Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

St. Clair and Detroit Rivers - Chris Sutton
The CWB Marquis entered the Belle Isle Anchorage Thursday afternoon to wait out low water levels in Western Lake Erie. South westerly gales had caused the water level to drop over 50 inches through out the day Thursday. Also anchored off the Rouge River was the Algoma Equinox.

The anchorage above Port Huron was full Thursday night as vessel waited out the high winds and low water conditions. At anchor were the Joyce L. VanEnkevort, John B. Aird, Iryda, Solman Hermes, Algoma Enterprise, Great Republic, Frontenac, Barnacle and Algomarine.

Buffalo, N.Y. – Brian W.
The Karen Andrie was still at the Marathon Dock Thursday evening while the big storm blew through. The water was way up in Buffalo Harbor with waves crashing over Route 5 and flooding reported in the Erie Basin due to a seiche.


In 1952, the 626-foot SPARROWS POINT successfully completed her sea trials and departed Chicago on her maiden trip. The new Bethlehem boat, the largest boat to enter the lakes via the Mississippi River Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, was under the command of Captain Wilfred Couture and Chief Engineer James Meinke. She was lengthened to 682 feet in 1958, converted to a self-unloader in 1980, renamed b.) BUCKEYE in 1991, converted to a barge in 2006, renamed c.) LEWIS J. KUBER.

ARAB (2-mast wooden schooner, 100 foot, 158 tons, built in 1854, at Buffalo, New York) beached on 01 November 1883, near St. Joseph, Michigan, during a storm, but quick work by salvagers got her free. However on 13 November 1883, while being towed to Racine, Wisconsin, she capsized and sank well off of Arcadia, Michigan. One man lost his life, an engineer who was desperately trying to start her pumps when she rolled.

On November 13, 1976, the TEMPLE BAR (later LAKE WABUSH and ALGONORTH) arrived at Singapore, where she was lengthened 202 feet.

CONDARRELL was laid up for the last time on November 13, 1981. Built in 1953 as a.) D. C. EVEREST, she was renamed b.) CONDARRELL in 1982.

GEORGE HINDMAN was in collision with the British salty MANCHESTER EXPLORER on Lake St. Louis, above the Lachine Lock in 1956. Built in 1921, as a.) GLENCLOVA, renamed b.) ANTICOSTI in 1927, c.) RISACUA in 1946, d.) GEORGE HINDMAN in 1955, and e.) ELIZABETH HINDMAN in 1962. Scrapped at Duluth, Minnesota, in 1971.

J. P. MORGAN JR (Hull#373) was launched November 13, 1909, at Lorain, Ohio, for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

HOMER D. WILLIAMS was involved in a collision with the steamer OTTO M. REISS at Duluth November 13, 1917.

In 1984, HOMER D. WILLIAMS was towed to Thunder Bay, Ontario, by the tug MALCOLM for dismantling.

On 13 November 1870, the schooner E. FITZGERALD left Port Huron on her maiden voyage to load lumber at Au Sable, Michigan, for Chicago. She was commanded by Capt. A. McTavish.

On 13 November 1883, H. C. AKELEY (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 240 foot, 1,187 tons, built in 1881, at Grand Haven, Michigan) was carrying corn from Chicago to Buffalo when she encountered a heavy storm off Holland, Michigan. She took the disabled tug PROTECTOR in tow but let her go when her own rudder broke off. AKELEY anchored but started to sink when she fell into the troughs of the waves. The disabled schooner DRIVER managed to save 12 of the crew who had taken to AKELEY's yawl before she went down. 6 lives were lost.

Captain W. H. Van Dyke was born at Escanaba, Michigan, on November 13, 1871, and spent most of his life on the Great Lakes (he joined the crew of a schooner at the age of 15). He first captained the Pere Marquette Line Steamer PERE MARQUETTE 8 then, in 1916, he joined the Pere Marquette carferry fleet. His first command was the str. PERE MARQUETTE 15. Then for 10 years he served as master of the PERE MARQUETTE 17, and after the launch of the CITY OF FLINT 32 in 1929, he served as master of the PERE MARQUETTE 22.

On 13 November 1865, CLARA PARKER (3-mast wooden schooner, 175 foot, 425 gross tons, built in 1865, at Detroit, Michigan) was fighting a losing battle with storm induced leaks, so she was beached 400 yards off shore near the mouth of the Pigeon River, south of Grand Haven, Michigan. The local Lifesaving Service plucked all 9 of the crew from the rigging by breeches buoy after the vessel had gone down to her decks and was breaking up.

On 13 November 1888, LELAND (wooden steam barge, 148 foot, 366 gross tons, built in 1873, at New Jerusalem, Ohio) burned at Huron, Ohio. She was valued at $20,000 and insured for $15,000. She was rebuilt and lasted until 1910.

JAMES DAVIDSON (steel propeller bulk freighter, 587 foot, 8,349 gross tons, built at Wyandotte, Michigan, in 1920) entered service on 13 Nov 1920, for the Globe Steamship Co. (G. A. Tomlinson, mgr.) when she loaded 439,000 bushels of wheat at Duluth, Minnesota, for delivery to Buffalo, New York. She was the last ship built at Wyandotte, Michigan.

An unnamed salty (formerly RANGUINI) arrived at Milwaukee's heavy lift dock on Saturday night, 13 Nov 1999, to load a large desalinization filtration system built in Milwaukee for Korea. The vessel entered the Seaway in ballast for Milwaukee on 09 Nov 1999. The following day, the crew rigged scaffolding over the side so the new name BBC GERMANY could be painted on the ship.

The Toledo Blade published the following vessel passages for Detroit on this date in 1903: -Up- VOLUNTEER, AMAZON, HARLOW, 12:30 Friday morning; ROCKEFELLER, 4:20; MARISKA, 4:40; FRENCH, 5:20; CONEMAUGH, 6; S M STEPHENSON, FAUSTIN, barges, 7:30; OLIVER, MITCHELL, (sailed), 7:50; AVERILL, 8.

1909: The steamers CHARLES WESTON and WARD AMES collided in lower Whitefish Bay. The former, which had been at anchor waiting to head downbound through the Soo Locks, ran for shore but settled on the bottom. The ship was saved, repaired and last sailed as c) SAUCON for Bethlehem Transportation before being scrapped at Hamilton, ON in 1950.

1909: JAMES H. HOYT went aground on a reef about two miles off the northeast corner of Outer Island after the engine was disabled in a snowstorm. The vessel was refloated November 29 and later became the BRICOLDOC.

1929: BRITON was wrecked in Lake Erie off Point Abino. The stranded vessel was battered for two days before being abandoned as a total loss.

1934: WILLIAM A. REISS (i) stranded off Sheboygan while inbound with 7025 tons of coal from Toledo. The ship was refloated November 17 with heavy damage and considered a total loss.

1942: H.M. PELLATT, a former Great Lakes canal freighter, was sailing as f) SCILLIN under the flag of Italy, when it was hit by gunfire from the British submarine H.M.S. PROTEUS while 9 miles off Kuriat, Tunisia, and sank.

1956: The downbound and grain-laden GEORGE HINDMAN and the upbound MANCHESTER EXPLORER collided in fog on the St. Lawrence above Lachine and both ships were damaged.

1958: LUNAN, a Pre-Seaway trader on the Great Lakes, sustained major bottom damage in a grounding on the St. Lawrence near Murray Bay. The ship was refloated, towed to Lauzon for repairs and it returned to service as b) MARIDAN C. in 1959.

1967: SANTA REGINA, the first American saltwater vessel to use the St. Lawrence Seaway, put into San Francisco with boiler problems and machinery damage while headed from Los Angeles to Saigon, South Vietnam as f) NORBERTO CAPAY. The vessel was sold at auction and towed to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for scrapping in 1969.

1971: The small St. Lawrence freighter C. DE BAILLON, better known as a) DONNACONA NO. 2 and b) MIRON C., went aground at Mont Louis and was a total loss.

1975: There was a boiler explosion on the Egyptian freighter CLEOPATRA after leaving Hartlepool, England, for Alexandria, Egypt, and 8 crewmen were severely injured with at least one fatality. The former Victory Ship first traveled through the Seaway in 1963. It was scrapped at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, in 1981.

1976: OCEAN SOVEREIGN lost steering at Sault Ste. Marie and was wedged into the wall at the Soo Locks. The rudder was damaged and the Greek saltie had to be towed to Lauzon, Quebec, for repairs. The vessel initially traded inland as a) BOLNES in 1970 and returned as b) OCEAN SOVEREIGN for the first time in 1973. It was scrapped at Ulsan, South Korea, as d) MARIA JOSE after being blown aground from the anchorage during Typhoon Vera on September 27, 1986.

1979: A steering failure put VANDOC aground at Harvey Island in the Brockville Narrows. The vessel spent time at Port Weller Dry Docks after being released.

1996: JOLLITY reported it was taking water in the engine room (Pos: 17.47 N / 119.20 E). The ship was was taken in tow two days later and reached Hong Kong on November 18. The vessel was scrapped at Chittagong, Bangladesh, in 1999.

1997: ARCADIA BERLIN visited the Great Lakes in 1971 when it was a year old. The ship was carrying bagged cement and sailing as f) ALLISSA when it collided with and sank the Ukrainian vessel SMENA off Yangon, Myanmar. The former was apparently laid up with collision damage and scrapped at Alang, India, in 1998.

2002: WILFRED SYKES was inbound with a cargo of limestone when it went aground in Muskegon Lake. Some of the cargo was lightered to PERE MARQUETTE 41 and the stranded ship was pulled free.


Lakeshore flood warnings issued; condition not seen in at least 15 years

11/12 - Grand Rapids, Mich. – A lakeshore flood warning has been issued for the Lake Michigan shoreline in southwest Lower Michigan. This type of warning has not been issued by the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids since at least 2000.

A long duration of strong west winds gusting up to 60 mph at the shoreline will build high waves and shove lake water onto the beach and possibly adjacent roads.

The strong west wind from Thursday morning to Friday morning could cause a lake storm surge of six inches to a foot. This means six inches to a foot of water from the west side of Lake Michigan could be shoved over to the Michigan shoreline.

The combination of much higher lake levels now, 60 mph wind gusts and 24 hours of sustained strong west winds is the reason for the Lakeshore Flood Warning.

The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids thinks severe beach erosion is possible. They are also forecasting some lakeshore roads like Beach Street in Muskegon could have rising lake water cover part of the road. There is no forecast as to how high the flood waters will be.

Water will also be shoved into the rivers, and rivers in West Michigan could rise. Yards along the Grand River near Grand Haven and along the Kalamazoo River near Saugatuck could also flood.

The main safety tip is to use common sense Thursday and Friday. While Mother Nature will put on a real show at the lakeshore, don't drive on flooded roads. Try to stay inland away from the floodwaters.

M Live – Mark Torregrossa

[yachtsmanwilly]

Operations continue for sunken Lake Erie barge Argo

11/16 - Cleveland, Ohio – Salvage operations for the sunken tanker barge Argo in Lake Erie continue as the Unified Command proceeds with plans for product recovery.

Crews will start prepping the first tank this week for “hot tapping” operations. Actual lightering operations will not occur until later in the week at the earliest, as the response operators are still waiting for the proper tank to offload the material into and weather continues to impede operations.

The results from the sample from this first tank, sampled on November 9, were found to be primarily Benzene, with some Toluene, Xylene and trace elements of petroleum.

Because these materials are not typically shipped on the Great Lakes, the proper equipment to remove it is not available in this region. Response operators are waiting for receiving tanks, designed for chemicals, to be modified for use on a barge in the Great Lakes marine environment.

In the meantime, the safety zone around the barge remains at a 1 nautical mile radius directly above the barge’s location at the bottom of Lake Erie. No vessel may enter, transit through or anchor within the regulated area without permission from the Coast Guard patrol commander, Station Marblehead, which may be contacted via VHF FM marine radio channel 16.

USCG


On 16 November 1870, BADGER STATE (3-mast wooden bark, 150 foot, 302 tons, built in 1853, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin) stranded and wrecked at Sleeping Bear Dune on Lake Michigan during a storm.

The tug portion of the PRESQUE ISLE (Hull#322) built by Halter Marine Services, New Orleans, Louisiana, was up bound in the Welland Canal on November 16,1973, en route to Erie, Pennsylvania, to join with the barge.

FRED R. WHITE JR (Hull#722) was launched in 1978, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

On 16 Nov 1909, the JAMES S. DUNHAM (steel propeller bulk freighter, 420 foot, 4,795 gross tons, built in 1906, at W. Bay City, Michigan) encountered heavy seas and began hitting bottom where charts indicated 35 feet of water, even though she was in ballast and only drawing 17 feet of water. Rather than risk tearing the bottom out of her, the captain decided to beach her at Marble Point, just east of the Bad River outlet. After the heavy snow showers cleared, a message in a bottle was floated ashore to an observer.

The steel bulk freighters SIR JAMES DUNN and GEORGIAN BAY in tow of the Panamanian tug MC THUNDER arrived at Aliaga, Turkey for scrapping on 16 Nov 1989, 129 days after departing Thunder Bay.

On 16 November 1887, PACIFIC (wooden propeller freighter, 187 foot, 766 gross tons, built in 1864, at Cleveland, Ohio) was loaded with lumber bound from Deer Park, Michigan, for Michigan City, Indiana. After leaving the dock, she grounded on a shoal due to low water levels. The nearby Lifesaving Service took her crew off and then returned for the captain's dog. She was broken up by a gale on 19 November.

In 1892, the ANN ARBOR NO 1 arrived at Frankfort, Michigan on her maiden trip.

November 16, 1990 - MWT ceased operations, ending more than a century of carferry service. The last run was made by the BADGER, with Capt. Bruce Masse in command.

In 1981, Interlake's JOHN SHERWIN entered lay-up in Superior, Wisconsin and has not seen service since.

On 16 November 1869, ADELL (2-mast wooden schooner, 48 foot, 25 gross tons, built in 1860, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin) was driven ashore during a storm about a half mile below Bay View Pier near Milwaukee. Her skipper had every penny he owned sunk into that vessel. He was able to salvage her rigging and spars and left them on the beach overnight. The next day he returned and found that all had been stolen during the night.

On 16 Nov 1883, MANISTEE (wooden side-wheeler, 184 foot, 677 tons, built in 1867, at Cleveland, Ohio) broke up in a gale west of the Keweenaw Peninsula off of Eagle Harbor, Michigan. This is one of Lake Superior's worst disasters. Estimates of the number who died range from 23 to 37.

1901: The wooden freighter ELFIN-MERE was damaged by fire at Green Bay after a lamp exploded in the engineroom. The crew got away safely although an engineer was burned. The vessel was rebuilt the following year and returned to service in 1903 as b) CHARLES B. PACKARD.

1908: PASCAL P. PRATT was carrying anthracite coal from Buffalo to Milwaukee when it caught fire in the engineroom off Long Point, Lake Erie. The blaze spread quickly and the wooden vessel was beached. All of the crew got away safely. The hull burned to the waterline and the remains sank.

1923: GLENSTRIVEN, loaded with 160,000 bushels of oats, was wrecked at Cove Island, Georgian Bay in wind and fog. The vessel was enroute to Midland and was salvaged December 5 by the Reid Wrecking Co. The damage was too severe to repair and the hull was scrapped at Collingwood in 1924.

1927: JOLLY INEZ stranded at Saddlebag Island in the False Detour Channel and was abandoned.

1964: THOMAS F. COLE and INVEREWE collided in heavy fog off the southern end of Pipe Island in the St. Marys River. Both ships were repaired but the latter was later lost as d) THEOKEETOR off Mexico following another collision on June 20, 1973.

1965: The LAWRENCECLIFFE HALL sank in the St. Lawrence after an early morning collision with the SUNEK off Ile d'Orleans. The former, a laker in the Halco fleet, rolled on its side but all on board were saved. The ship was refloated in March 1966, repaired and returned to service. It later sailed as DAVID K. GARDINER and CANADIAN VENTURE before scrapping at Alang, India, in 2005. SUNEK received bow damage but this was repaired and this ship was scrapped at Barcelona, Spain, as b) NOTOS in 1979.

1967: CALIFORNIA SUN, a Liberty ship, made one trip through the Seaway in 1966. It suffered an engineroom explosion off Nicobar Island on the Indian Ocean and was gutted. The abandoned ship was taken in tow by JALARAJAN, a familiar Seaway salty, and delivered to the Seychelles.

1978: MONT ST. MARTIN was battered by a storm on Lake Erie and escorted to Southeast Shoal area by the STEELTON.

1978: NYX visited the Great Lakes in 1958 and returned through the Seaway in 1959. It sustained severe fire damage at Sidon, Lebanon, as c) DOMINION TRADER. It was subsequently blown aground by strong winds November 30-December 1 and broke in two.

1979: ALDORA dragged anchor while off Port Weller and was blown aground, only to be freed the same day. This ship was scrapped at Vado, Italy, in 1985-1986.

1979: SARONIC SEA was also anchored off Port Weller when it dragged anchor and stranded at the foot of Geneva Street in St. Catharines. The hull was not refloated until December 6. The ship had first visited the Great Lakes as RAVNANGER in 1964 and was later a victim of the war between Iran and Iraq, being shelled with mortar fire at Basrah on September 25, 1980.

1986: CARINA, an SD-14, first came through the Seaway in 1969. It was abandoned by the crew as d) HYMETUS when the hull cracked in heavy weather 180 miles SSE of Hong Kong while enroute to Shanghai, with steel. The ship sank the next day in the South China Sea.

2009: CSL ASSINIBOINE went aground near Cardinal. It had to be lightered and was released on November 21.


In 1883, the schooner E. FITZGERALD, Captain Daniel Lanigan, went ashore and was completely covered with ice. The crew of six drowned while attempting to make shore in the yawl. A couple days after the loss, Mrs. Lanigan received a prophetic letter from her son stating he was tired of sailing and this would be his last trip.

On 15 November 1871, EVERGREEN CITY (wooden propeller freighter, 193 foot, 624 gross tons, built in 1856, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying lumber camp supplies when she was driven on to the southwest coast of Long Point on Lake Erie by a westerly gale. She hogged and broke up. Most of her cargo and fittings were stolen over the winter. Surprisingly, she was recovered and rebuilt in 1872-1873, but only lasted until 1875, when she was abandoned at Buffalo, New York.

The cargo mid-body of the then-under construction GEORGE A. STINSON was towed from Toledo, where it was built, to Lorain, Ohio, in 1977.

PAUL THAYER left Lorain on her maiden voyage November 15, 1973, light for Escanaba, Michigan to load iron ore. Renamed b.) EARL W. OGLEBAY in 1995.

On November 15, 1974, W. W. HOLLOWAY struck an embankment at Burns Harbor, Indiana, causing extensive damage.

Departing Duluth on November 15, 1909, the BRANSFORD encountered a gale driven snowstorm. She battled the storm the entire day only to end up on the rocks near Siskiwit Bay on Isle Royale.

On 15 November 1894, ANTELOPE (wooden schooner, 56 foot, 32 gross tons, built in 1878, at Grand Haven, Michigan) capsized in a storm while trying to make harbor at Grand Haven, Michigan. 4 lives were lost.

November 15, 1924 - The carferry PERE MARQUETTE was renamed PERE MARQUETTE 15.

On 15 November 1875, The Port Huron Times reported that "there is little doubt but that the scow SUTLER GIRL has been lost with all hands on Lake Erie. She has now been overdue two weeks."

On 15 November 1869, W. W. ARNOLD (wooden schooner, 426 gross tons, built in 1863, at Buffalo, New York) was carrying iron ore when she was driven ashore near the mouth of the Two Hearted River on Lake Superior during the great gale of November 1869. The violent storm tore the schooner apart and she sank quickly losing all hands (11) including several passengers.

On 15 Nov 1905, the W. K. BIXBY (steel straight-deck bulk freighter, 480 foot, 5,712 gross tons, later b.) J.L. REISS, then c.) SIDNEY E. SMITH JR) was launched at Wyandotte, Michigan, for the National Steamship Co. (M.B. McMillan). She lasted until 1972, when she was wrecked at Sarnia, Ontario, in a collision with the PARKER EVANS.

1901: The consort barge JOHN SMEATON broke loose of the steamer HARVARD and came ashore on the rocks off Au Train, Mich., and rested in 4 feet of water. The crew was safe and the ship released at the end of the month by Reid Wrecking and went to Superior for repairs.

1909: The Canadian freighter OTTAWA foundered stern first off Passage Isle, Lake Superior when the cargo of grain shifted. The crew, while they suffered terribly, were able to reach the safety of Keweenaw Point in the lifeboats after 12 hours on the open lake in wild seas.

1915: A. McVITTIE took out the gate at Lock 12 of the Third Welland Canal leading to a washout.

1919: J.S. CROUSE was enroute from Glen Haven to Traverse City when fire was discovered around the stack. The blaze spread quickly. The ship burned to the water line and sank in Sleeping Bear Bay, Lake Michigan.

1920: The wooden hulled steamer MAPLEGULF broke her back in a Lake Ontario storm. It was considered beyond economical repair and beached at Kingston.

1931: A storm forced the wooden passenger and freight steamer WINONA back to Spragge, Ontario, and the next day the ship was found to be on fire over the boiler. The vessel was towed from the dock to protect a pile of lumber and it became a total loss.

1952: The newly-built tanker B.A. PEERLESS lost power and went aground below the Detroit River Light. It was refloated on November 17.

1975: The ocean tanker GATUN LOCKS made one trip through the Seaway in 1959. The vessel was lying at Piraeus Roads, Greece, as c) SUNARUSSA when it was gutted by a fire. The hull was sold for scrap in 1977 and broken up at Laurion, Greece, beginning on April 26, 1977.

1981: ALFRED was gutted by a fire off Benghazi, Libya, after the blaze broke out in the engineroom. The hull was scuttled 100 miles out in the Mediterranean on November 24. The ship had been on the Great Lakes earlier in the year and first traveled inland as a) ALFRED REHDER in 1972.

1994: The Turkish freighter FIRAT was blown ashore at Port Everglades, FL by Hurricane Gordon when the anchors failed to hold. The ship was a beach attraction until lightered and released on November 26. FIRAT first came through the Seaway in 1990 and was scrapped at Alang, India, in 1997, after sailing 27 years under the same name.

2007: CALUMET was damaged when it struck a wall at Cleveland while moving to the salt dock. It was sold for scrap and departed for Port Colborne two days later.



State house declares Nov. 10 Great Lakes Sailors Remembrance Day

11/15 - Lansing, Mi. – Upper Peninsula residents weren’t the only ones commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the loss of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald on Tuesday.

The State House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 185, declaring November 10th “Great Lakes Sailors Remembrance Day,” in order to honor those who navigate the Great Lakes and those who have lost their lives doing so. Among the sponsors of the resolution were Representatives John Kivela and Scott Dianda.

The resolution reads: Whereas, Throughout the annals of Great Lakes history, which have spanned hundreds of years, there is but one Great Lakes State; and Whereas, Michigan has more coastline than any other state within our continental boundaries and embodies a freshwater legacy that is defined by its people, waterways, and ports; and

Whereas, The Great Lakes maritime trade is more than a mode of transportation but rather a way of life which provides the iron ore that has fueled steel production in war and peace, the coal that generates limitless electrical power, the aggregate which lies beneath our feet, and the grains on our kitchen tables. Nowhere else in the maritime world do the cargoes carried by ships reach so far beyond the threshold of one’s household; and

Whereas, While reliant upon many assets this industry, above all else, depends on sea-faring men and women who, at all hours and in all conditions, stand watch to ensure that vessels of American enterprise and sustainability navigate vast waters safely and efficiently for the good of all. Yet, this is not accomplished without risk and in many cases peril as even the finest vessels have succumbed to unparalleled natural forces; and

Whereas, The Great Lakes have more shipwrecks per square mile than anywhere else on earth and in turn serve as the solemn grave for thousands of lakes sailors. Most notable on this day, November 10, is the untimely loss of the once “Queen of the Lakes,” S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald and her 29 crewmembers. Their struggle with wind and waves would result in an inexplicable journey to a watery grave which they now share with all those who had been lost before them; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body declare November 10, 2015, as Great Lakes Sailors Remembrance Day in the state of Michigan. We dedicate this day to those who have sailed and continue to ply the waters of our vast inland seas for the Great Lakes have and will continue to serve as the lifeblood of natural resources to our state and nation.

ABC 10


Lake Erie phenomenon: Seiche causes 7-foot water rise at Buffalo

11/14 - The storm that caused spectacular waves on Lake Michigan and some minor lakeshore flooding also sent Lake Erie's water listing like a boat. The phenomenon is called a seiche. It occurs when strong winds push water either way along the long length of a lake, essentially causing water levels to drop at one end and rise at the other.

Data from the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory shows the water level at Buffalo increased about 7 1/2 feet from 5 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 12 to 3 p.m. the same day. At the same time, the water level at Toledo fell slightly more than six feet.

M Live


How ice cover on the Great Lakes impacts our weather

11/14 - Green Bay, Wis. – Nine months out of the year, water washing on shore is the sound you'll hear along the banks of the Great Lakes. But with winter fast approaching, that peaceful sound will disappear as ice takes over.

Jeff Last, meteorologist with the Green Bay National Weather Service office, says there was plenty of ice to go around these last two winters. "It was very, very cold. We broke quite a few records, streaks of temperatures below freezing or below zero," he said.

That record cold in 2014 ultimately lead to the second highest ice coverage since 1973 on the Great Lakes, with 92.5 percent freezing. And 2015 wasn't too far behind, claiming the fourth spot on that list with 88.8 percent of the lakes frozen during the winter.

That lake ice had a significant impact on our lake-effect snow - or a lack thereof, according to Steven Meyer, a climatologist at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. "The more ice cover you have, the less evaporation you get. And the less evaporation you get, the less lake-effect snow you get," Meyer said.

The ice cover acts like an "off" switch for the lake effect snow process. Meyer says all this ice cover has also boosted lake water levels. "What really changes the lake levels is the evaporation you get during the winter," he said.

Lake levels have been able to return to normal because of the expansive ice the past two years.

But this winter, a strong El Nino in the eastern Pacific could mean milder temperatures and lower snowfall totals for Northeast Wisconsin. And this milder weather could buck the recent trends for lake ice.

"We typically would see less ice on the Great Lakes with the milder temperatures. And that certainly will have an impact on our weather here locally and across Great Lake states," Last said.

Fox 11

[yachtsmanwilly]

Hornblower, Maid of the Mist set passenger records

11/17 - Niagara Falls, Ont. – There’s enough business on the Niagara River for two giant tour-boat companies. Both Hornblower Niagara Cruises, which operates on the Canadian side, and Maid of the Mist Corp., which operates on the American side, have set attendance records this year.

Mory DiMaurizio, general manager of Hornblower, estimates their boats will carry 1.85-million passengers this season, an increase of 200,000 from last year, which was the company’s first on the Canadian side of the river.

Hornblower boats began operating this season on April 30 and will continue until Nov. 29. Last year, due to the “brutal winter,” DiMaurizio said boats began operating later, on May 15 until Nov. 30.

He said this year’s figures, which “far surpassed targets,” can be attributed to a favorable exchange rate for American visitors to Canada, low travel costs and “aggressive” marketing.

Meanwhile on the American side of the river, Maid of the Mist said they ferried more than 1.4-million passengers this season, breaking last year's record. The Maid began operating only on the American side last year.

It’s part of an “upward trajectory” of increased ridership the 130-year-old company has seen during the past decade.

“We have a strong marketing campaign — online and print and billboards,” said Keenan, adding the Maid has seen an increase in the number of visitors from China and India.

“People seek out the Maid of the Mist and understand that it’s an iconic attraction. They gravitate towards the brand and understand if they want the Maid of the Mist, they have to come to the U.S,” he added.

The Maid lost the right to operate rides below the Falls from the Canadian side to Hornblower.

Keenan said the Maid’s growing success is indicative of the upswing in the economy in Western New York, as well as recent improvements to New York State Park. “It’s a rising tide lifts all boats,” he said.

Niagara.com


DOE grant will help develop Lake Erie wind project

11/17 - Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy has not given up on Lake Erie-based wind turbines, the first freshwater-based turbines in the nation.

The Lake Erie Energy Development Corp., or LEEDCo, is in line for a $3.7 million research and development grant in March of 2016, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur said Monday morning.

The DOE granted the company $3 million in 2014 and $4 million in 2012, both for R&D work.

"Lake Erie is the Saudi Arabia of wind," Kaptur said in an interview. "People don't realize the wind resource we have on the lake. And LEEDCo is playing a major resource and development role."

Not only is the company using what Kaptur called "high science" to solve the icing and foundation problems involved in building turbines in fresh water, the company is also in touch with industry here, she said.

"We can innovate and we can manufacture. We can do it, and not just theoretically," she said.

LEEDCo's plan is to build a six-turbine demonstration project about eight to 10 miles northwest of downtown Cleveland. Each turbine would generate about 3 megawatts (3 million watts) of electricity, said David Karpinski, vice president of engineering for LEEDCo.

Though the point of the project is to prove it can be done, and done at a reasonable cost, the small wind farm would be a commercial operation and it would be connected by lake bed cable to Cleveland Public Power's high voltage grid near the East Shoreway. CPP has agreed to buy 25 percent of the output. The rest of the power would be sold into the regional high-voltage grid.

LEEDCo plans to use a new European foundation technology that can be installed without digging up the lake bottom or driving piles into the shale rock beneath the lake.

Called a "mono bucket," the foundation was developed during the past decade by Universal Foundation, a Danish company, said Karpinski.

Cleveland.com



On 17 November 1884, PHOENIX (wooden propeller wrecking tug, 173 gross tons, built in 1862, at Cleveland, Ohio) caught fire in one of her coal bunkers at 7 a.m. while she was tied up to the C. S. R. Railroad slip at Amherstburg, Ontario. Several vessels, including the Dunbar tug SHAUGHRAUN and the steam barge MARSH, tried to save her. The SHAUGHRAUN finally got a line on her and pulled her away from the dock and towed her near Norwell’s wharf where she burned and sank.

On 17 Nov 1969, the RIDGETOWN (steel propeller bulk freighter, 557 foot, 7,637 gross tons, built in 1905, at Chicago, Illinois as WILLIAM E. COREY) was laid up at Toronto for the last time with a load of grain. In the spring of 1970, Upper Lakes Shipping, Ltd. sold her to Canadian Dredge & Dock Co., Ltd. of Toronto. She was sunk at Nanticoke, Ontario, for use as a temporary breakwater during the construction of harbor facilities in the summer of 1970. Still later, she was raised and sunk again in the summer of 1974, as a breakwater to protect marina facilities at Port Credit, Ontario.

On November 17, 1984, the EUGENE P. THOMAS was towed by the TUG MALCOLM to Thunder Bay, Ontario, for scrapping by Shearmet.

In the morning of 17 November 1926, the PETER A.B. WIDENER (steel straight-deck bulk freighter, 580 foot, 7,053 gross tons, built in 1906, at Chicago, Illinois) was running up bound on Lake Superior in ballast when it encountered strong Northeasterly winds. About six miles Southwest of the Rock of Ages Light on Isle Royale, the captain gave orders to change course for Duluth, Minnesota. There was no response because the wheel chains had parted from the drum, thus disabling the rudder. Repairs cost $4,000.

On 15 Nov 1972, the MICHIPICOTEN (steel straight-deck bulk freighter, 549 foot, 6,490 gross tons, built in 1905, at W. Bay City, Michigan, as HENRY C. FRICK) departed Quebec in tow of Polish tug KORAL for scrapping in Spain. The tow encountered bad weather and the MICHIPICOTEN broke in two during a major fall storm on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Her forward section sank on 17 November off Anticosti Island, and the after section sank the next day.

The propeller JOHN STUART burned about two miles from Sebawaing, Michigan, at 9:00 p.m., 17 November 1872. She had been aground there for some time.

On 17 November 1887, ARIZONA (wooden propeller package freighter, 189 foot, 962 gross tons, built in 1868, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying oils and acid used in mining operations when her dangerous cargo caught fire as she approached the harbor at Marquette, Michigan, in heavy seas. Poisonous fumes drove all of the crew topside, leaving the vessel unmanageable. She ran against the breakwater and the crew jumped off. The burning steamer "chased" the crew down the breakwater toward town with the poisonous fumes blowing ashore. She finally beached herself and burned herself out. She was later recovered and rebuilt.

On 17 November 1873, the wooden 2-mast schooner E.M. CARRINGTON sank in nine feet of water at Au Sable, Michigan. She had a load of 500 barrels of flour and 7,000 bushels of grain. She was recovered and lasted another seven years.

On 17 November 1880, GARIBALDI (2-mast wooden schooner, 124 foot, 209 tons, built in 1863, at Port Rowan, Ontario) was carrying coal in a storm on Lake Ontario. She anchored to ride out the storm, but after riding out the gale for 15 hours, her anchor cable parted and her crew was forced to try to bring her into Weller's Bay. She stranded on the bar. One of the crew froze solid in a standing position and his ghost is supposed to still haunt that area. The vessel was recovered and rebuilt. She lasted until at least 1898.

1902: The wooden steamer ROBERT WALLACE sank 13 miles out of Two Harbors while towing the barge ASHLAND.

1922: CITY OF DRESDEN was anchored off Long Point due to high winds and some of the cargo was thrown overboard. The ship beached on the west side of Long Point and broke up as a total loss. One sailor perished.

1922: MALTON went aground on Main Duck Island in Lake Ontario and was stuck until November 30.

1936: The steering cable of the SIDNEY E. SMITH gave way entering the harbor at Fairport, Ohio, and the ship stranded on the break wall. While released on November 22, the heavily damaged vessel was broken up for scrap the following year.

1939: VARDEFJELL, which inaugurated regular Great Lakes service for the Fjell Line in 1932, was torpedoed and sunk as b) KAUNAS 6.5 miles WNW of Noord Harbor, N. Hinder Light, River Schelde.

1996: SEADANIEL went aground at Duluth due to high winds after the anchors dragged. The ship was released, undamaged, by tugs. It last visited the Great Lakes in November 1998 and arrived at Alang, India, for scrapping on May 5, 1999

[yachtsmanwilly]

Army Corps gets $1.35M to study upgrade for Soo Locks

11/18 - Washington, D.C. – The hateful muslim traitor administration has approved $1.35 million in funding that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requested for a cost-benefit study of an additional shipping lock on the river that connects Lakes Huron and Superior.

Only one of the four aging locks Sault Ste. Marie is large enough to handle ships that carry 70 percent of the cargo, and members of Michigan’s congressional delegation have pushed to replace two outdated locks with a new one capable of handling the largest freighters.

Democratic U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow, of Lansing, and Gary Peters, of Bloomfield Township, said Monday the administration has committed $1.35 million to review upgrades to replace the Davis and Sabin Locks, which are nearly 100 years old and no longer in use. The Soo Locks transport roughly 80 million tons of raw goods and materials a year.

The approved study follows mechanical problems in August that shut one of the two main locks at Sault Ste. Marie capable of handling commercial ships on the Great Lakes. It was closed for two-and-a-half weeks during the important shipping season.

The problem involved a set of gates that would not close properly. Repair work required the lock to be emptied of water.

In June, the senators wrote to the Office of Management and Budget Director urging approval for the Army Corps’ funding request for the locks project.

“This support will allow the Army Corps to start the process of making upgrades and building a replacement lock,” Stabenow said in a statement. “A failure of the aging locks causing even a temporary outage could cost our economy millions of dollars — a cost we cannot afford.”

Having another 1,200-foot-long lock — which would be built on the site of the existing Davis and Sabin locks — would allow for better maintenance of both locks and keep shipping traffic moving if the 1,200-foot-long Poe lock needs repairs.

Peters noted that the Soo Locks are the busiest in the United States, transporting nearly 80 million tons of goods and raw materials a year. “I’m proud to work with Sen. Stabenow and the administration to ensure the Soo Locks stay open and continue to drive commerce in our state and our region,” he said.

The Detroit News





Cliffs to idle Northshore Mining as taconite woes worsen

11/18 - Duluth, Minn. – Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. announced this morning that it will close its Northshore Mining operations in Silver Bay and Babbitt due to the continuing oversupply of iron ore in the U.S. and global markets.

The move will put most of Northshore’s 540 workers out of a job by Dec. 1 through at least the first quarter of 2016, although no firm date is set for re-opening.

The price of iron ore continues to plummet globally and in the U.S. thanks to a vast oversupply. That reduced the price of steel, especially foreign steel, which is being imported, often below cost, into the U.S. at a record clip.

All that imported steel has reduced the demand for U.S. made steel and thus the demand for its primary ingredient — taconite iron ore from Minnesota and Michigan.

"The historic high tonnage of foreign steel dumped into the U.S. continues to negatively impact the steel production levels of our domestic customers,’’ said Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-based Cliffs' president and CEO.

The move will help cash-strapped Cliffs continue to operate for the short term.

Goncalves said Cliffs has never had this many unneeded taconite pellets on hand this late in the season, with Great Lakes shipping set to close in January.

Northshore joins Cliffs’ United Taconite operations in Eveleth and Forbes as shut down, and now puts more than half, 6 of 11, of the Iron Range’s major mining operations into mothballs.

In addition to Northshore and United Taconite, U.S. Steel’s Keetac plant remains idled, as do two of Grand Rapids-based Magnetation ore recovery plants and the Mesabi Nugget iron nugget plant near Hoyt Lakes.

Cliffs also noted Tuesday that United is now unlikely to reopen until April at the earliest.

Goncalves said Cliffs’ operations will reopen only if and when his customers, U.S. steelmakers, begin to order more pellets. He said so far that hasn’t happened, but he continues to be bullish that U.S. steel production and taconite demand will increase in 2016.

During that time frame, Cliffs will continue to operate Hibbing Taconite in Minnesota, as well as the Tilden and Empire mines in Michigan, at normal rates.

Cliffs will maintain minimal staffing at Northshore “during the temporary idle for basic maintenance duties and for on-going work to support the DR-grade pellet trials.” The company hopes to eventually make pellets at the plant that can be used in electric arc furnaces instead of only blast furnaces.

Duluth News Tribune




On 18 November 1869, EQUATOR (wooden propeller package freighter, 184 foot, 621 tons, built in 1857, at Buffalo, New York) was trying to pull the schooner SOUTHWEST off a reef near North Manitou Island on Lake Michigan. A storm swept in and EQUATOR foundered in the relatively shallow water. She was thought to be unsalvageable but was re-floated in 1870. Her hull was extensively rebuilt and became the barge ELDORADO in 1871, while her engine was used in the tug BISMARCK.

The CARL D. BRADLEY was lost in a violent storm on Lake Michigan on November 18, 1958.

The CANADIAN OLYMPIC's sea trials were conducted on 18 November 1976. Her maiden voyage was on 28 November 1976, to load coal at Conneaut, Ohio for Nanticoke, Ontario. Her name honors the Olympic Games that were held at Montreal that year.

The bow and stern sections of the vessel that was to become the STEWART J. CORT were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding Division, Litton Systems, Inc., Pascagoula, MS, as hull 1173. That 182 foot vessel, known as "STUBBY" was launched on 18 Nov 1969. "STUBBY" sailed under its own power from the Gulf of Mexico through the St. Lawrence Seaway and Welland Canal to Erie, Pennsylvania where the sections were cut apart by Erie Marine, Inc. and the 818 foot mid section was added -- making the Lakes first thousand footer.

The ASHCROFT was launched November 18, 1924, as a) GLENIFFER.

On 18 November 1873, the tug CRUSADER was launched at 1:20 p.m. at the Leighton & Dunford yard in Port Huron, Michigan. Her dimensions were 138 foot overall, 125 foot keel, 23 foot beam, and 12 foot depth. She was built for Mr. G. E. Brockway of Port Huron.

On 18 November 1842, CHICAGO (wooden passenger & package freight sidewheeler, 105 foot, 166 tons, built in 1837, at St. Joseph, Michigan) was struck by a gale between Ashtabula and Conneaut in Lake Erie. She lost both of her stacks and became unmanageable when her fires went out. She was driven ashore about 3 miles east of Silver Creek, New York and was wrecked. About 60 persons were on board and amazingly no lives were lost.

On 18 November 1882, DROMEDARY (wooden propeller, 120 foot, 255 gross tons, built in 1868, at Port Dalhousie, Ontario) burned to a total loss at the dock at Hamilton, Ontario when her banked fires overheated. She was owned by Burroughs & Co. No lives were lost.

A terrible storm swept the Lakes in mid-November 1886. On 18-19 November of that year, The Port Huron Times listed the vessels that were known to have foundered in that storm. Here is the list as it appeared on 18 November 1886. "The barge CHARLES HINCKLEY is ashore near Alpena. The schooner P S MARCH is ashore at St. Ignace. She will probably go to pieces. The schooner THOMAS P. SHELDON is ashore about 10 miles north of Alpena. The crew was rescued by the tug HAND. The schooner NELLIE REDINGTON is reported going to pieces at Two Rivers. Three of her crew reached harbor all right, but the other 7 men on board are in danger of their lives. The coal barges F. M. DICKINSON and EMERALD were driven ashore at Kewaunee, Wisconsin Wednesday morning [17 Nov]. Three of the DICKINSON's crew were drowned, the other four floated ashore on a plank. The EMERALD's crew started ashore in the yawl, but 5 were drowned.

On 18 November 1881, the schooner JAMES PLATT left Bay City with a cargo of lumber for Chicago. However, she was wrecked on Lake Michigan during a terrible snowstorm during the first week of December and never made it to Chicago. The storm lasted two full days and six of the crew survived but the rest were lost.

The ANN ARBOR NO 4 ran aground on Green Isle, the island in Green Bay to the north of her course between Sturgeon Bay and Menominee on 18 Nov 1913. ANN ARBOR NO 3 pulled her off undamaged after about 2 hours work.

1911: TURRET CAPE stranded near Cove Island, Lake Huron and was not released until 1912. It last sailed as c) WALTER INKSTER and was scrapped at Port Dalhousie in 1959.

1926: The passenger and freight carrier MONTREAL was built at Toronto in 1902. It caught fire and burned near St. Joseph de Sorel in the St. Lawrence River while operating late season in a freight only capacity. The superstructure was destroyed and the vessel was beached. Five deckhands, believed trapped in the bow area, died.

1958: CARL D. BRADLEY sank in Lake Michigan with the loss of 33 lives.

1970: SILLERY, a Canadian freighter that operated on the St. Lawrence, was heavily damaged aft due to an engineroom fire while enroute from Sept-Iles to Montreal. The ship was a total loss. The bow was later removed and transplanted to sistership CACOUNA which received collision damage on July 6, 1971. The latter was later lost on Lake Michigan as c) JENNIFER on December 1, 1974.

2006: JOHN G. MUNSON hit the Shell Fuel Dock at Corunna and knocked about 200 feet of the structure into the St. Clair River.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Saltie being held in Duluth for investigation of possible environmental violations

11/19 - Duluth, Minn. – The oceangoing freighter Cornelia that has been anchored offshore from Duluth for nearly two weeks is the subject of an investigation for "alleged violations of U.S. environmental regulations," the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed Tuesday.

"Due to the ongoing investigation, the ... vessel and crew are prohibited from leaving Duluth until cleared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection," the Coast Guard said in a statement issued by its Ninth District External Affairs office in Cleveland. "The vessel and crew do not pose a public safety threat. Speculation that the ship is held in port due to any safety concerns (is) false."

The Coast Guard said it will not release additional information while the investigation is under way.

The News Tribune first reported on Nov. 7 that the ship was being held at anchor as part of a federal probe. At that time the Coast Guard directed questions to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota, which confirmed the investigation but declined to reveal any details about its nature.

On Tuesday the U.S. Attorney’s Office referred an inquiry back to the Coast Guard.

The Cornelia took on grain at the CHS Inc. elevator in Superior on Nov. 3 and 4.

Greg Ukkola, grain operations manager for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Grain Regulation in Superior, told the News Tribune earlier this month that a stowage exam of the vessel and its holds was done on Nov. 1, while the ship was anchored in Duluth harbor.

"We did an initial stowage examination on the ship to see that it was fit to load grain into, and we examined the grain as it was being loaded," Ukkola said. Everything about the exams was routine, he said.

After being loaded, the Cornelia never got underway. The saltie, built in 2001 and about 575 feet in length, has been stopped at anchor since Nov. 5.

The Cornelia is managed by the German company MST, which operates dry-bulk carriers on the Atlantic Ocean; the ship is registered in Liberia.

In a statement to the News Tribune earlier this month, MST managing director Matthias Ruttmann said the Cornelia is owned by a German bank.

“We are fully cooperating with the USCG to shine some light on this,” Ruttmann told the News Tribune. He said MST was conducting its own internal investigation to find out what was happening onboard the Cornelia, and that the company did not want to speculate on the situation pending completion of that investigation.

The captain of the vessel refused to comment when reached by the News Tribune earlier this month.

Duluth News Tribune








On a stormy night 30 years ago, a big ship washed up on Duluth shores

11/19 - Duluth, Minn. – It was a quintessential only-in-Duluth accident that became among the city's most iconic events. Thirty years ago Wednesday night, on a stormy Lake Superior pushed by gale-force winds, the 585-foot Liberian-flagged freighter Socrates blew off its anchor position and onto the beach of Park Point.

And there it sat, stuck in the sand, for six days, just 100 feet or so from shore.

Winds on land were clocked at more than 40 mph, and one ship on the lake that night recorded gusts to 69 mph. As the grounded ship jostled in 10-foot waves, some of the Greek crew of 24 was evacuated to shore, although it eventually was determined that neither the ship nor the crew were in any real peril. No one was hurt.

It turns out that if your ship is going to go aground, the soft sand off the Park Point beach is about as good a place as any.

News crews, Park Point residents and other gawkers came to see the ship even as the storm raged that first night. As the rain and wind waned in coming days, tourists started to flood onto Park Point to get a better look.

"We didn't have any trees in the yard back then and my wife was looking out at the lake and said, 'There's a ship that's moving toward the beach and I think it's going to go aground,' " recalled Jack Soetebier, who lives on Park Point near where the Socrates hit shore. "I told her she was nuts. ... But when I looked out I said, 'You're right, that thing is going in.' You could see the lights moving in. And it did."

Thirty years later, Soetebier says that trees have grown up to block his view of where the ship landed. But the image still is vivid in his memory.

"I don't remember the storm being all that bad, but we'll never forget that ship. It was practically up on the beach," he said. "I think they should have been out farther (from shore, in deeper water) when they put their anchor down. That probably would have prevented it."

Folks who saw the hapless vessel often commented on how big the ship seemed, and how out of place, so close to shore.

Ultimately, thousands of people are said to have come to see the spectacle in person -- so many so that Duluth police blocked access to the point to anyone who wasn't a resident. Gawkers had to ride a Duluth Transit Authority shuttle bus to get close to the ship. Duluthians at the time described a festival or carnival atmosphere to the whole scene, with bonfires on the beach and rampant trespassing through residents' yards -- not unlike a smelt run in November instead of May.

Several efforts to free the freighter failed. It took backhoes on barges shoveling away sand from the hull together with the power of eight tugboats working simultaneously -- two pushing and six pulling -- to finally free the ship on Nov. 24, 1985.

The Socrates eventually left the Twin Ports on Dec. 6 with a load of wheat bound for Italy.

"Part of me wishes it was still out there. People would still be coming to look," said Dan Russell, now executive director of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, who in 1985 was director of the Duluth Visitor and Convention Bureau.

"I lived on Park Point at the time, and we were down there to watch within minutes of it going aground," Russell recalled.

The weather turned calm and nice in following days, perfect to watch and photograph a beached ship. Russell noted that there are photographs of the grounded Socrates hanging in many Duluth offices to this day.

"I got the DTA to start the 'Socrates shuttle' because the police were blocking off Park Point. ... There was just too much traffic. People started coming from all over," he noted. "We made copies of News Tribune articles to pass out and put tour guides on the buses. People got off the bus at the S-curve to take their photos. ... It was as good a tourism event as you could have in Duluth in November."

Great Lakes historian and writer Pat Lapinski dubbed the Socrates "the most photographed ship in the history of the harbor."

The Socrates underwent repairs for some holes in a forward ballast tank but otherwise was relatively unscathed. Estimates at the time were that it cost the ship's owner about $500,000 (about $1 million in today's dollars) in lost time and to pay for tugboats and barges to help free the saltie from its sandy bonds.

The ship apparently never came back to the Twin Ports as the Socrates but did later return under two other names, as the Union and later the Ypermachos. It also was known as the Mecta Sea, the Zuni Princess and most recently the Anoushka. Online reports indicate that the Anoushka was sold and scrapped last year in India.

Days after the ship was freed in Duluth, the Socrates' captain, Ioannis Kukunaris, was finishing up paperwork and getting his ship ready to sail again when he was reached by ship-to-shore radio.

"The high winds and waves pushed us ashore," Kukunaris said in the interview 30 years ago, struggling to describe the grounding in English. "I saw the worst of the lakes," he added.

Kukunaris, a seaman for 23 years at the time, said little about the incident. But Jack Frost, a representative of the ship's owners, Heliotrope Shipping Corp. of Liberia, said the Socrates and its crew were overwhelmed by wind and waves that forced the ship to drag its anchors and drift into shallow water.

"They saw it was dragging," Frost said. "The engines were ready. The crew did everything possible and couldn't stop it."

The Coast Guard was more blunt about the circumstances.

"He (Kukunaris) had shown concern about the weather and about the wind, but he took no positive action to meet his concerns," Cmdr. Stanley Spurgeon, head of the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office in Duluth, said the week of the grounding. "It wasn't a major foul-up, but it had major consequences."

Pioneer Press / Twincities.com


On this day in 1939, in a 24-hour-period, there were 132 transits of the Soo Locks. There were 71 upbound passages and 61 downbound passages.

On this day in 1952, Mrs. Ernest T. Weir smashed a bottle of champagne against the hull of the largest freighter built on the Great Lakes and the 690-foot ERNEST T. WEIR slid down the ways at the Lorain yard of American Ship Building Company. The new vessel had a crew of 38 under the command of Captain W. Ross Maitland and Chief Engineer C. F. Hoffman.

On 19 November 1897, NAHANT (wooden propeller freighter, 213 foot, 1,204 gross tons, built in 1873, at Detroit, Michigan) caught fire while docked near Escanaba, Michigan. Firefighters were hampered by sub-zero temperatures, and she burned to a total loss. The fire jumped to the dock and did $300,000 worth of damage. Two of the crew were burned to death. The wreckage of the vessel was still visible from the Escanaba lighthouse 100 years later.

American Steamship's SAM LAUD (Hull#712) was launched on this date in 1974 at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

The keel for JOHN T. HUTCHINSON (Hull#1010) was laid November 19, 1942, at Cleveland, Ohio for the U.S. Maritime Commission.

The Kinsman Transit Co.'s steamer MERLE M. McCURDY was laid up for the last time at Buffalo, New York, on November 19, 1985. She was scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario, in 1988.

On 19 November 1842, the wooden schooner BRANDYWINE was carrying flour in a storm on Lake Erie when she capsized and then drifted to the beach near Barcelona, New York. One passenger's body was found in the cabin, but the entire crew of 6 was lost.

More incidents from the terrible storm swept the Lakes in mid-November 1886. On 18-19 November of that year, The Port Huron Times listed the vessels that were known to have foundered in that storm. Here is the list of vessels that foundered as it appeared on 19 November 1886. "The barge EMERALD near Kewaunee, 5 lost. The barge F M DICKINSON near Kewaunee, 3 lost. Two unknown schooners (one supposed to be the HELEN) near Port Sherman. One unknown schooner near Hog Island Reef. The barge NORTH STAR near East Tawas, the fate of the crew is unknown." The list then continues with vessels ashore. "The barge WALLACE and consort on Choclay Beach, east of Marquette. The schooner SOUTH HAVEN near Pt. Sherman. The schooner MARY near Blenheim, Ontario. The schooner PATHFINDER near Two Rivers, the cargo and vessel are a total loss. The schooner CUYAHOGA and two scows in North Bay. The schooner P S MARSH and an unknown schooner at St. Ignace. The schooner HARVEY BISSELL near Alpena. The propeller CITY OF NEW YORK near Cheboygan. The schooner KOLFAGE near Goderich, Ontario has broken up. The propeller NASHUA on Grass Island, Green Bay. The barge BISSELL near Kewaunee. The schooner GOLDEN below China Beach. The propeller BELLE CROSS and barges across from China Beach. The schooner FLORIDA on Marquette Beach is a total loss. And the barges BUCKOUT, MC DOUGALL, BAKER, GOLDEN HARVEST near East Tawas.

The schooner HATTIE JOHNSTON sailed from Milwaukee loaded with 26,000 bushels of wheat on the night of 19 November 1879, and then a severe gale swept Lake Michigan. After two weeks, she was presumed lost with all hands. Aboard were Capt. D. D. Prouty, his wife and 8 crewmen.

On 19 Nov 1886, the steamer MANISTIQUE was towing the schooner-barges MARINETTE and MENEKAUNEE, all loaded with lumber, in a NW gale on Lake Michigan. The gale lasted three days. The barges broke loose after a long fight against the elements and both were wrecked near Frankfort, Michigan. Six of the seven aboard the MARINETTE were lost including the woman cook and her 13-year old daughter. MENEKAUNEE broke up before the Lifesaving Service could get to her and all seven aboard died. When the Lifesaving Service arrived on the beach, they found a jumbled mass of lumber and gear and the ship's dog keeping watch over the dead bodies. The dog also died soon after the Lifesaving crew arrived.

EMPIRE MALDON (steel tanker, 343 foot, 3,734 gross tons) was launched on 19 November 1945, by Sir James Laing & Sons, Ltd., at Sunderland, United Kingdom for the British Ministry of War Transport She was sold to Imperial Oil Co. of Canada in 1946, and renamed IMPERIAL HALIFAX and served on the Maritime Provinces-East Coast trade. In 1969, she was purchased by Johnstone Shipping, Ltd., of Toronto and served on the Great Lakes. She lasted until 1977, when she was scrapped by United Metals, Ltd. in Hamilton, Ontario.

On Friday morning, 19 Nov 1999, shortly after leaving the ADM dock in Windsor, the salty AVDEEVKA lost power in the Fighting Island Channel of the Detroit River. The main engine on the vessel quit while she was abreast of Grassy Island and she began drifting downstream. The stern anchor was dropped and then the port side bow anchor. She began swinging towards the middle of the channel with her stern outside the channel when the main engine was restarted and she headed back upstream for the Belle Isle anchorage. Once in the anchorage a team from the U.S. Coast Guard boarded the vessel to investigate. She was released the next day. It is reported that the vessel lost power due to main fuel valve being left closed after routine maintenance during her stay at the ADM dock.

1904: PHILIP MINCH caught fire 8 miles off Marblehead, Ohio, and sank in the navigation channel. All on board got off safely and rowed to Sandusky in the lifeboat. The remains were dynamited in 1906.

1914: C.F. CURTIS foundered in Lake Superior, 7 miles east of Grand Marais, with the loss of 14 lives. The towing barges ANNIE PETERSON and SHELDON E. MARVIN also went down after the trio ran into high winds and snow.

1956: The year old West German freighter WOLFGANG RUSS was beached in the St. Lawrence near Ile d'Orleans after a collision with the Cunard Line vessel ASIA. The former was inbound for Sorel and had to lightered and taken to Lauzon for repairs to the large hole in the side of the hull. The vessel began Great Lakes visits with the opening of the Seaway in 1959 and made 28 inland trips to the end of 1967. It arrived off Gadani Beach, Pakistan, for scrapping as b) KOTRONAS BEACH on Feb. 4, 1980.

1977: The Canada Steamship Lines self-unloader FRONTENAC grounded off Grassy Island in the St. Lawrence and about 5,000 tons of ore had to be lightered to the SAGUENAY to float free.

1979: The Liberian freighter DANILA was damaged when it struck the west pier while inbound at Port Weller in fog. The vessel first visited the Seaway as a) MAERSK CAPTAIN in 1976 and was back as b) DANILA in 1979. The ship was scrapped at Alang, India, as d) JAY BHAVANI in 1991-1992.

[yachtsmanwilly]

In 1940, the CONSUMERS POWER, a.) HARRY YATES of 1910, collided with the MARITANA on the Detroit River. The MARITANA sustained $11,089.91 in damage. MARITANA was scrapped at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1947.

On 23 November 1863, BAY OF QUINTE (wooden schooner, 250 tons, built in 1853, at Bath, Ontario) was carrying 7,500 bushels of wheat to Toronto when she was driven ashore on Salmon Point on Lake Ontario and wrecked. No lives were lost.

On 23 November 1882, the schooner MORNING LIGHT (wooden schooner, 256 tons, built in 1857, at Cleveland, Ohio) was sailing from Manistee for Chicago with a load of lumber when a storm drove her aground off Claybanks, south of Stony Lake, Michigan. One crewman swam to shore, the rest were saved by a lifesaving crew, local fishermen and the tug B. W. ALDRICH. Earlier that same year, she sank near St. Helen Island in the Straits of Mackinac. She was salvaged and put back in service, but she only lasted a few months.

After discharging her cargo, the SAMUEL MATHER, launched as a.) PILOT KNOB b.) FRANK ARMSTRONG (1943-73), proceeded to DeTour, Michigan, laying up for the last time at the Pickands Mather Coal Dock on November 23, 1981. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey in 1988.

In 1987, the self-unloader ROGERS CITY was towed out of Menominee, Michigan, for scrapping in Brazil.

STADACONA's sea trials were completed on November 23, 1952, and was delivered to Canada Steamship Lines the next day.

On 23 November 1872, Capt. W. B. Morley launched the propeller JARVIS LORD at Marine City, Michigan. Her dimensions were 193 feet X 33 feet X 18 feet, 1,000 tons. She was the first double decker built at Marine City. Her engine was from Wm. Cowie of Detroit.

On 23 November 1867, S. A. CLARK (wooden propeller tug, 12 tons, built in 1863, at Buffalo, New York) was in Buffalo's harbor when her boiler exploded and she sank.

November 23, 1930 - The Ann Arbor carferry WABASH grounded in Betsie Lake. She bent her rudder stock and her steering engine was broken up.

On 23 November 1853, the wooden schooner PALESTINE was bound from Kingston to Cleveland with railroad iron at about the same time as the like-laden schooner ONTONAGON. Eight miles west of Rochester, New York, both vessels ran ashore, were pounded heavily by the waves and sank. Both vessels reported erratic variations in their compasses. The cargoes were removed and ONTONAGON was pulled free on 7 December, but PALESTINE was abandoned. A similar event happened with two other iron-laden vessels a few years previously at the same place.

On 23 November 1853, the Ward Line's wooden side-wheeler HURON struck an unseen obstruction in the Saginaw River and sank. She was raised on 12 December 1853, towed to Detroit and repaired at a cost of $12,000. She was then transferred to Lake Michigan to handle the cross-lake traffic given the Ward Line by the Michigan Central Railroad. The carferry GRAND HAVEN was sold to the West India Fruit & Steamship Co., Norfolk, Virginia in 1946, and was brought down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, Louisiana for reconditioning before reaching Port Everglades and the Port of Palm Beach, Florida. She was brought back to the Lakes and locked up bound through the Welland Canal on 23 Nov 1964. She was intended for roll on/roll off carrier service to haul truck trailers laden with steel coils from Stelco's plant at Hamilton, Ont.

CSL NIAGARA a.) J. W. McGIFFIN, passed Port Huron, Michigan on 23 Nov 1999, on her way to Thunder Bay to load grain. This was her first trip to the upper lakes since the vessel was re-launched as a SeawayMax carrier in June 1999.

1901: QUITO stranded off Lorain, Ohio, and broke up in a Lake Erie storm. All on board were saved.

1902: SILVANUS J. MACY was last observed battling heavy seas in Lake Erie off Port Burwell. The coal laden, wooden steamer was lost with all hands.

1936: A fire at Portsmouth, Ontario, just west of Kingston, destroyed several idle wooden steamers including the SIMON LANGELL and PALM BAY. Their remains were towed into Lake Ontario and scuttled in 1937.

1961: AMVRAKIKOS ran aground on Pancake Shoal, Lake Superior, on its first and only visit to the Great Lakes. This World War Two vintage Liberty ship was refloated on November 26, loaded scrap steel at Toledo for Japan and was the last saltwater ship of the 1961 season to depart the St. Lawrence Seaway.

1997: AN TAI, an SD 14 cargo carrier registered in Belize, began to list and then the hull cracked at the dock in Port Klang, Malaysia. The ship sank at the wharf the next day. The vessel had visited the Great Lakes, first as a) LONDON GRENADIER in 1972 and again as b) FIRST JAY in 1979. Subsequent salvage efforts failed and the hull was cut into sections, taken out to sea, and dumped in a fish breeding grounds.

In 1947, the Canadian tanker BRUCE HUDSON broke down shortly after departing Port Stanley, Ont. The U.S. tanker ROCKET, Captain R. B. Robbins, managed to get a line on the HUDSON and tow her 50 miles through high seas and a snow storm to shelter behind Point Pelee. Later, the tug ATOMIC arrived on scene and towed the Hudson to Toledo for repairs.

On 22 November 1860, WABASH VALLEY (wooden propeller, 592 tons, built in 1856, at Buffalo, New York) was caught in a blizzard and gale off Muskegon, Michigan, on Lake Michigan. Her skipper thought they were off Grand Haven and as he steamed to the harbor, visibility dropped to near zero. The vessel ran onto the beach. Her momentum and the large storm waves carried her well up onto the beach where she broke in two. Her machinery was salvaged and went into the new steamer SUNBEAM.

Scrapping of SPRUCEGLEN, a.) WILLIAM K. FIELD was completed on November 22, 1986, by Lakehead Scrap Metal Co. at Thunder Bay Ontario. SPRUCEGLEN was the last Canadian coal-fired bulker.

On 22 November 1869, CREAM CITY (3-mast wooden bark, 629 tons, built in 1862, at Sheboygan, Wisconsin) was carrying wheat in a gale when she lost her way and went ashore on Drummond Island. She appeared to be only slightly damaged, but several large pumps were unable to lower the water in her hull. She was finally abandoned as a total wreck on 8 December. She was built as a "steam bark" with an engine capable of pushing her at 5 or 6 mph. After two months of constant minor disasters, this was considered an unsuccessful experiment and the engine was removed.

CITY OF MILWAUKEE was chartered to the Ann Arbor Railroad Co. and started the Frankfort, Michigan-Kewaunee, Wisconsin service for them on November 22, 1978.

November 22, 1929 - CITY OF SAGINAW 31 went out on her sea trials.

On 22 November 1860, CIRCASSIAN (wooden schooner, 135 foot, 366 tons, built in 1856, at Irving, New York) was carrying grain in a gale and blizzard on Lake Michigan when she stranded on White Shoals near Beaver Island. She sank to her decks and then broke in two. Her crew was presumed lost, but actually made it to Hog Island in the blizzard and they were not rescued from there for two weeks.

A final note from the Big Gale of 1879. On 22 November 1879, The Port Huron Times reported, "The barge DALTON is still high and dry on the beach at Point Edward."

1878: The wooden passenger and freight steamer WAUBUNO was lost with all hands, 14 crew and 10 passengers, on Georgian Bay.

1898: ARTHUR ORR went aground on Isle Royale when the steering gear failed in a severe storm. It was later released and survived until scrapping at Hamilton in 1947-1948.

1898: S.S. CURRY was leaking badly after it struck a reef off Duck Island, Lake Huron.

1906: J.H. JONES, en route from Owen Sound to Lions Head, was lost with all hands. The wooden passenger and freight steamer went down in 60 mph winds.

1907: Fire broke out aboard the wooden freighter LIZZIE MADDEN shortly after clearing Bay City for Little Current. The crew was rescued by the LANGELL BOYS. The burning hull drifted ashore on Little Charity Island in Saginaw Bay and was a total loss.

1911: JOLIET sank in the St. Clair River following a collision with the HENRY PHIPPS. It had been anchored due to fog when hit and all on board were saved. The remains were dynamited as a hazard to navigation.

1919: The wooden steamer MYRON sank off Crisp Point, Lake Superior and 17 crew were lost.

1950: The former Canada Steamship Lines canaller MAPLETON was destroyed at the Port of Suez, Egypt as b) EASTERN MED when a fire broke out while loading oil drums. The remains of the ship were scrapped.

1975: PIERSON DAUGHTERS hit bottom off North Colban Island in the St. Lawrence and had to go to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs after unloading the cargo of iron ore at Conneaut.

1988: The Dutch flag freighter POOLSTER first came through the Seaway in 1969. It suffered an engineroom fire off Kuwait as e) ATLANTIC REEFER while bound for Dubai on this date. The badly damaged ship was towed to Sharjah and then sold for scrap. It was renamed f) VOYAGER I for the trip to Gadani Beach, Pakistan, and the vessel arrived April 4, 1989, for dismantling.

1998: SPAR OPAL went aground inside the breakwall at Port Colborne due to high winds and was released by the tugs UNDAUNTED and WELLAND. The ship had also been a Seaway trader beginning in 1984 as a) LAKE SHIDAKA, in 1991 as b) CONSENSUS ATLANTIC, and in 1992 as c) FEDERAL MATANE (i). It began Great Lakes service as e) SPAR OPAL in 1997.

2000: PRINSES IRENE of the Oranje Lijn made 16 trips into the Great Lakes, with passengers and freight, from 1959 through 1963. The vessel was observed beached at Jakarta, Indonesia, as c) TANJUNG OSINA on this date and appeared to be badly rusted and burned out. The hull was later reported to have been broken up.



Senators push for Great Lakes heavy icebreaking ship

11/22 - Washington, D.C. – Eight U.S. senators from the Great Lakes region are pushing for federal funding of a new icebreaking vessel to clear paths for winter cargo shipping.

Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and six colleagues from neighboring states have sent a letter to leaders of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security requesting money to design and build the craft.

The U.S. Coast Guard has nine cutters on the Great Lakes that have some icebreaking capability. But the Mackinaw is the only “heavy icebreaker” assigned to the lakes, which has led to significant backlogs in recent winters.

The senators’ letter says thick ice caused a 3.2-million-ton drop in Great Lakes freight shipping last winter, costing $355 million in lost revenue and nearly 2,000 jobs.

WZZM



Wisconsin-built combat ship commissioned in Milwaukee

11/22 - Milwaukee, Wis. – The USS Milwaukee littoral combat ship, a warship built in Wisconsin, was commissioned Saturday and is now ready to report for duty in the South China Sea.

An estimated 4,000 people turned out on a snowy, windy day for the ship's commissioning ceremony on Lake Michigan at Milwaukee's Veterans Park, the Journal Sentinel reported. Speakers included Gov. Scott Walker, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore and U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin.

Cmdr. Kendall Bridgewater, the ship's commanding officer, told the crowd that the USS Milwaukee and other littoral combat ships bring "incredible change to our Navy."

The ships can operate much closer to shore, and sail at faster speeds, than other vessels. Littoral combat ships also are designed to quickly swap out combat modules for missions that include searching for underwater mines, and battling other ships and submarines.

Those features help ensure "an unimpeded flow of commerce" on the world's oceans, said Adm. Michelle Howard, vice chief of naval operations.

The USS Fort Worth, sister ship to the USS Milwaukee, is now on duty in the South China Sea, said Rear Adm. Brian Antonio. The USS Milwaukee will soon join Navy patrols there, said Antonio, program executive officer of littoral combat ships.

"Like the USS Fort Worth, the USS Milwaukee represents the best of our nation and our Navy," he said.

But some question the effectiveness of the USS Milwaukee, and other littoral combat ships. The ship's interchangeable modules are supposed to make the ships more versatile, with each version tailored for a specific purpose. The original goal was to be able to change the modules in 72 hours.

Critics say that concept isn't working, and that the littoral combat ships don't have the firepower, or armor, of larger warships.

The USS Milwaukee has undergone sailing trials on Lake Michigan since Marinette Marine Corp. finished building it. It is the third Freedom-class littoral combat ship built in Marinette. The first, the USS Freedom, was commissioned in Milwaukee in 2008. But the USS Milwaukee wasn't officially part of the Navy's active fleet until the commissioning ceremony.

Baldwin said the USS Milwaukee is an essential piece of the nation's defense, and helps support Wisconsin's economy with jobs at Marinette Marine and its suppliers. The littoral ship program has created 2,000 direct jobs in Wisconsin, Baldwin's office said.

Seven additional littoral combat ships are in various stages of production at Marinette Marine, said Stephanie Hill, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Corp.'s ship and aviation systems business line. Lockheed Martin is the general contractor for littoral combat ships, and subcontracts work to Marinette Marine.

After this weekend, the USS Milwaukee will travel through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway to the East Coast, then south to the Panama Canal to reach its home port of San Diego.

News Observer

Whitefish Bay is a parking lot, due to windy weather on Lake Superior

11/21 - Paradise, Mich. – Lake Superior's Whitefish Bay is a parking lot right now, or, at least that's what they call it in Paradise.

Seven freighters have hunkered down in Whitefish Bay for the moment, presumably waiting for Lower Michigan's first snowstorm of the season to blow over. Big waves and gale conditions were forecast Thursday and Friday on parts of Lake Superior.

As of Friday evening, the Cason J. Callaway, Frontenac, Sam Laud, Pineglen, CSL Niagara and CSL Assiniboine were waiting at anchor in the bay, on a general northwest-southeast line between Paradise and Brimley. BBC Mont Blanc and American Integrity were upbound headed for Lake Superior after passing through the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie.

Nikki Craig, owner of the Freighters View of the Bay Motel north of Paradise, said it's not unheard of to see multiple vessels at anchor in the bay at one time, but it certainly doesn't happen very often.

In any given year, "you might see this four times at the most," she said.

When ships park offshore, it tends to be the talk of Paradise, a small community that draws tourists from Tahquamenon Falls, Crisp Point Lighthouse, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and nearby natural areas.

"Last night, we could see the lights of several ships," she said. "It's kind of amazing to see them out there. They drop anchor and just sit."

MLive

El Nino expected to halt historic rise in Great Lakes

11/21 - Detroit, Mich. – El Nino, the weather-skewing, climate-changing phenomenon that originates in the Pacific Ocean, will likely bring a historic water level rise of the Great Lakes to an end in 2016.

After more than a dozen years of below-average water levels, 2014 and 2015 produced an unprecedented rapid rise in the lakes back to near or at average levels. This year’s El Nino, which some forecasters predict could be the strongest in 50 years, should halt the rise in the next six months, according to a forecast released Thursday.

In addition, El Nino is expected to affect the amount of snow and rainfall Michigan experiences in the next six months. Experts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers discussed the looming impacts of the phenomenon in a Thursday conference call with reporters.

El Nino is expected to produce warmer temperatures during the winter months than in previous years. But don’t put away the parkas just yet.

“I do want to stress that this does not preclude shorter periods of colder winter weather,” said Jim Noel, hydrologist with NOAA’s National Weather Service Ohio River Forecast Center. “However, the chance of a repeat of a cold winter like the last two years is fairly low ... because of El Nino.”

Frigid winters during the past two years have resulted in 92.5 percent of the Great Lakes being covered by ice in 2013-14 and 88.8 percent in 2014-15 — far above average.

NOAA describes El Nino as a “periodic warming in sea surface temperatures across the central and east-central Equatorial Pacific.”

Along with higher temperatures across the Great Lakes, Noel said the region will see less snowfall.

“One thing we are fairly confident in is the snowfall this winter will likely be not as much as we’ve seen the last two years,” he said.

At this time of year, the lakes are in the midst of a seasonal decline as levels drop from the highs of late summer. The fall is typically driven by the arrival of colder air. When spring rolls around, a seasonal rise occurs for the swimming/boating season.

But temperatures this fall will remain warmer than usual, opening a new set of possibilities.

“One potential impact would be a lower seasonal decline (from) lower evaporation because the water temperature and air temperature differential isn’t (as large) as it typically is,” said Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of hydrology at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Detroit District. “We also will likely see a lower seasonal rise come spring time.”

Kompoltowicz said those patterns are expected to result in:

• Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron remaining above their long-term averages during the next six months, but fall below levels registered in 2015.

• Lake Erie staying above its historical average in the next six months and remaining above last year’s levels as well.

• Lake Ontario staying at, or slightly below, its long-term average through the next six months and consistently being at or above last year’s levels.

• Lake St. Clair remaining well above its long-term average in the next six months and well above last year’s levels as well.

Detroit News



In 1934, the package freighter EDWARD L. LOOMIS, Captain Alex McKenzie, collided with the W. C. FRANZ, Captain Alex McIntyre, about 30 miles southeast of Thunder Bay Island, Lake Huron. Four crewmen on the FRANZ drowned when the lifeboat turned over while being lowered.

On 21 November 1861, ENTERPRISE (2-mast wooden scow-schooner, 64 foot, 56 tons, built in 1854, at Port Huron, Michigan) was driven ashore near Bark Shanty at the tip of Michigan's thumb on Lake Huron. The storm waves pounded her to pieces. Her outfit was salvaged a few days later.

On the evening of 21 November 1890, the scow MOLLIE (wooden scow-schooner, 83 foot, 83 gross tons, built in 1867, at Fairport, Ohio) left Ludington, Michigan, with a load of lumber. About 8:00 p.m., when she was just 25 miles off Ludington, she started to leak in heavy seas, quickly becoming waterlogged. Capt. Anderson and his two-man crew had just abandoned the vessel in the yawl when the steamer F & P M NO 4 showed up, shortly after midnight. The rough weather washed Capt. Anderson out of the yawl, but he made it back in. At last a line from the F & P M NO 4 was caught and made fast to the yawl and the crew made it to the steamer. The men had a narrow escape, for the MOLLIE was going to pieces rapidly, and there was little likelihood of the yawl surviving in the gale.

PATERSON (Hull#113) was launched November 21, 1953, at Port Arthur, Ontario, by Port Arthur Ship Building Co. Ltd.

In 1924, MERTON E. FARR slammed into the Interstate Bridge that linked Superior, Wisconsin, with Duluth, Minnesota, causing extensive damage to the bridge. The bridge span fell into the water but the FARR received only minor damage to her bow.

On 21 November 1869, the ALLIANCE (wooden passenger sidewheeler, 87 foot, 197 gross tons, built in 1857, at Buffalo, New York) slipped her moorings at Lower Black Rock in the Niagara River and went over the falls. She had been laid up since the spring of 1869.

November 21, 1906 - The PERE MARQUETTE 17 encountered one of the worst storms in many years while westbound for the Wisconsin Central slip in Manitowoc. Wisconsin. She made port safely, but the wind was so high that she could not hold her course up the river without assistance. The tug ARCTIC assisted, and as they were proceeding through the 10th Street Bridge, a gust of wind from the south drove the ferry and tug against the north pilings of the 10th Street Bridge. The ARCTIC, pinned between the ferry and the bridge, was not damaged, but she crushed the hull of a fishing tug moored there, sinking her, and inflicted damage of a few hundred dollars to the bridge.

November 21, 1923 - Arthur Stoops, the lookout on the ANN ARBOR NO 6, was drowned while stepping from the apron onto the knuckle to cast off the headline.

On the night of 21 November 1870, C.W. ARMSTRONG (wooden propeller steam tug, 57 foot, 33 tons, built in 1856, at Albany, New York) burned at her dock at Bay City, Michigan. No lives were lost.

More incidents from the Big Gale of 1879. On 21 November 1879, The Port Huron Times reported "The schooner MERCURY is ashore at Pentwater. The schooner LUCKY is high and dry at Manistee; the schooner WAUBASHENE is on the beach east of Port Colborne. The schooner SUMATRA is on the beach at Cleveland; the large river tug J P Clark capsized and sunk at Belle Isle in the Detroit River on Wednesday [19 Nov.] and sank in 15 minutes. One drowned. The schooner PINTO of Oakville, Ontario, stone laden, went down in 30 feet of water about one mile down from Oakville. At Sand beach the barge PRAIRIE STATE is rapidly going to pieces.

1883: The boiler exploded aboard the salvage tug ERIE BELLE while working to free the schooner J.N. CARTER in the Kincardine area of Lake Huron. The former was wrecked but the boiler is still on what has become known as “Old Boiler Beach”.

1902: BANNOCKBURN disappeared on Lake Superior without a trace. Its final resting place has never been found. 1906: The wooden steamer RESOLUTE anchored off the Eastern Gap at Toronto to ride out a storm but the wind switched battering the vessel until it sank. The hull was salvaged in October 1907 and rebuilt as the JOHN ROLPH.

1936: HIBOU was lost in Owen Sound Bay within two miles of the dock and seven perished. The hull was refloated in 1942.

1941: HENRY C. DARYAW, requisitioned for war and on its delivery voyage stranded on rocks in the Brockville Narrows, rolled over and slid off into deep water and sank. It was to have been used on the east coast as a tender for ocean ships. One life was lost.

1957: MONTFAUCON was built at Wyandotte, MI in 1920 and later operated on the Great Lakes as b) E.M. BUNCE. It was at Naples, Italy, as g) ANNA MARIA IEVOLI when an internal explosion caused damage that led to the ship being scrapped.

1959: MOSES GAY was built at Duluth in 1943. It was severely damaged as e) HEANGURA in a storm at Ostra Kvarken, Sweden, and went aground. While salvaged, the ship was tied up at Turku, Finland, and sold for scrap in January 1960.

1961: The British freighter RAPALLO was anchored at Istanbul, Turkey, when struck and damaged by two different freighters, both out of control due to high winds. The vessel was repaired and began Seaway trading in 1963 for the Ellerman Wilson Line.

1961: The former Paterson canaller GANANDOC left the Great Lakes as b) SUGARLAND in October 1961. It had a brief career in the south and went aground at Arcas Reef, Bay of Campeche, while inbound for Coatzacoalcos, Mexico with 2,877 tons of phosphoric rock from Tampa. The ship was abandoned on November 26 as a total loss.

1962: BRO, a Norwegian pre-Seaway visitor as early as 1953, was abandoned by the crew after taking a severe list en route from Seville, Spain, to Rotterdam, Netherlands. The ship was taken in tow, reached Lisbon, Portugal, and was repaired.

1982: CAPTAIN PANAGOS D.P. went aground at Farasan Island in the Red Sea en route from Trois Rivieres, QC to Bandar Abbas, Iran. Fire broke out in the engine room and the ship was gutted. The hull was refloated and was noted lying off Qatar “derelict” in December 1986 and finally scrapped at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, as c) JENNY in 1988. The vessel first came through the Seaway as PANAGOS D. PATERAS in 1977 and returned as CAPTAIN PANAGOS D.P. in 1980.

1994: The Russian freighter FASTOV, upbound for Green Bay with pulpwood on its first trip to the Great Lakes, lost power and struck the Shell dock at Corunna, ON, resulting in considerable damage to the structure. The vessel returned inland as d) EVANGELOS in 1999 and was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey, as f) JONA in 2011.

2007: The engine aboard the Lake Erie passenger ship JIIMAAN became disabled after the vessel snagged a fish net off Kingsville and the vessel grounded briefly.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Crews begin pumping oil from sunken barge in Lake Erie

11/24 - Toledo, Ohio — Salvage crews have begun an underwater operation to pump a hazardous oil-based substance from a sunken barge that apparently had been sitting undiscovered on the bottom of Lake Erie for nearly 80 years.

Crews have been monitoring the site near the U.S.-Canadian border since discovering a small leak in October that appeared to be coming from a barge called the Argo that sank during a storm in 1937.

A statement by the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which are overseeing the project, says the first of Argo’s eight tanks was tapped Saturday.

The wreckage is one of 87 shipwrecks on a federal registry that identifies the most serious pollution threats to U.S. waters.

Detroit News





Haimark Line cancels sailings through mid-December

11/24 - Cruise industry newcomer Haimark Line has canceled sailings through mid-December.

The small-ship cruise company filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 30 under the Chapter 11 section of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code but at the time didn't cancel any upcoming voyages of its one ship, the 210-passenger Saint Laurent.

USA Today learned of the cancellations from customers who said they had received notices from the line – in some cases just days before they were scheduled to sail. The canceled sailings include a voyage that was set to begin Nov. 11.

In an email to USA Today, Haimark president Hans Rood confirmed the cancellation of voyages on the Saint Laurent through Dec. 11, suggesting that it was a result of the bankruptcy process.

"We are working hard to get the ship back in her sailing schedule and first need to lift Haimark Line out of Chapter 11," Rood said.

Rood suggested the Saint Laurent wouldn't be out of service long. "Negotiations to resolve the problems (that led to the bankruptcy filing) are moving along quite rapidly, and we hope to announce a resolution quite soon, assuring a stable continuation of sailings," he said.

Passengers on the canceled sailings will receive refunds that already are being processed, Rood said.

Initially offering voyages along the Eastern USA and into the Great Lakes, Haimark had a troubled start this summer. The Saint Laurent crashed into a lock while navigating the St. Lawrence Seaway just weeks after its May 30 debut. It was out of service for a month, and four cruises were canceled. A 13-night sailing from Portland, Maine to the Bahamas scheduled to begin Oct. 30 also was canceled, with the line blaming poor weather.

In a statement earlier this month, Haimark blamed the St. Lawrence Seaway accident for the bankruptcy filing, citing insurance issues that remain unresolved. The line charters the Saint Laurent from Clipper Cruises, which owns the vessel.

Haimark in July announced that the Saint Laurent would operate cruises to Cuba out of Miami starting in February, becoming the first ship to do so in decades.

The bankruptcy filing does not affect an affiliated company, Haimark Ltd., that operates river cruises in Asia.

USA Today



On this day in 1966, Hjalmer Edwards became ill while working as a second cook on the steamer DANIEL J. MORRELL. He was transferred to the hospital at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan when the MORRELL transited the locks for the last time on Thanksgiving Day. Five days later, the DANIEL J. MORRELL sank during a severe storm on Lake Huron with just Dennis Hale as its lone survivor.

On 24 November 1945, SCOTT E. LAND (steel propeller C4-S-A4 cargo ship, 496 foot, 10,654 gross tons) was launched at Kaiser Corporation (Hull #520) in Vancouver, Washington for the U.S. Maritime Commission. She was converted to a straight-deck bulk freighter at Baltimore, Maryland in 1951, and renamed TROY H. BROWNING. In 1955, she was renamed THOMAS F. PATTON. After serving on the Great Lakes, she was scrapped in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1981.

On November 24, 1950, while bound for South Chicago with iron ore, the ENDERS M. VOORHEES collided with the up bound steamer ELTON HOYT II (now the ST. MARYS CHALLENGER) in the Straits of Mackinac during a blinding snowstorm. Both vessels received such serious bow damage that they had to be beached near McGulpin Point west of Mackinaw City to avoid sinking.

ROSEMOUNT, stored with coal, sank alongside CSL's Century Coal Dock at Montreal, Quebec, on November 24, 1934.

Paterson's PRINDOC (Hull#657) was launched November 24, 1965, at Lauzon, Quebec, by Davie Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.

November 24, 1892 - The ANN ARBOR NO 1 ran aground on her first trip just north of the Kewaunee harbor.

On 24 Nov 1881, LAKE ERIE (wooden propeller canaller, 136 foot, 464 gross tons, built in 1873, at St, Catharine's, Ontario) collided with the steamer NORTHERN QUEEN in fog and a blizzard near Poverty Island by the mouth of Green Bay. LAKE ERIE sank in one hour 40 minutes. NORTHERN QUEEN took aboard the crew but one man was scalded and died before reaching Manistique.

The CITY OF SAGINAW 31 entered service in 1931.

On 24 November 1905, ARGO (steel propeller passenger/package freight, 174 foot, 1,089 tons, built in 1896, at Detroit, Michigan) dropped into a trough of a wave, hit bottom and sank in relatively shallow water while approaching the harbor at Holland, Michigan. 38 passengers and crew were taken off by breeches' buoy in a thrilling rescue by the U.S. Lifesaving Service.

NEPTUNE (wooden propeller, 185 foot, 774 gross tons, built in 1856, at Buffalo, New York) was laid up at East Saginaw, Michigan, on 24 November 1874, when she was discovered to be on fire at about 4:00 a.m. She burned to a total loss.

The ANN ARBOR NO 1 left Frankfort for Kewaunee on November 24, 1892. Because of the reluctance of shippers to trust their products on this new kind of ferry it was difficult to find cargo for this first trip. Finally, a fuel company which sold coal to the railroad routed four cars to Kewaunee via the ferry.

1905: ARGO missed the entrance to the harbor at Holland, MI while inbound from Chicago and went aground. All on board, an estimated 72 passengers and crew, were rescued by breeches buoy in a very challenging task. The ship was salvaged in January 1906.

1938: The idle former passenger ship CITY OF BENTON HARBOR was gutted by a fire at Sturgeon Bay.

1970: C.W. CADWELL hit a submerged rock in the Niagara River near Queenston and was stranded.

1988: KATIA was abandoned off Nova Scotia, enroute from Brazil to Carleton, QC, and all 27 on board were taken off by rescue helicopter. Despite salvage efforts, the listing ship sank November 26. It had been through the Seaway earlier in 1987 after previous inland voyages as c) TIMI in 1978 and d) HAPPY MED in 1981.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Steelmaker ArcelorMittal has lost nearly $1.3B this year

11/25 - ArcelorMittal, one of Northwest Indiana's largest employers, lost $711 million in the third quarter, and has lost $1.2 billion so far this year.

The Luxembourg-based steelmaker, which has local operations in East Chicago, Gary, Burns Harbor, Riverdale, and New Carlisle, has seen shipments decline by 2.1 percent in the third quarter. Shipments are up 1.4 percent so far this year, but prices have been suffering because of an international import crisis that most blame on Chinese steelmaking overcapacity.

In ongoing negotiations with the United Steelworkers union, ArcelorMittal likely will point to the huge loss as a reason for wanting to cut back on health insurance benefits. The union says the steel business has always had its ups and downs, while the steelmaker says it needs to make its cost structure more competitive.

"Whilst we have delivered stable EBITDA compared with the second quarter, the already challenging operating conditions have further deteriorated during recent months, largely due to additional declines in steel prices caused by exceptionally low Chinese export prices," ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal said.

ArcelorMittal has openly talked about restructuring its North American operations so there's not so much overcapacity, which is now more than 30 percent, according to the American and Iron Steel Institute. The steelmaker says all its North American blast furnaces will continue to forge iron, but that it's looking to cut costs wherever it can.

"Whilst we expect market conditions to remain challenging in 2016, we have a number of important programs underway across the business which will structurally improve EBITDA in 2016 and we also expect a significant reduction in our cash requirements," Mittal said.

The multinational steelmaker is pursuing three trade cases in the United States, where imports have seized nearly a third of the market share. Most analysts blame the import crisis on China, which built more steel mills than it needed and now is selling steel at an average loss of $75 a ton abroad with the help of generous government subsidies.

NWI Times





Gooey algae blooms could signal trouble in Lake Superior, scientist says

11/25 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – A research scientist with Environment Canada says the recent appearance of so-called "rock snot" in the St. Marys River could point to a problem in Lake Superior.

Max Bothwell said the gooey algae blooms, called Didymosphenia geminata, are only known to appear when phosphorous levels are very low.

"Phosphorus is the key element that controls the overall productivity of many ... fresh water aquatic systems," Bothwell said.

Environment Canada research scientist Max Bothwell said so-called "rock snot" in the St. Mary's River indicates low levels of phosphorus in Lake Superior. That could negatively impact fish production, he said. (supplied. )

"If phosphorus becomes very low, then it means that the overall productivity of that lake, ultimately culminating in fish production, will decline. How much so is unknown ... but it does mean that there's a stress on the system from extremely low phosphorus," he said.

Bothwell noted, however, that those concerned with water clarity might view low phosphorus levels as a good thing, because they result in clearer water.

"There would be less phytoplankton algae in production in the lake," he explained.

Data from Environment Canada suggests concentrations of phosphorus have been declining in Lake Superior for a decade now, Bothwell said, adding that those low levels are now flowing into the St. Marys River, resulting in what's believed to be the first appearance of rock snot in the river this summer.

Scientists don't know for sure why the phosphorus levels are sinking, he said.

Until they do, nothing can be done to address the situation because they don't know what they're addressing, he added.

The next step, Bothwell said, is to continue monitoring the situation to see if it remains stable or gets better or worse in the coming years.

CBC



In 1890, the WESTERN RESERVE delivered a record cargo of 95,488 bushels of wheat from Duluth to Buffalo.

In 1913, the schooner ROUSE SIMMONS, Captain August Schuenemann, departed Thompson Harbor (Michigan) with a load of fresh cut Christmas trees bound for Chicago. Somewhere between Kewaunee and Two Rivers, Wis., the SIMMONS was lost with all hands.

On 25 November 1857, ANTELOPE (wooden schooner, 220 tons, built in 1854, at Port Robinson, Ontario) was driven ashore by a gale near St. Joseph, Michigan. Five lives were lost. She was recovered the next year and rebuilt.

INCAN SUPERIOR was withdrawn from service after completing 2,386 trips between Thunder Bay and Superior and on November 25, 1992, she passed down bound at Sault Ste. Marie for service on the Canadian West Coast. Renamed PRINCESS SUPERIOR in 1993.

ROBERT C. STANLEY was laid up for the last time November 25, 1981, at the Tower Bay Slip, Superior, Wisconsin. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey in 1989.

CITY OF MILWAUKEE (Hull#261) was launched November 25, 1930, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. She was sponsored by Mrs. Walter J. Wilde, wife of the collector of customs at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She entered service in January of 1931.

On 25 November 1866, F. W. BACKUS (wooden propeller, 133 foot, 289 tons, built in 1846, at Amherstburg, Ontario) was carrying hay, horses and cattle off Racine, Wisconsin. She was run to the beach when it was discovered that she was on fire. Her crew and passengers disembarked. The tug DAISY LEE towed her out while she was still burning, intending to scuttle her, but the towline burned through and she drifted back to shore and burned to the waterline. Her live cargo was pushed overboard while she was still well out and they swam to shore.

On 25 November 1874, WILLIAM SANDERSON (wooden schooner, 136 foot, 385 gross tons, built in 1853, at Oswego, New York) was carrying wheat in a storm on Lake Michigan when she foundered. The broken wreck washed ashore off Empire, Michigan, near Sleeping Bear. She was owned by Scott & Brown of Detroit.

During a storm on 25 November 1895, MATTIE C. BELL (wooden schooner, 181 foot, 769 gross tons, built in 1882, at E. Saginaw, Michigan) was in tow of the steamer JIM SHERRIFS on Lake Michigan. The schooner stranded at Big Summer Island, was abandoned in place and later broke up. No lives were lost.

On 25 Nov 1947, the CAPTAIN JOHN ROEN was renamed c.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS by the American Steamship Co. in 1958, CORNELIUS was renamed d.) CONSUMERS POWER. Eventually sold to Erie Sand, she was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 1988. Built in 1927, as a.) GEORGE M. HUMPHERY.

On 25 Nov 1905, the JOSEPH G. BUTLER JR (steel straight-deck bulk freighter, 525 foot, 6,588 gross tons) entered service, departing Lorain, Ohio, for Duluth on her maiden voyage. The vessel was damaged in a severe storm on that first crossing of Lake Superior, but she was repaired and had a long career. She was renamed DONALD B GILLIES in 1935, and GROVEDALE in 1963. She was sunk as a dock in Hamilton in 1973, and finally sold for scrap in 1981.

1904: B.W. BLANCHARD stranded near Alpena, MI and was wrecked. The ship had become unmanageable in heavy weather while enroute to Detroit with a cargo of lumber and was a total loss.

1908: NORTH STAR sank in Lake Huron off Port Sanilac after a collision with NORTHERN QUEEN. The accident occurred in dense fog and the ship went down quickly. All were saved.

1927: THOUSAND ISLANDER cleared Sarnia for Midland under tow of C.S.L. fleetmate COLLINGWOOD and they encountered heavy weather on Lake Huron. The ship was overwhelmed southeast of Thunder Bay Island and sank.

1950: The cargo of steel and package freight aboard the C.S.L. steamer WEYBURN shifted on Lake Ontario in a wild fall storm and the ship took on a precarious list and almost capsized. The ship was escorted to Toronto by RENVOYLE where the problem was corrected.

1971: The Greek freighter ESTIA sank on the Caribbean north of French Guiana after a violent engine room explosion. The ship was bound for Brazil with phosphates and all on board were saved. The vessel had been a Great Lakes visitor as MANCHESTER SPINNER beginning in 1963.

2003: The yacht ALISON LAKE, rebuilt at Toronto from the U.S. Coast Guard ship SAUK, hit a submerged object and sank in very deep water south of Key West, FL. All on board were rescued.

[yachtsmanwilly]

With Iron Range reeling, representative proposes steel import ban

11/26 - Duluth, Minn. - U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan said Monday the situation is so dire for the U.S. iron ore and steel industries that the time has come to ban steel imports to protect American jobs.

Nolan on Monday said he will introduce a bill in Congress to ban steel imports into the U.S. for five years – an effort to boost production of U.S.-made steel and boost demand for Minnesota iron ore, the main ingredient in steel.

The bill could be formally drafted on Nov. 30 when Congress returns to Washington after the Thanksgiving break. But it faces an uphill battle in Washington, where protectionist measures have often failed.

Nolan, D-Crosby, said the current crisis – with steel production dwindling in the U.S. and now seven of Minnesota's 11 major mining operations closed or about to close – is caused by a flood of imported steel, much of it from Asia, that is undercutting domestic steel and stealing away business. That reduction in domestic steel has vastly reduced the need for MInnesota's taconite iron ore, leading to the plant closures and the worst downturn on the Iron Range in 30 years.

Steel imports now account for more than one-third of all steel being used in the U.S., Nolan said, the highest level on record. American steel mill production has dropped to just 70 percent of capacity and may dip lower.

Much of the imported steel, Nolan and others contend, is being sold below-cost thanks to foreign government subsidies. That's against international trade laws, but it's often hard to prove and harder to enforce, taking months or even years for trade cases to reach conclusions.

"Once and for all, it's time for this Congress and this administration to stand up for American workers and American jobs -- jobs being destroyed and stolen due to illegal steel dumping by China, India and other Southeast Asian nations," Nolan said in a statement Monday. "My bill would place an immediate moratorium on imports of foreign steel for five years, so our domestic industry will have time to return to 100 percent of production capacity -- and so thousands of American workers who have lost their jobs in our mining, iron ore and steel industries can return to work as quickly as possible."

Nolan also is working on a companion bill in the House to legislation by U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken of Minnesota to toughen U.S. trade enforcement policies and impose high duties on foreign imports causing harm to U.S. manufacturers and workers.

Nolan said U.S. trade officials simply don't act fast enough to save American jobs.

"The United States has proven itself incapable of enforcing trade agreements -- and incapable of stopping illegal dumping of foreign steel once it reaches our shores. ... So we need a moratorium on foreign steel," Nolan said. "Beyond that, we need to defeat the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that will cost us millions more jobs and the loss of thousands of additional manufacturing facilities."

TwinCites.com





USS Milwaukee visiting Detroit en route to South China Sea

11/26 - Detroit, Mich. – The USS Milwaukee littoral combat ship is stopping in Detroit en route to duty in the South China Sea.

The ship was scheduled to dock at the Port of Detroit Wednesday afternoon and depart Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. The USS Milwaukee is a sister ship to the USS Detroit, which will be commissioned in Detroit next year.

The USS Milwaukee was commissioned Saturday in Milwaukee. After the Detroit stop the ship will travel through the St. Lawrence Seaway to the East Coast, then south to the Panama Canal to reach its home port of San Diego.

The USS Milwaukee was built in Marinette, Wisconsin, where the USS Detroit also is being built. The littoral combat ships can operate much closer to shore, and go at faster speeds, than other vessels.

Associated Press





Crew draws toxic cargo from sunken Lake Erie barge thought to be Argo

11/26 - Cleveland, Ohio – Crews continue to remove toxic chemicals from the sunken Lake Erie barge thought to be the long-lost Argo.

After drawing about 10,000 gallons of water mixed with benzene and other pollutants from one of the barge's eight sealed tanks, crews on Tuesday will work to empty the remaining cargo holds, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Jetta Disco said.

"Our goal is to have it done in the next couple of weeks before the weather becomes too severe," she said.

The method used to remove the hazardous cargo — called "lightering" — works by pumping the products inside the cargo holds into a container on a barge at the surface. The products are run through carbon filters to separate and remove flammable vapors.

The barge rests in about 40 feet of water nine nautical miles northeast of Kelleys Island. The vessel's measurements, location and cargo all but confirm it is the Argo, which sank during a storm in 1937.

Cleveland.com





Six-month water level predictions illustrate Great Lakes complexity

11/26 - Lake Erie – Recently released Great Lakes water level predictions have Superior, Michigan and Huron on the same page. But Erie and Ontario flow to the beat of a different drum.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers – Detroit District predict that the bigger lakes will drop below the level they were a year ago. Erie and Ontario are set to be higher than they were a year ago.

How does that work?

“Over the summer and early fall of this year, water supplies to Lake Superior and Michigan-Huron were near average or below average,” said Lauren Fry, civil engineer at the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers – Detroit District. “Outflows, however, have been above average, due to higher than average water levels on both lakes.”

The high levels of the upper lakes are the legacy of the last two winters, which were so cold and snowy they set the stage for low evaporation and high spring runoff. Those levels mean that outflow, or discharge, to the St. Marys River and the St. Clair and Detroit River system will be higher than typical.

With less water coming in than is going out, lower water levels are expected for Superior and Michigan-Huron. This winter is also expected to be warmer, which may also contribute to lower levels than last year.

Lakes Erie and Ontario just have to be different.

Both lakes can thank heavy June precipitation for higher levels than last year, Fry said. Lake Erie experienced precipitation 95 percent above the long term average. Lake Ontario got 80 percent more. Both lakes rose rapidly throughout June and July.

“Only very dry conditions would result in levels below last year’s levels,” Fry said.

Great Lakes Echo





Miller Ferry will stay open until ice sets in

11/26 - Lake Erie - The Miller Ferry will start its extended schedule later this week for the winter season. Officials with the ferry service, that provides transportation to and from the Lake Erie islands, say they will continue to operate until weather and ice forces them to stop, and that could be a while.

There is a miniature construction boom in Put-In-Bay. Two 20-unit condo projects are being built along with a 32-unit hotel, and it all depends on the ferry to get the materials from the mainland to the islands. However, the clock is ticking before big ice and storms shut down the ferry line this winter, so both islanders and construction crews are taking advantage of the nice weather now by getting supplies over to the island.

The lake temperature is in the middle 40s which is about 8 degrees warmer than this time last year. The warmer temperatures combined with a warm winter outlook mean it could be a while before the ice does form on Lake Erie and the ice season could be shorter than the past two years.

ABC13





J.C. Ford destroyed by a fire on Nov. 26, 1924

The wooden freighter J.C. Ford was built at Grand Haven, Mich., in 1889. The 172 foot long by 32 foot, 8 inch wide vessel was registered at 520 gross tons and was originally used in the iron ore trade for T.W. Kirby.

The ship was sold to Sydenham Scott and Wm. Fleumer in 1892 and rebuilt as a package freight carrier with the addition of a second deck. This resulted in a new tonnage of 710 gross and 597 net tons.

It moved to the Nipigon Transit Co. in 1902 and the tonnage was reduced to 609 gross following another rebuild.

The ship was purchased by the Sarnia Coal and Dock Co. in 1922 and, when carrying lumber, could handle 550,000 board feet per trip.

The J.C. Ford was en route, and in ballast, from Cleveland to Thessalon for another load of lumber when it ran aground by night in a snowstorm off Little Trout Island, near Drummond Island, in the St. Marys River. The ship was towing the J.A. Francomb and a fire broke out aboard the J.C. Ford. The nine sailors, 7 men and 2 women, were able to escape to Little Trout Island and were rescued by the Coast Guard ship Chippewa.

The J.C. Ford burned to the waterline 91 years ago today. The wreck is a popular dive site as it rests in 5 to 15 feet of water and, while the hull is badly broken up, the large propeller remains an attraction.

In 1952, the PHILIP R. CLARKE was launched at the American Ship Building yard at Lorain, Ohio. The 647- foot-long freighter became the flagship of the Pittsburgh Steamship Company. She was lengthened by 120 feet in 1974 and converted to a self-unloader in 1982.

On 26 November 1856, CHEROKEE (2-mast wooden schooner, 103 foot, 204 tons, built in 1849, at Racine, Wisconsin) foundered in a gale 7 miles south of Manistee, Michigan, on Lake Michigan. All aboard (estimates range from ten to fourteen persons) were lost.

The U.S.C.G.C. MESQUITE departed Charlevoix and locked through the Soo on November 26, 1989, to begin SUNDEW's normal buoy tending duties on Lake Superior.

The ELIZABETH HINDMAN was launched November 26, 1920, as a.) GLENCLOVA (Hull#9) at Midland, Ontario, by Midland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.

On 26 November 1872, the steamer GEO W. REYNOLDS burned at 1 in the morning at the dock in Bay City. The fire supposedly originated in the engine room. She was owned by A. English of East Saginaw.

On 26 November 1853, ALBANY (wooden side wheel passenger/package freight, 202 foot, 669 tons, built in 1846, at Detroit, Michigan) was carrying passengers and miscellaneous cargo in a storm on Lake Huron.. She was making for the shelter of Presque Isle harbor when the gale drove her over a bar. Her crew and 200 passengers came ashore in her boats. Plans were made to haul her back across the bar when another storm wrecked her. Her boiler and most of her machinery were recovered the following year.

LAKE BREEZE (wooden propeller, 122 foot, 301 gross tons, built in 1868, at Toledo, Ohio) burned at her dock in Leamington, Ontario, on 26 November 1878. One man perished in the flames. She was raised in 1880, but the hull was deemed worthless. Her machinery and metal gear were removed in 1881, and sold to an American company.

The ANN ARBOR NO 5 (steel carferry, 359 foot, 2,988 gross tons) was launched by the Toledo Ship Building Company (Hull #118) on 26 Nov 1910. She was the first carferry to be built with a sea gate, as a result of the sinking of the PERE MARQUETTE 18 in September of 1910.

On 26 Nov 1881, JANE MILLER (wooden propeller passenger-package freight coaster, 78 foot, 210 gross tons, built in 1878, at Little Current, Ontario) departed Meaford, Ontario, for Wiarton - sailing out into the teeth of a gale and was never seen again. All 30 aboard were lost. She probably sank near the mouth of Colpoy's Bay in Georgian Bay. She had serviced the many small ports on the inside coast of the Bruce Peninsula.

HIRAM W. SIBLEY (wooden propeller freighter, 221 foot, 1,419 gross tons, built in 1890, at E. Saginaw, Michigan) was carrying 70,000 bushels of corn from Chicago for Detroit. On 26 Nov 1898, she stranded on the northwest corner of South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan during blizzard. (Some sources say this occurred on 27 November.) The tugs PROTECTOR and SWEEPSTAKES were dispatched for assistance but the SIBLEY refloated herself during the following night and then began to sink again. She was put ashore on South Fox Island to save her but she broke in half; then completely broke up during a gale on 7 December 1898.

During the early afternoon of 26 Nov 1999, the LOUIS R. DESMARAIS suffered an engine room fire while sailing in the western section of Lake Ontario. Crews onboard the DESMARAIS put out the fire and restarted her engines. The DESMARAIS proceeded to the Welland Canal where she was inspected by both U.S. and Canadian investigators. No significant damage was noted and the vessel was allowed to proceed.

1924: The wooden steamer J.C. FORD was destroyed by a fire while on the St. Marys River near DeTour.

1940: The coal-laden CHEYENNE went aground in a storm near Port Colborne while enroute to Montreal. The ship was released on December 1. It last sailed as c) SORELDOC (ii) in 1965 before being scrapped at Hamilton.

1942: L.E. BLOCK went aground in the Straits of Mackinac during a snowstorm.

1951: JOHN H. PRICE was at Ste. Anne des Monts to load pulpwood when a storm swept the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The ship broke loose early the next day, drifted to shore and was pounded on the rocks. All on board were saved and the vessel was refloated May 30, 1952.

1964: The Norwegian tanker STOLT DAGALI, a Seaway caller as a) DAGALI in 1960-1962, was sliced in two by the passenger vessel SHALOM about 28 miles southeast of the Ambrose Channel Light Vessel. The stern of the tanker sank but the bow was rebuilt using the stern of the C.T. GODSTAD that had grounding damage. The rebuilt ship resumed sailing as STOLT LADY.

1979: Despite clear visibility, PIERSON DAUGHTERS and JABLANICA collided off Alexandria Bay, NY, and both ships were damaged. The latter went aground on Broadway Shoal and had to be lightered before being released. It was a regular Seaway trader and was also back as b) ELLIE beginning in 1993. The ship was scrapped at Alang, India, as d) PINE TRADER in 2009.

1981: EURO PRINCESS, a Seaway trader beginning in 1976, went aground in the Atlantic near Sable Island and the crew of 26 was airlifted to safety. Despite a cracked hull, the ship was refloated and was back on the Great Lakes as c) EUROPEGASUS in 1985 and survived until scrapping in India in 1997-1998.

2000: The former BALSA I, a Seaway trader beginning in 1981, reported taking water off Hainan Island in the South China Sea and sank. The crew was saved by a passing freighter.

[yachtsmanwilly]

11/27 - Duluth, Minn. – When the new Roy Hill mine opens in a remote part of Australia, potentially any day now, it will produce more iron ore in one year than all Minnesota taconite operations combined.

The extra 55 million tons or so will add to the glut of iron ore on the world market right now that's sending the price of ore into a free-fall and allowing foreign steelmakers to cut their costs and sell their steel even cheaper.

All that cheap ore turned into cheap steel may further erode business for U.S. steelmakers and reduce even more the need for Minnesota taconite, experts say.

The situation is so dire that U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan, D-Crosby, has suggested a five-year ban on foreign steel imports. But the Roy Hill mine isn't even half the bad news for the Iron Range.

Brazilian based Vale mining company says that, despite the free-fall of iron ore prices, it is moving ahead with construction of its Sera Sul mine with a goal of producing iron ore in late 2016.

Vale says the new $19.4 billion mine will produce 90 million tons of iron ore annually, or more than double the roughly 38 million tons of finished ore all Minnesota operations combined produced last year.

Vale is cutting back iron ore production at its existing mines in the meantime, riding out the low prices, but the company will be able to produce more than 400 million tons of ore annually when Sera Sul opens.

The company currently has an estimated production cost of $12.70 per ton. It expects that to drop to about $10 per ton at Sera Sul where, according to miningtechnology.com, Vale will use truckless technology for the project in order to fully replace its in-mine trucks, a move expected to reduce fuel consumption by an estimated 77 percent.

That $10 per ton compares to the more than $50 per ton it costs to produce finished taconite iron ore pellets in Minnesota.

Duluth News Tribune





Navy ship docks in Detroit, brings crew member home for Thanksgiving

11/27 - Detroit, Mich. – When the USS Milwaukee made a stop in Detroit Wednesday it brought with it special Thanksgiving guest, Detroit native and crew member Engineman First Class Daniel Heard.

The overnight port of call allows Heard to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family, who were waiting anxiously at the Port of Detroit for him Wednesday afternoon

"It means a whole lot. I haven't been home to for Thanksgiving in quite a while. So to pull into the ship that I am on, to the city that I'm from – I never thought that would happen," said Heard. "To be able to spend tomorrow with my family, it means a whole lot."

Heard's son and daughter sprinted towards their father as soon as they spotted him stepping off the USS Milwaukee.

Isaiah, 7, who last saw his dad a month ago said, "I'm never letting go."

Read more, and see a video at www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2015/11/navy_ship_docks_in_detroit_bri.html


11/27 - Duluth, Minn. – Three years ago, Mitch Robertson showed a reporter around his booming steel fabrication business in Virginia, with sparks flying and machines clanking and business as brisk as it had ever been.

In late 2012, the price of iron ore was over $130 per ton. U.S. steelmakers were pumping out finished product for new oil pipelines, trucks and refrigerators. And Minnesota’s iron mining industry was shipping iron ore as fast as the stuff could be processed.

TriTec, Robertson’s company, was booming as it helped keep the mining industry moving with repairs on heavy equipment and specially designed equipment for taconite plants — such as rock-proof fuel tanks for mining trucks.

All that has changed now, with taconite iron ore wallowing below $45 per ton, U.S. steelmakers idling production amid a sea of foreign steel imports and more than half of Minnesota's mining industry shut down or about to shut down. For TriTec, times are suddenly tough and about to get tougher.

“Business is down about 30 percent from last year. And from what I hear it’s not going to go up fast in 2016,” Robertson said last week.

A University of Minnesota Duluth study in 2012 found that, for every job in the mining industry, another 1.8 jobs are created to service and support mining, so-called economic spinoff. But that works the other way, too.

“When all these layoffs come (in the mines) we’re feeling it,” Robertson said.

TriTec peaked at more than 70 employees before the boom went bust. Now, the company is down to 46.

Northeastern Minnesota is rife with businesses that thrived in recent years alongside the mostly good times for mining — steel fabricators such as Furin & Shea in Hibbing and TriTec; engineering companies such as Barr and Jasper; W.P. & R.S Mars Co. in Duluth, which sells and services conveyor belts and other industrial equipment; and Joy Global, which in 2012 opened a new $20 million plant on Virginia's north side to service giant mining equipment.

Now, some of those businesses are reeling as Minnesota’s taconite iron mining industry has been hit by its steepest decline in 30 years. “If you're in the industrial sales business in Northeastern Minnesota, you are feeling it,” said Bruce Mars, vice president of W.P. and R.S. Mars. “Closed taconite plants don’t buy conveyor belts.”

Mars has offices in Duluth, Hibbing and Bloomington, Minn., with some 100 employees companywide.

“We get hit three times. The mining companies we serve are down. The railroads (that transport iron ore) are down, and we sell to them them. The docks, the terminals are down; they are our customers. So are the Great Lakes vessels,” Mars said. “We’re taking a hit, no doubt.”

Mars said sales are down “significantly” in 2015 from 2014. So far, the company has been able to avoid layoffs.

“We have to go out here and find new industries to find for customers. We need to make up for this or we’re going to have to re-evaluate things,” he said.

So far, the impact has been slow to show up in official unemployment numbers and has been limited to the core Iron Range.

While Minnesota's unemployment rate dropped to 3.7 percent in October, and Duluth's sank to just 2.9 percent, Hibbing foundered at 8.7 percent and Virginia hit 6.5 percent with Grand Rapids at 6.2 percent. St. Louis County overall was 4.5 percent. The nationwide rate sat at 5 percent.

Mining and logging lost 300 jobs in October, or 4.5 percent of that workforce — the largest percentage decline of any sector in the state’s economy, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. By the end of January, when additional planned layoffs occur, more than 1,500 mining industry workers are expected to be unemployed. And some industry watchdogs say there will be more.

Meanwhile, Robertson met with salaried employees late last week to discuss the situation and its impact on wages and benefits. His goal is to keep everyone working even through the downturn. TriTec has a contract through 2016 with members of the United Steelworkers, the welders and other tradesmen who do most of the work on the TriTec floor, but he said he may need to ask to renegotiate that, too.

“It’s been a real struggle in the past few months. We have to make some changes,” he said. ‘We’ve got some work, some contracts still going. But a lot of our old customers are shut down now.”

That includes Mesabi Nugget, the iron nugget plant in Hoyt Lakes that shut down last winter and which will be shuttered for a minimum of two years. TriTec helped build some of the machinery in the nugget plant, and serviced much of the rest.

“I don’t know if they’ll ever come back,” he said.

When Grand Rapids-based Magnetation started shutting down plants and declared bankruptcy earlier this year “we took a $120,000 haircut, in one shot. That's not as bad as some of the big guys, but we felt it,” Robertson said.

There is some good news. Robertson said orders from U.S. Steel’s Minntac plant in Mountain Iron, which had seen layoffs during a shutdown earlier this year, are now coming in again. And his firm is marketing its own truck body designed for heavy industrial use, in or out of the mining industry.

“We’ve got some ideas. We’re still in the black, But we need to come up with ways to stay busy,” he said.

TriTec also is getting a good chunk of custom work for the new, $180 million U.S. Highway 53 bridge project across the Rouchleau iron mine pit lake in Virginia, only steps away from Tritec.

“They are staging some of their equipment in our yard,” Robertson said of the contractor building the new bridge. “That project is going to help keep us going.”

Robertson says he talks to companies that he buys services from and hears rumors of cutbacks across the Iron Range. Ane he’s not hearing much optimism about 2016.

“I don’t have any guess when things might get better,” he said. “The Mesabi Nugget people said two years (before any potential reopening) and that was last spring, so maybe by then.”

That would be 2017.

Bruce Mars said he expects a poor first quarter for 2016. After that, all he can do is be optimistic, he said.

“We’ve been through this before. Everyone involved in mining has seen the cycles,” Mars said. “But this one feels different. Everything is global now. You see the signals about China not using as much steel and dumping steel here in the U.S., and you see the stories about huge new iron ore mines in Brazil and Australia, and you know something is up. … But it’s really uncharted territory now.”

Duluth News Tribune



Today in Great Lakes History - November 27

At 4:00 a.m. on 27 November 1872, the wooden schooner MIDDLESEX was struck by a terrible winter storm on Lake Superior. The winds caught the vessel with such force that she listed at a 45 degree angle and her cargo shifted. In danger of sinking, the crew jettisoned much of the cargo and the ship righted herself. Her lifeboat and much of her rigging and sails were washed away. She limped into Waiska Bay and anchored to ride out the storm. However, she had developed a leak and it was so cold that her pumps had frozen. To save the vessel, she was run ashore and sank in shallow water. The crew climbed into her rigging until the tug W. D. CUSHING rescued them.

ALGOSEA entered Lake service as a self-unloader for the first time with salt loaded at Goderich, Ontario and passed down bound in the Welland Canal November 27, 1976, for Quebec City.

AVONDALE was condemned and was not allowed to carry cargo after she arrived at Toledo, Ohio on November 27, 1975, to load soybeans.

The steam barge CHAUNCY HURLBUT was launched at the shipyard of Simon Langell at St. Clair, Michigan on Thanksgiving Day, 27 November 1873. She was built for Chandler Bros. of Detroit.

On 27 November 1886, COMANCHE (wooden schooner, 137 foot, 322 tons, built in 1867, at Oswego, New York) was carrying corn in a storm on Lake Ontario when she ran on a shoal and sank near Point Peninsula, New York. A local farmer died while trying to rescue her crew of 8. His was the only death. She was later recovered and rebuilt as THOMAS DOBBIE.

The PERE MARQUETTE 22 collided with the WABASH in heavy fog in 1937.

In 1966, the CITY OF MIDLAND 41 ran aground at Ludington, Michigan in a storm. Stranded on board were a number of passengers and 56 crewmen. Ballast tanks were flooded to hold the steamer on until the storm subsided. She was pulled off four days later by the Roen tug JOHN PURVES.

The propeller MONTGOMERY, which burned in June 1878, was raised on 27 November 1878. Her engine and boiler were removed and she was converted to a barge. She was rebuilt at Algonac, Michigan in the summer of 1879.

On 27 November 1866, the Oswego Advertiser & Times reported that the schooner HENRY FITZHUGH arrived at Oswego, New York with 17,700 bushels of wheat from Milwaukee. Her skipper was Captain Cal Becker. The round trip took 23 days, which was considered "pretty fast sailing".

The CITY OF FLINT 32 was launched in Manitowoc on 27 Nov 1929. Cut down to a rail barge at Nicholson's, Ecorse in 1970, renamed b.) ROANOKE.

On Monday, 27 Nov 1996, the Cyprus flag MALLARD of 1977, up bound, apparently bounced off the wall in the Welland Canal below Lock 1 and into the path of the CANADIAN ENTERPRISE. It was a sideswipe rather than a head on collision. The ENTERPRISE was repaired at Port Weller Dry Docks. The repairs to the gangway and ballast vent pipes took six hours. The MALLARD proceeded to Port Colborne to be repaired there.

At 10:20 p.m. on Monday, 27 Nov. 2000, CANADIAN TRANSFER radioed Soo Traffic to report that the vessel was aground off Algoma Steel and "taking on water but in no danger." The crew reported that they had two anchors down and one line on the dock. Purvis Marine was contacted.

1905: LAFAYETTE stranded at Encampment Island, Lake Superior, broke in two and was a total loss. MANILA, its consort barge, also came ashore but was later salvaged.

1942: JUDGE HART stranded at Fitzsimmons Rock, Ashburton Bay, Lake Superior, enroute to Toronto with 101,500 bushels of grain. All on board were rescued and the ship later slid off the rocks, drifted and sank.

1981: LOUKIA, a Greek flag visitor to the Great Lakes in 1976, arrived at Monrovia, Liberia, as f) DESPOULA and was abandoned. The vessel was looted before being sold for scrap. On September 2, 1982, while under tow for Yugoslavia for dismantling, the vessel broke loose in heavy seas and grounded about 14 miles north of Monrovia.

2006: SPAR OPAL had mechanical problems and ran aground near the Iroquois Lock. It was released on November 29. It did not return through the Seaway in 2007 but was back for two final trips in 2008. The ship was renamed h) ARWAD PRINCESS in 2012 and re-registered in Belize.