Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

Abandoned cargo ship listing in Lac Saint-Louis prompts fears of spill

6/27 - Beauharnois, Que. – A drop in water levels in Lac Saint-Louis has prompted fears about the stability of an abandoned cargo ship on Montreal's South Shore.

Transport Canada notified the Canadian Coast Guard about the potential problem with the Kathryn Spirit after it carried out a routine inspection on the ship Friday, which is leaning heavily to one side.

The ship was abandoned near Beauharnois, Que. more than four years ago. Beauharnois Mayor Claude Haineault said it's the first time the ship has listed to that degree since it floated into his town.

"They added a lot of cables to it. There's a great danger, if you ask me ... that the boat will tip over into the water," he said.

A follow-up inspection on Saturday by the Canadian Coast Guard revealed the Kathryn Spirit is stable. The helicopter flying above did not pick up any signs of pollution coming from the ship in the lake.

''The situation is stable again, but we're still going to monitor the situation on site for the next few days," said Martin Blouin, the superintendent for environmental response at the Canadian Coast Guard. Blouin said once the ship is stabilized and crews leave, it will be monitored through cameras.

Pollutants were removed from the ship in 2013 but the derelict contains water contaminated by crude oil in its ballast.

Earlier this year, a committee made up of federal and provincial government representatives decided the best course of action would be to dismantle the ship without moving it from the lake.

CBC



On 27 June 1892, in rain and fog, the FRED A. MORSE (wooden schooner, 182 foot, 592 gross tons, built in 1871, at Vermilion, Ohio) was being towed downbound by the HORACE A. TUTTLE (wooden propeller freighter, 250 foot, 1,585 gross tons, built in 1887, at Cleveland, Ohio) about 12 miles southeast of Thunder Bay on Lake Huron, both carrying loads of iron ore. At the same time, JOHN C. PRINGLE (wooden propeller freighter, 173 foot, 474 gross tons, built in 1880, at Detroit, Michigan) was sailing upbound in that vicinity with a load of coal and Italian marble with the schooners HARRISON, SWEETHEART and SUNSHINE in tow. At 1:30 a.m., the PRINGLE collided with the schooner MORSE, which sank in less than 15 minutes. The crew made it to the TUTTLE in the lifeboat, although one woman was badly injured. The PRINGLE's bow was stove in, her deck planks forward were split and spread, her bulwarks torn away, and her anchors and foremast were lost. She cast off her tow and made for Alpena, Michigan, where she arrived later in the day. At 4:04 p.m. on 27 June 1890, the Beatty Line's MONARCH (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 240 foot, 2,017 tons) was launched at Sarnia, Ontario. The launching was watched by numerous people on the decks of various steamers and on both sides of the St. Clair River. The MONARCH was built of white oak and braced with iron. She had 62 staterooms

Package freighter CHIMO (Hull#662) was launched in 1967, at Lauzon, Quebec by Davie Shipbuilding Ltd., for Canada Steamship Lines Ltd. In 1983, CHIMO's stern was attached to the bow and cargo section of the HILDA MARJANNE to create the CANADIAN RANGER.

WILLIAM EDENBORN (Hull#40) (steel propeller freighter, 478 foot, 5,085 gross tons) was launched at West Bay City, Michigan by West Bay City Ship Building Co. for the American Steamship Co., Duluth (A. B. Wolvin, mgr.) on 27 June 1900. PRETORIA (3-mast schooner-barge, 338 foot, 2,790 gross tons) was launched at J. Davidson's yard (Hull #94) in West Bay City, Michigan on 27 June 1900. Mr. Davidson built her for his own fleet. She was one of the largest wooden vessels ever built and lasted until September 1905, when she sank in Lake Superior.

1916 JAMES J. HILL collided with the wooden steamer PANTHER in fog off Parisienne Island, Lake Superior and held its position so all of the crew could come safely aboard before their ship sank.

1952 WOODFORD, enroute from Quebec City to Europe, received major damage in a collision off Ile Verte, near the mouth of the Saguenay River, with the pulpwood laden canaller JOHN A. FRANCE. The former, a British freighter, was holed and leaking and the crew was taken off to the BIRCHTON. The damaged WOODFORD was towed back to Quebec City and almost sand at the dock but was kept afloat and repaired. It was a Seaway visitor in 1960 and was scrapped at Shanghai, China, in 1978 as d) WOOSUNG.

1954 WILCOX, a former minesweeper that was rebuilt for passenger and freight service down the St. Lawrence from Montreal, was blown ashore at Potato Bay, Anticosti Island, and was a total loss. The remains of the hull are still there. 1982 CLIO, a West German freighter, made 12 trips to the Great Lakes from 1959 to 1965. It arrived at Callao, Colombia, with engine damage as e) SUNLIGHT on this date in 1982 and was abandoned as a total loss. An apparent effort to repair the engine was not completed and the ship was eventually scrapped.


On this day in 1942, the LEON FRASER, Captain Neil Rolfson, completed her maiden voyage and delivered a record cargo of 16,414 tons of ore to Conneaut. The downbound trip only required 67.5 hours and broke the record of 15,218 tons set by the Canadian freighter LEMOYNE 15 days earlier. The FRASER was shortened and converted to a bulk cement carrier in 1991, and sails today as the b.) ALPENA.

On this day in 1969, the new Poe Lock was dedicated and opened to traffic. The first boat to transit the new lock was the PHILIP R. CLARKE. Captain Thomas Small, a 95-year old retired Pittsburgh captain, was at the wheel of the CLARKE. Thomas Small was also at the wheel of the COLGATE HOYT the first boat to transit the original Poe Lock on August 4, 1896.

On 26 June 1890, the SKATER (wooden propeller excursion steamer, 85 foot, 65 gross tons, built in 1890, at Detroit, Michigan) burned to the water’s edge about 20 miles north of Manistee, Michigan. The crew did not even have time to save their clothes, but they all escaped unharmed. The SKATER had just been fitted out for the season and had started her summer route on Traverse Bay. She was rebuilt in Cleveland and lasted until 1942, when she was abandoned at Michigan City, Indiana.

On 26 June 1895, the GEORGE FARWELL (wooden propeller steam barge, 182 foot, 977 gross tons) was launched by Alexander Anderson at Marine City, Michigan. After leaving the ways, she looked like she would capsize, but she righted herself. About 500 people watched the launch. She was taken to the Atlantic Coast in 1900. She only lasted until 1906, when she stranded on Cape Henry, Virginia and was a total loss.

On 26 June 1867, WATERS W. BRAMAN (wooden propeller tug, 89 tons, built in 1858, at Boston, Massachusetts, for the U.S.Q.M.C. and named RESCUE) was near Pelee Island in Lake Erie when fire started in her coal bunker and quickly spread. Her crew abandoned her in the yawl and were later picked up by the propeller TRADER. She had been sold by the Quartermaster Corps just the previous year and she had come to the Lakes from the East Coast just five weeks before this accident.

On 26 June 1900, Boynton & Thompson purchased the wreck of the NELLIE TORRENT (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 141 foot, 303 gross tons, built in 1881, at Wyandotte, Michigan) to raise her. She had been destroyed by fire at Lime Island near Detour, Michigan, on 22 June 1899.

On 26 June 1882, The Port Huron Times reported that the ARAXES (wooden propeller, 182 foot, 569 gross tons, built in 1856, at Buffalo, New York) sank in the Straits of Mackinac. She was raised on 6 July 1882, and repaired. She was built in 1856, and lasted until the summer of 1894, when she sank 4 miles off Bay City in Saginaw.

1916: The first STORMOUNT, a steel canaller, was wrecked on Gull Ledge, near Marie Joseph, N.S.

1937: Passengers from the SOUTH AMERICAN, stranded on a shoal, were removed with the aid of ALGOMAH II.

1993: The Norwegian tanker BOW ROGN first came through the Seaway in 1970. It was back as b) JO ROGN in 1981 and was leaking sulphuric acid into the pump room on this date as c) BETULA after discharging at Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico. The vessel was towed offshore but later driven aground on a sandy beach north of the port on June 28-29, and then blown over on its side during the passing of Hurricane Calvin on July 7, 1993.

2000: EMIL REITH first came through the Seaway in 1970. It was attacked by Tamil Tiger rebels as h) MERCS UHANA off northern Sri Lanka while carrying foodstuffs from Colombo to Tricomalee. The ship caught fire and five lives were lost. The ship sank the next day about 48 miles off Point Pedro.


Split Rock Lighthouse site manager receives lifetime achievement award

6/26 - Duluth, Minn. – Lee Radzak walks out on the observation deck at Split Rock Lighthouse and, like many visitors to the North Shore landmark, the breathtaking view from the cliff stirs emotions and memories.

One might forgive Radzak if sometimes he takes the view for granted, because he has woken to it nearly every day for almost 34 years. He took over as the site manager at Split Rock for the Minnesota Historical Society in November 1982 and moved into one of the three lightkeeper houses on the site. He's lived on the edge of the cliff ever since.

Not only has Radzak resided at Split Rock more than three decades, he and his wife, Jane, have raised two kids and created a home for themselves at the iconic North Shore destination.

Radzak also has been a major part of several different restoration projects at the lighthouse and has seen the site go from an isolated spot on the Lake Superior shore near Beaver Bay to one of the most-visited sites in the state. Recently, for his work at Split Rock and with lighthouse preservation in general, Radzak was named the winner of the F. Ross Holland Award by the American Lighthouse Council. The award is a lifetime achievement award and is the highest honor bestowed by ALC.

"It's the top honor that the lighthouse preservation community awards to someone that has made significant contributions not just to lighthouse preservation, not just of buildings but lighthouse heritage and lighthouse lore," ALC co-chair Michael Vogel said. "Lee fits that bill really, really well."

Duluth News Tribune

[yachtsmanwilly]

6/28 - Buffalo, N.Y. – This past weekend the Buffalo lighthouse was relighted. The lighthouse was built in 1833 and has become a landmark to the city.

The Buffalo Lighthouse Association helped install a new lens, lit for the first time of Friday night. For generations the lighthouse illuminated the entrance to Buffalo harbor, and now it shines as a symbol of the city's revival on Lake Erie.

“It's a symbol of what once made Buffalo great, and by relighting it we're hoping we're going to make it a symbol of the resurgence of the Buffalo harbor as a recreational destination for both the residents of this city and for visitors from the outside,” said Mike Vogel of the Lighthouse Association.

Vogel said that the lighthouse is not an actual aid to navigation. It’s actually the second of four lighthouses that were built as the harbor grew further and further out into the lake. Preservationists saved the lighthouse from demolition in the 1960s when Buffalo River was widened.

WGRZ


6/28 - Buffalo, N.Y. – The U.S. Coast Guard was responding to a report of a sheen in Lake Ontario near the Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Scriba, New York, approximately 10 miles northeast of Oswego, New York, Sunday. The cause of the sheen is unknown at this time.

The Coast Guard established a temporary safety zone extending two miles to the north and two miles to the east and west from the Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant. A Coast Guard Auxiliary air crew noticed the sheen during a flight and reported it to Coast Guard Sector Buffalo.

A boat crew from Coast Guard Station Oswego launched and took samples of the sheen. Representatives from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation were on scene.

U.S.C.G.



On this day in 1955, the 456 foot WYCHEM 105, a.) SAMUEL F. B. MORSE, was loaded with sand at the B&O docks in Lorain and towed to Rocky River, Ohio where she was sunk as a temporary breakwall. She was later raised and taken to Bay Ship Building Co, and became a barge for the Roen Steamship Co. fleet. In the early 1970s, most of the hull was scrapped, except for two sections of the bottom, which were used for scows around Sturgeon Bay until the 1980s.

On this day in 1957, the JOSEPH S. YOUNG departed Manitowoc, Wisconsin on her maiden voyage. She traveled in ballast to Port Inland, Michigan to load a cargo of stone. The YOUNG was the a.) ARCHERS HOPE, A T2-SE-A1 tanker, converted to Great Lakes service at Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock, Baltimore, Maryland. Renamed c.) H. LEE WHITE in 1969, and d.) SHARON in 1974. Scrapped at Brownsville, Texas in 1986.

On June 28, 1938, at 8:50 a.m., the WILLIAM A. IRVIN departed Duluth with her first cargo of iron ore for Lorain, Ohio. 48 years later, in 1986, almost to the minute, the WILLIAM A. IRVIN opened as a museum to the public.

The ATLANTIC SUPERIOR arrived at the Algoma Steel Plant, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario on her maiden voyage in 1982, with a load of taconite but before she was unloaded christening ceremonies were conducted there.

The SAM LAUD ran aground June 28, 1975, on a shoal south of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, with a cargo of coal from Chicago, Illinois for Green Bay, Wisconsin. Six-thousand tons of coal were off-loaded the next day into the NICOLET, a.) WILLIAM G. MATHER, before she could proceed to Green Bay along with the NICOLET to discharge cargoes. SAM LAUD entered the dry dock at Sturgeon Bay on July 3rd for repairs. She had suffered extensive bottom damage with leakage into seven double bottom tanks and the forepeak. She returned to service on August 21, 1975.

On 28 June 1893, JAMES AMADEUS (wooden propeller tug, 65 foot, 44 gross tons, built in 1872, at Cleveland, Ohio) sprang a leak and foundered near Cleveland, Ohio. Her crew abandoned her just before she went down.

On 28 June 1909, TEMPEST (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 138 foot, 370 gross tons, built in 1876, at Grand Haven, Michigan) burned to a total loss while unloading coal at the Galnais Dock at Perry Sound, Ontario. She was consumed very quickly and six of her crew were killed.

1923 The PHILETUS SAWYER sinks in the Detroit River off Windmill Point after a collision with the HARRY R. JONES.

1960 DIVINA sustained heavy damage to the portside after striking a pier of the Prescott-Ogdensburg Bridge along the St. Lawrence. The Norwegian freighter had been a Great Lakes visitor since 1952 and was scrapped as d) PETROL 20 at Eleusis, Greece, in July 1984.

1970 CASTOR, enroute from Japan to Chicago with automobiles and steel products, sinks in the Pacific after a collision with the ORIENTAL HERO two days out of Yokohama. All 38 on board are saved. The ship dated from 1960 and first came through the Seaway in 1966.

1979 STAR GERANTA, a Seaway visitor in 1966 and a return caller as d) REGAL SWORD in 1977, sinks in the Atlantic off Cape Cod, MA after a collision in fog with the EXXON CHESTER.

1987 The small tanker NADY was built at Rochester, NY as the army tanker Y-86 in 1944 and returned to the Great Lakes as b) NADY in 1953 and again in 1955. It was abandoned, in leaking condition as d) ELENI S. while inbound 12 miles off the Lagos, Nigeria, breakwall. Water is entering the engineroom and the ship settles in shallow water. (One source suggest this may have occurred 2 days earlier) 2005 CSL NIAGARA loses power and goes aground in the American Narrows of the St. Lawrence while upbound with a cargo of coke. The ship is holed in the forepeak but soon released and repaired.

[yachtsmanwilly]

On this day in 1946, the tug DALHOUSIE ROVER, Captain J. R. Mac Lean, capsized in the Welland Canal. There were no survivors among the crew of six.

On 29 June 1910, ALABAMA (steel propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 272 foot, 2,626 gross tons, built in 1909, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) made her first trip in regular service for the Goodrich Line from Chicago to Grand Haven and Muskegon. She ran opposite the VIRGINIA. Cut down to a barge in 1961, she was scrapped in La Salle, Ontario, in 2006.

On 29 June 1902, GEORGE DUNBAR (wooden propeller freighter, 134 foot, 238 gross tons, built in 1867, at Allegan, Michigan) was loaded with coal when she was damaged by a sudden squall on Lake Erie near Kelley’s Island and sank. Seven of the crew elected to stay aboard while the skipper, his wife and daughter made for shore in the lifeboat. Those three were saved but the seven perished on a makeshift raft.

The CHARLES M. SCHWAB (Hull#496) was launched in 1923, at Cleveland, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co., for the Interlake Steamship Co. Lengthened with a new mid-body and repowered with the stern section of the tanker GULFPORT in 1961. Sold Canadian in 1975, renamed b.) PIERSON DAUGHTERS and c.) BEECHGLEN in 1982. Scrapped at Port Maitland, Ontario, in 1995.

On June 29, 1962, the HAMILTONIAN began her maiden voyage for Eastern Lake Carriers (Papachristidis Co. Ltd.). Renamed b.) PETITE HERMINE in 1967. Purchased by Upper Lakes Shipping in 1972, renamed c.) CANADIAN HUNTER. Scrapped at Alang, India in 1996.

The JOSEPH L. BLOCK was christened on June 29, 1976, for Inland Steel Co. The Canadian schooner DUNSTOWN arrived at Malden, Ontario, on 29 June 1875, to be put in place as a lightship. Her sides were painted in large white letters: BAR POINT LIGHTSHIP.

On 29 June 1864, ALVIN CLARK (2-mast wooden schooner, 113 foot, 220 tons, built in 1846, at Truago (Trenton), Michigan) foundered in a terrific squall off Chambers Island on Green Bay. Two of the crew were rescued by the brig DEWITT, but three lost their lives. In 1969, a schooner identified as the CLARK was raised at great expense and put on display for some time at Marinette, Wisconsin, then at Menominee, Michigan. The hull gradually deteriorated and was dismantled in May 1994.

1934: The retired wooden schooner LYMAN M. DAVIS was torched as a spectacle off the Sunnyside Amusement Park at Toronto and it burned to the waterline.

1962: The Swedish freighter AMACITA was beached in sinking condition after hitting a shoal in the St. Lawrence near Brockville. It was refloated and towed to Kingston for hull and rudder repairs. The 10,137 gross tons vessel also visited the Seaway as b) HERVANG in 1965 and arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, as f) MALDIVE PIONEER on January 5, 1984, for scrapping.

1966: Two Canada Steamship Lines ships, LEMOYNE and MARTIAN, were in a collision while passing at Welland and the former struck the Main Street Bridge during rush hour. The ships only received minor damage, but land and Welland Canal traffic were held up.

1994: The tug A.F. FIFIELD was built at Port Dalhousie by Port Weller Dry Docks in 1955 and sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as c) J. MANIC while towing a barge from Sept Iles to Port Cartier. All on board were rescued.

[yachtsmanwilly]

6/30 - Albany, N.Y. – The shipwreck of a Canadian schooner that sank off Lake Ontario's central New York shore nearly 150 years ago has been discovered, a team of underwater explorers announced Wednesday.

Jim Kennard, Roger Pawlowski and Roland Stevens said they recently found the wreck of the Royal Albert in deep water off Fair Haven, 35 miles northwest of Syracuse. The western New York-based team said the 104-foot vessel was carrying 285 tons of railroad iron that shifted in rough conditions, bursting the ship's seams.

The crew survived the August 1868 sinking by getting into a small boat and making it to shore.

The wreck was found in mid-June using side-scan sonar, Kennard said. Video images taken by a remotely-operated vehicle helped identify the wreck as the Royal Albert, the only two-masted schooner known to have sunk off Fair Haven, he said.

Built in 1858 in Oakville, Ontario, the schooner departed Oswego on Aug. 9, 1868, headed to Toledo, Ohio, on Lake Erie, via Canada's Welland Canal. Kennard said the Royal Albert was only a few miles into its westward voyage when lake conditions turned rough, causing the cargo to shift and break apart the hull. The crew barely had time to scramble into a small boat as the ship sank, he said.

Video of the wreck shows both masts toppled over and some of the railroad rails can be seen in the aft hold, Kennard said. While the discovery isn't as significant as some of the many others the New York team has made during Lake Ontario explorations in recent years, Kennard said the find offers a glimpse into shipping methods and manifests in the post-Civil War period.

"It's essentially typical of how goods were being shipped and the kind of goods being shipped," he said. "The heavier commodities couldn't be shipped through the canals on canal boats."

The discovery was made possible with an annual grant from the National Museum of the Great Lakes, which underwrites the search expenses of its volunteers on Lake Ontario.

“Our collaboration with Jim Kennard and his team have produced some of the most important discoveries on Lake Ontario, said Christopher Gillcrist, Executive Director of the National Museum of the Great Lakes. “More importantly, because of the nature of our collaboration, these discoveries are made cost effectively. If a for profit CRM firm attempted what our collaborative efforts accomplish, it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Identification of a shipwreck is typically based on several factors including size, shape, type, location, and the conditions that caused the wreck. From the National Museum’s database of over 600 ships that wrecked in Lake Ontario, there was only one schooner with two masts that sank off the Fair Haven area with the dimensions we had measured.

It appears that the Royal Albert went down stern first as wreckage is observed at the stern. Over time the masts have fallen over. The forward mast is lying off the starboard side of the ship and the main mast is back off the port side. The boom of the main mast lies across the cabin roof. Some of the railroad rails can be seen in the aft hold.

Associated Press, National Museum of the Great Lakes


Cana Island remains open; wagon to assist with water-logged crossings

6/30 - Cana Island Lighthouse and Tower remains one of the Door County’s premier tourist attractions despite the fact that the island is occasionally, once again, a true island.

The historical structures on the island are maintained by the Door County Maritime Museum under the jurisdiction of Door County Park System and are visited by tens of thousands of visitors each years.

The raising waters of Lake Michigan over the past couple of years now, at times, cover the causeway leading from the mainland parking lot to the island. This has been troublesome for some visitors while others have found the shallow wade to be a pleasant reminder of the last time water inundated the causeway more than two decades ago.

“We want to stress that we are still open for business,” said Amy Paul, the museum’s Executive Director. While strong winds and waves might cause an occasional lighthouse closing, the opportunity still exists to see one of the most photographed lighthouses on Lake Michigan.

And help has arrived for those who would prefer not to get their feet wet. The museum has now implemented a tractor-drawn hay wagon with seats and sides to traverse the causeway.

“This is a unique opportunity to experience a new addition to the Cana Island experience,” says Paul, referring to the wagon ride. “It will again ensure that everyone will have the opportunity to see the lighthouse/island which is in the midst of a multi-million-dollar phased restoration project.”

Phase One of the project is complete and involved an extensive restoration of the lighthouse’s exterior and tower. It followed the construction of the mainland parking lot and new restroom facilities. Phases to follow include the restoration of the outbuildings, including what is believed to be the only five-sided oil house in the country. Future plans also call for a welcome center and interior restoration of the keeper’s house all in time for the station’s 150th anniversary in 2019.

Those planning to wade across the causeway when wet are urged to have water-repellent footwear to avoid injury from rocks and sharp zebra mussels that have been deposited on the causeway.

The museum buildings are open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily with an admission charge with an additional fee charged for the 97-step climb to the top of the tower and it stunning view of Lake Michigan.

DCMM


On this day in 1962, the CLIFFS VICTORY passed down through the Welland Canal to become the first boat in the Cleveland Cliffs Fleet to enter Lake Ontario in 20 years.

The CSL ASSINIBOINE was rechristened at Port Weller Drydocks Ltd., on June 30, 2005. She was the a.) LOUIS R. DESMARAIS and the fourth CSL vessel to receive a forebody replacement.

On 30 June 1917, while being towed out of the Milwaukee River by the tugs WELCOME and KNIGHT TEMPLAR, the Goodrich Lines’ CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS (steel propeller whaleback passenger steamer, 362 foot, 1,511 gross tons, built in 1893, at West Superior, Wisconsin), with 413 passengers onboard, was caught by the current and swung close to shore. The overhang of her snout-bow sheered off two legs of the water tower of the Yahr-Lang Drug Company and the tower fell onto the vessel, destroying the pilothouse and forward decks. The water from the tower rushed down the length of the upper decks. 16 were killed and over 20 were seriously injured. The surviving passengers were taken to Chicago by train. The vessel was repaired and put back into service the following year.

On 30 June 1900, MARIAN TELLER (wooden propeller tug, 52 foot, 33 gross tons, built in 1879, at West Bay City, Michigan) was towing the barge CANTON on Lake St. Clair. The TELLER sprang a leak about one mile from the Lake St. Clair Lightship. The rising water put out her fires. In the scramble to escape, the yawl was swamped and three lives were lost. Only Captain Cornwall and his son were saved when the passing steamer NORWALK picked them up.

1889 WILLIAM ARMSTRONG, a wooden rail car ferry, sinks in the St. Lawrence off Morristown after being swamped. One life is lost but the ship is refloated and repaired. It was renamed MONS MEG in 1910 and served as a drill barge but was abandoned due to its age and condition in 1938.

1940 The Imperial Oil tanker ACADIALITE cuts too close to shore and strands off Cape Hurd of the Bruce Peninsula. The ship received about $100,000 in damage and is repaired at Collingwood. It later sails as IMPERIAL CORNWALL and GOLDEN SABLE before being scrapped at Louiseville, QC about 1980.

1959 TAXIARHIS, a Lebanese flag visitor to the Great Lakes and the West German freighter CARL JULIUS are in a collision 6 miles west of the Eisenhower Lock. The former is most seriously damaged and goes aground with a V shaped dent in the port bow but both were repaired. The former arrived at Piraeus, Greece, for scrapping as d) TONY C. on March 29, 1972, while CARL JULIUS was scrapped as d) MACHIAVELLI at Savona, Italy in 1982.

1962 The GUIDO DONEGANI gets stuck in the St. Lawrence below the Iroquois Lock due to engine trouble. Part of the cargo of corn is lightered to P.S. BARGE NO. 1 and the Italian freighter is refloated on July 1. It is also a Seaway trader as b) PUNTA MESCA beginning in 1970 and as c) COCLERDUE in 1979. This ship arrived at Savona, Italy, for scrapping on June 1, 1981.

1974 KIMIKAWA MARU began Great Lakes trading in 1962 and the Japanese freighter made a single visit each year through 1965. It went aground as b) WELFARE NO. 2 off Navlakhi, India, on this date. The ship later broke in two and sank in shallow water as a total loss. 1980 VILLE DE MONTREAL was engaged in pre-Seaway service to the Great Lakes. It was sailing as c) CHERRY MAJU, enroute from Bahrain to Colombo, Sri Lanka, when it developed a list and drifted aground off Karwar, India. The ship became partly submerged and was abandoned as a total loss.

[yachtsmanwilly]

7/1 - Kingston, Ont. – Opening up a special meeting of City Council on Wednesday night, Christopher West addressed the room with a simple statement: “in an ideal world, we would not be here tonight.”

A lot would be true in an ideal world. For West — chairman of the board of directors for the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes — that world would never have seen the museum property sold in January. Furthermore, in an ideal world, the museum wouldn’t be facing eviction in August.

“But, we are not in an ideal world,” he clarified. “You are politicians, and politics as often noted, is the art of the possible.”

Sitting around the council chambers, members of staff, council, and a packed audience of community members were in attendance to the meeting, called on Tuesday by Mayor Bryan Paterson to deal with a new and time-sensitive proposal for the museum.

The proposal was two-fold: first, to move the museum temporarily to Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, and second, to relocate the historic ship Alexander Henry to the dock of Picton Terminals. The second item caused the hasty call to a meeting, needing to be done before water levels lower.

Within 10 months, a report will be given to council on the feasibility, costs, and financing of turning the ship into an artificial dive reef in Lake Ontario. For West, the proposal was the result of “intense and extremely productive discussion” between the museum and the city.

“I fully endorse the report before you. Your staff’s recommendations represent the possible. An opportunity to save the museum that I urge you to seize immediately,” he said.

For members of council, the discussion was quick and succinct.

“We can agree I think that the people of Kingston are all speaking in one voice, which is that something needs to be done to help the marine museum,” Councillor Peter Stroud said. He was happy with the work done on such a “tight timeline.” However, he did caution that council would need to think about what happens at the end of the temporary arrangements.

A major concern came from how the city could ensure the marine museum kept up with their end of the costs in the shared financing for the project.

Deputy Mayor Richard Allen raised concern about what happens if the Alexander Henry was unable to be moved, to which Hurdle replied that they could only go with what the experts had said, which was that they have the “ability and capacity” to move it.

Mayor Paterson then raised questions of his own, beginning with requesting more information on the “range of possibility” for what the dive reef option might cost compared to disposal.

Hurdle was unsure of the costs of “cleaning the ship and sinking it,” but indicated that it would likely be a significant investment. An assessment would be done to report back.

“I’ve always advocated for joint responsibility,” Paterson said. “The city is willing to partner. We can’t cover all the costs, but we can help.” He smiled when adding that he was “cheering” for the dive reef option. “I think that would be really cool,” he said. Shortly following, council went to a vote — with two absences — and in a unanimous outcome, the decision was made.

The marine museum is now set to relocate, before the water level drops.

The Whig

New tanker Damia Desgagnés successfully launched

7/1 - Quebec City, Que. – The motor tanker Damia Desgagnés was successfully launched on Saturday, June 11, at the Turkish shipyard Besiktas. This next-generation asphalt-bitumen-chemical tanker is the first of four tankers to be built for the renewal and expansion of the Groupe Desgagnés’s fleet.

Expected for fall 2016, the Damia Desgagnés will have a deadweight of 15,100 tons and be able carry 13,350 tons of asphalt at a draft of 7.8 meters; its tanks will offer a carrying capacity of 14,950 m3 at 98 percent. It will be equipped with a Wärtsila 5RT-flex 50DF propulsion engine with a power output of 5,540 kW, and have a POLAR 7 certification, allowing it to navigate in ice-laden waters. It will hold a Cleanship Super notation, meaning that the ship has equipment meeting strict environmental standards including ballast and grey water treatment systems, as well as being able to operate at least seven consecutive days with no discharge of effluents or residues.

Damia Desgagnés will also hold a Green Passport notation, certifying that certain specific materials used during the construction of the ship were identified and noted in a record updated annually and re-certified every 5 years, to ensure safe manipulation and disposal of those materials during the vessel’s maintenance and repair, as well as during its dismantlement upon the end of its useful life.

Louis-Marie Beaulieu, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Desgagnés, says that Desgagnés demonstrates its vision and environmental leadership in the Canadian marine industry, as all the vessels on order will be powered by dual-fuel engines allowing the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG), marine diesel oil (MDO) and heavy fuel oil (HFO) – a first for merchant vessels in Canada.

When using natural gas as its primary source of energy, the Damia Desgagnés will achieve several environmental objectives, including: the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by approximately 25 percent due to a lower carbon content in natural gas compared to liquid fuels; the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions by over 85 percent due to the lean-burn combustion process achieved by the ship’s engine; the near-complete elimination of sulphur oxide (SOX) emissions since natural gas contains very little sulphur; and air particle emissions will be practically non-existent due to the efficient combustion of natural gas.

“The Damia Desgagnés is part of an extensive investment program for the renewal and expansion of the Desgagnés fleet with vessels fitted with cutting-edge technology, which demonstrates Desgagnés’s commitment and confidence in its future,” Beaulieu said.

Groupe Desgagnés Inc.


Senate committee passes plan for Delta Queen to steam again on the Mississippi

7/1 - Washington, D.C. – The possibility of the historic Delta Queen again cruising the Mississippi River and its tributaries took one step closer to reality when the Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday approved a plan to allow that.

The measure now goes to the Senate for full approval and would need House of Representatives concurrence and a presidential signature to become law.

Introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio and supported by Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., the bill would reinstate a decades-long exemption to allow the boat to operate from its new home port of Kimmswick, in Jefferson County.

It's not a foregone conclusion. Brown and others previously tried unsuccessfully to exempt the 88-room privately owned steamboat from the 1966 safety laws barring wooden vessels from carrying more than 50 passengers overnight. Opponents of the exemption worry that the Delta Queen and other older wooden boats are potential firetraps that could put passengers at risk.

McCaskill and Blunt said the 1920s-era wooden steamboat would operate cruises out of about 80 ports. According to a joint statement by McCaskill and Blunt, the St. Louis region would get 170 new jobs and more than $36 million in annual economic impact if the plan goes through.

The Delta Queen carried three U.S. presidents, various other dignitaries, and thousands of other passengers through the tributaries of the Mississippi River for a good part of the last century. It also served as a naval ship during World War II, and has been designated a National Historic Landmark.

The Delta Queen was exempted from federal regulations of passenger ships carrying 50 or more passengers overnight on domestic U.S. waters, but that exemption expired in 2008. The new bill would restore the exemption but also require at least 10 percent of the wooden parts of the ship to annually be modified to adhere to federal safety standards.

Blunt called the Delta Queen a “national treasure” and McCaskill said the potential economic benefits would “allow the Delta Queen to serve as far more than an historic landmark and tourist attraction.”

St. Louis Post Dispatch


July 1, 1991 - The automobile/passenger ferry DALDEAN celebrated its 40th year in operation between Sombra, Ontario and Marine City, Michigan. She was built by Erieau Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Erieau, Ontario, for Bluewater Ferry Ltd. Service started between the two communities on July 1, 1951.

On this day in 1943, the nine loading docks on Lake Superior loaded a combined 567,000 tons of iron ore into the holds of waiting freighters.

At 16:00 hours on July 1, 2005, an explosion hit the Cargill elevator in Toledo, Ohio, which collapsed on one of the silos and fire was found in five of the silos.

On July 1, 1940, the HARRY COULBY became the first Great Lakes vessel to load in excess of 16,000 tons of iron ore when it loaded 16,067 tons of iron ore in Ashland, Wisconsin. Renamed b.) KINSMAN ENTERPRISE in 1989, she was scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario in 2002.

On 1 July 1927, ROBERT C. WENTE (wooden, propeller, bulk freighter, 141 foot, 336 gross tons, built in 1888, at Gibraltar, Michigan) burned to a total loss in the St. Clair River. In 1911, she sank in Lake Michigan, but was raised and refurbished.

July, 1983 - The C&O sold its remaining 3 car ferries to Glen Bowden and George Towns. They begin operating cross-lake service between Ludington and Kewaunee under the name Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation Co. (MWT)

On 1 July 1852, CASPIAN (wooden side-wheeler, 252 foot, 921 tons, built in 1851, at Newport, Michigan) foundered a short distance off Cleveland's piers. Some of her gear and structural material were salvaged in the Spring of 1853, and the wreck was then flattened with dynamite.

July 1, 1900, the new wooden steam barge ALFRED MITCHELL started her maiden voyage from St. Clair, Michigan for Cleveland, Ohio, to load coal. She was owned by Langell & Sons.

On 1 July 1869, the wooden schooner GARROWEN was carrying coal from Cleveland to Toronto when she sprang a leak and sank in 60 feet of water about 10 miles from shore off Geneva, Ohio. The crew escaped in the yawl. She was only 19 years old and some of the crew claimed that she was scuttled as an insurance scam. However, a number of divers visited the wreck on the bottom of the Lake at the time and that claim was refuted.

On 1 July 1875, the iron carferry HURON (238 foot, 1052 gross tons, built at Point Edward, Ontario, with iron plates prefabricated in Scotland) made her trial voyage between Fort Gratiot, Michigan, and Point Edward, Ontario, across the St. Clair River. This vessel served the Grand Trunk Railway and ran between Windsor and Detroit for over a century.

In 1876, a 25-square-mile ice field was still floating at the head of Lake Superior in northwest Wisconsin.

1918: The wooden steam barge CREAM CITY stranded on Wheeler Reef in upper Lake Huron due to fog while towing the barge GRACE HOLLAND. All were rescued but the ship was abandoned. The hull caught fire and was destroyed in 1925. 1939: ALGOSOO (i) arrived at Collingwood for hull repairs after hitting bottom, in fog, near Cape Smith, Georgian Bay.

1964: WHITEFISH BAY went aground off in the St. Lawrence off Whisky Island while bound for Montreal with a cargo of grain. Six tugs pulled the ship free on July 3.

1975: VALETTA first came to the Great Lakes in 1962 and returned as c) ORIENT EXPORTER in 1966 and d) IONIC in 1972. The leaking ship was beached at Cheddar, Saudi Arabia, with hull cracks. It slipped off the reef July 11, 1975, and sank.

1972: H.M.C.S. COBOURG was built at Midland as a World War Two corvette and rebuilt as a merchant ship about 1947. It caught fire and burned as d) PUERTO DEL SOL at New Orleans while undergoing repairs and the upper works were gutted. The ship was sold for scrapping at Brownsville, TX, later in the year.

1980: The Swedish-flag freighter MALTESHOLM first came through the Seaway in 1963. It began leaking in the engine room as c) LITO on this date while bound from Kalamata, Greece, to Vietnam with bagged flour. It was abandoned by the crew and then sank in the eastern Mediterranean. The ship had been sold to Taiwan ship breakers and was likely bound for Kaohsiung after unloading in the Far East.

[yachtsmanwilly]

PAUL H. CARNAHAN was launched in 1945, as a.) HONEY HILL, a T2-SE-Al World War II tanker, for U.S. Maritime Commission.

July 5, 1991 - Charles Conrad announced he had formed a corporation to purchase the Ludington, Michigan, carferry operation from Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation Company.

JUSTIN R. WHITING was launched on 5 July 1874, at Langell's yard at the mouth of the Pine River in St. Clair, Michigan. Her dimensions were 144 feet X 26 feet 2 inches X 11 feet 6 inches. Although built to be a self-powered steam barge, she was towed as a regular barge during her first season of operation.

IDA CORNING (2-mast wooden barge, 168 foot, 444 gross tons) was launched in East Saginaw, Michigan, on 5 July 1881. She was built for L. P. Mason & Company of East Saginaw. In 1858, her rig was changed to that of a 2-masted schooner. She lasted until abandoned at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in 1928.

1940: MAGOG, part of convoy HX-52, was hit by gunfire from U-99, torpedoed and sank stern first. The crew was eventually rescued by the Finnish freighter FIDRA. There are conflicting dates for this event but many sources agree on this date for the loss of the former C.S.L. canaller.

1969: The crew of the W.F. WHITE rescued eight from a foundering pleasure boat off Southeast Shoal, Lake Erie.

1973: The British freighter TRELEVAN visited the Seaway in 1961. It caught fire while pumping oil bilge in the engineroom at Halifax as d) BAFFIN BAY and was a total loss. The ship was sold for scrap to Marine Salvage of Port Colborne but resold to Spanish shipbreakers and arrived at Valencia, Spain, under tow for dismantling, on October 4, 1973.

1975: The T-2 tanker NASSAU CAY, formerly the IMPERIAL TORONTO, visited the Seaway in 1960. It was converted to a dry bulk carrier in 1961 and was abandoned by the crew, in sinking condition, as f) NICHOLAS C. some 200 miles off Beira, Somalia, and was not seen again. The ship was enroute from Sorel to Basrah, Iraq, when it ran out of fresh boiler water and had been drifting.

1979: The Swedish freighter MONICA SMITH was built in 1952 and came to the Great Lakes that year. It returned on a regular basis through 1966 and again, as b) MONICA S. in 1967. It sank in the Mediterranean soon after leaving Cartagena, Spain, for Port Said, Egypt, as c) MESSINA II.



July 4, 1996 - The veteran Buffalo fireboat EDWARD M. COTTER, built in 1900, was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U. S. National Parks Service.

The WILLIS B. BOYER museum ship was opened to the public at Toledo, Ohio in 1987. She was built by Great Lakes Engineering Works (Hull#82) in 1912 as a.) COL. JAMES M. SCHOONMAKER. Renamed b.) WILLIS B. BOYER in 1969 and COL. JAMES M. SCHOONMAKER in 2011.

In 1976, the SAM LAUD grounded entering Buffalo, New York. She was dry docked at Lorain, Ohio, for repairs to bottom plates of No. 1, 2 and 3 port and starboard tanks. Also on this day in 1976, the H. LEE WHITE struck the Algoma Steel plant dock at the Canadian Soo resulting in damage to her stern amounting to $108,000 at the repair yard of Sturgeon Bay.

The JOSEPH S. YOUNG, a.) ARCHERS HOPE of 1945, was commissioned July 4, 1957. She was the first of seven T-2 tanker conversions for Great Lakes service. The YOUNG was renamed c.) H. LEE WHITE in 1969 and d.) SHARON in 1974. She was scrapped at Brownsville, Texas in 1986.

On July 4, 1953, the JOHN G. MUNSON set a Great Lakes record for limestone by loading 21,011 tons of limestone at Calcite, Michigan. This record for limestone stood until being broken by the Canada Steamship Lines self-unloader MANITOULIN late in the 1966 season.

July 4, 1952 - The PERE MARQUETTE 18 of 1911, was laid up due to railroad strike. She was never to operate again and was scrapped at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1957.

The wooden propeller freighter MAINE, owned by Northern Transportation Co., had sailed from Chicago and was on Lake Ontario on 4 July 1871, when Fireman Orsebius Kelley stoked the fire at 8 p.m. and went to the porter's room to get a lamp. When he returned, the boiler exploded with such force that Kelley was mortally wounded. The blast also killed Engineer M. H. Downer, deckhand Joshua Kelley (the fireman's brother), Halbert Butterfield (a 13 year old passenger) and his mother. The MAINE still floated after the blast. She was repaired and put back in service. Including this boiler explosion, she had four major mishaps in her career. She sank in 1872, burned in 1898, and finally burned again in 1911.

On 4 July 1900, during her maiden voyage from St. Clair, Michigan, to Cleveland, Ohio, the wooden steam barge ALFRED MITCHELL ran aground at Bar Point Light. It was claimed that the steering gear broke which rendered the boat unmanageable. Later that same day the MITCHELL was released by the wrecker SAGINAW.

About 9 p.m. on 4 July 1874, the steam barge W H BARNUM, with the schooner THOMAS W FERRY in tow, collided with the bark S V R WATSON near Point Pelee on Lake Erie. The WATSON sank in 28 feet of water. She was raised about two weeks later by the Coast Wrecking Company.

July 4, 1958 - The keel for the second of two new bulk freighters for Interlake Steamship Co. was laid at Great Lakes Engineering Works shipyard at River Rouge, Michigan on Wednesday morning June 25. Assigned Hull 302, the ship will be 689 feet long, 75 feet beam and 37-1/2 feet molded depth with a designed maximum cargo capacity of about 24,000 tons. H. C. Downer & Associates of Cleveland did the design work. The ship will be powered by a 6,000 shp steam turbine main engine with coal-fired boilers. Hull 302 was eventually named HERBERT C. JACKSON.

Interlake's other new ship, the 710-ft. flagship JOHN SHERWIN (Hull#192) at Toledo, Ohio, joined the Great Lakes bulk cargo fleet in May of that year. 1959: The tug GRAND BANK, pushing a barge, sank in Lock 4 of the Welland Canal and the captain was lost. The vessel, built at New Orleans in 1940 as SST-123, was salvaged and, as of 1997, was operating out of Delta, BC.

July 4, 1995 - While the United States celebrated its Independence Day, a small fleet gathered 20 miles off of Whitefish Point in Lake Superior as the bell from the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was raised and taken aboard the Purvis Marine Tug Anglian Lady. The bell would later be taken to Michigan State University in Lansing where it would be cleaned with the name EDMUND FITZGERALD applied on the bell once again. The bell was later to taken to the museum at Whitefish Point and put on display as a memorial to remember the 29 men crew. The next day divers placed a new bell inscribed with the names of the 29 men lost in the sinking.

1973: The Liberian flag bulk carrier Florence visited the Great Lakes in June 1973. The ship was outbound when it collided, in fog, with the tanker St. Spyridon, inbound from Venezuela with 32,500 tons of Bunker C oil, off Les Escoumins, QC. Both ships were damaged. All on board were rescued and the two vessels were ultimately repaired. Florence was scrapped at San Esteban de Pravia, Spain, in 1976 and St.Spyridon at Vigo, Spain, as f) Globe Maritima in 1982.

RNC security plans for the Great Lakes may affect boaters

7/3 - Cleveland, Ohio – When the Republican National Convention opens in Cleveland in two weeks, security measures may cause problems for boaters on Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River.

There are four security zones that could restrict recreational boating during the convention, from Burke Lakefront Airport to the Cuyahoga River that winds its way through the city. The restrictions won’t be in place for the whole convention, but one – the part of the Cuyahoga that runs near Quicken Loans Arena – will only be open to shipping vessels for the whole four-day event.

The Coast Guard has also designated two safety zones for protesters. Lt. Commander Mickey Dougherty helped create the RNC plan. He says the safety zones are there so protesters have a place to be seen and heard by their intended audience.

"It helps to specifically outline an area where people can go and demonstrate. We’ll be in the area, so if there were something to occur, somebody falls overboard, we’re right there to help," Dougherty said.

The safety zones are on Lake Erie, far from Quicken Loans Arena where the convention will be held. Dougherty says the Coast Guard has not received any requests to demonstrate on the water.

Great Lakes Today


Green Bay imports ease impact of gas pipeline shutdown

7/2 - Green Bay, Wis. – The Port of Green Bay’s sole petroleum distributor has reversed course in order to help ease a void created by a pipeline shutdown.

Port Director Dean Haen said Kimberly-based U.S. Venture Inc. has started to import gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products into the region in the wake of the March shutdown of the gas pipeline between Milwaukee and Green Bay.

Illinois-based West Shore Pipe Line Co. has said the pipeline is closed indefinitely as the company considers whether to rebuild it.

“Normally, they (U.S. Venture) export petroleum products to Canada or the East Coast because it’s cheaper here than there,” Haen said. “Now, they’re shipping it here because our fuel costs are higher. The whole market has flipped.”

West Shore Pipe Line said it continues to study how to supply the Green Bay area with gasoline and diesel in the interim. Gov. Scott Walker declared a state of emergency on May 6, waiving state and federal limits on the number of hours fuel drivers can drive each week, to help alleviate potential gasoline and diesel shortages.

Port tonnage figures for May show 5,135 metric tons of petroleum products arrived in Green Bay. Total petroleum product imports for all of 2015 totalled 8,466 metric tons. Haen said the pipeline’s problems will give the port tonnage figures for this year a boost at a time when total tonnage for all commodities has declined nearly 20 percent.

Each shipment of petroleum products into the port delivers 35,000 to 100,000 barrels to the Green Bay area and Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The deliveries come at a time when the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline has stayed near $2.50 in Green Bay, while average prices across the state have declined from their early June peaks.

U.S. Venture officials were not available for comment Thursday. Green Bay relied on shipping and port traffic for its fuel until 1960 when the first pipeline from Milwaukee came online. But Haen said it’s unlikely that other petroleum shippers would invest in new port facilities.

“The future of that pipeline needs to be determined. If it’s not going to be operated, then someone might evaluate installing another pipeline. If (another pipeline’s) not feasible, then I think you’d see other people evaluate other transportation efforts,” Haen said. “That infrastructure takes time to design, engineer, permit and construct. It all takes time.”

Green Bay Press Gazette

[yachtsmanwilly]

CACOUNA's bow was damaged in a collision with the Greek tanker CAPTAIN JOHN on the fog-shrouded St. Lawrence River July 6, 1971. The CACOUNA of 1964, was repaired by replacing her bow with that of her near sistership the SILLERY, which was being scrapped. Later renamed b.) LORNA P and c.) JENNIFER, she foundered 20 miles Northeast of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on December 1, 1974.

Canada Steamship Lines’ ASHCROFT was used to haul ore, grain and coal only on the upper Great Lakes until July 6, 1932, when she was able to enter Lake Ontario through the newly expanded Welland Canal. On that trip ASHCROFT, loaded with grain from Fort William for Kingston, Ontario, was the largest vessel to traverse the canal to date.

The keel was laid for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.'s, GOVERNOR MILLER (Hull #810) in 1937, at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Company.

COLUMBIA STAR set a record for the Head-Of-The-Lakes coal trade. The vessel loaded 70,903 net tons of low-sulfur coal at Superior Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior, Wisconsin, on July 6, 1997. She was renamed b.) AMERICAN CENTURY in 2006.

On 6 July 1836, YOUNG LION (2-mast, wooden schooner, 73 foot, 83 tons, built in 1830, at Buffalo, New York) was carrying railroad iron and lumber. About 12 miles from Erie, Pennsylvania, in rough weather, her seams opened and she quickly sank with just her topmasts left above the water. 3 died, but 5 managed to clamber up the masts and hold on until the schooner NEW YORK rescued them.

On 6 July 1871, CASTALIA (2-mast wooden schooner, 119 foot, 242 gross tons, built in 1847, as a brig at Sandusky, Ohio) was on her way to pick up lumber at the camp at Bying Inlet, Georgian Bay, when she came too close to Cove Island Reef and stranded in 3 feet of water. Although not badly damaged, she was about a mile from deep water. Tugs could not get to her and she was sailing light, so there was no cargo to lighten. She was stripped and abandoned. She finally broke up in a storm on 12 July 1871.

On 6 July 1871, the Detroit newspapers (Detroit Free Press and Detroit Daily Post) both published articles stating that there were rumors on the docks regarding the tug TAWAS having her boiler explode on Saginaw Bay. The rumors originated with sailors from Port Huron and proved to be unfounded. However, in a sense this rumor turned into a prediction since TAWAS did blow her boiler about three years later (14 May 1874) on Lake Huron off Rock Falls, Michigan. At that time 6 crewmembers perished.

1893: ROSEDALE, upbound and light, ran aground off Knife River, Lake Superior, in dense fog and was almost on dry land. The vessel was released July 10 and went to Superior for repairs. It combined Great Lakes and ocean service until sunk in the Bristol Channel, via collision, on April 8, 1919.

1941: RAPIDS PRINCE, enroute from Prescott to Montreal, went aground in an awkward position in the Lachine Rapids and was stuck for 2 months. The 218 passengers were removed in motorboats.

1965: LAKE TRAVERSE, built at Duluth in 1918, sank off Tortuga Island, in the Caribbean after hull plates were sprung.


Pilots say industry users of American pilots not concerned about public safety, opinion

7/6 - Port Huron, Mich. – Foreign shipping companies that have sued the U.S. Coast Guard over the 2016 Great Lakes pilotage rates would undermine safety and environmental protection of the Great Lakes, a group of American ship pilots said Tuesday.

Every foreign ship that enters the Great Lakes must secure the services of an American (or Canadian) ship pilot to help navigate the vessel, ensure safety, and avoid environmental incidents. American pilots are among the most highly skilled mariners in the world and often have decades of expertise and local knowledge in Great Lakes navigation. By contrast, foreign ship captains operating large tankers and cargo ships may never have navigated on the Great Lakes.

Foreign shipping companies pay fees to cover the cost of pilot services at levels established by the Coast Guard after a transparent public comment process. The Coast Guard’s 2016 rate levels are based on recommendations from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee (GLPAC), public comments and a ratemaking structure set out in federal law.

In establishing the new rate, the Coast Guard said the American pilotage system has been underfunded by $20 million from 2004 - 2015. “As a result,” the agency said, “the pilotage associations could not provide sufficient compensation to attract and retain qualified pilots, leading to pilot shortages and associated traffic delays. In turn, these shortages meant that each pilot had to carry an excessive workload and forego needed rest and training.”

A large coalition of Great Lakes environmental groups, local government officials, other leading Great Lakes officials, and private citizens who live in the Great Lakes region supported the Coast Guard’s 2016 rate proposal, in many cases because of the environmental protection benefits provided by pilots.

However, on May 31 a group of foreign corporations that own fleets of ships filed a lawsuit to overturn the final rate and, which, if successful, would slash needed funding.

“The Coast Guard made clear that the 2016 pilotage ratemaking was designed to address previous deficiencies and build a dependable pilotage system that, first and foremost, protects the Great Lakes,” wrote Capt. Dan Gallagher, president of the Lakes Pilots Association, Inc. (based in Port Huron, MI); Capt. John Swartout, president of the Western Great Lakes Pilots Association (Superior, WI/Duluth MI); and Capt. John Boyce, St. Lawrence Seaway Pilots Association (Cape Vincent, NY), members of the three American pilotage associations, in a statement.

“The 2016 rate level was developed to ensure adequate pilot numbers, infrastructure, training, navigation equipment, safety gear, pilot rest, facilities, and other expenses, including pilot costs that are essential to a system that protects the world’s largest freshwater body. It was extremely disappointing that these foreign corporations have decided to challenge it, knowing that the changes they have demanded would save them money but undermine safety and environmental protection.”

U.S. Great Lakes pilots have been the lowest paid pilots in the country considering the difficulty of routes and conditions. At a recent GLPAC meeting in Detroit on June 14th, Steve Fisher, Executive Director of the American Great Lakes Ports Association and a lobbyist for Fednav Ltd., suggested that many U.S. coastal ports have more robust economic activity than the Great Lakes and that is the reason for their higher costs of pilotage. American Great Lakes pilots declare that the safety and protection of the Great Lakes is just as important to the people of the Great Lakes as it is to the people of the coasts, regardless of economic activity.

“Because we not only work, but also live and raise our families on the shores of these waters, it is shocking to us that those foreign shipping companies, which benefit immensely from the use of these waters and who have benefited from being undercharged by $20 million over the last decade, would oppose a program to make sure the Great Lakes are adequately protected,” the pilot presidents stated.

Also at the GLPAC meeting, Paul Gourdeau, Executive Vice-President of Fednav International Ltd. stated that the Coast Guard doesn’t need to consider public opinion when setting pilotage rates.

The pilot presidents said they found the lawsuit particularly troubling given that government-imposed Canadian shipping fees assessed on foreign shipping companies on the Great Lakes are nearly 15 times greater than comparable American shipping fees.

Foreign shipping companies that have filed include Brochart KB (Sweden), Canfornav, Inc. (Canada), Fednav International Ltd. (Canada), Polish Steamship Co. (Poland) and Wagonborg Shipping BV. (Netherlands). Other ports and associations with ties to the foreign shipping companies also joined the lawsuit.

Lakes Pilots Association, Inc. – Port Huron

Lake Michigan levels affect more than shoreline

7/6 - Oconto County, Wis. – If you've been to Lake Michigan lately, you may have noticed a change along the shoreline The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports lake levels are on the rise.

In many areas, the comeback is a stark difference from just a few short years ago.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake has risen four feet in the last three years. It's a sharp increase from a historic low. The National Weather Service has been monitoring the change.

"We've seen quite a bit of precipitation over the Lake Michigan basin, which of course covers the state of Michigan, Wisconsin, and nearby areas, that we've had colder winters. Ice from on the lake, which reduces the amount of evaporation during the winter time, so those two things caused the lake levels to rise," said Jeff Last, National Weather Service Meteorologist.

Last says high water levels coupled with high winds, can be dangerous.

"For this part of the state, the Northeast winds causes the lake levels to rise even more. With the wave action, and the piling up of the water," he said.

But there is another view. Many in shipping say the high water levels are good for business.

"The ships can carry more product, which means that it's coming in at a lower cost. Because all things being equal, the ship has a certain cost, the fuel has a certain cost, the crew has a certain cost, and they're able to carry more," said Dean Haen, Port of Green Bay Director.

Haen says ships can carry about 20 percent more cargo during times of high water. The Port of Green Bay handles about two million tons of goods each year.

Weather experts say the lake levels fluctuate on about a 10-year basis. We are still about two feet short of the record high, set back in 1986.

FOX 11 News


7/6 - Montreal, Que. – The sealift ship Anna Desgagnés suffered "not much damage," after running aground Sunday in the St. Lawrence River, says Groupe Desgagnés.

The cargo vessel was quickly brought to port and the vessel is expected to be released by late afternoon, said Benoit Chassé, a vice president with the company. "The vessel will be released shortly and there should be no further impact because there's no damage to the hull. There's no other damage to the vessel that were sustained by this incident," he added.

Chassé says the vessel ran into problems because of an issue with a hydraulic steering pump, which has now been sent for testing and replaced.

The Anna Desgagnés is set to deliver goods to Northern Quebec and Nunavut later this month and the company is optimistic that the vessel will make up the lost time.

"At this moment we expect to be able to catch up by steaming faster along the Labrador coast... weather and ice permitting."

Eric Collard, a spokesperson with the Transportation Safety Board, said the incident is being investigated.

"We've arrived on site. We've been on board since this morning," he said Monday. "We started collecting some information and we will be conducting some interviews this afternoon. We're looking to get as much information as possible."

Collard said the TSB will try and get as much data as it can on the incident, including downloading electronic data from the vessel if it's available and speaking with witnesses or crew.

The Desgagnés is set to arrive in Iqaluit on July 23.

CBC

[yachtsmanwilly]

Cornelia owners hit with $1 million pollution fine

7/7 - Duluth, Minn. – A German shipping company whose vessel was detained offshore from Duluth for six weeks late last year has been slapped with $1 million in penalties after its owners pleaded guilty to dumping oily wastewater into the Great Lakes.

Officials of the company, MST of Schnaittenbach, Germany, pleaded guilty on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Joan N. Ericksen in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Minnesota district.

The Coast Guard held MST’s oceangoing freighter Cornelia in the harbor from early November until Dec. 18, when it finally was allowed to depart.

According to the news release, the Cornelia’s crew discharged oily wastewater overboard at least 10 times from February to October 2015, and its chief engineer intentionally failed to record the discharges in its record book. That included at least one incident while the vessel was in the Great Lakes.

The guilty plea was to violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.

MST will be required to pay a $800,000 criminal fine to the United States in addition to a $200,000 community service payment to support the protection and preservation of Lake Superior and its watershed, according to the news release.

The company also will serve a three-year probationary period during which it must commit no further violations and implement an environmental compliance plan for all of its vessels that call on ports or places in the U.S.

Duluth News Tribune


Governor requests federal funding for portions of Soo Locks reconstruction

7/7 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is requesting the federal government to fully fund reconstruction of portions of the Soo Locks. Gov. Snyder sent a letter Tuesday to Michigan's members of Congress.

"The Soo Locks are a crucial shipping link for some of our nation's biggest industries," Gov. Snyder said. "The increase in outages from maintenance, redundancy and capacity issues poses significant economic consequences for both Michigan and the nation. That's why I'm calling on the federal government to fund the much needed construction of this aging infrastructure."

In the letter, Gov. Snyder is asking the 'federal government to fund the replacement of the Davis and Sabin Locks with a larger, single lock to make waterway traffic and shipping more reliable and prevent potential economic collapse.'

"As we continue to address infrastructure needs across the state, the Soo Locks must be a priority." Gov. Snyder said. "Only by mitigating these risks now can we ensure future public safety and economic stability."

9 & 10 News


Renaissance of Cuyahoga riverfront means commercial, recreational interests must co-exist

7/7 - Cleveland, Ohio – The stately Sam Laud, a 636-foot, 7,000-horsepower Great Lakes freighter owned and operated by the American Steamship Company, is unloading 7,500 tons of iron ore at the Cleveland Bulk Terminal, just west of Whiskey Island and the mouth of the Cuyahoga. That's less than a third of its total cargo. The vessel has to reduce its tonnage before a precarious journey down the Cuyahoga River, or else risk damaging its hull or getting stuck in the mud of the undredged riverbed.

It's an oil-on-canvas Tuesday morning. On board the boat, Capt. Daniel Franklin is dressed comfortably in straight-leg jeans, a green polo and a ball cap. He says that commercial shipping on this particular river is a game of inches. The VP of the Lake Carriers Association, Glen Nekvasil, co-signs the sentiment by making a claw with his thumb and forefinger.

"This much," Nekvasil says.

Read the rest of the story and a photo gallery here


The Renaissance of the Cuyahoga Riverfront Means Commercial and Recreational Interests Must Co-exist, Come Hell or High Water
By Sam Allard

Share the River, sharetheriver.com
Photo courtesy of Jim Ridge

Share the River, sharetheriver.com



The stately Sam Laud, a 636-foot, 7,000-horsepower Great Lakes freighter owned and operated by the American Steamship Company, is unloading 7,500 tons of iron ore at the Cleveland Bulk Terminal, just west of Whiskey Island and the mouth of the Cuyahoga. That's less than a third of its total cargo. The vessel has to reduce its tonnage before a precarious journey down the Cuyahoga River, or else risk damaging its hull or getting stuck in the mud of the undredged riverbed.

It's an oil-on-canvas Tuesday morning. On board the boat, Capt. Daniel Franklin is dressed comfortably in straight-leg jeans, a green polo and a ball cap. He says that commercial shipping on this particular river is a game of inches. The VP of the Lake Carriers Association, Glen Nekvasil, co-signs the sentiment by making a claw with his thumb and forefinger.

"This much," Nekvasil says.


click to enlarge
SAM ALLARD Sam Allard

They're talking about the negligible inches between the bottom of the Sam Laud and the mud, but also about the precious few inches between the sides of the boat and the riverbanks, inches that shrink to practically zero when ships like the Laud navigate the upper Cuyahoga's infamous hairpin turns, the kind of acute angles that have the winding river travel about 100 miles just to make it 30. (The Sam Laud's 6-mile trip from the bulk station to ArcelorMittal will take three and a half hours.)

(You can see photos from the Sam Laud's incredible journey here.)



Great Lakes commercial shipping turns out to be a game of minutes, too. Massive lakers, which are about as long as the Terminal Tower is tall, move sluggishly even at top speeds. Industry improvements have for years focused on maximizing efficiency: It can cost $2,000 per hour just to keep the engines running. So in addition to the technical advancements that have reduced time and crew size — self-unloading technology being chief among them — companies have recognized that they're most productive (i.e., most profitable) when the boats never stop moving. Shipping is a 24/7 operation. Throughout the shipping season, which runs from late March through Jan. 15 ­— when the Soo Locks, on the St. Mary's River on the northern tip of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, between Lakes Superior and Huron, close — the bulk carriers pause only to load or discharge cargo. A few lost hours here and a few wasted minutes there mean fewer shuttles in the long run. It's the main reason why the maritime industry balks every time groups want to shut down waterways like the Cuyahoga River, even briefly, for competitions or events.

"It'd be like telling a trucker to take a nap for 10 hours," Interlake Steamship president Mark Barker tells Scene by phone.

Longer than that, if you want to get technical, given that a single 1,000-foot Great Lakes freighter hauls about as much cargo as 3,000 semi-trucks on the highway (a fact that industry lobbyists love to cite when championing the economic and environmental advantages of maritime shipping).

***

For the past few years, the Sam Laud's principal route has been from Silver Bay, Minnesota, down to Cleveland, shuttling iron ore that, along with limestone and coal, is the steel industry's key ingredient. This particular batch has come from Escanaba, Michigan, a port town on the Upper Peninsula. Franklin and his 21-man crew have spent the past 50 hours chugging through the waves of Lake Michigan, the Straits of Mackinac, the sweltering heat of Lake Huron in sunny skies, the St. Clair River, the Detroit River, and finally Lake Erie, before coming to pause here at the Bulk Terminal.

On deck, Glen Nekvasil adjusts his suspenders and calls it a "honey of a day," and it is. At 10:49 a.m., shortly after the Sam Laud's 250-foot self-unloading boom has deposited the last pebbles of ore — the process is called "lightering," for self-evident reasons — and swung back to its resting place, Capt. Franklin, who is also the pilot, eases his ship ass-first out into open water. His plan is to swing her around in a sort of three-point turn, to approach the mouth of the river head-on.

"This is some of the most technically difficult navigation in the world," says Franklin, referencing the route ahead. "We're not using tugs out here. It's basically 6 miles of turns and twists and corners. Then you throw in sand bars and currents and everything else ... It's terrifying."

Q: What makes one of the most terrifying, technically challenging navigational channels in the world even more terrifying and technically challenging?

A: Recreationalists, soaking up a newly re-vamped waterway on kayaks and brew boats and dragon boats and standup paddleboards and jet skis and sculls. Many of them are responsible, regular river users. But others are unfamiliar with or agnostic about, if not actively hostile toward, safety procedures. Still others are drunk.

And though representatives from the shipping industry — Daniel Franklin among them — are careful to say how excited they are about the riverfront resurgence, how delighted they are to share the Cuyahoga with recreational users, and how wonderful it is for the city of Cleveland, what they seldom say outright is that they are also extremely nervous.

"There are more and more types of users on the water," says Jane Goodman, director of Cuyahoga River Restoration, "and it absolutely freaks out the lake carriers and the freighters. They don't want to kill anybody! And if anything happens, they're the ones who are going to get sued."

She expands on the welcome if nerve-wracking paradox: "On one hand, we want people down on the river. If you use the river, you know the river. And if you know the river, you love the river. And we need more people to love this river. On the other hand, there are rules. And unless you know the rules, it's not a good situation for anybody. This is becoming a real issue, and we're worried that somebody is going to get seriously hurt."


click to enlarge
SAM ALLARD Sam Allard

Mark Barker, of Interlake Steamship, says that the river serves multiple purposes, and though commercial interests don't always see eye to eye with recreational interests, it's important to keep a productive dialogue around safety going.

"It's very easy to say, let's shut down industry," Barker tells Scene. "And let's just enjoy the river and have a beer. A beer is good, and it brings dollars to town, but the raw materials that these ships bring — that ton of stone or that ton of iron ore — also bring really important dollars and really important jobs to the area. It also supports the tax base in a way that I'm not sure a beer does."

***

As the Sam Laud continues, the bright walkway of the Flats East Bank appears on the left. A battalion of crossfitters performs an aggressive, synchronized series of leg lifts. Early lunchers and late-morning strollers dot the strip. The Flats East Bank is the newest and largest example of development on the river, and maritime industry folks note that the recent projects feel markedly different than those of the Flats heyday in the 1980s and '90s.

"Back then," says Glen Nekvasil, "the Flats were the third most popular tourist attraction in the state of Ohio. Shooters, on weekends, brought in the third highest earnings per capita of any restaurant in the country."

Scene was unable to substantiate the above, but the description echoes others of a hopping and exclusively adult entertainment district. Strip clubs, dance clubs, cigarette boats, bars. The word most commonly used by industry folks to describe that era was nightmare.

"It was a logistical nightmare," says Mark Barker.

"It was a nightmare," says Nekvasil. "There'd be six or seven pleasure crafts tied up on either side of the river, and boats just couldn't get through. We'd have to call the Coast Guard or the Cleveland Police boats."

"The party-party thing wasn't sustainable, though," offers Jim Ridge, founder of Share the River, an organization that promotes a vibrant, engaged coexistence on the water. "The focus on eating and drinking came and went."

Franklin, who's been captain of the Sam Laud for four years, says that not only are there fewer pleasure crafts on the water these days (due, at least in part, to the money-tightening of the great recession), the spirit of the development has changed too.

"It used to be a little seedier," is Franklin's assessment. "Now, it's more holistic. Now you have this walkway: There are people jogging, fishing. You still have people having dinner and a beer, but people are living and working down here too. That's more sustainable in the long run."

But the challenges have by no means disappeared.

On Friday, June 3, the SS Calumet, another U.S.-flagged, 630-foot, self-unloading bulk carrier, collided with the deck at Shooters on the West Bank. No one was injured, but Shooters put the structural damage at about $20,000.

Rand Logistics, the company that owns and operates the Calumet, declined to comment when Scene inquired about the incident, but the Coast Guard is investigating. For a moment, the collision reminded people that enormous objects maneuvering in tight spaces are not only mesmerizing to behold — as anyone who's watched the slow waltz of a freighter from the safety of Nautica or the patio at Alley Cat can attest — they're also extremely powerful and can be extremely dangerous.

And that's when you're on shore.

"Thirty-six and closing," calls one of Dan Franklin's mates, monitoring the distance between the Sam Laud's portside stern cheek and the east bank bulkhead. On the starboard (right) side, the tenting of the Nautica complex shines titanium white in the sun. To port, the yellow Samsel Supply building inches closer and closer and ...

"Holding at 24," shouts the mate.

"Twenty-four," repeats Franklin.

This is the only spoken communication up here on the bridge, a back and forth calling out of numbers, of distances. As navigator and pilot, Franklin needs constant measurements (in feet) as he massages the rudder's lever. He's got a radio as well, and a team up at the bow chimes in with the relevant distances on their end. Franklin reminds them at intervals that he only wants the closest distance.

The Cuyahoga opens up a bit to port (the area right off Settler's Landing, where the fountain gleefully spurts), and Franklin is able to guide the ship easily around the turn. Like most ships of its class, the Sam Laud is equipped with both bow and stern thrusters. These are tunnels, essentially, that run athwart the ship at the bow (front) and stern (back). Inside each is a variable pitch propeller that rotates to help the boat maneuver. The thrusters' effects are loosely equivalent to that of the omnidirectional wheels on a grocery cart (compared to, say, the fixed wheels of a skateboard). And they're critical on the crooked river.

The bridge tender at the Center Street swing bridge — all these river bridges have human tenders operating them 24/7, by the way — alerts Capt. Franklin that he's all clear. The Sam Laud pushes through, 12 measly feet of clearance on either side.

Up ahead, to port, is the Cleveland Rowing Foundation. Children and rowers gather outside to wave hello to the Sam Laud. Franklin is a father himself and says he loves to see people so excited when the freighters pass by. Especially kids. When they shout out from the shore to ask what he's transporting, he tells them candy bars.

As soon as the Laud clears the area, angling into a turn that will be transected by the Columbus Road lift bridge, a scull of rowers pushes back out into the water. The rowers are accompanied by another small boat, equipped with a VHF radio, so that the scull can be kept apprised of the area's marine traffic in real time. They knew the Laud was coming and they got out of the way, so she could pass.

That's what's supposed to happen. But sometimes glitches occur.

***

The communication issues between industry and recreation on the water were most publicly dramatized in September 2013. Two freighters blocked the Cuyahoga and forced a national rowing event to cut its course in half.

At the time, the quotes from the rowing community (and the popular conspiracy theory from onlookers) ascribed ill will to the freighters. The suspicion, though it was later walked back, was that the boat captains intentionally disrupted the Head of the Cuyahoga race to send a message.

Jim Ridge tells Scene that there had been a lapse in communication and the Canadian-flagged vessels simply didn't get the memo. At any rate, the Coast Guard determined that the "blockade" had been an accident.

The Lake Carriers Association, Glen Nekvasil's outfit, opposed the race and the closure of the river in 2013, but his organization didn't represent the ships in question. He, too, said it was an honest mistake and that a Memorandum of Understanding now exists specifically for that race.

"What we continue to ask for is a window of time," Nekvasil says, of other events and races. "Even if you want to close the river for 12 hours, we'd like a window to be able to transit."

Much more recently, there was another incident on the water, one that could have had catastrophic results. On June 6, three days after the Shooters collision, an 8-man scull (crew boat) full of adult rowers became entangled in the pylons along Irishtown Bend. The colossal barge Ashtabula and the tug Defiance approached, and the Rowing Foundation coach told the rowers to exit the scull.

"That's an absolute no-no," says Jane Goodman, who (like almost everyone interviewed for this story) is a member of the Cuyahoga River Safety Task Force and received a memo about the incident. "He put the rowers at risk and it wasn't necessarily the presence of the tug that did it. It was the panic. They shouldn't have been there."

Jim Ridge says the coach in question is a great coach and a great guy, but "a series of dominoes fell" in order for the incident to happen.

"Folks freaked out a little bit under pressure, and next thing you know you've got an 'abandon ship.'" Ridge says. "It's a little bit of a story, but there's been a really clean record between recreation and industry on the river, and the last thing the Cleveland Rowing Foundation wants is a big headline. That organization is nothing if not safety aware."

Kirk Lang, the executive director of CRF, said that immediately after the incident, he gathered his coaches to discuss safety protocol.

"It was essentially a re-certification," said Lang, "Every coach in our adult program was required to attend. If they didn't, they were removed."

After a swift investigation, it was determined that the coach responsible didn't use his best judgment and was fired.

***

But the commercial boats recognize the Cleveland Rowing Foundation's commitment to safety — they've got a 70-page manual that's considered top of class on the Cuyahoga. And in general, rowers tend to be the river's most regular, seasoned recreational users.

It's the novices — folks who sometimes don't even know how to swim, let alone how to behave when a freighter approaches — that worry the big boats. It's often remarked that you need to get a driver's license and pass a road test to drive a car; but to hop in a kayak or to try out a standup paddleboard, all you need to do is sign a waiver of liability. And to operate a boat or jet ski? If you were born before January 1, 1982, you don't need to complete a boater safety certification at all.

"Some of these inexperienced users just don't know the rules of the road," says Nekvasil, on board the Sam Laud. "This is not a playground. When the economy is really humming, we can average four to five vessels a day on the river. At any time, there can be a boat around the next turn."

That's why Nekvasil and the rowing foundation use marine radios. And that's why the Coast Guard encourages people to download Boat Beacon or the Marine Traffic app on their smartphones to monitor boats in real time when they're on the water.

"But those can have issues too," Daniel Franklin says. "A server could go down. It's important to have those tools, but it shouldn't be an excuse not to be cognizant. You've got to use your eyes and ears."

Bill Cochrane runs Nalu Stand-up Paddleboarding and Surf in Rocky River. He says that he takes safety very seriously and, in fact, he doesn't do rentals on the busy Cuyahoga. Though he gets a fair number of novice users on corporate outings and a weekly Paddles and Pints event, which occasionally leaves from Merwin's Wharf, those outings are always led by an experienced guide who's familiar with the river and who knows the freighter schedule.

"The biggest thing is being aware and respecting these boats," Cochrane says of the freighters. "A big boat's going to win 100 percent of the time."

Jane Goodman says that if you know what to do and how to behave on the water, it makes you a better neighbor.

"That's what we all are, really," she says. "We're neighbors sharing this incredible resource. And education is the first and last piece of that."

Though the tension between industry and recreation on the water sometimes seems, well, tense, casual onlookers probably don't realize how actively the various stakeholders discuss their issues.

The forum where all this chatter occurs is the Cuyahoga River Safety Task Force. The various stakeholders are assembling the afternoon of June 30 — the June 22 meeting was postponed due to the Cavs parade — at the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit across from the Rock Hall. Everyone's here: Glen from the Lake Carriers Association, Kirk from the Rowing Foundation, Jane from Cuyahoga Restoration, the Foundry, the Water Taxi captain, Shooters, Cargill Salt. The task force was designed to be an equitable forum, facilitated by the Coast Guard, where stakeholders could work out their issues. Today, after Marine Safety Unit commander Mickey Dougherty gives a presentation on the RNC, the big topic of conversation is the June 6 incident.

When Kirk Lang, of the Rowing Foundation, relays the details to the gathered body, they gasp.

"Oh, no!" shouts one, when Lang says the coach instructed the rowers to leave the shell.

"I know, I agree with you," Lang says. "At that point, two additional coaches were called and they arrived on scene in about two minutes. They pulled all the rowers to safety. At this time, there was a lot of congestion occurring — calls from the Ashtabula, calls from the tug Defiance, calls from the coach. It was essentially a complete breakdown in communication across the board."

Lang describes the investigation process and the safety measures taken in the aftermath.

"We are open to suggestions for ways we can improve," he says, "but safety is very important to the Foundation. When this occurred it was a complete shutdown until we figured out what exactly happened."

Glen Nekvasil raises his hand and thanks Lang, on behalf of the Lake Carriers Association, for taking such swift and decisive action.

Stephanie Pitts, of the Coast Guard, smiles and thanks Lang on behalf of the Coast Guard and the body at large.

"This is what we're here to do," she says. "Things are going to happen. Nobody's perfect. But sharing this information and coming together helps prevent things like that from happening in the future.

"And just a reminder, from the rowers to the big guys, we're getting a lot more traffic on this river. We already have new commercial vessels out there — the Water Taxi, the Brew Boat. We're really building up here. It's a great waterway, but we've got to keep an eye out for each other."

New Duluth-Superior fireboat to improve port security and safety

7/7 - Duluth, Minn. – A $447,750 grant to fund a new emergency response boat for the port of Duluth-Superior was approved by the Port Security Grant program this week.

The Duluth and Superior fire departments will use the boat to improve their response along the 49 miles of shoreline that make up the Duluth-Superior port area, a Duluth Fire Department news release states.

The "all-hazard quick response vessel" will be 31 feet long and 10 1/2 feet at its widest point with twin 300-horsepower outboard engines. According to the news release, the boat will provide "additional fire suppression, environmental response, search/rescue, medevac and emergency medical capabilities to the region."

The fire departments hope to begin using the boat by spring 2017, the news release states. The Duluth Fire Department will host a press conference at 2 p.m. today at Pier B Resort.

The fire departments plan to equip the boat with a thermal-imaging night-vision camera; side-scan sonar, radar and GPS navigation; a 2,000-gallon-per-minute fire pump; a roof-mounted 1,500-gallon-per-minute monitor; shallow draft for better accessibility; a firefighting foam injection system; and a large-diameter water discharge.

The boat, which will dock at Pier B Resort, also will have the ability to travel at high speeds and hold eight people.

Duluth News Tribune



July 7, 1939 - The Bureau of Lighthouses was merged into the U. S. Coast Guard. The BURNS HARBOR's sea trials were conducted on July 7, 1980. JEAN PARISIEN (Hull#684) was launched July 7, 1977, at Lauzon, Quebec, by Davie Shipbuilding Company Ltd. for Canada Steamship Lines. Port Weller Drydocks replaced her entire forward section and she was renamed b.) CSL ASSINIBOINE in 2005.

The DAVID Z. NORTON sailed on her maiden voyage July 7, 1973, as the a.) WILLIAM R. ROESCH. She sailed light from Lorain to Superior, Wisconsin where she loaded 18,828 tons of iron ore on July 9th bound for Jones & Laughlin's Cuyahoga River plant at Cleveland, Ohio. She now sails as d.) CALUMET.

In 1971, the CITY OF SAGINAW 31 went to Manitowoc for a thorough overhaul. While there, a fire broke out July 29, destroying her cabin deck and rendering her useless for further use. The blaze was caused by an acetylene torch, and caused over $1 million in damage.

On 7 July 1895, IDA MAY BROWN (wooden schooner, 53 foot, 20 gross tons, built 1884, at Charlevoix, Mich.) was carrying gravel when her cargo shifted in heavy weather. She capsized and later drifted to the beach near Michigan City, Indiana. Her crew was rescued by U.S. Lifesavers.

On 7 July 1851, GALLINIPPER (wooden schooner, 95 foot, 145 tons, built in 1846 at Milwaukee on the hull of NANCY DOUSMAN) capsized and foundered in a white squall in Lake Mich. The wreck drifted to a point about 10 miles SSE of Manitowoc, where it sank.

1963: The Canadian coastal tanker SEEKONK first came to the Great Lakes in 1951 on charter to the British-American Oil Co. It was later part of the Irving fleet and caught fire in the galley at Charlottetown, PEI. The ship was pulled from the pier by CCG TUPPER and beached at Governor's Island. The blaze burned itself out but the SEEKONK was a total loss and was towed to Buctouche, NB, and scrapped in 1964. 1970: PRINSES EMILIA made 3 trips through the Seaway for the Oranje Lijn in 1967. It sank as c) BOULGARIA on this date 25 miles off Cherbourg, France, after a collision with the HAGEN in dense fog. The vessel was enroute from Hamburg to Istanbul and 17 on board were lost.

1978: The British freighter BEECHMORE began Great Lakes service in 1959 and returned as c) MANDRAKI in 1971 and d) NAFTILOS in 1973. It was sailing as f) MARI when fire broke out on a voyage from Rijeka, Yugoslavia, to Alexandria, Egypt, on July 7. The ship was beached near Dugi Otok Islands the next day and eventually abandoned. The hull was refloated in 1979 and taken to Split with scrapping getting underway on July 19, 1979

1981: CONDARRELL, upbound below Lock 2 of the Welland Canal, lost power and hit the wall, resulting in bow damage. The ship returned to Toronto for repairs but only finished the season before tying up. The vessel, built in 1953 as D.C. EVEREST, has been unofficially renamed K.R. ELLIOTT by International Marine Salvage.

[yachtsmanwilly]

No injuries reported after freighter hits sailboat

7/8 - Port Huron, Mich. – No one was injured on a sailboat after it was hit by a freighter in the St. Clair River near the Blue Water Bridge about 11:15 a.m. Port Huron Fire Capt. Corey Nicholson said the sailboat was towed to a Canadian harbor. Unofficial reports indicate the freighter involved was the saltwater vessel Lubie.

Port Huron Times Herald


7/8 - Hamilton, Ont. – Two workers have been injured — one critically — after an electrical cable snapped on the Burlington Lift Bridge. Halton Regional Police said three workers were on bridge scaffolding when the incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. The bridge is being refurbished.

One was rushed to hospital in with life-threatening injuries, while another suffered minor injuries and has also been hospitalized. Police said it wasn’t yet clear how the workers were injured. They said the cable broke loose, falling into the water.

Traffic in the area has resumed but the bridge is closed to large ships.

The Ministry of Labour has been called in. Work began earlier this week to replace the bridge’s controls, drives and cables. The replacement of key components of the lift system is designed to extend the serviceable life of the bridge, which opened in 1962.

Global News


7/8 - Ogdensburg, N.Y. – The Port of Ogdensburg has seen increased activity in recent days as the main components of a new wind turbine project roll into the facility by both ship and rail.

On Wednesday, the 143- meter, 9,000-ton general cargo ship Morgenstond II, sailing under the flag of the Netherlands, made port in Ogdensburg. The ship’s main cargo included stacks of white tower sections that will be used to construct a new wind farm near the hamlet of Churubusco in Clinton County.

The huge blades for the turbines will also be arriving at the Port of Ogdensburg, but instead of coming by ship, are arriving at the port by train.

Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority Executive Director Wade A. Davis said the turbine blades are so large that one propeller fills two flat bed rail cars. He said once the blades arrive at the Port of Ogdensburg, they will be placed in storage until they can be transported to Clinton County project site by tractor trailer truck.

Davis said the influx of new turbine parts both by ship and by rail is another example of the important economic roll that the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority plays across the north country region.

“This is a great example of the Port of Ogdensburg contributing to the economic vitality of the region,” Davis said. “The public will soon see increased activity at the port and at the rail yard as the blades and towers continue to arrive by both boat and train.”

The Journal


Homeland security on Great Lakes starts with Jones Act

7/8 - Cleveland, Ohio – The Jones Act’s requirement that cargo moving between U.S. ports be carried in vessels that are U.S.-owned, U.S.-built and U.S.-crewed is the Great Lakes region’s “best line of maritime homeland security defense” James H.I. Weakley, President of Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA), told a Congressional hearing yesterday.

“If you ask me what the single most important thing you [Congress] can do to encourage maritime homeland security, I would say support the Jones Act.”

Weakley, testifying before a joint hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee and the House Homeland Security Committee’s Maritime and Border Protection Subcommittee, explained that vessels owned and crewed by Americans under the Jones Act have a very different risk profile than foreign vessels.

“For example, our Jones Act mariners have all gone through extensive checks in order to receive their licenses, credentials and Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) cards. Many have been trained at our maritime schools and universities. They live here. They work here. In fact, many of these mariners and companies are full partners with our American law enforcement agencies through a series of programs and partnerships that encourage American seafarers to report suspicious activities.”

While the exact security measures employed on Jones Act lakers are considered “sensitive security information” under U.S. regulations, Weakley noted crews practice access control, perimeter expansion, personnel screening, vessel security sweeps, and inspection of cargo and ship stores.

“We not only adjust our security profile based on the prescribed threat level but also on the vessel operations and operational area. For example, if the vessel is moored at a facility that is not required to comply with facility security regulations, undergoing winter maintenance, in long-term storage or operating in restricted waters, we may also adjust our security profile.”

Weakley further noted that several LCA members are cooperating with a vendor on a project that could benefit both law enforcement and search and rescue responders.

“The program records vessel radar pictures with automatic identification system (AIS) data and allows shore based operators to remotely access the information. We believe the system, if proven successful, could be used to identify patterns of suspicious activity. Radars can monitor “uncooperative” aircraft and vessels that are not required to or choose not to transmit AIS data. Having the ability to look at a series of historical radar screens in an area can reveal suspicious trends and having real time access to remotely look at a radar picture from a vessel underway vastly expands the ability of shore based monitoring systems.”

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Eyes on the Water program is another way Great Lakes Jones Act mariners help keep the waterway safe.

“In the wake of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York, the Coast Guard has formalized a program that encourages professional mariners to report suspicious activity on the water,” Weakley explained. “Through (the program), the Coast Guard recognized that the more eyes looking, the better, and who could be more qualified to recognize that something is afoul than the professionals who routinely sail the trade routes.

“All of our members participate and report unusual or suspicious activity (e.g., when an unmanned aerial vehicle buzzes a vessel or a critical piece of infrastructure). These are low cost, common sense programs that make our homeland more secure, and we are proud to be full partners.”

Other respected voices support the Jones Act and its role in homeland security. Former U.S. Senator Slade Gorton, a former Washington State attorney general and member of the 911 Commission, recently wrote that “helping to plug a porous border is a benefit of the Jones Act that is far too often overlooked.”

Dr. Daniel Goure of the Lexington Institute, a prominent think tank, has prepared two studies recently, including one titled “Venerable Jones Act Provides an Important Barrier to Terrorist Infiltration of the Homeland.” He wrote that “Since 911, the Jones Act has taken on new significance in a way no one … could have imagined. It now plays an important role in securing the homeland from the threat of international terrorism.”

Dr. Goure also stressed that “the task of securing U.S. seaports and foreign cargoes is daunting by itself. It makes no sense to add to the burden facing domestic security agencies by allowing foreign-owned ships operated by foreign crews to move freely throughout America’s inland lakes, rivers and waterways. The requirement that all the officers and fully 75 percent of the crews of vessels engaged in cabotage be U.S. citizens goes a long way to reducing the risk that terrorists could get onboard or execute an attack on a U.S. target. In effect, there is a system of self-policing that reduces the requirement for law enforcement and homeland security organizations to expend time and effort to ensure that these vessels and crews are safe to traverse U.S. waters.

Were the Jones Act not in existence, the Department of Homeland Security would be confronted by the difficult and very costly requirement of monitoring, regulating and overseeing foreign-controlled, foreign-crewed vessels in coastal and internal U.S. waters.

Although the Jones Act was passed by Congress in 1920, the United States has reserved its domestic waterborne commerce to vessels owned, built and crewed by Americans since 1817. The level playing field the law ensures has allowed the U.S.-flag Great Lakes fleet to evolve into the world’s largest assemblage of self-unloading vessels. In fact, the self-unloading vessel was invented to serve the Great Lakes dry-bulk trades. So efficient are these vessels that the largest can discharge 70,000 tons of cargo in 10-12 hours without any assistance from shoreside personnel or equipment.

The requirement that Jones Act vessels be crewed with mariners licensed and credentialed by the U.S. Coast Guard means they are held to the world’s highest standards.

Lake Carriers’ Association


Gotta have ALL the facts...

Chicago native to take command of local Coast Guard unit Friday

7/8 - Chicago, Ill. – The crew of Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago is scheduled to hold a change-of-command ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday at the Bolingbrook Golf Club in Bolingbrook, Ill.

Cmdr. Zeita Merchant will relieve Capt. Ryan Manning as the commanding officer of Marine Safety Unit Chicago Friday morning. A native of Chicago, Merchant will be the first African American female commanding officer in history to command a Coast Guard marine safety unit and the first female officer to command Marine Safety Unit Chicago.

Merchant’s most recent tours include serving as the special assistant to the vice commandant of the Coast Guard; the executive officer of Marine Safety Unit Texas City, Texas; and a congressional fellow on two committees in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Manning took command of Marine Safety Unit Chicago in July 2014 and has been selected to serve as the chief of the Coast Guard Office of Port and Facility Compliance at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

USCG


Tall Ships arrive at Fairport Harbor

7/8 - Fairport, Ohio – The Tall Ships sailed into Fairport Harbor Thursday. The lakeside port east of Cleveland is one of only a handful of locations hosting the Tall Ships Challenge this summer. The event, which runs from Thursday, July 7, to Sunday, July 10, will feature daily ship tours, day sails, educational programming, food and entertainment.

The Tall Ships have been a highlight of Cleveland summers since 2001, but had to move east this year because of scheduling conflicts with the Republican National Convention.

Nine Tall Ships have been invited to the event, hosted every three years in the Great Lakes area. They include the U.S. Brig Niagara from Erie, Pennsylvania, and the Pride of Baltimore II.

The 2013 festival in Cleveland drew an estimated 100,000 people.

Tickets for Tall Ships Fairport Harbor are on sale at www.tallshipsfairportharbor.com. See the website for more information.

Cleveland Plain Dealer


7/8 - Duluth, Minn. – Lake Superior is the world’s largest freshwater lake by surface area. Because it is so vast, it takes a special effort to know more about it. We need more than “what you see is what you get.”

That’s why a team of scientists is plying the big lake’s waters this summer to discover hidden reaches and untold stories. The scientists want to answer, in effect, what lies below when it comes to things like zooplankton, mud and mercury levels. Even the air above the lake won’t escape scrutiny.

This effort represents a chance to measure many aspects of the whole lake rather than single, geographically isolated parts or perhaps only one set of biological, physical or chemical properties. It’s also a chance to involve both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the lake.

From now until October, if you gaze out onto the lake, you may be able to catch sight of the 180-foot U.S. Environmental Protection Agency research vessel, or RV, Lake Guardian. The vessel will be navigating from one predetermined research spot to the next. These are known as research stations, which are not physical structures but are instead sampling sites used in previous in-depth studies.

In addition to that ship, which is leading the way with a year of intensive research in something called a Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative, others will join the fact-finding fleet. There’s the U.S. Geological Survey’s research vessel Kiyi and the EPA’s research vessel Lake Explorer II.

In addition, multiple autonomous underwater gliders — yellow, torpedo-shaped samplers — will be swimming around the lake, guided by satellites and onboard computers. One of these zippy instruments hails from the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Large Lakes Observatory. EPA and UMD researchers and other federal and state agency scientists will be studying the lower food web, contaminants, the near-shore environment, deep-water organisms, aquatic invasive species and what factors might make certain areas of the lake prone to nutrient or algae problems. Results will help scientists and natural resource managers note what’s improved compared to previous lake studies.

In addition to scientists, 15 educators from around the Great Lakes basin will climb aboard the RV Lake Guardian ship. The group includes Deanna Erickson from the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve and Lori Danz from the Superior school district. Duluthians are Krystal Reil Maas, who teaches advanced chemistry and environmental science at Marshall School, and Samantha Smingler, school programs coordinator with the Great Lakes Aquarium.

Wisconsin Sea Grant, along with Minnesota Sea Grant, jointly selected these teachers to participate in a weeklong cruise starting Saturday. They will assist in some of the research projects and will, importantly, bring their experiences back to classrooms to inspire student wonder in the Great Lakes. Their participation is supported by the Center for Great Lakes Literacy and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Each year, a different lake within the world’s largest freshwater system goes under the microscope for this kind of intensive look-see. Last year it was Lake Michigan’s turn, so for two summers in a row, this area’s Great Lakes benefits from a thorough check-up.

That’s important because we have a lot riding on our lakes. Not just along the shores of Lake Superior but beyond. The lakes support a $62 billion economy and 1.5 million jobs in the tourism, commercial fisheries, shipping and manufacturing industries.

Duluth News Tribune



An apparent steering gear or engine failure caused the salty ORLA, built in 1999, to ground off Marysville on the St. Clair River on July 8, 2005. She was able to dislodge herself. LOUIS R. DESMARAIS (Hull#212) was launched July 8,1977, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for Canada Steamship Lines Ltd. Cargo hold replaced at Port Weller Drydocks Ltd., and renamed b.) CSL LAURENTIEN in 2001.

In 1918, a slip joint on the main steam line of the ANN ARBOR NO 5 let go, killing four men and badly scalding one other. The dead were Lon Boyd, W.T. Archie Gailbraith, 1st assistant engineer Arthur R. Gilbert, coal passer William Herbert Freeman, 2nd engineer. In 1984, the Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation Company (MWT) resumed service to Milwaukee with disappointing results.

On 8 July 1908, JAMES G. BLAINE (formerly PENSAUKEE, wooden schooner-barge, 177 foot 555 gross tons, built in 1867, at Little Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin) was being towed in Lake Ontario by the tug WILLIAM L. PROCTOR. Her towline broke in a storm and she was driven ashore near Oswego, New York where the waves broke her up. No lives were lost. At the time of her loss, even though she was over 40 years old, she was still fully rigged as a 3-mast schooner.

On 8 July 1863, ALMIRA (2-mast wooden scow-schooner, 85 foot, 80 tons, built in 1849, at Black River, Ohio) was dismasted and capsized in a violent squall on Lake Ontario. All hands were lost. On 27 July, the cargo of barreled fish was found by the schooner M. L. COLLINS. The ALMIRA was found still afloat by the schooner PETREL on 30 July. She was rebuilt and sailed until December 1871, when she foundered in the ice.

On 8 July 1920, MARY WOOLSON (3-mast wooden schooner, 179 foot, 709 gross tons, built in 1888, at Bay City, Michigan) was being towed by the wooden steamer CHARLES D. BRADLEY along with the schooner-barge MIZTEC, when the BRADLEY slowed in mid-lake, causing both tows to ram her. The WOOLSON's bow was heavily damaged and she quickly sank 8 miles northeast of Sturgeon Point on Lake Huron. No lives were lost.

1899: The schooner SOPHIA MINCH, under tow of the JOHN N. GLIDDEN,was is caught in a wild Lake Erie storm and is cut loose. The vessel was blown ashore west of Ashtabula and declared a total loss only to be salvaged July 24, 1899, and repaired.

1923: EDWARD L. STRONG and GLENDOCHART collided between Locks 17 and 18 of the Cornwall Canal with minor damage. The former was scrapped at Port Dalhousie as e) WELLANDOC (ii) in 1963 while the latter was broken up at Hamilton as f) MANCOX in 1970-1971.

1949: NEW YORK NEWS (ii) ran aground on a shoal at the east entrance to Little Current, Manitoulin Island, due to low water and misplaced channel markers. About 800 tons of coal were lightered and the ship is refloated on July 9.

1973: The former BROMALM, a Swedish flag Seaway trader in 1963 and 1964, hit bottom, began leaking and was beached off Kuantan, Western Malaysia, as c) ARISAIOS. On a voyage to Osaka, Japan, with 9,700 tons of iron ore it was completely flooded and a total loss.

1977: AGAWA CANYON hit the abutment to Bridge 12 of the Welland Canal after losing power while downbound with salt for Kingston. The gash in the port bow was repaired by Port Weller Dry Docks.

1992: COMEAUDOC lost power and struck the seawall at Port Huron while upbound, resulting in significant damage to the wall.

[yachtsmanwilly]

WILLIAM R. ROESCH, renamed b.) DAVID Z. NORTON in 1995, loaded her first cargo in 1973, at Superior, Wisconsin where she took on 18,828 tons of iron ore bound for Jones & Laughlin's Cuyahoga River plant at Cleveland.

The BENJAMIN F. FAIRLESS and her fleet mate IRVING S. OLDS passed through the Panama Canal on July 9, 1988, under tow of the German tug OSA RAVENSTURM. The pair was on a 14,000-mile journey to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, arriving there on November 8, 1988, for scrapping by Sing Cheng Yung Iron & Steel Co. Ltd.

On 9 July 1876, ST CLAIR (wooden propeller freighter with some passenger accommodations, 127 foot, 326 gross tons, built in 1867, at Algonac, Michigan) had 14 crew and 18 passengers aboard along with cargo of flour, feed and deck loads of cattle as she sailed on Lake Superior. At 2:00 a.m., she caught fire about five miles off shore from 14 Mile Point. She was a wood burner and had a history of shipboard fires. The fire spread so quickly that only one boat could be launched and being overloaded, it capsized. The cries of those left on the vessel, along with the bellowing of the cattle, were heart rending. Only six survived in the one lifeboat since the cold water took its toll on those who clung to it. Eventually they righted the boat and paddled to shore, leaving the ST CLAIR burned to the waterline.

On 9 July 1891, W A MOORE (wood propeller tug, 119 foot, 212 gross tons, built in 1865, at Detroit, Michigan) burned to a total loss at Cleveland, Ohio.

1917: The bulk carrier WILLIAM S. MACK collided with the passenger freighter MANITOBA in fog off Whitefish Point and had to be beached. It was subsequently refloated and repaired. The ship was renamed HOME SMITH on October 10, 1917, and last sailed as ALGORAIL in 1963 before being scrapped at Toronto.

1967: The NEW YORK NEWS (iii) and the saltwater ship NORDGLIMT collided off Escoumins, QC, with only minor damage.

On this day in 1979, Captain Thomas Small had his license for Master of Steam and Motor Vessel of any gross tonnage renewed at the St. Ignace Coast Guard Station. Captain Small, a retired Pittsburgh Steamship employee and 106 years of age, was the oldest person to be licensed and the issue number of his license is the highest ever issued by the Coast Guard 14-17 (14th masters license and 17th license as a pilot, mate, or master).

On July 10, 2005, noted marine photographer Paul Wiening passed away at his residence in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

G. A. TOMLINSON (Hull#370) was launched at the American Ship Building Co., Lorain, Ohio, on July 10, 1909, for the Douglas Steamship Co (J.J.H. Brown, mgr.), renamed b.) HENRY R. PLATT JR in 1959. The hull was used as a breakwater in Burlington Bay, Ontario, in 1971.

In 1998, the ALGOWEST was re-dedicated at Port Weller Dry Docks. The $20 million conversion of the ship to a self-unloader from a bulk-carrier was completed by 400 shipbuilders at Port Weller Dry Docks during the previous eight months. Renamed in 2001, she sails for Algoma today as b.) PETER R. CRESSWELL.

On 10 July 1866, COQUETTE (1-mast wooden scow-sloop, 90 foot, 140 tons, built in 1858, at Perry, Ohio as a schooner) capsized in a storm on Lake Michigan and was lost with her crew of four. She had originally been built for the U.S. Government.

On 10 July 1911, JOHN MITCHELL (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 420 foot, 4,468 gross tons, built in 1907, at St. Clair, Michigan) was carrying wheat off Whitefish Point on Lake Superior when she was rammed broadside by the coal-laden steel steamer WILLIAM HENRY MACK (steel propeller bulk freighter, 354 foot, 3781 gross tons, built in 1903, at Cleveland, Ohio). The MACK tried to keep her bow in the hole, but the MITCHELL still sank in 7 minutes. Quick work saved most of her crew and all 7 passengers. Three of the 34 onboard were lost. The MACK got most of the blame for the accident. The MITCHELL's wreck was discovered upside-down on the bottom in 1972. (Note: Bowling Green's database gives the date of this accident as 19 July 1911 and Dave Swayze's Shipwreck database gives the date as 10 July 1911.)

1930 YORKTON was beached with only the top of the pilothouse above water after a head-on collision in fog on Whitefish Bay with the MANTADOC. The ship was later salvaged and repaired at Collingwood.

1938 RAHANE ran aground on a shoal in the American Narrows of the St. Lawrence while downbound with steel, package freight and grain. Some cargo was removed by the lighter COBOURG and the ship was refloated with major bottom damage. The vessel last sailed on the lakes as A.A. HUDSON before departing for saltwater service in the fall of 1965.



Essar Steel Minnesota files for bankruptcy after Dayton pulls mineral leases

7/9 - Essar Steel Minnesota, which once promised the state’s first new taconite plant in decades and the state’s first direct-reduced iron plant, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday after falling short of both of those promises.

The company filed in federal court in Delaware on the same day that Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton refused to extend a deadline to terminate Essar’s state mineral leases that gave the company access to the iron ore at the proposed mine site outside Nashwauk.

Dayton said he took back the leases because it’s clear the company doesn't have the financial ability to finish the job or pay its contractors.

Dayton in May had set a July 1 deadline for Essar, which has been out of cash since 2015, to come up with a financing plan to pay its creditors and contractors and complete the $1.9 billion project that sits half built and idle.

The company could not meet the deadline and asked for another extension. Dayton said no.

“This morning I instructed the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to terminate Essar Steel Minnesota’s lease agreements with the state,” Dayton said in a statement. “The company has been told for the past nine months that the state would not extend those leases beyond July 1, 2016, unless it paid the full amounts it owed to Minnesota contractors and showed that it had the ability to carry its current construction project through to completion. The company has not done so, and has provided no reliable assurances that it will be able to do so in the foreseeable future.”

Essar has been looking for either more bank credit or new partners in the site, but its creditors — the company owes more than $1 billion on the project — also have been shopping the project around with Essar out of the picture.

It’s not clear how Essar’s assets at Nashwauk will be handled by the bankruptcy court. But on Friday, Dayton threw his support to Cliffs Natural Resources to take on the project, saying he recently met with Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves. Goncalves has made several public comments about his interest in the Nashwauk site if Cliffs can get the state mineral leases.

“The state of Minnesota will continue those negotiations with Cliffs and obtain a firm commitment to execute those plans, before the leases are re-assigned. Mr. Goncalves and I will travel to the Range on Tuesday to discuss his plans in greater detail,” Dayton said. "I remain dedicated to assuring that these state leases are utilized by a responsible entity to mine and process their resources, and to create more jobs and further economic growth on the Iron Range.”

The Tuesday meeting, details of which have not been announced, will be open to the public, Dayton said, and to contractors owed millions of dollars by Essar. He told reported Friday that some of the businesses Essar owes "are in dire financial straits,” and that Essar showed “no willingness to make whole the vendors and produce the product."

Dayton said that if Cliffs buys the Essar assets, it “would be in the long-term best interest of the economy up there.”

Goncalves said he’s eager to get involved in the Essar project, especially working toward creating a direct-reduced iron plant at the site. That product is used in electric steel mills that can’t use traditional taconite iron ore from Minnesota.

The state owns the mineral rights under about 50 percent of the land where Essar wants to dig for taconite iron ore in what's considered one of the richest deposits on the Iron Range, said Tom Landwehr, Department of Natural Resources commissioner.

The DNR awarded the leases to Essar, as it does to many mining companies, in exchange for a lease fee ($194,000 annually in this case) and a royalty on any ore mined from those parcels in the future.

Several private trusts also own mineral leases where the Essar mine would be located, and Essar had purchased rights for those, but it is unlikely Essar could proceed without the state leases.

Landwehr said Minnesota gave Essar an extra seven days after the July 1 deadline because company said it was close to finding new investors. “They attempted to bring some investors in at the last minute. Obviously, that didn’t happen,’’ Landwehr said. “They ran out of chances”

An Essar spokesman did not return a request for comment Friday.

Both Essar Steel Minnesota and a holding company ESM Holding Inc. filed for bankruptcy Friday, listing more than $1 billion in debt. According to the legal news website Law360.com, the filing came just weeks after Essar’s insurer sued the company for allegedly violating an indemnity agreement related to bonds issued by the company.

The governor’s decision to pull the leases was just the last hit in what has been a very bad year leading up to Essar’s bankruptcy. In January the company said it had laid off almost all of its employees and sent home all construction workers at its half-built plant in Nashwauk, out of cash and unable to finish the $1.9 billion job.

In February, a lawsuit filed in State District Court in Itasca County claimed Essar owed New York-based Axis Capital Funding more than $27.6 million for the giant haul trucks and shovels delivered to the mine last year but apparently not paid for. It’s one of several suits and claims against the company for unpaid bills, including $66 million Essar owes the state of Minnesota for unfulfilled economic development promises. Landwehr said Friday that Essar owes $49 million to Minnesota-based vendors alone.

In March, Reuters reported that Essar had hired investment bank Guggenheim Partners LLC and law firm White & Case LLP as debt restructuring advisers.

Then in May, in what may be the most devastating blow yet, Essar lost its only major customer for the taconite that was supposed to be produced at the Nashwauk plant when ArcelorMittal signed a 10-year agreement with Cliffs Natural Resources for taconite. That contact had been Essar’s, but with no Essar plant producing ore, ArcelorMittal needed a ready supplier, and Cliffs was ready to oblige.

The Nashwauk facility was to be one of the state’s largest private construction jobs and the first all-new major taconite operation on the Iron Range in 40 years. It was supposed to be employing 350 people by 2014 producing some 7 million tons of taconite iron ore pellets each year. Plans originally called for an iron and steel plant on the site, creating even more jobs, although Essar scrapped those years ago.

Ground was broken in 2008 on the taconite project, but work occurred in fits and starts. Essar said it obtained $850 million in financing in 2014 and indeed restarted work in earnest last year. The company as recently as October appeared poised to finish the project and begin making taconite pellets late this year. But that promise was dashed last winter when 700 construction workers and even most of Essar's own newly hired employees were pulled off the project and sent home before the first pellet was produced.

And Essar is in financial trouble in other nations, too.

In Canada, the company has had to declare bankruptcy and reorganize its Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., steel mill. The website sootoday.com reports that Essar Steel Algoma has saddled 125 local creditors with more than $38 million in debt. The largest local creditor is the city of Sault Ste. Marie, which is owed $14 million by the troubled steelmaker.

Last month Reuters reported that Essar Global — the Mumbai, India-based parent company of the Essar empire — was looking to sell its giant 405,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery in Gujarat, India, to help pay off ballooning debt. Essar, which is controlled by the billionaire Ruia brothers and has assets in the oil and gas, steel, ports and power sectors, has faced pressure from creditors to reduce borrowing that some analysts estimate at more than $14 billion.

Essar also has been under pressure from banks in India to find a new owner for its India-based Essar Steel India LLC. If the company doesn’t find a new equity buyer, published reports noted, the banks will find a buyer themselves and force the sale.

Duluth News Tribune



Lake levels continue running high, trend causes erosion concerns

7/9 - Holland, Mich. – A pair of staircases at an Ottawa County park were recent victims of collateral damage related to Lake Michigan's high water level. “There was no way to walk down them without going in the water,” Coordinator of Park Maintenance and Operations Jason Boerger said.

Lakes Michigan and Huron, which share measurements due to their connection at the Straits of Mackinac, are currently at the highest level they have been at since the late 1990s. Following a decade and a half of low water, the two lakes have rebounded in a big way — a trend that has continued this summer.

“They are at the highest levels we have seen since the late 1990s,” said Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District.

Lake Michigan-Huron’s average water level in June was just more than 580 feet — six inches higher than last year and nearly a foot more than the body of water’s long-term average.

After hitting a record low in early 2013, water levels have sprung back in the last few years. That’s thanks to heavy snows in winters 2013 and 2014, Kompoltowicz said, and subsequent wet springs.

“(Lakes Michigan and Huron) rose in the course of two calendar years more than we’ve seen in our period of record,” Kompoltowicz said. Lake-wide average records go back to 1918.

Put into historical context, however, the recently high levels look less impressive: Lake Michigan and Huron circa the mid-1980s recorded levels nearly 20 inches higher than June 2016's figure.

Still, the water is high. But while it has been a boon for boaters, more Lake Michigan has caused some complications for local beaches. Aside from smothering sandy shoreline, high water levels also raises concern about erosion — although not quite in the way you might expect.

Jim Selegean, hydraulic engineer with the Corps, said that waves, rather than the water’s general height, are the major mover as far as lakeshore erosion is concerned. While high levels are more likely to erode beaches and dunes, even low levels will chip away at sand bars and other unseen features of the lake.

But because Lake Michigan’s water level has been so low for so long, this higher-lake trend is manifesting itself in a particularly damaging way. The past 15 years worth of low lake-level erosion has removed many of the natural barriers between shore and the traditionally deeper, larger waves.

Holland Sentinel