Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - January 6

Soo Locks
Ice delayed traffic at the Soo Locks Monday. The Coast Guard is limiting traffic and forcing some boats to go to anchor, traffic is slowed but continues to move.

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Philip R. Clarke loaded on Sunday and was expected to finish loading at approximately 10 p.m. However, they would remain at the dock due to weather and were expected to depart on Monday at 8 a.m. weather permitting.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
The revised boat lineup for the Torco Dock in Toledo now lists the Manitowoc arriving on Monday in the early morning to unload iron ore at Torco. Also expected to arrive on Monday will be the Lewis J. Kuber in the late evening. The James L. Kuber has two trips scheduled, with the first one on Tuesday in the early morning. They are due back again at Torco on Sunday, January 11 during the late evening. All times are subject to change due to weather and ice conditions. The tug Barbara Andrie and a barge still remain in port.

Seaway
Algoma Montrealais was nearing Trois-Rivieres Monday night on her way to Montreal, where she will lay up prior to being scrapped. She is due at Montreal Tuesday morning. She is the last remaining steam-powered vessel in the Algoma fleet.





Coast Guard will close some waterways Thursday

1/6 - The Captain of the Port Sault Ste. Marie issued passage closings for some Michigan waterways starting 9 a.m. on January 8.

The passage between St. Ignace and Mackinac Island will be closed, as well as the Cheboygan and Bois Blanc Island passage known as South Channel, and Grays Reef Passage located between Grays Reef and Vienna Shoal. Pipe Island Passage, east of Pipe Island Shoal and North of Pipe Island Twins from Watson Reef Light to Sweets Point will also close on January 8.

The Coast Guard reminds all people planning to go out on the ice to carefully plan their activities, use caution while on the ice and to stay away from shipping channels.

9 & 10 News





2014 Seaway saltie recap

1/6 - The St. Lawrence Seaway’s 55th anniversary season ended on December 31, 2014, marking one of its busiest seasons in recent memory. The 2014 shipping season saw an increase both in the number of salties that entered the St. Lawrence Seaway system when compared to the 2013 season and a surge in the number of westbound transits by saltwater vessels at the Eisenhower Lock in Massena, N.Y.

As the 2014 season drew to a close, the total number of saltwater vessels that transited the Eisenhower Lock totaled 222 vessels that made 438 westbound transits through the Eisenhower Lock. That is an increase of 25 vessels when compared to the 2013 season total of 197. Also, the 222 vessels is an increase of 10 when compared to the five-year average from 2009-2013. The 438 westbound transits by vessel is also a huge increase from the 2013 season, when there were 356 transits made by vessel. This represents an increase in transits by 82 when compared to the 2013 transits. The 438 transits by vessel in 2014 is also an increase of 95 transits when compared to the five-year average from 2009-2013.

Some other noteworthy statistics from the 438 transits made by vessel in 2014, it was the first time since the 2007 shipping season that westbound transits through the Eisenhower Lock exceeded 400 or more transits. Also, the 438 transits ties the 1995 season total as the 20th best season for salty transits since 1980. There were also 54 newcomers making their first-ever visits to the Seaway system.

The 54 newcomers are up three vessels when compared to the 2013 season total of 51 newcomers. However the 54 newcomers in 2014 was also a decrease of 14 vessels when compared to the five-year-year average from 2009-13.

In 2014 the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway was delayed until March 31 due to severe ice conditions that had plagued both the Seaway and the Great Lakes. For the first time in recent memory, there were no transits by saltwater vessels during March.

For April, there were 55 transits made by salties. November and December saw the most transits made in recent memory. In November alone, there were 72 transits by vessel and in December there were 35. These two months saw huge increases when compared to the 2013 total of 67 in November and 24 for the month of December. When compared to the five-year average from 2009-13, the 2014 figures for November at 72 transits is an increase of 24, while the December 2014 figure of 35 transits by vessel is an increase of 11 transits on the five-year average from 2009-13.

The 2014 shipping season also saw three vessel renames. The Clipper Mari, which came inland in late April, was later renamed Nordic Mari and returned with that name in June. Hellespont Centurion, which came inland in April, was later renamed Lokholmen and she returned with that name in November. Hellespont Crusader, which came inland in May, was later renamed Larsholmen and returned with that name in June. There were also five vessels that made transits and were later reflagged to other countries. Federal Danube, which came inland in April, along with the Federal Elbe, which also came inland in April, were both reflagged Marshall Islands in the summer. Federal Leda was reflagged from Cyprus to Marshall Islands in 2014. Wigeon, which visited in August under the Cyprus flag, was reflagged to Liberia later in the season.

The 438 transits at the Eisenhower Lock were not the highest or lowest numbers. The highest number of transits happened in the 1980 season with 918 transits, while the lowest number of transits happened in the 2009 season with 260, during the recession. A final 2014 season breakdown of the monthly transits at the Eisenhower Lock shows a huge increase in transits: April - 55, May-47, June-42, July-50, August-42, September-42, October-53, November-72 & December-35. There were no transits in March 2014.

Denny Dushane





Algoeast: The story behind the ship

1/6 - It was reported by “Shipfax” the east coast blog of marine historian M.B. Mackay, that the tanker Algoeast, a regular trader around the Great Lakes since 1977, tied up at Sydney, Nova Scotia, on Christmas Day 2014 ending its career in the Algoma Tankers fleet.

The long-serving tanker was built at Shimonoseki, Japan, in 1976-77, as the available Canadian shipyards were heavily booked with new orders. It was constructed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and sailed for Canada on Jan. 8, 1977, as the second ship to be named Texaco Brave.

The 430-foot, 6-inch-long by 66-foot-wide tanker was registered at 8,545 gross tons and able to carry 9,500 tons of cargo. Powered by a 5,300 bhp a Burmeister & Wain diesel engine, the ship joined the fleet of Texaco Canada Ltd.

Texaco Brave stopped at Hawaii to load on its way across the Pacific and it was ready for Great Lakes, coastal and Arctic service by the time the Seaway was open for the 1977 season.

On Feb. 10, 1982, the ship got caught in the shifting ice pack on the St. Lawrence, pushed off course and the mast and radar made contact with the bridge over the river at Quebec City.

On Sept. 1, 1986, this tanker came under the management of Societe Sofati/Soconav Ltee. and, a year later, they changed the name to b) Le Brave when Esso Canada Ltd. acquired Texaco assets. Le Brave continued to provide Great Lakes and coastal service and also participated in the summer supply run to Canadian Arctic communities. In 1993-1994, Le Brave was equipped with a new electronic chart display and navigation system as part of a federally supported project. The system proved to be very successful.

When Socanav went out of business, Le Brave tied up at Sorel. Esso still had use for this vessel and it arrived at Halifax on Nov. 26, 1996, and eventually refitted for Imperial Oil service. The red hull was painted blue and the ship was refloated from the local drydock on Jan. 24, 1997. Then, on Feb. 26, 1997, the ship was renamed c) Imperial St. Lawrence (ii).

Imperial St. Lawrence operated mainly on coastal routes, and when Algoma Tankers Ltd. took over the company operations in 1998 the ship was renamed once again, becoming d) Algoeast.

As a single-hulled tanker, the days of Algoeast were numbered due to changing regulations. Algoma had the ship rebuilt at Port Weller Dry Docks in 1999-2000 and Algoeast became a double-hulled tanker and able to continue in Canadian service.

The vessel was occasionally used in winter navigation on the Great Lakes battling icy lakes and rivers to deliver petroleum cargoes from Sarnia to Sault Ste. Marie and elsewhere. In March 25, 2010, Algoeast opened the Welland Canal navigation season as the first down bound trader at Port Colborne.

The vessel is for sale and will likely head overseas for a new career.

Skip Gillham





Marine news casualties and demolitions

1/6 - Marine News, the monthly journal of the World Ship Society, reports the following ships with Great Lakes connections going for scrap in the January 2015 issue.

Seaway Salties:
Captain Adam arrived at Alang, India, on Sept. 22, 2013, and scrapping got underway on Sept. 27. This ship was built at Vigo, Spain, and entered service in 1984 as the Spanish registered Altamira. It first came to the Great Lakes in 1985 and returned later as b) Lex Almendro heading up the Welland Canal with bauxite for Thorold on Oct. 9, 1990. The ship passed downbound with a cargo of iron and steel borings. In the following years it became c) Pearl in 1994 (Greece), d) Pearl I in 1998 (Malta), e) Thalassa 1 in 2002 (Panama), f) Culcinia in 2002 (Antigua & Barbuda), g) Dolce X in 2007 (Panama) before becoming h) Captain Adam in 2011 (Togo).

Elminda, the former Ziemia Tarnowska, arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, on Aug. 28, 2014, with scrapping of the hull commencing on Sept. 6. This vessel was built at Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1985 and began a regular pattern of Seaway service for the Polish Steamship Co. (Polsteam) later that year. Ziemia Tarnowska was the first saltwater ship into the Seaway opening navigation on April 1, 1987 and it repeated that honor on March 26, 1998. It also made the news on Sept. 2, 1988, ramming a dock after losing power at Cleveland. Another loss of power on Oct. 2, 1996, resulted in the ship striking a pier at Sault Ste. Marie. Over the years the vessel's cargoes included steel, bauxite, wheat, sugar and soybeans. The ship was upbound in the Seaway for the last time on Dec. 5, 2006, after having been absent from the Great Lakes since 2003. Ziemia Tarnowska stopped at Oshawa and Toledo before leaving the Seaway for the last time. It was sold and renamed b) Lord G. in 2013 and then became c) Elminda in 2014 before being resold to shipbreakers in Pakistan.

The bulk carrier G. Inebolu dated from 1983 and had been a Seaway caller as a) Bolu coming inland for the first time in 1984. The 505'3” long, Turkish built and Turkish owned vessel was sold and renamed b) G. Inebolu in 2007 and carried this name to the beach at Alang, India. It arrived there for scrapping on Sept. 25, 2014, and work on breaking up the hull began two days later.

Masar Trade was the eleventh name used by this vessel although it carried two different names on two occasions. It came through the Seaway as e) Beeco America, Panamanian flag, in 1986. The 428 foot, 11 inch long general cargo carrier arrived at Alang, India, as k) Masar Trade on Sept. 13, 2014, and scrapping got underway on Sept. 22.

Nesibe E. came inland under its original name of Germa Lionel in 1979. The small 265 foot, 9 inch long cargo carrier had been built that year and was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey, in 2013. It arrived there as h) Nesibe E. on Sept. 13, and dismantling of the hull got underway the next day. From the time it first came inland in 1979, Germa Lionel had a total of eight names and had operated under the flags of Norway, Liberia, Hungary, Bahamas, Syria and Cambodia before going for scrap.

The Rei, which arrived at Jingiang, China, on Sept. 22, 2013, had been a Seaway trader under six of the eleven names it carried from its time of launching on Feb. 28, 1983. The ship first came inland on Sept. 11, 1983, as a) Fjordnes with Liberian registry. It returned as d) Kamtin in 1990, e) Falknes in 1996, f) Demi Green in 2000 bringing sugar to Toronto, g) Lia in 2001 and finally as h) Krios in 2006. As Lia the ship lost power below the St. Lambert Lock on Oct. 29, 2001, and drifted until a tug was able to provide assistance.

Sakhalin was a regular Seaway caller as a) Ziemia Zamojska of the Polish Steamship Co. It was built at Avallaneda, Spain, in 1985, and had come to the Great Lakes before the end of the year. The 591-foot, 4-inch-long bulk carrier usually handled steel inbound and various grains as it headed back to the sea. It will likely be best remembered for an incident at Chicago on Nov. 4,1993, when the ship struck the raised 106th St. Bridge over the Calumet River while under tow. The corn-laden freighter received a hole in the starboard bow, caused substantial damage to the bridge and created traffic chaos for motorists. On another occasion in November 1996, Ziemia Zamojska was delayed at Antwerp, Belgium, by Greenpeace activists. The vessel last visited the Great Lakes in 2007 and sailed on saltwater routes becoming b) Sakhalin in 2012. It arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, for scrapping on Sept. 5, 2014.

Zakmar had been a Great Lakes trader as a) Alsyta Smits beginning in 1979, the year that the ship was built in Holland. The 274-foot, 7-inch-long Dutch freighter returned with steel as b) Alsydon in 1993 and was now flying the flag of Cyprus. In later years it was registered in Syria, Georgia and the Cook Islands when it was sold for scrap as f) Zakmar in 2014. The vessel arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, on Sept. 22, and was broken up by Kursan Gemi Sokum Ltd.

Great Lakes related:
The tug Herakles towed the Algontario to Aliaga, Turkey, for scrap arriving on August 5, 2011. The small Polish vessel was reported as sold to unspecified breakers in June 2014.

The former Canadian Coast Guard vessel Verendrye is listed in Marine News as arriving at I.M.S. at Port Colborne on Sept. 18, 2013. The ship is known to have been at that location since about 2008 although it could possibly been temporarily moored elsewhere.

Compiled by Rene Beauchamp, Barry Andersen and Skip Gillham





Frozen In #6 – Furman Victory rebuilt at Toledo over 1963-1964

1/6 - Furman Victory was towed upbound through the Welland Canal by the tugs Jean Turecamo and James Battle on Oct. 7, 1963. The destination was Toledo, where the retired World War Two-vintage Victory Ship was slated to undergo a $5 million refit by the American Shipbuilding Co.

The 439-foot, 1-inch-long cargo carrier had been built by the Oregon Shipbuilding Co. and launched at Portland on March 6, 1945. It was completed on April 19, 1945, and saw some service before the war was over.

Furman Victory was transferred to the U.S. Department of Commerce and placed in the reserve fleet. It was retransferred to the U.S. Navy in 1963 and brought to the Great Lakes for conversion to a Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine Tender.

Renamed U.S.S. Furman (AK-280), the ship departed Toledo for Boston on Oct. 7, 1964, and spent the rest of its time on saltwater. It was later laid up at Beaumont, Texas, and while there was some thought to sinking the ship as an artificial reef for fish, it was reported as sold for scrap and broken up beginning in April 2004.

Skip Gillham





Lookback #415 – Former Gladys Bowater on fire and abandoned on Jan. 6, 1977

1/6 - The British vessel Gladys Bowater was a frequent caller to the Great Lakes in the early years of the Seaway. The vessel operated from coastal locations and came through the waterway on eight occasions in 1959 alone.

The 325-foot-long cargo ship had just been built at Dumbarton, Scotland, and served Bowater Shipping from 1959 into 1972. It made eight more trips inland in 1960, 10 trips in 1965, an even dozen in 1966 and a total of 58 inbound transits of the Seaway to the end of 1967.

It was sold and renamed Gigi in 1972 and then c) Aginor in 1976. Both were Liberian flag concerns. It was 38 years ago today that the ship caught fire under the latter name off southwest Sicily while on a voyage to Algiers, Algeria. The crew abandoned the blazing freighter but it remained afloat, towed to Palermo and declared a total loss.

The hull arrived at Piraeus, Greece, on Feb. 11, 1977, and was laid up unrepaired. However, it was sold later in the year and rebuilt as d) Alexandra for a return to service under the flag of Greece. It became e) Lamyaa in 1984 and was flying the flag of Honduras when it arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, for dismantling on Oct. 10, 1985.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - January 6

While under tow heading for scrap, the HARRY R. JONES went aground at Androsan, Scotland, on January 6, 1961, and it wasn't until February 15 that she arrived at her final port of Troon, Scotland.

January 6, 1999 - The Dow Chemical plant in Ludington, Michigan, announced a plan to close its lime plant, eliminating the need for Great Lakes freighters to deliver limestone.

In 1973, the JOSEPH H. THOMPSON ran aground at Escanaba, Michigan, after departing that port.

1976: The former GLADYS BOWATER was sailing as c) AGINOR when it caught fire and had to be abandoned off southwest Sicily. The hull was towed to Palermo, Italy, with serious damage and then to Piraeus, Greece, where it was laid up unrepaired. But the ship was resold, rebuilt and returned to service as d) ALEXANDRA in 1977. It was scrapped at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, as e) LAMYAA in 1985.

1979: OTTO NUBEL first came to the Great Lakes in 1953 and returned regularly until the final four trips in 1959. The ship was sailing as b) MARIA III when there was an explosion in the engine room on January 6, 1979, near Tamomago Island, Spain. A fire followed and the vessel went aground where it was abandoned as a total loss.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Whitefish Point shelters several vessels from winter weather

1/7 - Several vessels sought shelter Tuesday evening from northwest winds in the lee of Whitefish Point. Among those at anchor were Joseph L. Block, Kaye E. Barker, Algomarine, American Mariner, Arthur M. Anderson, Saginaw, Victory, Mesabi Miner, Great Lakes Trader/Joyce L. VanEnkevort and Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder. The weather forecast called for wind, snow and bitterly cold wind chill. USCG Mackinaw was anchored for the night in the lower St. Mars River near Nine Mile Point.





CSL Welland arrives at Montreal, completing maiden voyage

1/7 - Montreal, Que. - Canada Steamship Lines welcomed CSL Welland, the latest addition to its Trillium Class fleet on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway, as she docked at the Port of Montreal on Jan. 2 at 13:48 EST.

The 36,100 tonne deadweight, Seawaymax gearless bulker's arrival marked the end of a 57-day maiden voyage that took CSL Welland across the East China Sea and Pacific Ocean, through the Panama Canal and up the east coast of North America. Captain Andriy Bondarenko and Chief Engineer Nicolas Lavoie were in command of CSL Welland for the voyage. Rod Jones, CSL Group President and CEO, and Allister Paterson, President of Canada Steamship Lines, were on hand to welcome them and the CSL Welland crew to Canada.

“Captain Bondarenko and his crew safely and skillfully navigated a vessel designed for the Lakes on a demanding transoceanic journey from Yangfan shipyard in China to the Port of Montreal,” said Allister Paterson. “This is a remarkable achievement by a very talented group of seafarers, and it is certainly an inspirational start to the New Year for CSL.”

In preparation for the 2015 Great Lakes shipping season, CSL Welland will undergo alterations to remove the temporary reinforcing structures that made her ocean passage possible.

CSL Welland’s sister ship, CSL St-Laurent, began her maiden voyage from China on Dec. 13, 2014, and is expected in Canada at the end of January.

Like all Trillium Class ships, CSL Welland and CSL St-Laurent are built according to the highest safety, environmental and operational standards, using the most advanced technologies available today. Trillium Class ships use less fuel, reduce emissions significantly, and provide overall operational efficiency to the benefit of customers and the environment alike.

CSL





Lakes deep freeze cost economy $705 million and 3,800 jobs

1/7 - Cleveland, Ohio – The seemingly glacial ice that brought shipping on the Great Lakes to a virtual standstill last winter cost the economy more than $700 million and nearly 4,000 jobs and has prompted Lake Carriers’ Association to call for construction of a second heavy icebreaker to partner with the U.S. Coast Guard’s Mackinaw to keep the shipping lanes open in the harshest of conditions.

The winter of 2013/2014 was so brutal that U.S.-flag cargo movement between December 1, 2013 and May 30, 2014, plummeted nearly 7 million tons compared the same period in 2012/2013. At least two steelmakers had to curtail production and some power plants were extremely low on coal. The limestone trade did not resume in earnest until well into April, and U.S.-flag lakers suffered nearly $6 million in damage trying to resupply customers. Eventually three vessels that had not been scheduled to operate last year were fit out to help overcome the shortfall in deliveries during the ice season, but the industry played catch-up the rest of the year.

“I want to stress that Lake Carriers’ Association and our members’ customers deeply appreciate the efforts of the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards this past ice season,” said James H.I. Weakley, President of the trade association representing U.S.-flag vessel operators on the Great Lakes.

“They are the only reason we were able to move nearly 10 million tons of cargo under such challenging conditions. Still, it is clear that the ice conditions that prevailed last winter call for a reassessment of both nations’ icebreaking fleets. At a minimum, Congress must authorize construction of a twin to the Mackinaw so we can have two high-powered American icebreakers on the Lakes. Another 140-foot-long icebreaking tug must be assigned to the Lakes at least until the service life extension program currently underway for the six existing 140s is completed later this decade.”

Canada has only two icebreakers assigned to the Great Lakes. “Given that there are often as many Canadian lakers in service during the ice season as there are American, Canada should reassess its icebreaking forces. We appreciate that they temporarily moved in some assets to respond to difficult conditions, but it takes time to get icebreakers from the East Coast to the Lakes, and once the Seaway closes, that option is no longer available.”

Weakley noted that Great Lakes basin industries such as steelmaking, power generation, and construction are now geared to receive cargo nearly year-round. “The Soo Locks open on March 25 and close on January 15. After the locks close, iron ore will continue to load out of Escanaba, Michigan, at least until the end of January, often into February. The cement trade on the lower Lakes often resumes about March 1 and iron ore shipments on Lake Michigan and Lake Erie start back up not long after that. Demand for U.S.-flag cargos during periods of ice cover can approach 20 million tons. That’s why the U.S. Coast Guard has nine icebreakers on the Lakes, although one is currently undergoing modernization at the Coast Guard yard in Baltimore and so will be unavailable this ice season.”

A recent study found that the cargo U.S.-flag lakers carry supports nearly 130,000 jobs in the eight Great Lakes states, but an analysis of the past winter determined nearly 4,000 jobs were lost due to the heavy ice. “Make no mistake about it, some economic activity was lost forever because of the difficulties in keeping the shipping lanes open. Steel that had been ordered was not made, which means either some products were not produced or made with foreign steel. Worst yet, some North American products were outright replaced with imports. We estimate the lost business revenue topped $700 million.”

Weakley acknowledged the winter of 2013/2014 was particularly harsh, but warned that there are very few options for customers needing cargo that is blocked by ice. “The reason so many steel mills and power plants are located on the waterfront is so they can benefit from the efficiencies of waterborne commerce. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has estimated that Great Lakes shipping annually saves its customers $3.6 billion compared to the next least costly mode of transportation. But many of these mills and power plants lack rail access. Others have limited rail access, but the railroads have little if any capacity to spare right now. The cost of new rolling stock and rail connections could only be justified by long-term contacts, not by spot market moves to fill a temporary gap in deliveries.”

“During World War II Congress authorized the first icebreaker Mackinaw for Lakes service and that vessel was in operation from 1944 until the new Mackinaw joined the fleet in 2006. While the world has changed much since 1944, the need to move cargo during periods of ice coverage is even greater now than then. We need a twin to the Mackinaw and another 140 to complete the U.S. icebreaking fleet and more Canadian assets on the Lakes.”

Lake Carriers’ Association





Lake Superior 9 inches above normal

1/7 - Duluth, Minn. – Lake Superior rose farther above normal in December and now sits 9 inches above its normal Jan. 1 level, the International Lake Superior Board of Control reported Monday.

The big lake is 11 inches higher than it was on Jan. 1, 2014, and saw its highest December average level since 1996.

Lake Superior dropped 2 inches in December, a month the lake usually drops 3 inches. That lower-than-usual decline comes as December was the 11th consecutive month with above-normal water supply to the big lake, which continues its record-breaking rise from below normal to well-above normal water levels.

Lakes Michigan-Huron have been rising even faster, and now sit 9 inches above their normal Jan. 1 level and a whopping 23 inches higher than Jan. 1, 2014. The level of the lakes remained the same in December, a month they usually drop 2 inches.

The higher water levels have helped the Great Lakes shipping industry recover from a slow start to the season last spring by allowing freighters to carry heavier loads. The shipping season will end Jan. 15 when the Soo Locks close for the winter.

Superior Telegram





Lakes limestone trade down 1.8 percent in 2014

1/7 - Cleveland, Ohio – Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 27.1 million tons in 2014, a decrease of 1.8 percent from 2013 and a drop of 2.1 percent compared to the trade’s long-term average. Shipments from U.S. ports dipped 4 percent, but loadings out of Canadian quarries rose 12.5 percent.

The decline lakes-wide largely reflects the significant delays in resuming shipments in the spring. Heavy ice formations covered the Lakes and loadings in April were down nearly 50 percent. Even in May shipments lagged the previous year by 8 percent.

Lake Carriers’ Association





Port Reports - January 7

Alpena, Mich. – Ben & Chanda McClain
Alpena arrived in port before noon on Sunday. The tugboat Manitou assisted the Alpena into Lafarge. Ice is forming quickly in the bay with the cold temperatures. Alpena loaded cement on Sunday and stayed over for weather overnight. It departed on Monday for Detroit.

Toledo, Ohio
Manistee is in winter layup at the Midwest Terminals Overseas Dock. Algorail arrived at the Ironhead Shipyard on Tuesday to be placed in drydock for its five-year inspection.

Rochester, N.Y. – Tom Brewer
Stephen B. Roman arrived at the Port of Rochester Tuesday afternoon with a load of cement for Essroc. The vessel had to break through ice to get up the river to the dock.

Montreal, Que.
Algoma Montrealais arrived at her winter layup berth in Montreal at 4:20 p.m. Tuesday. She is expected to be scrapped later this year. The vessel was the last steam-powered laker operating under the Canadian flag.





Saginaw River shipping traffic hits 10-year low

1/7 - Bay City, Mich. – If you were held up at an open bascule bridge in Bay City more than a couple times this past year, you might just be unlucky. That's because statistics show Saginaw River shipping traffic fell to its lowest level in 10 years in 2014.

From roughly May through mid-December, 110 ship visits were recorded in the Saginaw River, down from 139 in 2013 and nearly 70 percent fewer than the 347 visits recorded in 2005.

The statistics are kept by Todd Shorkey, a reporter for the website BoatNerd.com, which tracks shipping activity on the Saginaw River.

"As someone who enjoys watching the vessels and tracking them, it's distressing for me to see this downward trend," Shorkey said. "Obviously, we all want to see the numbers come up."

The decade-long decline has been almost constant with fewer ships visiting year-over-year for nine of the past 10 years. The 139 ship visits recorded in 2013 was up slightly from 2012 when 135 ships visited, according to Shorkey.

The decline in 2014, Shorkey said, can be attributed in part to a shortened shipping season brought on by a brutal winter and late start to spring.

"This year was a really difficult winter because it was such a difficult freeze up last year," explained William Webber, president of the Saginaw River Alliance and owner of the Zilwaukee-based Sargent Docks & Terminal. "The boats ... they were far, far behind to start off with. They lost so many shipping days, and they never caught up."

Aside from the shortened shipping season, Paul Strpko, a sales manager and port facility manager for Fisher Companies, the parent company of Bangor Township-based Bay Aggregate Inc., said the 10-year decline in traffic has a lot more to do with a slowdown in the housing and road construction industries.

Those industries, he said, rely on limestone — a key component of concrete — which tops the list of products shipped along the Saginaw River. In fact, Strpko estimates limestone accounts for 80 percent of all shipments on the Saginaw River.

Webber concurs with Strpko's analysis and noted there are far fewer new roads being constructed than in the past and many resurfacing projects either rely on recycled material from the road itself or involve only minor repairs.

"The (limestone) volumes in the river are half of what they were in 2002, 2004," Webber said. "Everybody's operating at half those values."

Webber said he's encouraged by the recent passage of a comprehensive road construction plan by state lawmakers that includes asking voters in May to approve a 1-cent increase to the state's sales tax to fund road construction projects throughout the state.

He said Michigan limestone producers have a surplus on hand right now and a significant uptick in demand, brought on by new road projects, would be a positive step toward restoring some traffic on the Saginaw River.

Webber said he's hoping for an early start to the 2015 shipping season.

"If we could start an earlier season (it) would be fantastic," he said. "If we're held out until May again, we'll be in the same condition next year or worse, and it'll get exacerbated."

In 2012, Bay Area leaders began discussing whether establishing a port authority for the Saginaw River might help boost business. State Sen. Mike Green, R-Mayville, was among those at the table.

"I caught a little bit of heck about it from local businesses on the river," Green said, noting that his support for the idea is contingent on local communities' willingness to back it.

If created, a Great Lakes Bay Region port authority would be only the second such unit in Michigan. The other is the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority, created in 1978.

Green said a port authority would work much like a downtown development authority, taxing members and mixing the revenues with federal funds to help boost local business development. The funds could be used to improve river infrastructure, for example, making it easier for ships to move up and down the waterway.

Green said a port authority might not necessarily equal more traffic "It might help them expand, help them update," he said. "It might be something they could put a program together for expanding or cleaning out the river. There's so much you can do, but I don't know if it means more ships up the river."

Webber said most members of the Saginaw River Alliance — a group of local stone dock owners — are against the idea, noting their distaste for a group that would take away their autonomy and possibly impose sales taxes on goods flowing through the area. He said he's open to the idea, but only if it allows business owners enough of a voice.

"There's some good things that could come out of it, but there are some bad things," he said.

Strpko was unequivocal.

"With all the facilities, the ports of entry are privately owned," he said. "A port authority would do nothing but tell those individual investors that have been effective in running the river system for 80 years how to do their business." Strpko said he doesn't expect shipping numbers to ever rebound to levels of 10 years ago, but said traffic should begin to steadily increase again in the next five years. He estimates the Saginaw River could see an uptick of 15 percent per year over that time

He said 10 years from now, shipping might be back in the 250 visits-per-year range, where he expects it to find a new plateau.

He said that rebound is likely to come as a result of an increase in home building, and shipments of agricultural fertilizer. Along those same lines, he sees a future where agribusinesses are increasingly shipping crops, like corn and beans, along the river.

"Agriculture is very strong in Michigan, and there will be a continued strength in construction, just due to the condition of our infrastructure," he said. "Money has to be spent to bring these roads up to par."

Despite the numbers decline of the past decade, Strpko said there are some positive signs for the shipping industry. Specifically, he noted an increase in Great Lakes water levels that resulted in ships hauling about 2,000 tons of material more per vessel in 2014.

Webber is even more optimistic. Between the possibility of increased agricultural exports, river dredging and Michigan's pending road reconstruction deal, he thinks traffic could rebound completely. He cited the late 1970's oil prices as proof: "If you asked them in 1979 and 1980, 'Do you think it'll be booming here in five years?' they'd have said you were absolutely nuts," he said.

Shorkey noted his hope as well that more ships might find the mouth of the Saginaw River again.

"I am confident that the industry will rebound and the numbers will start coming back up, and I base that just on (encouraging numbers) across the Great Lakes and people in the industry I've talked to," Shorkey said. "I believe the numbers will rebound."

Bay City Times





Last trip for former C.C.G. Verendrye

1/7 - Port Colborne, Ont. – The final voyage of the former Canadian Coast Guard vessel Verendrye took place on Jan. 3. It was a short trip under tow of the tug Sea Hound from one dock of International Marine Salvage to their dismantling berth in the outer harbor at Port Colborne.

Verendrye was built by George T. Davie & Sons at Lauzon, Quebec. It was completed for the Government of Canada, Minister of Transport in 1957 and became part of the Canadian Coast Guard in 1962.

The 125-foot-long (overall) by 26-foot, 1-inch-wide vessel was diesel powered and registered at 297 gross tons. It had a cruising range of 2000 miles and was based at Sorel for work on the St. Lawrence as a navigational aids tender.

Verendrye also worked on the Ottawa River and on the Great Lakes. It was laid up at Collingwood in 1986 and decommissioned in 1988.

The vessel was sold to private interests and came down the Welland Canal for Toronto on Dec. 4, 1994. There may have been some thought to rebuilding the vessel as an excursion ship but it remained idle, first along the Keating St. Channel and later near the Essroc Cement dock at the east end of the harbor.

On Nov. 24, 2007, the former Verendrye, with its name painted out, left Toronto under tow of the tug M.R. Kane and spent the winter of 2007-2008 tied up below Lock 1 of the Welland Canal classed as a yacht.

It was later brought up the Welland Canal to Port Colborne and has been moored at the I.M.S. dock in the outer harbor for perhaps seven years. It remained there until being moved early this year and scrapping should not take long.

Skip Gillham (with thanks to Brian Pyke, who noticed the move)





Obituary: Captain Jeremiah “Jerry” Bissette

Captain Jeremiah “Jerry” Bissette, age 84, died Monday, January 5 at the St. Catharines Hospital. He sailed the Great Lakes for 44 years, was Past President and Grandmaster of International Shipmasters Association (Lodge 20), and a member of Holy Rosary Church. The family will receive friends at the Haine Funeral Home and Chapel , 26 Ormond Street South, Thorold on Wednesday from 2-4 and 7-9 pm. Vigil prayers will be held in the funeral home on Wednesday at 8 pm. Funeral liturgy will be celebrated at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church (21 Queen St. S., Thorold) on Thursday, January 8 at noon. Rite of Committal to follow. If so desired, donations to Help A Child Smile would be appreciated by the family.





Frozen In #7 – Orient Merchant caught on the lakes for the winter of 1964–1965

The onslaught of cold weather in Dec. 1964 caught four ships on the Great Lakes side of the Seaway. Each had to find a winter berth and wait for spring to reach the Atlantic Ocean. The Greek freighter Orient Merchant was one of a trio of vessels to be docked in Toronto.

Orient Merchant was launched at Dundee, Scotland, on May 23, 1944, as Empire Albion but had been sold to the Government of the Netherlands by the time it entered service as Terborch. It was resold to the Holland-America Line in 1946 and sailed, on their behalf, as Eemdyk until 1960.

The ship began coming through the Seaway in 1960 for the Orient Mid-East Line as Orient Merchant. It made one voyage inland that year and followed with one more in 1962, two in 1963 and 1964 before being caught for the winter.

When the 1965 season got underway, the ship headed back up the lakes to load and, then ran aground off Port Colborne while down bound on April 27. After being refloated, Orient Merchant was repaired at Port Weller and then laid up again at Toronto pending a court settlement. It finally departed as Zambezi later in the year.

Zambezi was sold to Taiwan shipbreakers and arrived at Kaohsiung for dismantling on Nov. 19, 1967.

Skip Gillham





Lookback #416 – Former Ornefjell torpedoed and sunk on Jan. 7, 1943

1/7 - The Fjell Line of Olsen & Ugelstad sent four different ships to the Great Lakes as Ornefjell. The first of these was lost due to enemy action on this date in 1943. This Norwegian company had the vessel built at Porsgrunn, Norway, and it was launched thereon June 5, 1929. The general cargo freighter cost a reported 300,000 krone and the 244-foot, 7-inch-long carrier entered service in October 1929.

The 1,524 gross ton vessel began Great Lakes trading in 1933 and made three trips to the freshwater seas that year. Fjell was beginning to recognize the potential of liner service to the lakes and Ornefjell was one of their early inland traders.

The vessel was sold to E.D. Knudsen, also of Norway, in 1937 and renamed Akabahra. It returned through the old St. Lawrence Canals on at least one occasion before being sold again in 1939.

It was 72 years ago today that a torpedo was sent into the port side of Akabahra while it was on the Mediterranean south of the island of Sardinia. The ship, had left Algiers, Algeria, for Bone, Tunisia, and was carrying steel rails and cross ties. The ship was heavily damaged in the air attack and sank quickly. All 25 sailors on board got off safely but the former Ornefjell went down in position 37.07 N / 4.38 E.

Skip Gillham





A rare lake-effect "Eye" over Lake Erie

1/7 - Buffalo, N.Y. – For nearly three hours Tuesday morning, there was a baby cyclone churning over Lake Erie. It didn't have a name and was about as weak as they come, but it was formed not totally unlike the way a hurricane might over the open ocean.

"It's on a very, very, incredibly small scale," said Dan Kelly, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. "It's almost like a weak low-pressure system. This just happened to have circulation."

The rare sight was first picked up on radar by the National Weather Service about 7 a.m. off the Lake Erie shoreline. Over the course of Tuesday morning, it slowly drifted up "to the north and east" and petered out near Fort Erie, Ont. about 10 a.m.

"It does happen from time to time," Kelly said, "when you have a band and when you have a small-scale circulation in it."

Just outside of the "eye," winds were likely a little stronger, not unlike a hurricane. Of course, those speeds didn't approach anything close to the 74 mph hurricane force winds, however. It was the length of time the "eye" lasted - which the weather service said was fueled by a "relatively weak flow along Lake Erie" - was what made Tuesday's event unusual.

Buffalo News





Today in Great Lakes History - January 7

07 January 1974 - EDMUND FITZGERALD (steel propeller bulk freighter, 711 foot, 13,632 gross tons, built in 1958, at River Rouge, Michigan) lost her anchor in the Detroit River when it snagged on ice. It was raised in July 1992. The anchor weighs 12,000 pounds and now resides outside the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan.

On January 7, 1970, the e.) ONG, a.) REDHEAD of 1930, had her Canadian registry closed. The tanker had been sold for use as a water tender at Antigua in the Lesser Antilles and had departed Toronto on December 1, 1969.

1924: The rail car ferry ONTARIO NO. 1 had a rough overnight crossing of Lake Ontario. The ship was diverted to Toronto with three feet of ice on the deck and anchored off Port Credit. With no seagate, it had to sail into the wind and could not make its docking at Cobourg as scheduled.

1943: ORNEFJELL came to the Great Lakes beginning in 1933 and returned as b) AKABAHRA after being sold in 1937. It was torpedoed and sunk on the Mediterranean in position 37.07 N / 4.38 E.

1977: BARFONN had visited the Seaway beginning in 1959 and returned as b) ORIENT EXPLORER in 1967 and as c) AEGEAN in 1971. It caught fire at Colombo, Sri Lanka, as d) TONG THAY and became a total loss. The vessel was taken to Singapore Roads, laid up, sold for scrap and arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for dismantling on March 24, 1978.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Worsening ice conditions delay traffic on St. Marys River

1/8 - Early Wednesday the downbound Mesabi Miner became stuck in the Point Louise area and needed help from the USCG Katmai Bay, which locked up from her Sault Ste. Marie base around noon.

After freeing the Miner, the cutter went to work loosening ice in the turn before heading to assist John B. Aird, which was also having trouble enroute to Essar Steel. With the ice broken up, Robert S. Pierson departed Essar upbound in the afternoon, ultimately going to anchor in the lee of Whitefish Point.

After the Miner locked downbound, a process that was delayed by ice that prevented the lock gates from fully opening, the upbound Burns Harbor, which had been on the lower Poe Lock pier, was given permission to lock up.

At 10 p.m. Wednesday, Mesabi Miner was either stuck or stopped for the night above Six Mile Point, upstream from Paul R. Tregurtha, Edwin H. Gott and Cuyahoga, which spent Wednesday below Nine Mile Point waiting for downbounder traffic to clear. It had been hoped to move several vessels from Whitefish Bay down through the lower river on Wednesday but that did not come to pass. Downbound traffic scheduled for Thursday, ice conditions permitting, include Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder (underway at 10 p.m. Wednesday), Joseph L. Block, Algomarine, Saginaw and Joyce L. VanEnkevort/Great Lakes Trader.

The USCG Mackinaw was also hove to in the vicinity of Nine Mile Wednesday night.





Port Reports - January 8

Duluth, Minn. – Daniel Lindner
ASC's 1,000-foot American Integrity arrived in Duluth at 11:30 on Wednesday morning and docked at Port Terminal for winter layup. The Integrity is the first of the expected 6 ships in Duluth for the winter.

Marquette, Mich. – Rod Burdick
Fleetmates Robert S. Pierson and Michipicoten loaded ore at the Upper Harbor on Tuesday. Pierson's visit was a first since January 2014 and only the third Canadian vessel into Marquette during the shipping season.

Montreal, Que. – René Beauchamp
CWB Marquis arrived in Montreal on Jan. 7 on her delivery trip from China and docked at section 25 at about 6 p.m. Her port of registry is Winnipeg.





Ice stops Madeline Island ferries for winter

1/8 - The Madeline Island Ferry Lines ceased operation after battling thickening ice for a full schedule of trips on Jan. 6. Ice thickness away from the ferry track between Madeline Island and Bayfield, Wisconsin, ranged from six to eight inches. Strong winds forecast for Wednesday helped with the decision. Travel to the mainland will probably resume Thursday when the Town of La Pointe on the island puts its fleet of windsleds into operation. Car travel on a town-funded ice road will open when the ice thickness increases and stabilizes.





Museum offering previews of Great Lakes Shipwreck Festival

1/8 - Detroit, Mich. – Two free preview events are planned in Detroit before the 34th Great Lakes Shipwreck Festival.

The first is Saturday and features historian and dive master Tony Gramer presenting “Tragedy Strikes in Seven Minutes: The Loss of the Steamer Fred McBrier.” Diver Russ Haeberle also will present “Isle Royale: Lake Superior Wreck Divers Paradise.”

A second preview scheduled for Feb. 14 will feature presentations on diving in The Philippines and Dominica in the eastern Caribbean.

Both events will be held at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle, an island park in the Detroit River.

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Festival is March 7 at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor. Tickets are available online or at the door.





Frozen In #8 – Olau Gorm trapped on lakes when Seaway closed on Dec. 10, 1964

The Danish general cargo carrier Olau Gorm was caught on the Great Lakes when ice forced the closure of the St. Lawrence Seaway on Dec. 10, 1964. The vessel had been inland for one trip in 1964 after two visits to the inland seas in 1963.

Olau Gorm was forced to spend the winter at Toronto and remained there until April 1965 before milder weather allowed a return to the sea.

This vessel was built at Aalborg, Denmark, and was delivered to J. Lauritzen as Greta Dan on April 7, 1952. It was sold to the Olau Line, also a Danish company, on July 30, 1963, and renamed Olau Gorm.

It was resold on July 14, 1970, and moved under the flag of Greece as c) Santa Evdocia. Additional transactions brought the names of d) Athalnikolas in 1973, e) Ayios Nikolas in 1974 and f) Fast Breeze in 1976.

The 4687-gross-ton freighter ran aground in the Red Sea on July 13, 1978, while on a voyage from Piraeus, Greece, to Gizan, Saudi Arabia. The ship was refloated on July 16 and resumed the voyage but the grounding damage was significant and the ship was soon sold for scrap.

It anchored off Gadani Beach, Pakistan, on Sept. 27, 1978, but not beached until January 1979. The vessel was broken up by the Mercantile Trading Co. Ltd.

Skip Gillham





Lookback #417 – Former Labradoc left Montreal as Falcon Crest on Jan. 8, 1989

When the second Labradoc tied up at Montreal on Sept. 22, 1988, its sailing days in the Paterson fleet and under the Canadian flag had come to an end. The ship remained idle for several months, but following a sale to the Genav Maritime Co., it departed the port for Sorel-Tracy as Falcon Crest 26 years ago today. After loading there, the ship headed overseas and a new career on saltwater under the flag of Malta.

Labradoc had been built by the Davie Shipbuilding Co. and launched at Lauzon, QC, on Nov. 24, 1965. The 315-foot-long freighter entered service in April 1966. The ship was diesel powered, able to carry cargoes in the 5,725 tons range or 212,000 bushels of grain.

It served the Paterson fleet on Great Lakes, coastal and some deep-sea routes. In 1969, for example, Labradoc crossed the Atlantic with concentrates for Spain and then returned with steel products from Caen, France, for Montreal, Cleveland and Chicago.

The vessel was almost a casualty crossing Lake Erie on April 6, 1979, when the cargo shifted and this led to a significant list. The crew abandoned the vessel but Labradoc was towed to safety, righted and repaired. It resumed trading on May 29, 1979.

Falcon Crest only saw five more years of service before being sold to Pakistan shipbreakers. It arrived at Gadani Beach on June 14, 1994, and was delivered the next day for dismantling by Iqbal Javes & Co.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - January 8

On 08 January 2004, McKeil Marine’s CAPT. RALPH TUCKER was the first vessel of 2004 to arrive at the port of Manistee, Michigan. Once docked at the General Chemical facilities, Captain Bill Sullivan and Chief Engineer Otto Cooper were each presented with hand-carved Hackberry canes. This was a notable way for the vessel to start her last year of operation. Later that year she was sold for scrap.

JOHN HULST (Hull#286) was launched in 1938, at River Rouge, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

On 8 January 1877, the tug KATE FELCHER burned at East Saginaw, Michigan. Her loss was valued at $3,000, but she was insured for only $2,000. She was named after the wife of her owner, the well-known Capt. James Felcher of East Saginaw.

In 1939, several tugs helped release the CHIEF WAWATAM, which had been aground since January 3.

In 1974, BENSON FORD, of 1924, became beset by ice in Western Lake Erie.

January 8, 1976, LEON FALK JR. closed the season at Superior, Wisconsin, after she departed the Burlington-Northern ore docks.

1996: The research ship CALYPSO, a converted wooden minesweeper, served noted deep-sea diver Jacques Cousteau for many years. It came to the Great Lakes in 1980 and explored several wrecks including the EDMUND FITZGERALD and GUNILDA. It sank at Singapore following a collision on this date. The hull was refloated but never repaired. Subsequently, there were disputes over ownership, with a later report saying the vessel would be displayed at the Bahamas as a tourist attraction.

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






Whitefish Point shelters several vessels from winter weather, others delayed by ice

1/7 - Several vessels sought shelter Tuesday evening from northwest winds in the lee of Whitefish Point. Among those at anchor were Joseph L. Block, Kaye E. Barker, Algomarine, American Mariner, Arthur M. Anderson, Saginaw, Victory, Mesabi Miner, Great Lakes Trader/Joyce L. VanEnkevort and Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder. The weather forecast called for wind, snow and bitterly cold wind chill.

Due to ice, the upper river is alternating one way traffic also delaying vessels. USCG Mackinaw was anchored for the night in the lower St. Mars River near Nine Mile Point.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Traffic moving in the St. Marys River

1/9 - Thursday saw traffic moving again, with downbound and upbound vessels that had been stuck Wednesday finally making it through the Soo Locks. After waiting at Nine Mile Point for two days, Paul R. Tregurtha, Edwin H. Gott and Cuyahoga finally made it to the locks. Downbounders included Joseph L. Block, Saginaw, Great Lakes Trader and Algomarine. The latter stopped at the Carbide Dock for fuel. Late Thursday, Michipicoten, Whitefish Bay and Indiana Harbor were all in the upper river headed for the locks. USC Katmai Bay was standing by in the area of Light 23 to assist if needed. In the lower river, the USCG Mackinaw was assisting Edgar B. Speer at the upper end of Neebish Island, with Roger Blough upbound behind her. Kaye E. Barker, St. Clair and Arthur M. Anderson were all anchored in the lee of Whitefish Point.





Operation Coal Shovel icebreaking operations begin

1/9 - Detroit, Mich. – The U.S. and Canadian coast guards have commenced Operation Coal Shovel, the seasonal domestic ice breaking operations in the southern part of Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair and Detroit River systems, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, starting Thursday.

The U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers work together to prevent ice jams in these vital economic waterways as conditions worsen throughout the winter.

Ice jams can create a disruption to the flow of maritime commerce, so the icebreakers work diligently to flush ice down the river to facilitate transportation of vital winter cargoes. U.S. and Canadian crewmembers coordinate, conduct and track maintenance, provide vessel assistance and conduct flushing operations to minimize the potential for residential flooding. The mission of Operation Coal Shovel is to quickly reopen the Great Lakes maritime transportation system for the movement of commercial vessels that may become beset in the ice.

The winter of 2013-2014 presented some of the harshest ice conditions ever recorded in the Great Lakes. At one point during March 2014, 92.5 percent of the Great Lakes were covered by ice; this was the highest percentage of ice coverage seen since 1979. Operation Coal Shovel started in December 2013 and lasted for a total of 128 days.

The U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard played a vital role in allowing the movement of vital iron ore, coal, salt, limestone, oil derivatives, cement and other cargoes during those historic ice conditions.

As Operation Coal Shovel begins, the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard will continue to monitor potential hazardous ice conditions and conduct ice-breaking operations throughout the Great Lakes.

USCG





Dry docks get short lease for Algoma work

1/9 - Port Weller, Ont. – Algoma Central Corp. has entered into a three-month lease at the Port Weller dry docks. Peter Winkley, Algoma's chief financial officer, said maintenance work is being done on the Algoma Enterprise which is required every five years.

"We are doing work on the Enterprise and it's our own folks doing that work," Winkley said. "It's only over that short period this winter... we're hoping to have it complete by the end of March."

He said some workers handling the project on the bulk carrier are seasonal and hired every winter.

The previous dry docks tenant, Seaway Marine and Industrial, went bankrupt in 2013, throwing more than 100 people out of work.

Winkley said his company has no intentions "at this time" of a longer or more permanent lease at the dry docks.

Kyle Groulx — business representative for International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 128 representing the hourly workers — said many have since found work.

Some are also currently working on the project as seasonal workers.

"We are … looking at a few things (about the current lease) from a legal standpoint," he said. "We're looking as to whether there are grounds for a successor employer claim," he said. Any such claim would pertain to whether or not the Steelworkers have the right to represent workers there.

"We would file and say that it should be done under our collective agreement," Groulx said.

Bruce Hodgson, director of market development at the Seaway, said the corporation is open to discussion for longer leases at the dry docks. But there's nothing yet on deck.

St. Catharines Standard





Mackinac Island ferry, freight lines running until ice becomes impassable

1/9 - St. Ignace, Mich. – The frigid temperatures across the Straits mean ice is forming all over, and fast. So the time window to take a ferry or freight from St. Ignace to Mackinac Island is getting smaller.

"It is unpredictable out here in the Straits. It's Northern Michigan, you never what to expect in this area. But we'll keep plugging away and do our best to continue taking passengers and commuters to Mackinac Island until our route becomes impassable," said Veronica Dobrowolski, general manager for Arnold Line.

Already running later than last year, Arnold Line and Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry service are still on the move.

They say they have to play it by ear taking freight and commuters to and from the island.

"It's pretty unpredictable. It's a day-by-day operation this time of year...right now it's 60-80 people each morning, construction projects going on each day and several residents that go to the island, I think now they're stocking up on all of their goods in preparation for a harsh winter," said Dobrowolski.

"(The wind) blew out all the ice out for us, but in the case of the British landing dock it blew in there so we can't get in there because of the wind. Today we took a freight of food and lumber, there's some small projects there. Anyone who ships with us, we'll communicate and let them know but were a day to day operation right now, the conditions are so that we could be done tomorrow for all we know," said Armand Horn, general manager of Shepler's.

"Its funny how quick things change...once it gets this cold the water is already cold enough to freeze it's just getting cold nights and calm conditions."

Shepler's says if the wind keeps up, and temperatures rise, they could run for at least another week.

9&10 News





Seaway end-of-season statistics

1/9 - • Last upbound vessel at St. Lambert: Algoma Harvester on Dec. 29 bound for Hamilton from Port Cartier.

• Last vessel of the season at Iroquois lock: Sten Bergen on Dec. 31 bound for Amsterdam from Sarnia.

• Last vessel of the season upbound at Iroquois lock: Mississagi on Dec. 30 bound for Hamilton from Valleyfield.

• Last new foreign-flag vessel upbound: Active on Dec. 24 bound for Oshawa. • Last foreign-flag vessel upbound at St. Lambert: Active on Dec. 24 bound for Oshawa.

• Last vessel of the season downbound: Sten Bergen bound for Amsterdam on Jan. 1st from Sarnia.

• Last Canadian ship downbound: Sarah Desgagnés on Dec. 29 bound for Montreal from Sarnia.

For the third time in the Seaway history, the last ship of the season cleared the St.Lambert Lock on Jan. 1. It happened previously last year when Orsula transited that day and also during the 1984 season when Steelcliffe Hall transited on Jan. 1, 1985.

60 salties transited the Seaway for the first time under their current name in 2014. Compared to 59 in 2013, 93 in 2012, 78 in 2011, 83 in 2010 and 54 in 2009. Altogether, 225 salties transited including three vessels under two different names, Hellespont Crusader renamed Larsholmen, Hellespont Centurion renamed Lokholmen and Clipper Mari renamed Nordic Mari. A few went only as far as Côte Ste. Catherine, namely Adriaticborg, Julie C, Nomadic Milde, Thorco Conquest and Thorco Dolphin, most of them to load scrap metals. Going as far as Valleyfield only were BBC Baltic, Halit Bey and Oslo Bulk 2. Last year, a total of 204 names were logged.

René Beauchamp





Frozen In #9 – Van Fu, a Liberty ship, spent the winter of 1964 – 1965 at Toronto

The Liberty ship Van Fu only made one trip through the Seaway. This occurred late in 1964 and before the ship could get back to saltwater, it was frozen in for the winter.

Van Fu had been built at Los Angeles, CA and completed in Dec. 1943. It first sailed ad Philip C. Shera and was managed by the American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. on behalf of the United States Maritime Commission. It closed out the war years and, in Feb. 1947, was sold to Greek interests and renamed b) Igor.

The vessel operated on their account until being sold to the Taiwan Chung Hsing Steamship Co. in 1960 and registered in Nationalist China, as Taiwan was then known, as c) Van Fu.

During its only voyage to the Great Lakes in 1964, Van Fu loaded a cargo of scrap which, fortunately was not damaged by remaining aboard all winter. Come spring, the ship resumed its voyage to Italy but not many more trips remained.

Van Fu was sold for scrap and arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for dismantling prior to Nov. 18, 1968.

Skip Gillham





Lookback #418 – Former Lucie Schulte sank on Jan. 9, 1974

Only one sailor survived the sinking of the former Lucie Schulte. The ship went down 41 years ago today as Tevega and the other 15 crewmembers perished.

This vessel was built at Emden, West Germany, and completed in January 1954. The 259-foot, 1-inch-long cargo carrier had been a pre-Seaway trader to the Great Lakes. It later made three additional trips through the newly opened waterway with two visits in 1960 and the final call in 1962.

Lucie Schulte continued in saltwater service for Schulte & Bruns until being sold and renamed Tevega in 1969. It retained West Germany registry until coming under the flag of Cyprus in 1971.

Tevega had loaded a cargo of barley at Antwerp, Belgium, for Casablanca, Morocco, when it encountered foul winter weather in the Atlantic. The small ship was overwhelmed in the Bay of Biscay and sank on Jan. 9, 1974.

Skip Gillham





Updates - January 9

Lay-up list updated
Public Gallery updated





Today in Great Lakes History - January 9

On this day in 1973, the CHARLES M. BEEGHLY was the latest running Interlake vessel when she entered winter layup at Toledo, Ohio.

BAIE COMEAU II was laid up on January 9, 1983, at Sorel, Quebec, and was sold the following April to Progress Overseas Co. S.A., Panama renamed c.) AGIA TRIAS.

January 9, 1977 - The last survivor of the PERE MARQUETTE 18 disaster, Mike Bucholtz, died.

In 1974, a combination of wind and ice forced the beset BENSON FORD, of 1924, from the shipping channel in Western Lake Erie, running aground.

1974: MARDINA REEFER ran aground at the breakwall at Stephenville, Newfoundland, while inbound in stormy weather. The ship was scheduled to load pickled herring for Europe but became a total loss. Salvage efforts failed and the hull was pounded on the rocks and eventually split in two. The crew was rescued. The vessel had been through the Seaway in 1973.

1974: LUCIE SCHULTE had been a Pre-Seaway and Seaway visitor to the Great Lakes. It sank in bad weather as b) TEVEGA in the Bay of Biscay while enroute from Antwerp, Belgium, to Casablanca, Morocco, with a cargo of barley. Only one member of the crew survived.

1979: MARIGO M.F. had been a Seaway trader in 1973 and earlier as a) NEGO ANNE in 1971. The ship went aground off Alexandria, Egypt, and sustained hull and water damage. The bulk carrier was not worth repairing and sold to Brodospas of Split, Yugoslavia, for scrap. It arrived August 13, 1979, for dismantling.

1980: BILL CROSBIE was carrying steel when it got into trouble on the Atlantic on January 4, 1980. The vessel, a Seaway trader in 1974, was listing badly when it was brought into St. John's, Newfoundland, only to roll over and sink at the wharf on this date. The hull was towed out to sea, bottom up, on November 3, 1980, and scuttled 12 miles off shore.

1983: SANTONA stranded in the Red Sea off Sudan at North Jumna Shoal. The hull was refloated but sold for scrap. It arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, on April 4, 1983, for dismantling. It was a busy Seaway trader and had made 36 trips to the Great Lakes from 1959 to 1967.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Freighters still waiting for ice to be cleared in St. Clair River

1/12 - Port Huron, Mich. – Due to an excessive amount of ice in the St. Clair River, four freighters are sitting in the river just north of Algonac waiting for ice to be cleared.

U.S. Coast Guard ship Bristol Bay and Canadian Coast Guard ship Griffon were working Sunday to clear the ice for lead cargo ship Herbert C. Jackson, said U.S. Coast Guard Detroit Sector Command Duty Officer Gene Davis. The Jackson was freed in the late afternoon and attention was turned to the next ship in line, Algomarine.

Davis said he was not sure when the ships would be able to get through since there is heavy ice buildup.

This morning, a freighter required some assistance in the same location. The U.S. Coast Guard ship Bristol Bay and Canadian Coast Guard ship Griffon responded at 7:30 a.m. to free the Canadian vessel Whitefish Bay, said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Danny Hinesley. The Whitefish Bay made it to Lake St. Clair with the assistance of Canadian Coast Guard ship Griffon.

One vessel, the American Courage, went crosswise to the channel on Saturday afternoon and was still in that position Sunday as cutters worked to free vessels downstream.

The Blue Water Ferry, that runs from Marine City to Sombra, Ontario, Canada, is closed due to ice.

Port Huron Times Herald





Port Reports - January 12

Two Harbors, Minn.
Roger Blough arrived Sunday afternoon to load pellets. Cason J. Callaway and Arthur M. Anderson are next on the schedule.

St. Marys River
Traffic was moving getting through the river Saturday, with the downbound Cuyahoga, Capt. Henry Jackman and Algowood making it out of the system. Philip R. Clarke, Presque Isle, Mesabi Miner and American Century were all in the area of the locks at mid-to-late evening. The USCG Mackinaw was standing by above Light 26 in the upper river to render aid, while CCG Samuel Risley was at DeTour, escorting the downbounds into Lake Huron.

Grand Haven, Mich. – Sam Hankinson
Ice caused trouble for two vessels attempting to enter port Sunday afternoon. First, the barge St. Marys Challenger and tug Bradshaw McKee fought the ice, assisted by the tug Meredith Ashton. The Challenger was followed by the coal-laden Calumet.

Rochester, NY – Tom Brewer
The Stephen B. Roman departed Rochester, NY Sunday morning. Had to break through ice to get from her dock to the lake.





Frozen In #12 – Liberty ship Protostatis forced to stay behind in 1965-66 due to grounding

The first Seaway trip to the Great Lakes of the Greek Liberty ship Protostatis in 1965 was uneventful. The second was anything but.

The 441-foot, 6-inch-long vessel was loaded with scrap from Detroit when it stranded in Lake Ontario on Traverse Shoal on Sept. 30, 1965. The lighter Mapleheath removed some of the steel and tugs pulled Protostatis free. They traveled to the shelter of Wolfe Island off Kingston to reload and then, en route to the Seaway, the salty stranded again at the eastern end of the same island.

This time, Protostatis got frozen in and many of the crew went home. The retired canaller Keyshey was brought out from Kingston early in 1966 and took on some of the steel so the well-traveled Liberty would float once again.

Following a tow to Toronto, where pumps helped keep the ship afloat, the cargo was again reloaded and, come spring, the vessel departed the Great Lakes under tow. A second tow took the ship to Valencia, Spain, instead of the original destination of Genoa, Italy, and Protostatis arrived there on July 5, 1966, to be broken up by Aguilar y Peris.

The vessel had been built at Jacksonville, Fla., as John Philip Sousa in 1943 and later sailed as b) Erato and c) Taxiarchis under the flag of Honduras, before becoming Protostatis in 1960.

Skip Gillham





Lookback #421 – Baron Berwick abandoned off Cape Finisterre on Jan. 12, 1970

The British freighter Baron Berwick made only one trip through the newly opened St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959. The 456- -foot, 7-inch-long vessel had been launched on July 25, 1956, and completed in October for the Kelvin Shipping Co.

The ship was sold in 1965 and first registered in Haiti as Filtric but this was changed to Greece a year later. It made a single return trip to the Great Lakes under this name in 1967.

Filtric was on a voyage from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Alexandria, Egypt, when the cargo shifted off El Pindo, Cape Finisterre 45 years ago today. The crew took to the lifeboats and the listing, abandoned hull drifted aground on the northwest coast of Spain the next day. The former Seaway trader was a total loss.

Today in Great Lakes History - January 12

CHI-CHEEMAUN (Hull#205) was launched January 12, 1974, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd.

GRAND HAVEN was gutted by fire on January 12, 1970, during scrapping operations at the United Steel & Refining Co. Ltd. dock at Hamilton, Ontario.

MENIHEK LAKE (Hull#163) was launched January 12, 1959, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd. She was used in a unique experiment with shunters in the Welland Canal in 1980. She was scrapped at Gijon, Spain in 1985.

On January 12, 1973, the VENUS had an engine room explosion shortly after unloading at Kipling, Michigan, near Gladstone on Little Bay De Noc, causing one loss of life.

On 12 January 1956, ANABEL II (probably a fish tug, 62 tons, built in 1928) was destroyed by fire at her winter lay-up at the Roen Steamship Co. dock at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

January 12, 1911 - ANN ARBOR NO 5 hit the rocks close to the south breakwater when entering Manistique harbor, tearing off her starboard shaft and wheel.

The wooden steam barge O.O. CARPENTER (127.5 foot, 364 gross tons) was sold by the Jenks Shipbuilding Company on 12 January 1892, to Mr. H. E. Runnels and Capt. Sinclair for $26,000. The vessel had been launched at Jenks yard on 13 May 1891.

The new EDWIN H GOTT departed Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in 1979, for final fitout at Milwaukee. 1970: BARON BERWICK made one trip inland in 1959 and returned as b) FILTRIC in 1967. The latter was abandoned 5 miles south of Cape Finistere on the northwest coast of Spain after the cargo shifted. The vessel was enroute from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Alexandria, Egypt, and it drifted aground the next day as a total loss.

1971: The West German freighter BRANDENBURG sank in the Straits of Dover, 7 miles south of Folkestone, England, after apparently hitting the wreck of TEXACO CARIBBEAN which had gone down the previous day following a collision. The former had been through the Seaway in 1969.

1979: A propane explosion aboard the tug WESTERN ENGINEER at Thunder Bay resulted in extensive damage. Two were injured. The ship was never repaired and noted as broken up in 1980.

1985: ATLANTIC HOPE first came inland when it was fresh from the shipyard in 1965. It was gutted by a fire in the accommodation area in position 9.22 N / 60.37 W as b) ALIVERI HOPE. The ship was abandoned but towed to Barbados and eventually into Mamonal, Colombia, on October 14, 1985, for dismantling.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Locks season extended by 24 hours

1/13 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – There has been a 24-hour extension for downbound vessels to pass through the Soo Locks. Boats leaving their Lake Superior ports by midnight the 15th will be allowed to lock through.

US Army Corps of Engineers





Salt-laden Atlantic Erie grounded off Îles-de-la-Madeleine

1/13 - Magdalen Islands – A bulk carrier ship full of salt has been grounded off Îles-de-la-Madeleine since Sunday afternoon, according to Canada's Transportation Safety Board.

The Atlantic Erie, owned by Canada Steamship Lines, was leaving Grand Entrée when it grounded on a sandbar.

"There is no injury or pollution, and we've been told the outer shell suffered only minor damage," said John Sypnowich, CSL's chief legal officer.

The TSB has dispatched a team of investigators to look into the incident. Conditions were windy at the time, says TSB spokesperson John Cottreau.

"No pollution is apparent now," said Cottreau, adding that no salt appears to have spilled. Tow operations are still ongoing.

The Atlantic Erie had been chartered by Seleine Mines to carry the salt to Quebec.

CBC, Mac Mackay





Freighters wait for path through river ice

1/13 - Port Huron, Mich. – U.S. and Canadian coast guard ships have been working to clear the St. Clair River of ice to keep freighters moving through the area.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Danny Hinesly said the U.S. Coast Guard ship Bristol Bay and Canadian Coast Guard ship Griffon spent most of Monday morning and early afternoon breaking ice near Algonac for the Algomarine and American Spirit.

The two ships passed safely through St. Clair River and into Lake St. Clair, Hinesly said.

Monday afternoon, the U.S. Coast Guard ship Neah Bay and Canadian Coast Guard ship Samuel Risley were en route to break out the lower St. Clair River.

The Risley entered the St. Clair River downbound about 11 a.m. Monday morning. She careful transited the river maneuvering to keep the stationary ice fields from moving down river and compounding the ice problem in the lower river.

About 3:45 p.m. the Griffon and Risley escorted the stuck American Spirit through the heavy ice near Russell Island. The Risley then returned upbound to escort the American Courage downbound with the Neah Bay arriving on scene to assist.

There are six vessels anchored in lower Lake Huron waiting to come down when conditions permit. They will most likely start moving Tuesday morning and include: the Sam Laud, Baie Comeau, H. Lee White, Capt. Henry Jackman and Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin.

Hinesly said ice is compacting in the St. Clair River near Algonac, creating impassable waters for freighters.

The Blue Water Ferry, that runs from Marine City to Sombra, Ont., was closed again Monday due to ice.

See today’s News Gallery for video

Port Huron Times Herald





Badger’s ash collection and conveyance system arrives

1/13 - Ludington, Mich. – The second phase of the 2-phase ash retention system aboard the S. S. Badger is scheduled to begin this week in earnest. The conveyor system has been delivered and the new system will be in place and operational for the maiden voyage of the vessel’s 2015 sailing season on May 15.

Lake Michigan Carferry





Ice cover data – NOAA

As of Monday: Lake Superior 15%, Lake Michigan 22.7%, Lake Huron 33.3%, Lake Erie 57.6%, Lake Ontario 12.2% and Lake St. Clair at 94.4%







Port Reports - January 13

Sturgeon Bay, Wis.
Hon. James L. Oberstar arrived at Bayship for winter layup on Monday.

Detroit, Mich.
Herbert C. Jackson and Lee A. Tregurtha went into lay-up at Nicholson's Monday afternoon.

Erie, Pa.
The tug Dorothy Ann and barge Pathfinder arrived in Erie Monday morning about 8:05 a.m. in a light snow. The tug New York was breaking ice in the slip and the turning basin. The ice in the channel was broken up and the pair had no trouble coming in and docking in the west slip for winter lay-up.





Seaway hits post recession high with 40 million tonnes of cargo

1/13 - Cornwall, Ont. – The St. Lawrence Seaway concluded the 2014 navigation season with 40 million tonnes of cargo, which represents a full recovery from the 2009 global financial crisis and its ensuing aftermath.

The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) announced Monday that the Seaway closed for the season on January 1, 2015, with the eastbound vessel Sten Bergen transiting the St. Lambert Lock in Montreal at 00:22 a.m. The last vessel to exit the Welland Canal was the Algoma Navigator at 8 a.m. on December 31. Given an opening date of March 28 (about a week later than usual, reflecting frigid conditions in early spring) the 2014 Seaway navigation season amounted to 280 days in length.

A blowout volume of grain moving through the Seaway was the standout feature of the season, as farmers and grain merchants furiously sought avenues to move the bumper crop from 2013 that had clogged rail lines.

“There can be little question that the Seaway proved its value as a vital transportation artery in 2014” said Terence Bowles, President and CEO of the SLSMC. “Carriers moved over 12 million tonnes of grain through our locks, the highest volume since the turn of the century some 14 years ago. We are also pleased with our various marketing initiatives and toll incentives, to which we attribute about 2.5 million tonnes of new business during 2014.”

The rebound to 40 million tonnes of cargo in 2014, a 7% increase over the 2013 result, was principally due to the boom in grain shipments, accompanied by strong volumes of iron and steel products, and shipments of road salt to replenish inventories that had been severely depleted during the harsh winter of 2013. The influx of ocean vessels into the St. Lawrence Seaway was unprecedented in recent history. On multiple occasions in 2014, there were over 50 ocean vessels within the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System.

U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation Administrator Betty Sutton said “the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System plays a strong role in facilitating economic growth throughout the Great Lakes region, which is quickly becoming the opportunity belt of North America. In particular, the increases in iron and steel cargo this shipping season reflect new growth in manufacturing, construction, energy and other industries throughout the region. The strong finish to the Seaway’s 2014 navigation season contributed to the resurgence in the overall economy and foreshadows a positive outlook for increasing use of maritime transportation to move goods throughout the region.”

During the 2014 navigation season, the SLSMC commissioned three additional locks with Hands Free Mooring equipment, bringing the total number of locks equipped with vacuum pads as a means of mooring ships to four. As part of the SLSMC’s five-year $500 million asset renewal and modernization program, the Seaway is forging the means for a waterway that is yet safer and more efficient. By the end of 2017, all Seaway high-lift locks will be equipped with the automated mooring equipment, eliminating the need to manually tie-up vessels using lines.

Likewise in 2014, Seaway carriers continued to modernize its operations, taking delivery of new state-of-the art vessels, purpose-built for Seaway use. Boasting sharp increases in fuel efficiency and reductions in emission levels, these new vessels are part of a billion dollar fleet renewal effort being undertaken by both domestic and ocean carriers. These investments underline the Seaway’s enduring value and the faith of key stakeholders in its future

SLSMC





Help Wanted

Pilot
- Western Great Lakes Pilots Association is currently accepting applications for open Applicant Pilot positions starting Spring 2015. All interested parties should visit: wglpa.com for general information about pilotage in District #3 which encompasses Lakes Huron,Michigan, the St. Marys River, and Lake Superior.

For Applications please visit: www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg552/pilotage.asp.

Operations Staff Central Marine Logistics is accepting application for Operations staff in commercial cargo ship management. Responsibility will include management of vessel schedules, coordinating stevedoring operations, cargo documentation, and customer relations of waterborne cargo movements on Lake Michigan. Position requires attending various ports on Lakes Michigan and boarding large vessels. Some overnight travel required. Qualifications include a marine background, good communication, organizational and computer skills.

Based in Griffith Indiana, Central Marine Logistics is an operator of bulk freighters sailing on the Great Lakes and steamship agent for numerous foreign vessels trading on Lake Michigan.

Interested candidates should contact [e-mail]





Frozen In #13 – Fire damage kept Orient Trader on lakes over winter of 1965-1966

A second saltwater vessel to lay up at Toronto for the winter of 1965-1966 was Orient Trader. The cargo of rubber aboard the ship had caught fire at the dock in that port on July 21, 1965, leaving considerable damage to the vessel.

Orient Trader had made eight previous trips to the Great Lakes beginning in 1960 and was on its ninth and final inland voyage when the blaze broke out. The ship was towed from the dock to the harbor where the fire was brought under control.

Unfortunately, Orient Trader was a total loss and sold for scrap to Marine Salvage of Port Colborne. The hull was used for the filming of several episodes of the Canadian television series “Seaway” before it was resold to Spanish shipbreakers.

Orient Trader passed down the Seaway behind the tug Salvage Monarch on May 7, 1966. The ship loaded a cargo of scrap at Montreal East and then left for overseas. The vessel arrived at Valencia, Spain, under tow of the tug Praia da Adraga, on July 11, 1966, and was broken up by Aguilar y Peris.

This was originally the Victory ship Stamford Victory and had been built at Baltimore, Md. It was launched on April 15, 1945, and saw some work as a troop transport for the British Ministry of War Transport.

It was sold to private interests in 1948 and sailed as b) British Prince to 1957 and then as c) Mandagala until becoming d) Orient Trader in 1960.

Skip Gillham





Lookback #422 – Laketon broke loose and foundered in the Atlantic on Jan. 13, 1968

The first Laketon, a member of the Mathews and then the Misener fleet, served under Canadian registry from 1968 until being sold for scrap in 1967. The 426-foot-long vessel dated from 1903 and construction at Cleveland, Ohio.

Originally the Saxona, this bulk carrier sailed for the Zenith Steamship Co. under Tomlinson management. Its travels were not without incident.

On April 16, 1906, it collided with and sank the Eugene Zimmerman on its maiden voyage upbound in the St. Mary's River. Both vessels were repaired and returned to service.

Saxona also collided head-on with the Pentecost Mitchell on May 14, 1917, and this time the two ships went down locked together. Again refloated after being abandoned to the underwriters, Saxona was taken to Collingwood and rebuilt.

Renamed Laketon, the ship joined the Mathews fleet in 1918 and remained with them until taken over by the Receivers in 1932 and sold to the Colonial Steamship Co. of Capt. R. Scott Misener in 1933.

Laketon laid up at Goderich after the 1964 season but raised steam for the final trip clearing the Seaway on Aug. 15, 1965. It was used for grain storage at St. John's, NF before being resold, via Steel Factors, to Italian shipbreakers.

Laketon departed St. John's on Dec. 29, 1967 behind the Polish tug Koral and in tandem with the retired Canadian Coast Guard ship Saurel. Only the latter made it to Vado, Italy, as Laketon foundered in the Atlantic after breaking loose 47-years ago today. It went to the bottom in a position recorded as 39.42 N by 30.36 W.


Today in Great Lakes History - January 13

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

Traffic clears St. Clair, stops on Lake Erie

1/14 - The Rt. Hon Paul J. Martin and Baie Comeau were escorted through the lower St. Clair River Tuesday evening entering Lake St. Clair about 9 p.m. The Samuel Risley, Neah Bay and Bristol Bay stopped for the night in the area for a well-deserved rest, while the Griffon docked in Windsor.

The Traffic that cleared the St. Clair River is now stopped in the East Outer Channel in Lake Erie. Vessels waiting to get underway in the morning included the American Courage, USCG Hollyhock, H. Lee White, Thunder Bay, Sam Laud, Olive L. Moore and Algomarine.





Man suffers serious injuries in Port of Montreal fall

1/14 - Montreal, Que. – Specialized rescue teams were brought in to help a worker who fell 15 metres into the cargo bay of a ship docked at the Port of Montreal Tuesday evening.

The man, 28, was listed in stable condition in hospital as of 9 p.m. following the ordeal. He suffered serious injuries to his legs as well as head injuries in the fall. The accident occurred just before 6 p.m., and according to officials, firefighters were dispatched from firehouses 13, 27 and 47 to assist in the rescue.

The man had to be pulled out of the cargo bay using special equipment. The ship was docked near the Jacques Cartier Bridge at the time. The name of the injured man has not been released, nor was the identity of the vessel.

Montreal Gazette





Port Reports - January 14

St. Marys River
Downbound traffic Tuesday as the shipping season dwindled down included Frontenac, Roger Blough, St. Clair and Paul R. Tregurtha. Ashtabula/Defiance were upbound. All had to deal with ice, and by mid-evening traffic had come to a halt, with the Frontenac and St. Clair tied up on the locks’ east piers. Blough, Tregurtha and Robert S. Pierson were stopped west of Light 26 for the night, while Cason J. Callaway was downbound below Ile Parisienne. Arthur M. Anderson was approaching Whitefish Point downbound at 10 p.m.

Sarnia, Ont. – Barry Hiscocks
Tanker Algoma Hansa left temporary lay up in Sarnia Tuesday and backed down the river to load at Imperial Oil.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
The revised vessel lineup for the Torco Dock in Toledo lists the Calumet arriving on Saturday in the morning to unload an iron ore cargo. Manitowoc is due to arrive on Saturday in the late afternoon. The 1,000-footer James R. is expected to arrive at Torco on Sunday in the early afternoon. James L. Kuber is expected to arrive at Torco on Tuesday, January 20 in the early morning. There are now four vessels that have arrived for winter lay-up in Toledo and the list includes Algorail at the Ironhead Shipyard Drydock for its 5-year survey and inspection. Manistee is laid-up at the Midwest Terminal Overseas Dock. The tug Ken Boothe Sr. and barge Lakes Contender arrived in Toledo for winter lay-up on Monday at the same dock. American Spirit arrived on Tuesday morning at one of the CSX docks for winter lay-up. Also expected to arrive in the next few days will be the American Mariner. Algomarine was departing from Toledo in the morning on Tuesday after unloading a cargo from Thunder Bay. American Valor remains in long-term layup near the Lakefront Docks.





Are the Great Lakes’ water levels normal?

1/14 - Madison, Wis. – For the first time in about 25 years, the water level of the all the Great Lakes is above normal. Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron are about 5 inches above the long-term average.

This ends a 15-year period where lake levels have been below historic averages.

Lakes Huron and Michigan were at record low levels in January 2013; that is a rapid rise in water level to be above normal two years later. Such a rapid increase has not been measured since observations began in the mid-1800s. The water levels of the Great Lakes are determined by the amount of water flowing in and out of the lakes.

Precipitation, runoff, and water from streams and groundwater supply water to the lakes, while evaporation and water flowing out of the Great Lakes system are water losses. When the input exceeds the output, the levels rise.

The water cycle of the lakes is complex, and weather has played a role in this turnaround in lake levels. Above-average precipitation and above average runoff in the Great Lakes watershed, particularly in the springs of 2013 and 2014, helped to restore lake levels.

The frigid winter of 2013-2014 also helped by reducing evaporation. Ice on the lake and cold waters reduce evaporation, which also reduces snowfall in the snow-belt regions of the lakes.

Information on and forecasts of Great Lakes water levels is available from several agencies in the United States and Canada. The forecast for the water levels is to continue to be above average, though levels could change relatively quickly.

Madison.com





Help Wanted

Pilots
Western Great Lakes Pilots Association is currently accepting applications for open Applicant Pilot positions starting Spring 2015. All interested parties should visit: wglpa.com for general information about pilotage in District #3 which encompasses Lakes Huron, Michigan, the St. Marys River, and Lake Superior.

For Applications please visit: www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg552/pilotage.asp

Operations Staff
Central Marine Logistics is accepting application for Operations staff in commercial cargo ship management. Responsibility will include management of vessel schedules, coordinating stevedoring operations, cargo documentation, and customer relations of waterborne cargo movements on Lake Michigan. Position requires attending various ports on Lakes Michigan and boarding large vessels. Some overnight travel required. Qualifications include a marine background, good communication, organizational and computer skills.

Based in Griffith Indiana, Central Marine Logistics is an operator of bulk freighters sailing on the Great Lakes and steamship agent for numerous foreign vessels trading on Lake Michigan.

Interested candidates should contact [e-mail]





Lookback #423 – Retired laker Canadian Venture beached at Alang, India, Jan. 14, 2005

It was 10 years ago today that the retired bulk carrier Canadian Venture was beached at Alang, India, for scrapping. The vessel had arrived a week earlier but there was a delay in bringing the ship ashore to be broken up.

Canadian Venture left Montreal on Sept. 2, 2004, under tow of the tug Strong Deliverer and was joined by long-time fleetmate Canadian Trader off Les Escoumins. It took over four months to make the trip.

Canadian Venture had been built at Lauzon, Quebec, and was commissioned by the Hall Corporation on June 5, 1965, as Lawrencecliffe Hall. Within months the 730 foot long bulk carrier was lying on the bottom of the St. Lawrence River following a collision with the Sunek near Ile D'Orleans. The ore laden ship had been successfully beached after the accident but high tide caused the vessel to float free, move offshore and roll on her side.

A massive salvage project succeeded in righting and then refloating the new ship. Following reconditioning and repairs it returned to work for Halco and sailed on their behalf until the company sold their ships in 1988.

The big laker joined the Misener fleet as David K. Gardiner in 1988 and then became Canadian Venture when it moved to U.L.S. in 1994. It last sailed in 2001 and had been idle until departing for the long tow to the scrapyard.

Skip Gillham





Frozen In #14 – Liberty ship Harry L. Glucksman spent three winters undergoing rebuild

The Liberty ship Harry L. Glucksman was built at Savannah, Ga., in 1944 and operated for the United States Maritime Commission. It was later managed by the Isthmian Line before being placed in the Reserve Fleet.

The ship was towed up the Welland Canal by the tugs Jean Turecamo and Francis Turecamo on Sept. 22, 1966, and headed for Erie, Pa. There the hull was stripped and then taken to Lorain, Ohio, to be converted to a minesweeper for the United States Navy.

Renamed MSS-1, the ship underwent extensive modification and hull strengthened for use in exploding pressure mines. The tug Doris Moran took the rebuilt vessel back down the Welland Canal on June 4, 1969, after spending three winters on the Great Lakes.

The ship was decommissioned on March 15, 1973. It was sold for scrap in 1975 and dismantled at Brownsville, Texas.


Today in Great Lakes History - January 14

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

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

Scrapping began on CHICAGO TRIBUNE in 1989, by International Marine Salvage in Port Colborne, Ontario. January 14, 1920 - The Grand Trunk carferry GRAND HAVEN was fast in the ice three miles out of Grand Haven.

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - January 15

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Ice fight continues around the Great Lakes as season slows

1/15 - At the Soo, St. Clair, Roger Blough and Paul R. Tregurtha were on the move above the Rock Cut Wednesday night, followed by Cason J. Callaway and Arthur M. Anderson. At 11 p.m., Stewart J. Cort was in the locks. The downbound John B. Aird, Michipicoten and Walter J. McCarthy Jr. were downbound above Point Louise. Kaministiqua and Michipicoten were downbound above Ile Parisienne, while Philip R. Clarke and Algosteel were off the Keweenaw Peninsula. Joyce L. VanEnkevort / Great Lakes Trader were downbound on the western end of the lake.

Below Algonac, the Canadian Coast Guard Ships Griffon and Samuel Risley were working to get John G. Munson, CSL Tadoussac and Saginaw through the ice late Wednesday. Capt. Henry Jackman, Great Republic and Edwin H. Gott were anchored at the lower end of Lake Huron waiting to be allowed to proceed down. The upbound convoy that had left Detroit was near Marine City with the Everlast and Barbara Andrie falling behind in the lower river and eventually becoming stuck, the Risley may be in for a long night assisting the tugs and barges.

In Lake Erie, the convoy had made it through the toughest ice by 10 p.m. and was continuing eastbound. American Courage and Sam Laud were heading to Cleveland while the Thunder Bay, H. Lee White, Rt. Hon Paul J. Martin and Baie Comeau continued east at mid lake. American Mariner, on her way to Toledo for winter lay-up, remained stopped near Point Pelee Wednesday night. She is waiting to pass westbound near where the Neah Bay stopped for the night. USCG Hollyhock was stopped off Colchester and the CSL Niagara was a few miles east heading for Nanticoke unescorted in the tracks left by the convoy.





McCain uses Keystone Pipeline bill to continue his quest to repeal Jones Act

1/15 - Senator John McCain (R-Az.) has again launched an attack on the Jones Act, announcing Tuesday that he has filed an amendment to a bill to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline that would repeal the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, aka the Jones Act, requiring that all goods shipped between ports of the United States be carried by vessels built in the United States and owned and operated by Americans.

“I have long advocated for a full repeal of The Jones Act, an antiquated law that has for too long hindered free trade, made U.S. industry less competitive and raised prices for American consumers,” said Senator John McCain in a press release issued Tuesday. “The amendment I am introducing again today would eliminate this unnecessary, protectionist restriction.

Legislation approving the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared an initial Senate hurdle on Monday by a vote of 63-32, a measure that opens the bill up for debate and the offering of amendments, such as the one introduced by McCain, to the bill.

“[Monday] evening’s vote means it will now advance to the floor for open debate and every member will have an opportunity to offer amendments they believe will strengthen the bill,” said Senator John Hoeven, a North Dakota Republican and co-sponsor of the Keystone bill, reports Reuters.

Responding to Senator McCain’s new attack, the American Maritime Partnership, representing the voice of the U.S. domestic maritime, has issued the following statement obviously opposing McCain’s latest actions:

“The McCain amendment would gut the nation’s shipbuilding capacity, outsource our U.S. Naval shipbuilding to foreign builders, and cost hundreds of thousands of family-wage jobs across this country,” said AMP Chairman Tom Allegretti.

“The shipbuilding requirement, which Senator McCain seeks to eliminate, is in place to ensure that the United States maintains the industrial capacity to build its own ships, so as to protect and defend the American homeland. It is hard to believe that the Congress would endorse a change to the law that would outsource U.S. jobs and reduce national security by effectively creating dependence on foreign countries to build our ships.”

A primary purpose of the Jones Act is to promote national and homeland security. The Navy’s position is clear – repeal of the Jones Act would “hamper [America’s] ability to meet strategic sealift requirements and Navy shipbuilding.” Similarly, just a month ago, Congress enacted legislation reaffirming the Jones Act and calling a strong commercial shipbuilding industry “particularly important as Federal budget cuts may reduce the number of new constructed military vessels.” The independent Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said America’s military power is dependent on a strong “shipyard industrial base to support national defense needs.”

The McCain amendment would undermine and devalue tens of billions of dollars of investments in existing U.S. constructed vessels throughout the American domestic maritime industry. The Jones Act is the foundation of the American domestic maritime infrastructure—vessels, mariners, and shipyards—that is critical to military sealift. The same is true of homeland security, where American workers on American vessels work closely with local, state and federal agencies to perform a critical domestic protection function.

The American domestic maritime industry is investing record amounts in new ship construction in virtually every trade, a “tremendous renaissance,” according to Paul “Chip” Jaenichen, administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration. American shipyards are building record numbers of modern, state-of-the-art vessels in all sectors with more on order.

The amendment is particularly troubling because shipyards are among the largest employers in many states, providing stable manufacturing jobs that pay far above the national average. A recent study by the U.S. Maritime Administration cited the “economic importance” of the American shipbuilding and repair industry, with annual employment of more than 400,000, annual labor income of about $24 billion, and annual gross domestic product of $36 billion.

In December, Senator John McCain vowed the eventual full repeal of the Jones Act despite tough opposition.

“It’s one of these things you just propose amendments to bills and encourage hearings and sooner or later the dam breaks,” McCain said after a speech at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, in December.

“But I have to tell you … the power of this maritime lobby is as powerful as anybody or any organization I have run up against in my political career. All I can do is appeal to the patron saint of lost causes and keep pressing and pressing and sooner or later you have to succeed,” he said.

In addition to AMP’s strong statement opposing Senator McCain’s Jones Act amendment, there seems to be a rising chorus of voices stating their opposition to the measure.

“This amendment has no place in the Keystone bill or in Congress,” stated Seafarers International Union President Michael Sacco. “It is just another attack on the Jones Act, one that could cripple the U.S.-flag maritime industry. We need all hands on deck to defeat this amendment.”

gCaptain





Interlake to install gas scrubbers on Hon. James L. Oberstar

1/15 - U.S. shipowner Interlake Steamship will install exhaust gas scrubber systems on a bulk carrier it operates in the Great Lakes, scrubber manufacturer Belco Technologies said.

The vessel, Hon. James L. Oberstar, will this month have two scrubbers installed in Wisconsin, with testing to follow in April, Belco said Monday. Belco is a division of DuPont.

Emission Control Areas are 200-mile zones extending from US and other shores in which ships must use fuel with a maximum sulfur content of 0.1% from January 1, down from 1% previously, according to International Maritime Organization regulation.

However, vessels can apply for exemptions if they find alternative means of compliance, such as scrubbers, which strip sulfur out of emissions.

Interlake President Mark Barker said the scrubbers will allow it to comply with the sulfur requirements "while continuing to operate its vessels on heavy fuel oil," according to a statement.

Interlake Steamship is one of many companies exploring scrubber systems for ECA compliance. Last week, Horizon Lines said it will spend $18 million installing scrubbers on three ships that operate on a Washington-to-Alaska route.

Platts.com





Cliffs CEO: Let Essar sink or swim on its own

1/15 - Duluth, Minn. – Cliffs Natural Resources is shedding its Canadian operations, selling U.S. coal mines and looking to get out of iron mining in Australia.

What apparently will remain of the shrinking Cleveland-based company will be its Minnesota and Michigan taconite iron ore operations. And that’s exactly the way Lourenco Goncalves wants it.

Goncalves has been the chief executive officer of Cliffs just since August, but he’s already making headlines as he tries to shed debt as well as money-losing foreign operations to save the company’s U.S.-based taconite iron ore mines and processing plants.

“Cliffs will be a 100 percent U.S.-focused operation; Minnesota and Michigan,” Goncalves told the News Tribune in a telephone interview Tuesday. “That’s where the money is. That’s where we can be a profitable and sustainable business.”

On Monday night Goncalves met with Iron Range lawmakers and asked them not to provide an additional state subsidy to Essar Steel Minnesota, the fledgling taconite plant slowly being built in Nashwauk that Goncalves said threatens Cliffs’ operations because it will create a glut of taconite in the U.S.

Now, “pellet supply is in balance with demand,” Goncalves said, adding that any pellets produced by Essar will mean a reduction in pellets produced at Cliffs’ existing facilities.

Essar is asking Minnesota lawmakers to change the requirements of the 2007 legislation that saw the state give Essar $67 million to build a taconite mine and processing center and steel mill in Nashwauk. The 2007 legislation required that both the taconite operations and steel mill be operating by October 2015, or the state could recall the money.

After years of setbacks, however, Essar won’t have the taconite plant done until 2016 at the earliest. And the company now says a steel mill is unlikely ever to be built at the site. Unable to meet the October deadline, Essar wants legislation passed this year offering an extension to 2022 to meet the other requirements of the $67 million incentives package.

But Goncalves says the state should not continue to subsidize Essar over the Iron Range’s already operating taconite plants. Minnesota offered the incentives in 2007 based on Essar creating not just 7 million tons of new taconite supply, but also a steel mill that would consume all that new taconite.

“Now, all they are doing is adding supply that the industry doesn’t need,” Goncalves said. “It doesn’t do any good for the region. The (300 Essar jobs) that would be generated will be destroyed somewhere else. And the jobs that would be destroyed would be Cliffs jobs.”

Among Minnesota’s major taconite operations, Cliffs is the most vulnerable to an increase in supply because it must sell everything it produces on the open market. While U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal produce ore for their own blast furnaces, Cliffs doesn’t make any steel on its own.

An Essar spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment. Essar Steel Minnesota is a subsidiary of Mumbai, India-based steel giant Essar Group, a $20 billion firm with about 70,000 employees worldwide.

Monday night’s meeting in St. Paul was the first time Iron Range lawmakers had met with Goncalves. But the Brazilian-born executive clearly impressed.

“He is very committed to the Mesabi (Iron Range). He’s very committed to their operations in the U.P. And he’s very concerned about an infusion of 7 million tons of pellets from Essar and what that might do to their Minnesota and Michigan facilities,” said state Rep Tom Anzelc, DFL-Balsam Township.

Anzelc said that at a time of massive oversupply of iron ore on the global market, the U.S market should not be expanding.

Several Iron Range lawmakers have said they face a quandary. On one hand, they feel they should support Essar and the potential of 300 new jobs, along with protecting the state’s $67 million investment and another $6 million the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board has invested in Essar.

On the other hand are the more-than-1,800 workers at Cliffs’ Northshore Mining, United Taconite and Hibbing Taconite operations in Minnesota.

Anzelc said he is leaning against supporting an extension for Essar, saying protecting the region’s nearly 4,000 existing taconite jobs is a safer bet that trying to promote 300 new jobs at Essar.

“I’m reaching the conclusion that it’s in the best interest of Minnesota if there is no new pellet production. It’s not needed, at least not for the next two years,” Anzelc said.

Duluth News Tribune





$7 billion makeover for Great Lakes-St. Lawrence system

1/15 - A new study released today reveals that $7 billion is being spent on asset renewal and infrastructure improvements in the bi-national Great Lakes-St. Lawrence shipping system.

The investment survey, compiled by maritime trade consultants, Martin Associates, tallies US$ 6.9 billion in capital spending on ships, ports and terminals and waterway infrastructure in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence waterway.

Of that total, $4.7 billion has been invested in the navigation system from 2009-2013 and another $2.2 billion is committed to improvements from 2014-2018. Two-thirds of the capital (67 percent) was invested by private companies with 33 percent coming from government funding.

Amongst the most significant investments, American, Canadian and international ship owners are spending $4 billion on the biggest renewal of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence fleets in 30 years. The U.S. and Canadian federal governments, through respectively the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation and The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, have dedicated close to $1 billion to modernize the Seaway’s lock infrastructure and technology over the 10-year period — the Seaway’s most significant transformation in five decades. And Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River ports and terminals are also collectively investing more than $1.7 billion on expanding their docks, equipment, facilities and intermodal connections.

The bi-national Chamber of Marine Commerce, one of the trade associations that commissioned the survey, adds that the right regulatory climate has been key for the flurry of capital expenditures, citing New York State’s decision to not move ahead with unachievable standards for ballast water treatment systems, which would have effectively blocked marine ships from passing through the St. Lawrence Seaway, as a prime example.





Isle Royale Queen III to join Mackinac Island ferry fleet

1/15 - Mackinac Island, Mich. – Those who take annual pilgrimages to Mackinac Island will see a new ship in the straits this summer.

The Isle Royale Queen III, which previously sailed from Marquette, will join the Arnold Mackinac Island Ferry fleet.

The owner of the Queen III and the general manager of Arnold Transit are saying the 81–foot steel–hulled ship will offer more sophisticated options to current services. With heated cabins, an interior bar and other amenities, the Queen III will offer better flexibility for those who want to charter private events.

The Isle Royale Queen III was commissioned in the 1950s to ferry passengers from Copper Harbor to Isle Royale.

It’s been operated as a passenger ship by Pure Michigan Boat Cruises LLC for Marquette harbor cruises for the past three years.

The journey of the Isle Royale Queen III began when the T.D. Vinette Boat Company in Escanaba, Michigan was commissioned in the 1950s to build a ferry that would carry passengers across Lake Superior to Isle Royale National Park. The IRQ III serviced Isle Royale National Park for over 45 years sailing out of Copper Harbor in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Arnold Transit Co. General Manager Veronica Dobrowolski said the company is continuing to survey its fleet and assess the economics and logistics of adding other vessels such as a catamaran and additional service boats back into the fleet.

"We appreciate the tremendous amount of support this past season as we worked through some financial difficulties. Times have changed,” said Dobrowolski “and we will continue to look at improving our services and meeting the demands of the public commensurate with the history of the Arnold Line, all at affordable prices."

ABC10UP.com, Arnold Line





Frozen In #15 – Archangelos spent the winter of 1979 – 1980 at Port Weller after grounding

The Greek flag freighter Archangelos ended up spending the winter of 1979 – 1980 tied up below Lock 1 of the Welland Canal. It had been trying to leave the Seaway with a late season cargo of scrap steel when it went aground in the St. Lawrence on Dec. 16, 1979.

By the time Archangelos was lightered and refloated on Dec. 21, the last ship of the season, had passed through the Seaway system. As a result, the 15,929 gross ton freighter headed back to the Welland Canal to tie up. It resumed the voyage to the sea in March 1980.

Archangelos had been built at Split, Yugoslavia, and completed in May 1963. The name was changed to b) Archangel the first year and then back to c) Archangelos in 1968. It began trading into the Great Lakes in 1972.

The vessel was sold and renamed d) Lenio CH in 1981, e) Rini in 1983 and f) Express in 1986. Following a sale for scrap, the ship arrived at New Mangalore, India, on Aug. 28, 1986 and was broken up by Nalhani Industries.

Skip Gillham





Lookback #424 – Former Maya Farber hit by an explosion and fire at sea on Jan. 15, 1990

The Seaway trading tanker Maya Farber was sailing as Raad Al-Bakry VIII when it was rocked by an explosion in one of the cargo tanks while at sea on Jan. 15, 1990.

The ship went to anchor 15-years ago today about 14 miles from Port Sudan, Sudan, while an effort was made to fight the fire. It was to no avail.

The ship subsequently broke in two and the after end sank. The bow section remained afloat and was sold to shipbreakers in India. It successfully made the tow to Alang for dismantling arriving on March 28, 1990.

This tanker dated from 1960 having been built as Lysefjell for Olsen and Ugelstad. The 577 foot, 11 inch long vessel was sailing under a third name of Maya Farber when it came through the Seaway for the first time in 1981 under Panamanian registry. It was sold again in 1983 and had sailed as Raad Al-Bakry VIII until the fateful explosion and fire of Jan. 15, 1990.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Up before the boatnerd update today... oh well... ws

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - January 19

On 19 January 1824, the Welland Canal Company was incorporated to build the first Welland Canal.

DAVID M. WHITNEY (steel propeller freighter, 412 foot, 4,626 gross tons) was launched on 19 January 1901, by the Detroit Ship Building Company (Hull #138) in Wyandotte, Michigan, for the Gilchrist Transportation Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed b.) EDWIN L. BOOTH in 1914, c.) G.N. WILSON in 1921, d.) THOMAS BRITT in 1928, and e.) BUCKEYE in 1943. She lasted until 1969, when she was scrapped in Spain.

January 19, 1927 - The Grand Trunk carferry MADISON was christened with a bottle of Wisconsin milk. She entered service in March of 1927.

CLARENCE B. RANDALL, the a.) J.J. SULLIVAN of 1907, was towed to Windsor, Ontario, on January 19, 1987, for scrapping.

1967: The former ELMBAY ran aground near Barra Grande along the coast of northern Brazil as e) SIMANSUR and was abandoned as a total loss. The ship saw Great Lakes service from 1923 until 1942 for several firms including Canada Steamship Lines.

1998: The Cypriot freighter FLARE was south of Newfoundland when it broke in two while inbound in ballast for Montreal. The stern section sank quickly. The bow drifted for several days before it too went down. Four members of the crew clung to an overturned lifeboat and were saved. The ship had been a Seaway trader as a) DORIC FLAME in 1977 and returned as b) FLAME in 1987 and as c) FLARE in 1993.

On 18 January 2004, the Great Lakes Fleet’s 1000 footer EDGAR B. SPEER became stuck in the ice in the Rock Cut in the St. Mary’s River. Over the next two days, the U.S.C.G.C. MACKINAW tried to free her, but unsuccessfully. On 21 January, the tugs RELIANCE, MISSOURI, JOSEPH H. THOMPSON JR and JOYCE L. VAN ENKEVORT all coordinated their efforts under the direction of Wellington Maritime’s Captain John Wellington and got the SPEER free.

The CABOT was refloated on January 18, 1967. On December 16, 1966, while loading at Montreal, the CABOT rolled over on her side and sank. The CABOT's stern section, used in the interim as the stern section of the b.) CANADIAN EXPLORER, is now the stern section of c.) ALGOMA TRANSFER.

The MONDOC had her Canadian registry closed on January 18, 1979. The vessel had been renamed b) CORAH ANN and sold to Jamaican company. CORAH ANN was scrapped in 2003.

The National Steamship Co. was incorporated January 18, 1906.

L. P. Mason and Company of E. Saginaw, Michigan sold the steam barge PORTER CHAMBERLAIN (wooden steam barge, 134 foot, 257 gross tons, built in 1874, at Marine City, Michigan) on 18 January 1888, to Comstock Brothers and L. & H. D. Churchill of Alpena, Michigan.

1925: JOHN RUGEE, a wooden steamer in the George Hall Coal Co. fleet, was destroyed by a fire while spending the winter at Ogdensburg.

1938: The passenger ship WAUBIC was damaged by a fire at Kingsville, Ontario, while at winter quarters. It was rebuilt at Port Dover later in the year as b) ERIE ISLE.

1942: LAKE FLAMBEAU was built at Duluth in 1919. It was sailing as c) FRANCES SALMAN when it was sunk by U-552 off the coast of Newfoundland with the loss of 28 lives.

1983: The Greek freighter KIMOLIAKI PISTIS came through the Seaway in 1981. It caught fire on this date in 1983 and was abandoned enroute from Recife, Brazil, to a Black Sea port. The hull was towed into Piraeus, Greece, January 27 and declared a total loss. It first traveled to the Great Lakes as a) MINAS CONJURO in 1969 and then as b) EUGENIO in 1979. The vessel arrived at Split, Yugoslavia, for scrapping on February 21, 1984.

1998: The second MAPLEGLEN caught fire in the engine room while in lay-up at Owen Sound and sustained about $40,000 in damage.


Port Reports - January 19

Duluth, Minn. – Daniel Lindner
On Sunday evening, Mesabi Miner passed the Apostle Islands on her way to Duluth and was due to arrive for winter layup at Midwest Energy early Monday. John G. Munson finished unloading her cargo of coal at Essar Steel in Sault Ste. Marie on Sunday morning and headed upbound for Duluth to lay up at Fraser Shipyards. So far, American Integrity is at Port Terminal Berth 6, Kaye E. Barker is at Fraser Shipyards, and Indiana Harbor is at the Enbridge dock in Superior for the winter.

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Daniel Lindner
Paul R. Tregurtha and Buffalo arrived in Sturgeon Bay on Sunday morning for winter lay-up. The two arrivals brought the total number of ships laid up in port so far to seven. The list includes CSL Laurentien, CSL Assiniboine, Algolake, Hon. James L. Oberstar, Edgar B. Speer, Buffalo, and Paul R. Tregurtha.

Milwaukee, Wis. – Denny Dushane
The 1,000-footer Burns Harbor arrived for winter lay-up just before noon on Sunday. The Stewart J. Cort is expected to arrive for layup in the Port of Milwaukee on Monday. Burns Harbor and the Cort will join the tug G.L. Ostrander and barge Integrity along with the tug Samuel de Champlain and barge Innovation. Both tugs and barges arrived the past week.

Alpena, Mich. – Ben & Chanda McClain
On January 9 the tug G.L Ostrander and barge Integrity departed Alpena after loading at Lafarge. The pair was going to Milwaukee, Wis. The tug Samuel de Champlain and barge Innovation arrived on the morning of January 10 to load at Lafarge and departed the next day also heading for Milwaukee. The tugboat Manitou has remained at Lafarge to assist vessels if needed. On Monday January 12, the Alpena came in and tied up at the dock. It had to wait for product most of the week and didn't depart until Friday afternoon for Detroit, MI. Late Saturday night the Manitowoc arrived at Lafarge to unload and left Sunday morning along with the tugboat Manitou. Both vessels are headed to Lake Michigan ports.





Icebreaking ops ahead at Manistee

1/19 - Manistee, Mich. – The U.S. Coast Guard will conduct icebreaking operations in Manistee Jan. 21-22 in support of domestic shipping operations.

The UCGC Mackinaw will establish a track through the ice in advance of the Manitowoc’s transit of Lake Manistee to delivery coal to the Morton Terminal on the upper west side of Lake Manistee. The tug Manitou will assist the Manitowoc with their movements into and out of the Lake Manistee.





Frozen In #19 – Ice strengthened Kiisla carried chemicals during the winters of 1985-1993

The Finnish tanker Kiisla was deliberately left on the Great Lakes for winter service. The ship first entered the Seaway in December 1985 and worked on charter to Sun Oil to carry a variety of chemicals, solvents and industrial alcohols between Sarnia and Chicago.

The ship also made two trips to Sault Ste. Marie in February 1986 and also visited Cleveland and Toledo. When the Welland Canal opened on April 3, 1986, Kiisla was the first down bound traveler through the waterway.

Kiisla returned inland in subsequent winters through 1993. Most of the work was without incident, although icebreaker assistance was needed from time to time. However, on Dec. 29, 1989, the ship went aground outside of Buffalo and received a gash in the outer hull but there was no leaking of any of the chemicals on board.

The ship left the Great Lakes in June 1993 although it did return as b) Kasla in 1998. The vessel spent recent years under the flag of Russia with Vladivostok as home port.

As of Oct. 30, 2014, Kasla was anchored in the Bay of Bengal off Chittagong, Bangladesh, having arrived from Busan, South Korea. Yesterday morning, the former lakes visitor was listed as "decommissioned or lost" and I suspect it has been beached at Chittagong and is being broken up for scrap.

Skip Gillham





Lookback #428 – Third Mapleglen launched as Federal Maas on Jan. 19, 1981

It was 34 years ago today that the first Federal Maas was launched at Hoboken, Belgium. The ship was initially registered in Belgium and arrived on the Great Lakes that spring with a variety of goods including steel, aluminum, coffee, brandies, herbs and bicycle rims.

The 730-foot-long saltwater vessel was operated by Federal Commerce & Navigation, now Fednav, and was a regular Seaway saltie. While steel and grain were the most common cargoes, the ship arrived at Montreal from Germany on June 17, 1992, with a Swedish steam locomotive for use on the route between Ottawa and Wakefield, Que.

The ship was sold and re-registered in the Marshall Islands as b) Lake Michigan in 1995 but remained active on charter to Fednav. It continued regular Great Lakes service with pig iron, granite, low sulfur coal, sugar, flax, potash coke, sunflower seeds as well as the usual steel and wheat.

Lake Michigan made 42 trips into the Great Lakes before it was sold to Canada Steamship Lines and registered in Montreal, on their behalf, on Oct. 22, 2008. It was renamed c) Mapleglen (iii) for the 2009 season.

Mapleglen now concentrates its work on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence hauling iron ore and grain. It made its first trip back through the Seaway on Sept. 24, 2009, heading for Hamilton. The ship remained active in Great Lakes service in 2014 and is tied up at Montreal for the winter.