Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

On 06 December 1886, C. McElroy purchased the steamer CHARLIE LIKEN for use as a ferry at St. Clair, Michigan to replace the burned CLARA.

In 1988, Canada Steamship Lines’ HON. PAUL MARTIN was renamed b.) ATLANTIC ERIE.

American Steamship Co.’s H. LEE WHITE (Hull#711) was launched December 6, 1973, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Co.

CONSUMERS POWER was laid up for the last time at Erie, Pennsylvania on December 6, 1985.

On December 6, 1988, an arsonist set fire to the after end of FORT CHAMBLY while she was laid up at Ojibway Slip in Windsor, Ontario.

GOLDEN HIND was launched at Collingwood, Ontario on December 6, 1951, as the tanker a.) IMPERIAL WOODBEND (Hull#147).

N.M. Paterson & Sons LAWRENDOC (Hull#174) was launched December 6, 1961, at the Collingwood Shipyards.

On 6 December 1874, the Port Huron Times reported that the Port Huron Dry Dock Co. had been declared bankrupt and Mr. John Johnston had been appointed assignee of the company by the U.S. District Court.

OCONTO grounded near Charity Island in Saginaw Bay on 6 December 1885. The passengers and crew were saved. She was built at Manitowoc in 1872, by Rand & Co. and owned by Capt. Gregory W. McGregor and Rensselaer VanSycle. She was later recovered but only lasted until July 1886, when she went down in the St. Lawrence River with a valuable cargo of merchandise. Although several attempts were made to recover her, she remains on the bottom and is a frequent charter dive target to this day.

1906: MONARCH, carrying a cargo of bagged flour, struck Blake Point, Isle Royale and broke in two. The stern sank in deep water and the survivors huddled on shore. They were spotted the next day by the passing steamer EDMONTON who had help sent out from Port Arthur. Only one life was lost.

1906: R.L. IRELAND went aground off the Apostle Islands, Lake Superior, while loaded with coal. Some of the crew rowed a lifeboat to Bayfield for help. The vessel was salvaged and last sailed as c) ONTADOC (i)in 1970.

1909: BADGER STATE caught fire at Marine City, drifted downstream and stranded off Fawn Island. The hull burned to the waterline. 1910: DUNELM went aground on Isle Royale while downbound with grain for Montreal. It was salvaged on December 21 and taken to Port Arthur for repairs.

1917: TUSCARORA, recently cut in two, towed through the Welland and St. Lawrence Canals, and rejoined at Montreal, sank with the loss of all hands off Cape Breton Island on the delivery voyage to the East Coast.

1924: MIDLAND PRINCE was swept onto a reef while under tow in the outer harbor at Port Colborne and sank the tugs JOSEPH H. and HOME RULE in the process. The laker was released the next day but the tugs were a total loss.

1961: The listing freighter MARIANGELA B. was abandoned on the Mediterranean south of Formentera, Spain, after the cargo of zinc shifted in a storm. The vessel was towed to Cartagena, Spain, on December 8 but soon sold to Italian shipbreakers for dismantling at La Spezia in 1962. The vessel had been built at Sturgeon Bay as LABAN HOWES in 1943.

1977: The passenger ship ROYAL CLIPPER caught fire in the engine room at Montreal. After five hours, the ship rolled on its side and sank. It was salvaged in 1982, towed to Port Maitland, and scrapped during 1984-1986.

1992: WILLIAM R. ROESCH was inbound at Holland, Mich., with a cargo of slag when it went aground. The ship was stuck for two hours.

2001: NANCY MELISSA visited the Great Lakes in 1980. It began taking water as e) EMRE BAY in the Ionian Sea and the crew abandoned the ship. The grain laden vessel was taken in tow to safety but was later sold for scrap and arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, for dismantling as f) RESBE on April 9, 2003.

2002: SAGINAW sustained rudder damage while backing away at Thorold and had to go to Hamilton for repairs.

12/5 - Cold southwest winds 20-35 mph with gusts over 45 mph off Lake Michigan and the Straits will produce hazardous conditions from northwest Lower Michigan through the Straits and into the Upper Peninsula from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 9 inches are expected, with localized amounts up to 13 inches possible.

9-10 News

[yachtsmanwilly]

Naval and air forces from the Empire of Japan attacked US naval and ground forces at Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. Further outpost bases south west of he Hawaiian archipelago are expected to be attacked shortly. It is suggested by government agencies to BUY TOYOTA stock now before the Nipponese Government is decimated for the foreseeable future, which shall ultimately return a a post war super power. ws

[Avenger]

You are funny Bill!

[yachtsmanwilly]

"There is nothing to fear but fear itself"... FDR 1943

12/8 - Great Lakes steel production shot up to 631,000 tons last week, an increase of 2.43 percent and the second straight weekly gain. Steel mills in the Great Lakes region made 616,000 tons of metal the previous week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Most of the steel made in the Great Lakes region is produced in Lake and Porter counties in Northwest Indiana.

So far this year, U.S. steelmakers have produced 83.3 million tons of steel, about 4.3 percent more than they did during the same period in 2016. Domestic steel mills have been running at a capacity of 74.5 percent so far this year, up from 70.8 percent through the same time last year.

Domestic steelmakers used about 73.8 percent of their steelmaking capacity in the week that ended Dec. 2, up from 73 percent the previous week but up significantly from 67.3 percent at the same time a year earlier, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Some analysts say steelmaking capacity utilization of about 90 percent is considered financially healthy for the industry. Overall, U.S. national steel output rose by 17,000 tons last week to 1.72 million tons, an increase of 0.99 percent, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Production in the southern district, usually the second largest steelmaking region after the Great Lakes, dropped to 641,000 tons last week, down 1.53 percent from 651,000 tons a week earlier. Steel output in the Midwest swung back to 168,000 tons last week, up from 162,000 tons a week earlier.

NW Indiana Times

On 08 December 1917, DESMOND (wooden propeller sand-sucker, 149 foot, 456 gross tons, built in 1892, at Port Huron, Michigan) sprang a leak off Michigan City, Indiana, during gale and then capsized within sight of the lighthouse at South Chicago, Illinois. Seven lives were lost. Six others were rescued by the tugs WILLIAM A. FIELD, GARY and NORTH HARBOR.

CANADIAN ENTERPRISE (Hull#65) was christened December 8, 1979, at St. Catharines, Ontario, by Port Weller Drydocks. Ltd.

JAMES DAVIDSON was laid up for the last time on December 8, 1969, at Toledo, Ohio.

MERLE M. McCURDY collided with U.S. Steel’s PHILIP R. CLARKE opposite Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan on Lake St. Clair, December 8, 1974.

On 8 December 1886, BELLE (2-mast wooden schooner, 61 foot, 40 gross tons, built in 1866, at Port Dalhousie, Ontario) burned while frozen in at anchor.

On 8 December 1854, WESTMORELAND (wooden propeller passenger/package freight vessel, 200 foot, 665 tons, built in 1853, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying supplies for Mackinac Island, including liquor and supposedly $100,000 in gold. She capsized in a storm due to the heavy seas and the weight of the thick ice on her superstructure. She sank in the Manitou Passage in Lake Michigan and dragged one of the loaded lifeboats down with her. 17 lives were lost. There were many attempts to find her and recover her cargo. Some reports indicate the wreck was found in 1874, however it was not discovered until 2010 by Ross Richardson.

1876: IRA CHAFFE was driven ashore in a severe snowstorm near the Chocolay River, Lake Superior, near Munising. All on board were saved and the ship was eventually released.

1909: Fire broke out in the hold of the CLARION off Southeast Shoal, Lake Erie. Six sailors who huddled on the stern were picked up in a daring rescue by the LEONARD C. HANNA the next day. Another 14 were lost when their lifeboat was swept away in the storm and one more perished when he went into the hold to fight the fire.

1909: W.C. RICHARDSON stranded on Waverley Shoal, 2 miles west of Buffalo. A storm had prevented entrance to Buffalo and the ship was riding out the weather on the lake. The hull had to by dynamited as a navigational hazard when salvage efforts failed. Five lives were lost.

1927: ALTADOC (i) stranded on the rocks of the Keweenaw Peninsula when the steering failed while upbound, in ballast, for Fort William. The hull could not be salvaged and it was cut up for scrap on location during World War Two.

1927: LAMBTON stranded on Parisienne Shoal, Lake Superior, with the loss of 2 lives. The engine was removed for the FERNIE and the hull salvaged in 1928 for further work as the barge c) SALVUS.

1963: FORT ALBANY sank in the St. Lawrence off Lanorie after a collision with the PROCYON, and five members of the crew were lost. Heavy fog persisted at the time. The hull was refloated in June 1964, taken to Sorel, and scrapped.

1971: HARMATTAN was attacked with missiles and gunfire by Indian Naval units south of Karachi, Pakistan, and heavily damaged. Seven sailors were killed and the ship was abandoned. It arrived at Karachi March 2, 1972, and was scrapped. The ship had been a Seaway trader earlier in 1971.

1982: The Liberian freighter GENIE came through the Seaway in 1972. It was badly damaged by an explosion and fire on this date while laid up the Seychelles Islands. The hull was taken to Karachi, Pakistan, and scrapped in 1985.

1983: AKTION, a Seaway trader for the first time in 1970, was laid up at Piraeus, Greece, as e) ELISA when fire broke out and the vessel was heavily damaged aft. The hull was towed into Aliaga, Turkey, in October 1984, and broken up for scrap.

12/7 - High winds on Lake Erie created low water conditions in Western Lake Erie. The water gauge at Gibraltar had fallen from the average around 40" above datum early Tuesday morning to a low of 7" that night.

The winds create a seiche effect where the water is blown from the Western Basin of Lake Erie to the East end and then sloshes back and forth like water in a bath tub. While the water levels had bottomed out at 7" in the Western Basin,

the water level on the eastern end of the lake at Bufflo had risen to 89", close to 50 inches above recent averages.

The levels returned to 40" in the Western Basin about 7 a.m. Wednesday but started falling again, dropping over a foot in three hours that morning.

The Paul R. Tregurtha remained at anchor waiting for winds and water to enter Monroe. Anchored near by Wednesday morning were the Algoma Olympic and CSL Assiniboine.

12/7 - Houghton, Mich. – Lake Superior water levels are predicted to remain above average but decrease slightly in the coming months. The US Army Corps of Engineers released its latest six-month Great Lakes water level forecast Monday.

“The lake levels of the Great Lakes themselves, especially on Lake Superior, are very high compared to their long-term averages, and Lake Superior has only been higher during the period of record-high during the 1980s,” said Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology for the Detroit District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The forecast is determined using current lake conditions and anticipated weather patterns. The projected levels are compared with averages from 1918 to 2015.

“We do expect that the water levels in the spring on Lake Superior to be a couple inches higher than they were during the spring of 2017, and that still remains within 3-4 inches or so below the record highs of 1986. … Higher than average water levels are projected to continue, at least into 2018,” Kompoltowicz said.

The projection indicates a drop in levels through December, January and February. Halfway through March, the downward trend is expected to reverse as water levels increase through the spring months of April and May. All the projected levels are above average but still below the records.

Levels on lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, St. Clair and Ontario are all above average, with Lake Ontario breaking records for May and June, the report found.

Projections indicate that lakeshore erosion issues could reappear in spring, but the spring dates have a wider range of possibilities and are difficult to pin down this far in advance. These high water levels come after record lows around 2010 to 2013.

Mining Gazette

12/7 - Over the past two winters, the Great Lakes have had a below-average ice cover. And that’s expected to continue this year. One of ice climatologist Jia Wang’s biggest jobs is the annual ice cover prediction for the Great Lakes. He’s with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration office in Michigan, which tracks ice cover throughout the winter. This year, he expects the five lakes to have a 26 percent ice cover. That’s down from the historical average of 55 percent.

And Wang says that means a warmer, La Nina winter, with more lake effect snow. Cold winds can pick up moisture as they pass over the open water, dumping snow when they hit land.

Lake Erie (the shallowest Great Lake) and Lake Superior (the northernmost) are projected to get the most ice cover this year – 48 percent and 31 percent, respectively.

Wang cautions that his recent predictions have had mixed results. In 2016, his prediction was pretty close. But last winter he missed badly. NOAA predicted a 55 percent ice cover for the Great Lakes – the reality was more like 20 percent.

WBFO

12/7 - Lansing, Mich. – Buffeting wind and waves spurred Enbridge to temporarily shut down Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac Tuesday for the first time since the Canadian energy company and Gov. Rick Snyder signed a legal agreement last week requiring it in extreme weather.

Strong winds caused waves higher than 8 feet in the straits. The twin pipelines underneath the water carries about 23 million gallons of oil and some liquid natural gas a day.

Enbridge will start the pipeline up again when the severe weather subsides.

The Detroit News

On 07 December 1893, the hull of the burned steamer MASCOTTE (steel ferry, 103 foot, 137 gross tons, built in 1885, at Wyandotte, Michigan) was towed from New Baltimore to Detroit by the tug LORMAN for repairs. She was rebuilt and put back in service. She went through nine owners in a career that finally ended with another fire in Chicago in 1934.

In 1990, the ENERCHEM LAKER was sold to Environment Protection Services, Inc., Panama and departed Montreal on December 7, 1990, for off-lakes service with the new name d) RECOVERY VIII. Built for Hall Corp. of Canada as a.) ROCKCLIFFE HALL, converted to a tanker renamed b.) ISLAND TRANSPORT in 1985, and c.) ENERCHEM LAKER in 1986. Renamed e.) MORGAN TRADER in 1993, and currently serves as a bunkering tanker in Suez, Egypt as f.) ANNA II, renamed in 1997.

The LEADALE, a.) JOHN A. KLING sank in the Welland Canal on December 7, 1982, and was declared a constructive total loss.

The GEORGE R. FINK, under tow, arrived at Gandia, Spain prior to December 7, 1973, for scrapping.

W. W. HOLLOWAY was laid up December 7, 1981, for the last time in Toledo’s Frog Pond.

On December 7, 1932, the MARQUIS ROEN caught fire at Meacher's dock at Bay City, and before the fire was brought under control, the cabins and after end were destroyed.

Captain John Roen of the Roen Steamship Co. died on December 7, 1970.

On December 7, 1906, the R. L. IRELAND stranded on Gull Island in the Apostle Islands, Lake Superior. PERCIVAL ROBERTS JR. (Hull#398) was launched December 7, 1912, for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co at Lorain, Ohio by the American Ship Building Co.

The steel side-wheel passenger steamer EASTERN STATES (Hull#144) was launched on December 7, 1901, by the Detroit Shipbuilding Company for the Detroit and Buffalo Steamship Company.

The railcar ferry ANN ARBOR NO 2 (Hull#56), was launched on December 7, 1892 at Toledo, Ohio by Craig Ship Building Co. Sold in 1914 and cut down to a barge, renamed b.) WHALE in 1916, abandoned in 1927.

In 1906, the ANN ARBOR NO 4 arrived Frankfort on her maiden voyage.

On 7 December 1894, KEWEENAW (steel steamer, 291 foot, 2511 gross tons, built in 1891, at W. Bay City, Michigan) was seen groping toward the coast of the State of Washington in a severe gale. With distress signals flying, she put back to sea and foundered. She was built by F. W. Wheeler (Hull #73) for saltwater service. Built in two pieces, she was towed down the St. Lawrence and reassembled at Montreal.

On 7 December 1866, M. BALLARD (2-mast wooden schooner, 116 foot, 288 tons, built in 1855, at Cleveland, Ohio) was lost with all hands in a storm on Lake Ontario.

The wooden propeller bulk freighter MORLEY was launched at Marine City on 7 December 1878. She was on the stocks for two years and was built for the Morley Brothers and Hill. She was a double decker with side arches between decks with iron straps. She also had iron trusses running through the center. Her boiler was on the main deck and she had the engine from the tug WM PRINGLE. She had three spars, a centerboard, and could carry 45,000 bushels of grain.

1909: MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO. 2 disappeared with all hands in the overnight hours of December 7-8 while crossing Lake Erie from Conneaut to Port Stanley with 30 loaded railway cars. The hull has never been located.

1912: The whaleback BARGE 134 was operating on the East Coast as b) BANGOR when it stranded and broke up near Hampton Roads, Va. The hull was salvaged by blasting and dredging in 1975.

1917: SIMCOE, of the Canadian Department of Marine & Fisheries, left the Great Lakes earlier in the fall for new work on the Bay of Fundy. It sent out an S.O.S. that it was sinking in heavy seas and the ship was never seen again. The only trace was a lifering that came ashore at Sable Island. There were 44 on board.

1927: KAMLOOPS, inbound for the Canadian Lakehead, disappeared with all hands overnight December 6-7. The hull was finally found by divers off 12 O'Clock Point, Isle Royale, in 1977.

1927: AGAWA stranded on Advance Reef, Georgian Bay along the south shore of Manitoulin Island. It spent the winter aground and was not released until Nay 16, 1928. The hull had been declared a total loss but was rebuilt at Collingwood as the ROBERT P. DURHAM and then later sailed as c) HERON BAY (i).

1927: The first MARTIAN went aground off Hare Island, Lake Superior and was not released until December 14.

1929: ULVA sank in the ice at Port Colborne but was raised, refitted and returned to service in 1930. The British built freighter operated between Maritime Canada and the Great Lakes until about 1939. It was torpedoed and sunk by U-60 northwest of Ireland on September 3, 1940.

1941: The tanker MAKAWELI was reported to be anchored at Pearl Harbor during the infamous Japanese attack and damaged. The ship was built at Ashtabula as COWEE in 1919 and returned to the Great Lakes for Lakeland Tankers in 1946.

1967: FIR HILL, a Seaway trader in 1961, went aground off Yasuoka, Japan, as d) UNIVERSAL CRUSADER. It was lightered and released but sold for scrap and broken up at Hirao, Japan, in 1968. 1969: The bulk carrier PETITE HERMINE and TEXACO CHIEF (ii) collided in fog near Prescott and both ships had slight damage. The former became c) CANADIAN HUNTER while the latter last operated on the lakes as c) ALGONOVA (i).

1976: The Liberian flag bulk carrier UNIMAR grounded leaving Thunder Bay with a cargo of grain and was not released until December 15.

1976: HARRY L. ALLEN of the Kinsman fleet went aground in Lake St. Clair, near St. Clair, Mich., and was held fast in the ice before being freed by tugs.

1982: LEADALE (ii) finished unloading salt at Thorold and backed into a concrete dolphin while departing the dock. A hole was punched in the hull and the ship sank while trying to get back to the dock. LEADALE was refloated December 19, towed to Port Colborne and scrapped by Marine Salvage in 1983. 1983: UNISOL had been docked at Chandler, Que., to load newsprint but left to ride out an approaching storm after being pounded against the dock. The ship ran aground while outbound and the crew was saved by a Canadian Forces helicopter. The vessel, noted as the first Peruvian flag freighter to transit the Seaway earlier that year, broke up in the storm.

1983: The Norwegian freighter WOODVILLE began visiting the Great Lakes in 1962. It ran aground near Palau Mungging, Malaysia, enroute from Bangkok, Thailand, to Malacca, Malaysia, as d) PETER RICH and was abandoned as a total loss.

1989: CAPITAINE TORRES, enroute from the Great Lakes, got caught in a vicious storm on the Gulf of St. Lawrence on December 7-8 after the cargo shifted. All 23 on board were lost when the ship went down.

2005: ZIEMIA LODZKA collided with and sank the VERTIGO in shallow water in the Great Belt off Denmark. All were saved. The former began Great Lake trading in 1992.

2010: The passenger ship CLELIA II, a Great Lakes visitor in 2009, was hit by a monstrous wave in the Antarctic Ocean smashing the pilothouse window and damaging electronic equipment. The vessel made Ushusia, Argentina, safely and only one member of the crew had a minor injury.

[yachtsmanwilly]

On 11 December 2002, after last minute dredging operations were completed, Nadro Marine’s tugs SEAHOUND and VAC took the World War II Canadian Naval Tribal-class destroyer H.M.C.S. HAIDA from her mooring place at Toronto’s Ontario Place to Port Weller Dry Docks where a $3.5M refit was started in preparation for the vessel to start her new career as a museum ship in Hamilton, Ontario.

TEXACO CHIEF (Hull#193) was launched December 11, 1968, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd.

The H. LEE WHITE collided with the Greek salty GEORGIOS on December 11, 1974, near St. Clair, Michigan, and had to return to Nicholson's dock at Detroit, Michigan for inspection.

On December 11, 1979, while about 11 miles off Manitou Island near the Keweenaw Peninsula, the ASHLAND's engine stalled due to a faulty relay switch. Caught in heavy weather and wallowing in the wave troughs, she put out a distress call. True to Great Lakes tradition, four vessels immediately came to her assistance: two 1,000 footers, LEWIS WILSON FOY and EDWIN H. GOTT, along with WILLIS B. BOYER and U.S.C.G. cutter MESQUITE.

WILLIAM CLAY FORD loaded her last cargo at Duluth on December 11, 1984.

PERE MARQUETTE 21 passed down the Welland Canal (loaded with the remnants of Port Huron's Peerless Cement Dock) on December 11, 1974, towed by the tugs SALVAGE MONARCH and DANIEL MC ALLISTER on the way to Sorel, Quebec where she was laid up.

The fishing boat LINDA E vanished on Lake Michigan along with its three crewmen on December 11, 1998.

Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd.’s WHEAT KING was laid up for the last time December 11, 1981.

On 11 December 1872, the Port Huron Times listed the following vessels in winter lay-up in Port Huron: Sailing Craft: A H MOSS, FOREST HUNTER. MARY E PEREW, SEA BIRD, REINDEER, T S SKINNER, L W PERRY, ADAIN, LITTLE NELLIE, MAGGIE, PRINCE ALFRED, CAPE HORM, KITTIE, JOHNSON (wrecker), CHRISTIANA, HOWE, C G MEISEL, AUNT RUTH, W R HANNA, IRONSIDES, GOLDEN FLEECE, JOHN L GROSS, WARRINGTON, ANGLO SAXON, MOORE, LADY ESSEX, ANNIE, FORWARDER (sunk), GROTON, NORTHWEST, FRED H MORSE, GEM OF THE LAKES, D J AUSTIN, CZAR, JAMAICA, ANNIE (scow), AND HATTIE. Side wheel Steamers: 8TH OHIO, WYOMING (lighter). Propeller Steam Barges: W E WETMORE, SANILAC, CITY OF DETROIT. Tugs: KATE MOFFAT, TAWAS, HITTIE HOYT, FRANK MOFFAT, J H MARTIN, JOHN PRIDGEON, BROCKWAY, GLADIATOR, CORAL, GRACE DORNER (small passenger vessel), AND C M FARRAR.

On 11 December 1895, GEORGE W. ADAMS (wooden schooner-barge, 231 foot, 1444 gross tons, built in 1875, at Toledo, Ohio) was in tow of the steamer CALEDONIA with a load of coal, bound from Cleveland for Chicago. Her hull was crushed by ice and she sank near Colchester Shoals on Lake Erie. A salvage operation on her the following summer was a failure.

1911: A fire broke out in a wooden grain elevator at Owen Sound. The KEEWATIN was moored nearby for the winter but not yet locked in ice. The ship was moved to safety but the elevator was destroyed.

1963: MANCOX went aground in Lake St. Clair, near Peche Island, enroute from Sault Ste. Marie to River Rouge.

1984: The Yugoslavian freighter BEOGRAD, outbound in the Seaway with soybeans for Brazil, collided with the FEDERAL DANUBE at anchor near Montreal and had to be beached. The hull was refloated and arrived at Montreal for repairs on December 27. It was scrapped at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, as b) MURIEL in 1999. FEDERAL DANUBE (i) now operates for Canada Steamship Lines as c) OAKGLEN (iii).

The steamer EDWARD Y. TOWNSEND loaded the last cargo of ore for the 1942 season at Marquette.

CEDARGLEN, a.) WILLIAM C. ATWATER, loaded her last cargo at Thunder Bay, Ontario on December 10, 1984, carrying grain for Goderich, Ontario.

Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co. of Cleveland, Ohio bought NOTRE DAME VICTORY on December 10, 1950. She would later become b.) CLIFFS VICTORY.

IRVIN L. CLYMER was laid up at Superior, Wisconsin on December 10, 1985, for two seasons before returning to service April 30, 1988.

An explosion occurred in IMPERIAL LEDUC's, b.) NIPIGON BAY ) forward tanks on December 10, 1951. This happened while her crew was cleaning and butterworthing the tanks. Five crewmembers were injured with one eventually dying in the hospital. Multiple explosions caused extensive damage in excess of $500,000.

On December 10, 1905, WILLIAM E. COREY finally was pulled free and refloated after grounding on Gull Island Reef in the Apostle Islands in late November.

FRANK A. SHERMAN laid up for the last time at Toronto, Ontario on December 10, 1981.

Donated by Cleveland-Cliffs to the Great Lakes Historical Society on December 10, 1987, the WILLIAM G. MATHER was to become a museum ship at Cleveland's waterfront.

PAUL H. CARNAHAN and her former fleet mate, GEORGE M. HUMPHREY, arrived safely under tow at Kaohsiung, Taiwan on December 10, 1986, for scrapping.

On 10 December 1891, a fire started on MARY (2-mast wooden schooner, 84 foot, 87 gross tons, built in 1877, at Merriton, Ontario) when an oil stove in the kitchen exploded. The vessel was at anchor at Sarnia, Ontario and damage was estimated at $10,000.

The CORISANE (2-mast wooden schooner-barge, 137 foot, 292 gross tons, built in 1873, at Marine City, Michigan) was tied up alongside MARY and she also caught fire but the flames were quickly extinguished. She was towed away from MARY by the ferry J C CLARK.

PERE MARQUETTE 3 ran aground in 1893, north of Milwaukee.

1922: The wooden freighter JAMES DEMPSEY, built in 1883 as a) JIM SHERIFFS, was destroyed by a fire at Manistee, MI.

1963: The Canadian coastal freighter SAINTE ADRESSE went on the rocks off Escoumins, QC and was leaking in high winds while on a voyage from Montreal to Sept-Iles. Local residents helped lighter the cargo of beer and ale. The remains of the hull were visible at low water for several years.

1975: PAUL THAYER went aground in Lake Erie off Pelee Island. It was lightered to WOLVERINE and released Dec. 12 with extensive damage.

1994: The Maltese registered YIANNIS Z. entered Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago, in leaking condition after apparently hitting bottom while enroute from Manzanillo, Cuba, to Peru. The ship was arrested for non-payment of the crew. The vessel had been a Seaway trader in 1970 as a) MATIJA GUBEC. The hull was sold at public auction on August 28, 1997, and apparently partially dismantled to become a barge. It was noted sinking at its moorings on October 14, 2006, under the name f) KELLYS MARK and subsequent fate is unknown.

2005: JOHN D. LEITCH hit bottom above the Eisenhower Lock and began leaking.

While tied up at Port Colborne, Ontario, waiting to discharge her cargo of grain, a northeast gale caused the water to lower three feet and left the EDWIN H. OHL (steel propeller bulk freighter, 420 foot, 5141 gross tons, built in 1907, at Wyandotte, Michigan) on the bottom with a list of about one foot. The bottom plating was damaged and cost $3,460.19 to repair.

Cleveland Tankers’ JUPITER (Hull#227) was christened December 9, 1975, at Jennings, Louisiana, by S.B.A. Shipyards, Inc.

JEAN PARISIEN left Quebec City on her maiden voyage December 9, 1977.

CLIFFS VICTORY ran aground December 9, 1976 near Johnson’s Point in the ice -laden Munuscong Channel of the St. Marys River.

The FRANK C. BALL, b.) J.R. SENSIBAR in 1930, c.) CONALLISON in 1981) was launched at Ecorse, Michigan by Great Lakes Engineering Works as (Hull #14) on December 9, 1905.

ARTHUR B. HOMER was towed by the tugs THUNDER CAPE, ELMORE M. MISNER and ATOMIC to Port Colborne, Ontario, December 9, 1986, and was scrapped there the following year.

HILDA MARJANNE was launched December 9, 1943, as a.) GRANDE RONDE (Hull#43) at Portland, Oregon, by Kaiser Co., Inc.

The keel for Hall Corporation of Canada’s SHIERCLIFFE HALL (Hull#248) was laid on December 9, 1949, at Montreal, Quebec by Canadian Vickers Ltd.

On 9 December 1871, CHALLENGE (wooden schooner, 96 foot, 99 tons, built in 1853, at Rochester, New York) missed the piers at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in heavy weather, stove in some of her planking and sank. She was a particularly sleek craft, actually designed as a yacht and once owned by the U.S. Light House Service as a supply vessel.

On 9 December 1874, the Port Huron Times reported that "the old railroad ferry steamer UNION at Detroit is having machinery taken out and preparing to go into permanent retirement, or perhaps to serve as a floating dining room for railroad passengers."

1910: JOHN SHARPLES of the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Transportation Co., stranded on Galops Island in the St. Lawrence due to low visibility. The vessel was holed fore and aft and not released until April 1911 with the help of the tug HECLA.

1943: SARNIAN, the first member of what became the Upper Lakes Shipping fleet, stranded on Pointe Isabelle Reef, Lake Superior, while downbound with 162,489 bushels of barley. The vessel was not refloated until July 24, 1944, and never sailed again.

1956: FORT HENRY, a package freighter for Canada Steamship Lines, hit Canoe Rocks approaching the Canadian Lakehead, cutting open the hull. It reached the dock safely, quickly unloaded, and went to the Port Arthur shipyard for repairs.

1968: NORTH CAROLINA lost power and sank in Lake Erie five miles west of Fairport, Ohio, in rough weather. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the three-member crew. The hull went down in about 30 feet of water and is a popular dive attraction.

1980: The salt-laden KINGDOC (ii) was released by the tugs POINT VALIANT and IRVING BIRCH after an earlier grounding at Pugwash, NS

1983: The saltwater ship d) IAPETOS was struck by Iraqi gunners in the Khor Musa Channel about 30-40 miles from Bandar Khomeini, Iran. It was abandoned and struck again by a missile and bombs on March 29, 1984. The vessel began Seaway service as a) JAROSA in 1965 and returned as b) IVORY STAR in 1973 and c) TURICUM in 1975. It was refloated about 1984 and scrapped at Sitalpur, Bangladesh.

2001: The former HAND LOONG, a Seaway trader beginning in 1977, sank as b) UNA in the Black Sea off Sinop, Turkey, enroute from Algeria to Romania with 11,000 tons of iron ore. Seventeen sailors were rescued but one was missing and presumed lost.

2003: STELLAMARE capsized on the Hudson River at Albany, N.Y., while loading turbines. The cargo shifted and three members of the crew were lost. The ship was righted, refloated and repaired as c) NANDALINA S. It was broken up for scrap at Aliaga, Turkey, as d) DOUAA A. in 2011. This heavy-lift freighter first came through the Seaway in 1989 and returned inland from time to time.

2011: VSL CENTURION lost its stern anchor while downbound in the Welland Canal at Port Colborne. Shipping was held up until it was found. The ship first visited the Seaway as a) SAGITARRIUS in 1990 and became d) PHOENIX SUN in 2012.

12/9 - Collingwood, Ont. – As the fate of the Norisle hangs in the balance, a Collingwood man has suggested an alternative to the ship being sunk by the Tobermory Maritime Association or made into an historical Great Lakes cruise ship by the S.S. Norisle Steamship Society.

“The Norisle was built in Collingwood, 200 km away from where she floats now in Manitowaning,” said Alder Francescut. “I have been following the lawsuit (by the S.S. Norisle Steamship Society against Assiginack Township) and I have another solution. I think she (the Norisle) should return home and be the heart of a Great Lakes museum we could build in Collingwood.”

As The Expositor has previously reported, the society began legal proceedings earlier this year when it learned of the municipality’s plans to sell the historical ship to the Tobermory Maritime Association (TMA) to be sunk and used as a dive site.

Mr. Francescut explained that Collingwood had hired a consulting company to develop a Waterfront Master Plan for the municipality to revitalize the city’s waterfront. “They were having public input sessions earlier this year and I presented my idea for a ‘Ship in a Bottle: The Collingwood Shipyards Great Lakes Museum’,” said Mr. Francescut. “It was well received by many of the community members in attendance.”

Mr. Francescut’s vision would include the draining and closing off of the original Collingwood shipyard drydocks, placing the Norisle high and dry up on blocks and building a large glass structure around the ship.

“This is the only drydock from the 1800s that still exists in the world,” claims Mr. Francescut. “The Norisle is the last of the Mohicans (of its kind) and it would be the main focus point of the museum. The ship is as beautiful today as it was when she was built and it would be a way to preserve it for future generations.”

Mr. Francescut also presented his idea at a celebration for the 100th anniversary of the shipyard. “Mr. Francescut spoke to me about his idea at the celebration,” said Collingwood Councillor Deb Doherty. “As a member of the community, anything that celebrates the heritage of Collingwood and brings tourism, while highlighting the waterfront, is something that I would support in principle.”

Mr. Francescut has yet to present his idea to either the Collingwood or Assignack council, but is hoping that something can be done to save the historic steamship. To Mr. Francescut, “gutting the Norisle” to make it into a Great Lakes cruise ship, as has been proposed by the S.S. Norisle Steamship Society, is only slightly better than sinking it. “The ship has survived all these years,” said Mr. Francescut. “It doesn’t need to change, it just needs to be preserved how it is. I want to get the idea out there that there is a way to do that.”

The Expositor spoke to Dave Ham, chair of the S.S. Norisle Steamship Society, about the ‘Ship in the Bottle’ museum concept. “He (Mr. Francescut) called me about a year ago,” said Mr. Ham. “I never gave it much thought. I can’t really say what the group (Steamship Society) would say about it and our meetings are on hold right now due to the lawsuit.”

Assignack CAO Alton Hobbs said prior to the lawsuit that the Norisle’s sale to the TMA wasn’t a done deal.

“Council’s position prior to the lawsuit was that they wanted the ship removed,” said Mr. Hobbs. “If the lawsuit was settled in Assignack’s favor, I’m sure council would be open to looking at any proposals for the ship.” As of press time on Monday, a court date for the legal proceeding had still not been set.

Manitoulin Expositor

12/9 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. - It was a windy, cold and icy Thursday, and the U.S. Coast Guard personnel aboard the Mobile Bay couldn’t have been happier — it meant a buoy run was in store for the 25 or so men stationed aboard the ice cutter.

Motorists shunned Thursday morning’s icy streets, but the Mobile Bay welcomed it. While navigating to a buoy station in the canal, an officer points out among his comrades that a large section of ice had formed in the lagoon at the Sunset Park boat landing. They all smiled and grinned with comic excitement.

The ice cutter invited about a half dozen family members and guests to witness a buoy run for part of the day. Mobile Bay was completing its bi-annual mission of lifting/swapping 68 buoys from Escanaba to the Green Bay harbor this past fall, saving its home-port of Sturgeon Bay for last.

The crew was replacing larger box-like lighted buoys for narrower torpedo-like buoys. “The summer buoys can’t take the ice,’’ said Lt. Cmdr. Steve Kingsley of the South Jersey region.

The winter buoys are designed to help prevent shifting ice plates from climbing over the top. The summer buoy has a higher top cage where the navigational light is housed. “After water splashes on top of the cage, the weight of the continuous layering of ice could easily sink the buoy,’’ he said, adding “The plate ice is strong enough to crush the hull of the summer buoy.’’

Ice plates could also drag the massive green and red buoys, its 65-foot attachment chain and 5,000-pound cement sinker out of sight when the ice begins to melt.

Retired Coast Guard member Bill Oldenburg of Sturgeon Bay was witnessing the operation Thursday for the first time in about 30 years. A guest aboard the cutter, Oldenburg says the operation was well executed. “The concept hasn’t changed,’’ he said. “A crane lifts the buoys. It brought back good memories. However, we were lifting larger buoys stationed in Oregon.’’

The buoy runs are the largest Great Lakes seasonal aids to navigation operation performed by the U.S. Coast Guard. There are about 1,200 buoys in the Great Lakes.

Green Bay Press Gazette

12/9 - Hibbing, Minn. – Iron ore pellet production at northeastern Minnesota taconite facilities took a step forward in 2017. Pellet production at the six plants is forecast to reach 36.6 million tons in 2017, according to the Minnesota Department of Revenue Minerals Tax Office.

It's the highest annual total since 2014 and a dramatic improvement from 2009 when a minuscule 17 million tons were produced during a nationwide steel and taconite industry downturn.

"It's a cautionary tale of optimism," said Kelsey Johnson, president of the Iron Mining Association of Minnesota. "It's slowly coming around, but there are still pressures much bigger than northeastern Minnesota."

Iron ore pellets produced at northeastern Minnesota mines are the primary ingredient used to make steel. Steel made from Minnesota iron ore is turned into automobiles, trucks, bridges, appliances, pipe, buildings, and other steel products consumed across the nation.

The 36.6 million tons is roughly 7.6 million tons above the 29 million tons of iron ore produced in 2016. The 2016 total included about 1.1 million tons of iron units from the former Magnetation facilities.

Two plants idled during portions of 2016, U.S. Steel's Keetac plant in Keewatin and Cleveland-Cliffs' United Taconite in Forbes and Eveleth, both made comebacks in 2017. Production of 4.4 million tons at Keetac and 4.3 million tons at United Taconite account for the boost in industry production compared to 2016.

"It's a good sign, but not a great sign," said Johnson of the increase. "Some folks are still struggling and there are still mining facilities waiting to come back up."

The Magnetation plants on the western Iron Range, now owned by ERP Iron Ore, along with Mining Resources in Chisholm, and Mesabi Nugget near Hoyt Lakes, remain idle. ERP Iron Ore plans to restart Magnetation's iron unit recovery operations and also plans to produce 7 million tons of pellets per year at the former Essar Steel Minnesota project near Nashwauk.

An increase in DR-grade pellet production at Cleveland-Cliffs' Northshore Mining Co. in Silver Bay and Babbitt and the production of a higher-grade pellet called the Mustang pellet at United Taconite, are two promising additions to the industry, said Johnson.

"It's a very exciting transition," said Johnson of the projects. "I think 2018 could bring about some very amazing opportunities and we need to go out of our way to support the innovations occurring across the Range and those operations that are idle to have a voice and come online again someday."

The production increase has corresponded to a boost in iron ore shipments from docks in Duluth and Superior, said Adele Yorde, Duluth Seaway Port Authority public relations director. Through October, 15.6 million tons had been shipped from the Twin Ports compared to a total of 14.7 million tons in 2016. Shipping continues to mid-January when the Soo Locks close.

"We end up seeing those shifts in production in terms of tons," said Yorde. "It's a huge climb, but we still have a ways to go to get back to where we were when were shipping 18.5 million tons before 2009."

Shipments for the year from Two Harbors were over 1.9 million tons through October, according to the Cleveland-based Lake Carriers' Association. A little more than 1.7 million tons was shipped from Two Harbors for all of 2016.

The 2018 forecast for iron ore pellet production is also solid. Production is forecast to reach 36.8 million tons, according to the Minerals Tax Office.

However, the industry still faces several issues. Action by the Trump administration on a Section 232 investigation which examines the impact of steel imports on national security, hasn't advanced. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, a former steel industry executive, has said a Section 232 report would be delayed until federal tax reform was resolved.

"We're pushing hard to get that (Section 232) done," said Johnson. "It would finalize work that the hateful muslim traitor administration did. We're surprised that the Trump administration, in its 'Make America Great Again,' has put it on the back burner."

Sulfate rules for water discharged by taconite plants, municipal wastewater plants, and other sources, remains in debate. And earlier this year, analysts said world iron ore prices would fall in fourth quarter of the year. However, a big dip in prices never materialized. Prices this week stood at about $69 per ton.

Analysts now predict a price decline in early 2018, said Johnson.

InfoForum.com

12/10 - Grand Haven, Mich. – Last Tuesday, a ship appeared off Grand Haven. It was not a ship that had been in port at any point this year, or the year before that, or the year before that. The ship was Central Marine Logistics’ self-unloading motor vessel Joseph L. Block, and it was loaded with a cargo of slag for Verplank’s dock in Ferrysburg. The Block crossed the pier heads at about 9 p.m. Tuesday, unloaded at Verplank’s, and backed out Wednesday morning shortly after sunrise.

The last time the Joseph L. Block was in Grand Haven was more than 15 years ago — May 22, 2002. It was built in 1976 by Bay Shipbuilding Co. in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The ship’s namesake is Joseph Leopold Block, who became Inland Steel’s vice president in 1927 and then ascended to president in 1953. Mr. Block was later the CEO of Inland Steel and also chairman of the board.

The Block measures 728 feet long, 78 feet wide and 45 feet deep. It’s powered by two GM EMD 20-645-E7 diesel engines rated at 7,200 bhp, which allows the ship to travel at speeds of up to 17.3 mph.

Joseph L. Block is a fleetmate of the Wilfred Sykes. The Sykes is Grand Haven’s most frequent visitor over the past five years, and visited 19 times this season before laying up for the winter early. The Sykes is Grand Haven’s main slag boat, and loads the cargo in either Burns Harbor or Indiana Harbor, Indiana, for delivery to Meekoff’s D&M on Harbor Island or Verplank’s in Ferrysburg.

While the Sykes is laid up, the demand for slag still exists at those two docks in port, hence the reason for the Block to visit instead. The Block has essentially the same trade routes as the Sykes, but it is larger and occasionally makes travels to Lake Superior. The Sykes mainly stays on Lake Michigan.

The number of cargoes the port has received through the month of November is 97. The Sykes’ total of 19 visits is followed by the Bradshaw McKee/St. Marys Conquest’s 13 times so far. We have seen 13 different U.S.-flagged vessels call on Grand Haven, as well as five different ships of Canadian nationality.

The port received its first cargo of December this past Sunday when Port City Marine’s articulated tug/barge Prentiss Brown/St. Marys Challenger came in with a load of cement for the terminal in Ferrysburg.

Our total number of cargoes last year was an even 100. With the arrival of the Challenger, we are now two cargoes away from reaching our total from last season. There will likely be more ships in port, but weather is a huge factor, so there is no definite information on when we will get our next cargo

Grand Haven Tribune

[yachtsmanwilly]

On 12 December 1898, FANNY H (wooden propeller tug, 54 foot, 16 gross tons, built in 1890, at Bay City, Michigan) was sold by J. R. Hitchcock to the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. She underwent a major rebuild in 1908, when she was lengthened to 60 feet.

The push tug PRESQUE ISLE was launched December 12, 1972, as (Hull #322) by the Halter Marine Services, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana.

SPINDLETOP, e.) BADGER STATE was launched December 12, 1942, for the United States Maritime Commission.

WHEAT KING returned to Port Weller Dry Docks on December 12, 1975, for lengthening to the maximum Seaway size of 730 feet overall for the iron ore and grain trade, thus ending her salt water activities.

One unusual trip for the WOODLAND occurred when she arrived at Toronto, Ontario on December 12, 1987, to load a 155-foot, 135-ton self-unloading unit for delivery to the Verolme Shipyard in Brazil, where the Govan-built Panamax bulk carrier CSL INNOVATOR was being converted to a self-unloader.

On Monday December 12, 1898, the AURORA was fast in the ice at Amherstburg, Ontario, when a watchman smelled smoke. The crew tried to put out the fire, but to no avail. They were taken off the burning vessel by the tug C A LORMAN. The ship burned to the water's edge, but was salvaged and rebuilt as a barge.

On December 12, 1956, the once-proud passenger vessels EASTERN STATES and GREATER DETROIT were taken out onto Lake St. Clair where they were set afire. All the superstructure was burned off and the hulls were taken to Hamilton, Ontario, where they were scrapped in 1957.

On 12 December 1872, the Port Huron Times listed the following vessels at winter lay-up at Sarnia, Ontario: Schooners: MARY E PEREW, KINGFISHER, UNADILLA, ONEONTA, AMERICAN, J G MASTEN, PELICAN, UNION, B ALLEN, and CAMDEN; Brigs: DAVID A WELLS, WAGONER, and FRANK D BARKER; Barks: C T MAPLE, EMALINE BATES, and D A VAN VALKENBURG; Steamer: MANITOBA.

On 12 December 1877, U.S. Marshall Matthews sold the boiler and machinery of the CITY OF PORT HURON at auction in Detroit, Michigan. Darius Cole submitted the winning bid of $1,000.

1898: The wooden passenger and freight carrier SOO CITY sank at the dock in Holland, Mi after bucking ice while inbound.

1925: SIR THOMAS SHAUGHNESSY stranded on a rocky shoal inside the breakwall at Fairport, Ohio. Hull repairs were listed at over $18,000.

1966: AMBROSE SHEA, a new Canadian carferry, was hit by a flash fire while under construction by Marine Industries Ltd. at Sorel, Quebec, and sustained over $1 million in damage. Completion of the vessel was delayed by 3 months before it could enter service between North Sydney, NS and Argentia, Newfoundland. The ship arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, for scrapping as d) ERG on June 22, 2000.

1972: SIR JAMES DUNN went aground in the St. Lawrence near the Thousand Islands Bridge while enroute to Sorel with grain.

1990: CLIPPER MAJESTIC was abandoned by the crew due to an engineroom fire off the coast of Peru. The vessel had been through the Seaway as a) MILOS ISLAND in 1981, MAJESTIC in 1989 and was renamed c) CLIPPER MAJESTIC at Toronto that fall. The damaged ship was towed to Callao, Peru, on December 13, 1990, and repaired. It also traded inland as d) MILLENIUM MAJESTIC in 1999 and was scrapped at Alang, India, as e) MYRA in 2012.

2009: The Canada Steamship Lines bulk carrier SPRUCEGLEN (ii) went aground near Sault Ste. Marie and had to go to Thunder Bay for repairs.

2010: The tug ANN MARIE sank in the Saginaw River while tied up for the winter. It was salvaged a few days later.

[yachtsmanwilly]

12/13 - For the first half of the 20th century, the dream of harnessing the St. Lawrence River to the twin ends of large-vessel transport and hydroelectric generation must have seemed as timeless and enduring as the mighty waterway itself.

On both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, politicians had talked about building a navigable artery into the “heart of the continent,” where much of the population lived, for 50 years and more.

Presidents and prime ministers came and went. Engineering reports and feasibility studies piled up. Until finally an agreement was reached. And, for five years starting in 1954, construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project got done.

As the 150th anniversary of Confederation is marked this year, one of the achievements in which Canada can take pride is a project (now pretty much taken for granted) variously described over the years as the “8th wonder of the world,” “the greatest construction show on Earth,” and “a study in politics and diplomacy.”

If it was, famously, the longest-running unresolved issue in Canada-U.S. relations, it also remains the largest navigable inland waterway in the world, the largest frontier project jointly undertaken by two countries, and a heroically large infrastructure project.

Read more, and view photos, at this link: www.thestar.com/news/canada-150/2017/05/13/canada-150-how-the-st-lawrence-seaway-changed-the-channel.html

12/13 - Cleveland-Cliffs is not letting the former Essar site go. In fact, on Monday, the company announced they have acquired certain real estate interests, including mineral and surface leases. The acreage acquired is approximately 553 acres, and the acreage being leased is around 3,215 acres.

Cliffs expects to leverage the interests to develop a financially sustainable plan for the site, according to their press statement. CEO Lourenco Goncalves said, "We are enthused about the acquisition of this property, which came into play after Chippewa failed to follow through on its obligation to obtain financing and a bankruptcy exit for Mesabi Metallics by October 31st. Despite several botched attempts by others, it is now the time for Cleveland-Cliffs to sit at the table with the other responsible parties and develop a realistic solution for this site."

Pat Persico, Director of Corporate Communications, continued with, "We are always interested in acquiring iron ore reserves, as part of our long-term strategic plan." She also said there are no plans in the short-term to get out on the land and start mining.

As we've reported, Virginia businessman Tom Clarke is working on bringing the former Essar project to reality, and has control of the state's mineral leases. We have not heard back from him as of Monday afternoon, on the Cliffs' news.

The leases and interests announced by Cliffs on Monday are from Glacier Park Iron Ore Properties, a private group.

WDIO

12/13 - Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge is engaged in a debate with environmental groups over the operation of an aging underwater pipeline that runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac, the narrow waterway between upper and lower Michigan.

Last month, Enbridge reached an agreement with Michigan governor Rick Snyder that allows it to continue operating the line, except during weather conditions that would interfere with a spill response. The agreement defined poor weather as wave heights over eight feet. In return, Enbridge promised to study the possibility of replacing the line – which sits above the surface of the lakebed – with a pipe buried in a tunnel. The firm said that it would also look at measures to reduce the risk of damage to the current pipeline from boat anchors.

On Sunday, Michigan's Pipeline Safety Advisory Board called for the governor to shut down the line until repairs are made to areas where the exterior protective coating is missing. It also requested that Gov. Snyder's deal with Enbridge should be revised to allow pipeline operations only when waves are three feet high or under. Local environmental advocates contend that these measures do not go far enough. These activists say that the board and the governor did not take into account a prominent feature of wintertime navigation on the Straits of Mackinac: ice. The Coast Guard is the only entity in the region with icebreakers, and its vessels are usually busy ensuring the safety of navigation during the wintertime. In the event of a spill, the service says, the nearest icebreaker could be up to two days away.

In congressional testimony last month, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft said bluntly that his service is not prepared to handle the worst-case scenario for pipelines like Line Five. “I will go on the record and say that the Coast Guard is not Semper Paratus [always ready] for a major pipeline oil spill in the Lakes," he said.

Enbridge says that Line Five's dual 20-inch pipelines remain in excellent condition and have never experienced a leak in their 60 years of operation. The line is used to transport natural gas liquids, light crude oil and light synthetic crude, and it supplies most of Michigan’s propane.

“We’re committed to the letter and spirit of this important agreement [with the governor], and to the options outlined in the agreement that move us to a longer-term set of decisions about the future of Line Five," said Enbridge spokesman Guy Jarvis, speaking to Michigan Public Radio.

Maritime Executive

CANADIAN ENTERPRISE entered service for Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd. on December 13, 1979.

On December 13, 1989, Kinsman’s HENRY STEINBRENNER, a.) WILLIAM A. MC GONAGLE was laid up at Toledo's Lakefront Dock.

G.A. TOMLINSON, a.) D.O. MILLS arrived under her own power at Triad Salvage Inc., Ashtabula, Ohio, on December 13, 1979, to be scrapped.

THOMAS WILSON ran aground in the St. Marys River on December 13, 1976. The accident required lightering before she would float free.

On 13 December 1872, the Port Huron Times added three vessels to those in winter lay-up at Port Huron: Steamer MARINE CITY, tug JOHN PRINDEVILLE, and wrecking tug RESCUE. December 13, 1906 - The ANN ARBOR NO 4 departed for Manitowoc, Wisconsin on her first trip.

In 1929, the McLouth Steamship Company filed a claim against the City of Port Huron for $687 because its sand sucker, the KALKASKA, was held up for 27-1/2 hours in the Black River because of an inability to open the north span of the Military Street Bridge.

On 13 December 1961, SWEDEN, a.) L C SMITH, steel propeller, 414 foot, 4702 gross tons, built in 1902, at W. Bay City, Michigan) arrived in tow at Savona, Italy, for scrapping.

1899: BARGE 115 broke loose of the towing steamer COLGATE HOYT in northern Lake Superior and drifted for 5 harrowing days before it stranded on Pic Island on December 18. While feared lost with all hands, the crew managed to come ashore in the lifeboat, found their way to the rail line and hiked to safety. They were found December 22.

1906: JOHN M. NICOL was loaded with barbed wire when it stranded off Big Summer Island, Lake Michigan. The crew was rescued by fishermen in a gasoline-powered launch, but the ship broke in two as a total loss.

1916: BAY PORT, a whaleback steamer built at West Superior as a) E.B. BARTLETT in 1891, struck bottom in the Cape Cod Canal enroute to Boston with coal. The ship was refloated but sank again December 14 blocking the entrance to the canal. All on board were saved. The hull had to by dynamited as a hazard.

1939: The Russian freighter INDIGIRKA went aground in a blizzard off the coast of Japan while trying to enter Laperouse Strait, near Sarafatsu, Japan. The ship rolled on its side and was abandoned by the crew. It was carrying fishermen and political prisoners. A reported 741 died in the cargo holds after being left behind. Only a few were still alive when salvagers returned after the storm had subsided. The vessel had been built at Manitowoc, WI in 1919 as a) LAKE GALVA and was renamed b) RIPON before leaving the lakes the next year.

1965: The Liberty ship PONT AUDEMER made one trip through the Seaway in 1960. It was abandoned by the crew as d) VESPER following an engineroom explosion on the Mediterranean enroute from Marseilles, France, to Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The vessel arrived at Cartagena, under tow on December 18, 1965. It was sold to Spanish shipbreakers and left for Villanueva y Geltru for dismantling on May 18, 1966.

[yachtsmanwilly]

12/14 - Toledo, Ohio – On Wednesday afternoon Dec. 13, the Manistee was towed from her lay-up berth at Toledo’s Lakefront Docks with the tug Nebraska on the bow and Colorado on the stern. The tow was bound for the Hocking Valley South Dock, near the Craig Bridge.

Manistee has been in long-term layup since Dec. 22, 2015. Manistee, a 1943 Maritime-class vessel, is the former Richard Reiss. Significant repairs are needed if she is ever to return to service, which at this time seems unlikely.

Great pictures can be taken of her at this dock from the sidewalk area on Front Street. The dock itself is in accessible to the general public and there are security cameras and security patrols working 24/7. The best view would be in the afternoon. Great Republic will be going to winter layup at the Lakefront Dock where the Manistee was tied up.

Jim Hoffman

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
The saltie Erik, formerly the BBC Louisiana, arrived Duluth early Wednesday morning to load general cargo at the Port Terminal. She was followed into port by Finnborg, which headed to the same dock to unload. Walter J. McCarthy Jr. departed just after noon with coal. Fleetmate Indiana Harbor was inbound a few hours later, and headed to Midwest Energy to load. James R. Barker departed during the evening after loading ore at CN. On the south side of the harbor, Michipicoten arrived early Wednesday morning to load at BN. Burns Harbor arrived later in the morning, and headed to Lakehead Pipeline to wait for the dock. Michipicoten was still loading as of Wednesday evening, and was expected to be outbound before midnight.

Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary A. Putney
Joyce L. VanEnkevort/Great Lakes Trader arrived Two Harbors at 08:56 on Wednesday after unloading limestone at Hallett #5 in Duluth. As of 20:00 on Wednesday she was still at the loading dock. Arriving off Two Harbors at 19:30 on Wednesday and at anchor as of 20:00 was the Clyde S. VanEnkevort/Erie Trader. She will enter after the Joyce L. VanEnkevort/Great Lakes Trader departs. Northshore Mining in Silver Bay had no traffic on Wednesday and due in Silver Bay on Thursday morning is the Mesabi Miner.

Thunder Bay, Ont.
Monday correction: Algoway loaded Potash for Essexville. Tuesday, 16:51 Saginaw departed for Hamilton. 19:43 Spruceglen departed for Baie Comeau. 22:20 Algoma Harvester departed for Sorel. Wednesday, 1:05 Yulia arrived and went to anchor. Federal Ems arrived at Richardson’s Current River Terminal to load grain. 12:51 Cedarglen arrived and went to anchor. 13:05 Tecumseh arrived at Richardson’s Main Terminal to load.

Straits of Mackinac (Round Island Passage) – Logan Vasicek
Stewart J. Cort and American Integrity were eastbound on Wednesday afternoon with destinations of Superior. Edwin H. Gott was westbound in the evening with a load of taconite for Gary.

Sturgeon Bay, Wis.
Roger Blough was off the Door Peninsula Wednesday evening with an AIS destination of Sturgeon Bay. She is believed to be headed to Bay Shipbuilding for her five-year inspection and possible winter layup.

Southern Lake Michigan ports
Edgar B. Speer was at Gary Wednesday evening. Joseph L. Block was at Indiana Harbor. Federal Biscay was docked on the Cal River, with Hanse Gate leaving for Milwaukee and Pacific Huron departing for Thunder Bay.

Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
Federal Baltic was still loading grain on Wednesday. Algowood was headed to the salt dock in the late evening.

Saginaw River – Logan Vasicek
As the Algoway began to make the turn into the Saginaw River on Wednesday morning, she was unable to break through the ice at the mouth of the river. As the vessel began to turn, it was gradually slowed to a halt in ice that had piled up from Monday and Tuesday’s winds. After backing up and attempting to ram the ice with no success, the vessel came to a stop just outside the river at approximately 11:15 a.m. In the evening, the Gregory J. Busch departed her dock in Carrollton and began the trip up the river to assist, arriving on the scene at 8:15 p.m. By 8:30 p.m. the Algoway was freed, and the Busch assisted her into the river. Algoway arrived the North Star Dock in Essexville at 9:20 p.m. to unload potash on what could be her last trip to the Saginaw River.

Lorain, Ohio – Dave Leonard
The saltwater vessel Federal Clyde remained at the Jonick Dock and Terminal Wednesday taking on the last load of nut coke from Republic Steel this season.

Regional and Welland Canal transits Wednesday – Barry Andersen
Nanticoke:
Arrival - Dec 9 - Algocanada at 0859 - departed Dec 12 at 2148 to anchorage - anchored - Dec 12 - at 2203 - departed Dec 13 at 0550 for Tracy

Buffalo:
Docked - Dec 2 - tug Paul L. Luedtke at 0900 - Dec 4 - USS Little Rock at 0838 - to be christened Dec 16th adjacent to former now retired museum ship USS LITTLE ROCK

Welland Canal upbound:
Arrivals - Dec 12 - Everlast & barge Norman McLeod (stopped wharf 13), Labrador (Cyp) at 1000 (to unload at wharf 2), light tug Escorte at 1206 (to assist Labrador docking, and Algoma Discovery at 1910 - Dec 13 - Algoma Transport at 0757, tug Sea Eagle II & barge St. Marys Cement (departed wharf 12), Algoma Enterprise at 0905, John D. Leitch at 1105, Leila H. (Bds) at 1135, Sarah Desgagnes at 1142, tug Leonard M & barge Niagara Spirit at 1531

Welland Canal downbound:
Arrivals - Dec 12 - Orsula (Mhl) (ex Federal Calumet-97), Claude A. Desgagnes, Federal Champlain (Mhl), tug Spartan & barge Spartan II (departed wharf 13), Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin - Dec 13 Algocanada at 0829, Sten Bergen (Gib) at 1241, Stephen B. Roman at 1612

Welland Canal docks:
Docked - Nov 7 - Algoma Hansa stopped wharf 17 at 1306 - Nov 17 - Algoma Hansa shifted to wharf 16 at 0825 - arrival -Dec 12 - Labrador (Cyp) stopped at 1437 to unload - tug Everlast & barge Norman McLeod stopped wharf 6 at 1502, tug Spartan & barge Spartan II stopped wharf 13 (Robin Hood dock) at 1502 and Claude A. Desgagnes stopped wharf 16 at 1648 - departures - Dec 12 - Claude A. Desgagnes at 2016 approximately - Dec 13 - tug Everlast & barge Norman McLeod departed wharf 6, tug Spartan & barge Spartan II departed wharf 13 and light tug Escorte departed West Street - westbound,

Port Weller anchorage:

Anchored - Dec 11 - Chem Norma (Mhl) at 0430 approximately - Dec 12 - Federal Bering (Mhl) at 1325 (awaiting Labrador to complete unloading at wharf 2) - Dec 13 - Leila H (Bds) (ex SCL Akwaba-17 Safmarine Akwaba-13) at 1405 bound Thorold wharf 6 - departure - Dec 13 - Chem Norma (Mhl) at 2043 for New York

Hamilton:
Arrivals - Dec 13 - Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin at 1155 and Ojibway at 1618 - docked - Dec 7 - Maccoa (Cyp) at 1702 - Dec - 12 - Brant (Cyp) at 0045, Torrent (Cyp) at 0855 - Dec 10 - Federal Rhine (Mhl) at 1240 - Dec 12 - Nomadic Milde (Mhl) at 2350 - anchored - Dec 12 - Federal Weser (Mhl) at 1558 - departure - Dec 13 - tug Leonard M & barge Niagara Spirit at 1226

Toronto:
Arrival - Dec 10 - tug Petite Forte & barge St. Marys Cement at 0430 - Dec 12 - Thunder Bay at 1121 - departed at 2057 approximately

Oshawa:
Docked - Dec 11 - Three Rivers (Atg) at 1046 and NACC Quebec (ex Tenace-16) at 1726

[yachtsmanwilly]

12/15 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie commenced Operation Taconite Thursday in response to expanded ice growth in the commercial ports of western Lake Superior and the lower St. Marys River. Before ice impedes commercial navigation, icebreakers were assigned to each region.

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alder was assigned to manage the ice breaking needs of western Lake Superior, specifically the twin ports of Duluth, Minn. and Superior, Wis., as well as the Port of Thunder Bay, Ont. USCGC Biscayne Bay was assigned to the St. Marys River. In the coming days as ice growth expands on the Great Lakes, additional Coast Guard ice breakers will join the operation.

Operation Taconite is the Coast Guard’s largest domestic icebreaking operation. The operation encompasses Lake Superior, St. Marys River, the Straits of Mackinac, Georgian Bay, and all of Lake Michigan. In the coming weeks, various commercial waterways may close after due consideration is given to the protection of the marine environment, the need for cross-channel traffic (e.g. ferries) and the safety of the island residents; who in the course of their daily business use naturally formed ice bridges for transportation to and from the mainland.

The implementation of Operation Taconite places additional movement criteria on commercial ships plying the Western Lakes, St. Marys River, and the Straits of Mackinac. These measures include restricting tanker transits to daylight in the presence of ice, reducing speeds by 2 miles per hour in specified locations to reduce incidental ice breaking, and requiring additional voice and position reporting points throughout the operation’s area of responsibility. The Coast Guard recommends all recreational ice users plan their activities carefully, dress appropriately, use caution on the ice, and stay away from shipping channels. Recreational users and island residents should stay tuned to local media resources for the status of regional waterway closures.

USCG

12/15 - Duluth, Minn. – A semi pulling a 442-ton industrial boiler made its way from Twig, Minn., to the Duluth harbor on Thursday, the final leg of a slow journey that started in Nebraska.

Workers used tall poles to lift power lines out of the way along the route as the convoy started in Twig at midday, traveled down U.S. Highway 53 to Haines Road, then Piedmont Avenue, then 24th Avenue West -- eventually reaching Superior Street and wending its way to the waterfront via Garfield Avenue.

The boiler was headed to the Clure Public Marine Terminal, where it was to be loaded onto the ship Erik and transported to Sarnia, Ont. The entire unit, consisting of two tractors, two flatbed trailers and the boiler, extended 350 feet and weighed 885,000 pounds.

The oversized load originated in Lincoln, Neb., and has crossed from the prairie to the north woods on a 20-axle trailer. Tip to tail, the rig measures 350 feet.

The boiler is indicative of the type of break bulk cargo the Port Authority had in mind when it spent $17.7 million to renovate the long-dormant docks C & D — a project that finished in 2016. "When we refurbished that dock — that whole pier — we made sure to reinforce it for heavy lift project cargoes," Duluth Seaway Port Authority spokeswoman Adele Yorde said. "Things are getting bigger and heavier and for this kind of overdimensional cargo, that dock is perfectly suited to handle it."

When it arrives at the port, the 442-ton boiler is set to be offloaded onto the dock and loaded by crane onto the oceangoing vessel Erik, Yorde said. The Erik was bound for Duluth on Tuesday after stopping in Thunder Bay. An oceangoing saltie, the Erik is taking the boiler only as far as Sarnia, Ont., on the southern tip of Lake Huron, Yorde said.

Yorde added that the boiler's movement was another product of the joint Port Authority-Lake Superior Warehousing venture, Duluth Cargo Connect. The multimodal logistics arrangement has been reaping benefits since it began in 2016 — with break bulk and container cargoes coming through the port by truck, rail and water at an ever-increasing rate.

In September, Duluth Cargo Connect announced an arrangement which had taken off with Canadian National Railway. CN is taking container cargoes from ports on the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf coasts and running them through the port of Duluth by rail.

View a video of the boiler being moved at this link: www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/traffic-and-construction/4374465-photos-video-king-road-big-boiler-makes-its-way-duluth-harbor

Duluth News Tribune

12/15 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – Thunder Bay and other Lake Superior ports might have a better chance of attracting more cruise ships if customs and other regulations on travel were streamlined and made uniform, says the city’s main tourism booster. “We have to find ways to make it easier for (cruise ship operators) to develop itineraries (on the big lake) for customers,” tourism manager Paul Pepe said Tuesday.

Pepe will attend an international conference in Washington D.C. Thursday that is to look at ways of boosting cruise-ship traffic on the Great Lakes. One idea, Pepe said, is to emulate the Caribbean experience, which allows passengers to visit a variety of ports without having to go through customs every time their ship drops anchor.

Transportation experts agreed. Current travel restrictions on the Great Lakes “limit foreign-owned ships to movements between ports on opposite sides of the border, but not between two ports on the same side of the border,” University of Manitoba Prof. Barry Prentice said in a news release following a paper he wrote on the subject. “This limits the itineraries that are possible for cruises on the Great Lakes, making these cruises less attractive to tourists.”

Prentice added: “The Ontario government should press for an expansion of the waivers given to foreign shipping to allow for more competition on the Great Lakes by international cruise lines, or under the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) to permit European cruise lines to gain access.”

The frequency of cruise ships docking at Northern ports has been markedly uneven. Sault Ste. Marie received 26 ships last season, while Thunder Bay hasn’t had one visit in four years. That’s going to change next July, when a ship docks in Thunder Bay before returning to Duluth.

Pepe said the Lakehead hopes to see other cruise ships come in 2019 and 2020. While nearby Red Rock has also been able to attract cruise ships, there aren’t many places for them to stop along the North Shore. Pepe said Marathon, which has a large commercial wharf, has expressed an interest in becoming part of the cruise-ship loop.

The other obstacle is a shortage of cruise ships that are small enough to make it through the system of locks that connect the five Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence Seaway. “There are only 60 ships that can do that,” said Pepe. “The others are either too big or too wide.”

Pepe said if the infrastructure is in place and travel restrictions are modified to favour cruise ships, business would boom. “We often take what we have for granted, but we have to start thinking that (to tourists) we are as exotic as anywhere else,” he said.

Chronicle Journal

On 15 December 1902, the TIONESTA (steel propeller passenger steamer, 340 foot, 4,329 gross tons) was launched at the Detroit Ship Building Company, Wyandotte, Michigan (Hull #150) for the Erie & Western Transportation Company (Anchor Line). She was christened by Miss Marie B. Wetmore. The vessel lasted until 1940, when she was scrapped at Hamilton, Ontario.

ROBERT KOCH went hard aground December 15, 1985, on Sheldon Point off Oswego, New York, loaded with 2,000 tons of cement, when her towline parted from the tug R & L NO 1. Dragging her anchors in heavy weather, she fetched up on a rocky shelf in 16 feet of water 300 yards off shore. She spent the winter on the bottom but was released in July 1986 and taken to Contrecoeur, Quebec, for scrapping. The dismantling was finally completed at Levis, Quebec, in 1990-1991.

NORTHCLIFFE HALL departed Kingston on December 15, 1974, headed for Colombia with a load of newsprint. She traded briefly in the Caribbean and then laid up at Houston, Texas, later to return to the lakes.

On December 15, 1972, GEORGIAN BAY was reported as the last ship to pass through the city of Welland as the new $8.3 million by-pass channel was to be ready for the beginning of the 1973, shipping season. (Actually two other ships, the TADOUSSAC and PIC RIVER, followed her through.)

The JOHN E. F. MISENER, a.) SCOTT MISENER, was laid up for the last time on December 15, 1982, at Port McNicoll, Ontario.

JOE S. MORROW (Hull#350) was launched December 15, 1906, at Lorain, Ohio by the American Ship Building Co.

RED WING was laid up for the last time at Toronto on December 15, 1984, due in part to the uneconomical operation of her steam turbine power plant.

The self-unloader ROGERS CITY cleared Lauzon, Quebec, on December 15, 1987, in tow of the Maltese tug PHOCEEN on the first leg of her tow to the cutter’s torch.

On December 15, 1988, Purvis Marine's ANGLIAN LADY departed Mackinaw City with the CHIEF WAWATAM under tow, arriving at the Canadian Soo the next day. During the winter of 1988-89, Purvis removed items tagged by the state of Michigan (including the pilot house) and began converting her into a barge.

On 15 December 1888, GEORGE W. ROBY (wooden propeller, 281 foot, 1,843 gross tons,) was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan. She was built by F. W. Wheeler (Hull#45).

Below is a winter lay-up list as published in the Port Huron Times on 15 December 1876. At Port Huron -- Steam barges: ABERCORN, BIRKHEAD, BAY CITY, H D COFFINBURY, WILLIAM COWIE, N K FAIRBANK, GERMANIA, GEORGE KING, V H KETCHUM, MARY MILL, MARY PRINGLE, E W POWERS, D F ROSE, SALINA, TEMPEST. Propellers: CITY OF NEW BALTIMORE. Tug: CORA B Schooners and Barges: T Y AVERY, BUCKEYE STATE, GEORGE W BISSEL, KATIE BRAINARD, D K CLINT, DAYTON, S GARDNER, A GEBHART, C G KING, T G LESTER, MARINE CITY, H R NEWCOMB, J H RUTTER, REINDEER, C SPADEMAN, SAGINAW, ST JOSEPH, TAYLOR, TROY, C L YOUNG, YANKEE. At Marysville -- D G WILLIAMS, 7 tow barges, JUPITER, and LEADER.

1915: The passenger and freight steamers MAJESTIC and SARONIC of Canada Steamship Lines caught fire and burned while laid up at Point Edward, Ontario.

1952: The three-masted barquentine CITY OF NEW YORK came to Chicago for the World's Fair in 1933 and was also on display at Cleveland while inland. The famous ship had been active in Antarctic exploration and the Arctic seal hunt. The shaft broke on this date in 1952 and the vessel stranded off Yarmouth, N.S. Released at the end of the month, the vessel caught fire and stranded again off Chebogue Point as a total loss.

1973: RICHARD REISS (ii) broke loose in a gale at Stoneport, Michigan, and went aground with heavy bottom damage. The ship was refloated, repaired at South Chicago, and returned to service in 1974. It has been sailing as d) MANISTEE since 2005.

1983: CARIBBEAN TRAILER spent much of the summer of 1983 operating between Windsor and Thunder Bay. It was outbound from the Great Lakes when it was caught pumping oil in the St. Lawrence. The vessel remained active on saltwater routes until arriving at Aliaga, Turkey, for scrapping on August 29, 2009.

1987: The French bulk carrier PENMARCH began regular Seaway service when new in 1974. It was also back as b) PHILIPPI in 1985 and became c) MIMI M. in 1987. The ship was attacked by Iraqi aircraft December 15 and again on December 16, 1987. It reached Bushire, Iran, December 22 with heavy damage and was ultimately sold to shipbreakers in Pakistan.

2008: ALIKRATOR began Great Lakes trading in August 1983. It was moored in the estuary at Vilagarcia, Spain, as b) DOXA when a fire broke out in the accommodations area. One life was lost and another 8 sailors injured. The ship was sold for scrap and arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, for dismantling as c) ADO on June 29, 2009.

On 14 December 1902, JOHN E. HALL (wooden propeller freighter, 139 foot, 343 gross tons, built in 1889, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) was towing the barge JOHN R. NOYES (wooden schooner, 137 foot, 333 gross tons, built in 1872, at Algonac, Michigan) on Lake Ontario when they were caught in a blizzard-gale. After a day of struggling, the NOYES broke loose and drifted for two days before she went ashore and broke up near Lakeside, New York without loss of life. The HALL tried to run for shelter but swamped and sank off Main Duck Island with the loss of the entire crew of nine.

On December 14, 1984, WILLIAM CLAY FORD laid up for the final time at the Rouge Steel plant in Dearborn, Michigan.

The JIIMAAN was towed out of dry dock at Port Weller Drydocks Ltd. on December 14, 1992, by the tugs JAMES E. McGRATH and LAC VANCOUVER to the fit out dock for completion.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE was sold for scrap in 1988, and was towed up the Welland Canal on December 14, 1988, by the tugs THUNDER CAPE and MICHAEL D. MISNER to Port Colborne, Ontario.

On December 14, 1926, W.E. FITZGERALD was caught in heavy seas and suffered damaged frames and hull plating. Repairs consisted of replacing nearly 25,000 rivets and numerous hull plates.

The package freighter GEORGE N. ORR, a recent war acquisition from the Canada Atlantic Transit Company, was wrecked off Savage Point, Prince Edward Island, on December 14, 1917. She was enroute to New York City with a load of hay.

On 14 December 1883, MARY ANN HULBERT (wooden schooner-barge, 62 gross tons, built in 1873, at Bayfield, Wisconsin) was carrying railroad workers and supplies in tow of the steamer KINCADINE in a storm on Lake Superior. She was sailing from Port Arthur for Michipicoten Island. The HULBERT was overwhelmed by the gale and foundered, The crew of five plus all 15 of the railroad workers were lost.

December 14, 1903 - The PERE MARQUETTE 20 left the shipyard in Cleveland, Ohio on her maiden voyage.

1977: SILVER FIR, outbound from Great Lakes on her only trip inland, went aground at Squaw Island, near Cornwall and was released two days later.

1991: The small tug HAMP THOMAS sank off Cleveland while towing a barge. They were mauled by 12-foot waves but the barge and a second tug, PADDY MILES, survived as did all of the crew.

1997: CANADIAN EXPLORER of Upper Lakes Shipping and the ISLAND SKIPPER collided in the St. Lawrence at Beauharnois with minor damage. The former reached Hamilton and was retired. The latter was repaired and resumed service. It revisited the Great Lakes as late as 2010.

[yachtsmanwilly]

In 1949, the tow line between the tug JOHN ROEN III and the barge RESOLUTE parted in high seas and a quartering wind. The barge sank almost immediately when it struck the concrete piers at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Eleven crewmembers, including Captain Marc Roen, were safely taken off the barge without difficulty.

On 16 December 1922, the JOSHUA W. RHODES (steel propeller bulk freighter, 420 foot, 4,871 gross tons, built in 1906, at Lorain, Ohio) struck bottom in the middle of the St. Clair River abreast of Port Huron, Michigan. Damages cost $6,179.32 to repair.

In 1983, HILDA MARJANNE's forward section, which included a bow thruster, was moved to the building berth at Port Weller Dry Docks where it was joined to CHIMO's stern. The joined sections would later emerge from the dry dock as the b.) CANADIAN RANGER.

IMPERIAL BEDFORD (Hull#666) was launched December 16,1968, at Lauzon, Quebec, by Davie Shipbuilding Co.

Canada Steamship Lines’ J.W. MC GIFFIN (Hull#197) was launched December 16, 1971, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards.

Litton Industries tug/barge PRESQUE ISLE departed light from Erie, Pennsylvania, on December 16, 1973, on its maiden voyage bound for Two Harbors, Minnesota. This was the latest maiden voyage date at that time. There, the PRESQUE ISLE loaded 51,038 long tons of taconite pellets for delivery to Gary, Indiana. After this ice-covered trip, the vessel returned to Erie for winter lay-up. PRESQUE ISLE was the second thousand-foot vessel on the Great Lakes (the Erie-built STEWART J. CORT which came out in 1972, was the first).

While in tandem tow on the way to scrapping with the former Ford Motor Co. steamer ROBERT S. McNAMARA, BUCKEYE MONITOR developed a crack in her deck amidships. The crack extended down her sides to below the waterline and she sank at 0145 hours on December 16, 1973, at position 43¡30'N x 30¡15'W in the North Atlantic.

BENSON FORD, a) RICHARD M. MARSHALL made her last trip to the Detroit’s Rouge River where she was laid up on December 16, 1984.

The PIC RIVER was the last vessel to use the old Welland City Canal on December 16, 1972, as the new Welland by-pass opened the following spring.

WOLFE ISLANDER III arrived in Kingston, Ontario on December 16, 1975. Built in Thunder Bay, she would replace the older car ferries WOLFE ISLANDER and UPPER CANADA on the Kingston - Wolfe Island run.

WILLIAM A. IRVIN sustained bottom damage in Lake Erie and laid up December 16, 1978, at Duluth, Minnesota.

The Maritimer THOMAS WILSON operated until December 16, 1979, when she tied up at Toledo. During that final year, the vessel carried only 30 cargoes and all were ore.

On 16 December 1906, ADVENTURER (wooden propeller steam tug, 52 foot, built in 1895, at Two Harbors, Minnesota) broke her moorings and went adrift in a gale. She was driven ashore near Ontonagon, Michigan on Lake Superior and was pounded to pieces.

On 16 December 1954, the 259-foot bulk carrier BELVOIR was launched at the E. B. McGee Ltd. yard in Port Colborne, Ontario. She was built for the Beaconsfield Steamship Co. and sailed in the last years before the Seaway opened. During the winter of 1958-59, she was lengthened 90 feet at Montreal. She left the lakes in 1968, and later sank in the Gulf of Honduras with the loss of 21 lives.

1939: GLITREFJELL was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea by U-59 while sailing southwest of Norway. The vessel was newly built when it first came to the Great Lakes in 1934.

1941: The Norwegian freighter NIDARDAL, best remembered as LAKE GORIN, a World War One-class laker, foundered in the Atlantic P: 56.07 N / 21.00 W enroute from Freeport, Bahamas, to Manchester, England, with sulphur.

1962: ARISTOTELES of 1943 sank in the Atlantic 250 miles off Cape Vincent, Portugal, after developing leaks. The vessel, enroute from Detroit to Calcutta with steel, had first come inland in 1961. All on board were rescued by the Liberty ship HYDROUSSA, which had also been a Seaway trader in 1962.

1964: DONNACONA (ii) was disabled by a fire while downbound in Lake Huron and the forward cabin was burned out before a distress call could be sent. The ship was found, brought to safety and repaired.

1966: CABOT was loading at Montreal when the ship rolled on her side at Montreal and sank in 30 feet of water. Two lives were lost. It was righted on the bottom and refloated in January 1967 for a return to service. The stern of this vessel was cut off to help form CANADIAN EXPLORER in 1983 and has been part of ALGOMA TRANSFER since 1998.

1975: THORNHILL (i) went aground in the St. Marys River, was lightered and released.

1979: ARCHANGELOS ran aground in the St. Lawrence while outbound from the Great Lakes with a cargo of scrap. The ship was lightered and released December 21. It had to spend the winter in the harbor at Port Weller as it was too late to depart the Seaway that year.

1980: D.G. KERR (ii), enroute overseas to Spain for scrapping, was lost in the Atlantic, after it began leaking in bad weather.

While breaking ice off Colchester Reef, Lake Erie on 17 December 1917, the HENRY CORT (steel propeller whaleback bulk freighter, 320 foot, 2,234 gross tons, built in 1892, at W. Superior, Wis., formerly a.) PILLSBURY) was in a collision with the MIDVALE (steel propeller bulk freighter, 580 foot, 8,271 gross tons, built in 1917, at Ashtabula, Ohio). The PILLSBURY sank in thirty feet of water 4 1/2 miles from Colchester Reef. Her crew walked across the ice to the MIDVALE. The wreck was located on 24 April 1918, four miles from its original position, with seven feet of water over her and raised later that year to be repaired.

C. L. AUSTIN was launched December 17, 1910, as a.) WILLIS L. KING (Hull#79) at Ecorse, Mich., by Great Lakes Engineering Works.

With an inexperienced Taiwanese crew, boiler problems and the collapse of Lock 7's west wall in the Welland Canal, the departure of SAVIC (CLIFFS VICTORY) was delayed until December 17, 1985, when she departed Chicago, Illinois, under her own power.

Paterson’s NEW QUEDOC sank at her winter moorings at Midland, Ont., on December 17, 1961, with a load of storage grain. The sinking was caused by the automatic sea valves that were accidentally opened.

The ROGERS CITY was laid up for the last time at Calcite, Mich., on December 17, 1981.

On December 17, 1955, in heavy fog, the B.F. AFFLECK collided head-on with her fleetmate HENRY PHIPPS in the Straits of Mackinac. Both vessels were damaged but were able to sail under their own power for repairs.

In 1905, the Anchor Line steamer JUNIATA was launched at the yards of the American Shipbuilding Company in Cleveland, Ohio. The JUNIATA was the first large passenger boat built in Cleveland since the NORTH LAND and NORTH WEST. Today the JUNIATA exists as the National Historic Landmark MILWAUKEE CLIPPER in Muskegon, Mich.

On 17 December 1875, the steamboat JENNISON of Captain Ganoe's line, which ran between Grand Rapids and Grand Haven, burned at Grand Rapids. She was laid up for the winter just below the city on the Grand River. She was insured for $12,000.

1957: The Great Lakes-built LAKE HEMLOCK foundered in Long Island Sound.

1964: The former T-2 tanker GOOD HOPE, operating as a bulk carrier, ran aground in a blizzard at Ulak Island, in the Aleutians, as d) SAN PATRICK. The ship had loaded wheat and cattle feed at Vancouver for Yokohama, Japan, and all on board perished. It had been a Seaway trader in 1962.

1972: THOMAS SCHULTE began Great Lakes trading in 1957 and returned through the Seaway in 1959. It was sailing as c) CAPE SABLE when it sank with the loss of 13 lives in a gale 100 miles west of La Corunna, Spain. The vessel was enroute from Antwerp, Belgium, to Algiers, Algeria, with general cargo when it went down.

1977: STADACONA (iii) went aground after clearing the Manitoulin Island community of Little Current with a cargo of ore pellets. The ship was stuck for several days.

The 425-foot Finnish tanker KIISLA ran aground while transiting the North Entrance of Buffalo Harbor on the 29th of December 1989. The ship was inbound with xylene for the Noco Product Terminal in Tonawanda when it strayed from the navigation channel due to reduced visibility from heavy snow squalls and grounded near the #1 green buoy of the Black Rock Canal. She was towed off the rocks by tugboats from Buffalo and then tied up at the Burnette Trucking Dock (formerly the Penn Dixie Dock) on the Buffalo River for Coast Guard inspection. A diver found a 47-inch by 5-inch crack below the waterline at the #1 ballast tank, with a large rock firmly wedged in the outer hull plating, but with no damage to the inner hull or cargo tanks. The ship was cleared to head back to Sarnia to off-load her cargo before repairs could be made.

In 1921, 94 vessels were laid up at Buffalo with storage grain when a winter gale struck. The 96 mile-per-hour winds swept 21 vessels ashore and damaged 29 others. Three weeks were required to restore order to the Buffalo waterfront.

Canada Steamship Lines NANTICOKE (Hull#218) was launched December 18, 1979, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd.

The tug AMERICA freed the ore carrier IRVING S. OLDS in 1956, after the OLDS grounded entering the River Raisin from Lake Erie. The OLDS stuck at a 45-degree angle to the channel, while entering for winter lay up.

Canada Steamship lines GEORGIAN BAY (Hull#149) was launched during a snowstorm on December 18, 1953, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd.

JOHN T. HUTCHINSON was laid up for the last time December 18, 1981, at Cleveland, Ohio.

On December 18, 1921, gale force winds drove the CARMI A. THOMPSON ashore at Buffalo, New York where she was laid up with grain for winter storage. She ended up wedged between the LOUIS W. HILL and the MERTON E. FARR. The THOMPSON was released on January 5, 1922, but required the replacement of 156 hull plates before her return to service.

The Goodrich Transit Co.’s ALABAMA (Hull#36) was launched in 1909, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. Reduced to a barge in 1961.

On 18 December 1899, 115 (steel whaleback barge, 256 foot, 1,169 gross tons, built in 1891, at Superior, Wisconsin) was carrying iron ore in a storm on Lake Huron when she broke from her tow steamer well out in the lake. She went ashore five days later at Pic Island off Thunder Bay, Ontario, and broke up. Her crew was thought to be lost, but they showed up days later after a long trek through the wilderness.

On 18 December 1959, BRIDGEBUILDER X (propeller tug, 71 foot, 46 gross tons, built in 1911, at Lorain, Ohio) foundered in a storm while enroute from Sturgeon Bay to N. Fox Island on Lake Michigan. Two lives were lost. She had been built as the fish tug PITTSBURG. In 1939, she was converted to the excursion boat BIDE-A-WEE. Then she was converted to a construction tug for the building of the Mackinac Bridge and finally she was rebuilt in 1958, as a logging tug.

1909: Ice punctured the hull of the F.A. MEYER, formerly the J. EMORY OWEN, on Lake Erie while enroute from Boyne City, Michigan, to Buffalo with a cargo of lumber. The crew was rescued by the sailors aboard MAPLETON.

1915: The canaller PRINCE RUPERT, requisitioned for World War 1 service, was lost at sea enroute from Newport News, Virginia, to Trinidad with a cargo of coal. It foundered P: 34.40 N / 74.45 W.

1932: A fire in the coal bunker of the BROWN BEAVER, laid up at Toronto with a winter storage cargo of wheat, brought the Toronto Fire Department to extinguish the blaze.

1947: The tug EMERSON was Hull 5 at the Collingwood shipyard and completed in 1903. The ship stranded at Punta Sardegna, in the Maddalena Archipelago, as f) GIULIANOVA. The hull broke in two January 8, 1948, and sank.

1950: The tug SACHEM sank in Lake Erie and all 12 on board were lost. The hull was later located, upright on the bottom. It was refloated October 22, 1951, reconditioned and returned to service. The ship became c) DEREK E. in 1990.

1962: RIDGEFIELD, a Liberty ship that visited the Great Lakes in 1961 and 1962, ran aground at the east end of Grand Cayman Island in ballast on a voyage from Maracaibo, Venezuela, to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The hull was never removed and visible for years.

1968: The Canadian Coast Guard vessel GRENVILLE was trapped in an ice flow and rammed against the St. Louis Bridge along the Seaway. The crew was removed safely by stepping on to the bridge before the ship sank. It had been retrieving buoys. The hull received considerable ice damage over the winter but was refloated in June 1969, towed to Sorel and scrapped.

1975: TECUN UMAN visited the Seaway in 1969. It disappeared without a trace in heavy seas 250 miles east of Savannah, Georgia, enroute from Mobile, Alabama, to Port Cartier, Quebec, as b) IMBROS. All 22 on board were lost.

1985: FEDERAL ST. LAURENT (ii) collided with the Mercier Bridge in the Seaway with minor damage to both the ship and the structure. The vessel was scrapped at Chittagong, Bangladesh, as c) DORA in 2003.