Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/4 - The tugs Ocean A. Simard and Robinson Bay tried and failed to free Federal Biscay from Snell Lock ice on Wednesday. Leonard M was enroute Wednesday night to try and get traffic moving again. Four other saltwater vessels are behind Federal Biscay: Mitq, Beatrix, Billeborg and Pacific Huron.

The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation is currently working to dislodge the vessel, according to a media release from SLSDC. They said the vessel was not damaged, but was immobilized because of the heavy ice buildup on the lock wall, as well as on the vessel’s hull.

“Efforts to free the vessel from the lock chamber will continue so that the remaining four commercial vessels in queue, as well as the Federal Biscay, can depart the Seaway. Once all the vessels have successfully transited the U.S. locks, the U.S. portion of the Seaway will close to commercial navigation, completing the 2017 navigation season,” they said. The Seaway was scheduled to close for the season on Dec. 31.

1/4 - Duluth, Minn. – The ore boats sitting out on the water may make a picturesque shot for photography buffs. But it's a less than ideal sight for operators of vessels on the Great Lakes. Time is money is a saying that applies to the water as well. And the captains and their crews are having to wait longer than normal to load iron ore pellets.

The bitter cold temperatures are making things difficult at the docks. Jim Sharrow, Director of Port Planning and Resiliency of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, explained.

He said the docks in Superior, at Allouez, are run by BNSF. They have three miles of conveyer belts that move the pellets, and that is three miles of area that could encounter a problem. Also, pellets can get stuck in the ore cars, or the cars can break down themselves. And on the boats themselves, the hatches can ice over, and there can be 20-30 hatches.

Some of that ice was visible on the front of the Thunder Bay, as she sailed under the lift bridge around 11:30 am on Tuesday. Despite the frigid conditions, folks like Nick Cooley and Emily Meyer rushed out to see her. The Thunder Bay was set to deliver salt at Hallett Dock, and then head to Two Harbors to pick up pellets, according to Sharrow.

There are around 1 to 1.5 million tons of pellets scheduled to be loaded yet this season. But with the delays, they might not all make it to the steel mills. The mills are stockpiling right now, in anticipation of the closure of the Soo Locks on January 15.

The Lake Carriers Association said they are facing challenging conditions throughout the system. Glen Neksavil sent a statement: "The U.S. Coast Guard is doing its best, but we need more icebreakers. This is why Lake Carriers' Association continues to work to have another heavy icebreaker of the Mackinaw's caliber built for the Lakes. The Soo Locks close in 13 days. Come January 15, steel mills and power plants will be cut off from their supply of iron ore and low-sulfur coal. These final cargos are key to manufacturing and power generation continuing during the Lakes' winter closure."

Several vessels have gotten stuck in the ice already. And there were high winds on Tuesday, adding to the challenges. So Sharrow thought some vessels, even if they load up, may not leave right away. He said the winds are supposed to subside a bit on Wednesday.

WDIO


NOAA issues new ice forecast

1/4 - The National Weather Service in Cleveland has issued an updated Great Lakes Ice Outlook. Forecast is for the ice in Western Lake Erie to thicken to 30 inches in some areas, while the rest of the lake could have ice from 6-12 inches by Friday evening. For the Sault Ste. Marie area, they are expecting ice to thicken to 18-30 inches by late Friday. NOAA ice forecast

1/4 - Erie, Pa. – Several ships are expected to arrive for winter work at Donjon Shipbuilding and Repair this month. Here are the tentative arrival dates for each ship:

• Tug Defiance/barge Ashtabula - Jan. 9
• St. Clair - Jan. 12
• Tug Dorothy Ann/barge Pathfinder - Jan. 15
• Presque Isle - Jan. 15 - Mooring Main Channel
• Algoma Hansa - Jan. 19
• VanEnkevort tug and barge - Jan. 23

Weather may impact the actual arrival of each ship. Some will be berthed at Dobbins Landing. Ice breaking is expected to begin as early as Wednesday in the eastern portion of Presque Isle Bay and east of Dobbins Landing, but all parts of the bay could be impacted by the work. People are asked to use extreme caution when accessing the bay, especially for recreational purposes.

ErieNewsNow.com

On January 4, 1978, IRVING S. OLDS was involved in a collision with the steamer ARMCO while convoying in heavy ice in the Livingstone Channel of the lower Detroit River. The OLDS hit a floe of heavy ice, came to a complete stop and the ARMCO, unable to stop, hit the OLDS' stern.

In 1952, the car ferry SPARTAN (Hull#369) was launched at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Christy Corp.

1966: FARO, a Liberty ship that had visited the Seaway in 1965, ran aground in heavy weather off Nojima, Japan, enroute from Muroran, Japan, to Keelung, Taiwan, in ballast. It had to be abandoned as a total loss. It was sold to Japanese shipbreakers in 1967 and broken up.

2012: FEDERAL MIRAMICHI was disabled by a mechanical problem during stormy weather on the English Channel, 12.8 miles northwest of Guernsey enroute from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Paranagua, Brazil, with 22,900 tons of urea. French authorities, fearing the ship could blow ashore, dispatched a tug and the vessel was towed into Cherbourg for repairs. It has been a frequent Seaway trader since 2006.

[yachtsmanwilly]

The keel was laid January 5, 1972, for ALGOWAY (Hull#200) at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd.

The wooden tug A. J. WRIGHT caught fire on 5 January 1893, while laid up at Grand Haven, Michigan. She burned to the water's edge. Her loss was valued at $20,000. She was owned by C. D. Thompson.

In 1970, PETER REISS broke her tail shaft while backing in heavy ice at the mouth of the Detroit River.

On January 5, 1976, Halco's tanker CHEMICAL TRANSPORT cleared Thunder Bay, Ontario, closing that port for the season.

1976: A.S. GLOSSBRENNER struck bottom entering Port McNicoll and had to be unloaded immediately due to the extensive hull damage. The ship was repaired at Port Weller Dry Docks in the spring. The vessel became b) ALGOGULF (ii) in 1987 and c) ALGOSTEEL (ii) in 1990.

1982: The Norwegian freighter NORHOLT first came through the Seaway in 1962 and made a total of 15 inland voyages. It was renamed b) SALVADOR in 1966 and returned once in 1967. The ship went aground as c) SAN JUAN off Shadwan Island enroute to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on this date. It was refloated January 22, 1982, towed to Suez Bay and laid up. Fire broke out on August 26, 1982, and the ship was abandoned and later beached. It was taken over by the Suez Canal Authority in 1983 and scrapped.

1/5 - The abnormally cold air isn't only freezing us. It's causing ice cover on the Great Lakes to expand rapidly. All of the Great Lakes have more than double the amount of ice cover today than the long-term average, with the exception of Lake Superior.

Read more and view maps at this link

1/5 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The expansive ice coverage on the St. Marys River may lead to a disruption of scheduled ferry operations. The below zero temperatures, lake effect snow, and the continued movement of commercial vessels will fuel the development of ice.

Coast Guard cutters Mackinaw, Bristol Bay and Biscayne Bay are actively working the river system. They are committed to minimizing service interruptions but warn it's not a matter of if service will be stopped but when. It is recommend island residents prepare for the probability that ferry operations will be disrupted by packing for overnight contingencies, stocking pantries and preparing for medical needs.

USCG

1/5 - St. Clair, Mich. – The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for areas along the St. Clair River south of St. Clair. According to the warning, St. Clair County Emergency Management reported flooding along the St Clair River to the south of St Clair in East China Township at about 1:45 p.m. The water level at the St. Clair gauge was 579.28 feet.

Roadways were impacted by flooding near the St Clair River. Many homes and structures were threatened by water near the reported flooding. The current flooding is due to an ice blockage on the St Clair River. Conditions will remain favorable for ice blockages into Sunday.

Port Huron Times Herald

1/5 - Green Bay, Wis. – If you plan to venture out onto the frozen waters of Green Bay for any outdoor activities, you need to be aware of ice-breaking operations. The shipping season on the Bay isn't over, just yet.

A couple miles off Brown County's Bayshore Park, The 730-foot freighter Algosteel was loaded with salt and headed for the port of Green Bay on Wednesday. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mobile Bay cleared the way.

"They'll make a track. They break the ice, and then they come back. They move at a faster speed, and they'll kind of flip some of the ice on top of itself, creating a traffic lane," said Dean Haen, Port of Green Bay Director.

A 70-100 foot wide traffic lane. The open water path stretches from Sturgeon Bay all the way to Green Bay. "The concern is, whether you're a snowmobiler, lost fisherman or whatever it may be, that tries to go across. I wouldn't advise anyone to plan on crossing the bay east to west," said Haen.

"They're telling us anywhere from 8 to 14, 15 inches of ice," said Scott Gille, Smokey's On the Bay Bait Shop. Gille says ice conditions on the Bay are good, and so is the fishing. He says anglers notice the ships coming in. "When the cutter went through, they can kind of feel the pressure of the water being moved around underneath them. But it's not like it's cracking or opening up. It's just more of a sensation that they kind of hear the rumbling of the pressure cracks," said Gille.

The port director says people can expect to see the icebreakers, and other vessels until the third week of January. The tug barge combination Great Lakes / Michigan unloaded its petroleum cargo at a dock along the Fox River.

"Just know where you are, and what you're doing. And stay away from the shipping lanes. The icebreakers are out there. That's what they're here for and they're working," said Haen.

Fourteen terminals make up the Port of Green Bay. About 200 ships visit the each year, importing and exporting about two million tons of cargo.

Fox 11

1/5 - Cleveland, Ohio – U.S.-flag Great Lakes vessel operators will spend $65 million maintaining and modernizing their vessels at Great Lakes shipyards this winter. When complete, the fleet will be ready to meet the needs of commerce come the spring break-out in March.

“Winter is the one opportunity our members have to renew and upgrade their vessels,” said James H.I. Weakley, President of Lake Carriers’ Association, the trade association representing the major U.S.-flag carriers. “They have just 10 months to deliver their customers’ annual raw materials requirement, so the vessels are in service 24/7 during the shipping season.”

The major focus this winter will be on normal maintenance such as overhauls of engines, cargo hold renewal and replacement of conveyor belts in the unloading systems. Depending on the trades it serves, a Great Lakes freighter can carry anywhere from 50 to 100 cargos in a season. A few vessels in the Cuyahoga River iron ore shuttle in Cleveland, Ohio, can carry even more cargos in a season.

• A steamship is having its boiler completely rebuilt. A 1,000-foot-long laker will have highly efficient Rolls Royce propeller blades installed that will reduce fuel consumption and increase speed.

• The industry’s carbon footprint will again shrink when a 1,000-foot-long U.S.-flag laker becomes the sixth vessel to have an exhaust gas scrubber installed in the past few years.

• Ten lakers will be placed in drydock to allow the U.S. Coast Guard and American Bureau of Shipping to inspect the hull. These inspections are required by U.S. law.

The lakes fresh water environment means vessels can serve the economy for decade upon decade. Two of the 1,000-footers will begin their 40th year of operation in 2018.

The major shipyards on the lakes are located in Sturgeon Bay, Superior and Marinette, Wisconsin; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Toledo, Ohio. Smaller “top-side” repair operations are located in Cleveland, Ohio; Escanaba, Michigan; Buffalo, New York; and several cities in Michigan. The industry’s annual payroll for its 2,700 employees approaches $125 million and it is estimated that a wintering vessel generates an additional $800,000 in economic activity in the community in which it is moored.

Lake Carriers’ Association

1/5 - Thursday morning the tug Leonard M joined Ocean A. Simard and Robinson Bay in the effort to pull the Federal Biscay out of Snell lock, where she has been frozen for three days. The total estimated horsepower applied to this was 12,820, with Leonard M 4200 bhp; Ocean A. Simard 3,290 bhp; Robinson Bay 1,750 shp and Federal Biscay, 3580 mhp (considering a ship in reverse applies about 30 percent thrust).

Unfortunately their efforts to move the ship out of the lock failed. The four ships waiting above the blockade are Mitiq, Beatrix, Billesborg, and Pacific Huron.

The Seaway Development Corporation says there's heavy ice buildup on the lock wall and on the ship's hull. This is clogging up the system. Three other ships trying to exit the seaway before it closes for the season are now located near either the Eisenhower Lock wall, the Snell Lock wall and the Iroquois Lock wall.

There's an open question as to whether the Seaway is preparing those ships to spend the winter in the waterway. If this happens, officials say they believe this would be a first for the seaway. The Seaway was supposed to close for the winter on December 31. The Federal Biscay, which is carrying soybeans, has delayed the closure. Seaway officials had no further comment.

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/6 - Massena, N.Y. – 2:30 p.m. update - Three tugs, the Ocean A. Simard, Robinson Bay and Leonard M, successfully pulled the icebound Federal Biscay from the Snell Lock around 12:30 on Saturday. She is in the channel above the lock and it appears that the tugs are clearing ice away from the upper approach wall so the Biscay can be secured there. Ron Beaupre

Original report - The saltwater vessel Federal Biscay remained lodged in the ice at Snell Lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway Friday night. The bulk carrier, sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, has been stuck partially inside the lock since Jan. 1. The ice plug now extends down alongside the ship almost all the way to the bottom.

Three tugs, Ocean A. Simard, Robinson Bay and Leonard M., have been attempting to free the ship without success. On Thursday they were augmented by land vehicles on pulling on the vessel’s cables. The tug Evans McKeil was headed downbound in the Seaway and believed to be on the way to join in the effort on Friday.

On Thursday, unconfirmed reports say a big chunk of ice got into Federal Biscay’s propeller and bent one of the blades.

Tugs are also working on breaking ice down the river. Ocean Tundra is tasked with keeping a track from Snell Lock to Beauharnois.

Federal Biscay was en route from Port Weller to Montreal and is carrying soybeans. There are four other ships on the Seaway still upriver from Snell Lock: Mitq, a general cargo ship from the Netherlands; Beatrix, a general cargo ship from the Netherlands; a bulk carrier, Pacific Huron, of Antigua Barbuda and Billesborg, a container ship out of Panama.

According to a Seaway press release, the only explanation of how the Federal Biscay came to be stuck was stated as “heavy ice build-up on the lock wall as well as on the vessel’s hull.” The Seaway’s ship tracking system indicates that the ship arrived at the lock at about 11:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Whether it became stuck then as it tried to enter the lock, or the ice formed around while it was moored and prevented it from moving again is unclear.

Once all the vessels have successfully transited the U.S. locks, the U.S. portion of the Seaway will close to commercial navigation, completing the 2017 navigation season, the Seaway Development Corp. reported Wednesday. The Seaway was scheduled to close for the season Dec. 31.

1/7 - Massena, N.Y. – A ship that had been stuck in the ice near Snell Lock in Massena since Tuesday was finally able to free itself Saturday with some help from others.

“The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation reports that the vessel Federal Biscay has been safely and successfully freed from the U.S. Snell Lock, where it had been immobilized in ice for the past several days. After a major effort over the past 24 hours to melt the ice around the vessel using pressurized steam, the vessel exited the lock earlier this afternoon with tug assistance,” SLSDC officials said in a media release. Tugs involved were Ocean A. Simard, Robinson Bay and Leonard M.

Seaway officials said high-pressurized steam was the primary method used to melt the ice surrounding the vessel. They said the vessel is now tied up along the upper approach wall to the lock.

After Federal Biscay was freed, Leonard M and Robinson Bay left westbound to break the Billesborg out of the Wilson Hill anchorage. If all goes well, the Mitq Beatrix, and Billesborg will all be situated on Snell Lock's lower approach wall to be escorted down in convoy by tug Ocean Tundra after sunrise.

“The effort to free the vessel lasted several days and involved the hard work of many individuals under severe weather conditions. This included dedicated SLSDC work crews, technical experts from the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC), the vessel operator (Fednav, Ltd.) and numerous contractors,” they said.

The Federal Biscay, a 650-foot-long bulk carrier that was transporting soybeans, had been on its way from Port Weller to Montreal when it became immobilized by heavy ice buildup on the lock wall, as well as on the vessel’s hull. St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. officials said the vessel, which was built in 2015, is sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands and entered the lock on New Year’s Day, was not damaged.

“Ice logs and ice jams within the locks is common, but not to the point where the ship has really become inoperable,” said Michael Folsom, a veteran Seaway watcher.

Four other ships that remained in the Seaway system when the Federal Biscay became immobilized had been put in queue until the ship could be freed and shipping could resume. They were the Mitq and the Beatrix, general cargo ships from the Netherlands; a bulk carrier, Pacific Huron of Antigua Barbuda, and Billesborg, a container ship out of Panama.

The four commercial vessels still must transit downbound (eastbound) through the U.S. Seaway locks toward Montreal to exit the Seaway, which originally had been scheduled to close for the season on Dec. 31.

“These vessels are already positioned to allow for as safe and expeditious lock transit as possible,” Seaway officials said, noting they would issue another advisory when all five vessels have cleared the U.S. locks and have exited the U.S. sector of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Tugs had tried since Tuesday to pull the Federal Biscay free from the ice, beginning with an effort of more than seven hours on Tuesday and continuing through the week. Seaway officials also attempted to melt the ice around the vessel using pressurized steam, with additional tugboats brought in to assist. The efforts took place at a time when temperatures had dropped below zero and wind chill readings were as low as 45 below zero.

Folsom said the tugs had more than 10,000 horsepower, while the ship itself had “thousands of horsepower.”

“I think the biggest issue is you’re talking inches, no more than a few feet between the lock wall and the side of the ship. If the ship pushed a large amount of ice, the ice jammed quickly and it just locked up,” he said.

On Friday, observers close to the lock had reported that large boilers and fuel trucks had been set up on the north side of the lock in an effort to thaw the ice around the ship. A picture posted to Facebook showed hoses snaking across the deck from the boilers and into the lock.


1/8 - Massena, N.Y. – With Federal Biscay finally freed from her days-long entrapment in exceptionally heavy ice at the Snell Lock, traffic in the area was on the move Sunday.

Late Sunday, Mitq, Beatrix and Billeborg locked through and were tied below the Snell Lock waiting until Monday to proceed east. Federal Biscay was moored above the lock. Pacific Huron was bringing up the rear. CCGS Martha L. Black is due below the Snell Lock at 7 a.m. Monday. The Black will lead Beatrix, Beatrix, and Beatrix in convoy to Beauharnois. If they are ready to follow, Federal Biscay and Pacific Huron may join the convoy.

Saturday into Sunday, the tug Ocean Tundra came up through Snell Lock to assist Mitq down through the lock Sunday morning. This was not an easy thing to do. The ice in that canal between the locks is very heavy, and the Beatrix had a lot of difficulty getting going and maintaining headway. At that time the Ocean A. Simard was tasked with breaking ice in the canal between the locks as Beatrix and Beatrix sat in the canal, frozen into the ice. There were issues with ice in the Snell Lock that have slowed things down as well.

The tugs Robinson Bay and Leonard M were upbound in the evening and by 10 p.m. were in the vicinity of Pacific Huron, most likely to escort her down the river at first light.

1/8 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The Coast Guard will close the waters between St. Ignace and Mackinac Island Wednesday at Noon. The Coast Guard would like to remind all recreational ice users to plan their activities carefully, use caution on the ice, and stay away from shipping channels.

USCG

On 08 January 2004, McKeil Marine’s CAPT. RALPH TUCKER was the first vessel of 2004 to arrive at the port of Manistee, Michigan. Once docked at the General Chemical facilities, Captain Bill Sullivan and Chief Engineer Otto Cooper were each presented with hand-carved Hackberry canes. This was a notable way for the vessel to start her last year of operation. Later that year she was sold for scrap.

JOHN HULST (Hull#286) was launched in 1938, at River Rouge, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

On 8 January 1877, the tug KATE FELCHER burned at East Saginaw, Michigan. Her loss was valued at $3,000, but she was insured for only $2,000. She was named after the wife of her owner, the well-known Capt. James Felcher of East Saginaw.

In 1939, several tugs helped release the CHIEF WAWATAM, which had been aground since January 3. In 1974, BENSON FORD, of 1924, became beset by ice in Western Lake Erie.

January 8, 1976, LEON FALK JR. closed the season at Superior, Wisconsin, after she departed the Burlington-Northern ore docks.

1996: The research ship CALYPSO, a converted wooden minesweeper, served noted deep-sea diver Jacques Cousteau for many years. It came to the Great Lakes in 1980 and explored several wrecks including the EDMUND FITZGERALD and GUNILDA. It sank at Singapore following a collision on this date. The hull was refloated but never repaired. Subsequently, there were disputes over ownership, with a later report saying the vessel would be displayed at the Bahamas as a tourist attraction.

07 January 1974 - EDMUND FITZGERALD (steel propeller bulk freighter, 711 foot, 13,632 gross tons, built in 1958, at River Rouge, Michigan) lost her anchor in the Detroit River when it snagged on ice. It was raised in July 1992. The anchor weighs 12,000 pounds and now resides outside the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan.

On January 7, 1970, the e.) ONG, a.) REDHEAD of 1930, had her Canadian registry closed. The tanker had been sold for use as a water tender at Antigua in the Lesser Antilles and had departed Toronto on December 1, 1969.

1924: The rail car ferry ONTARIO NO. 1 had a rough overnight crossing of Lake Ontario. The ship was diverted to Toronto with three feet of ice on the deck and anchored off Port Credit. With no seagate, it had to sail into the wind and could not make its docking at Cobourg as scheduled.

1943: ORNEFJELL came to the Great Lakes beginning in 1933 and returned as b) AKABAHRA after being sold in 1937. It was torpedoed and sunk on the Mediterranean in position 37.07 N / 4.38 E.

1977: BARFONN had visited the Seaway beginning in 1959 and returned as b) ORIENT EXPLORER in 1967 and as c) AEGEAN in 1971. It caught fire at Colombo, Sri Lanka, as d) TONG THAY and became a total loss. The vessel was taken to Singapore Roads, laid up, sold for scrap and arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for dismantling on March 24, 1978.

While under tow heading for scrap, the HARRY R. JONES went aground at Androsan, Scotland, on January 6, 1961, and it wasn't until February 15 that she arrived at her final port of Troon, Scotland.

January 6, 1999 - The Dow Chemical plant in Ludington, Michigan, announced a plan to close its lime plant, eliminating the need for Great Lakes freighters to deliver limestone.

In 1973, the JOSEPH H. THOMPSON ran aground at Escanaba, Michigan, after departing that port.

1976: The former GLADYS BOWATER was sailing as c) AGINOR when it caught fire and had to be abandoned off southwest Sicily. The hull was towed to Palermo, Italy, with serious damage and then to Piraeus, Greece, where it was laid up unrepaired. But the ship was resold, rebuilt and returned to service as d) ALEXANDRA in 1977. It was scrapped at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, as e) LAMYAA in 1985.

1979: OTTO NUBEL first came to the Great Lakes in 1953 and returned regularly until the final four trips in 1959. The ship was sailing as b) MARIA III when there was an explosion in the engine room on January 6, 1979, near Tamomago Island, Spain. A fire followed and the vessel went aground where it was abandoned as a total loss.

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/9 - Detroit, Mich. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, has announced the seasonal closing of the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., from Jan. 15 through March 25. The Corps will use this time to perform critical maintenance on the lock structures.

“It is vitally important that we keep the infrastructure at the Soo Locks in good working order,” said Lt. Col. Dennis Sugrue, district engineer. “The district puts a high priority on keeping the locks functioning safely and reliably for the benefit of our nation.”

While closed to navigation, crews will be busy with a variety of maintenance projects on the Poe and MacArthur Locks in preparation for another busy season. Planned winter maintenance work includes: Poe Lock Miter and Quoin Block Replacement, Poe Lock Gate 2 Embedded Anchorage Replacement, Poe Lock Gate 3 Cylinder Seal Replacement, North Poe Lock Valve Maintenance, MacArthur Lock Embedded Anchorage Replacement, MacArthur Lock Filling Valve Seal Replacement, and MacArthur Lock Bevel Gear Replacement.

More than 4,500 vessels carrying up to 80 million tons of cargo maneuver through the locks annually. Iron ore, coal, wheat and limestone are among the most frequently carried commodities. Opened in 1969, the Poe Lock is 1,200 feet long. The MacArthur Lock was opened in 1943 and is 800 feet long.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, maintains a navigation system of 95 harbors, including the Great Lakes Connecting Channels that join lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, St. Clair and Erie.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

1/9 - Put-In-Bay, Ohio – Like most pregnant women, Alyssa Smith is preparing a room for the new baby, buying supplies, and visiting doctors for routine checkups every two weeks. Unlike most mothers-to-be, however, Smith has to fly every time she visits her family doctor, goes for an ultrasound, or has blood work done, because she lives on an island surrounded by frozen Lake Erie.

For the resident of Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island, the frozen lake means ferry boats are no longer running this winter and flying is the most reliable way to get from the island to Port Clinton on the mainland.

Some islanders use ATVs and air boats to travel over the Lake Erie ice, following a route lined by Christmas trees from South Bass Island State Park to Catawba Island State Park, but they make those trips at their own risk. Smith and many of South Bass Island's 360 residents depend on Dustin Shaffer's Island Air Taxi and his six-seat Piper Cherokee Six 300 horsepower plane to travel during the winter.

To take an air taxi ride with Shaffer, passengers pay a $40 fee each way. Smith, who is 25 weeks pregnant and expects to take more than a dozen flights before her baby is born in April, said she tries to make the most out of each trip to the mainland.

"Because flying can be expensive, I try to schedule multiple things in one day," she said. "I will go to my doctor, my ultra-sound and my blood work appointments in the same day and I will take an empty suitcase and try go shopping to stock up on groceries. You really try to get your money's worth."

The only downside to air travel in the winter, Smith said, is scheduling appointments around weather. "Having to rely on an airplane, everything you do is based around the weather," she said. "The weather decides when you are going to go or stay home. Dustin does a great job and always makes you feel safe in the air."

Smith said when on the mainland, she uses taxi services and always has a backup plan for lodging in the event that flights back to the island are canceled due to extreme winds or whiteout snow conditions. She also said preparing for a baby is easier with websites shipping many basic supplies throughout the United States.

"Thank God for Amazon Prime so I can buy in bulk," Smith said. "I never thought I would buy toilet paper online, but it is pretty bulky if you buy a lot at the store and try to fly it back."

For Shaffer, business is almost nonexistent in the summer except for some charter flights for locals traveling to Cleveland, Columbus or Detroit. While Put-in-Bay is a major tourist destination during the summer, with 750,000 people traveling to the island between Memorial Day and Labor Day, virtually all tourists use ferry service provided by Miller Boat Line and Jet Express.

"When the boats quit it's like a light switch goes off and we go from zero flights to like 20 to 30 a day," Shaffer said. "Most people are coming over for bigger shopping trips to stock up for the winter on meats and food, but doctors' appointments are probably the biggest thing. Pregnant women are going over all the time."

Shaffer said between 50 and 100 people will take the seven-minute flight to the mainland each day. And many of those passengers load up on supplies before the return trip home.

"They really make a full day out of it, because it's $40 each way," Shaffer said. "Everyone leaves light and comes back heavy."

The Associated Press, Port Clinton News-Herald

On this day in 1973, the CHARLES M. BEEGHLY was the latest running Interlake vessel when she entered winter layup at Toledo, Ohio.

BAIE COMEAU II was laid up on January 9, 1983, at Sorel, Quebec, and was sold the following April to Progress Overseas Co. S.A., Panama renamed c.) AGIA TRIAS.

January 9, 1977 - The last survivor of the PERE MARQUETTE 18 disaster, Mike Bucholtz, died.

In 1974, a combination of wind and ice forced the beset BENSON FORD, of 1924, from the shipping channel in Western Lake Erie, running aground.

1974: MARDINA REEFER ran aground at the breakwall at Stephenville, Newfoundland, while inbound in stormy weather. The ship was scheduled to load pickled herring for Europe but became a total loss. Salvage efforts failed and the hull was pounded on the rocks and eventually split in two. The crew was rescued. The vessel had been through the Seaway in 1973.

1974: LUCIE SCHULTE had been a Pre-Seaway and Seaway visitor to the Great Lakes. It sank in bad weather as b) TEVEGA in the Bay of Biscay while enroute from Antwerp, Belgium, to Casablanca, Morocco, with a cargo of barley. Only one member of the crew survived.

1979: MARIGO M.F. had been a Seaway trader in 1973 and earlier as a) NEGO ANNE in 1971. The ship went aground off Alexandria, Egypt, and sustained hull and water damage. The bulk carrier was not worth repairing and sold to Brodospas of Split, Yugoslavia, for scrap. It arrived August 13, 1979, for dismantling.

1980: BILL CROSBIE was carrying steel when it got into trouble on the Atlantic on January 4, 1980. The vessel, a Seaway trader in 1974, was listing badly when it was brought into St. John's, Newfoundland, only to roll over and sink at the wharf on this date. The hull was towed out to sea, bottom up, on November 3, 1980, and scuttled 12 miles off shore.

1983: SANTONA stranded in the Red Sea off Sudan at North Jumna Shoal. The hull was refloated but sold for scrap. It arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, on April 4, 1983, for dismantling. It was a busy Seaway trader and had made 36 trips to the Great Lakes from 1959 to 1967.

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/10 - The barge Alouette Spirit, stranded since Christmas morning on Lake Saint-Pierre, will remain there longer than expected. According to owner McKeil Marine Limited, it may be necessary to wait until spring before pulling the vessel free.

In an email sent to Radio-Canada, McKeil Marine Limited's commercial director, Matthew Kendrick, says that no other solution is safer or even feasible, according to the latest analysis. The company came to this conclusion after working on the site and studying the condition of the ice in recent days.

"There is simply too much ice" to allow other tugs or barges to approach the Alouette Spirit, says Kendrick. He adds that it is impossible in these circumstances to maneuver towing or lightening the barge. He said this decision does not expose the environment to any risk, that it will not cause any problems to navigation in the sector and that it will not lead to damage to the barge or its cargo. Industry and barge inspections must be conducted regularly by the company and the Canadian Coast Guard.

Unlike the Alouette Spirit, Wilf Seymour should not spend the winter on Lake Saint-Pierre. According to McKeil, the tugboat could go alone to the port of Trois-Rivières and spend the winter there in order to be able to intervene quickly with the barge if necessary. Wilf Seymour propelled the barge at the time of the incident on the morning of 25 December.

The company does not expect to have "significant difficulties" with Wilf Seymour. The tug should easily detach from the barge and make it easy to reach the port of Trois-Rivières.

Starting from Sept-Îles, the Alouette Spirit was to transport 10,000 tons of aluminum to Oswego, New York. On the morning of December 25, the barge ran aground near the channel of Lake Saint-Pierre. An electrical failure, repaired since, could explain the situation.

Radio-Canada

1/10 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – The recent cold snap in northwestern Ontario brought the shipping season to a close a bit earlier than last year, with the last ship being loaded up on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018, but residents will still be able to see some activity in the harbor this week.

"We are just about done now," said Thunder Bay Port Authority chief executive officer Tim Heney, "We have a bunch of ships coming in that are going to be wintering in the harbor." The United States icebreaker Alder is assisting ships that are expected to spend the winter in Thunder Bay's harbor, he added.

"So there could be up to five ships wintering in Thunder Bay," Heney said.

While the "heavy ice all along the system" has closed off this year's shipping season sooner than expected, the total shipping volume for this year has remained steady for the past four years, he said. "I think in total we'll probably end up back in the same area [as] this year, about 8.9 million tones in total. We think that will hold for next year as well," Heney said.

This year, Heney said, the port saw more potash being shipped in as the volumes for grain decreased. It also saw one ship that staff thought was destined for the scrap yard put back into service, he said. "CSL Tadoussac was parked in Thunder Bay for three years," Heney said, and now "it's got a contract on iron ore, and they are putting it back into service."

While the shipping season has officially come to an end, he said, ships are expected to come into the harbor over the next few days to settle in for winter.

CBC News

1/10 - Montreal, Que. – By now, the U.S. Navy had hoped that the new USS Little Rock would be arriving at its homeport near Jacksonville, Florida. Instead, the combat ship is docked in Montreal. The ship and its sailors are safe, but they’re a lot colder than they hoped they’d be, several weeks into their maiden journey.

The Navy commissioned the littoral combat ship in Buffalo in December, when winter was already looming. Ice had started forming at the base of the Buffalo River and around the harbor. The ship departed Dec. 20. Delays followed in the Welland Canal and the St. Lawrence Seaway before the crew arrived in Montreal around Christmas.

While in Montreal, routine ship repairs were made, including repairing a cable associated with the ship’s steering. Repairs were completed Jan. 4. Icy conditions have delayed the ship’s departure, due to the limited availability of tugs in the area.

Lt. Commander Courtney Hillson told News 4 that they soon hope to have a better idea of what comes next. “We continue working with Port Authority tugs, experts, and technological representatives to ensure the best path forward,” Hillson said. The sailors on board the USS Little Rock continue to operate the ship.

Read more and view a video at this link: wivb.com/2018/01/08/uss-little-rock-is-moored-in-montreal

On this day in 1952, EDWARD B. GREENE was launched at the American Shipbuilding yard at Toledo, Ohio. The 647-foot vessel joined the Cleveland Cliffs fleet. After lengthening over the winter of 1975-1976 and conversion to a self-unloader in 1981, the GREENE sailed briefly as the b.) BENSON FORD for Rouge Steel. She sails today as the c.) KAYE E BARKER of the Interlake fleet.

ONTADOC (Hull#207) was launched January 10, 1975, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd. For N.M. Paterson & Sons. Renamed b.) MELISSA DESGAGNES in 1990.

On January 10, 1977, the CHESTER A. POLING, b.) MOBIL ALBANY) broke in two and sank off the coast of Massachusetts.

January 10, 1998 - Glen Bowden, former co-owner of the Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation Company (MWT) died.

In 1974, the W.C. RICHARDSON was towed from her winter berth in Toledo to assist in lightering the grounded a.) BENSON FORD.

On Jan 10, 1978, the tanker JUPITER became stuck in 3 to 5-foot ridged ice off Erie, Pennsylvania. The U.S.C.G. tug OJIBWA was sent from Buffalo, New York, to free her, but she too became beset in the ice 3 miles from the JUPITER's position. The JUPITER was lost after an explosion at Bay City in 1990. The OJIBWA is now the tug GEN OGLETHORPE in Savannah, Georgia.

On 10 January 1898, Alexander Anderson of Marine City was awarded a contract to build a wooden steamer for A. F. Price of Freemont, Ohio, Isaac Lincoln of Dakota, and Capt. Peter Ekhert of Port Huron, Michigan. The vessel was to be named ISAAC LINCOLN and was to be 130 feet long and capable of carrying 400,000 feet of lumber. The contract price was $28,000. Her engine and boiler were to be built by Samuel F. Hodge of Detroit. The vessel was launched on 10 May 1898, and her cost had increased to $40,000. She lasted until 1931 when she was abandoned.

1967: PRINDOC (iii) was laid up for the winter at Cardinal, Ontario, when it broke its moorings in a storm and drifted down the St. Lawrence. The shipkeeper was able to get the anchor down and they held just above the Iroquois power dam, averting a major problem.

1970: IOANNA stranded near Sete, France, in a gale while inbound from Barcelona, Spain and had to be sold for scrap. The ship had been a Seaway trader as a) A.J. FALKLAND in 1959 and returned as b) PETER in 1960 and 1961.

1971: CATTARO came through the Seaway in 1959 for the Ellerman's Wilson Line. It caught fire in the engine room at Galatz, Romania, as b) VRACHOS and had to be beached. It was subsequently broken up for scrap.

1977: The tanker CHESTER A. POLING broke in two and sank off the coast of Massachusetts in a storm after an explosion in the forward pump room. Two members of the crew were lost. The ship had been a Great Lakes trader as a) PLATTSBURG SOCONY and as b) MOBIL ALBANY.

1981: SOL RIVER came to the Great Lakes in 1968. It ran aground as f) LIZA near Combi, Lemnos Island, Greece. The hull broke in two and sank January 15. The ship was carrying phosphate enroute from Sfax, Tunisia, to Kavalla, Greece, when it went down on the Aegean Sea with the loss of 5 lives.

2001: The Cypriot freighter ARETHUSA first came through the Seaway in 1987. Fire broke out in the engine room and spread to the bridge and accommodation area while the ship was in the northern Great Belt. The vessel, enroute from Casablanca, Morocco, to Gdansk, Poland, with phosphate, was towed to Gydnia, Poland, after the blaze was extinguished. Repairs to the 28-year-old vessel were not worthwhile and it arrived at the scrapyard at Aliaga, Turkey, for dismantling on March 26, 2001.

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/11 - Massena, N.Y. – All commercial vessels that were held up by a ship that had to be freed from an ice-choked Snell Lock have passed through and the St. Lawrence Seaway is now closed for the season. The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation said that Tuesday morning all commercial vessels had cleared the U.S. locks for the navigation season.

As of Sunday night, three of the five vessels waiting to depart the U.S. sector of the Seaway System, the Mitiq, the Beatrix and the Billesborg, successfully transited Snell Lock.

Late Monday night, all three vessels arrived safely in Montreal. Earlier Tuesday morning, the remaining two vessels, Federal Biscay and Pacific Huron, safely transited Snell Lock and were underway towards Montreal assisted by the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Martha L. Black, and accompanied by two tug boats.

The Federal Biscay was icebound inside Snell Lock for several days, holding up the other four boats, and was freed over the weekend.

“All transits through Snell Lock were completed without incident,” SLSDC said in a prepared statement. There are no commercial vessels remaining in the U.S. sector of the Seaway and that sector is officially closed for the 2017 navigation season. Once all the vessels have departed the Canadian sector of the Seaway through the Canadian St. Lambert Lock, the entire Montreal/Lake Ontario section of the Seaway will be closed for the season, SLSDC said.

North Country Now

1/11 - Great Lakes steel production rose to 640,000 tons during the first week of 2018, a 7.7 percent jump. Steel mills in the Great Lakes region made 594,000 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.

Overall, domestic steel mills made 1.6 million tons of metal last week, a 5 percent decline compared to the same period in 2017. U.S. steel mills ran at a capacity utilization rate of 70.7 percent, down from 74.5 percent at the same time in 2017.

Domestic steelmakers used about 70.7 percent of their steelmaking capacity in the week that ended Jan. 6, down year-over-year but up from 70.2 percent the previous week, 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 12,000 tons last week to 1.64 million tons, an increase of 0.73 percent from 1.63 million tons the previous week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Production in the Southern district, nearly always the second largest steelmaking region after the Great Lakes, fell to 570,000 tons last week, down from 604,000 tons the previous week. Steel output in the Midwest stayed steady at 158,000 tons last week.

NW Indiana Times

1/11 - Even though the level of Lake Superior fell by an inch in December, normally the lake declines by 3 inches during the month and it remains 13 inches above average. Water levels of Lake Superior last month were 8 inches higher than a year ago at this time and the 2nd highest on record.

According to the International Lake Superior Board of Control, the cold and snowy weather contributed to above normal water supplies along with the effects of a wet spring and summer. The level of the lake is expected to continue a seasonal decline in January.

KDAL

1/11 - Neebish Island, Mich. – Most winters, the residents on Neebish Island can be counted by the dozen. But for those who do stay on the island, named after an American Indian word for its leaf shape, they've got a front-row seat for all the winter freighter traffic - and the occasional drama when one of those 1,000-footers gets trapped in the ice.

The winter shipping traffic is grinding to a halt with the Jan. 15 closing of the nearby Soo Locks. Freighters have been getting stuck in the Great Lakes with increasing frequency this week as the deep freeze continues.

Neebish sits in the middle of the St. Marys River, about 15 miles south of Sault Ste. Marie. It's a busy spot, given that the St. Marys is like a highway connector shipping lane between Lake Huron and Lake Superior.

Read more and view a photo gallery at this link

1/11 - The Cruise Ship Industry Group received an early Christmas present last month from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport in the form of a $250,000 grant. The grant will be used to support Ontario’s Great Lakes cruising industry, including the development of an Ontario cruise ship industry business case.

“The funding announcement for the Cruise Ship Industry Business Case Study is great news for the Port of Little Current and the other Great Lakes ports,” said Northeast Town Mayor Al MacNevin. “Now we will be able to assess the economic impact of the industry and develop our infrastructure accordingly.”

Mayor MacNevin said that the Northeast Town has been curious about the impact of the cruise ship industry and its potential for growth.

“Council has been wanting a study like this to tell us what the impact of the cruise ship industry is on our port and what type of growth is predicted,” explained Mayor MacNevin. “Cruise ship operators have suggested that the industry could grow up to four times in the coming years. This study is going to help us determine if that is the case, and what infrastructure we might need to accommodate the growth and the impact for businesses in our port and others.”

Midland Mayor Gord McKay organized a meeting with the CSIG partner municipalities and the ministry earlier this fall to discuss the need for a study to look at the future growth of the cruise ship industry and seek funding. CSIG is made up of representatives from the following Ontario port cities: Kingston; North East Manitoulin (Little Current); Parry Sound; Sault Ste. Marie; Thunder Bay; Toronto; Windsor; and Midland.

Working closely with the Great Lakes Cruise Coalition (GLCC) and its Canadian arm, Cruise Ontario (CO), CSIG will develop a business case that identifies the current state and future prospects of Ontario’s Great Lakes cruise ship industry, create a strategy to guide the development of a successful industry and identify the needed infrastructure improvements to ports and port attractions.

Manitoulin Expositor

The steamer ROBERT S. McNAMARA, under tow, reached her intended destination of Santander, Spain on January 11, 1974, for scrapping.

In 1970, IRVING S. OLDS was the last ship of the season at the Soo Locks as she followed the PHILIP R. CLARKE downbound.

In 1973, ROGER BLOUGH collided with PHILIP R. CLARKE after the CLARKE encountered an ice pressure ridge and came to a stop in the Straits of Mackinac.

On 11 January 1962, ARCTURUS, formerly JAMES B. WOOD, was under tow of the Portuguese tug PRAIA GRANDE on the way to Norway to be scrapped when she foundered off the Azores at position 46.10N x 8.50W.

January 11, 1911 - ANN ARBOR NO 5 arrived in Frankfort, Michigan, on her maiden voyage.

On 11 January 1883, The Port Huron Times reported that a citizens' committee met to help Port Huron businesses. "A. N. Moffat decried the taxation of vessel property. High taxation of vessel property had driven much of it away from Port Huron. He cited the case of Capt. David Lester of Marine City who came to Port Huron a few years ago to live and would have brought here one of the largest fleets on the Great Lakes, but when he found what taxes would be, returned to Marine City."

1919: The laker CASTALIA left the lakes in two pieces and was rejoined at Lauzon, Quebec, for a new career on the Atlantic in 1918. The ship broke in two 65 miles off Sable Island, Nova Scotia, and the crew was rescued by the BERGENFJORD.

1962: The retired Interlake Steamship Company bulk carrier ARCTURUS was under tow of the tug PRIA GRANDE for scrapping in Europe when it sank in the Atlantic in position 46.10 N / 8.50 W.

1965: CELIA B. made 15 trips through the Seaway in 1959-1962 under Liberian registry. The vessel arrived at Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles, as f) SEA MAID with engine damage and having lost its propeller. The ship was ultimately deemed not worth repairing and arrived at Rotterdam, Netherlands, under tow for scrapping on June 22, 1966.

1974: The first FEDERAL HUDSON to visit the Great Lakes was sailing as d) GOLDEN KING when it struck the wreck of the THETIS off Chittagong, Bangladesh, while inbound from Singapore Roads. It was beached in sinking condition and sustained water damage at high tide. The vessel was refloated on February 13, 1974, and taken to Chittagong to unload and get repaired. It was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as d) CHAR HSIUNG in 1980.

1981: ARNA began Seaway trading in 1965. It stranded off Shimonoseki, Japan, as b) IQBALBAKSH and was declared a total loss. The vessel was sold to South Korean shipbreakers and arrived at Busan, under tow on August 2, 1981.

1993: EUROJOY was anchored off Cadiz, Spain, when a spontaneous combustion fire broke out in the cargo of coal that had been bound for Turkey. The ship was listed as a total loss and sold for scrap but was repaired. It sailed additional years until scrapping at Alang, India, as g) LENA II in 1998. It first visited the Seaway as a) ATLANTIC CHALLENGE in 1971 and returned as b) ANGEBALTIC in 1981, c) ASTURIAS in 1986 and e) EUROJOY in 1990.

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/12 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Over half the ships slated for winter maintenance at Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay have pulled into port. The Winter Fleet makes up a large portion of the business Bay Shipbuilding does every year, which includes building new vessels and converting old ones.

Bay Shipbuilding Vice President and General Manager Todd Thayse says the 200 to 300 seasonal employees they bring on every year between early December and late March provide important man hours to the business and steady work for the unemployed and underemployed in the community.

Thayse says Bay Shipbuilding will continue to hire more individuals to work on the Winter Fleet through the middle to end of February. This weekend, residents and visitors can expect to see the Mesabi Miner (Friday) and Stewart J. Cort (Saturday) make their way through the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal for their winter work.

View a video at this link: www.doorcountydailynews.com/2018/01/11/bay-shipbuilding-hitting-full-steam-with-winter-fleet

1/12 - Pelee Island, Ont. – Pelee Island’s long-awaited new ferry should arrive in the spring and be operating this summer. “We’re actually extremely excited,” Mayor Rick Masse said Wednesday. “It took almost 12 years to get it to this point and it’s going to maintain our highway, keep our highway open to the island for hopefully another 50 years.”

That “highway” for Canada’s southernmost populated spot is a reliable ferry system. Another large ferry to go with the Jiimaan is expected to help residents and boost tourism.

Masse said the new Pelee Islander II ferry being built in Chile should be taking passengers to the Lake Erie island for the summer schedule which starts at the end of June. That will allow the Jiimaan, which began its service in 1992, to undergo a retrofit. By 2019, running both large ferries, Jiimaan and the new Pelee Islander II, will almost double the number of passengers that can go to the island.

Tourism has increased the last three years, Masse said. It’s difficult to gauge but Masse estimates the island gets about 85,000 visitors a year. “We’re anticipating another big year this year.”

The $40 million new ferry announced in 2015 is expected to carry a maximum of 399 passengers and 34 cars. With fewer cars, it can hold four transport trucks which should help farmers and the Pelee Island winery since that is more transports than the Jiimaan can hold. Because of the size of the ferries it takes about an hour and a half to cross Lake Erie from Leamington and Kingsville to the island. Passengers tend to value speed but a two-year study showed the island needed more ferry space for transporting crops.

Another advantage to the Pelee Islander II is it is about 67 metres long, which is close to the Jiimaan’s size but not as tall so the new ferry shouldn’t be stuck in port as often as the Jiimaan because of high winds, he said.

Because the Pelee Islander has provided “tremendous service” for 56 years, its replacement will stick with marine tradition and be named the Pelee Islander II, Masse said. The current vessel, which holds about 185 people and nine cars, won’t be retired until 2019.

Windsor Star

1/12 - Buffalo, N.Y. – The 1½-inch thick Swedish steel outfitted on the bow of Buffalo’s Edward M. Cotter fireboat churned through more than a half-foot of ice on the Buffalo River Wednesday. It was the third day in a row city crews prepped area creeks and streams for an inevitable January thaw coming Thursday and Friday that the National Weather Service cautioned could pose a risk for ice jam flooding.

“We wanted to get way ahead of it,” said Steven Stepniak, Buffalo’s commissioner of public works. “You never know how bad it could get, but you don’t want to take the chance.” The Cotter broke up ice near the mouth of the Buffalo River near Canalside and the Erie Basin Marina on Monday.

Read more and watch a video at this link: buffalonews.com/2018/01/10/cotter-fireboat-breaks-up-ice-to-keep-buffalo-river-flowing

1/12 - Sombra, Ont. – Sombra’s Bluewater Ferry is closed indefinitely after ice extensively damaged the raised road leading to its dock and Canada Customs office Thursday morning. Manager Morgan Dalgety says the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Samuel Risley was escorting four freighters down the St. Clair River just before 9 a.m., when an ice field broke free.

“The ice was jammed north of our dock, where it has been for over a week and them pushing through this ice, broke it free and pushed it sideways across the channel into our dock,” says Dalgety.

He says it completely destroyed their causeway, putting them out of business.“We had engineers out here this morning. We’re looking at probably a year to rebuild after we get all of the permits and certificates.”

Dalgety claims a complete rebuild could run as high as $4-million.

“There is no insurance for a causeway like that, it’s not insured,” he says. “This is going to have to be something that hopefully the Coast Guard will step up and help out with and were going to have to get a hold of our MPs for federal grants because Bluewater Ferry is not going to be able to foot this bill on its own.”

Dalgety says the whole incident was captured on video by a Canada Customs camera — which he has requested a copy of.

Blackburn News

1/12 - Toledo, Ohio – The Toledo City Plan Commission approved a procedural step Thursday toward construction of a $700 million iron-processing plant on a former refinery site on the Toledo-Oregon border.

By a 4-0 vote, the commission approved a factory site plan submitted by IronUnits, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cliffs Natural Resources, albeit with dozens of mostly technical conditions related to roadway access, utilities, landscaping, and other details about the project.

The plant is expected to employ 120 to 130 employees with salaries ranging between $40,000 and $140,000 and generate between 100 and 120 annual ship calls hauling ore pellets from Cliffs-owned mines in Minnesota and Michigan to Toledo. A conveyor is to be built to carry the ore from ships docked on the Maumee River to the plant on the inland side of Front Street south of Millard Avenue. The plant’s production is expected to travel to steel mills in trains and trucks.

Placement of those features remains subject to administrative approval by the city. Numerous other permits and plan reviews are required for the project. But overall, the commission agreed, the project complies with Toledo’s city ordinances and zoning code and is allowed in the general industrial zone that applies to the area.

The plant will refine iron ore into hot-briquetted iron, a raw material used by electric-arc steel mills to produce steel. Cliffs officials said when they announced the project last summer that they expected to break ground early this year and begin production in 2020, and company representatives at the zoning meeting Thursday said that schedule remains on target. Earth moving that has already occurred on the site has strictly been stockpiling of dirt brought in from excavations elsewhere, they said.

The Blade

CHI-CHEEMAUN (Hull#205) was launched January 12, 1974, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd.

GRAND HAVEN was gutted by fire on January 12, 1970, during scrapping operations at the United Steel & Refining Co. Ltd. dock at Hamilton, Ontario.

MENIHEK LAKE (Hull#163) was launched January 12, 1959, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd. She was used in a unique experiment with shunters in the Welland Canal in 1980. She was scrapped at Gijon, Spain in 1985.

On January 12, 1973, the VENUS had an engine room explosion shortly after unloading at Kipling, Michigan, near Gladstone on Little Bay De Noc, causing one loss of life.

On 12 January 1956, ANABEL II (probably a fish tug, 62 tons, built in 1928) was destroyed by fire at her winter lay-up at the Roen Steamship Co. dock at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

January 12, 1911 - ANN ARBOR NO 5 hit the rocks close to the south breakwater when entering Manistique harbor, tearing off her starboard shaft and wheel.

The wooden steam barge O.O. CARPENTER (127.5 foot, 364 gross tons) was sold by the Jenks Shipbuilding Company on 12 January 1892, to Mr. H. E. Runnels and Capt. Sinclair for $26,000. The vessel had been launched at Jenks yard on 13 May 1891.

The new EDWIN H GOTT departed Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in 1979, for final fitout at Milwaukee. 1970: BARON BERWICK made one trip inland in 1959 and returned as b) FILTRIC in 1967. The latter was abandoned 5 miles south of Cape Finistere on the northwest coast of Spain after the cargo shifted. The vessel was enroute from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Alexandria, Egypt, and it drifted aground the next day as a total loss.

1971: The West German freighter BRANDENBURG sank in the Straits of Dover, 7 miles south of Folkestone, England, after apparently hitting the wreck of TEXACO CARIBBEAN which had gone down the previous day following a collision. The former had been through the Seaway in 1969.

1979: A propane explosion aboard the tug WESTERN ENGINEER at Thunder Bay resulted in extensive damage. Two were injured. The ship was never repaired and noted as broken up in 1980.

1985: ATLANTIC HOPE first came inland when it was fresh from the shipyard in 1965. It was gutted by a fire in the accommodation area in position 9.22 N / 60.37 W as b) ALIVERI HOPE. The ship was abandoned but towed to Barbados and eventually into Mamonal, Colombia, on October 14, 1985, for dismantling.

[yachtsmanwilly]

In 1978, the upbound McKEE SONS, LEON FALK JR, WILLIAM P. SNYDER JR, A.H. FERBERT and CHAMPLAIN became stuck in heavy ice outside Cleveland Harbor. Eventually they were freed with the help of the U.S.C.G. icebreaker NORTHWIND and the U.S.C.G. MARIPOSA.

FORT YORK (Hull#160) was launched January 15, 1958, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd.

In 1917, the ANN ARBOR NO 6 left Ecorse for Frankfort on her maiden voyage.

On 15 January 1873, A. Muir began building a wooden 3-mast schooner ("full sized canaller") at his shipyard in Port Huron. Fourteen men were employed to work on her, including master builder James Perry. The schooner was to be the exact counterpart of the GROTON, the first vessel built at that yard. The vessel's dimensions were 138-foot keel, 145 foot overall, 26 foot 2 inches beam and 11 foot 6 inch depth.

On 15 January 1886, the tug KITTIE HAIGHT was sold to Mr. Fisken of Toronto for $3,900.

1986: The former Greek freighter PAULINA C., a Seaway trader beginning in 1976, ran aground off the Dutch coast near Rotterdam as c) RIO GRANDE. It was refloated January 23 and became d) NEPTUNIA later in 1986. It arrived at Bombay, India, for scrapping on December 3, 1986.

1990: The tanker MAYA FARBER came through the Seaway in 1981. It was anchored off Port Sudan as e) RAAD AL-BAKRY VIII when there was an explosion in a cargo tank. Fire broke out and the vessel was gutted. The hull later broke in two and the after end sank. The forebody was sold for scrap and arrived at Alang, India, for dismantling on March 28, 1990.

On this day in 1970, IRVING S. OLDS entered winter layup at Lorain to close the longest season in Great Lakes shipping history.

On 14 January 1945, the W. Butler Shipyard built C1-M-AV1 ship LEBANON (Hull#40) was the last vessel through the Soo Locks. Ice was a serious problem. The newly-commissioned icebreaker U.S.C.G.C. MACKINAW escorted the LEBANON to Lake Huron. The locks had never before been open this late in January. They were kept open to allow newly-built cargo vessels to sail from Superior, Wisconsin, to the Atlantic Ocean where they were needed for the war effort.

Scrapping began on CHICAGO TRIBUNE in 1989, by International Marine Salvage in Port Colborne, Ontario. January 14, 1920 - The Grand Trunk carferry GRAND HAVEN was fast in the ice three miles out of Grand Haven.

In 1977, CANADIAN MARINER laid up at the Consol Fuel dock in Windsor after her attempt to reach Port Colborne was thwarted by heavy ice off Long Point.

On Jan 14, 1978, JAMES R. BARKER departed the Soo Line ore dock in Ashland, Wisconsin, where she had been laid-up since August 7, 1977, due to the iron ore miner’s strike.

1946: The BADGER STATE, a former Great Lakes canal ship as a) FORDONIAN, b) YUKONDOC and c) GEORGIAN, foundered off the mouth of the Grijalva River in the Gulf of Mexico.

1969: SAGAMO, retired former flagship of the Lake Muskoka passenger ships in Central Ontario, burned at the dock in Gravenhurst as a total loss.

1981: The former Lake Erie rail car ferry and later barge MAITLAND NO. 1 rolled over between Yarmouth, NS and Rockland, ME. An attempt to tow the vessel upside down failed and it sank. The ship was under tow of IRVING MAPLE and bound for Port Everglades, FL with a load of scrap. It may have been renamed b) TRIO TRADO at Quebec City on the way south.

13 January 2005 - GENESIS EXPLORER (steel propeller tanker, 435 foot, built in 1974, at Port Weller, Ontario, formerly a.) IMPERIAL ST. CLAIR & b.) ALGOSAR) sailed from Halifax for Quebec City. She was registered in the Comoros Islands. She was carrying a few members of her former crew for training purposes, but her new crew was African.

On 13 January 1918, the Goodrich Line’s ALABAMA and the Grand Trunk ferries MILWAUKEE and GRAND HAVEN all became stuck in the ice off Grand Haven, Michigan. The vessels remained imprisoned in the ice for the next two weeks. When the wind changed, they were freed but Grand Haven’s harbor was still inaccessible. The ALABAMA sailed for Muskegon and stalled in the 18-inch thick ice on Muskegon Lake.

After lightering 3,000 tons of coal, the a.) BENSON FORD was refloated in 1974 and proceeded to the Toledo Overseas Terminal to be reloaded.

In 1979, the U.S.C.G. tug ARUNDEL was beset by windrowed ice at Minneapolis Shoal in Green Bay. Strong winds piled the ice on her stern and soon she had a 25-degree list. The crew feared that she may sink and abandoned the tug, walking across the ice with the help of a spotlight onboard the ACACIA, which also became beset by the heavy ice. The MACKINAW, SUNDEW and a Coast Guard helicopter were dispatched to the scene, but northwest winds relieved the ice pressure and the crew was able to re-board the ARUNDEL. The ARUNDEL sails today as the tug c.) ERIKA KOBASIC.

On January 13, 1970, the lower engine room and holds of the SEWELL AVERY accidentally flooded, sinking her to the bottom of Duluth Harbor causing minimal damage, other than an immense cleanup effort.

January 13, 1909 - The PERE MARQUETTE 17 was freed after her grounding the previous December.


1/13 - Cleveland, Ohio – The Coast Guard rescued an injured man from the ice near the Twin Cities Bicentennial Bridge in St. Joseph, Michigan, early Thursday morning. His name is not being released and it was not reported why he was on the ice.

At 1:55 a.m., crews at Station St. Joseph were notified by Berrien County Dispatch of an injured person laying on the ice near the bridge. Crews arrived on scene by 2:08 a.m., and assisted the individual off the ice to awaiting EMS for evaluation. The person was taken to Lakeland Memorial Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.

The Coast Guard reminds everyone to remain vigilant and cautious around bodies of water, as ice conditions can be very unpredictable. Be prepared for an accidental immersion. Always tell someone where you're going, when you'll be back, and be sure to wear proper clothing and safety gear for conditions.

USCG

1/13 - Detroit, Mich. – Coast Guard small boat stations from western Lake Erie to Saginaw Bay responded to four separate ice rescue cases Wednesday evening involving outdoorsman who became disoriented or were caught on broken-off ice floes.

Due to the increase in air temperatures and the uptick in ice response cases, the Coast Guard warns ice fishermen and operators of snowmobiles, ATVs and four-wheelers of unstable ice conditions and encourages the use of the following safety tips, most easily remembered with the acronym I.C.E. (Information, Clothing, Equipment) when engaging in recreational activities on or around the ice. • Know the current and projected weather forecast. Stay off the ice in extreme fog conditions.

• Tell a friend or loved one where you are going and the path of travel you will use to get there. Bring navigational equipment with you, such as GPS and a compass to avoid becoming disoriented. If you find yourself in heavy fog or low visibility, do not divert from your planned path of travel. Coast Guard crews will start their search with your known path of travel provided by the person who reports you as overdue.

• Dress for the water temperature, not the air temperature and wear a life jacket as a precaution in case you fall through.

• Take the appropriate communication equipment with you, like a VHF-FM radio, flares, signaling equipment, lanterns, whistle or a personal locator beacon.

• Carry ice picks, screwdrivers or similar tools that you can use to pull yourself out should you fall through the ice. Simple tools like these can save your life in icy waters where every minute counts.

• Cell phones can be unreliable offshore and have limited battery power; especially in cold weather. If you do bring your phone, know how to obtain the GPS position from it, to provide to responders in the event of disorientation.

USCG

1/13 - St. Clair County, Mich. – A flood warning is in effect until 8 a.m. Monday for southeast St. Clair County due to dangerous ice conditions on the St. Clair River. An ice blockage is causing flooding that has already started to surround homes. The danger is increased because some homes near the river are on slabs and others have crawl spaces.

In East China Township, some ice and water already has come over the seawall and is at the mouth of the street. Because of the flooding threat, St. Clair County Emergency Manager Jeff Friedland said he may have to call for evacuations from the shore to the road, a first in 30 years.

"We have plans in place," he said. "In the event of an evacuation, we haven a warming center, reception center set up." Neighbors also risk getting ice locked as the temperatures plummet and the water rises.

WDIV

1/14 - Detroit, Mich. – Sector Detroit's Command Center coordinated with U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Detroit, Monroe County Sheriff's Department and other local rescue responders to save five fishermen from Lake Erie after they were stranded on an ice floe Friday.

Sector Detroit’s Command Center received a distress call after five people stranded were able to use their flashlights to signal someone ashore who called it in to Monroe County Dispatch, triggering rescue response efforts.

"It would have been difficult to find them if they didn't have flashlights; it enabled them to signal for help and, ultimately, for us to locate them," said Air Station Detroit Aircraft Commander, Lt. Adam Morehouse. "I'd also like to share with the ice-fishing community what we saw out there in regard to open water. There is a lot of it. The water is completely open in some near shore areas."

The Coast Guard warns ice sport enthusiasts that the ice is very dangerous after the increase in temperatures over the past week. The recent warm weather has caused ice to melt, brought in heavy fog and caused multiple ice rescue cases with one life lost in just the past week.

The Coast Guard encourages ice fishermen and ice sport enthusiasts to check the weather before heading out and extend the forecast check to 24 hours to prevent being caught in bad conditions. Bring signaling and communication equipment such as a flashlight, flares, VHF radio and a personal locator beacon. Cell phones are good to bring with you but are unreliable as a primary communication source because signals are not strong off shore and batteries lose power in cold weather.

USCG

1/14 - Green Bay, Wis. – U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mobile Bay will begin the escort of the motor vessel Algosteel on Sunday, Jan. 14. The ice breaking work will commence at Rock Island Passage and end at the Fox River entrance. The ship is carrying salt destined for the Port of Green Bay. Additional icebreaking work is scheduled for Jan. 15-18. This work will involve a delivery of fuel products to Green Bay and culminate with activity in Sturgeon Bay and Escanaba to facilitate the winter layup of eight ships.

These icebreaking operations are a part of Operation Taconite, the U.S. Coast Guard’s largest domestic ice-breaking operation. The operation encompasses Lake Superior, St. Marys River, the Straits of Mackinac, Georgian Bay and all of Lake Michigan, including the bay of Green Bay.

Coast Guard waterway managers balance the needs of commercial operators moving the cargoes that fuel industry with those of recreational users enjoying the pristine natural beauty of the Great Lakes. Those who choose to recreate on or near ice-covered waterways may potentially put themselves at increased risk when recreating near still-operational shipping lanes. Members of the public who fish, operate a snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle or otherwise recreate on the bay of Green Bay during periods of ice cover should focus on this and future announcements to better inform their preparations.

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 should stay tuned to local media resources for the status of regional waterway closures.

USCG

1/14 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – The shipping season on the Great Lakes is coming to a close, and some of the vessels are coming together in Sturgeon Bay for their winter lay-up. "The winter fleet" started to arrive about a month ago. It's a chance to make repairs and upgrades. It's also become somewhat of a tourist attraction.

In a dry dock slip at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Stugeon Bay, the 858-foot-long Roger Blough is wrapping up its scheduled maintenance.

"It's getting a five-year survey. So the propellers and thrusters were overhauled along with a paint job. Then a number of steel projects internally," said Todd Thayse, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Vice President and General Manager. Right next to the Blough sits the "Queen of the Lakes." Coming in at 1,013 feet long, The Paul R. Tregurtha is the largest of the Great Lakes ships.

The Tregurtha is getting scrubbers installed, as part of an upgrade to its diesel emmssion system. "It's a piece of equipment that helps reduce the carbon footprint, making it more environmentally friendly," said Thayse.

Read more and watch a video at this link: fox11online.com/news/local/winter-fleet-gathers-in-sturgeon-bay

1/14 - A Great Lakes shipping campaign worth celebrating shuts down Monday with the annual closing of the Soo Locks for about 10 weeks of intense upkeep and refurbishing. Unless something last-minute is still moving, the locks figure to close sometime around midnight.

As the last boats point ice-masked bows toward their respective ports of layup this weekend, the tally of active vessels set to winter in the Duluth-Superior harbor is set at six lake freighters and one tug-barge.

The 2017-18 campaign was noticeably vibrant locally with steady boat traffic for much of the season. The numbers are starting to come out in support of the visuals too. Iron ore shipments surpassed 60 million tons and beat the five-year average by almost 5 percent, said a Lake Carriers' Association news release this week.

Until a subzero slowdown of ore loading earlier this month left as many as nine boats at a time waiting at anchor outside Duluth, the lakes offered mostly clear sailing throughout the season. Ice cover on the Great Lakes even diminished this week to less than 19 percent on Thursday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. It followed a seasonal high of near 20-percent ice coverage. A warm-up last week, with temperatures climbing above freezing at times, was responsible for the reduction in the ice blanket.

Two of the boats laying up in the Twin Ports, the Kaye E. Barker and Lee A. Tregurtha, docked last week at Fraser Shipyards in Superior. "Fraser crews are scheduled to do work on all seven — as well as the Arthur (M.) Anderson, which is the eighth, but never left the harbor this season," said Fraser spokesman Rob Karwath.

Monday marks the one-year anniversary of Anderson laying up on the east side of Canadian National Dock 6 in West Duluth. CN and Key Lakes Inc., which own and operate the Great Lakes Fleet, respectively, have declined to comment on the reason for the extended layup of what is a popular boat.

At the Soo Locks, the conversion from sailing to salvaging the vital infrastructure that is the locks is in full swing. "It's our busiest time of the year," said Kevin Sprague, an area engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers based in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. "During most of the year, we're locking boats. But in the offseason, we throw everything we have at projects and maintenance."

The Soo Locks feature two sets of locks on the St. Marys River which connect Lake Superior with the rest of the Great Lakes. Most of the iron ore from the United States and Canada makes its way through the locks to steel mills on the lower lakes. The locks handle an estimated 4,500 ship visits every year, said an Army Corps of Engineers news release. Offseason projects at the Soo Locks range from preventative maintenance to a continued effort to refurbish both the Poe and MacArthur locks, one replacement piece or upgrade at a time.

"Some of these jobs repeat themselves, because certain things have short lives," Sprague said. "But we have an asset renewal program where we're trying to basically rebuild the facility over time. We've got almost 50 years on the Poe Lock and over 70 on the Mac Lock. We believe that if we invest in some of their components we can extend their lives another 50 years."

The biggest projects being done this offseason include embedded anchorage replacements on both locks where fatigue issues are apparent, Sprague said. Additionally, the Army Corps of Engineers said it is will conduct "lock miter and quoin block replacement" on the Poe, which is the longer lock and the only one of the two that can handle thousand-foot lakers.

"On the upstream miter gates, the main doors open and close to let the ships come in and out and forms your dam," Sprague explained. "The blocks come in contact with the wall. They're original and have wear and tear." The intensity of the work finds both contractors and government employees working side by side in winter conditions which aren't always favorable, Sprague said. But the only option is success. "There's no forgiveness for being late," Sprague said, citing the traditional March reopening of the Soo Locks. "We must open on time. In everything we do, it's always on our mind. We have to be there for the shipping industry on the 25th of March."

See where the boats are laid up at this link

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/16 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The sound of freighters traveling through the locks will not be heard again in Sault Ste. Marie for a couple of months. The Soo Locks officially closed at midnight to shipping traffic. They will reopen March 25.

Despite wind chills around zero Monday afternoon, self-proclaimed Boatnerds gathered to say farewell to another shipping season. After a couple of days stuck in the ice down river, the Edwin H. Gott made its way upbound. People met at Rotary Park to catch one last glimpse before the Gott continued on to Duluth.

Not even this cold weather could stop them. “Us Boatnerds, we are kind of a special crew. We kind of stick together, support each other, share photography,” said Kari Eliason.

The Army Corps of Engineers will use this two-month shutdown to work on various projects on both locks.

9&10 News View a video at this link: www.9and10news.com/2018/01/15/soo-locks-sees-last-ship-closing-season


1/16 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – Soo Traffic will close the West Neebish Channel at noon Friday. Alternating one-way traffic will be established in the Munuscong and Middle Neebish channels.

USCG

COLONEL JAMES PICKANDS (Hull#791) was launched in 1926, at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co.

In 1987, DETROIT EDISON, at Brownsville, Texas, for scrapping, was raised after being scuttled by vandals.

On 16 January 1909, TECUMSEH (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 200 foot, 839 gross tons, built in 1873, at Chatham, Ontario) burned to a total loss at her winter berth at Goderich, Ontario.

In 1978, CANADIAN CENTURY and NORTHERN VENTURE departed Toronto for Hamilton with coal after laying up at that port due to the bridge tender’s strike, which closed the Burlington Lift Bridge to navigation.

On 16 January 1875, The Port Huron Times printed the following list of vessels that were total losses in 1874: Tug IDA H. LEE by collision in Milwaukee, Tug TAWAS by explosion off Sand Beach, Steamer W H BARNUM by collision in the Pelee Passage, Steamer TOLEDO by partially burning at Manistee, Tug WAVE by burning on Saginaw Bay, Tug DOUGLAS by burning on the Detroit River, Steamer BROOKLYN by explosion on the Detroit River, Steamer LOTTA BERNARD by foundering on Lake Superior.

1926: The wooden steamer PALM BAY caught fire while laid up at Portsmouth, Ontario, and was scuttled in Lake Ontario the next year. It had previously sailed as a) PUEBLO and b) RICHARD W.

1988: ASHLAND, enroute to scrapping in Taiwan, dragged anchor off Bermuda and ran aground on the rocks in severe winds. It was pulled free 4 days later with heavy bottom damage and barely made Mamonal, Colombia, for scrapping on February 5.

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/17 - Questions are being raised about the awarding of another refit contract for the Canadian Coast Guard ship Hudson to the same company behind an aborted refit on the science research ship last year. "My question is, with the problems with that dry docking, why was this firm allowed to bid on this one?" asked Wayne Snow, the CEO of Dartmouth-based KMS Industries Inc.

Snow was an unsuccessful bidder on a mechanical refit of the Hudson. The work was awarded Friday to Heddle Marine Service Inc. (NL). It's an affiliate of Heddle Marine Services, which carried out the troubled $4-million exterior overhaul of CCGS Hudson in 2017.

That refit was months behind schedule and still unfinished when Public Services and Procurement Canada stepped in in October and towed Hudson out of the Heddle Marine shipyard in Hamilton, Ont.

Why a second chance? The plan was to complete the refit at a federal facility in nearby Burlington, Ont., but the job was incomplete when Hudson returned to its Halifax home port in November. The vessel was operating under an interim provision certificate by Lloyds Register.

The contract has been under review for months and outstanding issues remain.

"For us, it's an issue that should be answered by government as to why this company is allowed to come back and bid after not completing the first refit," said Tony Kennedy of Canadian Marine Engineering, another losing bidder.

Kennedy and Snow are competitors, but are united in speaking out on this tender. They say Heddle won the mechanical refit with a bid of $731,000, which was between 10 and 15 per cent below their bids.

Public Services and Procurement Canada also allotted all bidders a set price of $80 per hour for up to 1,000 hours, totaling $80,000, for "work arising" during the tender.

"It was a substantially lower bid and with a company that doesn't appear to have the facilities locally here coming, doing the work and beating local firms at that. We question how they are able to do that at a low margin at a low bid rate," said Kennedy.

Heddle Marine Services spokesperson Shaun Padulo said, "Heddle has met or exceeded all contractual requirements for the award." He also said Heddle Marine Service (NL) is a separate operating entity, with facilities in Mount Pearl N.L., Sydney and Halifax.

The winning bid is for 61 days of mechanical refits while CCGS Hudson is alongside its home base at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. Work is supposed to conclude in March, with Hudson available for spring science cruises.

As for the disputed contract at its Hamilton shipyard, Padulo said the company and PSPC are "finalizing" outstanding issues. "Although there were challenges on both sides, we are working toward an amicable resolution," he said in an email to CBC News.

The federal government has never explained what went wrong with Heddle's 2017 refit nor whether it paid the company the full $4-million contract price. Months of delays had a costly cascading effect, they have admitted.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans spent $2.5 million in 2017 chartering private vessels for scientific cruises because the Hudson was not available. Could include fixing damage from last refit

The refit included overhauling the superstructure and masts, blasting and recoating the hull, replacing steel, repairing the rudder job and painting the 54-year-old ship.

Both Kennedy and Snow said the upcoming refit appears to include repairs for damages associated with the last one, citing bridge window repairs caused by sand-blasting debris. Public Services and Procurement Canada did not respond to CBC questions.

CBC

1/17 - Port Clinton, Ohio – An apparent ice shove along the Lake Erie shoreline created mountains of thick ice piled more than 30 feet high. The piles of foot-thick ice chunks drew dozens of families to the shoreline along West Lakeshore Drive, where kids risked climbing the slippery mountains to take pictures. The ice mountains extended along the shoreline for about a quarter mile.

"I'm a little nervous, but they're real cautious. The ice is super thick," said Mike Zwissler, of Avon Lake, who owns a condominium nearby. His twin, 12-year-old daughters and their friend were climbing the ice.

"I've been coming up here for 20 years or so and never seen this kind of an ice flow," he said.

Read more an watch a video at this link: fox8.com/2018/01/15/ice-shove-creates-mountains-along-lake-erie-shore

NORTHERN VENTURE closed the Welland Canal for the season as she passed downbound for Hamilton with coal in 1975.

In 1978, the CLIFFS VICTORY, JOSEPH H. FRANTZ, WILLIAM G. MATHER, ROBERT C. NORTON, CRISPIN OGLEBAY and J. BURTON AYERS formed a convoy in the Detroit River bound for Cleveland.

PHILIP D. BLOCK (Hull#789) was launched at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building in 1925.

The tanker GREAT LAKES was launched in 1963, as the a.) SINCLAIR GREAT LAKES (Hull#1577) at Decatur, Alabama, by Ingalls Iron Works Co.

JOHN E. F. MISENER was float launched in 1951, as a.) SCOTT MISENER (Hull#11) at St. Catharines, Ontario, by Port Weller Drydocks, Ltd.

January 17, 1902 - PERE MARQUETTE 2 ran aground at Ludington.

PERE MARQUETTE 19 grounded in limited visibility on January 17, 1916, two miles south of Big Point Sable, Michigan, 600 feet off shore. The captain made three unsuccessful attempts to find the Ludington Harbor entrance and on the turn around for the fourth attempt she grounded.

On 17 January 1899, the GERMANIA (wooden propeller freighter, 136 foot, 237 gross tons, built in 1875, at Marine City, Michigan) caught fire and burned to the water's edge at Ecorse, Michigan. The previous day, Norman Reno of Ecorse did some painting inside the cabin and it was presumed that the stove used to heat the cabin may have caused the blaze. The vessel was in winter lay-up at the rear of the home of Mr. W. G. Smith, her owner.

2000: FEDERAL VIBEKE got stuck in the ice on the St. Lawrence and was almost carried into the bridge at Quebec City. The vessel was bound for Sorel with steel. It first came to the Great Lakes in 1993 after previous visits as a) NOSIRA LIN beginning in 1981, b) DAN BAUTA in 1989, and c) KRISTIANIAFJORD in 1991. It was back as e) KALISTI in 2000 and f) NOBILITY in 2004. This bulk carrier arrived at Alang, India, for scrapping as h) OPAL II and was beached on November 14, 2012.

1/16 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The sound of freighters traveling through the locks will not be heard again in Sault Ste. Marie for a couple of months. The Soo Locks officially closed at midnight to shipping traffic. They will reopen March 25.

Despite wind chills around zero Monday afternoon, self-proclaimed Boatnerds gathered to say farewell to another shipping season. After a couple of days stuck in the ice down river, the Edwin H. Gott made its way upbound. People met at Rotary Park to catch one last glimpse before the Gott continued on to Duluth.

Not even this cold weather could stop them. “Us Boatnerds, we are kind of a special crew. We kind of stick together, support each other, share photography,” said Kari Eliason.

The Army Corps of Engineers will use this two-month shutdown to work on various projects on both locks.

9&10 News View a video at this link: www.9and10news.com/2018/01/15/soo-locks-sees-last-ship-closing-season