of the "Red Barges" of the 1930s. It was towed by a tug from 1930-1934 when the ship was powered by a pair of Atlas diesel oil engines.

The vessel had been built at Montreal by Canadian Vickers Ltd. in 1930 and was briefly named Redstar before becoming Redfern later in 1930. The 256-foot-long bulk carrier spent most of its career in the grain trade through the old St. Lawrence canal system.

In 1948, the 1,769-gross-ton ship was transferred from North American Transports Ltd. to the Beaconsfield Steamship Co. When the Seaway opened on April 25, 1959, this was the eighth ship overall to head down bound through the new waterway. Redfern operated for Beaconsfield until 1962 when it was laid up at Sorel, Quebec.

Redfern was sold to Fisheries Products Ltd. in 1964 and renamed Zenava. It was converted to a fish processing plant in 1965 and towed to locations around Newfoundland and Labrador to freeze fish and whale meat.

On April 28, 1971, Zenava was under tow from Rose Blanche, a small town on Newfoundland's southwest shore, to Marystown, the main community on the Burin Peninsula, when there was an explosion and fire. As a result, the ship sank as a total loss off the Burin Peninsula 43-years ago today.


Today in Great Lakes History - April 28

28 April 1856 - TONAWANDA (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 202 foot, 882 gross tons) was launched by Buell B. Jones at Buffalo, New York.

On 28 April 1891, the whaleback barge 110 (steel barge, 265 foot, 1,296 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Co. in W. Superior, Wisconsin. In 1907, she went to the Atlantic Coast and lasted until she suffered an explosion, then sank after burning, near the dock of Cities Service Export Oil Co., at St. Rose, Louisiana, on March 3, 1932.

The 660-foot-long forward section of Bethlehem Steel's a.) LEWIS WILSON FOY (Hull#717) was launched April 28,1977, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Renamed b.) OGLEBAY NORTON in 1991 and c.) AMERICAN INTEGRITY in 2006.

Nipigon Transport Ltd.'s straight deck motorship a.) LAKE WABUSH (Hull#223) by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., was christened and launched April 28, 1981. Renamed b.) CAPT HENRY JACKMAN in 1987, and converted to a self-unloader in 1996.

On April 28, 1971, while up bound from Sorel, Quebec, for Muskegon, Michigan, with a load of pig iron, LACHINEDOC struck Rock Shoal off Little Round Island in the St. Lawrence River and was beached.

On April 28, 1906, Pittsburgh Steamship Co.'s J. PIERPONT MORGAN (Hull#68) by Chicago Ship Building Co., was launched. Renamed b.) HERON BAY in 1966.

April 28, 1897 - The F&PM (Flint & Pere Marquette) Steamer NO 1, bound from Milwaukee for Chicago, ran ashore just north of Evanston. She released herself after a few hours.

The barge LITTLE JAKE was launched on 28 April 1875, at East Saginaw, Michigan. She was owned by William R. Burt & Co. Her dimensions were 132 feet x 29 feet x 9 feet.

On 28 April 1877, the steam barge C S BALDWIN went ashore on the reef at North Point on Lake Huron during a blinding snow storm. The barge was heavily loaded with iron ore and sank in a short time. The crew was saved by the Lifesaving Service from Thunder Bay Station and by the efforts of the small tug FARRAR.

1971 ZENAVA, the former REDFERN, ran aground, caught fire and sank off Burin, NF while under tow from Rose Blanche, NF to Marystown, NF. The former bulk canaller was being used to transport, freeze and store fish.

1976 The first ALGOSEA was inbound on its first trip to the Great Lakes when it hit the wall below Lock 1 of the Welland Canal and then, below Lock 2, the ship was blown sideways across the canal after problems with the cables. The ship was enroute to Port Colborne for conversion to a self-unloader; it was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey, in 2011 as SAUNIERE.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - April 29

Thunder Bay - Justin Eloranta
The Federal Elbe was the first saltie to reach Thunder Bay arriving on Monday. She was escorted into port by the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Martha L. Black who has been berthed at Keefer Terminal.

Meldrum Bay -Dieter Nollert
The first boat of the year loaded stone Monday morning.

Stoneport & Calcite, Mich. - Denny Dushane
At Stoneport, John G. Munson arrived on Sunday evening to load, and continued loading into a very windy Monday. They later tied-up to the dock and would be delayed further loading until the winds subsided. Also due into Stoneport on Monday in the afternoon was the Pathfinder, but her arrival was weather permitting depending on the high winds. At Calcite, the next vessel due on the schedule is not until Wednesday late in the evening, when the Manitowoc is due to arrive.

Cedarville & Port Inland, Mich. - Denny Dushane
At Cedarville, Calumet was due to arrive late in the evening Sunday. Due next is the barge Huron Spirit and tug Leonard M on Tuesday in the early morning, followed by the H. Lee White. At Port Inland, the Buffalo is expected to arrive on Tuesday in the early evening. Wilfred Sykes is due in on Wednesday in the late afternoon followed by the Great Lakes Trader also due in on Wednesday in the early evening.

Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
Algosoo is due at the CSX Coal Dock on Tuesday during the late afternoon. James L. Kuber is due on Wednesday during the early afternoon. Manitowoc is due on Thursday in the early evening followed by the H. Lee White on Friday in the early evening. Great Republic is due at the CSX Coal Dock on Saturday in the early evening. This will be her first visit to Toledo since being repainted in red this winter and receiving the Great Lakes Fleet bow stripes. John D. Leitch is due at the CSX Coal Dock on Sunday, May 4 in the early morning. Two vessels are due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock, with the Peter R. Cresswell due on Wednesday, May 7 in the early morning followed by the Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin due on Saturday, May 31 in the early evening. Vessels due at the Torco Dock with iron ore cargoes include the James L. Kuber and CSL Laurentien on Wednesday. Lakes Contender will arrive Friday in the morning. Both Lee A. Tregurtha and James L. Kuber round out the schedule on Sunday, May 4.





Lake Superior could still have ice in June

4/29 - Lake Superior was still over 60 percent ice-covered on Saturday. On Wednesday, Lake Superior had 68 percent ice cover. According to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, the previous highest amount of ice on that date was in 1979, when there was 38 percent ice cover.

The ice on Lake Superior is currently almost twice as much as recorded for this late date in the ice season. The records go back to 1973.

On Wednesday, Lake Michigan still had 15 percent ice cover. The highest amount in the records on that date was five percent in 1979. This means Lake Michigan has three times the previous highest ice amount on April 23.

Lake Huron was still reporting 25 percent ice, with the previous late season high at 11 percent in 1996. Lake Erie melts quicker due to the shallow nature, but still had 7.6 percent ice on April 23. Previously on that date the highest amount of ice was three percent in 1978. Lake Ontario still has eight-tenths of one percent ice cover. That's not much, but it is still more than the six-tenths it had in 1977.

The entire Great Lakes system still reported 35 percent ice cover this past Wednesday. The closest amount of ice at this late date was 16 percent in 1979.

Looking at the high ice years of 1977, 1978, 1979, 1994, and 1996. In a few of those years Lake Superior still had one-tenth of one percent ice covered on May 31. Given Lake Superior has nearly double its late-season ice amount, ice could still be on Lake Superior in June this year.

That would be a neat thing to see, but I'm not sure most of us would want to see ice in June.

Mark Torregrossa, MLive





Seaway saltie news

4/29 - Two longtime Fednav vessels that were frequent visitors to the Great Lakes/Seaway system since the 1980s have been renamed. Federal Agno, which first came inland in 1989 and last visited in 2013, has been renamed. She now sails as the True Brothers of Belize registry. A sistership and near twin, Federal Polaris, which first came inland in 1985 and last visited as recent as in 2013, now sails as Federal Kasser also of Belize. The tanker Clipper Oceanica, which first came inland in 2010 and last visited then, has now sails as the New Bright of South Korea. Clipper Kristin, which first came inland in 2006, is now the Harbour Kristin of Bahamas registry. Julietta, which last visited in 2011, has been renamed and is now the Marmalaita of Antigua/Barbuda flag. Chemtrans Alster, which first came inland in 2010 and last visited in 2013, is now Green Oak of the Marshall Islands flag. Chemtrans Ems, which first came inland in 2011 and last visited in 2013, is now the Red Oak of the Marshall Islands. Maersk Illinois, which came inland in 2012, is now the Thorco Isadora of the Marshall Islands. This was the first US-flagged salty to visit the Great Lakes/Seaway system in a number of years. Ladytramp, which never visited with that name but is familiar to some as the Atlantic Castle, which first came inland in 2006, is now the Dimitrios K of the Marshall Islands. Okapi, which first visited in 2006 and was one of the oldest salties in the system recently, is now the Brave Knight of Lebanon flag. Her only visit was in 2006. The tanker Rapallo, which first came inland and last visited in 2011, is now the Black Shark of Italy.

Denny Dushane





Lookback #163 – Former Panamanian visitor Denebola sank on April 29, 1998

4/29 - The Panamanian freighter Denebola was built at Rijeka, Yugoslavia, and launched on August 15, 1969. It first came through the Seaway in 1973 for the Cross Seas Shipping Corp. The 475-foot-9 inch-long general cargo vessel was diesel-powered and strengthened to carry heavy cargoes.

It was sold to Jugolinija and renamed Mreznica in 1983 and, while that company sent ships through the Seaway, this one never returned inland although it did trade on the St. Lawrence. Another sale in 1989 brought the name of Sunny Heath and a final transaction in 1991 placed the freighter under the flag of North Korea as Tae Chon.

As thick fog covered a section of the Yellow Sea 16 years ago today, Tae Chon and Yang Lin collided as the former was on a voyage from Yanati, China, to Chittagong, Bangladesh. The previous Seaway trader sank following the accident but only one life was lost. The other 33 sailors were able to safely abandon the stricken carrier

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - April 29

29 April 1896 - W. LE BARON JENNEY (steel tow barge, 366 foot, 3422 gross tons) was launched by F. W. Wheeler & Company (Hull #120) at West Bay City, Michigan for the Bessemer Steamship Company of Cleveland, Ohio. She went through eight owners during her career, ending with the Goderich Elevator and Transit Company, Ltd. who used her as a grain storage barge under the name K.A. Powell. She was scrapped in Thunder Bay, Ontario in 1974.

On 29 April 1875, the wooden schooner CLARA BELL of Sandusky was wrecked in a gale off Leamington, Ontario. Captain William Robinson was drowned.

On April 29, 1975, American Steamship’s SAM LAUD entered service.

Launched this date in 1976, was the a.) SOODOC (Hull#210) by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. Renamed b.) AMELIA DESGAGNES in 1990.

On April 29, 1977, while inbound at Lorain, the IRVING S. OLDS hit a bridge on the Black River, which extensively damaged her bow, tying up traffic for several hours

A fender boom fell on the pilothouse of the steamer GEORGE M. HUMPHREY in the Poe Lock at the Soo in 1971.

On 29 April 1865, L.D. COWAN (wooden schooner, 165 tons, built in 1848, at Erie, Pennsylvania) was driven ashore near Pointe aux Barques, Michigan, in a storm and wrecked.

1909: AURANIA was the only steel hulled ship sunk by ice on the Great Lakes. The vessel was lost in Whitefish Bay after being holed and then squeezed by the pressure of the ice pack near Parisienne Island. The crew escaped onto the ice and pulled a yawl boat to the J.H. BARTOW.

1952: W.E. FITZGERALD hit the Burlington Lift Bridge at the entrance to Hamilton Bay after a mechanical problem resulted in the structure not being raised. The north span of the bridge was knocked into the water, resulting in traffic chaos on land and on the water.

1959: PRESCOTT went aground near Valleyfield, Quebec, while downbound in the Seaway only four days after the waterway had been opened. It got stuck trying to avoid a bridge that had failed to open and navigation was blocked until the CSL bulk carrier was refloated the next day.

1969: HOWARD HINDMAN ran aground at the Little Rapids Cut in the St. Marys River after the steering cables parted. The ship was released and temporarily returned to service but the vessel was badly damaged and soon sold for scrap. It came down the Welland Canal with a cargo of road salt on June 6, 1969, and was towed to Bilbao, Spain, with the HUMBERDOC, arriving on September 6, 1969.

1976: The British freighter GLENPARK was three years old when it first came through the Seaway in 1959. It was sailing as c) GOLDEN LEADER when it ran aground off Goto Island, southwest Japan while on a long voyage from Chungjin, China, to Constanza, Romania. The hull broke in two and was a total loss.

1998: The Panamanian freighter DENEBOLA first visited the Seaway in 1973. The ship was sailing as d) TAE CHON, under the flag of North Korea, when it was in a collision with the YANG LIN in thick fog on the Yellow Sea and sank. The vessel was enroute from Yantai, China, to Chittagong, Bangladesh, when the accident occurred and one life was lost.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - April 30

30 April 1894 - The TRUANT (wooden propeller tug, 73 foot, 28 gross tons, built in 1889 at Toronto, Ontario) burned to a total loss near Burnt Island in Georgian Bay. The fire started under her ash pan.

On 30 April 1890, the wooden dredge MUNSON and two scow barges were being towed from Kingston, Ontario, by the tug EMMA MUNSON to work on the new Bay of Quinte bridge at Rossmore, Ontario, six miles west of Kingston when the dredge started listing then suddenly tipped over and sank. No lives were lost.

IRVIN L. CLYMER returned to service April 30, 1988, after a two-season lay-up.

HOWARD HINDMAN of 1910, grounded heavily when her steering cable parted at Little Rapids Cut in the St. Marys River, April 30, 1969. Due to the extensive damage, she was sold in May of that year to Marine Salvage Ltd., Port Colborne, Ontario, for scrap and was scrapped at Bilbao, Spain in 1969.

The RED WING tow arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan on April 30, 1987, for dismantling.

On 30 April 1842, the side-wheeler COMMODORE BARRIE collided with the schooner CANADA about 10 miles off Long Point in Lake Ontario. The COMMODORE BARRIE became disabled and then sank about an hour and a half later. Her passengers and crew were rescued by the CANADA.

On 30 April 1878, ST. LAWRENCE (2-mast wooden schooner, 93 foot, 111 tons, built in 1842, at Clayton, New York) was carrying timber when she caught fire from the boiling over of a pot of pitch which was being melted on the galley stove. The vessel was well out on Lake Michigan off Milwaukee. The fire spread so rapidly that the crew had no time to haul in canvas, so when they abandoned her, she was sailing at full speed. The lifeboat capsized as soon as it hit the water, drowning the captain and a passenger. The ST. LAWRENCE sailed off ablaze and was seen no more. The rest of the crew was later rescued by the schooner GRANADA.

1909: RUSSIA foundered in heavy weather in Lake Huron not far from Detour, MI. The ship was en route from Duluth to Alpena and ran into a heavy gale. Sources vary on the loss to life.

1929: D.M. PHILBIN ran aground in a high winds and snow 6 miles west of Conneaut after mistaking the airport beacon for the Conneaut Light and stranding on a sandbar off Whitman's Creek. The hold was flooded to keep the hull safe and it was released with the aid of tugs on May 7. The vessel was renamed c) SYLVANIA prior to returning to service

1984: The fish tug STANLEY CLIPPER sank in a storm on Lake Erie southeast of Port Dover, near Ryerson Island and all three men on board were lost. The hull was located, refloated and rebuilt as the tug NADRO CLIPPER. It currently operates as c) A.I.S. CLIPPER and is often moored below Lock 1 of the Welland Canal when not in service.

1991: The hull of BEECHGLEN buckled while unloading corn at Cardinal, ON, with the bow and stern settling on the bottom. The ship was strapped together, refloated and towed to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs arriving at the shipyard on May 26.

1999: GLORY MAKOTOH, a Panamanian general cargo carrier, sank in the South China Sea off Hainan Island as d) FELIZ TRADER on this date in 1999. The vessel had been a Seaway trader in 1983 under the original name. Eight crewmembers were rescued from the lifeboats but 13 sailors were lost.

2000: The small passenger ship WORLD DISCOVERER visited the Great Lakes in 1975. It hit a reef or large rock off the Solomon Islands on April 30, 2000, and had to be beached on the island of Ngella. The 127 passengers and 80 crew were saved, but the ship was a total loss and potential salvors were driven off by a hostile local population.



Port Reports - April 30

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. - Daniel Lindner
The tug Karen Andrie and her barge A-397 arrived in port on Tuesday.

Straits of Mackinac - Robert Bemben
Areas of open water continue to increase, and strong easterly winds over the past two days on northern Lake Michigan and Lake Huron have broken up and shifted the fields of thick lake ice. The good news is that ships have been making the transit between Lansing Shoal and Round Island Passage unassisted. On Tuesday, for example, the tug Ostrander pushing the barge Integrity transited eastbound without incident, and later in the day the eastbound Mesabi Miner and westbound tug Dorothy Ann pushing the barge Pathfinder made the passage. A milestone on Tuesday was the first ferry run by the Emerald Isle from Beaver Island to Charlevoix and back. Daily ferry service has resumed despite 90 percent ice coverage near Beaver Island according to ice service charts. Much of that ice has obviously broken up.

Milwaukee, Wis. - Chris Gaziano
Alpena came in on a dreary Tuesday morning for Lafarge. They were finished up and heading out by early evening.

Port Inland & Cedarville, Mich. - Denny Dushane
At Port Inland, three vessels are expected to arrive on Wednesday, with Buffalo due in first in the morning followed by Pere Marquette 41 in the late afternoon. Great Lakes Trader is due in the early evening. Wilfred Sykes is expected to arrive on Thursday in the late morning. At Cedarville, the Sykes is due there on Wednesday in the early afternoon. The tug Leonard M and barge Huron Spirit are also due in on Wednesday in the early evening, and the Lewis J. Kuber rounds out the schedule arriving on Friday, May 2 during the late morning.

Saginaw River -Todd Shorkey
The 2014 commercial shipping season finally got underway on the Saginaw River with the arrival of two vessels on Tuesday. The Olive L. Moore - Lewis J. Kuber were the first arrival, calling on the Bay Aggregates dock in Bay City. The pair arrived just after midnight and were back outbound before 9am. Next in was Mississagi, traveling to the upper river to unload at the Buena Vista dock in Saginaw. Mississagi arrived at the dock shortly after 9 am. She remained tied up at there late Tuesday night. The Olive L. Moore - Lewis J. Kuber were scheduled to load at Cedarville and return to the Saginaw River with a split cargo for Bay Aggregates and the Buena Vista docks.

Stoneport & Calcite, Mich. - Denny Dushane
At Stoneport, both Manitowoc and John G. Munson were expected to arrive on a rainy Tuesday, with the Manitowoc arriving late afternoon and the Munson in the early evening. At Calcite, the updated schedule has no vessels scheduled until Saturday, when the James L. Kuber is expected to arrive in the early evening for the North Dock.

Toledo, Ohio - Denny Dushane
Algosoo was expected to load at the CSX Coal Dock on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. Following will be the James L. Kuber, due on Wednesday in the early afternoon. Manitowoc is due on Thursday in the early morning, followed by the Great Republic on Saturday during the early evening. Both John D. Leitch and H. Lee White are due to load at CSX on Sunday, with the Leitch arriving early morning and the White in the late morning. Peter R. Cresswell is due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock on Wednesday, May 7 in the early morning and Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin is due there on Saturday, May 31 during the early evening. At the Torco Dock, James L. Kuber is expected on Wednesday in the early morning. Her arrival could be delayed by ice conditions. CSL Laurentien is also due on Wednesday during the mid-afternoon. Lakes Contender is due to arrive on Friday during the late evening and the Lee A. Tregurtha is due to arrive on Sunday during the early morning. Both James L. Kuber and Atlantic Erie round out the schedule with arrivals on Tuesday, May 4 both in the early morning. Vessels in lay-up include Adam E. Cornelius in long-term at Old Interlake Iron Co. Dock, while American Fortitude and American Valor are also in long-term lay-up at the Lakefront Docks.

Marblehead, Ohio
Manistee left winter layup at Toledo Tuesday and went to Windsor for fueling. Then she sailed for Marblehead to load stone.





Seaway saltie renames

4/30 - The following saltwater vessels have been renamed. Vanessa-C, which last visited in 2007, is now the Jan of Antigua/Barbuda. The tanker Clipper Karina, which made it's only visit during the 2013 season, is now the Fortune Youngin of South Korean registry. Two other tankers, each making their first and only visits to the Great Lakes/Seaway system during the 2013 season, have been renamed. Peter Schulte is now the Dong A Pontus of the Marshall Islands registry, while Bum Eun has is now the Celsius Mumbai also of Marshall Islands registry.

Denny Dushane





Owen Sound waterfront gravel storage considered

4/30 - Owen Sound, Ont. – Owen Sound council is dealing with a trade-off between a working harbor and a recreational waterfront. Miller Paving want to stockpile tons of aggregate for loading on to lake freighters on property it owns on the harbor right next to Grey Bruce Health Unit headquarters.

Owen Sound councillor Arlene Wright is a member of the Board of Health. She says the board has concerns about noise and dust. However she believes the concerns can be dealt with and the recreational aspect maintained.

Miller Paving needs a zoning change to stockpile the gravel. Owen Sound council will deal with the issue at a public meeting May 12th.

Blackburn News





Chi Cheemaun spring cruise cancelled

4/30 - Owen Sound, Ont. – The annual spring cruise of the Chi Cheemaun from Owen Sound to Tobermory has been cancelled. It was set for this Thursday, May 1st. However, ice conditions are too dangerous on Georgian Bay, and Susan Schrempf, general manager of the Owen Sound Transportation Co., says they have had to cancel the cruise.

Ticket holders will have the option of holding their tickets until the fall fruise when the Chi Cheemaun returns to Owen Sound, or they can get a refund now. Schrempf says until a few days ago, they had an open run up the Bruce Peninsula. However, the weather system covering Ontario has created easterly winds which have moved the ice from the northeastern part of Georgian Bay, over towards Colpoy's Bay at Wiarton.

Schrempf tells Bayshore Broadcasting News there is no clear opening around the ice and it would be unsafe to try cruising to Tobermory with 638 passengers on board. The company has also cancelled the Friday cruise to South Baymouth, and Schrempf says it is day to day, when the service will actually begin operation.

She says on Thursday they'll talk with Coast Guard Canada about getting an ice cutter to help break up the ice so they can get to Tobermory, but that may not happen until the weekend.

Bayshore Broadcasting





Lookback #164 – D.M. Philbin aground in gale near Conneaut on April 30, 1929

4/30 - - Sailing the Great Lakes any April can bring a variety of weather, and the D.M. Philbin encountered snow 85 years ago today.

The vessel was coming along the south shore of Lake Erie when the crew mistook the Conneaut airport beacon for the harbor light and ran aground on a sandbar off Whitman's Creek to the west of Conneaut. The captain elected to flood part of the ship to keep it stable in the rough weather and the vessel was not released until May 7, when the tugs Abner C. Harding and Reliance pulled it free.

As a result of the accident, there was a change in the radio beacon signals so the same confusion would not happen again.

D.M. Philbin had been built at West Bay City, Mich., in 1905 and first sailed as Sylvania. The 524 foot long bulk carrier was renamed D.M. Philbin in 1914, but became Sylvania again in 1929 following repairs from the grounding.

The ship was lengthened to 552 feet and converted to a self-unloader by the Tomlinson Corp. in 1957-1958. It sank following a collision with Renvoyle at Port Huron on June 1, 1967, but was repaired and continued to sail until tying up at Toledo on May 10, 1980.

Sylvania was sold for scrap and towed to Ashtabula, by the tug Ohio on November 1, 1983. The 78-year-old vessel was dismantled there by Triad Salvage Inc. in 1983-1984.

Skip Gillham





Marine Historical Society of Detroit dinner opened to the public

4/30 - Due to popular demand, the Marine Historical Society of Detroit has opened its annual dinner meeting, this Saturday evening, to the public. The dinner will be held at the River Crab, 1337 N. River Road in St Clair, Michigan.

Speaker will be John Henry, author of the excellent book "Great White Fleet," which tells the story of the passenger liners once operated on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway by Canada Steamship Lines. Books will be available for sale and signing, with proceeds going to the MHSD.

Dinner cost is $45 (U.S.) per person, and reservations may be made at www.mhsd.org/dinner. Reservations must be made by this Friday.

MHSD