Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

TASHMOO (steel side-wheel excursion steamer, 308 foot, 1,344 gross tons, built in 1900, at Wyandotte, Michigan) entered regular service for the White Star Line at Detroit, Michigan, on 11 June 1900.

On 11 June 1903, HORACE H. BADGER (wooden 3-mast schooner, 129 foot, 263 gross tons, built in 1867, at Conneaut, Ohio as a 2-mast schooner, formerly KATE GILLETT) was carrying coal in a storm on Lake Erie. She was driven onto the breakwater at Cleveland, Ohio and broke up in the storm waves. The crew of seven was rescued by the Life Saving Service. This vessel had been wrecked twice before; once at Cross Village, Michigan, in 1895, and again near Alpena, Michigan in 1896.

ATLANTIC SUPERIOR (Hull#222) was float-launched at Thunder Bay, Ontario, by Port Arthur Ship Building Co. Ltd., in 1982, for Federal Commerce & Navigation Ltd., Montreal, Quebec (Canada Steamship Lines Ltd., mgr.), built for the Caribbean trade. MESABI MINER was christened at Duluth, Minnesota in 1977; she became the fourth thousand-foot bulk carrier on the Great Lakes and Interlake Steamship Co.'s second. CARL D. BRADLEY (Hull#718) cleared Lorain, Ohio, in her gray and white livery in 1917, on her maiden voyage light bound for Calcite, Michigan, to load limestone. She was the first Great Lakes commercial ship equipped with both Morse code telegraphy as well as ship-to-shore radio in 1922, which was standard on only 20 vessels by 1924. Renamed b.) JOHN G. MUNSON in 1927, c.) IRVIN L. CLYMER in 1951, she was scrapped at Duluth, Minnesota, in 1994-5.

June 11, 1981 - The BADGER steamed out of Ludington en route to Milwaukee under an MDOT subsidy that was approved earlier in March.

The propeller E. B. HALE was launched at Cleveland, Ohio, at the yard of Quayle & Sons on 11 June 1874. Her length was 217 foot keel, 227 foot overall. She was owned by Capt. Bradley, Mr. Thomas Quayle and Mr. Loomis, and she cost $100,000. The wooden rabbit J. S. RUBY was launched at Fair Haven, Michigan, on 11 June 1881. Her dimensions were 106 feet 6 inches x 21 feet x 7 feet. She was towed to Port Huron for the installation of her boiler and engine that were built by the Phoenix Iron Works. She lasted until burned to a total loss off Stag Island in the St. Clair River on November 9, 1891.

1872 – Fire broke out aboard the passenger steamer KINGSTON about 18 miles upstream after the ship had left Brockville for Toronto. The ship was beached and the superstructure was destroyed but there were only two casualties. The hull was rebuilt at Montreal and later sailed as BAVARIAN, ALGERIAN and CORNWALL before being scuttled in Lake Ontario about 1929.

1936 – AYCLIFFE HALL sank in fog shrouded off Long Point, Lake Erie after a collision with the EDWARD J. BERWIND. All 19 on board were rescued. After salvage efforts failed, the rigging was blown clear by explosives. The EDWARD J. BERWIND was repaired and last sailed as LAC STE. ANNE in 1982.

1942 – HAVTOR, a Norwegian freighter, first came to the Great Lakes in 1932 and returned as late as 1939. It was sunk by a German submarine enroute from Reykjavik, Iceland, to Pictou, Nova Scotia, and 6 of the crew were lost.

1950 – The Italian freighter MARIA PAOLINA G. had been built in Canada as FORT ISLAND in 1944. It was downbound from the Saguenay River when it struck the Canada Steamship Lines passenger steamer ST. LAWRENCE, which had turned to dock at Tadoussac. Injuries were reported by 25 people and 30 cabins were damaged aboard the CSL ship.

1978 – The hull of the former passenger steamer RAPIDS QUEEN arrived at Toronto under tow from Kingston to be sunk as a breakwall off for the Queen City Yacht Club. It is still there.

1993 – PITRIA SKY first visited the Great Lakes in 1978. It departed Singapore for Shantou in southeast China, as h) HAI HONG 3 on June 11, 1993, but went back out to sea on arrival to ride out a pending typhoon. The ship was never seen again and it disappeared with all hands.

On 12 June 1898, SAKIE SHEPHERD (wooden propeller freighter, 100 foot, 189 gross tons, built in 1883, at Huron, Ohio) burned while at the dock in Courtright, Ontario. The fire was discovered at 1:00 a.m. and the crew just had time to escape. The schooner YOUNG AMERICA also caught fire and had damage done to her stern. The SHEPHERD was towed to Detroit where she was rebuilt and lasted until 1903, when she sank in Lake Huron.

On 12 June 1900, the UNIQUE (wooden propeller, 163 foot, 381 gross tons, built in 1894, at Marine City, Michigan) was sold at public auction at St. Clair, Michigan to satisfy a mortgage. W. J. Laidlaw of Ogdensburg, New York purchased her for $20,000 for the Rapid Transit Co. to run between Ogdensburg and Kingston, Ontario. In 1904, her upper cabins were removed and she was rebuilt as a yacht. She lasted until 1915, when she burned in New York City harbor.

"STUBBY", the bow and stern sections of the STEWART J. CORT welded together, passed Port Colborne, Ontario on June 12, 1970, bound for Erie, Pennsylvania under her own power. STUBBY's bow and stern sections were later separated at Erie Marine, Inc., a Div. of Litton, and joined to the 816 foot hull mid-body.

The NANTICOKE (Hull#218) departed Collingwood, Ontario in 1980, beginning her maiden voyage for Canada Steamship Lines Ltd.

In 1959, the BENSON FORD of 1924 ran aground in the Amherstburg Channel on her upbound trip with coal for the Rouge Plant. After five days of lightering and with tug assistance, she was freed. Damage amounted to 41 bottom plates, which took 30 days to repair.

On 12 June 1832, the wooden schooner GUERRIER was sailing from Oswego, New York for Detroit when she capsized in a squall off Bar Point on Lake Erie. Captain Pember and the crew and most of the passengers made it to the Canadian shore, but one family was trapped in the cabin. The husband was able to keep his head above water in the upside down cabin, but through the night, one by one, his four children and then his wife slipped from his grasp and perished. The following day, Capt. Stanard took his steamer NIAGARA to the wreck and rescued the man.

On 12 June 1900, the steel tow barge BRYN MAWR (Hull#41) was launched at South Chicago, Illinois by the Chicago Ship Building Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Company.

The wooden propeller freighter MILWAUKEE (264 foot, 1,770 gross tons) was launched at Quayle & Sons yard in Cleveland, Ohio on 12 June 1879, for the Western Transportation Company of Buffalo, New York. She had supporting arches above decks. In 1902, she was renamed YONKERS and rebuilt as a barge in 1911. She lasted until 1917-1918 when she stranded, then burned.

1897 – I.W. NICHOLAS (ii) stranded at Point Aux Pins in fog and was released two days later. The ship needed drydocking for repairs.

1904 – The sidewheel passenger ship CANADA sank on her side off Sorel after a collision with the CAPE BRETON. Five of the 110 on board perished. The ship was refloated and rebuilt at Sorel in 1905 as ST. IRENEE which later became part of the C.S.L. Fleet.

1919 – GERMAN was cut in two to leave the Great Lakes in 1918 and renamed b) YANKEE. It sank after a collision with the Italian steamer ARGENTIA off Fire Island, NY, while enroute from Norfolk, VA to Boston MA with coal. The hull has been found and is in two pieces on the ocean floor.

1977 – The VERA CRUZ first came to the Great Lakes in 1964 as a 10-year old Liberian flag freighter. It foundered in the Arabian Sea as c) BUKOM ISLAND on June 12, 1974, during a cyclone. The ship was enroute from Umm Said, Qatar, to Singapore with a cargo of bagged fertilizer and seven lives were lost.

1978 – YELLOWSTONE had been built as the C-4 troop carrier MARINE PERCH in 1944. After being laid up in the Reserve Fleet, it was rebuilt as a bulk carrier and renamed at Tampa in 1965. The ship was downbound in the Seaway with grain from Duluth to North Africa in May 1978 and sank after a collision in fog with the IBN BATOUTA on June 12, 1978. YELLOWSTONE was taken in tow but went down June 13 about 14 miles south of Gibraltar. Five lives were lost.

1993 – The deep-sea tug VORTICE was abandoned after fire broke out near the Canary Islands, while on a voyage from Bari, Italy, to Veracruz, Mexico. The vessel was laid up, unrepaired, and then towed to Canada for McKeil Marine. It received partial repairs but was sold and left the lakes for additional work. It returned inland as e) NORFOLK in 2005 and now serves Lafarge North America Inc. as f) SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN.


On 13 June 2003, after completing her conversion from American to Canadian registry, Lower Lakes Towing's newly-acquired MICHIPICOTEN, a.) ELTON HOYT 2ND, departed the Government dock at Sarnia, Ontario. First she went to the Shell Oil dock in Corunna, Ontario to fuel, then she departed for Marquette, Michigan to load ore for Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

On 13 June 1902, METROPOLIS (wooden side-wheel steamer, 168 foot, 425 tons, built in 1868, at Detroit, Michigan) caught fire and burned to a total loss at her dock in Toledo, Ohio. She was only used occasionally for excursions and spent most of her time tied up to the dock.

On June 13, 1983, JOHN B. AIRD began its maiden voyage for Algoma Central Railway, a load of coal from Thunder Bay to Nanticoke, Ontario.

IRVING S. OLDS carried a record 17,817 gross tons of iron ore on June 13, 1943, from Lake Superior and transported a total of 736,800 short tons of various bulk cargoes the next year.

On the morning of June 13, 1905, running downbound on Lake Superior, the heavily-laden SYLVANIA encountered heavy fog as she approached the Soo. Confused whistle signals resulted in the SYLVANIA glancing off the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., steamer SIR HENRY BESSEMER, which sustained a 175-foot port side gash from the SYLVANIA's anchor. The BESSEMER required $40,000 in repairs and the SYLVANIA's damage totaled $10,000, which included a new anchor and shell plating which was completed at the Craig Shipbuilding Co., Toledo, Ohio.

June 13, 1930 - Shortly after leaving Menominee, Michigan, fireman Walter O'Leary of the ANN ARBOR NO 7 became ill. The carferry proceeded at full speed to the nearest doctor at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, where surgery was performed to remove gallstones.

June 13, 1974 - The CITY OF GREEN BAY, formerly WABASH was sold to Marine Salvage Company to be scrapped. She was scrapped at Castellon, Spain in 1974. On 13 June 1903, CHARLES H. DAVIS (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 145 foot, 391 gross tons, built in 1881, at Saginaw, Michigan) was carrying limestone on Lake Erie off Cleveland when she developed a leak which quickly got worse and admitted water faster than her pumps capacity. She sank near the Cleveland breakwater. She was an unusual vessel, reportedly built of pine and pointed at both ends with her planking set diagonally.

1905 – The wooden steamer YAKIMA had stranded in Lake St. Clair on June 10, 1905, but caught fire and burned on this date while waiting to be salvaged. The remains were later towed into Lake Huron and scuttled.

1906 – The newly-built J. PIERPONT MORGAN carried a record 13, 294 tons of iron ore out of Escanaba for Chicago.

1944 – CANADIAN OTTER was built at Welland in 1920 but, in 1944, was sailing as f) FUKOKU MARU as a Japanese army cargo ship. It was sunk by aircraft from U.S.S. ESSEX while in a convoy from Philippines to Japan in the overnight hours of June 13-14, 1944.

1959 – A fire in the crew quarters of the FEDERAL PIONEER, docked at Section 51 in Montreal, was quickly controlled with only minor damage and sailing was delayed by three hours. The ship was a frequent Seaway trader for Federal Commerce and Navigation, now known as FedNav, and arrived at Hsinkiang, China, for scrapping on January 21, 1971.

1978 – Seven men were lost aboard the ANCO DUKE while cleaning tanks out in the Pacific. They were likely overcome by fumes. The ship later came to the Great Lakes as c) LAKE ANETTE in 1980, as d) SATU MAR in 1984 and as e) TOVE COB in 1987. It was scrapped in Bangladesh in 1993.

1978 – The bulk carrier ARCTIC hit the Cherry Street Bridge at Toledo on its first trip and had to return to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs.

1980 – TROYAN first came through the Seaway in 1972. The ship began leaking in heavy weather as c) SUNRISE and foundered June 13, 1980, in the outer anchorage at Bombay, India, while enroute from Japan to Damman, Saudi Arabia, with bagged cement.

2004 – The SINGAPORE STAR first came to the Great Lakes in 1982. It caught fire in the accommodation area while on the Black Sea as c) BARBADOS OKTAY on June 13, 2004. The ship was carrying scrap steel from Novorossiysk, Russia, to Eregli, Turkey. The blaze was put out with tug assistance but the ship was sold for scrap and arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, to be broken up on July 19, 2004.

[yachtsmanwilly]

6/14 - Cleveland, Ohio – In preparation for construction of a six-turbine wind farm in Lake Erie in 2018, a high-tech buoy has been placed eight miles offshore to gather and transmit an extensive menu of environmental data.

The first-of-its-kind buoy is collecting real-time wind speeds, water temperatures and wave conditions in preparation for the construction of the wind farm. But the environmental information is proving to be a treasure trove for boaters, fishermen and scientists.

"When we began planning for the lake study, we wanted to make as much of the data available to the public as possible and this buoy was a great opportunity for us to do that," said Lorry Wagner, president of the Lake Erie Energy Development Corp., which is in charge of the $40 million Icebreaker project.

"As a boater myself, I know how valuable real-time local observations of wind speeds and wave heights can be when deciding to go on the water."

Aquatic researchers and state agencies will have access to data on lake currents, water chemistry, toxic algae, fish habitat and behavior, as well as boating conditions. Data also will be gathered on migrating birds and bats.

Ohio State University's Stone Laboratory is conducting studies on juvenile fish in that part of the lake, and will use environmental measurements and dissolved oxygen data collected from the buoy, Wagner said.

The new buoy also has a high definition webcam that transmits video and images hourly to the internet.

When the five-year study is completed, all of the data will be turned over to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

"The whole concept is to know what's happening there from year to year," Wagner said. "We want to determine how the wind turbines have affected the environment of the lake after the they have been put in."

Based on studies at 80 other wind farms around the world, there is hope that the Lake Erie wind farm will foster an increase in aquatic life, Wagner said. He cited findings by Stone Lab scientists that after the rubble from Cleveland Municipal Stadium was dumped into the lake, fish populations increased by 20 to 60 times at the artificial reef.

"We're not claiming that's what we're going to do, but we're optimistic," Wagner said.

The data from the buoy can be accessed at greatlakesbuoys.org/station

Cleveland.com


On this day in 1985, Captain Edward Rogowski passed away. Captain Rogowski started sailing as a deckhand on the 514 foot JOHN SHERWIN in 1936. He retired in 1982 as the first captain of the largest freighter on the Great Lakes, the 1,013 foot PAUL R TREGURTHA.

On this day in 1957, the Interlake Steamship Company freighter HARVEY H. BROWN, Captain Percy E. Mc Ginness, delivered the first cargo of coal to the new taconite loading port of Taconite Harbor, Minnesota.

ROGER BLOUGH departed the shipyard in ballast on her maiden voyage for U.S. Steel Corp. the night of June 14, 1972, for Two Harbors, Minnesota to load 41,608 gross tons of taconite ore pellets. She was nearly a year late because of a fire in her engine room.

On June 14, 1988, the CONSUMERS POWER of 1927, with her former fleet mate JOHN T. HUTCHINSON, departed Lauzon, Quebec, in tow of the Panamanian tug/supply ship OMEGA 809, bound for a scrap yard in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The steamer PRINCESS was sold to Little and Fitzgerald on 14 June 1873. She was built in 1858, at Algonac, Michigan by Z. Pangborn.

The wooden scow TINKER was launched at Leighton & Dunford's yard in Port Huron, Michigan on 14 June 1876.

1954 – W.F. WHITE crushed the tug OHIO against a pier in Buffalo and the latter was a total loss. The tug was refloated and scrapped at Cleveland in 1955.

1977 – ALMAR came to the Great Lakes under Greek registry in 1964. It caught fire in the engine room as c) IJESHA LION at Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and sustained major damage. The hull was abandoned by the owners, towed out to sea and scuttled in 1978

[yachtsmanwilly]

Evicted Kingston marine museum packing up

6/14 - Kingston, Ont. - The dismantling of the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes has begun. With the eviction date of Aug. 23 looming, volunteers and staff are bubble-wrapping artifacts and have boxed much of the 10,000-volume library collection.

"It looks like a shambles," said volunteer museum board chairman Christopher West on a tour of the facility Friday. "It's not a happy story for Kingston."

Indeed, the room containing the exhibit on the history of sailing has been disassembled and boxes of books dumped into one corner. Behind the exhibit walls sit 1,000 linear feet of documents -- a vast array of marine architectural plans and shipyard documents pertaining to the Great Lakes -- safe, for now, in their climate-controlled storage.

"It's the heritage of the nation, specially designated archival material," West grimly explained. "We are duty-bound to protect it."

Everything is in need of a new home, but very few suitable storage sites have been found, even as the clock ticks down on the museum's occupancy.

One of the biggest concerns is how to dispose of what is probably the largest museum artifact in eastern Ontario -- the Alexander Henry, a former coast guard ship sitting in the historic drydock. What to do with a mass of steel containing asbestos, oil and other contaminants?

West and the others also know there will come a time this summer when the museum, as it closes more and more of its public exhibits, will cease to be able to charge an admission and will turn to voluntary contributions for people to view what remains.

"People will probably show up. The place was crawling with kids on Wednesday -- 90 kids from Quebec," said West.

How the 40-year-old museum got to this point has been well-documented. It was put up for sale by the federal government in February 2015. City councillors balked at taking it over for the price of $1, fearing the fallout from contamination known to be underground on the 3.8-acre site.

In January, it was bought by Kingston developer Jay Patry for $3.2 million. After negotiations with Patry failed -- the museum couldn't afford the rent he was asking -- Patry gave notice they had to be out by Aug. 23.

"The sides were very far apart on rent," said West. "At one time the city may have thought they could bridge the gap, but that didn't bear any fruit. The gap was in the order of a quarter of a million dollars a year."

As soon as the museum was served the eviction notice, a board meeting was called and the directors adopted what West called "Plan B" -- essentially, to start packing. The plan also calls for keeping the collection intact.

"We're not shopping the museum anywhere," said West, acknowledging that several communities, such as Hamilton, have expressed interest in taking the artifacts. "We don't want to disperse the collection. You can't replace it. Even with a lot of money you couldn't put it back together." Instead, they fully intend to re-open in Kingston somewhere, somehow.

"Among the obvious candidates are Kingston Penitentiary and Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, which are undergoing a visioning process. We're talking to KEDCO [Kingston Economic Development Corporation] about a real museum hub on those grounds. There may be a prison museum. It could have a sister museum, the marine museum," said West.

Meantime, there are practical matters to take care of, including securing grant funding and maintaining official museum designation. Curator Sadrena Raymond is tasked with converting the school program for students to an outreach program. They will also look for a "storefront" location to put some artifacts on display and maintain a community presence.

And an Ottawa museum has commissioned the creation of a virtual shipwreck gallery using new footage taken by divers of some of the nearly 200 wrecks lying underwater off Kingston.

"While these things go on, we can eye the bigger picture: Where will the museum rise again?" said West.

Then there's the not-so-small matter of the big ship. Museum officials contacted the lone company on the Great Lakes that recycles ships but the $1-million price tag was prohibitive. ("The price of steel is at close to historical rock bottom," said West.)

They've also considered draining the drydock and stripping the ship where it rests, but that would also be costly at an estimated $400,000. The third, and possibly only viable option, is to float the Alexander Henry to another mooring and strip it over several years with the goal of sinking it offshore to become an artificial reef for divers.

Knowing the next three months will go by fast, the marine museum has put out the call for volunteers to come down and help pack artifacts. West would also like to secure more help from city officials as the museum fights to keep its head above water.

"Does Kingston really want its museum?" he asked. "Are we really the city where history and innovation thrive? It really is a question of walking the talk."

Whig Standard

[yachtsmanwilly]

6/16 - Cleveland, Ohio – Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3,806,526 tons in May, a virtual repeat of a year ago when the trade totaled 3,809,701 tons. This May’s loadings were, however, slightly below the month’s 5-year average.

Loadings out of U.S. quarries totaled 3,053,669 tons, a decrease of approximately 40,000 tons compared to a year ago. Shipments from Canadian quarries totaled 752,857 tons, an increase of 37,000 tons.

Year-to-date the Lakes limestone trade stands at 6,064,130 tons, an increase of 3.7 percent compared to a year ago. Again, loadings from Michigan and Ohio quarries are virtually unchanged from a year ago – 4.9 million tons. Shipments from Ontario quarries total 1,169,739 tons, an increase of 216,000 tons.

Lake Carriers’ Association





Coast Guard cutter Hollyhock to hold change of command ceremony

6/16 - Cleveland, Ohio – The crew of Coast Guard cutter Hollyhock, homeported in Port Huron, Mich., is scheduled to hold a change-of-command ceremony at 11 a.m. Friday at the Coast Guard moorings at Waterworks pier in Port Huron.

During the ceremony, Lt. Cmdr. Molly Waters will relieve Cmdr. Justin Kimura.

Waters is coming from the emerging policy staff under the Deputy Commandant for Operations at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Kimura will become the visual aids-to-navigation division chief at the Office of Navigation Systems at Coast Guard headquarters.

The change-of-command ceremony is a time-honored tradition of the rich heritage of naval history. It is a naval custom, without equivalent counterpart in the Army or Air Force. Custom has established that this ceremony be formal and impressive, designed to strengthen respect for authority, which is vital to any military organization. Parading all hands at quarters and public reading of official orders stem from those days when movement of mail and persons was a very slow process. The procedure was designed to ensure that only duty authorized officers held command and that all aboard were aware of the order’s authenticity. The change of command is a transfer of total responsibility, authority and accountability from one individual to another.

USCG


6/16 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, June 24, to celebrate the completion of the MacArthur Lock electrical modernization project at the Soo Locks.

The ceremony is being held in conjunction with the annual Soo Locks Engineers Day and will begin at 8:15 a.m. inside the park, next to the MacArthur Lock pedestrian entrance.

The $7.6-million project replaced 70-year-old electrical equipment such as switchgear, motors, and power and control cables. It also installed new digital control systems and upgraded the existing closed circuit television system. These improvements will improve the reliability of the MacArthur Lock and reduce electrical safety hazards to the operators.

The prime contractor is Windemuller Electric of Wayland, Michigan, which self-performed over 80 percent of the project. Ninety-five percent of the subcontractor man-hours on the project were performed by Michigan residents.

US Army Corps of Engineers


On 16 June 1891, Alexander McDougall himself took his brand-new whaleback steamer JOSEPH L. COLBY (steel propeller whaleback freighter, 265 foot, 1,245 gross tons, built in 1890 at West Superior, Wisconsin) down the St. Lawrence River to the sea. The double-hulled COLBY left Prescott, Ontario at 3 p.m., drawing six feet nine inches aft and five feet six inches forward and started on her wild ride through the rapids. The whaleback freighter plowed through the Galops, Iroquois, Long Sault, Coteau, Cedar, Split Rock and Cascade Rapids. She grated the bottom a number of times and had a number of close calls. Captain McDougall stood immobile throughout the trip but great beads of perspiration broke out on his forehead. When the vessel finally made it through the Cascades and was safe on Lake St. Louis, the French Canadian pilot left and the crew let out shouts of joy with the whistle blowing. The COLBY was the first screw steamer to attempt running the rapids.

On 16 June 1892, GENERAL BURNSIDE (3-mast wooden schooner, 138 foot, 308 gross tons, built in 1862, at Wolfe Island, Ontario) foundered in a powerful northwest gale on Lake Erie near Southeast Shoal Light. Her crew was rescued by the tug GREGORY.

The steamer UNIQUE (wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 163 foot, 381 gross tons) was built by Alexander Anderson at Marine City, Michigan. She was launched stern first at 3:00 p.m. on 16 June 1894. There was quite a crowd assembled to watch the launch. While waiting for the launch, Engineer Merrill of the steamer MARY composed the following verse:

"The new steamer Unique
Made a beautiful suique
On a direction oblique
Into a big crique,
So to spique."

The vessel was painted a bright yellow up to the promenade deck with white cabins and upper works. In 1901, she left the upper lakes and was chartered for the Thousand Islands cruise trade. Later that year, she was sold to Philadelphia buyers for Delaware River service. Her upper cabins were removed in 1904, when she was rebuilt as a yacht. She lasted until 20 November 1915, when she burned to a total loss in New York harbor.

On 16 June 1905, at 2:00 a.m., a fire was discovered around the smokestack of the North Shore Navigation Company's CITY OF COLLINGWOOD (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 213 foot, 1,387 gross tons, built in 1893, at Owen Sound, Ontario) burned at the Grand Trunk Railway docks at Collingwood, Ontario and was destroyed along with the dock and nearby sheds. Four died, but most of crew jumped overboard. Captain Wright had gone to his home on Pine St. about an hour before and was preparing for bed when he heard four whistles sounded by the steamer BRITTANIC, which was laying alongside. He ran to the dock, went aboard and woke the 1st mate J. D. Montgomery and a wheelsman. They had to jump to the dock to escape the flames. James Meade, Lyman Finch, A. McClellan, and another unidentified crewmember who had just joined the vessel at the Soo were all sleeping in the forecastle and lost their lives.

In 1967, the FEUX FOLLETS (Hull#188) was launched at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., for Papachristidis Co. Ltd. She was the last steam-powered lake ship. Renamed in 1972 as b.) CANADIAN LEADER and scrapped in 2012.

Upbound in the Welland Canal on June 16, 1963, loaded with iron ore for Chicago, U.S. Steel's BENJAMIN F. FAIRLESS suffered bow damage in collision with Canadian steamer RALPH S. MISENER. In 1918, the WILLIAM P. SNYDER JR was in collision with the steamer GEORGE W. PERKINS in Duluth Harbor resulting in damage of $5,000 to both vessels.

On 16 June 1861, ANDOVER (2-mast wooden schooner, 98 foot, 190 tons, built in 1844, at Black River, Ohio) was carrying lumber in a storm and ground on Pointe aux Barques reef on Lake Huron. Though not thought to be seriously damaged, she resisted all efforts by the tug ZOUAVE to release her. She was finally stripped and abandoned.

On 16 June 1887, CHAMPLAIN (wooden propeller passenger/package freight vessel, 135 foot, 438 gross tons, built in 1870, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying passengers, merchandise and horses on Lake Michigan when an engine room lamp exploded. The fire spread so quickly that the pumps could not be started. She headed for Fisherman's Island, Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan, but struck a bar and sank a mile short of the beach. 22 of the 57 persons aboard died, most from drowning. Although initially declared a total loss, the hull was towed into Harbor Springs, Michigan, then taken to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and rebuilt as CITY OF CHARLEVOIX. She was also lengthened to 165 foot. She lasted until 1924, when she burned at her lay-up dock in Manistee, Michigan. At that time, she was named KANSAS.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Great Lakes officials release plan to boost maritime trade

6/17 - An organization representing states and Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes region released a $3.8 billion plan Wednesday designed to improve their shared maritime transportation system and make cargo shipping more competitive.

Aside from doubling maritime trade, the region's first-ever waterborne transportation strategy is intended to support industry and reduce environmental damage, said Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan and Premier Kathleen Wynne of Ontario, who released it on behalf of the Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers.

"The maritime system connects regional markets with one another, and with the world," Snyder said. "By leveraging maritime transport on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, we can boost the region's $5 trillion economy and create jobs throughout the region."

A preliminary analysis suggests the plan would take about 10 years to carry out, the officials said. Among the proposals:

• Building a second lock at Sault. Ste. Marie, Michigan, that can accommodate the largest freighters hauling iron ore, coal and other bulk raw materials.

• Clearing a backlog of dredging projects to make sure fully loaded vessels can get through shallow channels and harbors.

• Dredging the St. Marys River, the link between Lakes Huron and Superior, to its authorized depth of 27 feet.

• Developing a U.S.-Canadian treaty or other binding agreement for managing the regional maritime system and making regulations more consistent.

• Streamlining the process of clearing customs for cruise passengers and maritime cargo.

The governors and premiers put together the strategy in collaboration with representatives of government agencies, industry, environmental groups and others, officials said.

"These investments will make it easier, faster and cheaper to move iron ore and other goods from here to other U.S. and overseas markets," said Gov. Mark Dayton of Minnesota.

The maritime sector pumps $30 billion annually into the U.S. and Canadian economies and accounts for more than 220,000 jobs, according to the conference, which represents the governors of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and the premiers of Ontario and Quebec.

The Associated Press


6/17 - Duluth, Minn. – Three months into the 2016 shipping season in the Twin Ports, Adele Yorde with the Seaway Port Authority says it got off to a quick start in March. She says that makes it tough to compare with the previous year where ice conditions slowed everything down at the beginning of the season.

Yorde says with iron ore shipments taking a hit last year because of slow demand, "things are moving toward normal as we look to the 2nd and 3rd quarters this year with Cliffs and Mintac coming back on board." Everyone is expressing cautious optimism that this season will surpass 2015 when all is said and done.

Lake Superior water levels are still above the long-term average although they are down by 2 inches from June of last year. Water levels are important for shipping since it allows the vessels to take larger loads.

KDAL


New Welland Canal web site is on line

6/17 - Niagara’s canal cities have launched a new website and brochure to promote the history of the Welland Canal and its recreation and tourism opportunities.

The City of St. Catharines, Thorold, Welland and Port Colborne have joined with the Tourism Partnership of Niagara to launch the new website. It includes a brochure – all to help residents and tourists plan their trip to the canal cities and visit tourist and heritage landmarks. Information is also offered for visitors and tourists to the canal cities, with the history of the Welland Canal showcased.

The new website can be found at www.niagarawellandcanal.com


6/17 - Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced the members of a working group that will make recommendations to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) concerning port performance measures. Six ports will be a part of the working group: five AAPA member deep-draft ports (Port of Houston, Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles, Port of Monroe and the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey) and one inland port (America’s Central Port).

There are 27 other members of the working group, ranging from beneficial cargo owners, such as Lowe’s and Home Depot, to rail and trucking interests and labor unions. Thirteen federal agencies are also part of the working group.

The BTS Port Performance Freight Statistics Working Group has been established in accordance with Section 6018 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. The first meeting will be held in Washington, DC, on July 15.

The goal of the program is “to provide nationally consistent measures of performance” of the nation’s largest ports, and to report annually to Congress on port capacity and throughput. The working group’s first report to Congress is due December 4, 2016. In addition to the members appointed to the working group, BTS leadership said they will be actively engaging and soliciting input from additional industry leaders and experts as well. BTS is encouraging the port industry’s full engagement.

American Association of Port Authorities



On June 17, 1895, the J. W. Westcott Co. inaugurated its unique mail delivery service.

On 17 June 1878, the Canadian schooner JAMES SCOTT of Port Burwell capsized and sank in Lake Erie. The captain's wife, their child and two seamen were drowned.

The wooden schooner MONTEREY, which stranded on Sleeping Bear Point on Lake Michigan in early December 1890, was released on 17 June 1891.

The SCOTT MISENER (Hull#11) was christened on June 17, 1951, for Colonial Steamships Ltd. She was the first vessel built at Port Weller Drydocks Ltd. Renamed b.) JOHN E. F. MISENER in 1954, she was scrapped at Cartagena, Columbia, in 1986.

The PATERSON of 1954 collided with the steamer EDMUND W. MUDGE in 1957, in fog on the St. Clair River opposite Marine City, Michigan.

The WILLIAM A. IRVIN was towed to the Duluth Convention Center on June 17, 1986, by the tugs SIOUX and DAKOTA to be on station as a museum ship at the new $3 million convention facility.

June 17, 1998 - The barge PERE MARQUETTE 41 and tug UNDAUNTED arrived Ludington, Michigan from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, after the remainder of the conversion there.

The propeller OWEN SOUND was launched at Collingwood, Ontario, on 17 June 1875. She measured 900 tons and could carry 30,000 bushels of grain.

1909 – The iron hulled passenger and freight steamer CAMPANA had been cut in two to leave the Great Lakes in 1895, but the hull broke in 1909 where the sections had been rejoined and sank in the St. Lawrence at Point St. Michael a few miles below Quebec City.

1918 – JAY GOULD was loaded with coal and towing the barge COMMODORE when it began leaking and then sank eight miles southeast of Southeast Shoal, Lake Erie. The hull was later dynamited as a hazard to navigation. The barge was overwhelmed by the seas and rolled in the trough for about two hours before it also sank. All on board both ships were saved.

1941 – The Lake Ontario passenger steamer KINGSTON ran aground on a shoal in the St. Lawrence 15 miles SW of Ogdensburg, NY after losing her way in thick fog. The passengers were transferred to RAPIDS PRINCE and the ship was released with the aid of pontoons and repaired at Kingston.

1998 – MOUNTAIN BLOSSOM was downbound in the Seaway when it struck the approach wall at the Eisenhower Lock, opening a crack in the hull that allowed about 50 gallons of xylene to escape. The immediate area was evacuated but the problem was quickly cleaned up. The ship was a regular Great Lakes trader from 1986 to 2007 and was scrapped at Xinhui, China, after arriving on January 10, 2010

[yachtsmanwilly]

6/19 - Hamilton, Ont. – A New York hedge fund with plans to merge the former Stelco and Algoma into a new Canadian steel company took a major step toward its goal Friday. The KPS Capital Partners LP bid for Algoma was accepted by the steelmaker Friday and is being recommended for court approval.

In an affidavit, Essar Algoma's chief restructuring adviser John Strek said the KPS bid was the only offer submitted at the end of the two-stage bidding process. He described it as "in the best interests of all stakeholders" and gets "the highest price realizable" for the troubled company.

"Furthermore … KPS will be a capable manager of the business," he added. "KPS is well-financed, has a track record of acquiring and turning around businesses, has experience in the metals industry, and has a successful history of working constructively with unions which are a key stakeholder in any steel company."

KPS is the leading firm in a consortium of investors including a syndicate of lenders led by Deutschebank. The deal promises "the continued employment of all or substantially all of Algoma's employees, both unionized and non-unionized."

Strek said Algoma has debts of more than $1 billion and is losing as much as $5 million a week. It filed for creditor protection in November last year, its fourth court-supervised restructuring.

The deal remains conditional on getting a new collective agreement with the United Steel Workers, clearing regulatory hurdles and getting the "support" of the provincial government.

The value of the deal was not disclosed, but sources say it would take more than $600 million in cash to "outbid" the consortium.

Sources, who asked for anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly, said KPS is one of two remaining strategic bidders for U.S. Steel Canada, which bought Stelco in 2007.

"Ultimately KPS' intention is to buy Stelco as well," one source said. "Their intention is to combine the companies and everything that is running now would continue to run."

Sources say KPS' Stelco bid contains the same conditions as the Algoma offer. They also say there are bidders for the Stelco land, with one "willing to lease it back for several years while the reconfiguration takes place."

Sources say KPS is prepared to invest more than $500 million to acquire both companies and to capitalize and equip the new firm.

Observers including McMaster University business professor Marvin Ryder, University of Toronto steel expert Peter Warrian and veteran industry analyst Chuck Bradford generally like the idea of combining Stelco and Algoma into a new, stronger Canadian steel company, but they want to see more details before passing final judgment.

"There's still a lot of fog here, but it's not a crazy idea, but putting two weak companies together doesn't automatically make a strong one," Ryder said. "There are still a lot of things that could fall apart here."

Bradford said one key to a successful new Canadian company would be a continued low exchange rate for the loonie that makes Canadian exports cheaper in foreign markets. Another is finding a way to break into a highly competitive global business with the capacity to produce far more steel than the world needs.

"I've seen guys make a lot of money in this industry if they hit the market right," he said. "But there's more competition than we've had before and all we ever hear from the steel companies is there's too much capacity out there."

Warrian called the merger idea "a forward-looking plan that's oriented to strengthening the Canadian steel industry" and praised its commitment to equip both companies. He worried, however, how Stelco's enormous pension liabilities will factor into a final deal.

"The pension thing is a big, heavy-duty question of the U.S. Steel Canada side," he said.

Stelco's four main pension plans are as much as $830 million underfunded and the United Steel Workers have made it plain solving that problem is the key to getting the union's support.

That, sources say, may be where the question of "provincial support" for a merger becomes critical. Such support could include a cash injection to the plans or a special deal giving the new company a longer period to top up its funds. Both tools were used in 2006 to get Stelco out of creditor protection.

The Spectator



On 19 June 1889, NORTH STAR (steel propeller freighter, 299 foot, 2,476 gross tons, built in 1889, at Cleveland, Ohio) collided with CHARLES J. SHEFFIELD (steel propeller freighter, 260 foot, 1,699 gross tons, built in 1887, at Cleveland, Ohio) about sixty miles west of Whitefish Point on Lake Superior in heavy fog. The NORTH STAR kept her bow in the SHEFFIELD's side after the impact, giving the crew time to board. The SHEFFIELD then sank in 8 minutes. Her loss was valued at $160,000. The courts found both vessels to be equally at fault after years of litigation.

In 1954, GEORGE M. HUMPHREY (Hull#871) (named for President Eisenhower's Secretary of Treasury) was launched at Lorain, Ohio, by American Shipbuilding Co, for National Steel Co., M.A. Hanna, mgr.

In 1978, ALGOBAY (Hull#215) was launched by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for Algoma Central Railway. Renamed b.) ATLANTIC TRADER in 1994, and renamed c.) ALGOBAY in 1996 and d.) RADCLIFFE R. LATIMER in 2012.

On 19 June 1836, DELAWARE (wooden passenger/package freight side wheeler, 105 foot, 178 tons, built in 1833, at Huron, Ohio) was carrying general merchandise and passengers in a storm on Lake Michigan when she was thrown ashore off Niles, Illinois. She broke in two and was wrecked. No lives were lost.

On 19 June 1900, the wooden schooner THOMAS L. HOWLAND was raised and towed to Buffalo, New York for repairs. She had been sunk by the ice off Windmill Point in the Detroit River early in the season.

At 5:30 p.m., on 19 June 1872, the wooden package freight/passenger propeller MONTANA (236 foot, 1,535 gross tons) was finally afloat at Port Huron, Michigan. She was successfully launched at the Port Huron Dry Dock Company on Saturday, 15 June, but she got stuck in the mud. The tugs VULCAN, PRINDEVILLE, BROCKWAY and BURNSIDE were all employed to free her and the MONTANA's engines were also going. It took four days of pulling, hoisting and dredging to free her. The effort to get her free and afloat cost Alexander Muir, her builder, over $3,000 (in 1872 dollars). She lasted until 1914, when she burned near Alpena, Michigan.

1905 – The wooden passenger and freight steamer CITY OF COLLINGWOOD of 1893 vintage was destroyed by a fire at Collingwood and four lives were lost.

1917 – The Canadian bulk carrier NATIRONCO was beached in the Detroit River after a collision with the ASTERN STATES and was deemed a total loss. It was raised and repaired at Toledo and survived until scrapping at Civitavecchia, Italy, as d) SAN CARLO in 1929.

1925 – The wooden freighter MAPLEGLEN (i), is scuttled in Lake Ontario, west of Kingston, near Amherst Island. It had been idle since 1921 and was originally the WYOMING of 1881.

1929 –JOHN HANLAN was torched as a spectacle off the Sunnyside area of Toronto after having failed an inspection to continue service as a Toronto Island ferry. 1933 – MEADCLIFFE HALL sustained rudder damage after being struck by the CALGADOC (i) at Thorold. The grain-laden canaller was towed back to Port Colborne, unloaded, and repaired at Port Dalhousie.

1962 – Hatch cover planks give way at Cleveland aboard FLOWERGATE and a forklift and two men fell into the cargo hold, striking a third man. All were badly injured. The British freighter later returned through the Seaway under Panamanian registry as b) AMENITY and was scrapped at Troon, Scotland, in 1977.


The steamer ILLINOIS was the first vessel to pass through the newly opened Soo Locks in 1855. To help commemorate the 100th anniversary of this event, an open house was held aboard the J. L. MAUTHE. While tied up at the Cleveland Lakefront dock, an estimated 1,700 persons toured the MAUTHE.

During a moonlight charter on 18 June 1936, the TASHMOO (steel side-wheel excursion steamer, 308 foot, 1,344 gross tons, built in 1900, at Wyandotte, Michigan) struck a boulder in the Sugar Island channel in the Detroit River. The vessel docked at Amherstburg, Ontario, where her passengers disembarked as the vessel settled to the bottom in 14 feet of water. Although the damage was not fatal, the salvage crew botched the job. The TASHMOO had one end raised too quickly and her keel broke. This ended this well-loved vessel’s too-short career.

The Soo Locks opened for their first season on 18 June 1855. The first vessel through the locks was the steamer ILLINOIS of 1853.

In 1949, the WILFRED SYKES (Hull#866) was launched at American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio, for Inland Steel Co. At the time she was the largest and most powerful vessel on the lakes. The SYKES was also the first boat to have a poop deck. She was converted to a self-unloader in 1975.

In 1964, the bulk freighter SAGUENAY (Hull#647) was launched at Lauzon, Quebec, by Davie Ship Building Ltd., for Canada Steamship Lines Ltd.

In 1968, the ALGOCEN (Hull#191) was launched at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd, for Algoma Central Railway. Renamed b.) VALGOCEN in 2005, she was used as a spoils barge in Keasby, New Jersey. She returned to the lakes in in 2008 as J.W. SHELLEY. Sold and renamed PHOENIX STAR in 2012.

On 18 June 1869, a little less than a week after being launched, the schooner DAVID A. WELLS sailed on her maiden voyage from Port Huron for Menominee, Michigan. On 18 June 1858, the steamship CANADA left the Lakes via the St. Lawrence rapids since she was too large for the existing locks. She had been built by Louis Shickluna at the Niagara Drydock Company in 1853, at a cost of $63,000. She was sold for ocean service after the Depression of 1857. Her hull was rebuilt and she was renamed MISSISSIPPI. She foundered in a gale in the South Atlantic on 12 August 1862.

The venerable side-wheel passenger ferry TRILLIUM (Hull #94) was launched June 18, 1910, at Toronto, Ontario by Polson Iron Works, for the Toronto Ferry Co. 1905 –ETRURIA sank after a collision with the AMASA STONE off Passage Island Light, Lake Superior.

1942 – The steamer THOMAS MAYTHAM of 1892 vintage was rebuilt as the New York State Barge Canal tanker DOLOMITE 2 in 1938 and renamed MOTOREX in 1942. It was sunk by gunfire from U-172 near the Colon entrance to the Panama Canal and all on board were rescued.

1944 – ALBERT C. FIELD, a former Great Lakes bulk canaller, was hit by an aerial torpedo from German aircraft and broke in two and sank in minutes. There were 4 lives lost when the ship was hit in the English Channel while carrying munitions and 130 bags of mail in support of the Normandy invasion.

1959 – SPRINGDALE, a Great Lakes trader in the early 1950s and later operated on charter to Reoch Transports, capsized and sank in the Gulf of Bothnia after the cargo of timber shifted in heavy weather.

1960 – GEERTJE BUISMAN came to the Great Lakes in 1960 and ran aground on Vienne Shoal in northern Lake Michigan while outbound from Chicago with a cargo that included new Nash Rambler automobiles for Europe. The Dutch vessel was stuck for 4 days, and had to be lightered. It returned to the Seaway again in later years and was finally scrapped as f) MOUNT at Varna, Bulgaria, in 2003-2004.

1991 – The saltwater trader AKTI was driven aground 14 miles north of Necochea, Argentina, in a storm and sold “as lies” before being refloated as d) AKTO on July 27. Examination determined that the ship was a total loss but it was rebuilt by Chilean interests as e) RIO CIERVOS. The vessel had been through the Seaway as a) ASIA PROSPERITY beginning in 1974, as b) HAN PACIFIC in 1983, and c) AKTI in 1988. It was scrapped at g) AL GIORGIS after arriving at Chittagong, Bangladesh, on November 17, 2005.

1997 – CANADIAN MARINER ran aground in the St. Lawrence near Crossover Shoal after losing power. The vessel had to be lightered to be released and was repaired by Port Weller Dry Docks. The ship was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey, in 2007.




6/18 - Manitowoc, Wis. – As home to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc will no longer be a stranger to an on-the-water maritime tour. Beginning with the second annual Subfest July 8-10, and continuing through the end of the year, the Chiago-based Skyline Princess tour boat will offer cruises of the Manitowoc River and Lake Michigan.

This is a big deal for locals and visitors,” said Wisconsin Maritime Museum CEO Rolf Johnson. “Having this boat here will be a cool, new, on-the-water experience to accompany the museum.”

The 55-foot Coast Guard-inspected boat can hold up to 50 passengers and features open-bow seating and interior and stern seating. Mercury will provide a crew and Maritime Museum volunteers will serve as commentators during tours.

Johnson and the Maritime Museum Board, Burger Boat Company President Jim Ruffolo and Mercury Skyline Cruiseline partnered to bring the boat to Manitowoc.

Skyline Princess will arrive in town for Subfest. During the festival, tours will be offered daily, taking people to see where submarines were built in Manitowoc, up around the old shipyards, and all the way up to Burger Boat along the Manitowoc River. After Subfest, Skyline Princess will stay in town for the rest of the year to test special charters on the river and out to Lake Michigan. Daily tours will be considered for 2017.

Johnson said details about the tours and charters are being developed. He expects to see tours focused on the city’s maritime culture, showcasing the National Marine Sanctuary, Manitowoc’s shipbuilding history and educational programming for students. If things go well in Manitowoc, the boat may be rechristened with a name more reminiscent of her new duties and homeport.

Skyline Princess was built in 1965 and has been owned its whole life by the Bob and Holly Agra family, who owns Mercury Skyline Cruiseline. Skyline Princess was formerly a tour boat in Chicago, but has been in hibernation for the last few years.

“We hope it will be a successful venture,” Bob Agra said. “It will be a great opportunity for people to experience the waters around Manitowoc.”

Agra said to not be deceived by the boat's age, as it has been well maintained. Burger Boat will store the boat when it is not in use.

Burger Boat has a long history with the Agras, as they dock a boat at Burger during the winter and Burger built two new cruise boats for Mercury Skyline Cruiseline for use in Chicago. Agra said Skyline Princess is getting a paint job in preparation for its journey to Manitowoc.

Herald Times Reporter

[yachtsmanwilly]

6/21 - Green Bay, Wis. – Transportation and logistics may bring to mind long-haul truck drivers and the long trains that block Green Bay traffic on a daily basis.

But don’t forget the region’s original transportation lifeline: The Port of Green Bay. Fur and lumber, the original industries that helped build the port two centuries ago, may have gone the way of Fort Howard, but they’ve been replaced by coal, salt, cement, oil, limestone and other materials.

In recent years, maritime commerce has experienced a resurgence that local logistics industry officials expect will continue to grow. Port of Green Bay Director Dean Haen said the port plans to undertake strategic planning in the coming years to guide physical expansion, which should attract more industry.

As it does, Haen said demand for skilled labor, both on the shore and on the water, will grow beyond the roughly 800 jobs the port currently supports.

“Fuel costs will rise. Traffic congestion will rise. That will drive more things to the water,” Haen said. “And as more things are shipped on the water, you get more high-value products. And that means more logistics, more transportation and more freight-forwarding jobs.”

Companies like KK Integrated Logistics, which has operations in Green Bay, Marinette, and Manitowoc, has a need for stevedores, forklift operators, crane operators, local truck drivers and heavy equipment operators. Green Bay-based RGL Logistics needs forklift operators and truck drivers, and even offers a forklift training school for inexperienced workers looking for a change.

RGL CEO Bob Johnson said he anticipates the company expanding its port operations in the next 18 months to two years. With it, he said will come a demand for more workers with a broad skill set.

“There’s some very high-skilled labor that goes into it,” he said. “It depends on the type of ship.”

And not just more jobs are in demand, but jobs that pay well and only require training or education for two years or, more often, less.

The Wisconsin Technical College System’s 2015 Graduate Outcomes survey found transportation and logistics program graduates reported a starting median salary of $35,357. Within the industry, though, starting median salaries for some jobs are higher than that.

Graduates with a short-term technical certification to drive a commercial truck reported a median salary of $44,300, not to mention that roughly 90 percent of survey respondents said they found work in related fields.

Graduates with one-year technical degrees in diesel engine service and mechanics, marine repair and power train servicing reported median starting wages between $34,900 and $39,000, according to state technical college data. And 100 percent of the graduates in all four of those areas of study reported finding jobs.

Green Bay Press Gazette


Viking replica ship stops in Quebec after crossing Atlantic

6/21 - Montreal, Que. – A traditional Viking ship has sailed across the Atlantic and is now in Quebec. The Draken Harald Hårfagre, or Harold the Fair Haired, is a 35-metre long replica Viking ship retracing the steps of Viking expeditions from over 1,000 years ago.

It arrived in St. Anthony, N.L., June 1 and came to Montreal last weekend. The ship will sail on all the way to Duluth, after stopping in Toronto to participate in the Toronto Tall Ships Challenge.

The project is the childhood dream of Norwegian businessman Sigurd Aase, who wanted to build a Viking ship and follow the route of the Vikings to the New World. Aase is financing the whole project, but he didn't come aboard for the voyage. He leaves that to a crew captain, Björn Ahlander of Sweden and his 33 crew members — about 4,000 people tried out for the expedition.

They stopped in Quebec City earlier this month for a few days and let the public see the ship. It was timely rest for the crew. "You can't imagine the cold sometimes," Ahlander said of the Atlantic crossing. "It's so cold to be out when it's 2 degrees and a gale and 0 degrees in the water."

"It's very, very hard and challenging. Even if you try to imagine how it is, the reality is worse. We didn't cope, we were frozen."

On one of the first legs of the journey to Iceland, he considered leaving some of the crew there, but he said they became stronger as the voyage continued. Icebergs are a constant worry for ships crossing the Atlantic at this time of year, but it was the smaller ice chunks, known as growlers that worried the crew of the Harald Hårfagre.

Colliding with the ice can damage the hull or the rudder and in the middle of the Atlantic, the crew is far away from any assistance.

Ahlander is a hardy sailor, but he still says this voyage tested him the most. "I have sailed big sailing vessels to China and back, but this is tougher, because you cannot have any breaking waves coming over your side."

Despite the risks and challenges, the captain said some of the best moments were when they saw land — an experience that connected them to the Vikings. "When we came into Newfoundland and saw the coastline it was a touching moment actually," Ahlander said.

The ship was built by some of Norway's best traditional boat builders. It was ready in 2012, and did some test runs in 2013 along the Norwegian coast. In 2014 they sailed it to Liverpool.

CBC


Coast Guard rescues passengers on large canoe, one stays behind

6/21 - Cross Village, Mich. – Crews rescued six people on board a large canoe that was stranded about 6 miles off the shore of Cross Village on Lake Michigan Monday. A seventh passenger refused to leave the boat, and was being escorted by a 45 foot Coast Guard ship.

U.S. Coast Guard Chief John Tribfelner, the officer in charge at the Coast Guard Charlevoix station, said the canoeists left from the tribal boat launch at 9 Mile Point, but said he was unsure when the boat departed.

Tribfelner said the passengers planned to travel to Beaver Island, but early Monday morning they called for help, sending rescue crews to locate the boat about 6 to 8 miles off the shore from Cross Village.

At 7:58 a.m. the U.S. Coast Guard and other rescue crews had reached the ship and were bringing the passengers back to shore. Officials report that the six passengers were feeling seasick, and were escorted back to shore.

Tribfelner said he was informed that the seventh passenger remained on the canoe because the vessel has religious or symbolic value with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.

"We were thinking about towing the vessel, but it's not designed for that and could be damaged. So we have a [ship] from St. Ignace with the canoe, and we're trying to decide whether to tow it, or if we're going to escort it in," Tribfelner said.

Larry Denemy, of Charlevoix, was one of the seven passengers on the canoe. He said the trip was part of a traditional summer solstice ceremony to travel from the mainland to Beaver Island in the hand made canoe, known in Anishinabemowen as the "jiimaan."

The canoe left the shore at around 9 p.m., on Sunday, and Denemy said that the winds started to pick up around 3 a.m. Monday. "We were just trying to do something that the people were doing for thousands of years. Just trying to keep the tradition alive," Denemy said.

The canoeists, now safely ashore, described having to cover the boat with tarps and fighting strong winds and sea-sick conditions as they waited for crews for help.

Petoskey News Review



On 21 June 1868, the D&C Line's MORNING STAR (wooden side-wheel steamer, 243 foot, 1,075 tons, built in 1862, at Trenton, Michigan) was late in leaving her dock in Cleveland, Ohio, because she was loading some last-minute freight (iron bars and glass). As she sailed on Lake Erie to Detroit during the dark and rainy night, she collided with the heavy-laden bark COURTLAND and sank quickly, 10 miles off Lorain, Ohio. Twenty feet of the steamer's bow had been torn off while the bark was swept into one of the paddle wheels and destroyed. The side-wheel steamer R N RICE arrived on the scene at 3 a.m. and picked up the survivors - only 44 of them. In September, MORNING STAR was raised, towed to Lorain and re-sunk in 55 feet of water, for possible future rebuilding. Attempts were made to raise her again several times, but in the summer of 1872, she was abandoned because it was determined that the previous attempts had reduced her to rubble.

On 21 June 1878, the small passenger steamer J. HOLT, which ran between Chatham and Wallaceburg, Ontario, burned on Lake St. Clair. The passengers and crew escaped in the lifeboats.

On June 21, 1942, the LEON FRASER entered service as the largest vessel on the Great Lakes. The Pittsburgh Steamship Co. bulk freighter, originally 639 foot 6 inches long, retained at least a tie for that honor until the WILFRED SYKES entered service in 1949. She was shortened, converted to a self-unloading cement carrier and renamed b.) ALPENA in 1991.

June 21, 1942, the U.S. Steel bulk freighter EUGENE J. BUFFINGTON ran hard aground on Boulder Reef in Lake Michigan and broke in two. The vessel was subsequently recovered and, after a long career with U.S. Steel, was finally sold for scrap in 1980.

The m/v RANGER III (Hull#385) was side-launched at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Christy Corporation, on Saturday, June 21, 1958. The vessel was custom designed by R.A. Stearns (Bay Engineering) also of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, for the National Park Service, Isle Royale National Park.

On June 21, 1986, during a severe thunderstorm (and unofficial observations of a funnel cloud) in the Duluth area, the JOSHUA A. HATFIELD broke loose from Azcon Scrap Dock in Duluth and was blown across the harbor and ended up hard aground on Park Point (Minnesota Point). She remained stuck for nearly 3 weeks when a storm with east winds pushed the HATFIELD free and she blew most of the way back across the harbor back to the scrap dock. Tugs were dispatched in time to safely guide the HATFIELD back to the scrap dock. (June seems to be a bad month for U.S. Steel in accidents, with the June 7, 1977, accident involving the WILLIAM A. IRVIN, the June 15, 1943, collision between the D. M. CLEMSON and the GEORGE M. HUMPHREY, and the June 21, 1942, grounding of the EUGENE J. BUFFINGTON on Boulder Reef.)

June 21, 1916 - The ANN ARBOR NO 5, after departing the shipyards in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 21, 1916, where 3 buckets (blades) were replaced on her starboard propeller, arrived in Manistique, Michigan. While maneuvering around in the harbor she struck the rocky bottom and broke off the same three blades off her starboard propeller.

June 21, 1994 - The Ludington Daily News reported a planned sale of the CITY OF MIDLAND 41, to Contessa Cruise Lines of Minnesota. The deal included an option to sell the SPARTAN and Contessa was prohibited from competing against Lake Michigan Carferry Co., but it fell through.

The 3-mast wooden schooner GEORGE MURRAY was launched in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, on 21 June 1873. At the time, she was billed as the largest vessel ever built on Lake Michigan. Her dimensions were 299 foot long x 34 foot beam x 14 foot depth, with the capacity to carry 50,000 bushels of grain. She was built by G. S. Rand for J. R. Slauson of Racine, Wisconsin.

1910 – The tug C.W. ELPHICKE sank at Michigan City, Indiana, after a bizarre accident. The steamer UNITED STATES had struck the Franklin Street Bridge, which then collapsed on the tug. The tug was salvaged on July 12.

1941 – BOMMESTAD, a small Norwegian freighter, came to the Great Lakes in the 1920s and 1930s. It was sold and renamed HILDA in 1934 and registered in Finland when it was torpedoed and sunk by U-52 in the Bay of Biscay while enroute from Dunkirk, France, to the U.K. with a cargo of wheat.

1964 – The Norwegian freighter STELLA NOVA ran aground off Alexandria Bay, N.Y., while enroute from Duluth to Bombay, India. It was refloated June 24 with major bottom damage but was repaired. It had been a Seaway trader as a) VITO in 1959 and was scrapped as f) CORALBA after arriving at Split, Yugoslavia, on September 19, 1978.

On 21 June 1900, the wooden bulk freighter R C BRITTAIN was raised at Toledo, Ohio. She was brought to Sarnia where repairs were made and the engine of the tug F A FOLGER was installed in her. She had previously sunk at Toledo and remained there for several years before being raised. She lasted until 1912, when she burned at Sarnia.

[yachtsmanwilly]

DEQ rejects Harsens Island bridge plan

6/22 - Harsens Island, Mich. – Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel (Matty) Moroun has met a wall on another of his bridge proposals, this time to Harsens Island.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has denied Moroun's permit request for a 1,750-foot, two-lane, bascule bridge across the North Channel of the St. Clair River between Algonac and the island, citing "significant adverse impacts" on natural resources and the area's wetlands.

Currently, the only way to access the island is via boat or Champions Auto Ferry. Many residents opposed Moroun's bridge plan, citing its potential impacts to the laid-back quality of life on the island, as well as its natural resources.

Some questioned whether the bridge would maintain financial viability or instead become a boondoggle that fell to Clay Township residents to maintain. Another concern was whether the bridge would drive the car ferry out of business or significantly spike fares. Still others worried about river ice jams in the winter caused by the bridge's pillars.

The Detroit International Bridge Co. did not show a public need for the proposed bridge, Katie Fairchild, an environmental quality analyst with the DEQ's Water Resources Division, wrote in a notice of permit denial sent to Moroun's company Monday.

"When considering the stated project purpose of providing 'a reliable and safe transportation route between Algonac and Harsens Island,' the DEQ finds that the existing ferry service fulfills that purpose," Fairchild stated.

The bridge as proposed would "destroy Great Lakes coastal wetland and negatively impact habitat for breeding, nesting, feeding and cover for a wide variety of wildlife species," Fairchild stated. The bridge would also harm the wetland's ability to trap sediments and retain storm and flood waters, degrading the river, she added.

Moroun has a 30-day window in which to appeal the DEQ's decision before an administrative law judge.

Port Huron Times Herald


10th annual Round Island Lighthouse open house July 9

6/22 - The 10th annual Round Island Lighthouse open house is scheduled for Saturday July 9. The lighthouse is accessible to the public for only one day a year.

Round Island is located roughly a half mile south of Mackinac Island in the Straits of Mackinac. Each year the Round Island Lighthouse Preservation Society and the National Forest Service hosts the event to raise funds to put toward the lighthouse. The lighthouse has an amazing history behind it and from the outside looks great, but the inside is rough. The Preservation Society is currently working to raise money to put toward restoring the inside of the lighthouse

The open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost is $15 per person. Visitors will learn the history of the lighthouse, and walk through the entire lighthouse from bottom to top. The tour will take roughly two hours, and will be guided by the Preservation Society and the Freeland Boy Scouts. Towards the end of the tour, visitors can go outside on top of the lighthouse, which is a great place to get pictures of surrounding landmarks. Looking north, the Grand Hotel and the entire southeast end of Mackinac Island are visible. Looking to the west is a great view of the five-mile long Mackinac Bridge.

To get to Round Island, organizers will first pick visitors up in a charter boat on Mackinac Island. This boat will carry visitors 3/4 of the way to the island. Due to the island’s rocky structure, visitors will be taken in to shore in a rubber Zodiac boat. Electronics should be stored in a Ziploc bag. No children under the age of 8 will be allowed. Be prepared to have to step into an inch of water at the shore while getting out of the Zodiac, so water shoes or any shoes that can get wet are recommended.

There will be a gift shop (cash only) set up in the lighthouse.

In the event of bad weather, or waves that are too dangerous to navigate by volunteers, the open house will have to be canceled or closed temporarily until conditions improve. Sometimes a cancellation comes about abruptly with sudden changes in conditions. Cancellations will be conveyed to the Mackinac Island Visitors Center and to the various ferry lines.

Details at roundislandlightmichigan.com/openhouse


On 22 June 1959, BAYPORT (steel propeller tug, 72 foot, 65 gross tons, built in 1914, at Cleveland, Ohio, formerly named a.) FAIRPORT) had the steamer MOHAWK DEER in tow when she was hooked by her own tow cable, capsized and sank at Collingwood, Ontario. Three lives were lost. The tug was later raised and converted from steam to diesel. Later renamed c.) TWIN PORT, and d.) ROD MC LEAN in 1974. She was scrapped in 2008 at the Purvis west yard at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

On 22 June 1909, W.P. THEW (wooden propeller freighter, 133 foot, 207 gross tons, built in 1884, at Lorain, Ohio) was in ballast, creeping through the fog off Alpena, Michigan on Lake Huron when she was rammed by the WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE (steel propeller freighter, 532 foot, 6,634 gross tons, built in 1908, at Ecorse, Michigan). After the collision, the LIVINGSTONE drifted away and lost track of the THEW. The THEW sank in 80 feet of water. Fortunately the steamer MARY C. ELPHICKE answered the distress whistle and picked up the THEW's crew from the lifeboat. No lives were lost.

The WILLIAM R. ROESCH (Hull#901) was launched and christened at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co., on June 22, 1973, for the Union Commerce Bank, Ohio (Trustee) and managed by the Kinsman Marine Transit Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed b.) DAVID Z. NORTON in 1995, c.) DAVID Z in 2007 and d.) CALUMET in 2008.

June 22, 1957 - W. L. Mercereau, known as the Father of the Fleet, died. Mercereau developed the Pere Marquette fleet of car ferries into the largest in the world.

On 22 June 1853, CHALLENGE (wooden propeller freighter, 198 foot, 665 tons, built in 1853, at Newport, Michigan) was bound from Chicago for Buffalo with barreled pork and oats on one of her first trips. However, her boiler exploded off Cheboygan, Michigan. She burned and sank. Five died. The schooner NORTH STAR heard the blast ten miles away and came to the rescue of the rest of the passengers and crew.

On 22 June 1875, The Port Huron Times reported that "the Northern Transportation Company's fleet of 20 propellers, which have been idle all the season owing to difficulties between the Central Vermont and the Ogdensburg & Champlain Railroad Companies, have passed from the control of the Central Vermont Railroad Company and will commence regular trips as soon as they can be fitted out."

[yachtsmanwilly]

6/23 - Middleburgh Heights, Ohio – The Lee A. Tregurtha sailed Wednesday from Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., becoming Interlake Steamship Company’s third self-unloading bulk carrier to be outfitted with exhaust gas scrubbers.

The Tregurtha is bound for Marquette, Mich., to load pellets.

Interlake became the first U.S.-flag fleet to test scrubbers on the Great Lakes in April 2015 after pioneering the emission-reduction technology on its Hon. James L. Oberstar. Earlier this month, the James R. Barker sailed as the fleet’s first thousand footer with scrubbers.

“With the Lee A. Tregurtha back in service, one third of our fleet is now equipped with innovative scrubber systems implemented specifically to net significant emission reductions,” says Interlake President Mark W. Barker. “Reducing our environmental footprint and leading the way with this technology illustrates our commitment to continuous improvement across our fleet.”

The retrofit of the Lee A. Tregurtha was supported by a $500,000 cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD).

“We’re thrilled to have MARAD as a partner and to have their fiscal support to help prove our ongoing emission-reduction technology,” Barker says. “These types of public-private collaborations will fuel the advancement of cutting-edge technologies to promote more sustainable solutions in the shipping industry.”

Exhaust gas scrubbers reduce sulfur emissions to a level that meets or exceeds North American Emissions Control Area requirements.

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding handled the successful installation on the 806-foot Oberstar and was the clear choice to complete the second phase of installations on the 1,004-foot Barker and the 826-foot Tregurtha.

Both the Lee A. Tregurtha and the James R. Barker are equipped with the same single-inlet, closed-loop DuPont™ Marine Scrubbers from Belco Technologies Corp. (BELCO), a DuPont company, that were installed on the Oberstar.

The scrubber units, which are attached to the exhaust system of each of the ship’s two engines, effectively strip the majority of sulfur from its stack emissions. Here’s how the systems work: Exhaust gas from the engine is sent through a series of absorption sprays that “wash” and remove impurities, specifically sulfur and particulate matter. That washed exhaust gas then travels through a droplet separator before a clean plume of white steam is discharged into the atmosphere.

A total of five Interlake vessels – including two additional 1,000-footers: the motor vessel Paul R. Tregurtha and motor vessel Mesabi Miner - will be outfitted with these types of scrubbers by 2017.

As the first U.S.-flag fleet to implement the scrubber technology, the Company was not only tasked with proving its emission-reduction capability but also taking the lead in developing a sustainable supply-and-delivery infrastructure to support its widespread use on the Great Lakes.

Specifically, the scrubber system relies on an injection of sodium hydroxide -- to neutralize and remove sulfur from the exhaust gas -- and that chemical has to be delivered to the vessel about twice a month.

Working with partners, Hawkins Inc., PVS Chemicals Inc., Garrow Oil & Propane and OSI Environmental, the Company has established waterfront supply capability at Sturgeon Bay, Wis., and Detroit, Mich. Calumet Specialties LLC has become a vital partner and stakeholder in the development of a new supply capability within the Twin Ports of Duluth, Minn., and Superior, Wis. A supply-and-delivery infrastructure is expected to be built out at ports located near East Chicago, Ill., and Burns Harbor, Ind.

Propelled by a long-term vision to create the most efficient and environmentally friendly fleet on the Great Lakes, Interlake is shoring up its 10-year, $100 million fleet modernization that includes the steam plant conversion program and the repower of its final vessel, the Herbert C. Jackson.

The Interlake Steamship Co.

Royal Canadian Navy ships depart for Great Lakes deployment

6/23 - Halifax, N.S. – Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Kingston and Goose Bay departed Halifax, N.S., earlier this week for a two-week tour of Canadian port cities along the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes, while HMCS Montréal is scheduled to join in the second half of this year’s Great Lakes Deployment in September 2016.

HMCS Kingston will visit the following cities:
Toronto, Ontario (June 30-July 3)
Kingston, Ontario (July 8-11) – namesake port visit

HMCS Goose Bay will visit the following cities:
Toronto, Ontario (June 30-July 3)
Cobourg, Ontario (July 5-7)
Johnstown, Ontario (July 8-11)

Throughout the deployment, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) ships will conduct training in order to enhance crew readiness, which is necessary in responding to the likely tasks that the government of Canada may assign.

The purpose of this Great Lakes deployment is to connect with Canadians who are not regularly exposed to the RCN. Through activities such as guided ship tours and demonstrations, the deployment aims to better inform Canadians about their Navy and its various roles, which include: protecting Canada by exercising sovereignty in our nation’s waters; preventing conflict by deploying around the world to strengthen partnerships; and safeguarding international maritime peace and security upon which the Canadian and global economies both depend.

RCN

Canal site loses piece of history with removal of Gatelifter No. 1

6/23 - Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. – The Gatelifter No. 1 was removed from the Sault Ste. Marie Canal site in May 2016, but a full heritage recording of the vessel has been preserved. Earlier this spring Gatelifter No. 1 was quietly removed and sold to a third-party. It's location or use remains unknown.

The unique piece of the canal's history will not be forgotten, said Jeanette Cowen, national historic sites manager at the canal. Any information about the vessel that the canal had on file since it was first used in 1922 has been retained.

“We have a full heritage recording on the Gatelifter, including its plans, original drawings, images and full write ups and they have been safely stored so that it can be used for interpretation in a future gate moving story,” she said in an interview.

The Gatelifter No. 1 was constructed by the Montreal-based company Vickers Canadian. The unit included a pontoon bottom, a special lift and control system and a crane on its barge. Its purpose was to lift the old wooden lock gate system into place in the historic lock system at the site's northeast pier.

Each of the old lock gates was constructed using 34 Douglas fir timbers and each gate weighed 71,120 kg. After soaking in water for decades, the weight increased to 121,920 kg. The Gatelifter has not been used for more than 40 years but has remained at the site until mid May.

“The historic lock closed in 1987, and it would have been used to put new wooden gates in place prior to that,” Cowen said. “The recreational lock has steel gates and there is no need to replace them, so the Gatelifter has become obsolete.”

Steel gates replaced the historic wooden gates and each is much lighter. Fact sheets show that each lower gate weighs 23,587 kg and upper gates weigh 10,886 kg.

The Gatelifter's sale and removal was not done without thorough consideration, she said. The equipment was very deteriorated and included hazardous materials like asbestos, lead paint and coal.

“It had become a public safety concern,” she said.

The Gatelifter was sold to a third party through public works and Cowen does not know what has become of it. She said that historical items are not randomly discarded and lots of consideration goes into the decision making process.

“We're making lots of investment on the site and doing our best to preserve our heritage and culture,” Cowen said.

Sault Star


In 1976 the NEPCO 140, carrying six million gallons of No. 6 bunker oil and being pushed toward Oswego by the tug EILEEN C., grounded on the shore of Wellesley Island in the American Narrows section of the St. Lawrence River, just upstream from Alexandria Bay, N.Y. The grounding occurred about 1:35 a.m. in heavy fog and was followed by a second apparent grounding further up river, just before the barge reached the Seaway anchorage site off Mason's Point, some four miles above the initial grounding site. In all, over 300,000 of the thick crude was spilled into the River, creating the largest slick ever to pollute an inland U.S. waterway to that day. Seaway traffic was halted immediately, sending at least 20 ships to anchor. Within hours, over 20,000 feet of boom were deployed, but the spill moved steadily down river, coating granite shoreline, trapping waterfowl, forcing boat owners to pull their boats, and oozing into sensitive marshland, particularly Chippewa Bay in New York waters. Some oil eventually reached as far down the river as Lake St. Lawrence and coated shoreline along the Long Sault Parkway on the Canadian side of the lake. Clean-up lasted into the fall and cost in excess U.S. $8 million.

On 23 June 1903, the tug O.W. CHENEY steamed out of Buffalo harbor in heavy fog to tow the steamer CHEMUNG into the harbor. The tug ran too close to the oncoming steamer, was struck by the bow, and the CHENEY overturned and sank. Three crewmen were killed; two survivors were picked up by the tug FRANK S. BUTLER. On 23 June 1969, RALPH MISENER (steel propeller bulk freighter, 730 foot, 19,160 gross tons, built in 1968, at Montreal, Quebec) transited the Soo Locks upbound for the first time. She had an innovative self-unloading system with twin booms. The movable crane was equipped with a chain of buckets so it could discharge cargo from either side. This unloading system only lasted until 1976, when it was severely damaged in a squall on Lake Michigan. The vessel was then converted from a combination self-unloader/bulk carrier to a bulk carrier. She was renamed b.) GORDON C. LEITCH in 1994.

In 1926, the GLENMHOR (Hull#16), the name was soon corrected to GLENMOHR, was launched at Midland Ontario by Midland Shipbuilding Co., for Great Lakes Transportation Co., (James Playfair). She was 6 feet wider and 4 feet shallower than the largest ship at that time. Purchased by Canada Steamship Lines in 1926, renamed b.) LEMOYNE. Scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1969.

In 1929, the WILLIAM G. CLYDE (Hull#804) was launched at Lorain, Ohio, by American Shipbuilding Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. Converted to a self-unloader and renamed b.) CALCITE II in 1961. Renamed c.) MAUMEE in 2001. Launched in 1972, was the ALGOWAY (Hull#200) at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., for Algoma Central Railway.

The first whaleback barge, 101, was launched along the shore of St. Louis Bay near Duluth, Minnesota, on 23 June 1888. Captain Alexander Mc Dougall, the inventor and designer, was there along with his wife, her sister-in-law and several hundred spectators. As the vessel splashed in to the bay, Mrs. Mc Dougall is supposed to have muttered, "There goes our last dollar!"

On 23 June 1900, the 450 foot steel steamer SIMON J. MURPHY (Hull#135) was launched at Wyandotte, Michigan, by the Detroit Ship Building Co., for the Eddy - Shaw Transportation Co. of Bay City, Michigan.

On 23 June 1873, B. F. BRUCE was launched at Crosthwaite's yard in East Saginaw, Michigan. She is not properly a schooner, but what is known as a "three-and-after" in nautical terms. Her capacity was 50,000 bushels of grain (800 tons) and the building cost was $50,000.

1942 – EUGENE J. BUFFINGTON struck Boulder Reef, Lake Michigan and the hull cracked in two places. The vessel as on the rocks for 25 days until it coould be strapped together and refloated. The ship was towed to Chicago for one of the largest repair jobs in Great Lakes history.

1948 – CRETE and J.P. MORGAN JR. were in a head-on collision, in fog, off the Apostle Islands, Lake Superior. Both ships suffered extensive damage. Two were killed, 3 more injured, aboard the latter steamer. ALTADOC and E.A.S. CLARKE also collided in fog near the Apostle Islands but the damage, while requiring repairs, was less serious.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Wind towers setting sail in Manitowoc

6/24 - Manitowoc, Wis. – It’s no submarine, but what’s believed to one of the largest industrial products to leave Manitowoc’s harbor in decades is slated to set sail in the coming days.

On Friday, Broadwind Towers brought in a pair of cranes and prepared to begin loading a dozen 50-ton wind tower segments onto a barge headed for an Ohio wind farm. The load is the first of six or so slated to set sail this summer out of the Illinois-based company’s Manitowoc plant.

Company officials said the shipment will be riding aboard a barge that’s almost as long as a football field.

“The barge is massive,” said Matt Boor, OEM program manager at Broadwind, before the shipment was loaded. “A dozen of these things on one barge … I’m sitting here now trying to visualize that.”

The shipment is likely one of the largest to travel on the water in years from the Manitowoc port, which has traditionally been known more for shipbuilding than cargo, said Caitlin Clyne, registrar at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.

The largest loads moving through here today are typically shipments of rock, she said.

The city saw its last World War II submarine built by Manitowoc Shipbuilding launch in 1944, according to the Manitowoc County Historical Society.

The company launched the Edward L. Ryerson in 1960, which was its last freight-carrying vessel built in Manitowoc, said Amy Meyer, the history society’s executive director, adding the Ryerson was so long it barely made it out of the river.

For Broadwind, which normally ships via truck, the wind tower shipment marks its first on water.

Boor said the company has long contemplated using water routes given the Manitowoc plant’s location on South 16th Street, along the Manitowoc River, which is the same site as the former Manitowoc Shipbuilding. Doing so, however, required a destination near water and a client that was open to the idea.

“If you’re going to Denver, that won’t work. But this blows the doors open to anything on the Great Lakes,” Boor said.

Shipping on the water can have significant logistical advantages, Boor said, as it means avoiding having to truck 75-foot tower sections through high-traffic urban areas.

It also can bring shipping costs down.

“There’s no traffic on the lake. You’re not trying to get through Chicago,” Boor said. “You push it out of downtown Manitowoc and you’re gone. Two bridges and a break wall and it’s on open water.”

Loading the barge will take about two days and will require two cranes lifting opposite ends of the tower segments before the towers are lowered onto the boat. The sections constitute three towers measuring about 300 feet tall.

Herald Times Reporter


On June 24, 1971, a fire broke out in the engine room of the ROGER BLOUGH at the American Ship Building, Lorain, Ohio, yard, killing four yard workers and extensively damaging her Pielstick diesel engines. Extensive repairs, which included replacement of both engines, delayed her delivery for nearly a year.

The WILLIAM E. COREY (Hull#67), was launched at Chicago, Illinois by Chicago Ship Building Co., the first flagship for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Sold to Canadian registry and renamed b.) RIDGETOWN in1963. Sold for use as a breakwall at Nanticoke in 1970, and since 1974, she has been used as a breakwater in Port Credit, Ontario.

CANOPUS (2-mast wooden brig, 386 tons, built in 1855, at Huron, Ohio) was carrying 16,500 bushels of wheat when she collided with the bark REPUBLIC between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. on 24 June 1865. The CANOPUS sank in about 20 minutes off Clay Banks on Lake Erie. No lives were lost.

The wooden scow MYRA of Ashtabula, Ohio, was lost in a terrible squall on Lake Erie off Elk Creek on 24 June 1875. Three lives were lost.

1938 – REDFERN received minor hull damage when the steering cable broke near Dain City, on the Welland Canal and the vessel hit the west bank. It was taken to Port Colborne for repairs.

1955 – MANZZUTTI was taking water after the cargo of pulpwood shifted in heavy seas near the Straits of Mackinac. The vessel was initially in danger of sinking but reached safety.

1962 – JOHN A. FRANCE (ii) was aground in the upper St. Marys River and some of the cargo of grain was lightered before the ship could be refloated.

June 24 – The recently repaired PARKER EVANS and the ANNA KATRIN FRITZEN collided in heavy fog in Lake Huron with minor damage. The latter, a West German freighter and Seaway trader since 1961, and a return visitor as b) KATRIN in 1974, was scrapped at Bilbao, Spain, due to engine problems, in 1977.

1980 – CARTIERCLIFFE HALL, upbound with a cargo of iron ore, went aground in the Seaway near Cornwall, Ont. due to a steering problem and was released the next day with the aid of three tugs.