Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/23 - Lake Michigan The Coast Guard has suspended the search for a man who reportedly jumped overboard from a freighter near Big Sable Point in Lake Michigan early Sunday morning.

Just before 2 a.m. the Stewart J. Cort reported that they had a man overboard approximately 3-4 miles offshore of Big Sable Point. Crew members witnessed the man climb over the rail and jump from the vessel. The crew members immediately deployed three life rings and notified the navigation bridge. The vessel turned and began a systematic search for the man. Due to conditions at the time and the impending weather forecast, the decision was made not to deploy the vessel’s small workboat. The Samuel D. Champlain, Joyce L. VanEnkevort and Vikingbank were also in the area and assisted with the search.

The Coast Guard launched a crew from Coast Guard Station Manistee, Michigan, aboard a 45-foot response boat and a crews from Air Facility Muskegon, Michigan, and Air Station Traverse City, Michigan, aboard Dolphin helicopters. The Coast Guard completed a total of 11 different searches covering 76 square nautical miles. Additionally, multiple commercial vessels in the area participated in the search efforts.

Forecasted weather for the search area include a small-craft advisory in effect through Monday evening with 20-25 knot winds veering west to 30 knots. Showers and thunderstorms are likely until midday and waves range from 3-5 feet.;





Stevedoring company invests $1.3 million in Burns Harbor port

8/23 - Portage, Ind. – The company that stevedores the Port of Indiana Burns-Harbor is making an unprecedented investment of around $500 million that will nearly triple its fleet of cargo vessels in just five years.

Federal Marine Terminals, which serves 12 ports on the East Coast, Gulf Coast and Great Lakes, just marked its 50th year at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor. The company, a subsidiary of Canada-based Fednav Limited, owned 24 ships in 2011, but has grown its fleet to 47 ships today largely because of the changing economics of ship ownership, Vice President of Operations Keith Flagg said.

Each new ship costs around $35 million. Federal Marine Terminals plans to have 61 by 2018, which shows a long-term commitment to shipping on the Great Lakes, Flagg told the Ports of Indiana Commission at a meeting in Portage Thursday.

A vessel that was newly acquired by Federal Marine Terminals is now on a worldwide voyage spanning four continents that will bring English steel and mineral sands to Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor next month, Flagg said.

Federal Marine Terminals is investing $1.3 million into its operations at the deepwater port in Portage, which was its second busiest port after Lake Charles in Louisiana last year. The company purchased several new fork lifts that were made by Hoist Liftruck, which is currently relocating to East Chicago from Illinois.

Last year, the stevedoring company unloaded 300,777 tons of foreign steel at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, a dramatic jump over 2013. Steel imports trail last year's pace, but are still expected to reach around 300,000 tons by year's end, Flagg said.

Man-hours worked at the port surged from about 80,000 in 2013 to around 130,000 last year, largely because of the surge in steel. They are expected to fall off to around 95,000 this year.

General cargo, which is industrial equipment such as transformers or brewery tanks, fell to 4,957 tons last year down from 15,548 tons the previous year, largely because of the end of the $4.2 billion Whiting Refinery modernization project. But it's projected to bounce back to around 11,404 tons this year.

Overall cargo at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor is projected to fall short of last year's record volume, which was "phenomenal," Flagg said.

The industry does face some challenges, such as that pilotage costs rose 20 percent last year and the need to burn low-sulfur gas on the Great Lakes adds $100,000 to each trip, Flagg said. Another issue has been that weak harvests can mean ships that bring steel to the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor don't always get loaded up with grain on their way back, because grain costs rise too high to making shipping it overseas cost-effective.

"When there's no freight to load outbound, it's just ballast," he said. "It's a loss of revenue at a huge cost to us."

NWI Times


On this day in 1818, the first steamer above Niagara Falls, the WALK-IN-THE-WATER, Captain Job Fish, departed Buffalo on her maiden voyage. The 29 passengers paid a fare of $24 and arrived at Detroit in 44 hours and 10 minutes.

On August 23, 1955, as part of the year-long centennial celebration of the opening of the Soo Locks in 1855, an open house was held aboard the Pittsburgh steamer JOHN G. MUNSON. A total of 10,563 individuals toured the MUNSON while she was tied up at Detroit.

On 23 August 1887, GESINE (wooden schooner, 99 gross tons, built in 1853, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) was carrying lumber in a storm on Lake Michigan. She was shoved up against the breakwater at Michigan City, Indiana, and pounded to pieces. The crew and Capt. C. Anderson jumped overboard and clung to the breakwater pilings until rescued.

GEMINI sailed on her maiden voyage August 23, 1978, from the shipyard to load fuel oil at Baytown, Texas, for delivery at Detroit, Michigan. Sold Canadian and renamed b.) ALGOSAR in 2005.

The wooden-hulled steamer AURORA was launched on August 23, 1887, at Cleveland, Ohio, by Murphy & Miller Shipyard for J. J. Corrigan of Cleveland, Ohio.

On August 23, 1979, KINSMAN ENTERPRISE, a.) NORMAN B. REAM was towed out of the Frog Pond in Toledo, Ohio, having escaped the scrapper's torch, and sold to the Port Huron Seaway Terminal to be used as a storage barge.

On 23 August 1887, CLARA (2-mast, wooden scow-schooner) was carrying a load of hardwood lumber bound from Manistee, Michigan for Chicago, Illinois, when she was caught in a storm and capsized. Her hull later washed ashore upside-down near Miller's Station, Indiana.

August 23, 1901 - PERE MARQUETTE 17 arrived Ludington, Michigan, on her maiden voyage with Captain Peter Kilty in command.

On 23 August 1875, PERSIAN (wooden propeller freighter, 1,630 tons, built in 1874, at Cleveland, Ohio) caught fire off Long Point on Lake Erie. The propeller EMPIRE STATE came alongside and tried to put out the fire with streams of water from her hose, but when this failed, she took PERSIAN in tow in an attempt to get her to shore. This too failed when the tow line burned through. PERSIAN burned to the waterline and sank 10 miles from land in about 30 fathoms of water. No lives were lost.

On 23 August 1900, ARGONAUT (wooden propeller freighter, 213 foot, 1,119 gross tons, built in 1873, at Detroit, Michigan) was raised by an expensive salvage operation at the Escanaba ore dock where she had previously sunk. She lasted another six years.

1898: The three-year old I. WATSON STEPHENSON, a wooden lumber hooker, went aground in Sturgeon Bay and was hit by her barge and holed. The vessel was repaired and returned to service. It last operated for the Saginaw Lumber Co. perhaps as late as 1933. The hull was sunk as a breakwall for small craft at Cleveland on July 11, 1935, and burned to the waterline in the spring of 1946.

1963: During a tugboat race in Toronto harbor, the TERRY S. sank after being in a collision with the ARGUE MARTIN. The sunken ship belonged to Waterman's Services and had been used as a pilot boat. The hull was salvaged and returned to service. It joined Nadro Marine in 1989 and saw brief work as a pilot boat at Port Weller harbor in 1992 before being sold and going to Bomanville, ON for harbor service in 1993. ARGUE MARTIN, later part of the McKeil fleet, was broken up at Hamilton in 2003.

1984: ROGER M. KYES went aground in the Trenton Channel of the Detroit River and had to be lightered to the RICHARD REISS before being released and going to Sturgeon Bay for extensive repairs.

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/25 - A ferry was forced to dock in Rogers City Monday afternoon after choppy waters left two passengers injured. UpNorthLive.com reported a chartered ferry with Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry was carrying 60 people on a lighthouse tour when the vessel encountered high waves.

Police said two men aboard the ferry were injured during the rough ride and transported to a hospital. Their conditions were not known, according to UpNorthLive.com.

The Mackinac Bridge Authority issued a high wind warning Monday for the Straits of Mackinac.



On 25 August 1892, H. D. COFFINBERRY (wooden propeller freighter, 191 foot, 649 gross tons, built in 1874, at East Saginaw, Michigan) was carrying iron ore from Escanaba to Ashtabula in a fierce NW gale when she grounded on the rocks near Port Hope on Lake Huron. The crew was rescued by the San Beach Lifesaving crew and the tug ANAPING. The COFFINBERRY was released five days later and put back in service.

On Aug. 25, 1923, the Duluth, Missabe & Northern Ore Dock in Duluth loaded 208,212 tons of ore into 23 ships.

On August 25, 1984, ROGER M. KYES grounded off Mc Louth Steel and ended crosswise in the Detroit River's Trenton Channel. It required lightering into the RICHARD REISS a.) ADIRONDACK and the assistance of nine tugs to refloat her. Renamed b.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1989.

GEORGE M. STEINBRENNER, a.) ARTHUR H. HAWGOOD arrived at Port Colborne, Ontario on August 25, 1978, in tow of the tug WILFRED M. COHEN for scrapping.

On 25 August 1919, CABOTIA (formerly HIAWATHA, wooden propeller freighter, 235 foot, 1,299 gross tons, built 1880, at Gibraltar, Michigan) went ashore on Main Duck Island in Lake Ontario and split her hull, becoming a constructive loss.

August 25, 1981 - The first of the famous "Love Boat" cruises was made. The BADGER carried 520 passengers, the largest number of passengers for a carferry up to that time. It was sponsored by the Ludington Area Ambassadors.

On 25 August 1873, JOURNEYMAN (wooden schooner, 129 foot, 235 gross tons, built in 1873, at Wenona, Michigan) was put in service. Her first cargo was 225,770 feet of lumber. She was built for Whitehead & Webster of Bay City and lasted until 1896.

1917: The wooden tow barge MAGNETIC, downbound and under tow of the steamer EDWARD N. BREITUNG, broke loose when the steering failed and eventually foundered in Lake Erie. The captain and crew of 7 were rescued.

1965: BLACK BAY was T-boned on the port side by the Liberian freighter EPIC while leaving Sept Iles with ore for Ashtabula. The hull of the C.S.L. bulk carrier was dented, the rail was ripped and there was damage to the 4th hatch. The ship was repaired at Port Arthur.

1974: STEELTON collideed with Bridge 12 of the Welland Canal at Port Robinson, knocking the structure into the water. The accident tied up all navigation through the Welland Canal and the bridge was never replaced. The ship was repaired at Port Colborne and returned to service.

1977: IRISH ALDER, a Great Lakes caller with 4 trips in 1966, was gutted by a fire as c) ATTICAN UNITY while enroute from Antwerp, Belgium, to Durban, South Africa. The ship was beached at Flushing Roads and taken over by the Dutch government. The hull was later refloated, sold to West German shipbreakers and arrived at Bremen on March 22, 1978, for dismantling.

1984: The French freighter MONT LOUIS first came to the Great Lakes in 1975. It sank on this day in 1984 following a collision with the OLAU BRITTANIA while enroute from Le Havre to Riga, Latvia. The hull broke in two due to bad weather on September 11 and it was finally raised and taken to Zeebrugge in sections in September 1985 and broken up.

1985: MELA ran aground in the St. Lawrence about 40 miles east of Quebec City after losing power. Two tugs refloated the ship and it received temporary repairs at Thunder Bay. The vessel first came inland as a) PAMELA in 1976, returned as b) MELA in 1983, c) LA FRENAIS in 1990, d) PRAXITELIS in 1995 and e) AXION in 1999. The ship was beached for scrapping at Chittagong, Bangladesh, on March 15, 2006.



Joseph L. Block rescues man from water in northern Lake Michigan

8/25 - Milwaukee, Wis. – The Joseph L. Block responded to a distress call and rescued a boater out of Lake Michigan’s waters Monday morning after the boater’s 28-foot vessel began to sink 10 miles off of Port Washington, Wisconsin.

The Joseph L. Block, a 728-foot ship owned by Central Marine Logistics, was underway in the area and quickly diverted to assist the boater. The crew located the sinking vessel and found the boater in the water, wearing a life jacket and waving his arms. The crewmembers reacted quickly and were able to throw heaving lines to the person, hoisting him up out of the water and safely onto their ship.

The water temperature at the time of the rescue was 49 degrees.

A Coast Guard Station Sheboygan's rescue boat arrived on-scene, along with the a Ozaukee County Marine boat, to transport the boater off of the Joseph L. Block to the Port Washington Municipal Marina to be evaluated by emergency medical services.

The 28-foot vessel was towed by the Ozaukee County Sheriff's crew towards the municipal marina until the flooding outpaced the dewatering pump. Station Sheboygan's crew responded to the scene to supply an additional pump when it was determined the sinking craft had become unstable.

The crew evacuated the sheriff's deputy who was on board and the vessel sank immediately after the tow was released approximately 8 nautical miles east of the Port Washington pier heads in more than 350-feet of water.

The Station Sheboygan crew recovered several items that had floated free of the vessel, but reported no visible pollution.

USCG





Investigation begins into loss of man from Stewart J. Cort

8/25 - Ludington, Mich. – Four members of the Mason County Sheriff’s Office traveled to Sault Ste. Marie Monday to try to figure out what prompted a man to reportedly jump off the deck of the 1,000-foot freighter Stewart J. Cort when it was about four miles off Big Sable Point early Sunday morning.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, crewmembers witnessed the man climbing over a railing and jumping from the vessel, at which time they threw life rings and notified the navigation bridge.

Crew at U.S. Coast Guard Station Manistee was notified of the incident at 1:49 a.m. and had launched the station’s 45-foot Response Boat Medium at 2 a.m. Sunday.

Searchers remained off Big Sable Point until about 2 p.m., at which time the search was suspended.

“Three different stations, Manistee, Air Station Traverse City and Air Facility Muskegon, searched a total of 76 square nautical miles,” Petty Officer Third Class Christopher Yaw of the Coast Guard’s Ninth District Headquarters wrote in an e-mail. “Our air assets were eventually forced to stay on the ground due to weather in the area. There were also four freighters and local assets involved in the search as well. The search was suspended around 2 p.m., pending further information..”

The USCG indicated 11 separate search grids were completed.

“Forecasted weather for the search area include a small-craft advisory in effect from 8 a.m. Sunday through Monday evening with 20-25 knot winds veering west to 30 knots. Showers and thunderstorms are likely until midday and waves range from 3-5 feet.”

The man was reported to be wearing blue jeans and a bright yellow shirt when he went overboard.

Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole said his office was notified of the incident about 7 a.m., at which time the MCSO 24-foot Boston Whaler was launched and began a search of shallow water areas for as long as the weather allowed.

Cole said they were notified that the man leaving the ship was possibly an intentional act. He said due to the freighter’s draft they could not dock anywhere closer than Sault Ste. Marie.

Cole said Det. Sgt. Tom Posma, Det. Mike Kenney, Det. Shayne Eskew and Dep. Mike Fort made the trek to the U.P. Monday to further investigate the matter and determine whether there was a violation of state law. Cole said any violations of federal law would be under Coast Guard jurisdiction. The USCG was also expected to have investigators at Sault Ste. Marie.

Charter boat captains — first George Freeman of FreeStyle and then Shane Ruboyianes of Dreamweaver — reported the search to the Daily News on Sunday morning.

Freeman said when he arrived at the point for charter fishing Sunday morning he could see what he believed were six freighters with searchlights on and two helicopters circling. Ruboyianes reported similar sightings.

The weather buoy off Ludington, which measures the peak of significant waves, recorded 5 foot waves Monday morning. Adding in the depth of the trough, as most experienced mariners do when using the buoy data, gives a total wave height of about 10 feet as of 8 a.m. Monday.

Ludington Daily News





Iron ore shipping continues to dip

8/25 - Duluth, Minn. – While the failure late last month of one of the Soo Locks didn’t affect July’s shipping numbers, iron ore cargos carried by U.S.-flag Great Lakes ships fell again, the Lake Carriers’ Association reported last week.

Loadings totaled 4.7 million tons in July, a decrease of 10 percent compared to a year ago. The slump comes on the heels of a 10 percent decrease in June.

The Lake Carriers’ Association, based near Cleveland, in a news release blamed the downturn on a nation “awash in dumped foreign steel.”

The failure of the MacArthur Lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., on July 29 did not play a major role in the month’s totals, the association said, but six U.S.-flag lakers and 250,000 tons of cargo were delayed for about 13 hours between the lock’s closure and midnight July 31. The lock reopened Aug. 17.

In total, 79 U.S.-flag lakers and 1.9 million tons of cargo were delayed for about 160 hours during the 20-day closure.

Total cargo movement in U.S. hulls totaled 10.9 million tons in July, a decrease of 4 percent compared to a year ago.

U.S.-flag lakers’ coal float increased 6.4 percent in July, but shipments of limestone dipped by 5.6 percent. The stone trade also is feeling the affects of unfair trade in steel, the Lake Carriers’ Association reported, as steel production is the primary driver behind demand for fluxstone and metallurgical stone.

Year-to-date, U.S.-flag carriage stands at 42.5 million tons, an increase of 10.7 percent compared to a year ago. Iron ore, coal and limestone all have registered increases over their end-of-July totals in 2014, but those increases in part reflect the catastrophic ice conditions that prevailed for the first five months of 2014, the association said in its news release. Heavy ice so delayed the resumption of the ore trade in March 2014 that at least one steelmaker had to curtail production, and transit times did not become routine until early May. The ice was formidable again this spring, but had largely cleared by late April.

The Lake Carriers’ Association represents 16 American companies that operate 56 U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes.

Duluth News Tribune

[yachtsmanwilly]

Freighter crewman jumped overboard after confronted about alcohol, sheriff says

8/26 - Ludington, Mich. – The crewman who went overboard from a Great Lakes freighter north of Ludington jumped after he was confronted about his drinking, Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole has said.

"It came out that the individual was confronted about alcohol use," Cole said Tuesday, Aug. 25. "Apparently the company has a zero tolerance policy. He was told he'd stay in his quarters until the ship made port."

Instead, the 41-year-old Cleveland, Ohio, man ran up on deck and jumped into Lake Michigan, Cole said. He has not been found. Cole did not release the man's name.

The sheriff said his detectives interviewed 22 members of the ship's crew Monday, Aug. 24. Cole earlier said three detectives from Mason County and a deputy further north have been part of the investigation, along with the Coast Guard.

The man went overboard from the Stewart J. Cort at 1:15 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 22, off Mason County.

M Live





Volunteers continue search for Cort sailor

8/26 - Manistee County, Mich. – A sailor is still missing after going overboard early Sunday morning from the laker Stewart J Cort. The coast guard has suspended its search, but that doesn’t mean the search is over.

Manistee is home to some very dedicated members of a social media page – Manistee Ship Watch. Monday, one of the members organized a search for the man who went overboard. Their goal was simple:

“Just to get as many volunteers as we can,” says Jim Merryman, who organized the search, “We want to get to some key points that are high elevation so we can get a vantage point so we can look down. Hopefully we’re going to find this guy so he can be returned to his family. So the family can get closure as well as the maritime community.”

Ted Wagner started the ship watch page. He also works as an engineer on a tug out of Chicago.

“It’s a very dangerous job, a lot of people don’t realize that,” says Wagner of a career on the lakes. “In my time I’ve lost a couple friends out here. And it’s a small community. You may work with a fellow one year, ten years down the road you bump into him at another company. So we are a tight-knit group.”

Relying on maps, weather reports, and their own knowledge of the lake, volunteers choose spots along the shore line to keep an eye out for the missing sailor, last seen wearing a yellow shirt.

“Whether we are related by blood or not, it all comes down to we’re, in essence, a family,” says Merryman. “And we’re always going to be looking out for each other.”

A life ring washed ashore just north of Manistee, near Onekma, its beacon still blinking.

The man who found it says it was marked “Stewart J. Cort.” Wagner says he feels for the man’s family, but also the crew left onboard the Stewart J. Cort.

Wagner says, “It becomes like a family. You live together, eat together. You can’t go home at night so you love some, you put up with others, but it’s a tight-knit family. I guess that’s why I’m here.”

The volunteers say they will continue to keep an eye on the shoreline each day until the missing man is found and returned to his family. The Coast Guard says their crews conducted multiple searches in the water and from the air covering about 100 square miles.

Up North Live


8/26 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Watching the United States Coast Guard’s Mackinaw (WLBB-30) break ice in the Sturgeon Bay Canal each spring is pretty cool. Ice cracking and engines firing, it is a sight many communities do not get to witness.

As fun as it is to watch, imagine what is happening inside the hull.

In the thickest ice, all three diesel generators are running and the ice is simultaneously cracking against the bow, creating a booming sound effect.

“Aspects of being on the ship can be deafening, with the vibration, noise and thundering of the ice,” said Mackinaw Engineering Officer Aaron Brockus, whose job includes oversight of the ship’s unique azipod propellers.

The azipod propeller feature is an emerging technology – a gearless, steerable system outside of the ship’s hull. Azipods, made by ABB in Switzerland, improve safety, energy efficiency, maneuverability and performance. The propellers are also made to withstand ice breaking while the ship moves in reverse, essentially working like a blender.

During icebreaking, the engine room crew workers are required to wear double hearing protection. The difference between running on smooth waters and breaking ice was described as “the inside of a soup can being shaken.”

The Mackinaw, the largest ship in the Guard’s Great Lakes fleet, has the capability to run up to 9,000 horsepower and can create up to 9.3 megawatts of electricity. Paired with the azipod technology, this ship is extremely mobile on the ice. She is the only icebreaker in the entire Coast Guard fleet with azipods, allowing her to turn on a dime in an isolated position.

Commander Vasilios Tasikas said the ship is rated to break ice 32 inches thick at three knots. He said that the toughest ice the Mackinaw broke this spring was in Whitefish Bay in the southeast part of Lake Superior.

In March, Brockus discovered the port azipod was leaking and allowing 15 gallons to enter the pod every hour through the inspection hatch on the bottom of the pod. Fixing the pod required an unscheduled dry dock at Sturgeon Bay’s Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Co., as the problem was 16 feet underwater.

This stop to fix the port-side azipod was completed along with 17 other maintenance items, adding up to an estimated cost more than $800,000.

A high-humidity sensor was set off during a direct escort, prompting Brockus to ask the commander to stop the escort, which is rare, so he could determine what was wrong. “His experience and intuitiveness saved us from a long-term fix,” Tasikas said.

A leak had sprung, which ended up being about one millimeter in length and width. Pressure from being 16 feet under water started pushing water into the pod. To keep the ship going, Brockus had to manually pump out the water from the pod.

In addition to direct azipod control, the helmsmen also have the capability of dynamic positioning, which is computer-controlled surge, sway and yaw, (ship motions) specifically helpful for working the buoys.

As this is the first Coast Guard ship of its kind, the crew has a distinct learning curve to navigate.

“We try to simplify our procedures for safety, but a lot of technological and tactical knowledge has been accrued over the last decade,” Tasikas said. “We have a very skilled personnel on board, and they have the opportunity to learn about a one-of-a-kind ship.”

The integrated bridge also uses radar and navigation simultaneously on an electronic platform.

“It is vastly different from where I started with a grease pencil, but the computer system is safer,” Tasikas said. “It does feel like we are missing a little of the nautical tradition.”

The Mackinaw was also built to be environmentally friendly and does not discharge water other vessels use for cooling systems. Brockus said the lake water cools the ship’s cooling units, but does not use that water to cool the ship.

The existing Mackinaw is the second icebreaking the Coast Guard has commissioned with that name. The first Mackinaw’s primary duty was icebreaking, where the current ship is tasked with more missions of ice breaking, working buoys, law enforcement and search and rescue.

Departure from Bay Shipbuilding and Sturgeon Bay is still in flux, but when she sets off, she will go to home port in Cheboygan, Mich.

Green Bay Press Gazette



In 1791, John Fitch was granted a United States patent for the steamboat.

On August 26,1872, wooden propeller steamer LAKE BREEZE of 1868, was steaming from Saginaw to Mackinaw City with freight and about 40 passengers when fire broke out in the kitchen while off Au Sable, Michigan. Captain M. S. Lathrop ordered the engines shut down and the steam pumps activated. The crew battled the blaze with fire hoses and put the flames out. When the LAKE BREEZE pulled into Mackinaw City that night, the partially burned vessel was still smoking.

The EDGAR B. SPEER's sea trials were successfully completed on August 26, 1980.

The BEECHGLEN was towed out of Owen Sound by the McKeil tug KAY COLE on August 26, 1994, in route to Port Maitland, Ontario, for scrapping.

The HENRY C. FRICK (Hull#615) was launched August 26, 1905, at West Bay City, Michigan, by West Bay City Ship Building Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. Renamed b.) MICHIPICOTEN in 1964, she foundered off Anticosti Island on November 17, 1972, while being towed overseas for scrapping.

EMORY L. FORD entered service on August 26, 1916, to load iron ore at Marquette, Michigan. Renamed b.) RAYMOND H. REISS in 1965. She was scrapped at Ramey's Bend in 1980.

The GLENEAGLES (Hull#14) was launched August 26, 1925, at Midland, Ontario, by Midland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. for the Great Lakes Transportation Co. Ltd. (James Playfair, mgr.). Converted to a self-unloader in 1963. Renamed b.) SILVERDALE in 1978. She was scrapped at Windsor, Ontario, in 1984.

The CHIEF WAWATAM (Hull#119) was launched on August 26, 1911, at Toledo, Ohio, by Toledo Ship Building Co. for the Mackinaw Transportation Co. She was built with three large propellers, two in the stern for propulsion and one in the bow for icebreaking. She was sold to Purvis Marine Ltd., of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in 1988, and cut down to a barge.

The Port Weller Drydocks Ltd., built, passenger-cargo ship FEDERAL PALM (Hull#29) was christened August 26, 1961, for the West Indies Shipping Corp., Ltd. She was built on the Great Lakes, but never served their ports. Renamed b.) CENPAC ROUNDER in 1975, she was scrapped in 1979.

On August 26, 1934, while on a Sunday sightseeing cruise, MIDLAND CITY of 1871, a.) MAUD 153.2 foot, 521 gross tons, damaged her bottom on a shoal near Present Island in Georgian Bay. She settled with her stern under water and her bow high in the air.

On 26 August 1875, COMET (propeller passenger/package freight, 181 foot, 744 tons, built in 1857, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying ore and pig iron in Lake Superior on a foggy night. While trying to pass the Beatty Line steamer MANITOBA, 7 miles SE of Whitefish Point, signals were misunderstood and COMET veered into the path of MANITOBA. COMET was rammed amidships and sank in ten minutes. 11 of the 21 aboard lost their lives. This wasn't the first such accident for COMET. In October 1869, she suffered a similar mishap with the propeller HUNTER and that time both vessels sank.

The schooner MATTHEW McNAIR was launched at the Lee & Lamoree shipyard in Oswego, New York, on August 26,1857. Her dimensions were 103 foot keel, 24 foot 6 inch beam and 9 foot 6 inch depth.

1911 CITY OF GENOA, downbound in the St. Clair River with 125,000 bushels of corn, collided with the W.H. GILBERT and sank 100 yards offshore. The crew was rescued and the hull salvaged by Reid on September 20, 1911, but was irreparable and a total loss.

1955 JOHANNA, a West German freighter, went aground at Point Iroquois and received damage to bottom plates. The tugs SALVAGE PRINCE, RIVAL, CAPT. M.B. DONNELLY and lighter COBOURG helped release the vessel on September 3 and it went to Kingston for repairs. JOHANNA was later a Seaway trader and made 18 inland voyages from 1959 to 1965.

1978 The second AVONDALE was damaged by an arson fire in the pilothouse while laid up along the Welland Canal below Lock 8.

1979 QUEBECOIS went aground on a mud bank near the entrance to Lake St. Clair after an electronic malfunction but was released in 9 hours.

1988 A challenging fire in the bowthruster tunnel aboard ALGOMARINE at Port Weller Dry Docks in St. Catharines sent two firemen to hospital. Some plates were buckled. The ship was being converted to a self-unloader at the time.

[yachtsmanwilly]

The new Poe Lock at the Soo was first flooded on 27 August 1968.

On August 27, 1886, The Detroit Evening News reported that a fireman on the tug J. H. HACKLEY of 1874, was sent to watch for a leak in the boiler, which was being filled with cold water at a dock in Chicago. He fell asleep and the boiler overflowed, very nearly sinking the vessel before another tug could pump her dry.

AGAWA CANYON (Hull#195) was launched in 1971, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for Algoma Central Railway Ltd.

C.C.G.S. SAMUEL RISLEY arrived at Toronto, Ontario, on August 27, 1985, on her way to Thunder Bay, Ontario, where she replaced the retired C.C.G.C. ALEXANDER HENRY.

JOHN O. McKELLAR (Hull#12) was launched August 27, 1952, at St. Catharines, Ontario, by Port Weller Drydocks Ltd. for the Colonial Steamship Co. Ltd. (Scott Misener, mgr.), Port Colborne, Ontario. Renamed b.) ELMGLEN in 1984.

The WILLIAM CLAY FORD, then renamed b.) US266029, departed her lay-up berth at the Rouge slip on August 20, 1986, in tow of Gaelic tugs and was taken to Detroit Marine Terminals on the Rouge River, where her pilothouse was removed to be displayed at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Detroit's Belle Isle. The hull was moved to Nicholson's River Rouge dock on August 27.

WILLIAM B. DICKSON (Hull#75) was launched August 27, 1910, at Ecorse, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed b.) MERLE M. McCURDY in 1969, she was scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario, in 1989.

The U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender MESQUITE (WAGL-305) was commissioned on August 27, 1943, and served on the Pacific Ocean in the 7th Fleet in 1944 and 1945.

On August 27, 1940, the WILLIAM A. IRVIN set the Great Lakes record for the fastest unloading of an iron ore cargo using shore side equipment. The IRVIN unloaded 13,856 gross tons of iron ore in 2 hours, 55 minutes (including the time to arrive and depart the dock) in Conneaut, Ohio. This record still stands, and consequently the IRVIN is one of the few Great Lakes vessels to be retired while still holding a Great Lakes cargo record.

On August 27, 1929, the MYRON C. TAYLOR entered service.

On August 27, 1924, CITY QUEEN (wooden propeller steam tug, 71 foot, 69 gross tons, built in 1900, at Midland, Ontario) burned to a total loss 14 miles east of the Manitou Dock in Georgian Bay.

The keel for the tug CRUSADER was laid on August 27, 1873, at the Leighton & Dunford yard in Port Huron, Michigan. The tug's dimensions were 100 foot keel, 132 foot overall, and 23 foot beam. She was built for George E. Brockway.

1909: PRESCOTT, a wooden sidewheel passenger ship used on the Toronto to Montreal run, was destroyed by a fire at Montreal. It burned to the waterline and sank at Victoria Pier.

1940: BOLIVAR, built at Wyandotte as LAKE FACKLER, had returned to the Great Lakes in 1933. The ship foundered in the Bay of Bengal again known as d) BOLIVAR.

1952: Ten tons of sugar aboard the CITY OF KINGSTON burned in a one-hour fire at Montreal.

1965: The Swedish freighter EVA JEANETTE ran up over the stern of the tug VEGCO in Lock 4 of the Welland Canal, sinking the latter vessel. There were no injuries and the tug was salvaged. EVA JEANETTE arrived at Chittagong, Bangladesh, for scrapping as d) SKOPELOS STAR on January 21, 1984. The tug later sailed as d) NORWICH and became e) SEAGULL in 1998.

2008: GERTJE, a Seaway trader in 1991, sent out a distress call as h) LADY F. with water entering the holds. A tug arrived and removed the six crew members. The vessel was towed into Bougas, Bulgaria, the next day. The ship was repaired and became i) SAMER F. in 2010.


8/27 - Lake Huron – The U.S. Coast Guard, the Alpena Sheriff's Department and several good samaritans assisted two men aboard a 42-foot sailboat that began taking on water early Wednesday morning 18 miles east of Alpena, Michigan in Lake Huron.

The names of the men rescued are not being released.

Shortly after 9 a.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, received a call from two men aboard a 42-foot sailboat stating their vessel was taking on water approximately 18 nautical miles east of Alpena in Lake Huron. The men stated they were currently using a hand pump to dewater the vessel.

Sector Sault dispatched a crew from Coast Guard Station Alpena aboard a 25-foot response boat, a crew from Coast Guard Station St. Ignace, Michigan, aboard a 45-foot response boat and a crew from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Michigan, aboard a Dolphin helicopter. They also issued an urgent marine information broadcast advising mariners in the area of the situation.

The Michipicoten, a Canadian flagged 689-foot bulk carrier and a 45-foot pleasure craft responded to the broadcast along with the Alpena Sheriff's Department.

The Michipicoten provided a lee for the sailboat due to the weather. The area was under a small-craft advisory with reported on-scene conditions of 20-25 knots and waves 6-7 feet.

Just after 11 a.m., the Traverse City aircrew arrived on scene and lowered a rescue swimmer and a dewatering pump to the vessel. After arriving aboard, the swimmer was made aware that one of the men had a history of heart problems and was beginning to experience chest pains. Not long after, the man started to lose consciousness.

The crew medically evacuated the man to Alpena Regional Medical Center. His condition was unknown. The crew aboard the 25-foot response boat arrived just before 11:30 a.m, and began to assist with the dewatering process.

Just after noon, the crew aboard the 45-foot response boat arrived on scene, placed the sailboat in tow and headed for Thunder Bay Harbor in Alpena.

USCG





Police release name of missing Ohio man who reportedly jumped from freighter

8/27 - Mason County, Mich. – The Ohio man who reportedly jumped from a freighter early Sunday morning, Aug. 23, has been identified as Jerald Glenn Rinaldi.

Rinaldi, 41, apparently leaped from a 1,000 freighter in the Ludington area after he reportedly was confronted by the ship's captain about alleged alcohol use. The ship has a zero-tolerance policy with alcohol, authorities said.

Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole said Rinaldi was last witnessed jumping from the starboard side of the ship. He was not yet located as of Wednesday, Aug. 26.

The sheriff has said his detectives interviewed 22 members of the ship's crew Monday, Aug. 24. Rinaldi went overboard from the Stewart J. Cort at 1:15 a.m. on Sunday.

M Live

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/28 - Toledo, Ohio – For nearly a century and a half, lakes, rivers, bays and sounds all across the United States had a grand tradition of excursion steamboats offering the chance to get out on the water for the day. The SS Columbia, the oldest remaining steamboat from that tradition, is being renovated and will one day restore the tradition on the Hudson River.

Designed by Frank Kirby, the most acclaimed architect of these boats, the SS Columbia is currently in Toledo where it has undergone a $1.6 million hull stabilization. It will next travel to Buffalo, where it will stay for a year in preparation for its journey to the Hudson River and New York City.

Tuesday, Sept. 1 (weather permitting), the SS Columbia will be towed from Ironhead Marine Shipyard in Toledo’s Maumee River, departing at 8 a.m. The towing tug will be the Michigan and the assist tug will be the Nebraska.

Wednesday, Sept. 2 (weather permitting), the SS Columbia will arrive at the North Entrance of Buffalo Harbor at 4 p.m. It will greeted by a flotilla of vessels led by the fireboat Edward M. Cotter and the schooner Spirit of Buffalo on its way to docking at Marine ‘A’ at Silo City in the Buffalo River.

The SS Columbia is owned by the non-profit SS Columbia Project (www.sscolumbia.org), whose mission is to restore it and enable it to serve as a cultural flagship reconnecting New York City to the waterfront cities and towns along the scenic Hudson Valley where excursion steamboats were long a familiar sight.

Built in 1902, the SS Columbia will also be a familiar sight to many in Buffalo as it resembles closely the SS Canadiana and SS Americana, both also designed by Frank Kirby, which ran excursions from Buffalo for much of the 20th century.

SS Columbia Project





Mystery boat: Alone and idle in a waterlogged corner of Chicago

8/28 - Chicago, Ill. – There is something incongruous, maybe even outlandish, about seeing a big rusty ship from a freeway in America’s Breadbasket. Have you ever seen it? The 620-foot vessel docked up on the Calumet River under the Illinois International Port sign, clearly visible by anyone driving north on the Bishop Ford Expressway.

Chicagoan Samantha Kruse saw it while out on her uncle’s boat. They’d set out for a leisurely cruise on the Calumet River when, there she blew – a giant old hulk of a ship. Seemingly abandoned. Covered in rust.

She joked with her uncle that it was likely haunted and filled with ghosts. But ultimately, she wondered, “What is the deal with that ship?”

Initial research brought up very little. And most people we asked had absolutely no clue. Even the security guard who guards the port’s entrance, where the ship is docked, had no idea why the boat was there. He just knew it never moved.

But we do have an account of the boat’s predicament, one that reveals a lot about the fate of a regional industry as well as a waterlogged corner of the city that — when it’s not just passed up entirely — is probably best known for heavy industry such as black clouds of swirling petroleum coke pollution or a colorful shack that produces famous smoked shrimp and sturgeon.

Eventually, research produced a name for the vessel: the C.T.C No. 1.

The C.T.C No. 1 — just the latest in a string of five names given by each new owner — was built in 1942 and moved iron ore to steel mills throughout the Great Lakes. It was wartime, and the country was hungry for raw materials to produce more ships, tanks and aircraft. The ship continued to ferry bulk materials around the Great Lakes until 1980, when it was converted into a cement storage facility, a job it stopped doing in 2009.

So, clearly the ship had been useful at one point, but what was it doing now? And why didn’t it ever move?

Even in the Google age, you can’t get a succinct account of why the boat’s idle. To get a fuller picture, I interviewed people in the ship’s neighborhood, a sleepy industrial swath on the city’s Southeast Side that’s home steel processing facilities, the Ford Motor Co. plant, as well as yacht clubs and tugboat companies.

I got some of the most useful information from the International Shipmasters Association, which, lucky for me, was holding its monthly meeting at Georgie’s Tavern on 134th Street. Several members said the boat had been a mystery to them, too.

“I’ve heard the question many, many, many times,” said Marshal Bundren, the chaplain of the shipmasters local. “Because there is a great big ship and here we are in the middle of the Midwest on a ten-lane highway driving by. Why is that there?”

But Bob Hansen, the shipmasters secretary, was familiar with the mystery boat and its history.

“[It’s the] Bethlehem Steel boat,” he said, referring to an earlier owner. “It says C.T.C. 1 on it because they used it for storing cement.” (The C.T.C comes from its time in service for Cement Transit Co. of Detroit.)

Hansen went on to say, in rapid-fire succession, what our earlier research had shown: that the ship was built in 1942 and was used to move iron ore throughout the Great Lakes during World War II.

“She’s empty and there is no place for her to go. She has no home,” Hansen said. He went on to explain that the walls of the ship contain asbestos, a highly carcinogenic mineral fiber once commonly used for insulation and fireproofing. Scrapping the boat, he added, would likely require expensive safety procedures.

And with the shipping industry as it is, struggling, it was too expensive to justify the rehab.

“So for the moment it’s sitting,” he said of the vessel.

Scott Bravener, the president of Grand River Navigation, who owns the C.T.C. No. 1, said that the asbestos is well contained, though its future is unknown. He said it would cost the company roughly $30 million to rehabilitate the ship and integrate it back into the company’s fleet as a working barge. (The boat no longer has an engine.) The company already owns three of its sister ships. And with the C.T.C.’s hull still in relatively good condition, the ship acts almost like an insurance policy if something goes wrong with one of the other vessels.

It’s also pretty inexpensive to keep it where it is. According to the Port, Grand River pays $600 per month to keep the C.T.C. No.1 docked there.

But, according to Bravener, the ultimate reason the ship sits idle is because there isn’t enough demand to justify putting it into service, a view corroborated by William Strauss, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago specializing in manufacturing and shipping on the Great Lakes.

Strauss said softness in the shipping industry is due to sluggish global growth and a lack of investment in the country’s infrastructure for shipping.

“Low commodity prices [and] some struggle with regard to growth of different markets for commodities, has really left a challenge to justify the expenditure,” he said.

Overall, the shipping industry is still relatively active, but the Port of Chicago is not the economic engine it once was. According to a 2011 report, the most recent data available, the Port generates nearly 2,700 jobs, 25 percent less than it did nearly a decade prior. And the jobs the Port creates indirectly have dropped by 22 percent over the same period. Industry-wide, shipping on the Great Lakes faces headwinds, due to the phasing out of coal and a steel industry that has yet to return to its pre-Recession peak.

“It’s an industry that will never die. But it will never get better,” Hansen said. “It just gets smaller and smaller and smaller. As we lose our steel. As we lose our cement. As we lose our coal.”

Still, marine transport is the most economic way to get cargo from one place to another — far cheaper than trucking and even rail.

But a struggling manufacturing sector mixed with low commodity prices, means ships like the C.T.C. No. 1 are left waiting in the wings, stuck in a kind of limbo where they’re too valuable to ditch, but not useful enough to repair.

However, there is one thing working in the favor of Great Lakes shipping. Despite the rusty look of the ship, Strauss said the fresh water of the Great Lakes is forgiving on vessels, nearly tripling their lifespan compared to their ocean-going counterparts. Boats like C.T.C. No. 1 have the possibility of being reintroduced to fleet, even after years spent idle.

When Samantha Kruse was told that her mystery ship was not abandoned, but just empty and unused, she wasn’t all that surprised. “I think that is where I thought it was heading,” she said.

What’s more, she said she’s glad to be reminded that the Calumet River isn’t just for recreational boating. That in fact, there is an active shipping industry still there.

“There are all these people working on barges. It’s not something I think about everyday,” she said. One thing she is a little bummed about, she added: “That I probably can’t make the boat into an awesome haunted house one day.”

WBEZ





Great Lakes Shipyard will build new harbor tug for Guatemala

8/28 - Cleveland, Ohio – Great Lakes Shipyard, a division of The Great Lakes Towing Co. of Cleveland, celebrated the signing of a construction contract to build another of its HandySize Class, 3,400 HP twin-screw tugboat for harbor towing operations in Puerto Quetzal, a growing principal commercial cargo, container, and cruise port located on the Pacific coast of Guatemala in Central America.

The buyer, Regimen de Pensiones y Jubilaciones del Personal de la Empresa Portuaria, is a pension benefits plan for port employees and retirees who operate a commercial tugboat service in the port under a Port Authority franchise for the purpose of ensuring future retirement benefits.

The HandySize Class tug was designed by Jensen Naval Architects & Marine Engineers, Seattle, Wa. The new tug will be built by the Great Lakes Shipyard with delivery next year. Specifically designed for harbor work and coastal towing, it will be 74 feet long with a beam of 30 feet, and a design draft of 11.5 feet. It is to be built to American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) standards and its Cummins QSK-50 main diesel propulsion engines, each rated at 1700 BHPat 1600 rpm meet US EPA Tier III emission regulations delivering superior fuel economy, durability, and reliability.

Evidencing the significance of the sale and trade between both countries, the ceremony and reception was held in the U.S. Embassy, Guatemala City, and hosted by the embassy’s Senior Trade Specialist, Antonio Prieto of the International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. Prieto was instrumental in facilitating the sale.

The Great Lakes Towing Co.





Michigan’s Great Lakes, ocean employment makes waves

8/28 - Traverse City, Mich. – Michigan led the nation in the growth of Great Lakes and ocean employment, according to an analysis of the U.S. marine-related economy between 2011 and 2012.

A study by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration released this week showed that after being severely affected by the economic downturn, Michigan’s marine-related employment grew by 8 percent in 2012, much faster than the overall state average of 2.1 percent.

The U.S. ocean and Great Lakes economy outpaced the domestic economy between 2011 and 2012, with an increase of $22 billion in gross domestic product, from $321 billion to $343 billion, according to a new NOAA analysis. They research looked at coastal marine construction, living resources, offshore mineral extraction, ship and boat building, tourism, recreation and marine transportation.

Adjusting the figures to remove the effects of inflation, this increase equates to a 10.5 percent rate of growth — more than four times as fast as the U.S. economy as a whole, NOAA said. The new report is based on 2012 U.S. national economic statistics released in August 2014.

The findings look at the ocean and Great Lakes economy in different states, regions and industry sectors.

Five of the six marine sectors grew faster than the national average of 2.5 percent. Offshore mineral extraction, which saw an employment increase of 8.6 percent and an inflation-adjusted GDP increase of 20.9 percent, grew most dramatically.

NOAA’s 2012 Report on the U.S. Ocean and Great Lakes Economy showed that marine-related business sectors employed 2.9 million people in 2012 — more than crop production, telecommunication, and building construction combined — and produced more than $343 billion in goods and services.

Salaries were above the national average for workers in marine construction, ship and boat building, marine transportation and offshore mineral extraction. The national average for wages was $49,000; for the ocean and Great Lake industries, the national average ranged from $63,000 to $143,000.

California employed the highest number of workers, accounting for 17 percent of the nation’s marine-dependent employment and 22 percent of the nation’s employment in the marine transportation sector.

Traverse City Record Eagle


On this day in 1939, the RICHARD J. REISS collided with the YOSEMITE on the St. Clair River. There were no casualties but damage to the Reiss amounted to $26,593.80 and damage to the YOSEMITE amounted to $23,443.09. The REISS was built in 1901, as the a.) GEORGE W. PEAVEY. Renamed b.) RICHARD J. REISS in 1917, c.) SUPERIOR in 1943. She was scrapped at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1947. The YOSEMITE carried her name throughout her career, built in 1901, and scrapped at Buffalo, New York, in 1954.

Capt. Frank R. West took his 8-year-old son Robert and the boy's friend, 8-year-old Edward Erickson aboard the new schooner LOUIS MEEKER as guests on a trip carrying 27,000 bushels of oats from Chicago to Buffalo. There was hardly any wind and it took them four days to creep north as far as Pentwater, Michigan. On August 28, 1872, Captain West saw a storm coming and he had the sails taken in as a precaution. The winds came so suddenly and they hit the vessel so hard that the schooner was knocked over on her beam ends. Little Robert West, his dad and three sailors were lost when the vessel sank 15 minutes later near Big Sable Point. Peter Danielson dove and tried to cut away the lifeboat as the schooner was sinking and he almost drowned in that unsuccessful attempt. The mizzen gaff broke free and seven sailors plus little Edward Erickson clung to it until they were picked up by the schooner WILLIAM O. BROWN six hours later.

Mr. Edwin H. Gott, 78, of Pittsburgh, died on August 28, 1986. The namesake of the 1,000 footer, he retired as Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Steel in 1973.

On August 28, 1962, the EDWARD L. RYERSON set a Great Lakes cargo record for iron ore. The RYERSON loaded 25,018 gross tons of iron ore in Superior, Wisconsin, breaking by 14 tons the record held by the Canadian bulk freighter RED WING that was set in the 1961 season. The RYERSON held this record well into 1965.

The PERE MARQUETTE 22 was repowered with two 2,850 ihp four cylinder Skinner Uniflow steeple compound steam engines, 19 1/2", 43" dia. X 26" stroke, built in 1953, by the Skinner Engine Co., Erie, Pennsylvania, and four coal-fired Foster-Wheeler water tube boilers with a total heating surface of 25,032 sq. ft. built in 1953. The repowering work was completed on August 28, 1954. Her 1954, tonnage was 3551 gross tons, 1925 net tons, 2450 deadweight tons. A new starboard tail shaft was installed at this time. Her service speed increased to 18 knots (20.7 mph).

The JOHN ANDERSON, a.) LUZON of 1902, was outbound through the Duluth Ship Canal on August 28, 1928, when the vessel struck the north pier suffering $18,000 in damage. Renamed c.) G. G. POST in 1935. The POST was scrapped at Istanbul, Turkey, in 1972.

Gulf Oil Corp., tanker REGENT entered service on August 28, 1934. She was built for low clearances on the New York State Barge Canal and was equipped with five cargo tanks and one dry cargo hold.

The WILLIAM A. REISS, a.) JOHN A. TOPPING, was laid up for the last time on August 28, 1981, at Toledo, Ohio, and remained idle there until July 15, 1994, when she was towed to be scrapped.

On August 28, 1870, CHASKA (wooden scow-schooner, 72 foot, 50 tons, built in 1869, at Duluth, Minnesota originally as a scow-brig) was wrecked in a northwesterly storm near Duluth. Reportedly she's the first vessel built at Duluth.

On August 28, 1763, BEAVER, an armed wooden British sloop built the previous year, was carrying provisions to Detroit to relieve the fort there which was under siege by the Indians led by Pontiac, however the vessel foundered in a storm at Cat Fish Creek, 14 miles from the site of Buffalo. 185 barrels of her cargo were salvaged and went on to Detroit on the schooner GLADWIN.

2002: FRASER, the former SELKIRK SETTLER, went aground in fog at Duluth-Superior and was released without damage with the aid of four tugs. The ship now sails as SPRUCEGLEN of Canada Steamship Lines.

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/29 - Cleveland, Ohio – Coast Guard crews recovered 11 buoys and 13 sinkers with mooring chain ending a 5-day salvage operation Friday in Lake Michigan.

Members of Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay, a Coast Guard dive team and crew from Station and Aids-to-Navigation Team Two Rivers, Mich., searched for the sunken aids in both Green Bay and Lake Michigan.

The sunken buoys, chain and sinkers retrieved during this operation will be sent to a commercial repair facility for refurbishing if possible and put back into inventory for future use in the Great Lakes maritime transportation system providing a cost savings in new buoy construction and by removing potential hazards in the waterways.

Planning for this salvage operation began during spring aids-to-navigation patrols when Mobile Bay's crew visually located several of the sunken buoys on the bottom.

The six-person Coast Guard dive team assigned to this mission are permanently attached to Dive Locker East in Portsmouth, Va.

"The coordinated effort of the dive team, cutter personnel and ANT Two Rivers has been a tremendous opportunity to use many of the search and salvage techniques that we train with," said Chief Petty Officer Loren Powers, dive team leader. "Getting a chance to train two of our newest dive school graduates in aids-to-navigation diving, salvage and searching methods with a real impact from each dive has been a rewarding opportunity for all involved. We look forward to future Great Lakes operations."

Over the last five to seven years, 22 of the winter ice hulls and associated mooring chain and sinkers have gone missing. These "winter mark" buoys are streamlined to minimize ice catching any protruding structure on the buoy allowing it to ride under moving ice without dragging the sinker off position or damaging the hull and then resurface when the ice gives way.

Two Rivers joined the effort by providing a boat crew and their aids-to-navigation boat as a suitable working platform for the dive team and their gear.

Cutter Mobile Bay, homeported in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., is responsible for all Green Bay aids-to-navigation and those off the west coast of Lake Michigan down to Sheboygan, 113 buoys in all.

USCG


8/29 - Port McNicoll, Ont. – A historic steamship docked in West Michigan as a 45-year floating museum is getting closer to her third life as a fully restored residential and resort development tourist attraction in Canada.

The Canadian government allocated $480,000 toward the $1.1 million restoration of the S.S. Keewatin, an Edwardian-era steamship that left her berth in Douglas in 2012 to return to home port of Port McNicoll, Ont.

Skyline International Development bought the 108-year-old freight and passenger liner in 2011 and towed it from its 45-year dockside home on Kalamazoo Lake along the Blue Star Highway in Douglas, where it was a museum.

R.J. and Diane Peterson saved the ship, often referred to as being similar in purpose to the Titanic or other luxury liners, from being scrapped in 1967. Built in Scotland and launched on July 6, 1907, the 350-foot vessel came to Canada in 1912 and today is considered the last Edwardian-era steamship left in the world.

The "Kee," as Canadians call her, was one of the luxury ships of the Canadian Pacific Railways that plied the Upper Great Lakes during the first half of the 20th century.

The ship left Douglas on June 5, 2012 to a sad farewell. Its 18-day voyage through two Great Lakes was met with a huge flotilla and celebration on June 23 in Georgian Bay.

The Canada 150 fund money will fund dock dredging and pier improvements in Port McNicoll. Canada will celebrate the 150-year anniversary of Confederation in 2017.

Skyline Development owns 12,000 acres in Port McNicoll along a deep-water port built by the Canadian Pacific Railway as a land and lake terminal for cargo and passenger service. Skyline, a developer of destination resorts, plans to a $1 billion resort city at the site with hotels, waterfront homes, downtown condominiums and shopping.

The Friends of the Keewatin group "want to do some more advanced renovations to help attract more visitors, but before they can do anything else, they've got to repair the pier, the dock area, that's next to the Keewatin," said Bruce Stanton, a Canadian Parliament member representing Ontario's Simcoe North district.

That work is expected to begin this fall.

M Live

On this day in 1964, the retired Bradley Transportation steamer CALCITE was awarded the National Safety Council Award of Merit. The CALCITE accumulated a total of 1,394,613 man-hours of continuous operation over 17 years without a disabling, lost-time injury. The CALCITE was the first Great Lakes vessel to ever receive this honor.

On 30 August 1893, CENTURION (steel propeller freighter, 350 foot, 3,401 gross tons) was launched by F. W. Wheeler (Hull#100) at W. Bay City, Michigan. The name was a pun to celebrate the ship as Frank Wheeler's 100th hull.

The CHARLES E. WILSON was christened August 30, 1973, at Bay Shipbuilding Co., for the American Steamship Co., and completed her sea trials on September 6th. She was renamed b.) JOHN J. BOLAND in 2000.

On August 30, 1942, the A. H. FERBERT ran aground in the St. Marys River, just a day old. The vessel returned to the builder's yard in River Rouge, Michigan for repairs.

On August 30, 1988, the WILLOWGLEN, a.) MESABI, made its first visit to Duluth-Superior under that name. She loaded grain at Harvest States in Superior, Wisconsin, arriving early in the morning and departing in the early evening the same day. Her last visit to Duluth before this was in 1981 under the name c.) JOSEPH X. ROBERT.

The H G DALTON entered service on August 30, 1903, for Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Transportation Co. Later b.) COURSEULLES in 1916, c.) GLENDOCHART in 1922, d.) CHATSWORTH in 1927, e.) BAYLEAF in 1942 and f.) MANCOX in 1951.

On August 30, 1985, the tug CAPTAIN IOANNIS S departed Quebec City with MENIHEK LAKE and LEON FALK, JR. in tow, bound for Spain to be scrapped.

On 30 August 1873, CAMBRIDGE (3-mast, wooden schooner, 162 foot, 445 tons, built in 1868, at Detroit, Michigan) was bound from Marquette, Michigan for Cleveland, Ohio with a load of iron ore. In rough seas, she was thrown onto the rocky shore near Marquette where she broke up. No lives were lost.

On 30 August 1900, thousands of people gathered at the Jenks Shipbuilding Company near the Grand Trunk Bridge on the Black River in Port Huron, Michigan to watch the launching of the large steel steamer CAPTAIN THOMAS WILSON. Superintendent Andrews gave the word and the blows were struck simultaneously at the bow and stern. Slowly the vessel started quivering slightly from deck to keel and then with a mighty rush, slid sideways into the river. Her stern stuck in the mud. Mrs. Thomas Wilson christened the ship.

1892: The two-year-old steel bulk carrier WESTERN RESERVE foundered about 60 miles above Whitefish Point with the loss of 26 lives. There was only one survivor.

1903: PITTSBURGH burned at the dock in Sandwich, Ontario. The oak-hulled passenger and freight paddle-wheeler had been built in 1871 as MANITOBA. The hull was towed to Port Dalhousie for scrapping later in 1904.

1942: NEEBING (i), a former bulk canaller that dated from 1903, left the lakes for war service about 1915. It survived the initial conflict and continued in saltwater service into the Second World War. The ship was torpedoed and sunk as c) JAN TOMP in the eastern Black Sea enroute from Poti, Georgia, to Novorossiysk, Russia.

1952: The iron-hulled paddle-wheeler HAMILTONIAN burned at Hamilton. The cause was believed to have been a carelessly discarded cigarette butt in the women’s washroom. The remains were scrapped at Hamilton in 1953.

1975: B.A. CANADA came to the Great Lakes beginning in 1966 after early work for British-American tankers between Venezuela and North America. The ship was sold and returned inland under Liberian registry as b) DIMITRIOS D.M. in 1969 and ran aground in the Panama Canal on this date in 1975. The damaged hull was laid up at Jacksonville, FL and arrived at Panama City, FL. for scrapping on March 10, 1976.

2001: MARLY, a Seaway caller in 1981, began flooding in #2 hold as d) BISMIHITA'LA and developed a severe list. The crew abandoned ship and 25 sailors were picked up by the MURIEL YORK. Three were lost when their lifeboat drifted into the propeller. The ship was 500 miles off Capetown, South Africa. It was taken in tow by the tug SUHAILI but the 25-year old freighter had to be scuttled at sea on September 17, 2001.


8/30 - Port Colborne, Ont. – On a sunny August afternoon, the mouth of the Welland Canal in Port Colborne at the shore of Lake Erie offers a picturesque lesson into the marine history of Ontario.

In the waters where shipping traffic once travelled non-stop every day, the impressive bulk and height of one of the canal’s few remaining lift bridges overlooks the fading footprint of the three earlier canals that flowed here and the stone abutments of retired bridges and locks.

And from there, on the promenade overlook, a familiar sight becomes visible across the water: a red star on a white field, above the stylized serif letters “John’s Seafo.” Looking closer, there’s a familiar blue plank surrounded by light bulbs, with inoperable neon tubing spelling out “SEAFOOD.”

It’s the old ship, all right, what’s left of it, the MS Jadran, which was anchored in the Toronto harbor at the foot of Yonge Street for 40 years, serving as Captain John’s restaurant. Before that it had spent two decades as a passenger ship in the Adriatic. Now it sits in pieces here, the recognizable upper half in pieces emerging from the earth and bush along the canal.

For a visitor from Toronto, it is a startling sight, like the sudden appearance of the beached tip of Statue of Liberty at the end of Planet of the Apes — the ruin of a familiar landmark in an unfamiliar place. What was for a couple generations an iconic fixture of Toronto’s waterfront has become, for the summer, a part of the view for Port Colborne’s residents and visitors.

“I was familiar with Captain John’s restaurant when it was moored in Toronto harbour,” says Port Colborne mayor John Maloney. “Certainly when it came down here, it gathered a lot of interest. Not just from local people, but also people were coming from quite a distance to see it,” he says, saying it served as “almost a tourist attraction” throughout the summer, and a conversation piece among local residents.

Maloney himself has visited the canal each day, watching the Jadran’s progress anchored to another, larger vessel at the edge of Marine Recycling Corporation’s marine salvage yard. “It’s being demolished rather quickly,” he says, disassembled in parts by a crew of a few dozen local laborers. What remains of the hull is still in the water, while the wheelhouse, cabin, and passenger compartments are disassembled onshore. “It’s actually sad to see these vessels that had an interesting history . . . it’s sad to see them demolished and disposed of.”

It’s not a novelty in Port Colborne, though. For more than 30 years, Marine Recycling has been operating as a recycler on the canal, a major — and growing — employer. Where once ships from all over the Great Lakes and from down the St. Lawrence moved through Port Colborne carrying freight, now they come here to die. Or to be reborn, their pieces sold off to be remade into other things.

Jordan Elliott of the Marine Recycling Corporation says he expects the Jadran to disappear entirely — for the recycling project to be complete — before the fall. At which point, it will be replaced on the canal by another ship destined for destruction and dismantling.

“When one is gone, there’s another one shortly after, it’s an ongoing operation 12 months a year,” Mayor Maloney says. “We’re sorry to see it happen, but the scrap is recycled, new boats come out, and they serve the country.” An old industrial shipping channel becomes the site of a new recycling facility, old materials become new products, old landmarks disappear, to be replaced by others. And the whole cycle is visible from the promenade in Port Colborne, where a piece of Toronto’s own marine history slips slowly, piece by piece, into memory.

The Star


August 31, 1852 - The U. S. Congress passed an act requiring the president to appoint three officers from the Navy, three engineers from the Army and two civilian scientists to constitute the new Lighthouse Board. The Bureau of Lighthouses succeeded the Lighthouse Board in 1910.

On August 31, 1977, the BELLE RIVER entered service, departing Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, for Superior, Wisconsin. Renamed b.) WALTER J. McCARTHY, JR in 1990.

In mid-August 1987, a peregrine falcon that had disappeared from Regina, Saskatchewan, two weeks earlier landed on the deck of a lake freighter on Lake Huron. The bird was captured and taken to a bird sanctuary in Vineland, Ontario. The vessel name is unknown.

In mid-August 1985, the Belgium salty FEDERAL THAMES loaded 25,400 tons of low-concentrate chrome ore at Duluth's Hallett Dock and was bound for Sweden. This ore dates back to World War II when it was mined in Montana. Other shipments were to have been made later as well.

On 31 August 1906, CAVALIER (3-mast wooden schooner, 134 foot 268 gross tons, built in 1867, at Quebec City as a bark) was carrying cedar lumber when she struck a reef off Chantry Island in Lake Huron and sank. Her crew was rescued by the Chantry Island lightkeeper. She was bound from Tobermory for Sarnia, Ontario.

On 31 August 1869, the schooner W. G. KEITH was launched at the Muir & Stewart yard in Port Huron, Michigan. She was named after her skipper/owner. Her dimensions were 126 foot X 26 foot X 8 foot 6 inches. She was built for the Lake Michigan lumber trade.

On 31 August 1900, efforts to free the newly-launched steel steamer CAPTAIN THOMAS WILSON from the mud in the Black River at Port Huron, Michigan continued throughout the day. The launch had been watched by thousands the previous day and the vessel's stern stuck in the mud. On this date, the tugs BOYNTON and HAYNES tried to pull her free but were unable to do so. Finally 14 hydraulic jacks were used to lift the vessel and at 6 p.m. she was ready to be pulled by tugs. After a 15-inch hawser was broken in the first attempt, the tug PROTECTOR finally pulled the vessel free.

In 1982, the sandsucker NIAGARA made its last trip through the I-75 Bridge with a cargo of sand for the Chevrolet Saginaw Metal Castings plant.

In 1975, ALGOCEN stranded on South McNair Shoal in the St. Lawrence off Ogdensburg, N.Y. The ship was released and, after unloading at Port Cartier, sailed to Port Weller Dry Dock to spend from September 14 to October 10 on the shelf while a 600-foot section of the bottom of the hull was repaired.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Dock collapse closes Rouge River

9/1 - Detroit, Mich. - Early last week, after a cargo of stone was unloaded on it, the Carmuese Lime Dock (formerly Marblehead Lime) next the Jefferson Avenue Bridge on the Rouge River, collapsed. As is typical with a dock collapse, the pile of stone went straight down into the ground and the softer soil underneath broke through the riverbank and pushed out into the river.

It was apparent that something was amiss when the Algomarine, stern first with two harbor tugs, came to a gentle halt as they were about to enter the Jefferson Avenue Bridge span. After being surveyed it was determined that the water depth in the river in that area was reduced to 20 feet.

The Coast Guard has closed the river to navigation above the “forks” and dredging has commenced. The river is expected to be closed for approximately 30 days total.

Raw material deliveries have been halted to AK Steel at the end of the navigable stretch of the river in Dearborn, Mich. The Peter R. Cresswell was loaded with cement for St. Marys and could not reach the dock. Instead of a few hours unload, they are spending days unloading cement into an old shed on the Nicholson Dock where it is then trucked to St Mary's.





Massive cleanup plan emerging for U.S. Steel site in Duluth

9/1 - Duluth, Minn. – After years of neglect, the site of the long-closed U.S. Steel Duluth Works may be on the verge of revitalization.

Following decades of steel and cement production, the industrial property along the St. Louis River in western Duluth has the unfortunate distinction of being the most widely contaminated site to be identified in all the Great Lakes Rust Belt, according to Erin Endsley of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Endsley has been tapped to serve as project leader of a federal Superfund cleanup of the industrial wasteland which is estimated to harbor more than 1.65 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment, both on solid ground and submerged throughout an adjacent estuary. That’s enough material to fill 103,125 four-axle dump trucks. If parked bumper to bumper, that number of trucks would form a line that stretches from Duluth past Chicago.

There’s no plan to haul all the contaminated sediment away. Much of it will be left in place or impounded in cells on site, which will be capped and monitored to detect any unwanted spread.

A noxious laundry list of contaminants can be found on the property, including heavy metals, petroleum products and a host of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — mostly leftovers from the incomplete combustion of fuels, including the petroleum coke that fed U.S. Steel’s blast furnaces from 1916 until steelmaking stopped in the 1970s, although other parts of the Duluth Works continued to operate until 1981.

John Peterson, a spokesman for the federal Environmental Protection Agency, said the contaminants “present both human health and ecological risks at the site.”

“The EPA is working with U.S. Steel, under the authority of the Great Lakes Legacy Act to delineate the extent of contamination in St. Louis River sediments adjacent to the former U.S. Steel Duluth Works site, and to select and design a remedy for remediating these sediments,” he said.

Most of the site still is owned by U.S. Steel. The Duluth Seaway Port Authority has acquired a small portion away from the river — the former Atlas Cement property — where it has been working to establish an industrial park. And the city owns a railroad corridor along the river.

Discussions about the scope of the remediation work and the future use of the property are likely to inspire lively debate as more details emerge about the cleanup, which Endsley aims to commence next year.

Duluth News Tribune



September 1, 1880, the Cleveland Vessel Owners Association, later Lake Carriers’ Association, was created, with Alva Bradley as its first president.

September 1, 1892, the upbound WESTERN RESERVE, flagship of the Kinsman fleet, sank approximately 60 miles above Whitefish Point. There were 31 casualties among the crew and passengers. The lone survivor was Wheelsman Harry W. Stewart.

On 01 September 1891, EDWARD H. JENKS (wooden propeller freighter, 119 foot over all, 180 gross tons, built in 1882, at Port Dover, Ontario as the passenger/package freight steamer E.M. FOSTER) was carrying limestone up the Detroit River during a foggy night when she collided with GEORGE W. MORLEY (wooden propeller freighter, 193 foot, 1,045 gross tons, built in 1888, at W. Bay City, Michigan) in a misunderstanding of passing signals. Three were killed in the collision and the JENKS quickly sank at Ballard's Reef on the Detroit River. Her cargo kept her in place until she was recovered the following month and rebuilt.

Tragedy struck four days after the launch of the AGAWA CANYON, September 1, 1970, when the ship was rocked by an engine room explosion, killing one of the crew and injuring seven more. The AGAWA CANYON entered service in November, 1970, equipped with four 10 cylinder, two stroke cycle, single acting opposed piston diesel engines, built in 1970, by Fairbanks, Morse (Canada), Kingston, Ontario. Total bhp 6,680. Rated service speed: 12 knots (13.8 mph).

The TEMPLE BAR (Hull#101G) was launched September 1, 1970, at Govan, Scotland by the Govan Division of Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Ltd. for Lambert Bros. (Shipping) Ltd., London, England. Renamed b.) LAKE NIPIGON in 1977, c.) LAKETON in 1984, d.) LAKE NIPIGON in 1986, and e.) ALGONORTH in 1987.

Upon her arrival at Quebec City on September 1, 1962, the LAKE WINNIPEG was the first vessel of the Nipigon Transport Ltd. (Carryore Ltd., mgr.) fleet.

The self-unloader B.H. TAYLOR (Hull#787) was launched September 1, 1923, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co., the third self-unloader built for the Bradley Transportation Co., Rogers City, Michigan. Renamed b.) ROGERS CITY in 1957. Scrapped at Recife, Brazil in 1988.

From September 1, 1947, to September 15, 1959, the U.S.C.G.C. MESQUITE was stationed at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

On 1 September 1854, ABIAH (2-mast wooden schooner or brig, 134 foot, 353 tons, built in 1848, at Irving, New York) was sailing light from Chicago, Illinois, to Oconto, Wisconsin, when she capsized and sank in a squall about 10 miles off Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The schooner L. LUDDINGTON rescued her crew and 2 passengers.

The 135-foot wooden schooner JOSEPH E. SPARROW was launched at Bangor, Michigan, on 1 September 1873.

On 1 September 1900, the Canadian steamer ADVANCE (wooden propeller package freighter, 168 foot, 1,178 gross tons, built in 1884, at St. Catharines, Ontario) was placed in service. In August 1899, when she was named SIR S. L. TILLEY, she had caught fire off shore, about 7 miles from Fairport, Ohio, and was destroyed. However, the hull was later recovered and used as the basis of the steamer ADVANCE. She lasted in this role until 1903, when she burned again.

September 1, 1919 - A switchman was killed in the yard at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, while the ANN ARBOR No. 6 was being loaded. This caused a delay of four hours in her sailing time.

September 1, 1931 - W. L. Mercereau retired as superintendent of steamships, a position he had held since 1899.

1916 DRONNING MAUD, a Norwegian freighter visited the Great Lakes on charter to Keystone Transports beginning in 1909. It hit a mine in the North Sea on this date and sank off the east coast of England, between Southwall and Lowestoft.

1929 EDWARD BUCKLEY caught fire and was destroyed in the North Channel of Georgian Bay. The blaze broke out aft while enroute to Little Current to load pulpwood. The hull burned to the waterline and sank near Narrow Island Lighthouse. Local fishermen rescued the crew.

1936 The Canadian canaller BENMAPLE of the Port Colborne & St. Lawrence Navigation Company, sank in the St. Lawrence at about 0400 hours, near Father Point, after being hit in fog by the inbound liner LAFAYETTE. A wheelsman was killed but all others on board were rescued.

1983 INDIANA HARBOR sets a record loading 67,896 tons of iron ore at Escanaba

[yachtsmanwilly]

Built by BURGER YACHTS, Manitowoc, Wi. My next door neighbor did all the piping onboard...

9/2 - Cheboygan, Mich. – The United States Geological Survey Department celebrated its newest research vessel with a christening ceremony in Cheboygan. Acquiring the $5.6 million ship represents the final step by the USGS in modernizing and upgrading its Great Lakes Fleet.

Officials with the USGS believe that this new wave of modernization will allow their scientists to collect more data at a faster pace while maintaining a safer environment.

The christening of the new research vessel, the Arcticus, was a proud moment for all those invested in preserving the fishing industry of the Great Lakes as well as the economic health of the entire state.

"The economy of Michigan depends on our environment and we want to make sure it stays as good as possible," said Michigan Congressman Dan Benishek. "A new vessel like this, it's exactly what we need and I am happy to be supportive of these efforts."

There are five ships in the Great Lakes fleet. Each of the research vessels operates in different bodies of water. Arcticus will operate mainly in Lake Huron and will conduct lake wide fish surveys. It will also make reports on the health of Lake Huron's eco-system.

The USGS says that the information gathered by the Arcticus and the rest of the Great Lakes fleet will provide a better understanding of long-term fish population trends and how to protect them from threats such a invasive species.

The Arcticus has a cruising speed of 9.5 knots and can operate at sea for up to two weeks before having to return to port.


9/2 - Marine News, the monthly journal of the World Ship Society, reports the following ships with Great Lakes connections going for scrap in the September 2015 issue.

Forest Costa Rica was built in 1977 as the bulk carrier a) Ingrid Gorthon. The ship was constructed at Pusan, South Korea for Swedish flag service under the Gorthon Lines. It was rebuilt for the newsprint trade at Hamburg, Germany, in 1990-1991 and came through the Seaway for the first time on May 30, 2003, going to Cote Ste. Catherine with fiberglass fabric. The ship was sold in 2012 and renamed b) Forest Costa Rica and was operating under the flag of the Marshall Islands when sold to shipbreakers at Alang earlier this year. The vessel arrived on April 22, 2015, and was broken up by Bhikkamal Chhotelal beginning on May 6.

Ismael Mehieddine was built at Hiroshima, Japan, and launched on June 11, 1976. The 425 foot, 7 inch long bulk carrier entered service under Panamanian registry as a) Hand Fortune. It came to the Great Lakes for the first time in 1977. This ship was sold and registered in Greece as b) Kritonas in 1983 and was back through the Seaway again in 1987. The fifth and final name of Ismael Mehieddine was assigned in 2003 and that was the name carried to Gadani Beach when the 39-year -old freighter arrived for scrapping on April 27, 2015. Work on dismantling the hull began on May 1.

Jumbo Spirit was only a year old when it came through the Seaway for the first time on Oct. 27, 1996. The Dutch built heavy lift vessel was carrying machinery for Gary, Ind., and, on the way from the lakes, loaded at Toronto. In subsequent years, the 4,962 gross ton vessel returned inland from time to time. Following a sale to Turkish shipbreakers, Jumbo Spirit arrived at Aliaga on April 27, 2015, and was dismantled by Sok Gemi Sokum Ltd.

Great Lakes related:
CSL Pacific, while never a Great Lakes trader, was part of the international fleet of Canada Steamship Lines. The ship arrived at Xinhui, China, on April 8, 2015, for dismantling by Jiangmen Zhong Xin Shipbreaking. The 562 foot long vessel was built at Newcastle, Australia, and completed as a) Selwyn Range in 1977. It joined the Australia National Line and operated as a bulk carrier until being lengthened and rebuilt as a self-unloader at Nagasaki, Japan. This work was completed in July 1985. Now 594 feet, 10 inches long, the vessel returned to service as b) River Torrens. It became part of Auscan Self-Unloaders in 1999 for trading along the south and east coast of Australia. Following a refit at Shanghai, China in 2000, the ship resumed service as c) CSL Pacific. It had also worked in the sand trade to Japan before being sold for scrap.

Nelvana was too large for the locks of the Seaway but saw service along the St. Lawrence for both Upper Lakes Shipping and Algoma. It was sold to Leyal Gemi Sokum Ltd and arrived at Aliaga, Turkey on April 21, 2015. Scrapping got under way on April 28 and work on the dismantling of the hull is approaching completion.


On 02 September 1902, the White Star Line’s TASHMOO (steel side-wheel excursion steamer, 308 foot, 1,344 gross tons, built in 1900, at Wyandotte, Michigan) hosted President Theodore Roosevelt when he came to Detroit, Michigan, to speak to Spanish American War veterans. The vessel took the president and his party on a sightseeing tour up and down the river while flying the president's blue and gold flag from the main mast.

The BROOKNES (Hull #1177) was launched on September 2, 1970, at Glasgow, Scotland by Lithgows Ltd. for "Langra" Schiffahrsges G.m.b.H. & Co., Hamburg, Germany. Brought to the Lakes in 1976, converted to a self-unloader and renamed b.) ALGOSEA. She sailed most recently as c.) SAUNIERE.

ROBERT KOCH's first trip was on September 2, 1977, up the Welland Canal bound for Buffalo with cement.

The W. F. WHITE was one of the earliest ships built as a self-unloader on the Great Lakes. On her maiden voyage September 2, 1915, the WHITE loaded coal at Erie, Pennsylvania, and sailed for Menominee, Michigan. She was the largest self-unloading bulk carrier on the Lakes at that time with a cargo capacity of 10,500 tons.

The RALPH H. WATSON departed light September 2, 1938, from Detroit, Michigan, upbound to load iron ore at Duluth, Minnesota. She was built as part of a fleet modernization plan for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio, of four new "GOVERNOR MILLER' class bulk carriers, the other two were the JOHN HULST and the WILLIAM A. IRVIN. The WATSON was only the fourth steam turbine powered vessel on the Lakes

HUBERT GAUCHER ran aground in the lower St. Lawrence on September 2, 1988. It took three tugs to free her; repairs took place at Quebec City.

ZIEMIA TARNOWSKA lost her engine while docking at Pier 24, in Cleveland, ramming the dock and caused about $100,000 in damage on September 2, 1988. The Polish vessel had minimal damage to her bulbous bow.

On 2 September 1851, BUNKER HILL (wooden sidewheeler, 154 foot, 457 tons, built in 1835, at Black River, Ohio) burned to a total loss at Tonawanda, New York.

The COLONEL ELLSWORTH (wooden schooner, 138 foot, 319 gross tons, built in 1861, at Euclid, Ohio as a bark) was beached on Whitefish Point in Lake Superior the entire winter of 1895-96. She was repaired and put back into service late in the summer of 1896. Then, on 2 September 1896, the newly rebuilt vessel collided with the schooner EMILY B. MAXWELL about 6 miles from White Shoals on Lake Michigan and sank at about 4:00 a.m. Her crew escaped in the yawl and was picked up by the MAXWELL.

1905 The large wooden schooner PRETORIA, which cleared Superior with ore under tow of the VENEZUELA, hit a fierce storm and the steering gear failed. The vessel fell into the trough after the tow line snapped and the barge broke up off Outer Island. Five crew were rescued and another five were lost.

1905 IOSCO and the schooner OLIVE JEANETTE foundered off Huron Island, Lake Superior, with the loss of 19 lives on the former and another 7 on the latter. Both were downbound with iron ore and were last seen near Stannard Rock. Also, the SEVONA stranded on a reef in a Lake Superior storm and broke in two as a total loss. Seven drowned from the bow section when they tried to come ashore on hatch rafts. The wreck was dynamited in 1909 after the boilers had been salvaged.

1914 THOS. R. SCOTT became waterlogged and sank during a storm in the deepest part of Georgian Bay off the east coast of the Bruce Peninsula. The ship was swamped in a storm while carrying lumber from Cockburn Island to Owen Sound and all on board were saved. The hull was located using sidescan sonar in 1994.

1926 BURT BARNES, a wooden three-masted schooner, foundered in Lake Ontario while carrying 210 tons of coal from Sodus Point to Picton. The crew abandoned the ship in the yawl boat near Picton and were blown across the lake and came ashore safely 12 miles west of Rochester.

1972 The Cypriot freighter AEGIS WISDOM and the Italian vessel LIBRA collided in fog on the St. Lawrence near Les Escoumins. The former, which had been launched in March, was on her first trip outbound from the Seaway and was heavily damaged aft. The vessel was towed to Lauzon for repairs and survived until scrapping at Alang, India, as d) ANGELIKI II following arrival on January 14, 1997. LIBRA, dated from 1965 but did not come to the Great Lakes until 1975. It was scrapped in Mainland China as b) DEPY in 1986.

1975 CHICAGO TRIBUNE, enroute from Thunder Bay to Collingwood with grain, went aground in Georgian Bay and had to be lightered by the CHARLES W. JOHNSON, working with the tug ROD McLEAN. After being released and unloaded, the ship went to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Palmer-Johnson of Sturgeon Bay Wi. builders of specialized navy vessels, fishing tugs and a fore runner in steel and aluminum yacht construction for over 100 years, announced yesterday that they will close their doors permanently. The closing will affect over 100 world class craftsmen and take place in 60 days. The closure was cited due to no new orders and stiff offshore competition (read chinaman). Two giant vacant buildings are in sight for a world class mickey D playland (200,00 square feet) and a temporary detention center for the newer detainees in an un-precedented crime wave. Film at 11



Dennis Hale, sole survivor of Daniel J. Morrell wreck, dies

9/3 - Dennis Hale, the sole survivor of a Great Lakes shipwreck and well-known in ship, shipping and lighthouse circles, died Wednesday in Ashtabula, Ohio, after a battle with cancer. He was 75.

When Hale would travel the Great Lakes region telling his tale of survival after the sinking of the Daniel J. Morrell in 1966 on Lake Huron, he often would say this about his ordeal: “I think somehow I give people a little hope in life, that life is a struggle, but if you have faith and determination you can go through life and come out ahead.”

Hale wrote the book “Shipwrecked: Reflections of the Sole Survivor” in 2010 about his survival and rescue. It was his second volume on the subject. He often said talking about the tragedy helped him to recover. The family will have a private funeral, with a public memorial to be held at a future date.

Port Huron Times Herald





Crowd greets Columbia tow as it arrives in Buffalo

9/3 - Buffalo, N.Y. – The nation’s oldest remaining excursion steamboat pulled into Buffalo Harbor like a ghost ship on Wednesday afternoon, conjuring up memories of how Buffalo’s own proud vessel – the beloved SS Canadiana – once plowed these same waters.

People lined up along the waterfront – from Erie Basin Marina to Canalside to the Buffalo River – snapping photos of the SS Columbia as it was towed to Marina A at Silo City on Childs Street, ending a journey from Toledo.

The Columbia – designed by the same architect as the Canadiana and her sister ship, the SS Americana – will remain in Buffalo for a year or two before moving on to New York City, where preservationist hope to restore it to working condition.

“Look at the size of that thing,” said Matt Bartochowski, 67, of Cheektowaga, as he and his wife, Diana, watched the Columbia come into Buffalo. “It’s a shame we had to lose something like that.”

Preservationists, of course, had tried to save the Canadiana – which shuttled generations from Buffalo to Crystal Beach – before it was eventually scrapped at Port Colborne, Ont. in 2004. But for a few minutes on Wednesday, as the Columbia floated by, people relived those memories of Crystal Beach and the Canadiana.

“It looks identical,” said Sam Guadagna, 84, of Williamsville, as he stood at Canalside and watched the Columbia. “I wish I was on it.”

Guadagna – retired captain of the Edward M. Cotter, Buffalo’s historic fireboat – worked on the Canadiana as a teenager selling concessions to the passengers. He reminisced about the dances on board and the three-hour lake tours on Sundays.

“She used to come in on the other side, turn around right here and park where the Little Rock is,” said Guadagna, as he pointed out toward the water. “I can still see it.”

Similar to the Canadiana, the Columbia shuttled people between Detroit and a Canadian amusement park. It carried as many as 3,200 passengers on five decks and included such features as sweeping stairways and a ballroom.

“It’s like a grand lady that’s in serious need of a makeover,” said Ron Reinhardt of the Town of Tonawanda, as he watched the Columbia, “but it’s pretty impressive.”

Reinhardt’s family came to Buffalo the year before the Canadiana stopped operating, but they never had a chance to get on board. He and his father, Arnold, stopped by Canalside Wednesday to watch the Columbia come in and get a sense of what it might have been like on the Canadiana.

“All of our relatives always talked about it,” Reinhardt said. “They had all these great stories of going over to Crystal Beach. It was basically a party all the way there. There’s a huge audience of people in Western New York who still have all these memories.”

The tug Michigan was on the bow for Wednesday’s tow, with assistance from the tug Washington, both of the Great Lakes Towing Co.

The public will be able to tour the Columbia in the spring.

Buffalo News


Think Im shitting you??
Sturgeon Bay luxury yacht builder Palmer Johnson Yachts closing

9/3 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Luxury yacht builder Palmer Johnson Yachts in Sturgeon Bay informed its employees Wednesday that it will be closing. The closing was confirmed by the company, which says about 100 jobs will be affected.

Palmer Johnson Yachts says the company’s operations and employment have been diminishing along with its sales. Additional offshore competition also put pressure on the company. The company says these factors forced it to make the decision to close.

The company told its employees that it plans to close in 60 days. Bay Area Workforce is already working to help employees who will be losing their jobs to find new positions.

WBAY

Thunder Bay Port Authority says spill cleanup almost complete

9/3 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – Port officials in Thunder Bay are almost finished cleaning up nearly 200 litres of oil that spilled into the Great Lakes over the weekend.

The incident happened Sunday evening after the Michipicoten – a cargo ship – unintentionally released the fuel oil into Lake Superior. Tim Heney, the chief executive officer of the Thunder Bay Port Authority, told CBC News these spills are rare but must be dealt with in the proper manner.

"[Spills are] very uncommon, actually," Heney said. "But on the Great Lakes, no matter how small a spill is, it's reported. It's mandatory that the ship put into place a corrective plan. So that's what happened."

The Canadian Coast Guard said specialized floating barriers were effective in containing the wasted fuel. The process of cleaning up was also aided with the help of unique sponges that are able to absorb oil, but not water.

Provincial officials are tasked with disposing of the spilled oil.

CBC


9/3 - The Main-a-Dieu Community Development Association of Cape Breton is calling on all national political parties to provide policy responses addressing the case of the former laker Canadian Miner, a bulk carrier that wrecked on Scatarie Island in 2011.

In a news release, the association said it has two major concerns surrounding the government’s response to the wreck: a lack of a federal financial contribution to the salvage; and the lack of a plan to review federal regulations and avoid a repeat of the Miner experience elsewhere.

Although the vessel was wrecked while being towed under Transport Canada licensing, the federal government has repeatedly denied responsibility for cleaning up the wreck, and the Nova Scotia government was forced to embark on an emergency salvage effort. The Miner’s removal was slated to be completed by last November but was delayed when 26,000 litres of diesel fuel and 32 tonnes of asbestos were found in the wreckage. The vessel was finally salvaged this June at a cost of more than $12-million to the provincial government, and the cleanup is still underway.

Association president Amanda McDougall will send a letter to the leaders of all four political parties, as well as all federal candidates in the two Cape Breton ridings.

“Despite the undisputed fact that Transport Canada licensed the towing of the vessel, at the height of hurricane season, without securing adequate bond or insurance from the owners, the federal government has consistently refused to accept any responsibility for either the accident or its potentially devastating consequences on our fragile environment and fishing-dependent economy,” the letter reads.

It goes on to say on top of downplaying the potentially devastating consequences to Cape Breton’s environment and fishing-dependent economy, the government dramatically underestimated pollutants in the wreckage.

The letter then poses five questions: Would you support a comprehensive review of Transport Canada’s handling of the Miner? Would you support a review of existing federal licensing regulations surrounding the towing of disabled vessels in Canada? Do you agree that all licences should require insurance to cover remediation cost? Would you consider expanding the mandate of the federal Ship-Source Oil Pollution Fund to pay for similar projects? And do you believe the federal government should negotiate a cost-sharing arrangement for the remediation of the MV Miner?

The association is requesting responses by Sept. 20 — the fourth anniversary of the wreck.

“We don’t want any other coastal community to live under a similar cloud of stress and uncertainty. And there will surely be another MV Miner somewhere, someday, unless prudent and responsible action is taken,” McDougall said. “The federal election campaign, we believe, is the perfect time to raise these issues.”

Halifax Herald News



September 3, 1919, the WILLIAM A. McGONAGLE loaded a record 15,160 tons of soft coal at Toledo, Ohio for delivery to Gary, Indiana. The record lasted less than 24 hours as the D. G. KERR, Captain Harry Harbottle, loaded 15,532 tons of coal at the same Toledo dock for delivery to Gary.

September 3, 1942, the 250-foot STEEL VENDOR, Captain G. L. Kane, sank at 3:45 a.m. on Lake Superior with a cargo of 3,000 tons of iron ore. The lone casualty was Oiler John N. Sicken. Twenty-two survivors were rescued by the CHARLES M. SCHWAB, Captain Alfred Drouillard, and 2 survivors were rescued by the WILLIAM G. CLYDE, Captain David M. LeRoy. Other boats standing by were the B. F. AFFLECK, ELBERT H. GARY, JOLIET, and EUGENE P. THOMAS.

September 3, 1957, the HARRIS N. SNYDER of the Boland & Cornelius fleet, Captain Elmer Murray and Chief Engineer Frank Mc Cabe, rescued 2 from the waters of Lake Michigan. Not only did the crew rescue Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Colby, but the crew used the unloading boom to recover their sailboat and place it on the deck of the SNYDER. The entire maneuver only required 55 minutes.

On September 3, 1899, the Great Lakes Towing Company's RED CLOUD (wooden propeller tug, 62 foot, 40 gross tons, built in 1883, at Buffalo, New York) was sailing on Lake Erie for Lorain, Ohio, when a storm forced her to head for port at Cedar Point, Ohio. However she was thrown on a reef and broke in two - a total loss. The crew made it to Sandusky, Ohio.

On September 3, the BELLE RIVER (now WALTER J. McCARTHY, JR.) set a then Great Lakes record for coal when it loaded 62,802 tons of coal at Superior Midwest Energy Terminal on its maiden voyage. This record has since been surpassed many times.

At Lorain, Ohio keel-laying ceremonies for the 437-foot bow section of the ROGER BLOUGH (Hull#900) took place on September 3, 1968, and was float-launched December 21, 1968, less ballast tanks because the existing dry dock wasn't wide enough to accommodate her 105-foot width.

SOODOC (Hull#210) of 1976, on her maiden voyage from Collingwood, Ontario, loaded salt at Goderich, Ontario, on September 3, 1976. Renamed b.) AMELIA DESGAGNES in 1990.

U.S. Steel's SEWELL AVERY was laid up for the last time September 3, 1981, at Superior, Wisconsin. She was towed to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in 1987, where the superstructure was removed and the hull was sunk for use as a dock.

THOMAS W. LAMONT was laid up for the last time at Duluth’s Hallett dock #6A on September 3, 1981. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey, in 1987.

H. H. PORTER sailed on her maiden voyage for the Brier Hill Steamship Co. (Pickands Mather, mgr.) on September 3, 1920, light from Lorain, Ohio, to load iron ore at Two Harbors, Minnesota. Renamed b.) WALTER E. WATSON in 1957 and c.) NATIONAL TRADER in 1973. She was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario, in 1978.

On September 3, 1985, PHILIP R. CLARKE plowed into the Drawbridge Cove Marina in Lorain's Black River, damaging 5-10 small craft and sinking one at the steel dock. CLARKE managed to stop before hitting the Route 6 drawbridge.

On September 3,1887, BULGARIA (wooden propeller, 280 foot, 1,888 gross tons) was launched at West Bay City, Michigan, by J. Davidson, as their hull number 16.

September 3, 1910 - The MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO 2 (Hull#450) was launched in Cleveland, Ohio by the American Ship Building Co. for the Marquette & Bessemer Dock & Navigation Co. She was the replacement for MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO 2 of 1905, (Hull#428), which foundered on Lake Erie, December 7, 1909.

On September 3, 1869, the 167-foot wooden propeller BOSCOBEL burned about two miles below St. Clair, Michigan. Three lives were lost. The ship was only about two years old and was in service of the New York Central Railroad, though owned by the Peshtigo Lumbering Co. of Chicago. The burned hulk was raised in 1876 and rebuilt as a schooner-barge at Algonac, Michigan. She lasted until 1909, when she sank on Lake Huron.

1905: The GEORGE STEPHENSON was blown aground at Pointe Aux Pins, Lake Superior and struck by her consort barge JOHN A. ROEBLING. Both were released and returned to service.

1942: DONALD STEWART, a canal trader for Canada Steamship Lines, was torpedoed by U-517 and sunk while in a convoy on the Gulf of St. Lawrence while carrying barrels of aviation fuel and bulk cement for the air base at Goose Bay, Labrador. Three members of the engine room crew were lost.

1944: LIVINGSTON, a former Great Lakes canal ship, was torpedoed and sunk by U-541 in the Atlantic about 80 miles east of Cape Breton Island. Fourteen lives were lost but another 14 were spared and rescued.

1965: The tanker EASTERN SHELL sank the small wooden goelette MONT BLANC in a collision blamed on fog about 20 miles from Trois Rivieres. All crewmembers of the pulpwood carrier were rescued.

1970: KENNETH made a single trip to the Great Lakes in 1959. It caught fire in the engine room on this date off the coast of Israel while enroute from Alexandria, Egypt, to Tripoli, Libya, as h) CHRISTINA MARIA. The ship was abandoned by the crew, towed into Haifa, Israel, September 6 and sold to Israeli shipbreakers later in the year.

1998: ORKANGER, a chemical tanker that first came through the Seaway in 1977, began leaking while inbound at Rio Grande, Brazil, as e) BAHAMAS with 12,000 tons of sulphuric acid and sank in the harbor. The hull was eventually refloated but never repaired although it had subsequent renames and was reported as broken up in 2003 as h) ORIENT FLOWER.

[yachtsmanwilly]

USCG helicopter crew hoists man from tug as storm system passes

9/4 - Cleveland, Ohio – A helicopter crew from Air Station Traverse City, Michigan, hoisted a man experiencing chest pains from tug Joyce L. VanEnkevort Thursday morning. A Coast Guard flight surgeon said the symptoms appeared to be that of a heart attack and recommended the man be taken to a hospital as soon as possible.

The tug altered course to facilitate the evacuation due to heavy storms in the area and rendezvoused with the Coast Guard helicopter crew once conditions allowed. The helicopter crew hoisted the man from the tug and departed for Sturgeon Bay Airport.

Weather conditions diverted the helicopter crew from its original destination but the crew safely arrived at Ephraim-Fish Creek Airport in Ephraim, Wis., where emergency medical crews were waiting. The Coast Guard was notified via VHF-FM marine radio. The man’s condition is unknown.

USCG





Lake Superior level still above average

9/4 - Duluth, Minn. – Lake Superior remained at about the same level in August, a month the lake usually rises about one-half inch, according to the International Lake Superior Board of Control.

The lake now sits 6 inches above average but less than a half-inch above the Sept. 1, 2014 level. Water supplies to the big lake were higher than normal in August. The lake's August average level was the highest since 1997.

Lakes Huron and Michigan declined an inch in August, less than the usual 2-inch decline the lakes see for the month. As of Sept. 1, they sat 7 inches above their long-term average and 8 inches above the 2014 level at this time.

The upper lakes will begin their usual seasonal decline from September through about March.

Duluth News Tribune





Cruise ship docks in Port of Muskegon after problems with Holland

9/4 - Muskegon, Mich. – A cruise ship moored at the Mart Dock in the Port of Muskegon Wednesday morning after reportedly having problems making a stop in Holland. The 100-stateroom Pearl Mist is believed to be the first cruise ship to stop in the Port of Muskegon since cruise ships started running the Great Lakes in the late 1990s.

"It's kind of a nice way to show off Muskegon," said Muskegon County Board of Commissioners President Terry Sabo. "I am really excited." The ship was set to stay until mid-afternoon after fueling up and a day trip by passengers.

Most of the passengers who came ashore in Muskegon boarded charter buses – complete with Dutch-costumed tour guides – for the 50-minute drive into Holland. Several people got onto trolleys prepared by the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce, or walked the three or four blocks into downtown Muskegon.

Gene and Dianna Howe of Arkansas walked out onto the balcony of their stateroom to see their surroundings. The couple said they planned to walk around downtown Muskegon later.

"At least here, you can walk into town," he said. "The other one, you had to get on the charter bus and take the tour."

Pearl Seas Cruises Vice President Judy Roman said the ship was diverted to Muskegon from Holland. "The city of Muskegon responded very quickly and they were very gracious," she said. "We really appreciate that, and all of the passengers were happy as well."

Port City Marine Services Capt. Edward Hogan helped handle logistics of the ship arriving in Muskegon. He said a berth at a dock in Holland had been taken by a freighter and a backup docking location in that city didn't work out.

"We were pretty excited" that the boat was headed to Muskegon, he said. "To get it here, we had to get coast guard authorization." Hogan said the U.S. Coast Guard verbally gave authorization Tuesday night for the passenger ship stop at Muskegon's Mart Dock.

Meanwhile, the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce hurried to get a welcoming crew ready. "Very quickly, the Chamber of Commerce was able to get some things set up," Hogan said.

MLive





Global Report: Waning demand for commodities sends cargo ships to scrapyard

9/4 - As China’s slump deepens, it’s off to the scrapyard for a growing number of global cargo ships.

A drop in shipping rates amid the collapse in demand for coal, ore and other commodities has sparked a sharp rise in the number of ships yanked from the service and sold for scrap. Almost 6 per cent of the world’s fleet of ships that carry bulk commodities will be beached and sliced up for scrap metal this year, up from 2 per cent last year and topping the recent high of 2012’s 4.3 per cent, according to Clarksons PLC, a London-based ship broker.

“Business is good,” said Yogesh Rehani, director of operations at Global Marketing Systems Inc. (GMS), a buyer and recycler of ships. “The bulkers are a constant supply.” A closely watched measure of bulk shipping rates, the Baltic Dry Index, has fallen 21 per cent in the past 12 months, but is above a 30-year low touched in February. Prices for iron ore and Chinese imported coking coal have fallen 19 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively, in the past 12 months as factories in the world’s second-biggest economy slow down amid falling demand.

Demand for iron ore and coal is not expected to recover until 2017, London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd. says. “The depressed state of the dry bulk sector has led to doubts about the future of many ship owners and their ability to withstand prevailing market conditions,” Drewry said in a report on Wednesday.

“In dry bulk [commodities], the market is absolutely terrible,” said Erik Nikolai Stavseth, an analyst with Norway’s Arctic Securities AS.

Shipping companies that are taking deliveries of new vessels purchased many months ago in expectations that Chinese demand for raw materials would remain strong are now getting rid of their older freighters and downsizing their fleets. Scrapping ships gives companies cash, cuts expenses and helps support shipping rates by reducing the available global fleet.

“All the older vessels are not going out so because the rates are so poor it doesn’t make sense to run them,” Mr. Stavseth said in an interview from Oslo.

The net fleet size of dry bulk carriers is expected to grow by 2.5 per cent this year, compared with 2.2 per cent in 2014 and 3.3 per cent in 2013.

GMS’s Mr. Rehani would not say how many ships the company has bought and sold for scrap this year, but said the company has never been busier. Industry figures show about 100 of the largest bulk carriers, known as Capesize, are expected to be scrapped in 2015, the highest since 2012’s record.

GMS sends ships for recycling at breaking yards in five countries, including Pakistan, China and Bangladesh.

A bulk carrier, which can weigh 35,000 tonnes empty and stretch longer than four hockey rinks, has scrap value of as much as $12-million (U.S.), based on recycled steel prices of $310 to $330 a tonne. GMS takes 3 per cent of that sale, a margin Mr. Rehani said has been falling in recent years amid stiff competition.

“It’s a very high-risk and low-return business,” Mr. Rehani said. “Most of the time the ships are operating and they are run up to the beach. If they are dead ships, then they are towed and pushed up on to the beach.”

Once beached, the vessel is set upon by workers armed with torches and cranes.

Much of steel is sold locally and turned into reinforcement bars used in construction, while the power generators are sold to hotels or companies in remote areas for back-up electricity, said Mr. Rehani, a former freighter captain. It can take as long as four months to cut up a ship. “All of the stuff, the wood, the machinery, the ceramics, is put back into service.”

The type of ship GMS sells for scrap is a handy barometer of the state of the global economy. In 2013, the company saw a flood of container ships as Chinese consumer demand faltered. This year, Mr. Rehani said the company has also seen a lot of petroleum tankers, after crude prices plunged by 50 per cent a year ago.

The Globe and Mail



On September 4,1889, the new steamer CHEROKEE (wooden propeller freighter, 209 foot, 1,002 gross tons) arrived in Port Huron, Michigan, from M. P. Lester's yard in Marine City, Michigan, for the Phoenix Iron Works in Port Huron to installed the engine and boiler. Her outfitting was completed by Carleton and Cole of Port Huron.

On September 4, 1876, CITY OF PORT HURON, a wooden steam barge, sank a few miles off shore near Lexington, Michigan, at about noon. She was heavily loaded with iron ore and sprang a leak at about 11 o'clock. Most of the crew managed to get on top of the cabin while two were in the forward rigging as she went down in 6 fathoms of water. The heavy seas washed over those on the cabin. Captain George Davis and two others floated ashore on wreckage while a fish boat picked up the five others. No lives were lost.

1921: The former laker RANDOLPH S. WARNER was cut in two to leave the Great Lakes during World War One. It was rebuilt with the pilothouse amidships and sank on this date about 40 miles off the Bosporus after reportedly striking an unrecovered mine.

1926: HARSEN, loaded with a cargo of sand, capsized and sank in a storm 3 miles northeast of the Pelee Passage Light in Lake Erie. The wooden-hulled vessel was a total loss.

1961: IMPERIAL HAMILTON caught fire while loading ethyl gasoline at Sarnia and sustained considerable damage. Six on board were injured.

1963: The Egyptian freighter SALAH ELDIN, a former Victory ship, caught fire in the crew quarters in Hamilton but the blaze was extinguished before it reached the cargo hold. The vessel almost capsized due to the weight of water but it remained upright. Two crew were injured and the Chief Steward died. The ship was towed out by GRAEME STEWART and JAMES BATTLE on November 22, 1963, for Quebec City and sold as is, where it became d) MERCANTILE VICTORY after a refit at Houston, Texas. Another fire on April 23, 1964, this time in the engine room on the Red Sea shortly after re-entering service in March 1964, led to an eventual resale to Spanish shipbreakers. The vessel arrived at Castellon for dismantling on May 10, 1965.

1967: The tugs MICHAEL McALLISTER and AMERICA towed the retired passenger ship NORTH AMERICAN through the Welland Canal enroute to a new career as a training ship for the S.I.U. at Piney Point, MD.

1972: NORSE CORAL was new when it entered the Seaway in 1962 and returned as b) TOTEM STAR in 1963. The ship opened the Seaway season on April 8, 1964, and returned to our shores as c) SILVERBEACH in 1965. It sustained heavy damage off Victoria, BC while inbound from Hong Kong to Vancouver on this date due to a collision with the C.E. DANT. The two ships were locked together. They were towed to Victoria the next day and then separated September 6. The damage was repaired and the former lakes trader survived until scrapping at Xingang, China, in 1986.