Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

7/17 - Monroe, Mich. - The tug Wisconsin, now stationed at the Port of Monroe, is the oldest commercially operating tugboat in the world. The Port of Monroe has come full circle. Last week, the port penned an agreement with Great Lakes Towing Co. and Great Lakes Shipyard to establish towing and shipyard services at the port.

“It’s another milestone,” said Paul C. LaMarre III, port director. “This will establish a Great Lakes Shipyard in Monroe.”

Great Lakes Shipyard has a full-service shipyard for new vessel and barge construction, fabrication and maintenance and repairs in Cleveland, Ohio.

As part of the partnership, Great Lakes Towing has relocated the tug Wisconsin to the port to help with ship assist. The tug has been stationed previously in Wisconsin.

“This agreement adds to the port’s ability to offer additional services,” LaMarre said.

The towing company has 30 tugs stationed in 11 ports, including Toledo and Detroit. The Wisconsin will be the only tug at the Monroe location for now. Locating a tug here, LaMarre said, is strategic because it cuts down on the travel time for tugs out of Toledo and Detroit to assist a ship.

“It can assist in making the port more attractive and can have an economic impact on the port,” LaMarre said.

The shipyard will allow for the port to offer fabrication and repair services for a variety of vessels. Additional services include layup and winter work, topside repair, haul out fabrication and emergency services.

“As part of this agreement, Great Lakes Towing will bring its floating dry dock ‘Favorite’ to Monroe and will allow us to take vessels of size out of the water for maintenance,” LaMarre said. “It will accommodate tugs and vessels.”

The only other floating dock in the region is in Detroit. It will be located at the south end of the port’s turning basin. Joe Starck, president of Great Lakes Towing, said the port’s success in recent years is among the reasons for the partnership.

“The port is growing,” Starck said. “The port’s location is key and it is in an expansion and growth mode.”

Starck said the shipyard and LaMarre will seek out ships to haul up in the Port of Monroe for the winter. “We saw this as a fantastic opportunity to do the work there that we do here in Cleveland,” Starck said. “Paul has been very accommodating and thought the market there was underserved for this type of service.”

In addition to the port’s location, the shipyard was able to come to fruition because of the new riverfront intermodal dock, which was completed last year. The project was $3.6 million and included funds the port received from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

Prior to the new dock’s construction, the only dock available to load and unload cargo was in the turning basin.

Additionally, the shipyard will create more jobs for the community. “We will make every effort to hire local people,” Starck said. “It might take a while to hire people until we generate business, so we will send people to Monroe from Cleveland until we can get the business established.”

Having a shipyard repair service back at the port signals the strides made during LaMarre’s six-year tenure.

“In the 1940s to 1960s, the Port of Monroe was a major layup port for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.” he said. “During that time, on any given winter, there would be eight to 12 freighters in Monroe undergoing winter maintenance.” This time around, it will start smaller with up to two unlimited tonnage vessels that can be laid up at the port for repairs.

“We hope to come full circle,” LaMarre said. “The port was the epicenter for ship repair in western Lake Erie during the 1940s to ’60s.”

Read more and view photos at this link: www.monroenews.com/news/20180715/port-of-monroe-signs-accord-for-towing-services


7/17 - Goderich, Ont. – The salt miners cheered when their Unifor Local 16-0 local union president Gary Lynch told them their new three-year contract was ratified. But with immediate relief came a large dose of disappointment.

“I don't say we agree on everything, but we will be back to work,” said Lynch defiantly, standing on the back of a pickup truck at the gates of the Compass Minerals mine at the Goderich Harbour.

The vote to accept the three-year deal brings to an end the acrimonious strike – but there are clearly hard feeling left to heal.

“This is a democratic organization and you guys have spoken and we respect your wishes,” said Scott Doherty, assistant to Unifor president Jerry Dias.

In the crowd, some of the 348 members who had been on strike said quietly after the speeches that they weren't happy with how they've been treated and the ultimate agreement.

“Don't forget the guys that cross the line when we were out, right? You know who they are,” one worker called out.

Some of them said their fathers and grandfathers had worked in the mine, the biggest underground salt mine in the world. They weren't happy, but wanted to get back to work.

The union would not say how many people voted in favor of the contract.

Read more at this link: www.goderichsignalstar.com/2018/07/16/goderich-salt-workers-ratify-contract-end-strike


On this day in 1902, the JAMES H. HOYT, the first boat with hatches constructed at 12-foot centers, loaded 5,250 tons of iron ore in 30.5 minutes on her maiden voyage. Several days later, the cargo was unloaded at Conneaut in three hours and 52 minutes.
On this day in 1961, the C&P dock in Cleveland set a new unloading record when they removed more than 15,000 tons of ore from the holds of the E. G. GRACE in 3 hours and 20 minutes.

The ASHCROFT was towed out of Quebec City on July 17, 1969, in tandem with the steamer SIR THOMAS SHAUGHNESSY by the Polish tug JANTAR for scrapping at Castellon, Spain.

The BROOKDALE, of 1909, lost her self-unloading boom overboard in the Detroit River during a wind and rainstorm on July 17, 1980, while loading salt at the Canadian Rock Salt Dock at Ojibway, Ontario.

The Cleveland Tanker's COMET was towed from Toledo to Ashtabula, Ohio, on July 17, 1973, where she was broken up during the summer and fall of 1973.

WILLIAM J. FILBERT was launched in 1907, as a.) WILLIAM M. MILLS (Hull#348) at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. for the Weston Transit Co. (William M. Mills, mgr.).

On her last trip, the COLONEL JAMES PICKANDS arrived at Cleveland, Ohio on July 17, 1974, with a load of iron ore.

Mohawk Navigation's GOLDEN HIND loaded her first dry bulk cargo on July 17, 1954. She had been rebuilt from the Imperial Oil Ltd.'s tanker a.) IMPERIAL WOODBEND.

On 17 July 1856, TINTO (wooden propeller, 135 foot, built in 1855-56, at Sorel, Quebec) caught fire and burned to a total loss only 2 miles from shore. She was between Snake Island and Nine Mile Point on Lake Ontario. 18 lives were lost. The survivors jumped into the water and were picked up by a boat from shore. A newspaper article stated that she had no lifeboat aboard. Her machinery was later recovered and installed in the AVON.

On 17 July 1883, B PARSONS (2-mast wooden schooner, 218 tons, built in 1856, at Vermilion, Ohio) struck the north pier while entering the harbor at Charlevoix, Michigan during a gale. She sank crosswise in the channel and blocked passage into the harbor for two weeks until she broke up enough to allow vessels to pass. In December, the steam tug S S COE towed the hulk a half mile down the beach and abandoned it.

The Canada Steamship Line's HAMONIC burned at her pier at Point Edward bear Sarnia, Ont., on July 17, 1945. A warehouse next to the HAMONIC 's pier burst into flames from a fire that began from a gasoline motor for conveyor equipment being repaired by workmen. The flames and smoke were carried by a breeze to the HAMONIC. Almost in a matter of minutes the HAMONIC was doomed. She was aflame at dockside. The captain and the engineer were able to move the ship down the dock from the raging flames from the warehouse. Many of the passengers were able to get ashore. Some passengers went ashore by climbing into the bucket of a crane, which hoisted them on shore to safety. Every one of the passengers and crew were saved.

1933: SONORA and WILLIAM NELSON were in a collision in the Bar Point Channel, Lake Erie. The two ships were found at equal fault. The former was scrapped at Ashtabula in 1961 while the latter arrived at Bilbao, Spain, for dismantling as c) BEN E. TATE on July 12, 1969.

1989: SHEILA YEATES, a tall-ship visitor to the Great Lakes, hit an ice pack in fog on the North Atlantic and eventually sank 430 miles south of Greenland after an attempt to tow the leaking ship to safety failed. All on board were saved.

[yachtsmanwilly]

7/18 - English River loaded her last cement cargo in Bath, Ont., for Cleveland, on Tuesday. Following her discharge there, English River will return to the Welland Canal, tie up at Port Colborne and officially be retired. She will eventually be moved to the scrapyard to join the largest fleet of scrap ships ever assembled in Port Colborne.

Meanwhile, her replacement, NACC Argonaut, operated by NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers, was on her maiden voyage in the Seaway Tuesday bound for Bath. She is registered at St. Catharines, Ont. She was converted from a general cargo ship last year.

On this day in 1974, Interlake Steamship decommissioned the COLONEL JAMES PICKANDS after 48 years of service due to continuing problems with her boilers and engines.
AGAWA CANYON struck an abutment at Welland Canal's Bridge 11, at Allanburg, Ontario, on July 18, 1977, while downbound with salt for Kingston, Ontario, and sustained a 30-foot gash just above the waterline at the port bow.

The canal tanker COMET (Hull#705) of the American Ship Building Co., at Lorain, Ohio, entered service on July 18, 1913, for ocean service. Sold Mexican and renamed b.) COMETA in 1928. She returned to the lakes in 1936, renamed c.) COMET for Cleveland Tankers. She was lengthened in 1940. She was scrapped at Ashtabula, Ohio, in 1973.

The WILLIAM J. FILBERT was in collision with the KINSMAN INDEPENDENT, of 1907, at the Burlington Northern Dock on July 18, 1970, when the Steel Trust steamer lost control in the current entering the slip.

The entire forward superstructure of the b.) JOHN DYKSTRA, a.) BENSON FORD of 1924, including the forecastle deck, was delivered to South Bass Island in Lake Erie on July 18, 1986, on the barge THOR 101 towed by the tug GREGORY J. BUSCH. The superstructure was moved for use as a summer home where it remains. The hull of the DYKSTRA was sold to Marine Salvage, Port Colborne, Ontario and was towed from Cleveland, Ohio, July 10th by the tugs ARGUE MARTIN and GLENBROOK to Ramey's Bend arriving there on July 12, 1986, where she was scrapped.

WILLIAM A. REISS was launched July 18, 1925, as a.) JOHN A. TOPPING (Hull#251) at River Rouge, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works for the Columbia Steamship Co.

WILLIAM G. MATHER completed her sea trials on July 18, 1925.

On 18 July 1858, ANDROMEDA (2-mast wooden schooner, 112 foot, 568 tons, built in 1848, at Madison Dock, Ohio) was carrying 800 barrels of salt from Oswego to Chicago. She sprang a leak suddenly and foundered 20 miles from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The crew escaped in her boat, many just in their underwear. They arrived at Manitowoc the next day.

On 18 July 1872, the schooner D. L. COUCH of Detroit (formerly AVCORN) sank about 10 miles from Long Point on Lake Erie. Two lives were lost.

The wooden propeller freigjhter N. K. FAIRBANK (205 foot, 980 gross tons) was launched in Marine City, Michigan by W. B. Morley on 18 July 1874. She was then towed to Detroit, where her engines were installed by William Cowie. She had two direct-acting condensing engines 34 foot x 32 inches on one shaft and her boiler was installed on her main deck. She only lasted until 1895, when she stranded and burned near Port Colborne, Ontario. The remains of the hull were sold to Carter Brothers of Port Colborne and it was rebuilt and enrolled as a new vessel with the name ELIZA H. STRONG. The STRONG lasted until she burned in 1904.

1911: The wooden steamer TAMPA sank in the Detroit River after a collision with the JOHN W. GATES of U.S. Steel. The former was raised and moved to Marine City and then, after being partially dismantled, was sunk in 1915 as a breakwall to halt erosion off the Belle River.

1938: ISLET PRINCE (ii), enroute to Owen Sound for a new service, stopped for the night behind Chantry Island, Southampton, and was struck by lightning. The ship caught fire, but all on board were rescued before the vessel sank the next day.

1954: LAKE GADSDEN was built at Manitowoc, in 1919, and lost near Corrubedo Light, off the coast of Spain, as g) SAN NICOLAS after going aground. The vessel slid back into deep water and sank.

1960: IRISH MAPLE, a Great Lakes visitor beginning in 1966, sank the 479 gross ton DENBIGH COAST in the River Mersey after a collision. IRISH MAPLE remained in service until reaching the scrapyard at Karachi, Pakistan, as c) ANNOOR on October 24, 1981.

1967: NEW YORK NEWS (iii) buckled and sank while loading salt at Pugwash, NS. The ship was raised and towed to Halifax in two sections for repairs. It survives in 2012 as e) WOLF RIVER, but has not operated for years.

1984 PANAGIOTIS S., a Seaway trader beginning in 1975, suffered severe fire damage aft in the Gulf of Aden, while on a voyage from Antwerp, Belgium, to Calcutta, India. The ship was a total loss and, while sold and renamed d) OTIS, it was taken to Gadani Beach, Pakistan, for scrapping. PANAGIOTIS S. had also visited the Great Lakes as a) VIZCAYA in 1972 and EMILIA LOVERDOS in 1975.

[yachtsmanwilly]

7/19 - Washington, DC – The Great Lakes Seaway Partnership announces the release of Economic Impacts of Maritime Shipping in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region, a year-long study of the economic impacts of the entire Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway navigation system. The study is a definitive and detailed report documenting the many contributions made by the Great Lakes Seaway system* to federal, state/provincial and local economies.

The study reports that in 2017 maritime commerce supported:
• 237,868 jobs
• $35 billion in economic activity
• $14.2 billion in personal income and local consumption expenditures
• $6.6 billion in federal, state/provincial and local tax revenue

The study also highlights the specific economic benefits of key navigation infrastructure, such as the St. Lawrence Seaway locks and the Soo Locks. The study reports that in 2017:

• 123,172 U.S. and Canadian jobs were dependent on the Soo Locks • 92,661 jobs were generated by cargo transiting the St. Lawrence Seaway locks

“This report validates what we’ve long known – that the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway is crucial to the US economy,” says Craig H. Middlebook, Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation “This bi-national waterway not only provides a multitude of well-paying jobs – on land and at sea – it offers a cost-effective, safe and fuel-efficient means of moving goods to and from domestic and global markets.”

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway (comprised of the five Great Lakes – Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario – their connecting channels and the St. Lawrence River) serves the industrial and agricultural heartland of the US and Canada. If the region was its own country, it would be the 3rd largest economy in the world with a combined GDP of more than $6 trillion dollars. In 2017, 143.5 million metric tons of cargo (valued at $15.2 billion) moved through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway. The St. Lawrence Seaway is also the longest deep draft navigation system in the world, extending 2,300 miles from its westernmost point in Duluth, Minnesota to the Atlantic Ocean. North American farmers, steel producers, construction firms, food manufacturers and power generators depend on the system to move raw materials and finished products including iron ore, coal, stone, salt, sugar, grain, steel, wind turbine components and heavy machinery. These cargoes become the staples of everyday life – food and other household items; buildings, factories, roads and bridges; vehicles and planes; and provides the energy that powers cities and towns.

“The study reflects the enormous contributions the maritime industry provides to the more than 100 ports in each of the Great Lakes states and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec,” says Steven A. Fisher, Executive Director of the American Great Lakes Ports Association. “The jobs supported by the maritime industry include not only those located directly on the waterfront – shipyard workers, stevedores, vessel operators, terminal employees, truck drivers and marine pilots – but also grain farmers, construction works, miners and steelworkers. Many of these jobs would vanish if not for a dynamic maritime industry.”

Read the full report at this link: greatlakesseaway.org/economy



7/19 - Marquette, Mich. – Heavy rainfall over Lake Superior in the last month has sent 2.75 trillion gallons of additional water into the largest of our Great Lakes.

In a typical year, Lake Superior will see its water level increase by 3 inches between June 13 and July 13. This year, it rose by 5 inches during that window, according to the National Weather Service in Marquette.

"Several episodes of heavy rain impacted western portions of the Lake Superior basin since the middle of June, resulting in precipitation amounts of 6 to 10+ inches, or 150 to 300 percent of normal," the NWS said.

"This heavy rainfall helped to raise the Lake Superior water level by 5 inches. This 5 inch rise equates to 2.75 trillion additional gallons of water added to Lake Superior in the last 30 days."

But looking at the big picture, Lake Superior water levels are still running below where they were last year at this time. Right now, the big lake is 4 inches lower than in 2017.

Read more at this link: www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/07/summer_rains_sent_275_trillion.html



7/19 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – Sixty years after the Alexander Henry was first christened, the former icebreaker officially began its new life at its old home.

The ship, which had been a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker for nearly 30 years after it was built in 1958 at the Port Arthur Shipyard, was officially rededicated on Wednesday to serve as a piece of living history at the Pool Six site on the city’s waterfront.

Annie Kolisnyk spent nine years working on the ship, serving as a cook for its 30 crewmembers. The 94-year-old was tasked with breaking the ceremonial champagne bottle over the ship’s anchor.

“I just looked at it and I said it was good to have you home,” she said. “It was my home for 12 months of the year. I never saw what the summers were here in Thunder Bay because we were on the East Coast. I loved every minute of it.”

The decommissioned icebreaker had operated as a bed and breakfast in Kingston following its retirement in 1985. The ship ended up becoming displaced a few years ago with the sale of the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes property.

With sinking the ship a possible option, local efforts began to try to bring it back to Thunder Bay.

The Lakehead Transportation Museum was successfully able to secure funding from both the Thunder Bay and Kingston city councils for the tow across the Great Lakes, and was able to convince the city to showcase the ship at the waterfront.

Read more and view a photo gallery at this link: www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/alexander-henry-officially-welcomed-back-to-thunder-bay-989109



On this day in 1970, ARTHUR B. HOMER established a new Great Lakes loading record when she loaded 27,530 tons of ore at Escanaba. This eclipsed the previous record of 27,402 tons set by the EDMUND FITZGERALD.

EDWIN H. GOTT (Hull#718) was float launched July 19, 1978, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Co. for U. S. Steel Corp.

CLARENCE B. RANDALL sailed light on her maiden voyage July 19, 1943, from Ashtabula, Ohio, bound for Two Harbors, Minnesota. She was renamed b.) ASHLAND in 1962. The ASHLAND was scrapped at Mamonel, Columbia, in 1988.

N. M. Paterson & Sons, CANADOC (Hull#627) was christened on July 19, 1961. The registry of GORDON C. LEITCH, of 1954, was closed on July 19, 1985, as 'sold foreign'. She was scrapped at Setubal, Portugal, in 1985.

JOHN P. REISS in tandem tow with the carferry CITY OF SAGINAW 31 arrived at Castellon, Spain, prior to July 19, 1973, for scrapping.

JOSEPH S. YOUNG, a.) ARCHERS HOPE, was christened at Buffalo, New York, on July 19, 1957. The YOUNG was the first of seven T2 tanker conversions for Great Lakes service.

On 19 July 1831, the wooden schooner HENRY CLAY was carrying 800 barrels of salt and passengers from Oswego, New York to the Welland Canal on her maiden voyage when she capsized in a squall and sank about 10 miles off Port Dalhousie, Ontario, on Lake Ontario. About 11 persons were aboard and at least 6 of them lost their lives. Three were saved by the steamer CANADA.

On 19 July 1900, the name of the Toledo tug A. ANDREWS JR was changed to PALLISTER.

On 19 July 1871, J. BARBER (wooden propeller steamer, 125 foot, 306 tons, built in 1856, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying fruit from St. Joseph, Michigan, to Chicago when she caught fire and sank 14 miles off Michigan City, Indiana. Five lives were lost.

1893: LIZZIE A. LAW stranded in the Pelee Passage, Lake Erie, following a collision with the DAVID VANCE. It was refloated September 14.

1921: After losing her way in fog, the BINGHAMPTON stranded on Gannet Rock Ledge, near Yarmouth, NS enroute from Boston to Reval, France, and Riga, Latvia, with relief supplies. The vessel was abandoned and later caught fire. The ship had been built at Buffalo as H.J. JEWETT in 1882 and left the lakes, in 2 pieces, in 1915 for saltwater service.

1981: BERGFALCK was registered in Singapore when she first came through the Seaway in 1976. The ship was sailing as b) BERGLIND when in a collision with the CHARM off Cape Breton Island. It was taken in tow but sank July 20. The hull was later refloated and taken out to sea and scuttled in the fall.

1982: FARO, a Norwegian freighter dating from 1960, visited the Seaway in 1970. It was gutted aft from a fire that began in the galley at Ghazawet Roads, Algeria, as b) ARGOLICOS GULF. It was sold for scrap and arrived as Castellon, Spain to be dismantled on October 1, 1982.

1992: ROSARIO, a Greek flag SD 14, visited the Great Lakes in 1978. It began leaking in the Indian Ocean as c) AL RAZIQU on this date in 1992 and was escorted into Mombasa, Tanzania, on July 29. The ship was allowed to sail to Alang, India, for scrapping and, after a resale, to Karachi, Pakistan. However, the vessel was sold again, taken to Dubai for repairs, and resumed trading as d) DELTA III. It developed a heavy list as e) CHALLENGE on August 2, 1993, after leaving New Mangalore, India. Attempts to tow the ship to shallow water fell short when the hull rolled over and sank with the loss of 3 lives.

[yachtsmanwilly]

LEON FALK JR. was christened at Cleveland, July 20, 1961, after one trip to Duluth, Minnesota, for ore.

HORACE JOHNSON (Hull#805) was launched July 20, 1929, at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

JAY C. MORSE (Hull#438) was launched on July 20, 1907, at Cleveland, Ohio by American Shipbuilding Co. for the Mesaba Steamship Co. (Pickands & Mather & Co., mgr.) Sold Canadian in 1965, renamed b.) SHELTER BAY, used as a storage barge at Goderich, renamed c.) D. B. WELDON in 1979. In 1982, her pilothouse was removed and is used as a museum in Goderich Harbor. The WELDON was scrapped at Thunder Bay in 1984.

At the end of June, 1877, the ferry MYRTLE began running between Port Huron and Sarnia. However, on 20 July 1877, The Port Huron Times reported that "The ferry MYRTLE has been taken off the route on account of the extreme dullness of the times."

The scow DIXIE burned during the night of 20 July 1875, while lying at Kenyon's dock in East China Township on the St. Clair River.

1940: The first LACHINEDOC ran aground at Ile-aux-Coudres but was refloated the same day after 600 tons of coal were jettisoned. The vessel became b) QUEENSTON in 1946 and was sunk as a dock facing at Bob-Lo Park in 1962.

1963: Thick fog prevailed overnight on the St. Lawrence contributing to three accidents. The TRITONICA sank after a collision with the ROONAGH HEAD off Ile d'Orleans with the loss of 33 lives. To the west, the Swiss freighter BARILOCHE ran into the CALGADOC (ii) and then veered into the CANADOC (ii) before all ships on the water went to anchor. BARILOCHE later visited the Seaway as b) ST. CERGUE in 1967 and as c) CALVIN in 1978. It was scrapped at Shanghai, China, in 1985.

ROONAGH HEAD received significant bow damage in her collision but was repaired and operated until she arrived at Castellon, Spain, for scrapping on September 14, 1971.

1964: ZENICA went aground in the Straits of Mackinac enroute to Chicago and was lightered by the MARQUIS ROEN and released. She passed downbound at Port Huron under tow. This vessel was beached at Karachi, Pakistan, for scrapping as f) CONSTANZA on June 1, 1980.

1965: The Norwegian freighter LYNGENFJORD sustained stern damage when it backed into the SALMELA while leaving the dock at Montreal. The former made 35 trips to the Great Lakes from 1959 through 1967 and was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, after arriving prior to May 3, 1980, as c) EASTERN VALOUR. The latter, a British vessel, began Great Lakes service in 1965 and arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, for scrapping on April 21, 1985, as c) ELENI.

[yachtsmanwilly]

On this day in 1908, the 556-foot ELBERT H. GARY arrived to a 21-gun salute to deliver the first cargo of Minnesota ore at the new United States Steel mill in Gary, Indiana.

The keel for the TEXACO CHIEF (Hull#193) was laid July 23, 1968, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., for Texaco Canada Ltd. Renamed b.) A.G. FARQUHARSON in 1986, and c.) ALGONOVA In 1998. She was sold for further service overseas in 2007.

CANADOC sailed on her maiden voyage July 23, 1961.

Upper Lakes Shipping Co. Ltd.'s, RED WING was christened on July 23, 1960, as the first all-welded vessel to emerge from Port Weller Dry Docks.

On 23 July 1878, H R PRESTON (wooden quarter-deck canal boat built in 1877, at Oneida Lake, New York) was carrying 250 tons of ashes from Picton, Ontario to Oswego, New York, in tow of the tug ALANSON SUMNER along with three other canal boats when they encountered a storm on Lake Ontario. About 15 miles from Oswego, the PRESTON broke her towline and was taken alongside the SUMNER with some difficulty. About a mile out of port she lost her hold tarps and began to sink quickly. She was cut loose from the tug and her two crewmen were saved by the Oswego tug WM AVERY. Though she was lying heavily on the bottom in 50 feet of water, her wreckage came ashore near 4 Mile Point in early September.

1918: PETER REISS and the GLENSHEE were in a collision at the #3 ore dock at Duluth. Fog and the current were blamed for the accident, with only limited damage to both ships.

1934: An explosion and fire aboard the tanker barge EN-AR-CO during fit-out at Toronto resulted in the loss of 4 lives. The ship was rebuilt as a coal barge and was finally scrapped at Hamilton in 1969.

1955: The tug HELENA capsized at South Chicago while taking on coal from a scow and two sailors were lost. The vessel was refloated on July 26. It survives today as c) DANIEL McALLISTER, a museum ship on display in the Lachine Canal at Montreal.

1968: The former tanker ORION was operating as a sand barge when it sank in Lake Erie about 1,000 feet off the Lorain lighthouse due to choppy seas. The hull was raised by the Corps of Engineers, beached August 2 and assumed to have been subsequently scrapped.

1985: FOTINI D.E. first came through the Seaway in 1976 and, in 1980, became the first overseas vessel to load grain at the port of Goderich. It ran aground on this date in 1985, enroute from Venezuela to a U.S. Gulf coast port, and was abandoned as a total loss on July 31.

On this day in 1961, the barge CLEVECO, originally lost with a crew of 22 during a December 02, 1942, storm on Lake Erie, was floated by salvagers, towed outside the shipping lanes, and intentionally sunk.

PERE MARQUETTE 22 (Hull#210) was launched on July 22, 1924, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. for the Pere Marquette Railway Co. One hundred years ago on 22 July 1900, the tug MATT HESSER was launched at Lorain, Ohio, by H. D. Root for Captain Burke of Erie.

The M.I. MILLS (wooden propeller tug, 122 foot, 152 tons, built in 1867, at Marine City, Michigan), which sank in a collision with the bark UNADILLA on 9 May 1873, was found on 22 July 1873, in 90 feet of water in Lake Huron off Sand Beach, Michigan. Plans were made to raise her at the cost of $5,000. This effort was unsuccessful as was another abortive attempt in 1895.

1965 MARIVIKI dated from 1940 as a) TEMPLE INN and visited the Seaway in 1960. The ship was beached in Colla Bay, near Mormugao, India, after developing leaks on a voyage from Madras, India, to Constanza, Romania. The hull later broke in two and was a total loss.

1967 A small fire erupted in the machine shop of the West German freighter TRANSAMERICA while a crewman was welding in Milwaukee. The blaze was soon brought under control. The ship last operated in 1978 as f) ARISTOTELES before being broken up at Gadani Beach, Pakistan.

1968 The Paterson bulk carrier CANADOC, loading at the Continental Elevator in Chicago, was struck on the starboard side by the Belgian vessel TIELRODE as it passed upsteam under tow. The latter returned through the Seaway as c) GEORGIOS C. in 1977 and was scrapped at Huangpo, China, as e) OPORTO in 1985.

1970 ULYSSES REEFER caught fire in Toronto resulting in an estimated $30,000 in damage. The ship first came inland in 1969 and returned as c) ITHAKI REEFER in 1972 prior to being scrapped at Blyth, Scotland, in 1973.

1989 MAR CATERINA, downbound at the Snell Lock, struck the fender boom and all Seaway navigation was temporarily delayed. The ship began Seaway trading as b) ASTORGA in 1985. As of 2012, the vessel is apparently still operating as e) ASPHALT TRADER.


The JAMES DAVIDSON and KINSMAN INDEPENDENT arrived under tow at Santander, Spain, on July 21, 1974, for scrapping.

On July 21, 1975, the GEORGE D. GOBLE arrived at Lorain, Ohio, with an unusual deck cargo loaded at American Ship Building Company's yard at South Chicago, Illinois. She was carrying the deckhouses for two Interlake Steamship Company thousand-foot self-unloaders being built at AmShip's Lorain yard. These vessels were completed as the JAMES R. BARKER and MESABI MINER.

On 21 July 1875, the schooner ELVA, which was built in Port Huron, Michigan, in 1861, for Capt. Sinclair, was sailing from Holland, Michigan, for Milwaukee, Wisconsin loaded with stove bolts. She capsized 12 miles from Milwaukee. Her crew took to the boats and made a landing in Kenosha and then rowed to Milwaukee. A tug was sent for the schooner and she was recovered.

In 1900, R. J. GORDON (wooden propeller passenger-package freighter, 104 foot, 187 gross tons, built in 1881, at Marine City, Michigan) was placed back in service carrying freight and passengers between Chicago and Grand Haven. She had burned in September 1899 at Chicago but was rebuilt during the winter.

On 21 July 1875, the old barge HURON, which had been in use for a number of years as a car ferry for the Grand Trunk Railroad at Port Huron/Sarnia, was sold to Sandie and Archie Stewart. They planned to convert her to a dry-dock by adding three feet to her sides and removing her arches. The sale price was $1,500 in gold.

1910 TRUDE R. WIEHE was destroyed by a fire at Portage Bay, Green Bay.

1911 Thirty plates were damaged when the WACCAMAW went aground in the St. Lawrence. The ship was later repaired at Buffalo.

1959 A collision in western Lake Erie between the CHARLES HUBBARD and the Swedish freighter SIGNEBORG resulted in damage to both ships. Both were repaired and continue in service. The latter is scrapped at La Spezia, Italy, after arriving as d) ALFREDO, on November 10, 1971. The former was sunk as a breakwall at Burns Harbor in 1966 after being idle at Milwaukee for several years. The hull was reported to have been subsequently scrapped there.

1964 The French freighter MARQUETTE began Great Lakes trading in 1953 and was lengthened in 1959 with the opening of the Seaway. Fire erupted enroute from Chicago to Marseilles, France, and the vessel was abandoned in the Atlantic. The gutted ship was towed to Brest, France, and was sold to French shipbreakers. All on board were saved.

1965 A smoky fire, that could be seen for miles, broke out in the cargo of rubber aboard the ORIENT TRADER at Toronto and the hull was towed into Toronto Bay and beached while firefighters battled the blaze. The Greek flag vessel was sold for scrap but before it departed for overseas, is was used in several episodes of the CBC television series “Seaway.” The hull was towed into Valencia, Spain, on July 11, 1966, for dismantling.



7/21 - Port Huron, Mich. – The worst case scenario involving the twin-pipeline Line 5 crossing at the Straits of Mackinac could release 32,000 to 58,000 barrels of crude oil into the Great Lakes and affect more than 400 miles of shoreline in Michigan Wisconsin and Ontario, according to a draft independent risk analysis released Thursday by the state Department of Environmental Quality.

Line 5, which begins in Superior, Wisconsin, carries up to 540,000 barrels a day of light crude oil and natural gas liquids 645 miles through much of the Upper and Lower peninsulas. Besides the straits crossing, which has caused an outpouring of concern from residents and environmental groups, the pipeline crosses the St. Clair River from Marysville to Sarnia.

According to a DEQ news release, a team led by Guy Meadows of Michigan Tech's Great Lakes Research Center submitted the report Tuesday.

The report does not consider the probability of events, according to the news release. The scenarios outlined in the report have a very small probability of happening, but they would have high consequences.

According to the news release, an analysis of more than 4,300 spill simulations found that a rupture to both pipelines with concurrent failures of primary and secondary safety valves could spill 32,000 to 58,000 barrels of crude oil in Lakes Huron and Michigan.

Such a spill could put 47 wildlife species of concern and 60,000 acres of unique habitat at risk, according to the news release. Cleanup and restoration costs in the event of such a spill are estimated at close to $2 billion.

The pipeline is owned by Enbrdge Inc., an energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. The company released a statement in response to the independent risk analysis.

Read more at this link: www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/local/2018/07/19/study-outlines-disaster-event-line-5-rupture-straits-mackinac/800615002/



7/21 - Chicago, Ill. – While natural factors — precipitation, runoff and evaporation — have been the main drivers of rising levels, greater releases from Lake Superior have contributed to the swell in the lower lakes. Last year, the amount of water released from Lake Superior into lakes Michigan and Huron was the highest in 32 years.

Since 1921, a dam at the head of the St. Marys River has determined how much water is unleashed downstream. Since a period of high lake levels in the 1970s, the International Lake Superior Board of Control, a binational entity that determines how much water is released into the rapids, has vowed to maintain a balance between Lake Superior and lakes Michigan and Huron, which are measured as one lake because they are connected at the Straits of Mackinac.

Most recently, the Lake Superior board expects to increase the flow to 2,800 cubic meters per second this month — more than enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool each second — and above the amount called for in the most recent regulatory plan for balancing the lakes. At Thursday’s teleconference, Jean-Francois Cantin, the control board’s Canadian chairman, said the board could raise the levels further in the fall if Lake Superior’s levels rise.

Callers to Thursday’s meeting questioned these plans.

“That deviation plan doesn't account for the downstream lakes that received extra water,” one caller said about increased rainfall. “So, this is like extra, extra water that's been added. Should any storms occur, anyone who has any property on those shorelines are feeling the impact,” the caller continued.

Jamie Dickhout, a Canadian representative for the board, acknowledged the concerns but said much of the rise that the lower lakes were seeing was out of the control board’s hands.

“We have to remember it’s a very big system,” Dickhout said. “We can't just focus on local issues.”

In the past several years, all three lakes have experienced high lake levels. This month, Lake Superior measured about 9 inches above its long-term average but almost 5 inches below its levels from last July. Lakes Michigan and Huron were recorded at nearly 2 feet above their historical average and 1/2 inch higher than a year ago.

U.S. officials say the elevated discharges aren't simply an attempt to drive down Lake Superior's levels, highlighting the need to accommodate hydropower plants, downstream fish-spawning habitat and commercial shipping.

In fact, the board has not discharged as much water as it originally planned this year because of an outage at a hydropower plant and an inability to adjust the gates during the winter months, according to board representatives.

As a result, the board is increasing flows this summer to “pay back” the roughly inch of water retained on Lake Superior. For every inch Lake Superior loses from outflows, lakes Michigan and Huron gain a half inch, according to experts.

Read more at this link: www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-lake-superior-board-public-input-20180719-story.html



7/21 - Chicago, Ill. – Marine Safety Unit Chicago issued the first Certificate of Inspection (COI) in its area of responsibility to the towing vessel Prentiss Brown, operated by Port City Marine Services, Friday.

This is the Ninth District's first Certificate of Inspection issued to a towing vessel under the new regulations and one of the first Coast Guard option COI's issued nationwide.

A COI is issued to a vessel after the vessel has completed a thorough examination of safety equipment, machinery, pollution prevention equipment, navigation equipment, life-saving equipment and more. Crew members must also demonstrate their ability to fight fires and take appropriate action in emergency situations.

Receipt of a Certificate of Inspection is the result of significant investment into the safety of the vessel on the part of owners and operators.

“Shortly after Subchapter M was enacted, Port City Marine started working very closely with Marine Inspectors from USCG MSU Chicago," said Ed Hogan, Vice President of Operations. "Throughout the process, we had an open and transparent relationship with the inspectors, as our crew worked through various issues. The goal all along was safety and compliance, which we achieved through partnership with the Coast Guard.”

Subchapter M, as the new towing vessel inspections regulations are called, is coming into force, Friday. Approximately 6,000 towing vessels across the country will become inspected by the Coast Guard under these new requirements. Vessels will have two options, to be inspected under the traditional Coast Guard Marine Inspections program, or to enroll in a safety program with an authorized Third Party Organization (TPO). The Coast Guard hopes to leverage industry partnerships with TPOs to maintain the safety of the vessels and waterways, while reducing the burden to industry.

“Subchapter M is a new regulation, but we have a long history of partnerships with many local towing vessel companies,” said Lt. Kate Woods, Inspections Division Chief at MSU Chicago. “It is great to see the results of the hard work of the inspectors and mariners to obtain a COI.”

Woods anticipates that MSU Chicago’s fleet of inspected vessels will double by the end of the phase-in period, July of 2022. Other inspected vessels include tank barges, small passenger vessels, and Great Lakes freight vessels.

More information about Subchapter M can be found at this link: www.dco.uscg.mil/tvncoe

[Avenger]

Today in Great Lakes History - July 24
On this day in 1908, the 556-foot ELBERT H. GARY arrived to a 21-gun salute to deliver the first cargo of Minnesota ore at the new United States Steel mill in Gary, Indiana.

The keel for the TEXACO CHIEF (Hull#193) was laid July 23, 1968, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., for Texaco Canada Ltd. Renamed b.) A.G. FARQUHARSON in 1986, and c.) ALGONOVA In 1998. She was sold for further service overseas in 2007.
CANADOC sailed on her maiden voyage July 23, 1961.
Upper Lakes Shipping Co. Ltd.'s, RED WING was christened on July 23, 1960, as the first all-welded vessel to emerge from Port Weller Dry Docks.
On 23 July 1878, H R PRESTON (wooden quarter-deck canal boat built in 1877, at Oneida Lake, New York) was carrying 250 tons of ashes from Picton, Ontario to Oswego, New York, in tow of the tug ALANSON SUMNER along with three other canal boats when they encountered a storm on Lake Ontario. About 15 miles from Oswego, the PRESTON broke her towline and was taken alongside the SUMNER with some difficulty. About a mile out of port she lost her hold tarps and began to sink quickly. She was cut loose from the tug and her two crewmen were saved by the Oswego tug WM AVERY. Though she was lying heavily on the bottom in 50 feet of water, her wreckage came ashore near 4 Mile Point in early September.
1918: PETER REISS and the GLENSHEE were in a collision at the #3 ore dock at Duluth. Fog and the current were blamed for the accident, with only limited damage to both ships.
1934: An explosion and fire aboard the tanker barge EN-AR-CO during fit-out at Toronto resulted in the loss of 4 lives. The ship was rebuilt as a coal barge and was finally scrapped at Hamilton in 1969.
1955: The tug HELENA capsized at South Chicago while taking on coal from a scow and two sailors were lost. The vessel was refloated on July 26. It survives today as c) DANIEL McALLISTER, a museum ship on display in the Lachine Canal at Montreal.
1968: The former tanker ORION was operating as a sand barge when it sank in Lake Erie about 1,000 feet off the Lorain lighthouse due to choppy seas. The hull was raised by the Corps of Engineers, beached August 2 and assumed to have been subsequently scrapped.
1985: FOTINI D.E. first came through the Seaway in 1976 and, in 1980, became the first overseas vessel to load grain at the port of Goderich. It ran aground on this date in 1985, enroute from Venezuela to a U.S. Gulf coast port, and was abandoned as a total loss on July 31.

[yachtsmanwilly]

7/25 - Sombra, Ont. – Saying they had no other choice, the owners of the Bluewater Ferry are suing the federal government after ice ripped out the causeway that connects the ferry dock to the Canadian shoreline in January.

Co-owner Morgan Dalgety says he has video from four multi-directional Canada Customs cameras that show the St. Clair River was completely clogged with dense ice from south of Sombra all the way north to Bickford Line at the time.

The icebreaker Samuel Risley was escorting four downbound freighters.

“I filed a Freedom of Information request and got their AIS, which is an automatic identification system of all ships that shows their speed, their plotted course and where they’re at,” says Dalgety. “The speed limit in the river just north of the dock is ten knots. Just above lighted buoy 42, they were doing 14. It shows they were doing well over the speed limit. The river’s full of ice and it has nowhere to go.”

The Coast Guard says northerly winds flushed a large amount of ice from Lake Huron into the river during the week of January 8 but Dalgety says the video shows the winds were out of the south the day the causeway was ripped out.

He says repeated pleas to Ottawa for funding for repairs have fallen on deaf ears so the fifth generation family business had no other choice but to sue.

Dalgety says the cost of repairs has risen from $1.5-million to $3-million. The Sombra-to-Marine City ferry generates $3.5-million in taxes and duties for Ottawa each year. He says the family has mortgaged property to try to finance repairs and they’re still waiting for permits to begin, although nothing can begin until spawning season is over.

Blackburn News


In 1991 the 16-man crew of the ocean-going tug PACIFIC TIDE NO 3 were arrested at Montreal on charges of smuggling drugs. The tug had arrived from the Philippines to tow the damaged Spanish vessel MILANOS to Spain.

Algoma Central Marine's former ALGOCEN departed Montreal on July 25, 2005, under tow of the tugs ATLANTIC OAK and ANDRE H bound for Keasby, New Jersey. She was renamed b.) VALGOCEN and was registered in Panama. She later sailed as J.W. SHELLEY and PHOENIX STAR.

The bow section of the ROGER BLOUGH (Hull#900) was floated into the new American Ship Building Co. Lorain dry dock on July 25, 1970, and was joined with the 421-foot stern section. The launch of the completed hull was scheduled for July 1971, but a fire broke out in the engine room on June 24, 1971, killing four yard workers and extensively damaging her Pielstick diesel engines. Extensive repairs, which included replacement of both engines, delayed the launch for nearly a year.

CANADA MARQUIS was upbound at Detroit, Michigan on July 25, 1983, on her maiden voyage for Misener Holdings Ltd. She sails today as CSL's e.) BIRCHGLEN. July 25, 1983 - A wedding was held aboard the BADGER. Chris Gebhart and Pat Sroka of Ludington were married by Rev. John Christensen.

The wooden lumber tug CYGNET, which worked on the Shiawassee and Bad Rivers and Lake Huron, was destroyed when her boiler exploded in "Blow-up Bayou" on the Shiawassee River in 1875.

The wooden bulk freighter D C WHITNEY was launched at Langell's shipyard in St. Clair, Michigan on 25 July 1882. Her dimensions were 229 feet x 40 feet x15 feet, 1090 gross tons.

1911: Efforts to beach the leaking wooden, coal-laden, freighter RAPPAHANNOCK failed and the ship sank off Jackfish Point, Lake Superior after an unsuccessful battle with 75 mph winds. All on board were saved

1964: SUNNABRIS made 4 trips through the Seaway in 1959 and returned as c) SEA FRIEND in 1961 and d) DEMOKRITOS in 1962. The ship dated from 1929 and it went aground, while inbound at Alexandria, Egypt, on this date and was abandoned as a total loss. The hull was sold to Yugoslavian salvors and cut up for scrap where it was.

1991: YANKCANUCK (ii) went aground in the St. Marys River about four miles from DeTour. The ship was carrying a cargo of scrap steel for Chicago and was operating as a barge under tow of the ANGLIAN LADY. The vessel was lightered and released.

1994: GEORGE A. STINSON, downbound with a cargo of iron ore for Detroit, went aground in the St. Clair River but was refloated.

[yachtsmanwilly]

7/26 - Port Burwell, Ont. – On Friday, July 20, several residents along with some visitors to Port Burwell watched as the George Barnes Memorial Wheelhouse was moved from the bottom of Pitt Street by the flats next to Otter Creek about 100 metres (328 feet) up the hill and across the intersection at Robinson Street to its final home in front of the Port Burwell Marine Museum.
Workers completed the task using specialized equipment including a transport truck fitted with gears for heavy hauling. The move started shortly before 11 a.m. that day and took a few hours. The workers broke off the job to have lunch after the wheelhouse was positioned in front of the concrete pad directly in front of the museum, which will be the exhibit’s permanent resting place.
The interior restoration of the wheelhouse is expected to take several more months. The wooden two-story wheelhouse was the navigational control room on the Fernglen (previously Silver Bay and Judith M. Pierson), a large ship that sailed the Great Lakes for almost 70 years. The structure’s name recognizes the patriarch of the family that donated the wheelhouse to the Port Burwell Historical Society.
Aylmer Express


7/26 - The USCGC Escanaba passed up under the Bluewater Bridge in Port Huron Wednesday just after 2 p.m. headed for Grand Haven and the annual Coast Guard Festival. The Escanaba exchanged salutes with the USCGC Hollyhock as well as the Lightship Huron. As the Escanaba passed under the bridge, they were met by the Huron Lady II tour boat, and they exchanged salutes as well.
The Escanaba and other vessels will be open for tours at various times during the Coast Guard Festival, which runs July 30-Aug. 4. Other vessels that are expected to be on hand are the USCGC Morro Bay, USCGC Buckthorn, USCGC Hollyhock and CCGC Constable Carriere.
For information on tours, visit this link: www.coastguardfest.org/events/ship-tours


On July 26, 2005, the salty ORLA ran aground at Kahnawake, Quebec, and the passing rum tanker JO SPIRIT made contact with her. Both vessels were damaged and repaired in Montreal.

ALGOWEST sailed on her maiden voyage in 1982 from Thunder Bay, Ontario, to Quebec City with a 27,308 ton load of barley.
On July 26, 1943 the BRUCE HUDSON caught fire while loading gasoline at East Chicago, Illinois, and four people lost their lives.
CONALLISON departed Windsor, Ontario on her first trip for Johnstone Shipping Ltd. on July 26, 1981.
WILLIAM A. McGONAGLE (Hull#154) sailed light on her maiden voyage from Great Lakes Engineering Works at Ecorse, Michigan on July 26, 1916, to Duluth, Minnesota, to load iron ore. Renamed b.) HENRY STEINBRENNER in 1986. She was scrapped at Port Maitland, Ontario, in 1994.
On 26 July 1885, ISLE ROYALE (wooden propeller passenger/package freight vessel, 92 foot, 92 gross tons, built in 1879) sprang a leak near Susick Island near Isle Royale on Lake Superior. She sank but her passengers and crew made it to the island. She was owned by Cooley, Lavague & Company of Duluth. She was originally built as the barge AGNES.
1910 ZENITH CITY went aground at Au Sable Reef, near Marquette, due to fog. The ore-laden steamer sustained damage to 60 planes.
1943 The Canadian tanker BRUCE HUDSON caught fire loading high-octane gasoline at Phillips Petroleum in South Chicago. The Captain, his son and 2 crewmen were killed. The ship was rebuilt and eventually scrapped at Cartagena, Colombia, by 1983 as c) WITCROIX.
1948 ROGN, a Norwegian tanker, went aground in the St. Lawrence at Toussant Island, near Iroquois, after the steering gear failed. The tugs SALVAGE PRINCE and SALVAGE QUEEN pulled the vessel free. It was in ballast and operated on charter to the McColl-Frontenac Oil Company. The ship was scrapped at Piraeus, Greece, as c) PIRAEUS III in 1981.
1965 The Canada Steamship Lines bulk carrier GEORGIAN BAY stood by the small wooden pulpwood carrier PRINCE QUEBEC on Lake Ontario. Cables were strung to the small ship, enroute to Tonawanda, NY with a cargo of pulpwood, to help keep it afloat. PRINCE QUEBEC was later taken to La Petite Riviere, Quebec, beached and never repaired. Apparently the hull was burned by vandals in the 1970s.
1983 PRA RIVER was registered in Ghana when it came to the Great Lakes in 1963. It went aground, enroute from Las Palmas, Canary Islands, to Lagos, Nigeria, as c) MAYON II on this date in 1983 and was abandoned.
2000 HIAWATHA, a ferry dating from 1895, was sunk by vandals at Toronto. It operated between the mainland and a Toronto Island yacht club. The hull was refloated July 28 and taken to Hamilton for restoration, repairs and a return to service.

[yachtsmanwilly]

7/27 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The Coast Guard responded to a report of a capsized vessel near Detour Passage Wednesday evening. Watchstanders from Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie command center received a call via VHF-FM radio channel 16 from the cargo vessel Lee A. Tregurtha reporting that a 17-foot pleasure craft had capsized with four people onboard.
Watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast, diverted the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Buckthorn, launched a Station Sault Ste. Marie response boat crew, and requested an MH-60 helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City.
The Tregurtha also came about to offer assistance.
Approximately five minutes later, a Good Samaritan who heard the urgent marine information broadcast arrived on scene. The Good Samaritan vessel brought all four people onboard their vessel shortly before a response boat crew from Coast Guard Cutter Buckthorn arrived on scene. The four people were transported to the Detour Village boat launch.
The capsized vessel sank in approximately 135 feet of water near Detour Passage. The Coast Guard is currently monitoring the area for any possible pollution or hazards to navigation. The Army Corps of Engineers will survey the channel.
The Coast Guard reminds boaters to always wear a life jacket. The number one cause of boating fatalities is drowning, most often by sudden, unexpected entry into the water. Wearing a life jacket dramatically increases the chances of surviving a boating accident.
USCG


7/27 - Huron, Ohio –A boat owned by the family of U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was vandalized over the weekend while moored at a Huron dock, according to the Huron Police Department.
The Seaquest was moored at the Huron Boat Basin, 330 Main St., according to a police report. The captain of the 163-foot yacht, worth a reported $40 million, called police at about 6 a.m. Sunday, telling them that he and the crew realized at sunrise that someone had untied Seaquest from the dock, setting it adrift.
The crew eventually got control of the yacht, but not before it struck the dock, causing an estimated $5,000 to $10,000 in damage from large scratches and scrapes, according to the police report.
The Seaquest, according to a number of profiles in national publications, is one of 10 boats owned by the family. It is registered to RDV International Marine LTD., according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection database.
That company is at the same location as RDV Corporation, the company that manages the DeVos family's wealth. According to superyachtfan.com, the SeaQuest can accommodate 12 guests and 12 crew members.
Toledo Blade


On 27 July 1884, ALBERTA (steel propeller passenger/package freight vessel, 264 foot, 2,282 gross tons, built in 1883, at Whiteinch, Scotland, by C. Connell & Co.) collided in fog six miles north north west of Whitefish Point on Lake Superior with the JOHN M. OSBORNE (wooden propeller "steam barge", 178 foot, 891 tons, built in 1882, at Marine City, Michigan. The OSBORNE had two barges in tow at the time. ALBERTA stayed in the gash until most of OSBORNE's crew scrambled aboard, then pulled out and the OSBORNE sank. ALBERTA sank in shallow water, 3 1/2 miles from shore. 3 or 4 lives were lost from the OSBORNE, one from ALBERTA in brave rescue attempt while trying to get the crewmen off the OSBORNE. This was ALBERTA's first year of service. She was recovered and repaired soon afterward. She was the sister of the ill-fated ALGOMA which was lost in her first year of service. The wreck of the OSBORNE was located in 1984, 100 years after this incident.

On 27 July 1900, the steel freighter RENSSELAER (Hull#402) was launched in Cleveland, Ohio, by the American Ship building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Company.
1897 – SELWYN EDDY and MARIPOSA collided head-on in dense fog off Manitou Island, Lake Superior. The damage was light, as both ships were proceeding slowly due to the conditions.
1912 – G. WATSON FRENCH, later the first ALGOWAY, was in a collision with the MATAAFA in Lake St. Clair and the latter was heavily damaged and almost sank.
1931 – The Canada Steamship Lines bulk canaller BARRIE went aground at Les Ecureuils Shoal in the St. Lawrence while enroute to Quebec City.
1944 – The FORT PERROT was damaged by a torpedo in the English Channel south of Hastings, while providing support for the ongoing invasion of Normandy and the liberation of Europe. As c) DORION, this ship made two trips to the Great Lakes in 1959. The vessel was scrapped at Yokohama, Japan, as e) ANTONIOS S. after arriving on June 17, 1963.
1987 – The ANDREW H. went aground off Cornwall Island, in the St. Lawrence, after experiencing steering problems. The ship, loaded with steel for Dofasco in Hamilton, was lightered by MAPLEHEATH and released on August 2. The cargo was reloaded at Valleyfield. The ship first came inland as EKTOR in 1976. It arrived at Alang, India, for scrapping as e) BLUEWEST on January 31, 1998.
1999 – The SPIRIT OF 98 went aground on a rock in the Gulf of Alaska 40 miles southeast of Juneau, forcing the passengers to abandon the ship. Flooding was checked and the ship released and repaired. As c) VICTORIAN EMPRESS, the ship saw passenger service on the St. Lawrence and came into the Great Lakes to Lake Ontario beginning in 1990.

[yachtsmanwilly]

On July 28, 1973, the ROGER M. KYES (Hull#200) was christened at Toledo, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. by Mrs. Roger Kyes for the American Steamship Co. Renamed b.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1989.

B.A. PEERLESS (Hull#148) was launched July 28, 1952, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for British American Transportation Co. Ltd. Renamed b.) GULF CANADA in 1969, and c.) COASTAL CANADA in 1984.
The JOHN T. HUTCHINSON was delivered on July 28th to the Buckeye Steamship Co. (Hutchinson & Co., mgr.), Cleveland. The HUTCHINSON was part of a government program designed to upgrade and increase the capacity of the U.S. Great Lakes fleet during World War II. In order to help finance the building of new ships, the U.S.M.C. authorized a program that would allow existing fleets to obtain new boats by trading in their older boats to the Government for credit. The vessel was the ninth Maritimer and fourth of the six L6-S-Al types delivered. "L6" meant the vessel was built for the Great Lakes and was 600 to 699 feet in length. The "S" stood for steam power and "Al" identified specific design features.
On 28 July 1854, BOSTON (wooden propeller, 134 foot, 259 tons, built in 1847, at Ohio City, Ohio) was bound from Chicago for Ogdensburg, New York, with pork, corn, whiskey and produce. On Lake Ontario, about 20 miles off Oak Orchard, New York, she collided with the bark PLYMOUTH and sank in about 20 minutes. No lives were lost. The crew and passengers made it to shore in three lifeboats. The boat that the captain was in sailed 50 miles to Charlotte, New York.
In 1900, the freighter PRINCETON (Hull#302) was launched at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.
On 28 July 1862, CONVOY (2-mast wooden schooner, 130 foot, 367 tons, built in 1855, at Buffalo, New York) was sailing downbound on a dark night on Lake Erie with 18,000 bushels of wheat when she collided with the empty bark SAM WARD and sank quickly in 12 fathoms of water. Her wreck drifted along the bottom and during the shipping season several vessels collided with her.
1922 – The wooden passenger and freight carrier CARIBOU went aground in the North Channel of Georgian Bay near Richards Landing.
1923 – The wooden steamer W.J. CARTER, enroute from Oswego to Cobourg with a cargo of coal, began leaking and sank in Lake Ontario 20 miles south of Point Peter. Nine crewmembers were rescued by the KEYPORT.
1929 – The newly-built canaller C.H. HOUSON was in a collision with the collier WABANA off Cap au Saumon on the St. Lawrence in heavy fog. The investigation of the accident was critical of the operation of both vessels. The former served in the Misener fleet, becoming b) PAUL MANION in 1949, and was scrapped at Deseronto, Ontario, in 1961.
1949 – NORMAN J. KOPMEIER was holed by an underwater obstruction entering Muskegon with a cargo of coal from Chicago. The vessel had to be beached and almost capsized. It was later refloated and repaired. The ship last sailed as e) PINEDALE in 1976 and was scrapped at Hamilton in 1981.
1961 – After loading a cargo of scrap steel for Japan on its first visit to the Great Lakes, the Greek freighter MIHALIS ANGELOS ran aground leaving Toronto harbor. The ship had been one of the “Empire Class” ships of World War Two, being built as a) EMPIRE MASEFIELD. It arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for scrapping as f) GLORIA on December 6, 1967.

OTTERCLIFFE HALL cleared Lauzon, Quebec, July 29, 1969 on her maiden voyage as the last "straight deck" Great Lakes bulk freighter built with a pilothouse forward.

While at the Manitowoc Ship Building Co. for general repairs and engine overhaul, the CITY OF SAGINAW 31 caught fire on July 29, 1971, destroying her cabin deck and rendering her useless for further use. The blaze was caused by an acetylene torch, and caused over $1 million in damage. She was not repaired. The CITY OF SAGINAW 31 was sold to Marine Salvage Ltd., Port Colborne, Ontario, for scrapping.
On July 29, 1974 the W.W. HOLLOWAY grounded in Lake St. Clair off the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club while running downbound with stone. Lightering into the J.F. SCHOELKOPF JR was necessary before she was freed by four tugs on July 31st.
ENDERS M. VOORHEES departed Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, Michigan, on her maiden voyage July 29, 1942, bound for Duluth, Minnesota, to load iron ore. She was the second of five "Supers" for the Pittsburgh fleet to enter service.
July 29, 1974 - PERE MARQUETTE 21 was towed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to be reduced to a barge.
The steam barge MARY ROBERTSON burned near Mackinac on 29 July 1872. Her crew escaped to a schooner-barge they were towing.
The MATERIAL SERVICE foundered in a heavy summer gale in 1936, off the South Chicago lighthouse. She was a canal motor barge not designed for open-lake use.
The side-wheel river steamer DOMINION burned to the water's edge at her dock in the Thames River near Chatham, Ontario, on 29 July 1875. She was built in 1867, at Wallaceburg, Ontario.
1912 – REPUBLIC stranded at Point Louise in the St. Marys River and sustained bottom damage.
1930 – The sandsucker GEORGE J. WHALEN capsized and sank off Dunkirk, N.Y., in heavy seas and 15 sailors perished. Only 6 were rescued and taken aboard the AMASA STONE.
1942 – The first PRESCODOC was torpedoed and sunk by U-160 off Georgetown, British Guiana, with the loss of 15 lives. The bauxite-laden steamer went down quickly, bow first, while enroute to Trinidad and only 5 were saved.
1943 – LOCKWELL and KEYBELL collided above Bridge 11 of the Welland Canal. The former was repaired at Port Dalhousie with $13,450 in damages.
1946 – TEAKBAY went aground on Featherbed Shoal off Carleton Island in the St. Lawrence while bound for Montreal with a load of coal. This member of the C.S.L. fleet was released, with the aid of tugs, the next day and proceeded to Kingston for repairs.
1971 – While undergoing a major refit at Manitowoc, fire broke out aboard the CITY OF SAGINAW 31 destroying the top deck and accommodation area. The damage was listed as between $450,000 and $700,000 and the vessel became a total loss. It was towed to Castellon, Spain, for scrapping.
1979 – The Cayman Islands registered QUIDNET came through the Seaway in 1978 but sank, in a collision with the SEA TIDE at Mamei Curve in the Panama Canal while enroute from Callao, Peru, to Trinidad. The hull was abandoned as a total loss and had to be cut in two before being towed away to a dumping ground. The ship had also been a Great Lakes visitor as b) LUDMILLA C. in 1968.
1993 – The second FEDERAL SCHELDE to visit the Great Lakes was built in 1977 and came inland that year on its maiden voyage with sugar for Montreal and Toronto. The ship received major bow damage after striking the ARARAT in the Orinoco River of Venezuela. It went to Hamburg, Germany, for repairs and resumed service. It became b) TRIAS in 1994 and continued Seaway service until 1999. The ship arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, for scrapping on December 12, 2000.

July 30, 1996 - CSL's self-unloader H.M. GRIFFITH, which was off Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior, and bound for Nanticoke, Ontario, with a load of 22,775 tons of western coal, had a spontaneous combustion fire in her number 2 cargo hold. Water was used to cool the fire and the GRIFFITH used her unloading boom to dump 3,000 tons of coal into Lake Superior. After an inspection by the USCG at the Soo the following day, revealed only minor damage, the vessel was cleared to proceed on her journey. Reconstructed and renamed b.) RT HON PAUL J. MARTIN in 2000.

This News Page on the BoatNerd site was launched in 1996, reporting the coal fire aboard the GRIFFITH.
GORDON C. LEITCH (Hull#36) was launched July 30, 1952, at Midland, Ontario, by Canadian Shipbuilding & Engineering Ltd. for the Upper Lakes & St. Lawrence Transportation Co. Ltd., Toronto, Ontario.
The Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker C.C.G.S. ALEXANDER HENRY entered service July 30, 1959. Since 1985, the HENRY has served as a museum in Kingston, Ontario.
On 30 July 1871, the 162-foot bark HARVEY BISSELL was carrying lumber from Toledo to Tonawanda, New York. When she was on the Western end of Lake Erie, she sprang a leak. Although the crew worked the hand-powered pumps constantly, the water kept gaining at a rate of about a foot an hour. The tug KATE WILLIAMS took her in tow, intending to get her to Detroit to be repaired, but this proved impossible. So the BISSELL was towed close to Point Pelee and allowed to sink in 14 feet of water. The WILLIAMS then left for Detroit to get steam pumps and other salvage equipment. On returning, they pumped out the BISSELL, refloated and repaired her. She lasted until 1905.
On 30 July 1872, the Port Huron Dry Dock launched SANDY, a lighter. Her dimensions were 75 feet x 20 feet x 5 feet.
On 30 July 1873, George Hardison of Detroit announced the beginning of a new shipyard in Port Huron, Michigan. It would be located above the 7th Street Bridge on the Black River on land owned by J. P. Haynes, accessible by River Street. Within 30 days of this announcement, the new yard had orders for two canalers three-and-aft rig for delivery in the spring of 1874. Their dimensions were to be 146 feet overall, 139 feet ¬keel, 26 foot beam and 11 foot 6 inches depth.
On 30 July 1866, CITY OF BUFFALO (wooden propeller, 340 foot, 2,026 tons, built in 1857, at Buffalo, New York as a side-wheeler) was unloading 72,000 bushels of wheat at the Sturgis Elevator at Buffalo, New York, when arsonists set fire to the complex. The fire destroyed the wharf, the elevator, several businesses and the ship. The arsonists were caught. Incidentally, the CITY OF BUFFALO was converted from a passenger side-wheeler to a propeller freighter during the winter of 1863-64. After the conversion, she was dubbed "the slowest steam-craft on the Lakes".

7/30 - Kingsville, Ont. – A “vicious rumor” that the new Pelee Islander II ferry is not up to Canadian standards is being dispelled by the Ministry of Transportation. The $40-million ferry arrived in Kingsville June 15 for prep work and crew training before it starts welcoming passengers, likely in late September.
Perhaps because of the delay between arriving and going into service — even though the MTO said at the time it would take about three months to launch — rumors began circulating on social media and elsewhere shortly afterward. Some people claimed the new state-of-the-art boat, built by the Asenav shipbuilding company in Valdivia, Chile, was not up to Canadian electrical standards, among other issues.
“That is a vicious rumor, concerning the electrical system,” said Pelee Island Mayor Rick Masse. “Absolutely vicious rumor. I don’t know why somebody would put that out there to try to damage a good thing going on here. It’s just not true.”
Masse said he remains excited about the new ferry welcoming passengers soon. “I look forward to the Pelee Islander II going into operation,” he said. “I know there are challenges in getting it into service and I expect the MTO and the operator to work things through as soon as they can.”
The MTO said Thursday the prep work is proceeding as planned. “The Pelee Islander II’s electrical system was built to meet North American standards and is operating as designed,” MTO spokeswoman Liane Fisher Bloxam said Thursday. “Crew training, vessel inspections and the certification process are ongoing at the Kingsville terminal. The vessel is expected to begin service early this fall.” Fisher Bloxam said there have been no issues with the boat registration process, though it is still in progress.
“The vessel registration process began the moment the vessel entered Canadian waters,” she said. “The MTO and the shipyard are currently working with Transport Canada to complete this process. Crew training with the vessel on Lake Erie will begin once the Pelee Islander II is registered with Transport Canada.”
Another rumor suggested salt water harmed the vessel, designed for fresh water, on its delivery voyage from Chile to Kingsville. But the MTO said the ship’s internal piping carried fresh water the whole time. And while its hull was exposed to saltwater during the month-long journey, upon its arrival in Kingsville, the vessel was washed of saltwater residue, which did not cause any problems.
The Pelee Islander II, accented with navy and sky-blue stripes, will replace the 58-year-old Pelee Islander. The swap-out process, however, could take about two years, as the other ferry serving the island — the Jiimaan, in operation since 1992 — may undergo repairs.
The 67.7-metre-long MV Pelee Islander II can accommodate 399 people and 34 cars, or four tractor-trailers and 16 cars. That is roughly the same as the Jiimaan, though the older ship can’t accept tractor-trailers. The Pelee Islander, by contrast, can only take 199 passengers and 10 cars.
The docks in Leamington and Kingsville had to be modified to accommodate the bow of the new ship, operated by the Owen Sound Transportation Co., though that work is already complete.
The only issue is that the Pelee Islander II won’t initially operate out of Kingsville, as the boat is eased into service. But Masse said he hopes the modern ferry will eventually boost the island.
“It’s going to solidify our highway to the mainland for the next 50, 60 years,” he said. “Hopefully, it will spur some tourism and it’s going to alleviate some pent up demand for vehicle spots.”
Windsor Star

7/30 - Traverse City, Mich. – An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City rescued five people involved in a two-aircraft collision on North Fox Island, Michigan, Sunday.
Three of the five personnel aboard the aircraft reported minor injuries, and the other two reported no injuries.
Watchstanders from the Coast Guard Ninth District Command Center received notification from the Michigan State Police about the crash. The International Emergency Response Coordination Center confirmed a plane landing on the North Fox Island had collided with a plane already on the island and was able to communicate with one of the individuals through an alert device.
The helicopter crew landed, embarked the five individuals, and transported them to awaiting emergency medical personnel in Traverse City.
USCG