Today in Great Lakes History

[skycheney]

Sept 17, 2014 6:33:30 GMT -5 yachtsmanwilly said:

Half way down is the photo links page. Hopefully you can open it from here, if not C&P it to search. Neat tow pics of the COLUMBIA




Boblo boat Columbia towed to Toledo as first step toward refurbishment

9/17 - Detroit, Mich. – The passenger vessel Columbia, one of the beloved but battered former Boblo boats, has left Detroit for what is likely the last time.

Shortly after 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, the steamer left her longtime home in Ecorse, towed away by the tugs Captain Keith and Manitou to Toledo. It is there that the nonprofit Columbia Project will dry dock the vessel and get her shipshape again. Or at least shipshape enough to make the trek to New York state by next August. The Columbia Project has spent years working on a plan to return the boat to service in the Hudson River Valley – and will spend some $10 million to $20 million to do it.

The National Historic Landmark vessel is now the oldest surviving passenger steam vessel in the United States, and the best remaining work by one of America’s greatest naval architects, Frank E. Kirby.

Built in 1902, the Columbia combines a spectacular array of design, engineering, and aesthetic innovations. At 207’ in length and 60’ in breadth, the ship was designed to carry 3,200 passengers comfortably on her five decks. Her interiors were created in collaboration with the painter and designer Louis O. Keil. The ship is adorned with mahogany paneling, etched and leaded glass, gilded moldings, a grand staircase, and an innovative open-air ballroom.

The Columbia’s massive 1,200-horsepower triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine, surrounded by viewing galleries, will become an unforgettable demonstration of early steam technologies for visitors. Laid up and minimally maintained for the past 15 years, the ship has suffered an accelerating decline in her condition.

This means Detroit has likely seen the last of the SS Columbia. To learn more about the S.S. Columbia project, go to sscolumbia.org.

Detroit Free Press





Severstal closes sale of Dearborn plant, exits U.S.

9/17 - Dearborn, Mich. – Russian steelmaker Severstal has completed the sale of its Dearborn and Columbus, Miss., steel plants to AK Steel. Severstal sold its Dearborn plant for $700 million and the Columbus mill to Steel Dynamics for $1.63 billion.

Since purchasing it in 2003 for $285 million, the Russian company invested $1.4 billion in a mill that was once part of Henry Ford's historic Rouge complex.

"I would like to express gratitude to the whole team and to every employee of Severstal North America for achieving a lot together," Alexey Mordashov, Severstal CEO said in a statement. "I wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors."

About 1,800 workers work at the plant today. The decision to sell the plants, first announced in July, comes amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a deteriorating Russian economy.

The sale also comes several months after Severstal won approval for a revised state permit to release higher levels of certain pollutants into the air.

An attorney suing Severstal in July told the Free Press he hopes AK Steel will be more willing to work with the local community on air pollution issues.

Detroit Free Press





CSL announces changes to leadership team

9/17 - Montreal, Q.C. – CSL President and CEO Rod Jones has announced two new appointments.

Effective Jan. 1, 2015, Louis Martel, currently president of Canada Steamship Lines, will assume the position of President, CSL International.

In this role, Martel will be responsible for the leadership of CSL’s international divisions, namely CSL Americas, CSL Europe, CSL Asia, CSL Australia and CSL Transhipment. He will continue to be based in Montreal.

Martel will also retain his group-wide responsibilities as head of the following programs: Safety and SafePartners, Environmental Technologies and Innovation, Sustainability and Regulatory Compliance, Global Ship Management, and Global Technical Services.

Martel joined CSL as Naval Architect in 1997, and transferred to CSL Americas as Director, Technical Operations in 2003. He was promoted to Vice-President, Technical Operations in 2006, and President of Canada Steamship Lines in 2012. Building on the solid foundation and momentum established by Louis Martel in Canada, Allister Paterson will be joining CSL as President of Canada Steamship Lines, effective in January 2015.

Paterson has over 20 years experience in the transportation industry, most recently as Senior Vice President of Finnair’s Commercial Division. Prior to joining Finnair, he was President and CEO of Seaway Marine Transport.

Paterson began his career at Pacific Western Airlines (predecessor to Canadian Airlines) before joining Air New Zealand in senior roles including Acting-CEO in 1998. Prior to joining Seaway Marine Transport, he was the President and CEO of Air Canada Vacations.

CSL





When ships sail into Cleveland, Seamen's Service knows how to shout 'Ahoy!'

9/17 - Cleveland, Ohio – When the Polish freighter Mamry steamed in to Cleveland Harbor early Wednesday, its captain and crew had been on the water 11 straight days. They left high seas in the North Atlantic for round-the-clock shifts through the locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Now a city of shiny glass buildings and stately towers – plus restaurants and dance clubs – rose enticingly close. Jim Clark made sure the sailors knew they were welcome.

Wearing a bright orange vest that lets him move about the Port of Cleveland, Clark climbed a steep gangplank and followed an escort to the captain's quarters, where he delivered news of free Wi-Fi, postcards and directions, available at his office a short walk away.

And that stadium looming to port? American football would be played there on Sunday, he said.

"Cleveland Browns?" Capt. Sylvester Kacrzarksi asked in thickly accented English. "Maybe there is time enough this time."

That encounter, a version of which unfolds every few days during the shipping season, ranks among the little known but much appreciated protocols on the lakefront.

Clark, 65, is president of the Cleveland Seamen's Service, an institution about as familiar to visiting seafarers as a Lake Erie lighthouse.

The all-volunteer group greets foreign ships and their sailors and helps them to make the most of their port-of-call. The service turned 50 years old this month, making it one of the oldest private seamen services on the continent--and one of only two still holding out a lamp on the Great Lakes.

Its relevancy was quickly validated by younger members of the Mamry crew, who followed Clark across the docks to the Seamen's Service office--a modest, box-like building with a crow's nest at the edge of the port, in the shadow of FirstEnergy Stadium.

They wanted to talk to wives and children and girlfriends via the Internet. They wanted directions to a "disco club." They wanted the bus to Walmart.

"Some of us are interested in American football," said Marek Paszcuk, the first mate in a crew of 20. "How much the tickets?"

Clark grimaced.

"You know," he brightened, "we have a baseball team playing, too."

At its birth in 1964, the Seamen's Service shepherded a larger flock. Foreign ships called upon Cleveland more frequently in the early days of the Seaway, sending their sailors into the city for several days, sometimes a week at a time.

Accustomed to bigger ocean ports, the sailors often struggled do find someone who spoke their language or cooked their food. Claire MacMurray Howard, a popular columnist for The Plain Dealer, noticed that many never ventured beyond the dim taverns of the Flats.

She founded the Cleveland Seamen's Service to connect the sailors to the city, modeling it after seamen services found in ocean ports around the world.

According to historical accounts, the city embraced her concept. MacMurray Howard mustered a force of 300 volunteers, men and women who guided captains and crew to ethnic markets, soccer games, bowling alleys and cultural dances.

Veteran members say she was passionate about her goal of making Cleveland renowned as the "friendliest port in the world."

The challenge has changed but the quest remains much the same.

Today, larger ships arrive with smaller crews for shorter stays. The port sees two to three ocean ships a week from May to December. They unload quickly, with their own cranes, and are often gone in a day or two.

Still, that's time enough to dash to the store, Skype home, enjoy a good meal and even catch a ball game. That's time enough to feel welcomed.

"We are the face of Cleveland to the international visitors," said Rita Clark, a volunteer for 17 years. "We want to welcome them to our city."

The Cleveland Seamen's Service counts 21 active members, including Jim and Rita Clark of Brecksville. Most are retirees but the ranks also include young professionals and downtown office workers.

The group would love to add some speakers of Polish, Ukrainian and Tagalog, the language of the Philippines. That would linguistically cover most of the sailors sailing in on the Seaway, Clark said.

But when phrasebooks fail, English and pantomime are often enough. Many of the ships return year after year and the crews become familiar.

Maggie Wendel had the duty when a sailor she knew visited the office to talk with his family via the Internet. He had Wendel say hello to his daughter.

"The most important thing for the sailors is their families," said Wendel, a retired Euclid social worker. "Then comes the sightseeing and the shopping."

She joined the service 45 years ago, hoping to reconnect with her German roots among German ships. As the longest-serving member, she has plenty of stories of sailors and their misadventures.

Those tales shine more vividly these days, as the group marks a half-century on the waterfront with celebrations like a birthday party Saturday at Pier W in Lakewood.

Reminiscing at the Seamen's Service office last week, Gisela Luck recalled the Burmese sailors who sought to defect one day in the 1990s.

"They walked in here, seven of them," she recalled. "Only one of them spoke English."

She said they were upset not with their dictatorial government but with the ship's food; that, and lousy working conditions.

Luck called the port authority, which alerted an immigration agent, who arrived with a burly stevedore. She said she'll never forget how the pair convinced the Burmese sailors to jump ship in Montreal instead.

"Now, it's totally different," she said. "You go on a ship, the kitchen is Hispanic dirtbag and span. They serve fabulous food."

The happier sailors tend to have less time to explore the city. But if a window of opportunity opens, the Seamen's Service is ready to guide or to give a ride.

When he boarded the Mamry, Clark had in his hand a sheet listing information handy to sailors on leave; like where to find a hair cut, wire money or buy electronics. He could offer discount admission to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and game times.

A window opened wider. The Mamry had no sooner begun unloading its steel coils from Holland than the rains began, forcing the captain to close the massive hatches that cover the hold.

His mobile phone gave a shrill ring. It was the shipping agent with a weather report. It would likely rain steady for a few days, forcing the ship to stay in port through the weekend.

Capt. Kacrzarksi turned to Clark. "American football," he asked, "How much are the tickets?"

Cleveland.com





Buffalo Maritime Festival begins Friday

9/17 - Buffalo, N.Y. – The Buffalo Maritime Festival will open a three-day festival at Canalside at 3 p.m. Friday with a boat parade and the arrival of the U.S. Brig Niagara, a majestic sailing vessel.

There will be historic and educational displays, guide tours, kids activities, a chowder competition, artisan’s market, beer garden and food trucks offering seafood.

“It’s wonderful to see the Buffalo Maritime Festival becoming an annual autumn tradition, bringing people of all generations down to our remarkable waterfront to experience a great variety of activities, food, music and of course, boats,” said Robert Gioia, chairman of Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp.

Admission is free, with deck tours of the Brig Niagara costing $7, $5 for children under 12. Deck tours of the Tug DeWitt Clinton are free. For more information, go to www.buffalomaritimefestival.com.

Buffalo News





Lookback #304 – Tragic Noronic blaze broke out at Toronto on Sept. 17, 1949

9/17 - Growing up in Toronto, I well remember the sirens that wailed throughout the night air of Sept. 17, 1949. Our family had no idea of what was going on and, as a youngster, I found it pretty scary. It was not until the next morning that we had learned that the Canada Steamship Lines passenger and freight carrier Noronic had burned as a total loss on the waterfront with a devastating loss of life.

The 385 foot long passenger ship was on an end-of-season cruise when the blaze broke out in a linen closet and quickly spread throughout the beautiful, but wooden decked, ship. It was a total loss and 118 lives were ended. The casualty rate might have been higher save for the fact that a number of passengers and crew were still ashore enjoying the night life of Toronto.

Noronic was built at Port Arthur, ON in 1913 and joined the newly formed Canada Steamship Lines as part of their Northern Navigation Division. This vessel was confined to the upper lakes until the advent of the Fourth Welland Canal allowed service east to Lake Ontario. The ship made its first trip down through the yet uncompleted waterway on June 8, 1931, and soon offered late season cruises to the beautiful Thousand Islands region before reverting to freight only service to conclude the year.

Tons of water were pumped aboard Noronic to quell the flames 65-years ago today and the ship sank at the dock. It was refloated on Oct. 29, 1949, and following a sale for scrap, towed to Hamilton in November for dismantling by the Steel Company of Canada.

On Sept. 17, 1999, a plaque recognizing the tragedy was unveiled at Toronto and a number of survivors of that awful night were on hand for the ceremony.

Skip Gillham





Updates - September 17

News Photo Gallery
Saltie Gallery updated with pictures of the Adfines Star, Ebony Ray, Edzard Schulte, Exeborg, Floragracht, HHL Mississippi, HR Maria, Merwedegracht, Morgenstond I, and North Contender.





Today in Great Lakes History - September 17

On September 17, 1898, KEEPSAKE (2-mast wooden schooner, 183 foot, 286 gross tons, built in 1867, at Newport [Marine City], Michigan) was carrying coal from Ashtabula when she was struck by a terrible storm on Lake Erie. Her rudder was damaged, a sail torn away and her bulwarks were smashed. The CITY OF ERIE saw her distress signals at 3:30 a.m. and came to help. With the CITY OF ERIE's searchlight shining on the doomed schooner, a huge wave swept over the vessel taking away everything on deck and snapping both masts. The crew, some only half dressed, all managed to get into the lifeboat. They rowed to the CITY OF ERIE and were all rescued. Three days later, the other lifeboat and some wreckage from the KEEPSAKE were found near Ashtabula by some fishermen.

GRIFFON (Hull#18) was launched September 17, 1955, at St. Catharines, Ontario by Port Weller Drydocks Ltd. for Beaconsfield Steamship Ltd., Montreal, Quebec. Renamed b.) FRANQUELIN in 1967, c.) EVA DESGAGNES in 1987. Sold foreign in 1989, renamed d.) TELCHAC, scrapped at Tuxpan, Mexico, in 1992.

On September 17, 1985, PATERSON suffered a crankcase explosion as she was bound for Quebec City from Montreal. She was repaired and cleared on September 21. Renamed b.) PINEGLEN in 2002.

On September 17, 1830, WILLIAM PEACOCK (wood side wheel steamer, 102 foot, 120 tons, built in 1829, at Barcelona, New York) suffered the first major boiler explosion on Lake Erie while she was docked in Buffalo, New York. 15 - 30 lives were lost. She was rebuilt two years later and eventually foundered in a storm in 1835, near Ripley, Ohio.

On September 17, 1875, the barge HARMONY was wrecked in a gale at Chicago, Illinois, by colliding with the north pier, which was under water. This was the same place where the schooner ONONGA was wrecked a week earlier and HARMONY came in contact with that sunken schooner. No lives were lost.

On September 17, 1900, a storm carried away the cabin and masts of the wrecked wooden 4-mast bulk freight barge FONTANA. The 231-foot vessel had been wrecked and sunk in a collision at the mouth of the St. Clair River in the St. Clair Flats on August 3,1900. She had settled in the mud and gradually shifted her position. She eventually broke in two. After unsuccessful salvage attempts, the wreck was dynamited.

Tragedy struck in 1949, when the Canada Steamship Lines cruise ship NORONIC burned at Pier 9 in Toronto, Ontario. By morning the ship was gutted, 104 passengers were known to be dead and 14 were missing. Because of land reclamation and the changing face of the harbor, the actual site of Noronic's berth is now in the lobby of the Harbour Castle Westin hotel.

1909: The towline connecting the ALEXANDER HOLLEY and SIR WILLIAM FAIRBAIRN broke in a Lake Superior storm and the former, a whaleback barge, almost stranded on Sawtooth Shoal. The anchors caught in time and it took 5 hours to rescue the crew.

1980: HERMION began Great Lakes trading shortly after entering service in 1960. The vessel stranded as d) AEOLIAN WIND, about a half mile from Nakhodka, USSR, during a voyage from North Vietnam to Cuba. The ship was refloated on October 8, 1980, and scrapped in 1981 at Nakhodka.

Thanks for the link to the Columbia. I had no idea this was happening. Glad someone sees the benefit of saving some of these historical boats.

[yachtsmanwilly]

My apologies about the link... I thought it would open with a click but you gotta copy and paste (for the pics). ws

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - September 18

Port Inland, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Pere Marquette 41 and tug Undaunted were expected to arrive on Wednesday during the early morning. Rounding out the schedule will be three vessels arriving on Saturday at Port Inland, with the Manitowoc due first in the morning followed by the Joseph L. Block during the early afternoon. The Joseph H. Thompson is also due on Saturday during the early afternoon.

Cedarville, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Three vessels are all expected to arrive on Thursday, with the Wilfred Sykes arriving first in the early morning to be followed by the Pere Marquette 41/Undaunted in the early afternoon. Rounding out the schedule will be the Philip R. Clarke, arriving during the late evening on Thursday.

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Joseph H. Thompson and the Pathfinder were expected to arrive at Stoneport to load on Wednesday. The Thompson was due to arrive during the morning, while the Pathfinder was due to arrive in the early afternoon. There are no vessels scheduled to load on Thursday. Due Friday in the early morning is the Cason J. Callaway followed during the early afternoon by USS/GLF fleetmate the Arthur M. Anderson. Expected to arrive on Saturday in the morning is the Great Republic. Three vessels are due to arrive on Sunday with the John G. Munson arriving first during the morning followed by her USS/GLF fleetmate Cason J. Callaway during the late morning. Rounding out the schedule is the Lewis J. Kuber due to arrive on Sunday in the early afternoon.

Calcite, Mich. – Denny Dushane
The tug Defiance and barge Ashtabula loaded at Calcite on Tuesday and were expected to depart around 5 a.m. on Wednesday howeve, they were still loading at that time. Also expected to arrive on Wednesday is the Pere Marquette 41/Undaunted in the early evening hours. Adam E. Cornelius is expected to arrive on Thursday morning to load at the North Dock. This will be the Cornelius' first load of the season and her first trip from lay-up in Toledo since January 2012 when the ship laid up in Toledo. John G. Munson is also expected to arrive and load at the North Dock on Thursday in the early evening. There are no vessels scheduled to load Friday.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
The ASC 1,000-footer American Century arrived in Toledo in a rare visit to load at the CSX Coal Dock on Wednesday morning. Due next is the Buffalo, on Thursday in the early afternoon. The Saginaw is due at the CSX Coal Dock on Friday in the morning. Indiana Harbor will be making a rare visit is due to load at the CSX Coal Dock on Saturday in the late evening and they will be followed by the H. Lee White which is due at the CSX Coal Dock on Sunday in the early evening. Two vessels are expected to arrive at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock with the Algosteel arriving first on Friday in the early morning. CSL Tadoussac is expected to arrive with a stone cargo for the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock on September 30 at about noon. Vessels arriving at the Torco Dock to unload iron ore include Atlantic Erie due on Thursday in the morning. H. Lee White is due on Sunday in the morning. Due to arrive on Tuesday, September 23 will be the James L. Kuber during the late evening. Adam E. Cornelius, which had been laid-up at the Old Interlake Iron Company Dock since January 16, 2012, departed her lay-up dock on Wednesday and was enroute to Calcite to load. This leaves just two ASC steamers, the American Fortitude and American Valor, left in long-term layup. Several other ships were in port at the time of this report with the John J. Boland up iver at one of the Toledo grain elevator docks. The saltwater vessel Fritz of Liberian registry still remains detained in port at the Midwest Overseas Terminal Dock. Calumet was also in port, as were the tugs Huron Service and the tug Paul L. Luedtke.





Lookback #305 – Railcar ferry Ashtabula sank following collision on Sept. 18, 1958

9/18 - The rail car ferry Ashtabula was hit on the starboard side by the inbound bulk carrier Ben Moreell in Ashtabula harbor on Sept. 18, 1958. The bow of the ore ship penetrated seven feet into the hull of the ferry and the latter sank on its side.

Ashtabula regularly carried rail cars across Lake Erie between Ashtabula and Port Burwell and had made a low total of 49 round trips that year before the accident. It had been active on this route since entering service in 1906 and, at its peak, was making two round trips per day between the two ports.

All on board the Ashtabula got off safely, yet there was still two lives lost that are directly associated with the accident. The distraught ferry captain later took his own life and an insurance inspector fell 17 feet to his death while examining the wreck.

Ashtabula was later refloated ant scrapped at Ashtabula in 1958-1959. The Ben Moreell, a member of the Wilson fleet, later sailed under the Kinsman banner as Alastair Guthrie. It last operated in September 1984 and was subsequently sold for scrap. This vessel arrived at Port Maitland, Ont., to be demolished in November 1985.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - September 18

On September 18, 1855, SEBASTOPOL (wooden side-wheel steamer, 230 foot, 863 tons, built in 1855, at Cleveland, Ohio) was sailing on Lake Michigan in a gale. Her cargo included copper, tin, lead and iron ingots, safes and general merchandise. Her skipper misread the shore lights while she was coming in to Milwaukee and she stranded 500 feet from shore, broadside to the storm waves which pounded her to pieces. Most of the crew and 60 passengers were saved with the help of small boats from shore, but about 6 lives were lost. This was the vessel's first year of operation. Her paddlewheels were 50 feet in diameter.

On September 18,1679, GRIFFON, the first sailing ship on the upper Lakes, left Green Bay with a cargo of furs. She left the explorer Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, behind. GRIFFON never reached her planned destination.

E J BLOCK, a.) W. R. WOODFORD of 1908, returned to service on September 18, 1946, as the first large bulk freighter powered by a diesel-electric power plant and one of the first equipped with commercial radar on the Great Lakes. She lasted until scrapped at Ramey's Bend in 1988.

On September 18, 1959, the HENRY FORD II ran aground in the St. Marys River and damaged 18 bottom plates.

LAKE WINNIPEG was the first vessel to enter the Nipigon Transport fleet. She loaded her first cargo of 22,584 gross tons of iron ore clearing Sept Isles, Quebec, on September 18, 1962, bound for Cleveland, Ohio.

The Pere Marquette carferry CITY OF MIDLAND 41 (Hull#311) was launched on September 18, 1940, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. She was built by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Corporation at a cost of $2 million. She was named after Midland, Michigan, for one of the Pere Marquette Railway's biggest customers, Dow Chemical Co. She was christened by Miss Helen Dow, daughter of Willard H. Dow, president of Dow Chemical Co. Converted to a barge in 1998, renamed PERE MARQUETTE 41.

On September 18, 1871, E. B. ALLEN (wooden schooner, 111 foot, 275 tons, built in 1864, at Ogdensburg, New York) was carrying grain when she collided with the bark NEWSBOY and sank off Thunder Bay Island in Lake Huron.

On September 18, 1900, the large steamer CAPTAIN THOMAS WILSON was taken from her launch site on the Black River in Port Huron out to the St. Clair River. The tug HAYNES was at the bow and the tug BOYNTON at the stern. It took an hour and a half to maneuver through the various bridges. Newspapers estimated that a couple thousand persons watched the event. Once the WILSON made it to the St. Clair River, she was towed to Jenks Shipbuilding Company where she was completed and received her machinery.

1909: LACKAWANNA lost steering and sank in the St. Clair River with a hole in the starboard bow after a collision with the wooden schooner CHIEFTAIN off Point Edward.

1918: BUFFALO, formerly the Great Lakes package freighter a) TADOUSAC, b) DORIC, was torpedoed by U-117 and sunk off Godfrey Light and Trevose Head, Cornwall, UK

1942: ASHBAY traded on the Great Lakes for Bay Line Navigation from 1923 until 1935 when it was sold for Brazilian coastal service. The ship was sunk by gunfire from U-516 on this date at the mouth of the Marowyne River, Brazil, as c) ANTONICO and 16 lives were lost.

1942: NORFOLK, enroute from Surinam to Trinidad, was hit, without warning, by two torpedoes from U-175, on the starboard side near the British Guiana Venezuela border. The Canada Steamship Lines ship went down in minutes. Six lives were lost was well as the cargo of 3055 tons of bauxite destined for Alcoa.

1958: ASHTABULA sank in Ashtabula harbor after a collision with the inbound BEN MOREELL. All on board were rescued but there were later two casualties when the captain committed suicide and an insurance inspector fell to his death while on board.

1970: HIGHLINER was heavily damaged amidships as d) PETROS in a fire at Tyne, UK. The vessel was not repaired and, after being laid up at Cardiff, was towed to Newport, Monmouthshire, for scrapping on June 12, 1972.

1978: The British freighter DUNDEE was a pre-Seaway trader into the Great Lakes and returned through the new waterway on 14 occasions from 1959 to 1962. It foundered in the Mediterranean as g) VLYHO near Falconera Island after an enginer oom explosion caused leaks in the hull. The vessel was enroute from Chalkis, Greece, to Tunis, Tunisia, at the time.

[skycheney]

Sept 18, 2014 5:49:56 GMT -5 yachtsmanwilly said:

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Joseph H. Thompson and the Pathfinder were expected to arrive at Stoneport to load on Wednesday. The Thompson was due to arrive during the morning, while the Pathfinder was due to arrive in the early afternoon. There are no vessels scheduled to load on Thursday. Due Friday in the early morning is the Cason J. Callaway followed during the early afternoon by USS/GLF fleetmate the Arthur M. Anderson. Expected to arrive on Saturday in the morning is the Great Republic. Three vessels are due to arrive on Sunday with the John G. Munson arriving first during the morning followed by her USS/GLF fleetmate Cason J. Callaway during the late morning. Rounding out the schedule is the Lewis J. Kuber due to arrive on Sunday in the early afternoon.

The Joseph H. Thompson was in there on Sunday when we went past there. We also caught a pic of this guy headed into Stoneport as well.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Wreck of schooner Plymouth identified on Lake Erie

9/19 - Cleveland, Ohio – In the early morning hours of June 23, 1852, the schooner Plymouth was sailing on Lake Erie from Huron, Ohio, to Buffalo, New York, with a mixed cargo of wheat, flour and other goods.

Suddenly the sidewheel steamer Northern Indiana, carrying a full load of passengers, burst from the murk, slamming into the schooner amidships at nearly a right angle, burying its bow into the Plymouth.

The hapless schooner quickly sank, but its 10-man crew escaped in the ship's lifeboat and were taken aboard the Northern Indiana.

The Plymouth lay at the bottom of Lake Erie, about 20 miles off Cleveland, for 144 years until the wreck was discovered in 1996. Though found, it could not be identified. Because it featured a tiller, instead of a wheel, to steer the ship, it became known as the "Cleveland Tiller Wreck."

Until now. The National Museum of the Great Lakes, in collaboration with the Cleveland Underwater Explorers, announced Tuesday that the so-called tiller wreck is actually the Plymouth.

According to the museum, the wreck's original discoverer, Rob Ruetschle, became a member of the Cleveland Underwater Explorers (CLUE), a nonprofit corporation composed of divers, historians and archaeologists studying shipwrecks of the Great Lakes, particularly Lake Erie.

Ruetschle suggested that CLUE survey the wreck in 2013 to see if its identity could be determined. That survey, funded by the National Museum of the Great Lakes/Great Lakes Historical Society of Toledo, involved CLUE members David VanZandt, Kevin Magee and Tom Kowalczk.

"Every time we find a new one it's exciting," said VanZandt, CLUE director and chief archaeologist. "It puts the wreck in historical context for Northeast Ohio ... ties the wreck back to the community, as opposed to being just a wreck out in the lake."

And, as VanZandt noted, there are plenty of unidentified wrecks out there, known only by their nicknames -- like the "515 barge," the "117th Street tug," the "east breakwall barge," and the "stone schooner."

Dives were made in July and August of 2013, and in June of this year. The wreck showed obvious signs of a collision with another vessel.

"The damage observed on the wreck is consistent with a collision from a sidewall steamer of this era, which had sharply raked bows for higher speeds," a museum news release said.

"When we got down there, we were swimming along the starboard rail, then the rail disappeared," VanZandt said. "There was a big gash that ran more than halfway across ship. It was a very narrow cut, like a knife slicing through bread."

VanZandt said collisions were common in those early years of lake commerce. Often those accidents were due to poor navigation lights that couldn't be seen at night.

After obtaining dimensions of the ship and preparing a detailed site plan, that survey data was compared with archival research collected by CLUE member Jim Paskert to prove that the wreck was the Plymouth, built in Huron in 1847.

"We're very careful doing all those comparisons before we try to put a name on something," VanZandt said. "If we get it wrong, it tends to stick. So if we don't know what it is, we don't name it."

Christopher Gillcrest, executive director of the National Museum of the Great Lakes, said one difficulty in identifying 19th-century boats is that often those vessels did not have a name carved on a board or bell on the ship. Or, the nameplate may have been lost in the wreck or to looters.

He also noted, "Boats do have a serial number burned into the keel as per federal regulation, but finding that number (if it survived the wreck) is next to impossible because the only way you find it is on the keel at the bottom of the cargo hold. Silt, wreckage and the nature of the cargo prevents finding that information if it survived at all.

"There are probably hundreds of shipwrecks on the Great Lakes that have been found but not identified," Gillcrist said. "The hardest part of identifying the Plymouth was that there was little information on the boat or the wreck itself. Our guys had to dig deep to come up with the hypothesis of the Plymouth and then find documentary evidence to support it.

"The National Museum of the Great Lakes collaborates with CLUE and other research groups across the Great Lakes to discover, identify and survey the submerged cultural history of the Great Lakes," he added. "We are able to offer our library, the expertise of our on staff archaeologist Carrie Sowden and financial funding to reduce the impact of research costs on our volunteer team."





Today in Great Lakes History - September 19

At Rush Street in Chicago, Illinois, a hand-operated ferry carried pedestrians across the Chicago River. The ferry operator would pull on a rope, hand over hand, to move the ferry across the river. At a signal from schooners, the rope was dropped and the schooner would sail over it. On 19 September 1856, the rope was dropped but the impatient passengers picked it up to move the ferry themselves. The incoming schooner snagged the rope and the ferry was spun around and capsized. 15 people were drowned.

When Cleveland Tankers’ new SATURN entered service and made her first trip to Toledo, Ohio, on September 19, 1974, she became the first of three tankers built for the fleet's modernization program. EDGAR B. SPEER departed the shipyard on her maiden voyage for U.S. Steel on September 19, 1980, bound for Two Harbors, Minnesota, where she loaded her first cargo of taconite pellets.

The twin-screw rail car ferry GRAND HAVEN of 1903, was laid up in the spring of 1965, at the old Pennsylvania Dock at Cleveland, Ohio and later at dockage on the Old River Bed where she sank on September 19, 1969.

September 19, 1997 - officials at Lake Michigan Carferry, Inc. announced that the CITY OF MIDLAND 41 would be converted to a barge.

On 19 September 1893, SAMUEL BOLTON (wooden schooner-barge, 150 foot, 330 gross tons, built in 1867, at Bangor, Michigan as a schooner) was loaded with lumber and being towed in fog in Lake Huron. She got lost from the tow and drifted ashore near Richmond, Michigan where she broke in two and was then torn apart by waves. She was owned by Brazil Hoose of Detroit.

On Saturday, 19 September 1891, at 11 a.m., the whaleback steamer CHARLES W. WETMORE left Philadelphia, Pennsylvania loaded with the materials to build a nail mill, iron smelter and shipyard for the new city of Everett, Washington. Her skipper was Captain Joseph B. Hastings and she had a crew of 22.

On 19 September 1900, the Great Lakes schooner S.L. WATSON foundered off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She had been sent to the Atlantic the previous autumn by her owner, J. C. Gilchrist of Cleveland.


U.S. Steel Canada files for bankruptcy protection

9/19 - Hamilton, Ont. – U.S. Steel Canada, citing years of operating losses, has filled for court-supervised protection to give the company a chance to restructure in hopes of being able to better compete in the North American steel industry.

The former Stelco Inc, which U.S. Steel bought in 2007, has recorded a loss from operations in each of the last five years for an aggregate operaing loss of about $2.4 billion since 2009, the company and its parent, U.S. Steel, said in statements issued after markets closed on Tuesday.

"The company has obtained a court order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act," U.S. Steel Canada said.

The order provides a stay of certain creditor claims against during the CCAA process and appoints Ernst and Young as monitor. Under the CCAA process, U.S. Steel Canada will carry on business as usual while it develops and implements a comprehensive restructuring solution, the company said.

In a separate announcement issued by U.S. Steel from its Pittsburgh headquarters, the company said it had agreed to provide the Canadian operation with $185 million (about US $165 million) of secured debtor-in-possession financing to support current operations through the end of 2015.

"Despite substantial efforts over the past several years to make U. S. Steel Canada profitable, it is clear that restructuring U.S. Steel Canada is critical to improving our long-term business outlook, Michael McQuade, president and general manager of U.S. Steel Canada, said in a statement.

"Operational changes, cost reduction initiatives and streamlining of operations cannot on their own make it competitive in the current environment. Entering CCAA was the only responsible course of action under the circumstances and it was taken only after all other options were thoroughly explored."

McQuade said that for the restructuring to be successful, the process will require "a commitment from all relevant stakeholders to pursue innovative solutions that will create a restructured business that can compete in the North American market for the long term."

"We are grateful for the continuing support of our customers, suppliers and employees at this time and look forward to working together to develop an appropriate solution for the benefit of stakeholders," he added.

William Aziz of Blue Tree Advisors II Inc., as chief restructuring officer effective immediately.

The CCAA filing was among three major strategic moves announced by the parent company on Tuesday, including a decision not proceed with an expansion at its iron ore pellet operations in Keewatin, Minn., and to forgo further development and construction of the carbon alloy facilities at Gary Works in Gary, Ind.

It addition to continue operating losses, it noted that the Canadian operation also represented about $1 billion of the parent company's consolidated employee benefits liability as of June 30.

"We know this was not an easy decision for U.S. Steel Canada's independent directors," company president and CEO Mario Longhi said, adding that the move would allow U.S. Steel Canada to continue to operate while exploring restructuring alternatives.

"We believe these actions will provide longer term stability for U.S. Steel's employees, suppliers and customers," he said.

U. S. Steel Canada, with operations at Lake Erie Works and Hamilton Works, has the capability of producing approximately 2.6 million tons of steel annually and employs about 2,000 people.

The Record




New Heritage Marine tug Nancy J arrives at Duluth

9/19 - Duluth, Minn. – The tug Nancy J arrived in the Twin Ports at mid-morning on September 18 on her maiden voyage into the harbor, docking briefly behind the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center before moving to the fleet's home berth in Superior. She is the newest addition to Mike Ojard's Heritage Marine tug fleet. Nancy J. is 87.6 feet long, 29.6 feet wide, and 11.2 feet in depth. She was built in Houme, La., by Marine Iron Works for the Aluminum Company of America. She was later named Horace and Point Comfort prior to becoming Nancy J. She currently has a black hull, green deckhouse, and white pilothouse, but will be repainted in the fleet colors of the old DM&IR Railway tug Edna G (1896).

Thom Holden





Port Reports - September 19

St. Marys River – Daniel Lindner
ASC's Adam E. Cornelius, which has been in long-term layup in Toledo since the end of the 2011 shipping season, passed through the Soo Locks upbound on Thursday afternoon, bound for Silver Bay, Minn., to load iron ore pellets at Northshore Mining. When the tug/barge combination Lakes Contender/Ken Boothe Sr. entered service in May of 2012 under charter of the American Steamship Company, she replaced the Adam E. Cornelius. But, due to the harsh winter of 2013-2014, ASC returned the Cornelius to service. Other passages through the locks on Thursday evening included the upbound Thunder Bay, the saltie Nogat, and Paul R. Tregurtha, and the downbound Mesabi Miner, Great Lakes Trader and her tug, Joyce L.VanEnkevort, and Spruceglen.

Port Inland, Mich. – Denny Dushane
A busy Saturday is on tap with three vessels scheduled. Due in first is the Joseph H. Thompson in the late morning followed by the afternoon arrivals of Manitowoc and Joseph L. Block. Rounding out the schedule will be the Wilfred Sykes, expected to arrive on Sunday in the late afternoon hours.

Cedarville, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Wilfred Sykes was expected to arrive just ahead of midnight on Wednesday. They were still loading on Thursday in the morning. Due to arrive on Thursday is the Philip R. Clarke during the evening hours. Rounding out the schedule will be the Joseph L. Block due on Friday in the late afternoon to early evening hours.

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Pathfinder and Dorothy Ann loaded on Thursday and they were expected to depart around 6:45 a.m. Two vessels are due to load on Friday both in the late afternoon with the Arthur M. Anderson arriving first and followed a bit later by the Lewis J. Kuber/Olive L. Moore. Due to arrive on Saturday is the Great Republic in the early morning hours. There will be three vessels scheduled to load on Sunday with the John G. Munson due first in the morning hours followed by the Cason J. Callaway arriving in the early afternoon hours. Rounding out the schedule is the Lewis J. Kuber during the late evening hours on Sunday.

Calcite, Mich. – Denny Dushane
The revised schedule lists the John G. Munson arriving on Thursday during the late evening hours to load at the North Dock. Adam E. Cornelius has had a change in orders and no longer is on the loading schedule. There are no vessels scheduled to load at Calcite on Friday. Due on Saturday is the Lakes Contender/Ken Boothe Sr. due in the late evening hours for the South Dock. Rounding out the schedule will be the John J. Boland due to arrive on Sunday in the early evening hours for the North Dock.

Grand Haven, Mich. – Dick Fox
The Undaunted and Pere Marquette 41 came in early Thursday morning with a load for Verplank's dock in Ferrysburg. It was observed backing out through the pier heads about 3:15 and headed north.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
Atlantic Erie was expected to arrive at the Torco Dock in the early afternoon on Thursday to unload an iron ore cargo. Other vessels arriving with iron ore cargoes for the Torco Dock include the H. Lee White due on Sunday in the early afternoon. The Manitowoc is due on September 27 in the early afternoon. James R. Barker making a rare visit is due to arrive at the Torco Dock on September 28 just after midnight and also due in on September 28 at the Torco Dock will be the James L. Kuber. There are two vessels due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock with limestone cargoes and they are the Algosteel on Friday in the early morning hours followed by the Michipicoten on Saturday also in the early morning. Vessels due at the CSX Coal Dock to load coal include the Saginaw on Friday during the late morning hours. Sam Laud is also due on Friday to load at the CSX Coal Dock in the late afternoon. The Michipicoten is due on Saturday in the morning. Indiana Harbor making a rare visit to the CSX Coal Dock is due to load there on Sunday in the early morning. Rounding out the schedule is the H. Lee White for the CSX Coal Dock on Sunday during the late evening. Four other vessels were also in port at the time of this report and they were the tugs Huron Service and barge along with the tug Karen Andrie and barge. Calumet remains in port, tied-up at one of the CSX docks, and the salty Fritz of Liberian registry remains detained at the Midwest Terminal Overseas Dock.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Tregurtha resumes voyage after running aground in Duluth harbor

9/22 - Duluth, Minn. – The freighter Paul R. Tregurtha quickly resumed work early Sunday morning, after it was cleared for action by U.S. Coast Guard inspectors looking for any sign that the longest vessel on the Great Lakes may have sustained damage when it ran aground Saturday afternoon near Duluth’s Bayfront Festival Park.

“We did a survey of the ship, and there was no indication of damage,” said Lt. Judson Coleman of the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit in Duluth. “Fortunately, the bottom was soft where it ran aground.”

Because the 1,013.5-foot-long vessel was not taking on any water and showed no internal signs of structural or mechanical issues, Coleman said: “We were in agreement that there was no need to do a dive inspection.”

The outbound Tregurtha finally passed underneath the Aerial Lift Bridge at 12:47 a.m. Sunday, according to Adele Yorde, spokeswoman for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. The temporarily waylaid laker was about halfway across Lake Superior by Sunday evening, headed to Detroit Edison’s St. Clair Power Plant, loaded with more than 68,000 tons of coal it received from Midwest Energy Resources Co. in Superior on Saturday afternoon.

Tom Wynne, a spokesman for the Ohio-based Interlake Steamship Co., which owns the laker, said the Tregurtha was able to extricate itself under its own power with help from a couple of tugboats at about 7 p.m. Saturday, about 3½ hours after it failed to negotiate a sharp turn on its approach to the Aerial Lift Bridge.

“It was just the bow that was aground on a soft bank,” he said, explaining that the crew shifted ballast water to the aft of the ship.

“They were able to lift the bow by sinking the stern,” Wynne said.

As for what caused the freighter to veer off course Saturday, Wynne said: “We have nothing concrete at this time, but the captain said the ship didn’t respond as he expected when they started their turn toward the bridge.”

Wynne noted that the bridge approach requires a sharp turn in sometimes unpredictable current. He also said the Tregurtha encountered another complication shortly before it ran aground. A pleasure boat anchored in the middle of the shipping channel prompted the captain to blow a danger signal, Wynne said. The pleasure boat subsequently responded by picking up anchor and moving out of the way, he said.

“This incident happened in close proximity to when our vessel ran aground, but the captain didn’t have to make evasive maneuvers or anything,” Wynne said, stating that he does not view the unexpected encounter as a fundamental cause of the mishap.

After the Tregurtha was freed Saturday evening, it proceeded to the Duluth Seaway Port Authority Terminal, where it docked to await Coast Guard inspection. Coleman said the incident remains under investigation, but said there was no initial indication of mechanical failure or of any other vessel causing the accident.

Duluth News Tribune





Port Reports - September 22

Alpena, Mich. - Ben & Chanda McClain
The tug G.L Ostrander and barge Integrity was in port early Friday morning taking on cement at Lafarge. The Cason J. Callaway anchored off Alpena Sunday afternoon due to weather conditions. Other vessel activity on Sunday included the tug Samuel de Champlain and barge Innovation coming in during the evening to load cement. The Alpena was expected to arrive late Sunday night.

Oswego, N.Y. – Ned Goebricher
Sunday the tug Everlast and tank barge Norman McLeod unloaded fuel oil at the Oswego steam station.





Stranded Phoenix Sun sailors on their way back to Turkey

9/22 - Sorel, Que. – A dozen Turkish sailors who spent the last five months in a ship moored in Sorel are finally going home. The 12 nautical repairmen arrived in April to help repair the Sun Phoenix but soon fell into limbo when their employer stopped paying them.

The workers told CTV Montreal one month ago that they were choosing to stay until they were paid but four weeks later have still not been compensated for their work. With winter looming, they have decided to call it quits.

Sorel Mayor Serge Peloquin led an effort that raised $10,000 for the sailors while AirTransat is providing the flights to Istanbul that left from Trudeau Airport Sunday afternoon.

The municipality also provided electricity and other amenities that ended up costing an estimated $60,000, according to Peloquin.

Captain Semih Ozkan said that his shipmates are grateful for the help, adding that their families back home in Turkey have suffered hardship without their financial support.

“This is like a prison for us, we can go out and go shopping but we’re stuck here in that we have no salaries and our family is in a bad situation,” he said.

Their mission, he notes, was almost fully accomplished. “We almost completely repaired the ship but we’re waiting for some spare parts. They didn’t come."

The Phoenix Sun bulk carrier is 186 metres long and was built in 1987. The ship has been docked in Sorel-Tracy since 2012.

The ship is registered in Panama and managed by a Hamilton, Ont., company called Menpas Shipping and Trading Inc. The Canadian Coast guard seized the ship, in hopes of that the company would pay the sailor’s wages and repatriation back home.

CTV News





Coast Guard has long history and big presence in Port Huron area

9/22 - Port Huron, Mich. – Nearly 30 years have passed since Mike Popelka retired from the U.S. Coast Guard ship Bramble. But the Fort Gratiot man and his wife, Kathy, still are drawn to the Coast Guard vessels and people stationed along Port Huron's shoreline.

"It's kind of near and dear to my heart," Popelka said. "Once it's in your blood, I don't think it ever leaves," Kathy Popelka added.

The Coast Guard — and the agencies that became the Coast Guard — has been a presence in Port Huron for almost two centuries. The agency's presence here is older than the city and older than the state of Michigan.

You can't drive far along the city waterfront without seeing the ships and stations of the Coast Guard's past and present.

There's the retired Bramble at Seaway Terminal; its replacement, the Coast Guard cutter Hollyhock near Pine Grove Park; the Huron Lightship a little farther upstream; and Station Port Huron just north of the Blue Water Bridge. And next to Station Port Huron, the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, first lighted in 1825, 12 years before Michigan was a state.

But unless you're out on the water or watching from shore, you likely won't see the Coast Guard in action — patrolling the shoreline, rescuing boaters in distress, breaking ice and tending more than 100 navigational aids in the waterways.

"I think it's always a challenge because we're gone so often," said Cdr. Justin Kimura, commanding officer of the Hollyhock. "We're always trying to get that story out there."

Coast Guard Station Port Huron is just north of the Blue Water Bridge, where Lake Huron enters the St. Clair River. The station's area of responsibility is from just north of Lexington to Algonac. Twenty-one Coasties are assigned to the station — 24 when the facility is fully staffed. The next station north is at Harbor Beach; the next station south is in St. Clair Shores.

About 125 people staff Stations Port Huron, Harbor Beach, St. Clair Shores and the cutter Hollyhock, said Operations Specialist Chief Gabriel Settel, assistant public affairs officer for the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit.

Station Port Huron largely is tasked with search and rescue operations on the American half of waterways from north of Lexington to Algonac. Crews at the station also do law enforcement, boarding vessels to ensure people have proper licensing and safety materials.

"We do boardings and make sure they comply with all federal laws and regulations," Mendoza said. "We want to make sure whenever a search and rescue case happens, boaters have what they need to be helped."

Mendoza said ice rescues set Great Lakes stations apart from many saltwater assignments.

Mendoza said the Blue Water Area also presents unique challenges because of the St. Clair River's strong current, heavy commercial freighter traffic, and events that defy the dangers of both.

"Station Port Huron does have a rather large area that it's responsible for," Settel said, adding the stations' area of responsibility encompasses two very different bodies of water – the St. Clair River and Lake Huron.

Boatswain's Mate Troy Morgan, coxswain at Station Port Huron, said crews battle a 4- to 5-knot current on the St. Clair River.

"The main concern with that is if somebody was to break down in the water here, they're not going to just sit in one spot," Morgan said. "They're going to drift fast. They could drift into other boats; they could drift into walls."

The station works every major marine event that needs a U.S. Coast Guard permit – such as powerboat races in St. Clair and Port Huron – and some events that don't have a U.S. Coast Guard permit – such as the Port Huron Float Down.

Mendoza said the mix of hundreds of floaters, alcohol, a swift current, and cold water makes the event difficult to patrol for all rescue crews on the water.

"That's why the Coast Guard does not permit the event, because of the dangers that go along with it," he said.

Other resources are sent to Port Huron when needed, Settel said.

"If we have extended or large cases — similar to the case we worked with Float Down this year — we would bring in other stations to assist," Settel said.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter out of Selfridge Air National Guard base assisted a Station Port Huron rescue boat night and day for two days this August after 19-year-old Brady Morton went missing during the 2014 Float Down.

Morton's body eventually was recovered from the St. Clair River.

Mendoza said the station also responds to jumpers at the Blue Water Bridge — a task unique to the area. This year, there have been at least four people who have jumped to their deaths from the bridge.

Some Coasties at the Port Huron station also hitch a ride on Canadian law enforcement vessels about once a week for the Shiprider program. The presence of Canadian and American officials on board allows the vessel to practice cross-border law enforcement.

"That vessel could go back and forth over the border to enforce laws on both sides," Mendoza said. Both Canadian and American rescue crews can cross into another nation's waters for search or rescue purposes, but the process becomes a little more challenging for law enforcement.

A couple of klicks south of Station Port Huron, the 225-foot U.S. Coast Guard cutter Hollyhock waits at its moorings for its fall mission.

The primary mission of the Hollyhock is serving aids to navigation. It replaced the Bramble in 2003.

Twice a year, the ship and its 49 crew members place and retrieve about 125 buoys. The Hollyhock's area of responsibility is from the Straits of Mackinac south through Lake Huron, the St. Clair and Detroit rivers systems, across Lake Erie and into Lake Ontario.

Harsh winters and harsher ice conditions on the Great Lakes create unique circumstances that require more work for buoy tenders on the Great Lakes than it would in salt water.

During Operation Fall Retrieve, the Hollyhock collects fair-weather buoys and replaces them with sturdier aids meant to last through crushing ice and extreme cold. During Operation Spring Retrieve, the process is reversed.

For the Hollyhock, winter brings domestic ice-breaking responsibilities.

Usually, the Hollyhock would be part of Operation Coal Shovel — an ice-breaking operation that stretches from Alpena south into the lower Great Lakes.

Settel said one of the choke points susceptible to heavy ice coverage in Coal Shovel's jurisdiction is the Port Huron cut, where Lake Huron empties into the St. Clair River.

"With the Hollyhock being based there, they're going to be making most of their runs to and from that station," Settel said. "They would be responsible for most of the operations there.

"But we also may bring some other cutters to help."

Due to record ice conditions on the Great Lakes this year, the Hollyhock lent its hull to Operation Taconite — ice breaking operations north and west of Alpena.

"This past winter there was so much ice up north they had to move us around," Kimura said.

"This was my third year on the Great Lakes … and that was by far the worst ice conditions I've ever seen."

While there are ice-breaking operations in other areas of the nation — such as Alaska and New England — some of the largest ice-breaking efforts take place on the Great Lakes, Kimura said.

"The majority of that mission is tailored to District 9, on the Great Lakes," Kimura said. "The Hollyhock wasn't really designed for ice-breaking but it's ice capable. We really excel at establishing a track, creating a superhighway for ships."

It's a unique operation — one that kept the ship away from port for some time last winter.

The ship is designed to be underway about 185 days a year, but the ship already is up to about 200 days underway for the fiscal year ending in about two weeks.

Kimura said the economic effect the icebreakers' work has on water-bound commerce is worth the extra hours breaking through ice.

"The work we're doing, whether it's the St. Clair River or the St. Marys River, really affects the whole state," Kimura said.

It was while breaking ice for the Mesabi Miner last winter that the Hollyhock was hit on Lake Michigan.

The accident happened during an ice escort in early January. The Hollyhock hit a hard spot in the ice and was unable to move forward. The about 1,000-foot Mesabi Miner didn't stop in time and crashed into the stern of the Hollyhock.

The Hollyhock was back on the water several days later and received more extensive repairs to its damaged stern this summer.

Kimura said much of the summer is spent on maintenance, but crew members also participate in law enforcement and search and rescue. The Hollyhock also is equipped to do petroleum spill cleanups.

"We're still a multi-mission Coast Guard unit," Kimura said.

Law enforcement and search and rescue usually are the responsibilities of two smaller vessels on the Hollyhock. But Kimura said if there's an emergency during the winter, the cutter may be the only vessel able to break its way to the scene.

In October, the crew of the Hollyhock will undergo training certification, followed closely by Operation Fall Retrieve.

In the winter, Kimura expects to hit the ice hard. "We'll see what Mother Nature brings us," he said.

While the Hollyhock handles floating aids to navigation, fixed lights on shore are maintained by a different crew.

The lights at the Fort Gratiot Light Station and the Port Sanilac Lighthouse are maintained by the Aids to Navigation Team Saginaw River in Bay City, Settel said.

The lighthouses themselves are not owned or maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard — St. Clair County owns the Fort Gratiot Light Station, while Port Sanilac Lighthouse is privately owned.

About two weeks ago, the U.S. Coast Guard began accepting public comment on a plan to replace the 1886 Fresnel lens at the Port Sanilac Lighthouse with a light emitting diode lantern.

After more than 125 years of varying temperatures and humidity, the putty holding the prisms of the lantern in place has deteriorated. The Coast Guard hopes to remove the historic lens and preserve it at a local museum.

Just north of the Hollyhock, the Huron Lightship rests in sand beside the St. Clair River, close to the waters it safeguarded for about 50 years. The last lightship on the Great Lakes, the Huron, was a floating lighthouse six miles north of Port Huron on the shallow Corsica Shoals.

The lightship was retired from active duty in 1970 after serving about 50 years on the Great Lakes, at least 30 of which were spent on Corsica Shoals.

"That was an important aid to navigation," said Susan Bennett, executive director for the Port Huron Museum. "Many of us grew up hearing the light ship's bee-yoh signal.

"We remember all of that from our youth, and it's part of the maritime heritage — it's one of the reasons we live here."

The Port Huron Museum maintains the lightship, which is owned by the city. The museum also maintains and operates the Fort Gratiot Light Station and the campus surrounding it — including buildings formerly used by the U.S. Coast Guard.

"There actually were Coast Guard members living in the duplex at the light station until 2009," Bennett said. "They had an office at the light station well into the 2000s."

When Lt. Commander Bob Lafean, a former commanding officer for the U.S. Coast Guard ship Bramble, retired from the ship in 2000, he opted to live close to the vessel he once commanded.

A few years later, on May 22, 2003, the Bramble followed Lafean into retirement.

The U.S. Coast Guard ship was decommissioned after nearly 60 years on the water. The Port Huron Museum took over operations the same year and, in 2013, Bob and Sara Klingler purchased the ship, with a plan to bring it back to life.

The Marine City couple is close to that goal. Bob Klingler expects to have the engines running on the 180-foot cutter within two weeks.

"The crew is extremely excited about taking that ship out on Lake Huron and taking it on a recommissioning cruise," he said.

The "crew" on the Bramble consists of about 20 retired captains, engineers and boatswain's mates, Klinger said.

He said all of them have an interest in preserving the ship's diverse history, which includes work with atomic testing and Arctic navigation.

"We wanted to keep part of history alive," Klingler said. "And of all the 180s that were built, the Bramble was probably one of the top three of the 39 ships."

"It's got the most history of any Coast Guard ship that remains of that vintage."

Klingler wants to share that history with the community. He expects the ship will be ready to accept overnight guests within a week or two.

"It's been very, very rewarding," Klingler said. "My wife and I are beyond words how well it's been received and how much further down the road of history this ship is going to be available for generations to come."

Lafean said it's more than history the U.S. Coast Guard brings to the area.

He said people stationed in the area for three-year stints on the Hollyhock and four-year stints at Station Port Huron also bring money for rent, groceries, supplies to the Blue Water Area.

"That's all local money that's pumped back into the community," Lafean said.

"That's something that people don't see a lot."

When Mike Popelka retired from the U.S. Coast Guard in 1985, the Minnesota native felt at home along the blue water.

"The Bramble was my last tour of duty," he said. "I spent four years on there.

"We just decided Port Huron was a good place to stay, and we've been happy here."

In his time on the lake and near the river, Mike Popelka said he's seen the Coast Guard he once was a part of change and evolve.

"Because of the economy, they're expected to do more with less, but the mission seems like it remains the same," he said.

"The community as a whole is really accepting the Coast Guard a whole lot better these days than they used to, say, when I first came here."

Daniel Collins, flotilla commander for the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 20-03, said his group of 22 auxiliary members continues to support Coast Guard efforts in the area.

The auxiliary group, based out of Port Huron, assists the Coast Guard in many basic tasks, with the exception of law enforcement or military operations.

"We go out and do such things during the summer as work the Float Down, keeping the boats out of the controlled area," Collins said. "We also work doing the same type of mission during the two powerboat races."

The auxiliary also assists with public education and boaters' safety instruction.

"The Coast Guard helps our boating community out tremendously in the area," Collins said.

"For us, it's a way to give back, and you just feel that you're doing something important."

Great Lakes Maritime Center consultant Frank Frisk and others in the community showed their appreciation for about five years running — from 2005 to 2009 — in a celebration that started as a one-day event and morphed into a weekend.

Frisk said the annual Coast Guard appreciation events included cookouts, rescue demonstrations, baseball games and other activities.

When the economy took a turn for the worse, the committee that organized the celebrations struggled to find funds for the event.

A celebration on a much larger scale happens in Grand Haven each year.

The city on Lake Michigan celebrated its 91st annual Coast Guard Festival at the end of July. The 10-day, $482,000 festival, paid for through donations and sponsorships, started as a Coasties-only picnic in 1924.

It grew with the Coast Guard history and presence in Grand Haven — a presence that includes a station, sector field office, navigation team, lighthouse, former life-saving service station, former World War II Coast Guard training camp, and former Coast Guard rifle range.

In 1943 the people of Grand Haven raised $1.6 million in war bonds to build a cutter to replace the Escanaba, which was destroyed in a June 13, 1943, explosion that claimed the lives of 101 people.

In 1998, Grand Haven became the first designated Coast Guard City in the United States.

Since then, 16 other cities also have been designated Coast Guard Cities — including Traverse City — through an application and designation process through the U.S. Congress. The Coast Guard Festival draws about 300,000 people.

While there might not be the same celebration in Port Huron, the Coast Guard's more than 100-year watch in the city is appreciated, Frisk said.

A 10-year veteran of Great Lakes freighters, Frisk said he's always been happy to have the Coast Guard around.

"I was always glad to see them when I was in bad weather the 10 years I was out on the water," Frisk said. "I've met a lot of them over my years, even before I started sailing — I was always thankful, knowing the Coasties were around."

Port Huron Times Herald





Lookback #309 – Roger M. Kyes hit bottom at Buffalo on Sept. 22, 1976

9/22 - The American Steamship Co. self-unloader Roger M. Kyes hit bottom at Buffalo on Sept. 22, 1976. The accident of 38 years ago punched two holes in the double bottom tanks and damaged three others. Repairs were carried out at Chicago.

The 680 foot long vessel was built at Toledo for the American Steamship Co. and sailed on Aug. 22, 1973, to load iron ore at Escanaba. This was the second new American freighter built on the Great Lakes after the Merchant Marine Act of 1970 took affect.

The ship also grounded in the Trenton Channel on Oct. 29, 1987, and had to be lightered to the Richard J. Reiss to float free. Ten tugs were called to assist and this time the ship went to Sturgeon Bay for repairs.

Another grounding at Gull Island Shoal, Lake Erie, on Oct. 29, 1987, also required a return trip to Sturgeon Bay.

On June 15, 1989, the name was changed to Adam E. Cornelius and continued to trade for the American SS Co. This changed in 1994, when the vessel was chartered to Inland Steel and painted in their attractive color scheme while carrying their cargoes.

Adam E. Cornelius recently returned to active service for the American SS Co. fleet after being idle for two years.

Skip Gillham





Updates - September 22

Saltie Gallery updated with pictures of the Ebony Ray, Edenborg, Elisabeth Schulte, and Sichem Mumbai.





Today in Great Lakes History - September 22

On September 22, 1958, the EDMUND FITZGERALD entered service, departing River Rouge, Michigan for Silver Bay, Minnesota on its first trip. The FITZGERALD's first load was 20,038 tons of taconite pellets for Toledo. The vessel would, in later years, set several iron ore records during the period from 1965 through 1969.

While in ballast, the ROGER M. KYES struck bottom in Buffalo Harbor September 22, 1976, sustaining holes in two double bottom tanks and damage to three others, whereupon she proceeded to Chicago for dry docking on September 27, 1976, for survey and repairs. Renamed b.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1989.

While being towed from Duluth, Minnesota by the Canadian tug TUSKER on September 22, 1980, the D. G. KERR rammed into the breakwater at Duluth causing $200,000 in damages to the breakwater. The tow apparently failed to make the turning buoy leaving Duluth Harbor.

On September 22, 1911 the HENRY PHIPPS collided with and sank her Steel Trust fleet mate, the steamer JOLIET of 1890, which was at anchor on the fog-shrouded St. Clair River near Sarnia, Ontario. The JOLIET sank without loss of crew and was declared a total loss. The PHIPPS then continued her downbound journey and collided with the Wyandotte Chemical steamer ALPENA, of 1909, but incurred only minor damage.

The T.W. ROBINSON and US.265808 (former BENSON FORD) departed Quebec City in tow of the Polish tug JANTAR bound for Recife where they arrived on September 22, 1987. Scrapping began the next month in October.

MATHILDA DESGAGNES was freed from polar ice in the Arctic on September 22, 1988, by the West German Icebreaker Research Vessel POLARSTERN.

September 22, 1913 - The ANN ARBOR No. 5 struck bottom in the Sturgeon Bay Canal and damaged her rudder and steering gear. After undergoing repairs at Milwaukee, she was back in service the following October.

On 22 September 1887, ADA E. ALLEN (wooden propeller steam barge, 90 foot, 170 gross tons, built in 1872, at Walpole Island, Ontario.) caught fire while moored at Amherstburg, Ontario. She was cut loose and set adrift to prevent the fire from spreading ashore. She drifted to Bois Blanc (Bob-Lo) Island and burned to a total loss.

On 22 September 1882, Mr. H. N. Jex accepted the contract to recover the engine and boiler from the MAYFLOWER, which sank in the Detroit River in 1864. He was to be paid $600 upon delivery of the machinery at Windsor, Ontario. He succeeded in raising the engine on 12 October and the boiler shortly thereafter.

1917: The wooden steamer WILLIAM P. REND, a) GEORGE G. HADLEY, foundered off Alpena while carrying livestock. All 9 crewmembers were rescued.

1951: The Liberty ship THUNDERBIRD visited the Seaway in 1959. Earlier, on this date in 1951, the ship received major bow damage from a head-on collision with the Chinese freighter UNION BUILDER (built in 1945 at Brunswick, GA as a) COASTAL RANGER) at the entrance to Colombo, Ceylon. THUNDERBIRD was also a Great Lakes trader as d) NEW KAILING in 1964 and scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 1967.

1979: OCEANIC KLIF first visited the Seaway in 1971. The ship stranded near Las Palmas, Canary Islands, while on a voyage from Kamsar, Guinea, West Africa, to Port Alfred, QC with calcinated bauxite and was abandoned by the crew.

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






Paul R. Tregurtha misses turn, runs aground off Bayfront Park in Duluth

9/21 - Duluth, Minn. – The longest ship on the Great Lakes was set free on Saturday evening after spending close to four hours aground in the Duluth harbor near Bayfront Festival Park.

The 1,013.5-foot Paul R. Tregurtha was wrested loose by two tugboats at about 7 p.m., said Adele Yorde, spokeswoman for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. It had been departing with a full load of coal when it failed to negotiate the turn toward the Aerial Lift Bridge, she said.

“It was making the turn to go under the lift bridge, but it didn’t turn,” she said. “It went straight toward Bayfront Park.”

The incident occurred about 3:20 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard said. There were no known injuries and no signs of pollution, the Coast Guard said. Ohio-based Interlake Steamship Co. owns the Tregurtha, which can carry as much as 71,000 net tons of coal, according to its website.

The stranded ship drew a crowd of spectators, many of whom were attending the Duluth Balloon Festival. No information was available on the cause of the mishap, said Lt. Judson Coleman of the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Unit in Duluth.

The ship’s position probably did not impede other harbor traffic, Yorde said. Lift bridge operations weren’t affected.

Interlake Steamship spokesman Tom Wynne said the Tregurtha last was grounded two years ago, in the St. Marys River. The ship has gotten stuck only twice in the eight years he has worked for the company, Wynne added.

Duluth News Tribune

[yachtsmanwilly]

Calumet River Fleeting acquires another large tug

9/23 - Calumet River Fleeting has acquired the tug Catherine Turecamo from Moran Towing Corporation of Connecticut. Shipbroker Marcon International assisted with the sale. Catherine Turecamo was built in 1972 by Main Iron Works in Houma, Louisiana. Originally named Miss Lynn, it has had numerous owners. The tug's dimensions are 111' by 35' by 15.5.’ It has twin screws turned by EMD 16-567CE2 engines generating a total of 3200 horsepower. It will reportedly be renamed John Marshal. AIS showed the tug still at the Moran tug dock on Staten Island, New York on Sept. 18.

Tom Hynes (original source, Mac Mackay's Tugfax blog)





Port Reports - September 23

Ludington, Mich.
The carferry S.S. Badger returned to its Manitowoc port Sunday afternoon shortly after departing for Ludington, Mich., according to AIS. It is unknown why she returned but weather is the likely cause. Severe weather was reported in the Ludington area, forcing Ludington police to close the north breakwater about 12:15 p.m. Sunday due to high wind and waves. Winds, which gusted to higher than 40 mph, were downing tree branches and power lines, too, according to the Ludington Daily News.

Oswego, N.Y. – Ned Goebricher
On Monday the tanker Zhuang Yuan Ao unloaded fuel oil.





Turkish sailors stuck in Sorel-Tracy finally heading home

9/23 - Sorel-Tracy, Que. – Twelve Turkish sailors stuck in the port of Sorel-Tracy since April are heading home.

The 12 men had been flown to the port city between Montreal and Trois-Rivières by the Ontario-based company Menpas Shipping to repair the ship and sail it overseas for dismantling. However, the men said they stopped getting paid in July and by the end of August were out of food. The situation was deemed "barbaric and beyond comprehension" by a union representing seafarers.

Media reports of the sailors’ predicament led to an outpouring of help from Sorel-Tracy residents led by Mayor Serge Péloquin.

A fundraising campaign raised $10,000 for the sailors and Air Transat offered them flights to Istanbul.

Transport Canada detained the ship in order to compel its owner to pay the men and send them home. A Menpas Shipping representative said the company doesn't own the ship and denied the crew's allegations they had not been paid and were starving.

Vince Giannopoulos, an inspector with the International Transport Workers’ Federation, said the men have still not been paid. He told CBC News that the ITF is taking the case to federal court in order to get the sailors their wages.

The rusted 186-metre freighter has been docked at Sorel-Tracy since Nov. 2012, and residents had initiated a petition to have it removed.

CBC News





First oil sands bitumen tanker arrives in Sorel-Tracy port

9/23 - Sorel-Tracy, Que. – The arrival of the oil tanker Minerva Gloria in the port of Sorel-Tracy Sunday opened a new chapter in the ongoing efforts of Quebeckers to resist shipments of diluted bitumen crude oil from Alberta through their communities.

Sorel-Tracy resident Elias Harvey said he’s seen many oil tankers in port over the years, but never one as large as the 250-metre long, 44 metre-wide Minerva Gloria. Only a year ago, ships wider than 32 metres weren’t allowed in that part of the St. Lawrence River, but the federal government increased the allowable size in December 2013.

The Minerva Gloria is not only the first tanker of its size to arrive in Sorel-Tracy, but it will also be the first to carry diluted bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands on the St. Lawrence River.

Since July, Suncor has been transporting diluted bitumen from Alberta by train to a storage facility in Sorel-Tracy owned by Kildair Services. The Minerva Gloria’s arrival in Sorel-Tracy marks the start of the next phase of Suncor’s plans — the transfer of that oil to tankers ships for transport east.

Communities along the rail lines that carry the bitumen have mounted protests against Suncor’s shipments, and Harvey worries about what its transfer to tankers like Minerva Gloria could mean for the St. Lawrence River.

“There’s nothing in it for us. All it brings us is the threat of polluting the river,” Harvey told Radio-Canada. “It’s a poisoned present.”

Monique Hains and other members of the group Alerte Petrole Rive-Sud said a spill in the St. Lawrence would mean disaster for the environment and riverside communities. “Imagine a spill, it would be catastrophic. Three million people rely on the St. Lawrence River for drinking water,” she said.

Suncor, however, says that risk is reduced by the fact all tankers carrying its oil feature a double hull.

In an email to Radio-Canada, the company also said there’s nothing about Alberta bitumen crude that makes it any more dangerous than other types of oil that are already being shipped on the St. Lawrence.

“Diluted bitumen does not have any properties that augment the risks in relation to conventional crude,” Suncor said.

The federal government also has controls in place that require tankers to meet specific safety standards. Canada’s inspection regime for tanker ships is also considered one of the most stringent in the world.

University of Rimouski professor Emmanuel Guy said the safety system that is currently in place is effective for the current level of tanker traffic on the St. Lawrence River.

However, he said it should be reviewed to take into consideration the larger ships and the increasing number of tankers.

“The risk is proportional to the level of activity. If there is a rise in the volume [of oil] being transported, it’s important to adjust safety precautions now, and not after the fact,” he said.

The Minerva Gloria is due to leave Sorel-Tracy at the start of next week. Radio-Canada reports that it will sail in the direction of the Gulf of Mexico, for a refinery in Lousiana or Texas.

It’s expected that 20 to 30 tankers will take on loads of bitumen crude every year from Sorel-Tracy.





Au Sable Light Station turns 140 years old

9/23 - Grand Marais, Mich. – A north Michigan lighthouse on Lake Superior has turned 140 years old. WLUC-TV reports the Au Sable Light Station celebrated the milestone by offering free tours to visitors over the weekend, marked down from the usual $3 cost. Tours usually run until the end of September, but have been extended through the second week of October this year.

The 87-foot light tower near Grand Marais was completed in August 1874. The keepers' residences were built in 1909. The lighthouse was manned for 84 years before the Coast Guard automated it.

A Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore official says visitors can enjoy a hike out to the lighthouse even when tours aren't offered. The lighthouse is about 1 ½ miles from Hurricane River Campground parking.

Petoskey News Review





Lookback #310 – Crystal Jewel badly damaged in collision near London on Sept. 23, 1961

Crystal Jewel was one of seven “Crystal” ships that visited the Great Lakes in the early years of the Seaway. Generally they brought raw sugar inbound from the West Indies for Redpath Sugar in Toronto before loading grain for overseas delivery.

Crystal Jewel had been built at Middlesborough, England, in 1956, and began Seaway trading with one trip in 1960. There were two more trips in 1961 but the season was not without some problems.

In May, the 460 foot, 10 inch long bulk carrier struck a submerged object in the St. Mary's River and ended up spending four weeks on the shelf of Port Weller Dry Docks undergoing damage to about 300 feet of plates along the bottom of the hull. It sailed from the shipyard on June 17.

The vessel was back inland later in the summer but suffered a tragic collision, while inbound for London, England, in thick fog on Sept. 23, 1961. The accident of 53-years ago today also involved the tanker British Aviator and left massive damage to Crystal Jewel including knocking the midships pilothouse out of alignment. The Captain was seriously injured and his daughter was crushed in the cabin below the bridge.

Crystal Jewel was taken to Rotterdam for repairs and an entirely new superstructure was installed.

The ship came back to the Great Lakes in 1962 and took the first shipment of taconite ore for overseas delivery out of Silver Bay, MIN in July. By the end of 1967, Crystal Jewel had made 11 trips through the Seaway.

The vessel was sold in 1969 becoming Meltemi and continued Great Lakes trading until its final trip inland in Oct. 1974. The ship was sold and renamed Natby later in 1974 and then Teta in 1977. Following a sale to South Korean shipbreakers, the vessel arrived at Busan on July 17, 1979, for dismantling.

The B.P. tanker British Aviator dated from 1958. It was too wide for the Seaway and, following 18 years of trading, arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for scrapping on April 26, 1976.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - September 23

September 23, 1922, the 306-foot NEPTUNE loaded the first Head-of-the-Lakes cargo of pig iron at Zenith Furnace, Duluth, Minnesota. The 5,000 tons of malleable pig iron was delivered to Buffalo, New York.

September 23, 1975, HERBERT C. JACKSON lost power while upbound on Lake Superior. She was towed back to the Soo by the USS straight decker D.G. KERR.

September 23, 1952, the steamer CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON became the first boat christened at Cleveland since the early years of World War II. The 644-foot HUTCHINSON, Captain T. A. Johnson, was the new flagship of the Pioneer fleet and one of 35 boats in the three fleets operated by Hutchinson & Co. Renamed b.) ERNEST R. BREECH in 1962, c.) KINSMAN INDEPENDENT in 1988. Sold Canadian in 2005, and renamed d.) VOYAGEUR INDEPENDENT. She sails today as the motorship e.) OJIBWAY.

On 23 September 1910, the BETHLEHEM (steel propeller package freighter, 290 foot, 2,633 gross tons, built in 1888, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying general merchandise when she went ashore in a gale on the SW side of S. Manitou Island in Lake Michigan. Lifesavers and the crew unloaded her over several days. Although battered by several storms while ashore, she was eventually pulled free and repaired. She lasted until 1925, when she was scrapped.

The scow WAUBONSIE was launched at the Curtis yard in Fort Gratiot, Michigan on 23 September 1873. 1935: HURRY-ON was a Great Lakes visitor in 1934 when it loaded bagged flour at Port Colborne. The ship was lost off Port Hood Island, near Judique, NS, after developing leaks and a list. The lifeboat swamped twice and five were lost.

1961: CRYSTAL JEWEL, inbound for London in thick fog, was in a collision with the B.P. Tanker BRITISH AVIATOR. The captain was seriously injured and his daughter was killed. The vessel first visited the Great Lakes in 1960 and was enroute from Duluth to London with a cargo of grain at the time of the accident. The vessel grounded and, after being released, was taken to Rotterdam where the entire mid-ship superstructure was replaced. The ship made many more trips through the Seaway and returned as b) MELTEMI in 1970. It was scrapped at Busan, South Korea, after arriving as d) TETA on July 17, 1979.

1980: FERNLEAF first visited the Seaway in 1965 and returned as b) AALSUM in 1974. The ship was detained at Basrah, Iraq, in 1981 as c) INICIATIVA on this date in 1980 and declared a total loss in December 1981. It was salvaged in 1993 and renamed d) DOLPHIN V but perhaps only for a trip to the shipbreakers. The vessel arrived at Gadani Beach December 27, 2003, and dismantling began at once.

2000: Vandals attacked the museum ship NORGOMA at Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., breaking windows, light fixtures and setting off fire extinguishers, leaving an estimated $15,000 in damage.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Canada’s new patrol vessel Caporal Kaeble V.C. christened

9/24 - Entry into service of Canadian Coast Guard's new mid-shore patrol vessel, the CCGS Caporal Kaeble V.C., has been inaugurated by The Honorable Denis Lebel, Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, on behalf of the Honorable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Mainly used as part of a joint program with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the patrol vessel enhances security and safety along the St. Lawrence River, as well as in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes.

With a capacity of up to 14 crew members, including five RCMP officers, her endurance at sea is 14 days on a course of 2,000 nautical miles. While on missions, the CCG is responsible for vessel operations and the RCMP is responsible for all enforcement activities.

Based in Québec, this vessel is equipped with two rigid hull inflatable boats for marine security response, as well as a Zodiac, which will be used for search and rescue operations.

CCGS Caporal Kaeble V.C. is the second of nine Hero Class vessels to join the Canadian Coast Guard fleet. It was named in honor of Corporal Joseph-Thomas Kaeble, member of the Royal 22nd Regiment, was the first French Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross (V.C.), the highest decoration for British and Commonwealth forces.

"On the 100th anniversary of the First World War and the creation of the Royal 22e Régiment, our government is proud to recognize the courage and sacrifice of Corporal Joseph-Thomas Kaeble, who died in combat in 1918,” Lebel said. “This new mid-shore patrol vessel named in honor of Corporal Kaeble will serve as a reminder of this important piece of our history."

Hero Class vessels are named for decorated soldiers, veterans and police officers as well as employees of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard. By naming these vessels after Canadian heroes, the Government of Canada hopes to encourage further generations to learn about Canadian history, culture and geography.

Economic Action Plan 2012 provided $5.2 billion to renew the Canadian Coast Guard Fleet. This builds on $1.6 billion in fleet renewal investments committed over the previous seven years.

"These unprecedented investments from our government to renew the Canadian Coast Guard fleet are making our waters safer, particularly the St. Lawrence,” Shea said. “The CCGS Caporal Kaeble V.C. will primarily be used to enhance national security, respond to potential threats and enforce regulations related to federal on-water requirements."

Since 2009, the Government of Canada has provided the Coast Guard with a number of new, high-performance vessels, including nine Hero Class mid-shore patrol vessels (five of which are assigned to the Central and Arctic fleet: CCGS Private Robertson V.C., CCGS Caporal Kaeble V.C., CCGS Corporal Teather C.V., CCGS Constable Carrière and CCGS A. Leblanc), ACV CCGS Mamilossa, five search-and-rescue vessels, two specialty vessels, three near-shore fishery research vessels, 30 environmental barges and 60 small craft.

MarineLink.com





Lookback #311 – Milverton crashed, burned on Sept. 24, 1947

9/24 - The canal-sized steamer Milverton was a new addition to the fleet of Colonial Steamships Ltd. in 1947. The vessel had been purchased by Capt. Scott Misener from the United States Maritime Commission after World War Two service in the South American bauxite trade.

The ship had been built at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1929 and came to the Great Lakes for service in the Paterson fleet as their first Coteaudoc. It was leased to Saguenay Terminals for the bauxite trade on May 5, 1941, and then requisitioned by the U.S.M.C. on Oct. 24, 1942.

The ship had been idle in the James River Reserve Fleet when Capt. Misener purchased the vessel for $113,000 and brought it back to the Great Lakes for service as Milverton.

The vessel was carrying coal and down bound in the St. Lawrence when the upbound tanker Translake got caught by the current and veered across the path of the approaching freighter on Sept. 24, 1947. While the crude oil-laden tanker spilled some cargo, it was the rupture of the fuel line on deck of the oil-fired freighter that ignited resulting in a massive fire.

The Milverton, one the few oil-fired canallers, drifted downstream and grounded at the head of Rapide Plat. It burned for at least two days and 11 sailors died in the tragedy of 67 years ago today.

Both ships were salvaged and repaired. Milverton returned to work for Misener in 1949 as Clary Foran and joined Reoch Transports Ltd. as Ferndale in 1959. The latter was scrapped at Hamilton in the spring of 1963.

Translake was repaired at Montreal and also returned to service. It became a barge in 1962 working at Halifax as Halfueler and later out of Sorel as M.I.L. Fueler. It was laid up at Louiseville after the North Traverse Dredging Project ended and was scrapped there about 1980-1981.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - September 24

The EDMUND FITZGERALD's first cargo of taconite pellets was loaded September 24, 1958 at Silver Bay, Minnesota for Toledo, Ohio.

The PERE MARQUETTE 22 entered service September 24, 1924.

In early morning fog on the St. Clair River on September 24, 1962, the J.L. REISS was hit three glancing blows by U.S. Steel's SEWELL AVERY. The AVERY had lost control just below Robert's Landing and crossed the channel from the Canadian side and struck the REISS, which was proceeding slowly by radar on the U.S. side.

On September 24, 1952, the CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON entered service. This vessel was renamed b.) ERNEST R. BREECH when it was sold to the Ford Motor Company in 1962, and it was renamed c.) KINSMAN INDEPENDENT, when it was sold to Kinsman Lines in 1988. Sold Canadian in 2005, and renamed d.) VOYAGEUR INDEPENDENT. She sails today as the motorship e.) OJIBWAY.

On September 23, 1991, J.W. MC GIFFIN rescued several people in a 24-foot pleasure craft off Presque Ile State Park. The group had been disabled since the day before. They were taken aboard the McGIFFIN and their boat taken under tow. The MC GIFFIN was rebuilt with a new forward section and renamed b.) CSL NIAGARA in 1999.

September 24, 1924 - The PERE MARQUETTE 22 arrived at Ludington, Michigan on her maiden voyage.

On 24 September 1902, H.A. BARR (3 mast wooden schooner, 217 foot, 1,119 gross tons, built in 1893, at W. Bay City, Michigan) was in tow of the saltie THEANO with a load of iron ore in a storm 30 miles off Port Stanley in Lake Erie. She broke her towline in giant waves and foundered. THEANO rescued her crew.

On 24 September 1879, the tug URANIA was towing the schooner S V R WATSON into Sand Beach at about noon when the schooner struck the tug amidships, cutting a hole in the hull and sinking her in three fathoms of water. No lives were lost.

1901: M.M. DRAKE was towing the schooner barge MICHIGAN across Lake Superior when the latter began to sink. The steamer came alongside to take off the crew when a towering wave bashed the two vessels together resulting in heavy damage. Both vessels went down, but all except one sailor were rescued by the passing ships NORTHERN WAVE and CRESCENT CITY.

1915: WESTERN STAR ran aground on Robertson Rock, Georgian Bay, while enroute to Little Current with a cargo of coal. The ship was badly damaged and early attempts to refloat the freighter failed. It was not released until September 18, 1917, and was rebuilt at Detroit. The ship returned to service as b) GLENISLA in 1918 and was scrapped at Hamilton as c) PRESCOTT in 1962-1963.

1937: NEEBING foundered with the loss of 5 lives in western Lake Superior while towing the barge COTEAU in a heavy storm. The crane-equipped ship was approaching the Nipigon Strait, with a load of gravel for Red Rock, ON at the time. Nine sailors were rescued.

1947: MILVERTON, downbound with a cargo of coal, and TRANSLAKE, upbound with crude oil, collided near Iroquois, ON. The latter got caught in the current and veered to port resulting in the collision. The former, one of the few oil-burning canal ships, had the fuel lines rupture, caught fire, drifted downstream and grounded at the head of Rapide Plat. The ship burned for two days and 11 sailors were killed. Despite the heavy damage, MILVERTON was refloated, repaired and later sailed as c) CLARY FORAN and d) FERNDALE (i) before being scrapped at Hamilton in 1963.

1952: BAYTON was loading at Pool 4A Elevator at the Canadian Lakehead when there was an explosion at the elevator and chunks of concrete rained down on the deck of the Colonial Steamship Co. (Misener) steamer. One person was killed and nine more were injured.

2008: DRAGOMIRESTI was a Romanian freighter that first visited the Seaway in 1992 to load a food aid cargo in Thunder Bay for Sudan & Yemen. The ship was driven aground as j) CHUN JIANG, about 22 miles from Macao in Typhoon Hagupit. The crew were removed by helicopter.

[yachtsmanwilly]

McKeil Marine expands with addition of tug Lois M

9/25 - McKeil Marine has added another tug to its fleet. Lois M arrived in Mulgrave, Nova Scotia Septmber 17 and was registered in St.John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, September 23. It was built in 1991 by Matsuura Tekko Zosen of Japan for an Australian operation of Cleveland-Cliffs. Named Lambert it served Port Lambert, in Western Australia, a large iron shipment area.

A sister tug named Pannawonica I has also been acquired by McKeil, and it is currently working in Walvis Bay, Namibia.

Lois M is built to a similar design to Beverly M1 and Sharon M 1 acquired last year by McKeil. Powered by Niigata main engines of 4800 bhp, it rates 60 tonnes bollard pull, delivered through two Rexpeller azimuthing stern drives.

McKeil has a great deal of work in Newfoundland, and after fitting out at Mulagrave, the tug is expected to go to work in the island province. U.S. Steel Canada to sell Hamilton Works operations

Mac Mackay





U.S. Steel Canada to sell Hamilton Works operations

9/25 - Hamilton, Ont. - U.S. Steel Canada Inc. plans to put its operations in Hamilton, Ont., up for sale within two months, but delay a sales process for its Lake Erie works until March, 2015. The potential sale of the Hamilton site, which includes finishing mills, coke batteries and iron- and steel-making operations that have been shut since late 2010, is the first significant proposal U.S. Steel Canada (USSC) has made since it entered bankruptcy protection last week under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

“Commencing a SISP [sale and investment solicitation process] will provide USSC and its stakeholders with a better understanding of the potential options available with respect to the Hamilton Works operations and related assets,” Michael McQuade, the company’s president, said in an affidavit.

His affidavit forms part of the company’s request for approval of $185-million in debtor-in-possession financing, which will be submitted to the Ontario Superior Court on Oct. 6. The financing will be provided by United States Steel Corp., the parent company of the Canadian unit.

USSC, which consists of the main assets of the former Stelco Inc. purchased by U.S. Steel Corp. in 2007, was granted CCAA protection, citing pension solvency deficiencies of $838.7-million, ongoing losses and $3.9-billion in debt and equity pumped into the Canadian unit by its parent since 2007.

The Hamilton Works has the highest pension solvency deficiency and 12,614 members in pension plans, compared with 771 active employees.

Comments made by Local 1005 of the United Steelworkers, which represents about 600 of those active workers and the unionized retirees, are another reason to begin the sales process, Mr. McQuade said.

Local 1005 president Rolf Gerstenberger has described the CCAA filing as a fraud and said his local will oppose it.

“As a consequence and in the absence of a willingness of Local 1005 to engage in a restructuring dialogue about potential alternatives involving other existing stakeholders,” Mr. McQuade said, “USSC must explore whether other alternatives exist that might gain support from applicable stakeholders.”

Local 1005 is a key employee stakeholder group, along with USW local 8782, which represents unionized employees at the Lake Erie operations in Nanticoke, Ont.

A timeline submitted as part of the court filing showed the company beginning a sales process for Lake Erie in March and completing sales or investment transactions for both Hamilton and Lake Erie by Oct. 31, 2015.

The Ontario government, which regulates the pension plans and whose Pension Benefit Guarantee Fund faces a $400-million hit if the funds are wound up without any further contribution from USSC, will also play a key role in the restructuring.

As part of the Stelco deal, Ontario provided U.S. Steel with a $150-million loan bearing interest of 1 per cent, 75 per cent of which was forgiven if the solvency deficiencies in the pension funds were eliminated by the end of 2015.

Mr. McQuade said in earlier filing that there was no possibility the deficiencies would be wiped out.

The Canadian unit has $3-billion in net operating losses and “other tax attributes,” Mr. McQuade’s affidavit said.

“Preserving and ultimately utilizing those tax attributes could help maximize value for stakeholders,” he noted.

The debtor-in-possession financing should be sufficient to cover U.S. Steel Canada’s needs through the end of 2015, he said.

The 5 per cent interest rate on the financing compares with an average of 10 per cent for other CCAA financings, he said.

Globe & Mail





Historic Erie boat to be restored

9/25 - Erie, Pa. – It was moving day Wednesday for an historic boat on Erie's bayfront. The 37-foot wooden workboat, originally used by the Erie Water Authority, will be completely restored.

The boat was recently donated to the Erie County Historical Society. It was moved today from a boat storage facility on East Dobbins Landing to a warehouse in Girard. The goal is to get the boat back in the water, showcasing Erie's maritime history.

The society is putting together a business model to pay for the project.

"We all know the upkeep and expense of a boat can be quite significant. So we want to have a system in place so the boat is not a financial drain on the society operations and financial resources," said Caleb Pifer, Executive Director of the Erie County Historical Society.

The wooden boat was built at Erie's Lund Boat Works in 1936.

ErieTvNews.com





Gales of November to be held Nov. 7-8 at Duluth

9/25 - Lake Superior Marine Museum Association, in conjunction with Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center, presents its annual maritime conference and fundraiser benefit – The Gales of November, Nov. 7-8

. Funds raised support the Lake Superior Maritime Visitors Center and help in its mission to celebrate and preserve Lake Superior maritime heritage.

The two day educational, fundraising and networking event begins Friday, Nov. 7 with a joint luncheon with the Duluth-Superior Propeller Club at Grandma’s Sports Garden, 425 Lake Avenue South in historic Canal Park in Duluth, MN. The luncheon’s keynote speaker Mark Gill, Director of Vessel Traffic Services ("Ice Ops") for the US Coast Guard at the Soo. Friday afternoon provides various tour options including behind-the-scenes tours at of the Lake Superior Maritime Collections at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, Superior Public Museum’s Fairlawn Mansion and at the Great Lakes Aquarium. The day concludes with an Opening Gala reception, sponsored by Lake Superior Magazine, at the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center in historic Canal Park at 600 South Lake Ave.

Gales of November festivities resume at 9 am on Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center- Lake Superior Ballroom. The day is filled with maritime related educational breakout presentations, a trade show and a silent auction. Saturday’s keynote luncheon presentation features James P. Delgado, Ph.D., Director of Maritime Heritage, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Sanctuaries.

One of the highlights of the day will be the drawing of the winners in our “Cruise of a Lifetime Raffle.” Two winners will have an opportunity to sail the Great Lakes in style aboard the 1,000-foot Edwin H. Gott. Drawing will take place at 5 p.m. at the DECC in the Lake Superior Ballroom at the main stage. A representative from Great Lakes Fleet/Key Lakes Inc. will be there to draw the winning names. A closing reception will be held at Grandma’s Saloon & Grill in Canal Park.

Tickets to Gales of November are required. Gales of November details and registration information can be found at www.LSMMA.com.

LSMMA





Timeline: A detailed look at foreign cargo ships' visits to Port of Muskegon since 2012

9/25 - Muskegon, Mich. – For the better part of 30 years, foreign cargo ships from around the world flocked to Muskegon and its deep-water port.

Then, a stretch occurred when visits from foreign cargo ships, or "salties," were rare.

Recently, Muskegon's port has been becoming a popular destination for the large vessels once again. Over the last two years, 12 foreign cargo ships have visited the Port of Muskegon.

Here is a detailed look at the recent comings and goings of foreign cargo ships and the Port of Muskegon:

June 4, 2012
The Port of Muskegon welcomed its first "saltie" since 2004 when the HHL Amur arrived to take two, 148-foot wind turbine blade molds to Bilboa, Spain. The 452-foot ship is owned by Hansa Heavy Lift of Hamburg, Germany. The ship's home port is St. John's, Antigua. It was built in 2007 by Jiangzhou Union Shipbuilding in Rui Chang, China.

Aug. 22, 2012
The BBC Louisiana arrived in Muskegon in the summer of 2012 as the first of seven shipments of wind turbine parts bound for the Beebe Community Wind Farm in Gratiot County between Lansing and Mount Pleasant. The 454-foot ship carried 26 blades. The ship was built in 2008 in Wuhu, China, and it is owned and managed by Brockstiegel Reederei of Emden, Germany.

Sept. 11, 2012
On the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the 452-foot Aggersborg arrived at the Port of Muskegon carrying 45 wind turbine tower sections. The arrival of the Panamanian-flagged vessel was the second of seven shipments of wind turbine parts for the season.

Sept. 26, 2012
The BBC Elbe arrived with wind turbine components. The German-registered, 469-foot vessel brought wind turbine parts from South Korea. It was the third of seven expected shipments for the 2012 season.

Oct. 3, 2012
The parade to the Port of Muskegon continued in early October when the 462-foot Amstelborg arrived. The Dutch-registered and German-owned ship brought sections of wind turbine towers from Korea bound for the Beebe wind farm. It was the fourth of seven shipments.

Oct. 4, 2012
Employees at the Mart Dock in Muskegon had to work feverously to unload the Amstelborg since the 462-foot Marlene Green arrived the next day. The ship entered port just hours after the departure of the Amstelborg carrying 44 turbine tower sections from North Korea. According to a MLive Muskegon Chronicle article published in 2012, the rapid arrival of ships reminded many of the glory days of Muskegon's port. The Marlene Green was the fifth of seven shipments for the 2012 season.

Oct. 29, 2012
The BBC Balboa became the sixth of seven ships to make port when it arrived carrying 24 wind turbine blades. The ship was built in Dalian, China, and it is owned by Briese Schiffahrt of Leer, Germany.

Nov. 20, 2012
The final of seven expected arrivals in 2012 did so on this November Tuesday when the BBC Wisconsin made port at the Mart Dock in Muskegon. The 452-foot German vessel brought 21 wind turbine blades bound for the Beebe Wind Farm. According to a 2012 MLive Muskegon Chronicle article, the crew quickly unloaded the 197-foot wind blades to allow final delivery to be completed before Thanksgiving.

July 8, 2014
After more than a year absence, the "salties" made their return to Muskegon in July of this year when the HHL Elbe arrived. The 454-foot ship was the first of four shipments of wind turbine parts to arrive in 2014. The HHL Elbe is a Liberian-flagged vessel owned by the German company Hansa Heavy Lift.

The ship carried 36 blades, 11 generator units called nacelles and four containers with assorted parts.

Aug. 12, 2014
The 515-foot HR Constitution arrived. Built in 2006, the ship is owned by the German company Hammonia Reederei. The ship arrived with wind turbine towers bound for the Beebe Wind Farm and was the second of four scheduled arrivals in 2014.

Aug. 21, 2014
The HHL Congo was the third of four shipments to arrive at Muskegon's Mart Dock. It brought wind turbine blades from Germany.

Aug. 28, 2012
The HR Maria was the most recent vessel to visit the Port of Muskegon. The 468-foot vessel was built in 2008, and it is owned by Hammonia Reederei. The ship brought wind turbine towers bound for the Beebe Wind Farm.

Muskegon Chronicle





Lookback #312 – Franquelin aground below Beauharnois on Sept. 25, 1978

9/25 - The small freighter Franquelin had an occasional grounding in its career. The ship sailed under four names and owners over a period of 37 years.

Franquelin got stuck opposite Algonac on Dec. 19, 1976, and after being released, got pushed into shallow water by the ice on Lake St. Clair the next day despite being at anchor.

It was 36-years ago today that it landed on the bottom again. This time the bulk carrier was below Beauharnois in the Seaway when it stranded on Sept. 25, 1978. Franquelin was soon released from its perch and taken to Canadian Vickers in Montreal for repairs.

The stay at the shipyard was much longer than anticipated as the workers went out on strike with the result that Franquelin remained trapped on the drydock until a new contract could be negotiated.

Built as Griffon at Port Weller in 1956, the ship became Franquelin in 1967. It joined Transport Desgagnes in 1984 and was renamed Eva Desgagnes in 1987. Following a sale to Mexican interests, it became Telchac in 1989 and was scrapped at Tuxpan, Mexico, in 1993.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - September 25

In tandem tow, MENIHEK LAKE and LEON FALK JR. arrived at Vigo, Spain, on September 25, 1985. The MENIHEK LAKE was scrapped at Vigo, and the FALK was towed to Gijn, Spain, for scrapping.

HENRY C. FRICK departed Bay City on her maiden voyage on September 25, 1905 and rammed and damaged the Michigan Central Railroad Bridge at Bay City.

On 25 September 1869, COMMENCEMENT (2-mast wooden schooner, 75 foot, 73 tons, built in 1853, at Holland, Michigan) was carrying wood in her hold and telegraph poles on deck from Pentwater, Michigan, for Milwaukee when she sprang a leak 20 miles off Little Sable Point on Lake Michigan. The incoming water quickly overtook her pump capacity. As the crew was getting aboard the lifeboat, she turned turtle. The crew clung to the upturned hull for 30 hours until the passing steamer ALLEGHENY finally rescued them. COMMENCEMENT later washed ashore, a total wreck. 1922: AUBE, on her first trip back under this name, went aground off Carleton Island, while carrying 65,000 bushels of grain. Tugs released the stranded vessel the following day.

1978: FRANQUELIN (ii) went aground in the Seaway below Beauharnois. Once refloated, the ship went to Canadian Vickers in Montreal for repairs and was caught there in a labor dispute.

1980: DERWENTFIELD, a British-flag freighter, first came through the Seaway in 1975. The ship grounded on this date as c) CAVO ARTEMIDI off Brazil, while enroute from Vitoria, Brazil, to Rotterdam, Holland, with a cargo of pig iron and broke in two as a total loss

[yachtsmanwilly]

Lakes Michigan and Huron surge to highest water levels in 15 years

9/26 - Grand Rapids, Mich. – After almost two years of historically low water levels on Lakes Michigan and Huron, they've recovered to heights not seen in 15 years.

All the added water prompts this new concern for beachgoers: large waves that crash onto West Michigan's piers have a greater potential to sweep people into the lake.

What a difference almost two years makes. The water level of both Lakes Michigan and Huron, which share the same measurement as they're connected, is about 579 feet for September — similar to a level last seen in 1999. It's up 3 feet from the lowest point in January 2013 and about 4 inches above average.

The uptick in a handful of inches and feet might not seem much until it translates to some 13.97 trillion additional gallons of water, said Jared Maples, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids.

"It appears the accumulation of precipitation really pulled ahead in April 2013 and ever since then, we not only continuously kept up with average accumulation but exceeded it," Maples said.

"We've yet to drop below that trend."

The spring of 2013 probably spurs a few unpleasant memories of historic flooding, when the Grand River peaked at 21.85 feet that April in downtown. At least 11 inches of rain fell during the month, in addition to 7-8 inches in Lansing and Muskegon. Much of it, eventually, flows back into the lakes.

Grand Rapids ended up with above average precipitation and snowfall, about 7 inches and 20 inches, respectively, for the year.

Are the relatively high water levels sustainable? It's hard to tell, Maples said. Long-term forecasts indicate warmer temperatures and equal chances of below and above normal precipitation, so only will tell.

A six-month forecast indicates the possibility of falling below average into the upcoming winter and early next year.

"It's kind of like the ebb and flow of the lakes," Maples said. "You'll have one period of wetter weather, and another with drier weather."

As fall storm systems sweep through the region and spur some high waves, it's probably best to stay away from the piers.

"There is a lot of power added to the waves when there is two feet more water," MLive meteorologist Mark Torregrossa said. "When we get that water moving around in the fall wind, the waves can overpower you easily."

M Live





Port Reports - September 26

Lorain, Ohio – Phil Leon
Great Lakes Trader and tug Joyce L Van Enkevort departed at 6:10 p.m. from Dock #3.

Toronto, Ont. – Jens Juhl
Stephen B. Roman was discharging cement at the Essroc Villiers Street facility Thursday. Just before noon the Algoma Navigator cleared the Ship Channel Bridge inbound with a cargo of aggregate. The 47-year-old bulker is probably the last working ship using the Doxford JT series opposed piston diesel engine.





Lookback #313 – Former Lindo arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, for scrapping on Sept. 26, 1997

Lindo was built at Gijon, Spain, in 1972. The 395 foot, 10 inch long vessel first appeared on the Great Lakes in 1979 and became a regular caller through the Seaway in 1980 when it joined Manchester Lines on charter.

The vessel could carry 346 containers and it worked as a shuttle boat in and out of the Great Lakes connecting with the larger transatlantic container ships in the regular Manchester fleet.

Lindo was on the move in 1981 becoming Atlantic Prowess and, later in the year, Kowloon Express. Both ships carried Panamanian registry and the latter worked in the Far East servicing Hong Kong.

Further name changes saw the ship becoming Kobe Express in 1982, Jannu in 1985, Kuo Wei in 1986 and Medlink, Greek flag, in 1992.

It was 17 years ago today that Medlink arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, under tow. It was beached at one of the scrap berths on Sept. 26, 1997, and the dismantling of the hull got underway on Oct. 20, 1997.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - September 26

September 26, 1930, the schooner OUR SON, launched in 1875, sank during a storm on Lake Michigan about 40 miles WSW of Big Sable Point. Seventy-three year old Captain Fred Nelson the crew of OUR SON were rescued by the self-unloader WILLIAM NELSON.

September 26, 1937, the Canadian Seaman's Union signed a tentative wage contract. Sailors would continue a two watch system (working 12 hours every 24 hours) and be paid the following monthly wages: Wheelsmen and Oilers - $72.50, Watchmen and firemen - $67.50, Second Cooks - $52.50, deckhands and coal passers - $50.00, porters - $45.00, Chief Cooks on the Upper Lakes - $115.00, and Chief Cooks on Canal boats $105.00.

September 26, 1957, Taconite Harbor, Minnesota loaded its first cargo of 10,909 tons of taconite pellets into the holds of the Interlake steamer J. A. CAMPBELL.

On 26 September 1892, JOHN BURT (3-mast wooden schooner, 138 foot, 348 gross tons, built in 1871, at Detroit, Michigan) was carrying grain in a strong northwest gale. Her rudder broke and she was blown past the mouth of Oswego harbor and was driven hard aground. Two died when the vessel struck. The U.S. Lifesaving Service rescued the remaining five crewmembers. The vessel quickly broke up in the waves.

CHI-CHEEMAUN cleared the shipyard on September 26, 1974.

H. M. GRIFFITH was christened on September 26, 1973 at Collingwood for Canada Steamship Lines.

C.C.G.S. GRIFFON (Hull#664) was launched September 26, 1969 by Davie Shipbuilding Ltd., Lauzon, Quebec for the Canadian Coast Guard.

ROGER M. KYES returned to service on September 26, 1984; she had grounded off McLouth Steel and ended crosswise in the Detroit River's Trenton Channel a month before. She was renamed b.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1989.

The BELLE RIVER was sideswiped by the Liberian FEDERAL RHINE, of 1977, at Duluth on September 26, 1985. Both vessels received minor damage.

On 26 September 1914, MARY N. BOURKE (wooden schooner-barge, 219 foot, 920 gross tons, built in 1889, at Baraga, Michigan) was docked at Peter's Lumber Dock in St. Mary's Bay, 15 miles north of St. Ignace, Michigan. The crew was awakened at 9:30-10:00 p.m. by smoke coming from her hold and they escaped. The BOURKE burned to the waterline and the fire spread ashore, destroying the dock and a pile of lumber.

At 3 a.m., 26 September 1876, the steam barge LADY FRANKLIN burned while moored near Clark's dock, about three miles from Amherstburg, Ontario in the Detroit River. One life was lost. This vessel had been built in 1861, as a passenger steamer and ran between Cleveland, Ohio and Port Stanley, Ontario. In 1874, she was converted into a lumber freighter, running primarily between Saginaw, Michigan and Cleveland. The burned hull was rebuilt in 1882.

1979: MAHONI, an Indonesian-registered freighter, went aground on the west coast of Taiwan and was abandoned by the crew. The ship was refloated in June 1980 and sold to Taiwanese shipbreakers for scrapping at Kaohsiung. It had been a Seaway saltie as b) CLARI beginning in 1968 and returned as c) ARNIS in 1970.