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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jun 18, 2015 4:53:15 GMT -5
6/18 - Cleveland, Ohio – Emergency responders from across Ohio gathered in Cleveland this week to participate in a preparedness response exercise.
Exercises such as this one are designed to improve communication, planning and emergency response proficiency across local, state and federal agencies in the event of an oil spill in any navigable waterway, like the Cuyahoga River.
"Today's exercise was a big success and an excellent opportunity for numerous agencies and organizations to gather and practice working together in a unified command setting," said Cmdr. Jerrel Russell, the commanding officer of the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Unit Cleveland.
The exercise was based on a scenario in which a large vessel hit a submerged object in the Cuyahoga River, resulting in a discharge of around 40,000 gallons of diesel fuel into the river.
"We appreciate the support from everyone involved, and especially Great Lakes Towing for allowing the use of their facility, and Interlake Steamship for providing the Dorothy Ann and Pathfinder,” Russell said. “Everyone involved benefited greatly.”
USCG
The steamer ILLINOIS was the first vessel to pass through the newly opened Soo Locks in 1855. To help commemorate the 100th anniversary of this event, an open house was held aboard the J. L. MAUTHE. While tied up at the Cleveland Lakefront dock, an estimated 1,700 persons toured the MAUTHE.
During a moonlight charter on 18 June 1936, the TASHMOO (steel side-wheel excursion steamer, 308 foot, 1,344 gross tons, built in 1900, at Wyandotte, Michigan) struck a boulder in the Sugar Island channel in the Detroit River. The vessel docked at Amherstburg, Ontario, where her passengers disembarked as the vessel settled to the bottom in 14 feet of water. Although the damage was not fatal, the salvage crew botched the job. The TASHMOO had one end raised too quickly and her keel broke. This ended this well-loved vessel’s too-short career.
The Soo Locks opened for their first season on 18 June 1855. The first vessel through the locks was the steamer ILLINOIS of 1853.
In 1949, the WILFRED SYKES (Hull#866) was launched at American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio, for Inland Steel Co. At the time she was the largest and most powerful vessel on the lakes. The SYKES was also the first boat to have a poop deck. She was converted to a self-unloader in 1975.
In 1964, the bulk freighter SAGUENAY (Hull#647) was launched at Lauzon, Quebec, by Davie Ship Building Ltd., for Canada Steamship Lines Ltd.
In 1968, the ALGOCEN (Hull#191) was launched at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd, for Algoma Central Railway. Renamed b.) VALGOCEN in 2005, she was used as a spoils barge in Keasby, New Jersey. She returned to the lakes in in 2008 as J.W. SHELLEY. Sold and renamed PHOENIX STAR in 2012.
On 18 June 1869, a little less than a week after being launched, the schooner DAVID A. WELLS sailed on her maiden voyage from Port Huron for Menominee, Michigan. On 18 June 1858, the steamship CANADA left the Lakes via the St. Lawrence rapids since she was too large for the existing locks. She had been built by Louis Shickluna at the Niagara Drydock Company in 1853, at a cost of $63,000. She was sold for ocean service after the Depression of 1857. Her hull was rebuilt and she was renamed MISSISSIPPI. She foundered in a gale in the South Atlantic on 12 August 1862.
The venerable side-wheel passenger ferry TRILLIUM (Hull #94) was launched June 18, 1910, at Toronto, Ontario by Polson Iron Works, for the Toronto Ferry Co. 1905 –ETRURIA sank after a collision with the AMASA STONE off Passage Island Light, Lake Superior.
1942 – The steamer THOMAS MAYTHAM of 1892 vintage was rebuilt as the New York State Barge Canal tanker DOLOMITE 2 in 1938 and renamed MOTOREX in 1942. It was sunk by gunfire from U-172 near the Colon entrance to the Panama Canal and all on board were rescued.
1944 – ALBERT C. FIELD, a former Great Lakes bulk canaller, was hit by an aerial torpedo from German aircraft and broke in two and sank in minutes. There were 4 lives lost when the ship was hit in the English Channel while carrying munitions and 130 bags of mail in support of the Normandy invasion.
1959 – SPRINGDALE, a Great Lakes trader in the early 1950s and later operated on charter to Reoch Transports, capsized and sank in the Gulf of Bothnia after the cargo of timber shifted in heavy weather.
1960 – GEERTJE BUISMAN came to the Great Lakes in 1960 and ran aground on Vienne Shoal in northern Lake Michigan while outbound from Chicago with a cargo that included new Nash Rambler automobiles for Europe. The Dutch vessel was stuck for 4 days, and had to be lightered. It returned to the Seaway again in later years and was finally scrapped as f) MOUNT at Varna, Bulgaria, in 2003-2004.
1991 – The saltwater trader AKTI was driven aground 14 miles north of Necochea, Argentina, in a storm and sold “as lies” before being refloated as d) AKTO on July 27. Examination determined that the ship was a total loss but it was rebuilt by Chilean interests as e) RIO CIERVOS. The vessel had been through the Seaway as a) ASIA PROSPERITY beginning in 1974, as b) HAN PACIFIC in 1983, and c) AKTI in 1988. It was scrapped at g) AL GIORGIS after arriving at Chittagong, Bangladesh, on November 17, 2005.
1997 – CANADIAN MARINER ran aground in the St. Lawrence near Crossover Shoal after losing power. The vessel had to be lightered to be released and was repaired by Port Weller Dry Docks. The ship was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey, in 2007.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jun 19, 2015 5:13:12 GMT -5
6/19 - The Saint Laurent - a 300 foot cruise ship - struck a part of the Eisenhower Lock late Thursday night and began taking on water, according to St. Lawrence County Emergency Manager Mike LeCuyer. He said the ship hit one of the gates to the lock.
As a precaution, the lock was drained of water, he said. The boat is sitting on concrete. He said three or four people were hurt - and one of the injuries may be serious.
Rescue squads and fire departments from around the Massena area and into Franklin County were called to the scene. LeCuyer said there were 124 people on board, and they would be brought out by crews using ladders. He said they were in no danger.
At 9:25 p.m. Thursday, Seaway Eisenhower called ships in its sector to ask them to proceed to anchorages or go to tie-up walls below the Eisenhower Lock and Snell locks.
Shortly thereafter, Eisenhower Lock radio reported that a crane had been called in to lift injured passengers from the vessel. They cannot raise the ship in the lock as she hit the bumper at the upper end of the lock so hard she has a large hole in her. Therefore the injured passengers had to be craned off the ship. The extent of the injuries were unknown.
The Seaway will be shut down until further notice.
Saint-Laurent is in her first season of Great Lakes/Seaway cruising. The vessel is being booked by the U.S.-based Haimark Line. Based in Denver with sales, marketing and, operations offices in Chicago, Haimark Line offers small-ship coastal expedition cruises in North, Central, and South America.
Ron Beaupre, Fox 7
Welland Canal reopens after Thursday fuel spill
6/19 - Traffic was halted on the Welland Canal Thursday for clean-up of a fuel spill, which occurred while a ship was refueling at Port Weller.
The incident occurred shortly after 1:30 a.m., when Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) vessel, the Atlantic Huron, was fueling with the vessel Sterling Energy at Wharf 2, located on the west side of the harbor at the inner end of the breakwaters in Port Weller.
According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, CSL estimates that between 100 and 150 litres of fuel oil were released. As soon as the spill was discovered, fueling operations were stopped, and authorities, including the Canadian Coast Guard, were notified.
Andrew Bogora, spokesperson for the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, said navigation on the canal was halted almost immediately after the spill, with six being anchored either within the canal or just outside the mouths of the canal.
"The key is to be extremely careful to ensure no current or wake action disturbs the fuel contained in the booms so that remediation efforts can take place," he said.
The canal reopened to traffic shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday, but it was only after, Bogora said, everyone was confident the fuel had been completely cleaned up.
"There's no substitute for getting the job done right, and that's what we'll do before letting navigation resume," he said.
Niagara This Week
Steel production rebounds by 28,000 tons
6/19 - Chicago, Ill. – Raw steel production in the Great Lakes region surged to 621,000 tons last week, up from 593,000 tons a week earlier.
Steel output has been much lower than normal all this year amid a torrent of imports that now account for a historic 32 percent of the total market share. Overall U.S. production trails 2014 by 7.3 percent.
Great Lakes steel production rose by 28,000 tons, or 4.7 percent, in the week that ended last Saturday, according to an American Iron and Steel Institute estimate. Overall U.S. steel output rose by 1.4 percent over the same period.
Most of the raw steel production in the Great Lakes region takes place in the Chicago area, mainly Lake and Porter counties in Northwest Indiana. Indiana has led the nation in steel production for more than 30 years
Production in the Southern District, which encompasses mini-mills across the American South, dipped to 599,000 tons last week, down from 602,000 tons the week before.
Total domestic raw steel production last week was about 1.747 million tons, up from 1.722 million tons a week earlier.
Nationally, domestic steel mills had a capacity utilization rate of 73.9 percent last week, up from 72.8 percent a week earlier. The capacity utilization rate had been 78.5 percent at the same time a year earlier.
Year-to-date output has been 40.1 million net tons, at a capacity utilization rate of 72.4 percent, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
NW Indiana Times
Historic replicas of Nina and Pinta retreat from Black Rock Canal
6/19 - Buffalo, N.Y. – Seven-year-old Noah Stolzenfels and his family thought they’d get the chance to see replicas of Christopher Columbus-era ships the Nina and the Pinta in their home town of North Tonawanda.
“I like how there are two stories,” Noah said, looking up at the ships bobbing in the marina. “I like how there are doors back there.”
Instead, they had to travel to the Erie Basin Marina — where the vessels were forced to dock after yet another problem with the Ferry Street bridge.
The bridge was stuck in the down position last month, preventing local sailboats from coming and going from Rich Marina. The problem was fixed until this week’s heavy rain shorted out a circuit board that controlled the bridge’s operation, according to Buffalo Public Works Commissioner Steve Stepniak.
This time, it was the Nina and the Pinta — and their crew of 14 — that fell victim.
“We left from Rochester, traveled through the Welland Canal smoothly, crossed Erie here, and tried to head up to Tonawanda, and the Ferry Street bridge had some issues,” said Nina captain Stephen Sanger. “And obviously with our high rigging, we had to pull over and wait and then got confirmation and then got confirmation that the bridge was not going to be fixed anytime soon. So we came back down to the Erie basin Marina.”
Spending 11 months of out of each year on the water, Sanger and crew change course easily.
“Sometimes you got to expect it, you know,” he said. “We travel you’re around and this is one of the first got a hiccups that we’ve ever had so it’s not so bad. But it is a little frustrating, but hopefully it won’t be an issue and will be able to open up here.”
City officials have ordered the replacement part. But the wait will continue. As will the wait for the next malfunction during bridge construction that’s expected to last through the summer.
The repair can be made as soon as the part arrives, Stepniak said. Crews will also be talking with the construction contractor to see if the bridge can remain in the up position, and only be lowered when necessary.
The Erie Basin Marina will be the home of the historic ships until they depart to their next destinations next Wednesday. Any tourist can view or tour the ships at the marina from 9 a.m. through 6 p.m.
WIBV
Kewaunee shipwrecks hold archaeological treasures
6/19 - Kewaunee, Wis. – If you spy pieces of coal among the beach stones along Kewaunee's harbor, you may be looking at a piece of history, says Richard L. Dorner, center director for the Kewaunee County Historical Society's History Center.
The coal is probably from the Emerald, a barge that capsized in Kewaunee Harbor in 1888 in the middle of a November gale. The barge smashed on the rocks and the crew tried to get to the pier in a rowboat, but the boat capsized and only one sailor survived.
"More than a hundred years after it sunk, coal continues to wash up on the beach," Dorner said.
While coal is all that remains of the Emerald tragedy (because the barge was later salvaged), there are two historically significant shipwrecks off Kewaunee's shores. The remains of these wrecks – the Daniel Lyons and America – both were recently listed on the Wisconsin Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places and are enticing divers to the county.
The Daniel Lyons and America were both canallers, unique box-shaped vessels designed to fit through the Welland Canal locks that allowed them to bypass Niagara Falls.
"They brought grain from Milwaukee and Chicago to the Eastern ports," said Tamara Thomsen, maritime archaeologist with the Wisconsin Historical Society. "They were only used for a short time on the Great Lakes."
With only inches to spare while passing through the locks, canallers carried the grain from ports on Western Lake Michigan and Superior to eastern ports on Lake Ontario. When they returned from the east, they were often loaded with coal used to power and heat Midwest cities.
"There are a lot of local divers that visit these wrecks," said Connie Skarvan, who with her husband Keith owns a dive shop, Aqua Center of Green Bay. "They are excellent wrecks and the divers have excellent results.
By excellent results, Skarven means that the underwater remains of the ships are clearly visible on the lake bottom and tell the story of the ship and its demise.
The schooner America lies in 120 feet of water four miles offshore of the town of Carlton. It is marked by a white buoy from May through October and is only for advanced divers, Thomsen said.
"I grew up in Kewaunee and was 46 the first time I got to see it," said Ray Nimmer, a scuba diver who now lives in Green Bay. "It was like a time capsule."
Nimmer, who has dived to both the America and Daniel Lyons sites, said that the "America is a cooler site to dive." He said that it is directly out east from the Kewaunee nuclear power station and that it "is more intact with the bow stills standing and a cargo hatch."
The site of the Daniel Lyons is located 4 miles off Stoney Creek's outlet into Lake Michigan and nine miles northeast of Algoma in 110 feet of water and is marked by both a buoy and an historic plaque.
"Much of the standing and running rigging is present, including masts, topmasts, gaffs, booms and wire-rope – all strewn about the wreck site," Thomsen said.
Skarvan, who grew up in Kewaunee and graduated from Kewaunee High School said that she developed her passions for scuba diving while living here and now leads scuba diving trips to the Caribbean, the Fiji Islands and other locations around the world.
"People in the county don't realize what a draw shipwrecks can be to the area," she said. "They bring people who launch from the harbors, eat in the restaurants, stay in the hotels."
She said that in the early 2000s, she was part of a group that sought to intentionally sink a ship off Kewaunee County to draw divers to the area. The local governments were not interested at the time, and the ship was later sunk in Lake Michigan off a tourist town in Michigan.
Interest in scuba diving shipwrecks continues to grow, she said. The Neptune's Diving Club in Green Bay draws divers from both Kewaunee and Door counties, she said. It meets at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month at Wally's Supper Club in Green Bay. For more information, call (920) 468-8080.
Kewaunee County Star-News
On 19 June 1889, NORTH STAR (steel propeller freighter, 299 foot, 2,476 gross tons, built in 1889, at Cleveland, Ohio) collided with CHARLES J. SHEFFIELD (steel propeller freighter, 260 foot, 1,699 gross tons, built in 1887, at Cleveland, Ohio) about sixty miles west of Whitefish Point on Lake Superior in heavy fog. The NORTH STAR kept her bow in the SHEFFIELD's side after the impact, giving the crew time to board. The SHEFFIELD then sank in 8 minutes. Her loss was valued at $160,000. The courts found both vessels to be equally at fault after years of litigation.
In 1954, GEORGE M. HUMPHREY (Hull#871) (named for President Eisenhower's Secretary of Treasury) was launched at Lorain, Ohio, by American Shipbuilding Co, for National Steel Co., M.A. Hanna, mgr.
In 1978, ALGOBAY (Hull#215) was launched by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for Algoma Central Railway. Renamed b.) ATLANTIC TRADER in 1994, and renamed c.) ALGOBAY in 1996 and d.) RADCLIFFE R. LATIMER in 2012.
On 19 June 1836, DELAWARE (wooden passenger/package freight side wheeler, 105 foot, 178 tons, built in 1833, at Huron, Ohio) was carrying general merchandise and passengers in a storm on Lake Michigan when she was thrown ashore off Niles, Illinois. She broke in two and was wrecked. No lives were lost.
On 19 June 1900, the wooden schooner THOMAS L. HOWLAND was raised and towed to Buffalo, New York for repairs. She had been sunk by the ice off Windmill Point in the Detroit River early in the season.
At 5:30 p.m., on 19 June 1872, the wooden package freight/passenger propeller MONTANA (236 foot, 1,535 gross tons) was finally afloat at Port Huron, Michigan. She was successfully launched at the Port Huron Dry Dock Company on Saturday, 15 June, but she got stuck in the mud. The tugs VULCAN, PRINDEVILLE, BROCKWAY and BURNSIDE were all employed to free her and the MONTANA's engines were also going. It took four days of pulling, hoisting and dredging to free her. The effort to get her free and afloat cost Alexander Muir, her builder, over $3,000 (in 1872 dollars). She lasted until 1914, when she burned near Alpena, Michigan.
1905 – The wooden passenger and freight steamer CITY OF COLLINGWOOD of 1893 vintage was destroyed by a fire at Collingwood and four lives were lost.
1917 – The Canadian bulk carrier NATIRONCO was beached in the Detroit River after a collision with the ASTERN STATES and was deemed a total loss. It was raised and repaired at Toledo and survived until scrapping at Civitavecchia, Italy, as d) SAN CARLO in 1929.
1925 – The wooden freighter MAPLEGLEN (i), is scuttled in Lake Ontario, west of Kingston, near Amherst Island. It had been idle since 1921 and was originally the WYOMING of 1881.
1929 –JOHN HANLAN was torched as a spectacle off the Sunnyside area of Toronto after having failed an inspection to continue service as a Toronto Island ferry. 1933 – MEADCLIFFE HALL sustained rudder damage after being struck by the CALGADOC (i) at Thorold. The grain-laden canaller was towed back to Port Colborne, unloaded, and repaired at Port Dalhousie.
1962 – Hatch cover planks give way at Cleveland aboard FLOWERGATE and a forklift and two men fell into the cargo hold, striking a third man. All were badly injured. The British freighter later returned through the Seaway under Panamanian registry as b) AMENITY and was scrapped at Troon, Scotland, in 1977.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jun 22, 2015 5:00:48 GMT -5
6/22 - At about 11 a.m. Sunday the cruise Saint Laurent departed the lower approach wall below Eisenhower Lock. Escorted by tug Ocean Pierre Julien, she turned and went down the channel towards Snell Lock. She was under her own power and is reported to be headed to a Quebec shipyard for repairs. After a preliminary review, no significant damage to Eisenhower Lock infrastructure has been identified.
6/22 - Frankfort, Mich. – The Griffin, lost on the Great Lakes since 1679, and a wooden hull recently discovered in Lake Michigan have caught the public imagination, but the two are not the same.
Last week, Michigan authorities dove to the wreck in 80 feet of water near Frankfort. They confirmed what was suspected from earlier photos: That the hull couldn't possibly be the historical ship.
Also known by the French equivalent Le Griffon, explorer Rene-Robert Sieur de La Salle built and commanded the ship on behalf of King Louis XIV. During its maiden voyage, the Griffin departed from the area near present-day Green Bay, Wis. The ship and its crew of six was never seen again.
The two Muskegon County men who discovered the wreck, Kevin Dykstra and Frederick J. Monroe, have not responded to requests for comment since the authorities' announcement. The two went public with photos of the wreck in late 2014, saying they thought it might be the Griffin.
Michigan's Maritime Archaeologist, Wayne R. Lusardi, one of two guys who actually made the dive June 9, recently spoke to MLive Muskegon Chronicle and went into more detail about reasons why the wreck could not be the Griffin.
"It was pretty evident, based on a number of things," he said.
1. The type of vessel. The hull was about 80 feet long, by Lusardi's measurement – roughly twice the estimated length of the Griffin, he said. He said the wreck is a tugboat, built in the late 19th century or early 20th century. Dykstra once said one formation on the boat looked like the beak of a Griffin's figurehead, but Lusardi said the formation was a quagga-mussel encrusted strap, called a gudgeon, attached to the sternpost to support the rudder.
2. Cause of sinking. The wooden hull near Frankfort appeared charred from burning, Lusardi said. It's possible the boat caught fire and sunk, or was set on fire while being scuttled, Lusardi said. Neither of those two scenarios seem to fit with what's known about the Griffin's disappearance, he said.
3. Lack of artifacts. "There was a definite lack of artifacts and other materials on the boat," Lusardi said.
4. Presence of steam equipment. Finally, Lusardi said, he found the hull's steam boiler turned on its side near the tug's stern – technology from a different century than the Griffin. "The wreck is a tug boat," Lusardi said. "It has a steam boiler and riveted steel plates encasing the boiler."
Lusardi said there were lines attached to the boat which suggest it had been marked with a buoy at some time -- but not necessarily by divers. Sailors could have marked the wreck as a snag or the area could have been tagged as a good fishing spot, he said. What's certain is that Dykstra and Monroe were the first to report the wreck to the state.
"We appreciate the cooperation of Dykstra and company to provide information and coordinates to the state," Lusardi said. He's started a file on the ship and will look through historical references to see if the vessel can be identified.
MLive
On 22 June 1959, BAYPORT (steel propeller tug, 72 foot, 65 gross tons, built in 1914, at Cleveland, Ohio, formerly named a.) FAIRPORT) had the steamer MOHAWK DEER in tow when she was hooked by her own tow cable, capsized and sank at Collingwood, Ontario. Three lives were lost. The tug was later raised and converted from steam to diesel. Later renamed c.) TWIN PORT, and d.) ROD MC LEAN in 1974. She was scrapped in 2008 at the Purvis west yard at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
On 22 June 1909, W.P. THEW (wooden propeller freighter, 133 foot, 207 gross tons, built in 1884, at Lorain, Ohio) was in ballast, creeping through the fog off Alpena, Michigan on Lake Huron when she was rammed by the WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE (steel propeller freighter, 532 foot, 6,634 gross tons, built in 1908, at Ecorse, Michigan). After the collision, the LIVINGSTONE drifted away and lost track of the THEW. The THEW sank in 80 feet of water. Fortunately the steamer MARY C. ELPHICKE answered the distress whistle and picked up the THEW's crew from the lifeboat. No lives were lost.
The WILLIAM R. ROESCH (Hull#901) was launched and christened at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co., on June 22, 1973, for the Union Commerce Bank, Ohio (Trustee) and managed by the Kinsman Marine Transit Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed b.) DAVID Z. NORTON in 1995, c.) DAVID Z in 2007 and d.) CALUMET in 2008.
June 22, 1957 - W. L. Mercereau, known as the Father of the Fleet, died. Mercereau developed the Pere Marquette fleet of car ferries into the largest in the world.
On 22 June 1853, CHALLENGE (wooden propeller freighter, 198 foot, 665 tons, built in 1853, at Newport, Michigan) was bound from Chicago for Buffalo with barreled pork and oats on one of her first trips. However, her boiler exploded off Cheboygan, Michigan. She burned and sank. Five died. The schooner NORTH STAR heard the blast ten miles away and came to the rescue of the rest of the passengers and crew.
On 22 June 1875, The Port Huron Times reported that "the Northern Transportation Company's fleet of 20 propellers, which have been idle all the season owing to difficulties between the Central Vermont and the Ogdensburg & Champlain Railroad Companies, have passed from the control of the Central Vermont Railroad Company and will commence regular trips as soon as they can be fitted out."
Coast Guard saves four after vessel sinks on Lake Michigan
6/20 - Milwaukee, Wis. - The Coast Guard rescued four men from a sinking 31-foot charter vessel about five miles off of Manitowoc, Wis., Friday. At about 1:45 p.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan in Milwaukee received a Mayday call over VHF-FM channel 16 from the crew aboard the vessel Databytes stating they were rapidly taking on water.
The watchstander issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast and immediately diverted a rescue crew from Coast Guard Station Two Rivers that was conducting training in the area. The rescue crew responded and arrived on scene within five minutes.
Once on scene, the rescue crew transferred the four men, who were all wearing life jackets, onto the Coast Guard 45-foot response boat. Two Coast Guard members went aboard the vessel to commence dewatering with a pump. The pump was unable to keep up with rising water inside the vessel and both crew members quickly returned to the Coast Guard rescue boat. The 31-foot vessel capsized and sank in 90 feet of water within minutes after everyone was safely aboard the Coast Guard boat.
"From the distress call we heard over the radio, the Coast Guard watchstanders were able to utilize the Rescue 21 system to determine the exact location of the sinking vessel and divert one of our crews that was nearby to provide immediate assistance," said Capt. Amy Cocanour, commander of Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan.
“This case is also a great example of how having the proper safety equipment on board, specifically life jackets and a marine radio, and knowing how to use the gear in times of distress can greatly enhance survivability."
The four persons were brought to Manitowoc Marina. There were no injuries. Coast Guard marine inspectors from Marine Safety Detachment Sturgeon Bay were sent to the scene to investigate and found no signs of pollution.
The master of the vessel is working on plans to locate and salvage the vessel.
USCG
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Post by ppat324 on Jun 23, 2015 6:04:31 GMT -5
Thirty one years ago this morning, the NEPCO 140, carrying six million gallons of No. 6 bunker oil and being pushed toward Oswego by the tug EILEEN C., grounded on the shore of Wellesley Island in the American Narrows section of the St. Lawrence River, just upstream from Alexandria Bay, N.Y. The grounding occurred about 1:35 a.m. in heavy fog and was followed by a second apparent grounding further up river, just before the barge reached the Seaway anchorage site off Mason's Point, some four miles above the initial grounding site. In all, over 300,000 of the thick crude was spilled into the River, creating the largest slick ever to pollute an inland U.S. waterway to that day.
Seaway traffic was halted immediately, sending at least 20 ships to anchor. Within hours, over 20,000 feet of boom were deployed, but the spill moved steadily down river, coating granite shoreline, trapping waterfowl, forcing boat owners to pull their boats, and oozing into sensitive marshland, particularly Chippewa Bay in New York waters. Some oil eventually reached as far down the river as Lake St. Lawrence and coated shoreline along the Long Sault Parkway on the Canadian side of the lake. Clean-up lasted into the fall and cost in excess U.S. $8 million.
On 23 June 1903, the tug O.W. CHENEY steamed out of Buffalo harbor in heavy fog to tow the steamer CHEMUNG into the harbor. The tug ran too close to the oncoming steamer, was struck by the bow, and the CHENEY overturned and sank. Three crewmen were killed; two survivors were picked up by the tug FRANK S. BUTLER. On 23 June 1969, RALPH MISENER (steel propeller bulk freighter, 730 foot, 19,160 gross tons, built in 1968, at Montreal, Quebec) transited the Soo Locks upbound for the first time. She had an innovative self-unloading system with twin booms. The movable crane was equipped with a chain of buckets so it could discharge cargo from either side. This unloading system only lasted until 1976, when it was severely damaged in a squall on Lake Michigan. The vessel was then converted from a combination self-unloader/bulk carrier to a bulk carrier. She was renamed b.) GORDON C. LEITCH in 1994.
In 1926, the GLENMHOR (Hull#16), the name was soon corrected to GLENMOHR, was launched at Midland Ontario by Midland Shipbuilding Co., for Great Lakes Transportation Co., (James Playfair). She was 6 feet wider and 4 feet shallower than the largest ship at that time. Purchased by Canada Steamship Lines in 1926, renamed b.) LEMOYNE. Scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1969.
In 1929, the WILLIAM G. CLYDE (Hull#804) was launched at Lorain, Ohio, by American Shipbuilding Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. Converted to a self-unloader and renamed b.) CALCITE II in 1961. Renamed c.) MAUMEE in 2001. Launched in 1972, was the ALGOWAY (Hull#200) at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., for Algoma Central Railway.
The first whaleback barge, 101, was launched along the shore of St. Louis Bay near Duluth, Minnesota, on 23 June 1888. Captain Alexander Mc Dougall, the inventor and designer, was there along with his wife, her sister-in-law and several hundred spectators. As the vessel splashed in to the bay, Mrs. Mc Dougall is supposed to have muttered, "There goes our last dollar!"
On 23 June 1900, the 450 foot steel steamer SIMON J. MURPHY (Hull#135) was launched at Wyandotte, Michigan, by the Detroit Ship Building Co., for the Eddy - Shaw Transportation Co. of Bay City, Michigan.
On 23 June 1873, B. F. BRUCE was launched at Crosthwaite's yard in East Saginaw, Michigan. She is not properly a schooner, but what is known as a "three-and-after" in nautical terms. Her capacity was 50,000 bushels of grain (800 tons) and the building cost was $50,000.
1942 – EUGENE J. BUFFINGTON struck Boulder Reef, Lake Michigan and the hull cracked in two places. The vessel as on the rocks for 25 days until it coould be strapped together and refloated. The ship was towed to Chicago for one of the largest repair jobs in Great Lakes history.
1948 – CRETE and J.P. MORGAN JR. were in a head-on collision, in fog, off the Apostle Islands, Lake Superior. Both ships suffered extensive damage. Two were killed, 3 more injured, aboard the latter steamer. ALTADOC and E.A.S. CLARKE also collided in fog near the Apostle Islands but the damage, while requiring repairs, was less serious.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jun 24, 2015 5:53:22 GMT -5
Last of ex-Canadian Miner removed from water off Scatarie Island
6/24 -
Main-A-Dieu –The community of Main-a-Dieu was ecstatic Monday as the last piece of the derelict bulk carrier Canadian Miner was removed from the coastline of Scatarie Island. "I think it's a monumental day for us," said Amanda McDougall, president of the Main-a-Dieu Community Development Association.
"It's close to four years ago we started this fight to have the Miner removed from our fishing grounds. Officially, we can say it's no longer in the water. It's a really wonderful feeling."
McDougall praised the relationships between the province, RJ MacIsaac Construction, fishermen and the community, describing communications as "open, clear and transparent." However, McDougall took the federal government to task, saying they didn’t do their job from the beginning.
"Not even being able to understand how much fuel and other contaminant was on board the ship, that is disgraceful on behalf of the federal government. They absolutely didn't do their due diligence in issuing these kinds of permits."
McDougall said it will be time to celebrate once everything is barged off the island. "It's been four years of a lot of work, a lot of commitment and passion from our community."
Geoff MacLellan, Nova Scotia minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, announced Monday the final piece of the wreck had been removed from Scatarie's coast. He thanked the community association for its support and advocacy.
"For the first time in a long time, Scatarie Island looks as it should," MacLellan said. The $11.9-million contract for the removal of the ship was awarded to RJ MacIsaac, an Antigonish-based contractor. Once work began, an additional 32 tonnes of asbestos and 26,000 litres of diesel fuel were removed.
MacLellan said if the wreck had been left to erode into the ocean, those contaminants would have permanently damaged the fragile and lucrative fishing grounds off Scatarie's coast.
He said the next step will be to tear down the temporary camp and related structures. In the meantime, fishermen in Main-a-Dieu praised the contractor's work.
"It's a beautiful job, it's a clean job. It took a lot of money to do it but I know you could ask any fisherman and they'd say it's a perfect job,” said Ken Wadden. However, Wadden wasn't happy with the federal government, saying the wreck should have been cleaned up years ago.
“We know someone has to clean someone else's garbage up but why should we pay for it? When this is all said and done, they should go back to Parliament and say, 'There's the federal government, they released it, they put it there, they paid those people so many millions of dollars, now we want it subsidized back.'"
The Miner broke free of its tow line as it was being hauled by a Greek ocean-going tug across the Atlantic to Turkey in 2011, where it was to be used for scrap.
Cape Breton Post
Diesel fuel believed to be trickling out of stricken tugboats
A pair of tugboats capsized on the St. Lawrence River in Cornwall Monday afternoon, said an employee of American Bridge, fresh from the scene of the chaos. Initially it was thought only one tugboat had sunk on the river Monday, but a man who had just come from a barge currently moored in the middle of the St. Lawrence River said there is another vessel trapped below the river surface too.
"Another tug - a local tug," said the man, who only identified himself as an employee of American Bridge, the company tasked with demolishing the high-level Seaway International Bridge. "The current got a hold of that tugboat and just tossed it around."
Another man from the barge was removed from the scene by ambulance, with what is believed to be a minor injury - perhaps a sprained ankle. All of the men from the barge looked exhausted, with sweat pouring off them. When asked what caused the mishap Monday they pointed to the swiftness of the water.
"The current - definitely the current," said another man who worked for American Bridge.
One of the vessels was lying capsized in the river just west of the Lamoureux Park boat launch for about two hours, but rolled over once again before becoming stuck a second time, said witnesses.
Cornwall Community Police Service Sgt. Emidio Piunno later confirmed it appeared as though the crews from the tugs were safe.
"From what we know the crew has been accounted for," he said, adding both his service and the local RCMP are the lead agencies handling the incident at this time. Witnesses said one tug, the Lac Manitoba, appeared to roll over once after it went under and became stuck on the bottom.
The name of the other tug is not known.
"It rolled once and appeared to lodge itself again," said witness Mallory Poirier, who added a supply boat of some kind appeared to be trying to come alongside the sunken tug and secure it. "They seem to be having a tough time with the current."
The current in that part of the river, just downstream from the R.H. Saunders Generating Station, is extremely powerful.
Hilton Bissonnette, who was fishing in the area of the old Cornwall powerhouse, said it appeared as though the tug was assisting a huge barge in the river when drama took place and the tug went under.
The barge is carrying a mammoth crane that will be used to demolish the high-level Seaway International Bridge.
"Smoke started to pour out of tugboat," Bissonnette continued, describing a scene of chaos on the water. "Boats started to head out to it. Once the boats got there they began jumping off."
Bissonnette estimates about five or six crew members abandoned the Lac Manitoba. The vessel was sitting capsized, presumably hung up on the bottom of the river for a time after the sinking. A torrent of water is pushing on the stricken tugboat and RCMP patrol boats are in the area, warning other boats to stay away.
The incident took place at around 4 p.m., said witnesses.
The Lac Manitoba is owned by Nadro Marine. A company official reached Monday night said Nadro would be issuing a statement Tuesday morning concerning the incident. Lac Manitoba is listed as a 64-foot tugboat, according to the company's website and comes packed with 1,000 horsepower
6/24 - Cornwall, Ont. – Nearly 10,000 litres of diesel fuel is believed to be trickling from a pair of tugboats overturned on the St. Lawrence River near Cornwall, and some geese in the area are getting covered with an oily substance.
J.J. Brickett, a superintendent of environmental response with the Canadian Coast Guard, said Tuesday his agency and others are monitoring the scene of a double-capsizing Monday that saw two tugboats go under the water.
Brickett said the coast guard has been told that the larger tug, the Lac Manitoba, contains some 9,700 litres of diesel fuel, while the smaller LCM 131 has about 227 litres on board.
He said the fuel tanks appear to be holding for the most part, but because the tanks are submerged, the strong river current is likely pushing some of the fuel out tank vents.
"I would say it's probably a very small trickling of the tanks," he said. "We haven't had a big sudden rush."
But that's not to say some fuel isn't being seen downstream. There is a noticeable sheen on some parts of the river, and Seaway News has been contacted by individuals with imagery of wildlife, including a goose, that was covered in an oily substance.
Brickett said the coast guard is monitoring the tugs and river downstream to determine the severity of the situation and environmental impacts. "The first priority is safety," he said, adding second to that is clearing the area of pollution. "All indications we have are the tanks are intact."
Brickett said if diesel fuel is released into the environment as much as 60 per cent of it can evaporate in any 24-hour period.
The City of Cornwall's water intake is located upstream of the incident, near the R.H. Saunders Generating Station. Cornwall police have barred access to the Cornwall boat launch so that emergency officials can have clear access to the river if they need it.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has deployed a team to Cornwall to investigate Monday's tugboat incident. The tug Lac Manitoba went under the water around 4 p.m., while a few hours later a smaller tug capsized, TSB said in a statement.
While the TSB said it's not known if the incidents are related, it's clear the tugs were assisting a barge in the river that contains a large crane that will be used in the demolition of the high-level Seaway International Bridge.
Tuesday officials with Nadro Marine said the company is working with the Eastern Canada Response Corporation, Canadian Coast Guard "and all environmental authorities to ensure effective containment and safe removal of the flooded vessel."
There was residue oil, wood and debris from the initial flooding.
The tug continues to sit capsized in about 15 feet of water in the St. Lawrence River just west of the Cornwall boat launch in Lamoureux Park.
The company said there were three crew members (two aboard the tug and one on the barge) at the time of the incident, however all crew are safe and have no injuries.
Employees of American Bridge, the company tasked with demolishing the bridge, told Seaway News at the scene Monday that the powerful current of the river played a major role in the incident.
Dan Murphy, project manager for American Bridge Canada in Cornwall, said in an interview Tuesday salvage plans are being worked on and added demolition of the bridge over the river will be delayed.
Murphy added that the barge currently moored in the middle of the river against a torrent of fast-moving water is not in danger of moving.
The barge, which contains a crane, is being held in place by what he called a "spud" - a lengthy piece of pipe that has been sunk into the bedrock beneath the bottom of the river. Additional personnel and equipment has been dispatched to the site, including the tug Seahound, to assist in oil response operations.
It's anyone's guess as to how long it will take to get the pair of stricken tugboats righted and moved away from Cornwall - but it's not expected to happen quickly. J.J. Brickett, a superintendent of environmental response with the Canadian Coast Guard, said third-party salvage teams must prepare plans that require government approval before proceeding.
In this case the coast guard and Transport Canada must sign off on any salvage plans, he said.
McKeil Marine, the sister company of Lac Manitoba owner's Nadro Marine, has been retained for salvage operations for this incident. They are presumably still assessing the situation, including the size of the rigs and speed of the water, before presenting a plan of action.
Cornwall Seaway News
S.S. Badger receives TripAdvisor's 2015 Certificate of Excellence Award
6/24 - Ludington, Mich. – TripAdvisor has recognized the Lake Michigan car and passenger ferry S.S. Badger with a 2015 Certificate of Excellence Award. This award can only be earned through consistently great reviews of a business published on the world's largest travel site.
As expressed on the formal notice of excellence, the award reads, "For five years, TripAdvisor has shared this award on behalf of travelers across the globe. Today, whether you're a first-time recipient or a five-time winner, we hope you're proud to see S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry, recognized by customers as one of the very best in the business."
The Badger is the last remaining coal-fired passenger steamship in the United States and is currently under consideration for National Historic Landmark Designation from the United States Department of Interior.
Lake Michigan Carferry
Woman safe after sailboat grounds on Round Island
6/24 - Mackinac County, Mich. – A 65-year-old Richland woman was rescued by the Coast Guard after her sailboat ran aground Tuesday morning in the Straits of Mackinac.
The woman was participating in a solo sailing challenge from Chicago to Mackinac Island when her 35-foot vessel ran aground near Round Island in Mackinac County, Coast Guard officials said.
She used a marine radio to call for help about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 23, and was eventually airlifted from the sailboat after two unsuccessful rescue attempts. A crew from a Coast Guard station in St. Ignace first arrived on a 25-foot response boat about 5 a.m.
Both the Coast Guard's boat and a commercial salvage crew that volunteered to help were not able to maneuver close to the sailboat due to waves and shallow water. Several attempts to reach the woman with a life raft were not successful.
An air crew from Traverse City arrived about 7:50 a.m., but the helicopter developed mechanical problems while overhead and had to divert to Mackinac County Airport. Another helicopter arrived about 9:40 a.m. and lowered a rescue swimmer to Round Island, which is uninhabited.
The swimmer walked about 15 yards in the water to where the boat was grounded and carried the woman to shore. She was then hoisted into the helicopter and brought to the airport to meet EMS.
She was transported to Mackinac County Straits Hospital for evaluation. The woman was prepared with a life jacket and cold-water gear, the Coast Guard said.
"This case may have had a different outcome had the skipper not been as prepared as she was," said Lt. Ludwig Gazvoda, command duty officer at the Sector Sault Ste.
M Live
On June 24, 1971, a fire broke out in the engine room of the ROGER BLOUGH at the American Ship Building, Lorain, Ohio, yard, killing four yard workers and extensively damaging her Pielstick diesel engines. Extensive repairs, which included replacement of both engines, delayed her delivery for nearly a year.
The WILLIAM E. COREY (Hull#67), was launched at Chicago, Illinois by Chicago Ship Building Co., the first flagship for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Sold to Canadian registry and renamed b.) RIDGETOWN in1963. Sold for use as a breakwall at Nanticoke in 1970, and since 1974, she has been used as a breakwater in Port Credit, Ontario.
CANOPUS (2-mast wooden brig, 386 tons, built in 1855, at Huron, Ohio) was carrying 16,500 bushels of wheat when she collided with the bark REPUBLIC between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. on 24 June 1865. The CANOPUS sank in about 20 minutes off Clay Banks on Lake Erie. No lives were lost.
The wooden scow MYRA of Ashtabula, Ohio, was lost in a terrible squall on Lake Erie off Elk Creek on 24 June 1875. Three lives were lost.
1938 – REDFERN received minor hull damage when the steering cable broke near Dain City, on the Welland Canal and the vessel hit the west bank. It was taken to Port Colborne for repairs.
1955 – MANZZUTTI was taking water after the cargo of pulpwood shifted in heavy seas near the Straits of Mackinac. The vessel was initially in danger of sinking but reached safety.
1962 – JOHN A. FRANCE (ii) was aground in the upper St. Marys River and some of the cargo of grain was lightered before the ship could be refloated.
June 24 – The recently repaired PARKER EVANS and the ANNA KATRIN FRITZEN collided in heavy fog in Lake Huron with minor damage. The latter, a West German freighter and Seaway trader since 1961, and a return visitor as b) KATRIN in 1974, was scrapped at Bilbao, Spain, due to engine problems, in 1977.
1980 – CARTIERCLIFFE HALL, upbound with a cargo of iron ore, went aground in the Seaway near Cornwall, Ont. due to a steering problem and was released the next day with the aid of three tugs.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jun 25, 2015 5:25:47 GMT -5
The whaleback steamer WASHBURN (steel propeller freighter, 320 foot, 2,234 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Co. (Hull #124) at W. Superior, Wisconsin on 25 June 1892. She lasted until 1936, when she was scrapped at Cleveland, Ohio.
On this day in June 25, 1892, the American Steel Barge Company, West Superior Wisconsin, Captain Alexander Mc Dougall manager, held the first triple launching on the Great Lakes, which included the whalebacks PILLSBURY, WASHBURN and the small tug ISLAY. A crowd in excess of 10,000 people witnessed the event. Only the tug ISLAY remains.
On 25 June 1892, the PILLSBURY (steel propeller whaleback bulk freighter, 320 foot, 2,234 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Co., at West Superior, Wisconsin. She was rebuilt at Conneaut, Ohio in the winter of 1918-1919 (315.75 feet x 42.25 feet x 24.16 feet; 2,394 gross tons- 1,465 net tons) when she received straight sides and a flattened deck. In 1927, she was converted to crane vessel, with two cranes on deck. In November 1934, she stranded on the north pier at Muskegon, Michigan in a storm and then broke in half. She was scrapped the following year. In 1927, the B. F. AFFLECK (Hull#178) was launched at Toledo, Ohio by Toledo Shipbuilding Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.
On June 25, 1938, the WILLIAM A. IRVIN began her maiden voyage for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., leaving Lorain, Ohio for Duluth to load iron ore. INDIANA HARBOR set a record cargo on June 25, 1993, loading 71,369 tons of western low sulfur coal at Superior's Midwest Energy Terminal and transporting it 50 miles to Silver Bay, Minnesota.
At 1:00 a.m. on 25 June 1878, the 161 foot, 3-mast wooden schooner PESHTIGO and the 143 foot, 3-mast wooden schooner ST ANDREW collided and sank near Cheboygan, Michigan and the Straits of Mackinac. Newspapers of the time claimed that forest fire smoke hampered visibility. Both vessels sank quickly. Two of the crew of PESHTIGO were lost, but the rest were rescued by the schooner S V R WATSON. The entire crew of ST ANDREW was rescued by the Canadian propeller OCEAN.
On the afternoon of 25 June 1885, the tug NIAGARA had the schooner MOUNT BLANC in tow while coming rounding to pick up the schooner REINDEER near Stag Island on the St. Clair River. The MOUNT BLANC struck the wreck of the tug B.B. JONES. The JONES had exploded in Port Huron on 25 May 1871, and the wreck was towed to the head of Stag Island where it was abandoned. After striking the wreck of the JONES, the ore laden MOUNT BLANC sank. She was later recovered and repaired and lasted until 1901.
1903 – JOHN CRAIG was seriously damaged in a grounding on Simmons Rock in the Straits of Mackinac. Once refloated, the wooden steamer was taken to St. Ignace and declared a total loss. It was subsequently rebuilt as PANAMA only to be lost in a storm on November 1, 1906.
1950 – Five lives were lost and another 12 passengers injured aboard the passenger ship CITY OF CLEVELAND III when it was in a collision with the Norwegian freighter RAVNEFJELL in fog on Lake Huron. The former was a total loss while the latter was repaired and returned to service. It became b) RINGSTEIN in 1955 and visited the Great Lakes through 1958. It was wrecked near Achona Point, Ghana, on September 11, 1966.
1959 – The Liberian registered MONROVIA became the first saltwater vessel of the Seaway era to sink on the Great Lakes. It went down in heavy fog on Lake Huron after going off course and colliding with the downbound ROYALTON off Thunder Bay Island. The vessel landed upright on the bottom and some of the cargo of steel was salvaged in the 1970s.
1980 – MONTREALAIS of Upper Lakes Shipping and ALGOBAY of Algoma Central collided head-on in heavy fog on the St. Clair River and both suffered massive bow damage. These vessels were repaired and today both sail in the Algoma fleet with the former as ALGOMA MONTREALAIS and the latter, later rebuilt with a new forebody in China, as RADCLIFFE R. LATIMER.
1980 – JEAN LYKES collided with and sank an 18-foot fishing boat in the St. Clair River, 2 miles north of St. Clair, MI. The American flag saltwater vessel was later beached at Alang, India, for scrapping as b) VELMA LYKES on July 9, 1994
1994 – While departing Bay City, McKEE SONS was swept crossways in the Saginaw River and went aground. Four tugs pulled the ship free without damage save for some shoreline erosion.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jun 26, 2015 6:17:35 GMT -5
On this day in 1942, the LEON FRASER, Captain Neil Rolfson, completed her maiden voyage and delivered a record cargo of 16,414 tons of ore to Conneaut. The downbound trip only required 67.5 hours and broke the record of 15,218 tons set by the Canadian freighter LEMOYNE 15 days earlier. The FRASER was shortened and converted to a bulk cement carrier in 1991, and sails today as the b.) ALPENA.
On this day in 1969, the new Poe Lock was dedicated and opened to traffic. The first boat to transit the new lock was the PHILIP R. CLARKE. Captain Thomas Small, a 95-year old retired Pittsburgh captain, was at the wheel of the CLARKE. Thomas Small was also at the wheel of the COLGATE HOYT the first boat to transit the original Poe Lock on August 4, 1896.
On 26 June 1890, the SKATER (wooden propeller excursion steamer, 85 foot, 65 gross tons, built in 1890, at Detroit, Michigan) burned to the water’s edge about 20 miles north of Manistee, Michigan. The crew did not even have time to save their clothes, but they all escaped unharmed. The SKATER had just been fitted out for the season and had started her summer route on Traverse Bay. She was rebuilt in Cleveland and lasted until 1942, when she was abandoned at Michigan City, Indiana.
On 26 June 1895, the GEORGE FARWELL (wooden propeller steam barge, 182 foot, 977 gross tons) was launched by Alexander Anderson at Marine City, Michigan. After leaving the ways, she looked like she would capsize, but she righted herself. About 500 people watched the launch. She was taken to the Atlantic Coast in 1900. She only lasted until 1906, when she stranded on Cape Henry, Virginia and was a total loss.
On 26 June 1867, WATERS W. BRAMAN (wooden propeller tug, 89 tons, built in 1858, at Boston, Massachusetts, for the U.S.Q.M.C. and named RESCUE) was near Pelee Island in Lake Erie when fire started in her coal bunker and quickly spread. Her crew abandoned her in the yawl and were later picked up by the propeller TRADER. She had been sold by the Quartermaster Corps just the previous year and she had come to the Lakes from the East Coast just five weeks before this accident.
On 26 June 1900, Boynton & Thompson purchased the wreck of the NELLIE TORRENT (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 141 foot, 303 gross tons, built in 1881, at Wyandotte, Michigan) to raise her. She had been destroyed by fire at Lime Island near Detour, Michigan, on 22 June 1899.
On 26 June 1882, The Port Huron Times reported that the ARAXES (wooden propeller, 182 foot, 569 gross tons, built in 1856, at Buffalo, New York) sank in the Straits of Mackinac. She was raised on 6 July 1882, and repaired. She was built in 1856, and lasted until the summer of 1894, when she sank 4 miles off Bay City in Saginaw.
1916: The first STORMOUNT, a steel canaller, was wrecked on Gull Ledge, near Marie Joseph, N.S.
1937: Passengers from the SOUTH AMERICAN, stranded on a shoal, were removed with the aid of ALGOMAH II.
1993: The Norwegian tanker BOW ROGN first came through the Seaway in 1970. It was back as b) JO ROGN in 1981 and was leaking sulphuric acid into the pump room on this date as c) BETULA after discharging at Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico. The vessel was towed offshore but later driven aground on a sandy beach north of the port on June 28-29, and then blown over on its side during the passing of Hurricane Calvin on July 7, 1993.
2000: EMIL REITH first came through the Seaway in 1970. It was attacked by Tamil Tiger rebels as h) MERCS UHANA off northern Sri Lanka while carrying foodstuffs from Colombo to Tricomalee. The ship caught fire and five lives were lost. The ship sank the next day about 48 miles off Point Pedro.
6/26 - Cleveland, Ohio – Lori Reinhart, captain and first mate of the Philip R. Clarke, is the first and still the only woman to command an American ore boat on the Great Lakes.
• How'd you become a captain?
I grew up in Cleveland Heights, and we had a sailboat. I love the water. I still live on the water in Euclid. My cousins worked on the ocean as captains. I went to Great Lakes Maritime Academy. I started in '95 as third mate with what was then Inland Steel. Then I went to American Steamship Co. and worked my way up for about 15 years. I became captain of the Buffalo. I just left this year and went on the Clarke with Great Lakes Fleet. It's a 767-foot steamer.
• What ports do you work?
All the ships pick up ore in northern Minnesota and Michigan. The Buffalo brings it to Cleveland. The Clarke takes it to Detroit, Toledo, Ashtabula, Conneaut, Gary, but not Cleveland.
• How tricky are the Great Lakes?
Every lake is scary. On Lake Erie, the prevailing winds are out of the west. Sometimes there's no water in Toledo. Towards Cleveland, the seas can be too high. I've had to turn around and put an anchor down on the northern end of the lake. We spend a lot of time running from the weather. We've got more access to better forecasting now. We have pictures. Before, all we had were numbers. Now we can see the lows and highs coming across. But you can still get caught. We're there to make money. That means keep the boat moving. But it's always a captain's prerogative to change course or put the anchor down. The main thing is to get your crew home to their families.
• How tricky are our rivers?
The Cuyahoga is hard. It's fun. Normally, you have to lighten your load at the port and make two trips up the river, depending on water levels and current. The Clarke could have around 25,000 tons, but you can only take about 19,000 up the river. The steel mill's not far, but the best runs are probably two hours and 40 minutes. Bad runs can be 7 hours because of traffic. You can sit at a bridge for two or three hours. Once they had a runaway train, so they had to keep the bridge down. There are a lot more rowers now. We're on the radios all the time giving security calls. Sometimes we're five feet from another ship. Ocean shipping is easy. But the Great Lakes captains are known as the best ship handlers in the world.
• Scary moments on board?
I had a fire on a ship. It worked out OK, but still. The Buffalo went black right here. We lost power. I had to put all our anchors down. We ended up about 10 feet off the breakwall.
• Scary moments in port?
Back before cell phones, I was in Gary, Indiana, and had to catch a boat, and all the pay phones were busted. I stopped in a bar to see if they had a phone. The next thing you know, guns got pulled out, and I jumped behind the bar. I'm thinking is this worth catching a boat for?
• Is the water cleaner today?
Even in 2000, the joke was, "Did you see any three-eyed frogs today?" But Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga have gotten a lot better.
• Do you ship in the winter?
The Clarke takes two months off, usually.
• Tell us about your crew.
I have 23 under me, all male.
• Do they respect a woman skipper?
In 20 years, I've had maybe one or two problems with crew members. It's always sit back and watch. After they find out I can do the job, that's all they really care about. But sometimes management has a problem putting women at the top.
•Do other captains respect you?
It's a very small community. Everyone is very willing to help everybody else. We call each other all the time. I just dropped off some socks for the crew of the Buffalo. It's been raining so much.
• Shore leave?
If it's a normal rotation, I'll have 30 days off. I love Geraci's in University Heights. I go downtown to Johnny's Little Bar in the alley off West Sixth, and to the Nauti Mermaid. In Lakewood, I like to go to Phantasy for music.
Cleveland has changed a lot. Now there's so many neighborhoods you can feel comfortable going to that have restaurants and nightlife and things to do. It used to be that, if you were from the West Side, you never went to the East Side, and vice versa. Now people go everywhere.
My friends and I do the beaches a lot. We go to the Metroparks. It's beautiful how they've redone Acacia Country Club. We do all the church fairs and festivals. I can't say no to a pierogi.
I have had season tickets for the Browns since I was 14. I only make maybe two games a year. Some friends look after my apartment, and they get the rest of the tickets. I like Cleveland because it's my home. My friends are here. I could never leave. I'll never give up my Browns tickets, ever.
Cleveland.com
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Post by skycheney on Jun 26, 2015 20:50:34 GMT -5
Woman safe after sailboat grounds on Round Island 6/24 - Mackinac County, Mich. – A 65-year-old Richland woman was rescued by the Coast Guard after her sailboat ran aground Tuesday morning in the Straits of Mackinac. The woman was participating in a solo sailing challenge from Chicago to Mackinac Island when her 35-foot vessel ran aground near Round Island in Mackinac County, Coast Guard officials said. She used a marine radio to call for help about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 23, and was eventually airlifted from the sailboat after two unsuccessful rescue attempts. A crew from a Coast Guard station in St. Ignace first arrived on a 25-foot response boat about 5 a.m. Both the Coast Guard's boat and a commercial salvage crew that volunteered to help were not able to maneuver close to the sailboat due to waves and shallow water. Several attempts to reach the woman with a life raft were not successful. An air crew from Traverse City arrived about 7:50 a.m., but the helicopter developed mechanical problems while overhead and had to divert to Mackinac County Airport. Another helicopter arrived about 9:40 a.m. and lowered a rescue swimmer to Round Island, which is uninhabited. The swimmer walked about 15 yards in the water to where the boat was grounded and carried the woman to shore. She was then hoisted into the helicopter and brought to the airport to meet EMS. She was transported to Mackinac County Straits Hospital for evaluation. The woman was prepared with a life jacket and cold-water gear, the Coast Guard said. "This case may have had a different outcome had the skipper not been as prepared as she was," said Lt. Ludwig Gazvoda, command duty officer at the Sector Sault Ste. So she waited there for hours to be rescued when all she had to do is wade to shore? What a waste of resources. |
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jun 29, 2015 5:44:20 GMT -5
On this day in 1955, the 456 foot WYCHEM 105, a.) SAMUEL F. B. MORSE, was loaded with sand at the B&O docks in Lorain and towed to Rocky River, Ohio where she was sunk as a temporary breakwall. She was later raised and taken to Bay Ship Building Co, and became a barge for the Roen Steamship Co. fleet. In the early 1970s, most of the hull was scrapped, except for two sections of the bottom, which were used for scows around Sturgeon Bay until the 1980s.
On this day in 1957, the JOSEPH S. YOUNG departed Manitowoc, Wisconsin on her maiden voyage. She traveled in ballast to Port Inland, Michigan to load a cargo of stone. The YOUNG was the a.) ARCHERS HOPE, A T2-SE-A1 tanker, converted to Great Lakes service at Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock, Baltimore, Maryland. Renamed c.) H. LEE WHITE in 1969, and d.) SHARON in 1974. Scrapped at Brownsville, Texas in 1986.
On June 28, 1938, at 8:50 a.m., the WILLIAM A. IRVIN departed Duluth with her first cargo of iron ore for Lorain, Ohio. 48 years later, in 1986, almost to the minute, the WILLIAM A. IRVIN opened as a museum to the public.
The ATLANTIC SUPERIOR arrived at the Algoma Steel Plant, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario on her maiden voyage in 1982, with a load of taconite but before she was unloaded christening ceremonies were conducted there.
The SAM LAUD ran aground June 28, 1975, on a shoal south of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, with a cargo of coal from Chicago, Illinois for Green Bay, Wisconsin. Six-thousand tons of coal were off-loaded the next day into the NICOLET, a.) WILLIAM G. MATHER, before she could proceed to Green Bay along with the NICOLET to discharge cargoes. SAM LAUD entered the dry dock at Sturgeon Bay on July 3rd for repairs. She had suffered extensive bottom damage with leakage into seven double bottom tanks and the forepeak. She returned to service on August 21, 1975.
On 28 June 1893, JAMES AMADEUS (wooden propeller tug, 65 foot, 44 gross tons, built in 1872, at Cleveland, Ohio) sprang a leak and foundered near Cleveland, Ohio. Her crew abandoned her just before she went down.
On 28 June 1909, TEMPEST (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 138 foot, 370 gross tons, built in 1876, at Grand Haven, Michigan) burned to a total loss while unloading coal at the Galnais Dock at Perry Sound, Ontario. She was consumed very quickly and six of her crew were killed.
1923 The PHILETUS SAWYER sinks in the Detroit River off Windmill Point after a collision with the HARRY R. JONES.
1960 DIVINA sustained heavy damage to the portside after striking a pier of the Prescott-Ogdensburg Bridge along the St. Lawrence. The Norwegian freighter had been a Great Lakes visitor since 1952 and was scrapped as d) PETROL 20 at Eleusis, Greece, in July 1984.
1970 CASTOR, enroute from Japan to Chicago with automobiles and steel products, sinks in the Pacific after a collision with the ORIENTAL HERO two days out of Yokohama. All 38 on board are saved. The ship dated from 1960 and first came through the Seaway in 1966.
1979 STAR GERANTA, a Seaway visitor in 1966 and a return caller as d) REGAL SWORD in 1977, sinks in the Atlantic off Cape Cod, MA after a collision in fog with the EXXON CHESTER.
1987 The small tanker NADY was built at Rochester, NY as the army tanker Y-86 in 1944 and returned to the Great Lakes as b) NADY in 1953 and again in 1955. It was abandoned, in leaking condition as d) ELENI S. while inbound 12 miles off the Lagos, Nigeria, breakwall. Water is entering the engineroom and the ship settles in shallow water. (One source suggest this may have occurred 2 days earlier) 2005 CSL NIAGARA loses power and goes aground in the American Narrows of the St. Lawrence while upbound with a cargo of coke. The ship is holed in the forepeak but soon released and repaired.
Today in Great Lakes History - June 29
On this day in 1946, the tug DALHOUSIE ROVER, Captain J. R. Mac Lean, capsized in the Welland Canal. There were no survivors among the crew of six.
On 29 June 1910, ALABAMA (steel propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 272 foot, 2,626 gross tons, built in 1909, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) made her first trip in regular service for the Goodrich Line from Chicago to Grand Haven and Muskegon. She ran opposite the VIRGINIA. Cut down to a barge in 1961, she was scrapped in La Salle, Ontario, in 2006.
On 29 June 1902, GEORGE DUNBAR (wooden propeller freighter, 134 foot, 238 gross tons, built in 1867, at Allegan, Michigan) was loaded with coal when she was damaged by a sudden squall on Lake Erie near Kelley’s Island and sank. Seven of the crew elected to stay aboard while the skipper, his wife and daughter made for shore in the lifeboat. Those three were saved but the seven perished on a makeshift raft.
The CHARLES M. SCHWAB (Hull#496) was launched in 1923, at Cleveland, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co., for the Interlake Steamship Co. Lengthened with a new mid-body and repowered with the stern section of the tanker GULFPORT in 1961. Sold Canadian in 1975, renamed b.) PIERSON DAUGHTERS and c.) BEECHGLEN in 1982. Scrapped at Port Maitland, Ontario, in 1995.
On June 29, 1962, the HAMILTONIAN began her maiden voyage for Eastern Lake Carriers (Papachristidis Co. Ltd.). Renamed b.) PETITE HERMINE in 1967. Purchased by Upper Lakes Shipping in 1972, renamed c.) CANADIAN HUNTER. Scrapped at Alang, India in 1996.
The JOSEPH L. BLOCK was christened on June 29, 1976, for Inland Steel Co. The Canadian schooner DUNSTOWN arrived at Malden, Ontario, on 29 June 1875, to be put in place as a lightship. Her sides were painted in large white letters: BAR POINT LIGHTSHIP.
On 29 June 1864, ALVIN CLARK (2-mast wooden schooner, 113 foot, 220 tons, built in 1846, at Truago (Trenton), Michigan) foundered in a terrific squall off Chambers Island on Green Bay. Two of the crew were rescued by the brig DEWITT, but three lost their lives. In 1969, a schooner identified as the CLARK was raised at great expense and put on display for some time at Marinette, Wisconsin, then at Menominee, Michigan. The hull gradually deteriorated and was dismantled in May 1994.
1934: The retired wooden schooner LYMAN M. DAVIS was torched as a spectacle off the Sunnyside Amusement Park at Toronto and it burned to the waterline.
1962: The Swedish freighter AMACITA was beached in sinking condition after hitting a shoal in the St. Lawrence near Brockville. It was refloated and towed to Kingston for hull and rudder repairs. The 10,137 gross tons vessel also visited the Seaway as b) HERVANG in 1965 and arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, as f) MALDIVE PIONEER on January 5, 1984, for scrapping.
1966: Two Canada Steamship Lines ships, LEMOYNE and MARTIAN, were in a collision while passing at Welland and the former struck the Main Street Bridge during rush hour. The ships only received minor damage, but land and Welland Canal traffic were held up.
1994: The tug A.F. FIFIELD was built at Port Dalhousie by Port Weller Dry Docks in 1955 and sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as c) J. MANIC while towing a barge from Sept Iles to Port Cartier. All on board were rescued.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on Jun 30, 2015 5:56:52 GMT -5
6/30 - Sainty Marine's under-construction newbuild at Nantong Mingde Heavy Industry (NMHI) has been abandoned by its shipowner because of Sainty Marine's failure to deliver the newbuild as scheduled.
Canada’s Algoma Central is the shipowner, according to IHS Maritime Sea-web.com. The newbuild –38,000 dwt handysize bulker (believed to be hull number MD-153, Algoma Conveyor) – could not be delivered as scheduled on 31 March, a stock filing of Sainty Marine said on 10 June.
Algoma Central had informed the company via email on 9 June that it had decided to abandon the newbuild with immediate effect in accordance with the shipbuilding contract signed with Sainty Marine.
The shipowner reserved the right to seek compensation from Sainty Marine over the breach of contract, which means that Sainty Marine would have to refund the installments for shipbuilding costs and relevant interest.
Sainty Marine has been in co-operation with NMHI to sell newbuilds by NMHI since 2013. The company is also seeking to take over NMHI as it has provided funds for NMHI to finance a series of newbuilds over the past years. In the end of 2014, NMHI was unable to repay its funds, as Sainty Marine had predicted.
IHS Maritime 360
On this day in 1962, the CLIFFS VICTORY passed down through the Welland Canal to become the first boat in the Cleveland Cliffs Fleet to enter Lake Ontario in 20 years.
The CSL ASSINIBOINE was rechristened at Port Weller Drydocks Ltd., on June 30, 2005. She was the a.) LOUIS R. DESMARAIS and the fourth CSL vessel to receive a forebody replacement.
On 30 June 1917, while being towed out of the Milwaukee River by the tugs WELCOME and KNIGHT TEMPLAR, the Goodrich Lines’ CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS (steel propeller whaleback passenger steamer, 362 foot, 1,511 gross tons, built in 1893, at West Superior, Wisconsin), with 413 passengers onboard, was caught by the current and swung close to shore. The overhang of her snout-bow sheered off two legs of the water tower of the Yahr-Lang Drug Company and the tower fell onto the vessel, destroying the pilothouse and forward decks. The water from the tower rushed down the length of the upper decks. 16 were killed and over 20 were seriously injured. The surviving passengers were taken to Chicago by train. The vessel was repaired and put back into service the following year.
On 30 June 1900, MARIAN TELLER (wooden propeller tug, 52 foot, 33 gross tons, built in 1879, at West Bay City, Michigan) was towing the barge CANTON on Lake St. Clair. The TELLER sprang a leak about one mile from the Lake St. Clair Lightship. The rising water put out her fires. In the scramble to escape, the yawl was swamped and three lives were lost. Only Captain Cornwall and his son were saved when the passing steamer NORWALK picked them up.
1889 WILLIAM ARMSTRONG, a wooden rail car ferry, sinks in the St. Lawrence off Morristown after being swamped. One life is lost but the ship is refloated and repaired. It was renamed MONS MEG in 1910 and served as a drill barge but was abandoned due to its age and condition in 1938.
1940 The Imperial Oil tanker ACADIALITE cuts too close to shore and strands off Cape Hurd of the Bruce Peninsula. The ship received about $100,000 in damage and is repaired at Collingwood. It later sails as IMPERIAL CORNWALL and GOLDEN SABLE before being scrapped at Louiseville, QC about 1980.
1959 TAXIARHIS, a Lebanese flag visitor to the Great Lakes and the West German freighter CARL JULIUS are in a collision 6 miles west of the Eisenhower Lock. The former is most seriously damaged and goes aground with a V shaped dent in the port bow but both were repaired. The former arrived at Piraeus, Greece, for scrapping as d) TONY C. on March 29, 1972, while CARL JULIUS was scrapped as d) MACHIAVELLI at Savona, Italy in 1982.
1962 The GUIDO DONEGANI gets stuck in the St. Lawrence below the Iroquois Lock due to engine trouble. Part of the cargo of corn is lightered to P.S. BARGE NO. 1 and the Italian freighter is refloated on July 1. It is also a Seaway trader as b) PUNTA MESCA beginning in 1970 and as c) COCLERDUE in 1979. This ship arrived at Savona, Italy, for scrapping on June 1, 1981.
1974 KIMIKAWA MARU began Great Lakes trading in 1962 and the Japanese freighter made a single visit each year through 1965. It went aground as b) WELFARE NO. 2 off Navlakhi, India, on this date. The ship later broke in two and sank in shallow water as a total loss. 1980 VILLE DE MONTREAL was engaged in pre-Seaway service to the Great Lakes. It was sailing as c) CHERRY MAJU, enroute from Bahrain to Colombo, Sri Lanka, when it developed a list and drifted aground off Karwar, India. The ship became partly submerged and was abandoned as a total loss.
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