Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

12/21 - The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) has assigned the CCGS Griffon and CCGS Samuel Risley to the Great Lakes this winter season. Those ships will work in partnership with United States Coast Guard to keep the Great Lakes waterway open for commercial shipping between the two countries.

Both icebreakers completed refit and maintenance work, which included an overhaul of the four main propulsion engines and a pair of ship service electrical generators on the CCGS Griffon. CCGS Samuel Risley had a main engine overhauled and an air compressor replaced.

Commercial shipping along the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River supports $60 billion in economic activity and 329,000 jobs in Canada and the United States, according to the Chamber of Marine Commerce.

The 2017-2018 season was a busy one for the Canadian Coast Guard:

• The CCGS Griffon and CCGS Samuel Risley traveled 27,302 kilometres while escorting vessels and breaking ice

• The CCG responded to 1,252 requests to break ice in central and Eastern Canada

• Both ships directly assisted 637 ship transit on the great lakes

The icebreakers are supported by Ice Service Specialists, who inform shippers from both countries what kind of conditions are expected. A team of officers in Sarnia and Prescott working with Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS) also provide information to mariners and are able to respond to calls for assistance.

Breaking ice can also help prevent flooding in communities along the waterways. "That obstruction, known as an ice jam or ice plug, can cause flooding as water builds up and overflows the banks," according to a news release from the CCGS.

"Coast Guard ships are also at the ready to respond to environmental incidents or other urgent or humanitarian emergencies."

CBC


12/21 - Damaged electrical components in the steering system may have caused the tanker Chem Norma to run aground on the St. Lawrence Seaway last May. The 145-metre tanker stayed stuck off Morrisburg “like a boot in mud” for days.

The Transportation Safety Board said in a report released Wednesday that while the precise cause for the temporary failure of the vessel’s steering gear control system could not be determined, a “plausible scenario” is a failure of electrical contacts on a steering system relay that mistakenly triggered a “hard-a-starboard order.”

The Chem Norma ran aground early on May 29 with a cargo of more than 11 tonnes of alkylate, a high-octane blending component for gasoline, bound for Sarnia. The ship’s hull, rudder and propeller were damaged but no one was injured and there was no evidence of a spill. The ship drew crowds of spectators to the waterfront and social media buzz among seaway-watchers on both sides of the border.

The Chem Norma was refloated June 3 by tugs Ocean K. Rusby, Ocean Pierre Julien and Ocean Tundra. They had the help of the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board, which reduced dam outflows by 16 per cent to raise water levels by 30 cm near the ship.

TSB investigators found some of the contacts in the steering control relays of the steering system were “extensively deteriorated and showed clear signs of electrical arcing.” The TSB investigation found that some relays were being kept in service after their recommended lifespan.

The TSB notified the owner of the Marshall Islands-flagged ship, ASM Maritime B.V., of their findings and warning the same thing could happen on the Chem Norma’s four sister vessels.

The Marshall Islands recommended the Chem Norma’s owner review safety plans in case of loss of steering, especially in a narrow waterway with hazards nearby. The owner also asked the maker of the steering system for control relays that can handle the “severe conditions” produced by the steering system’s inductive loads.

Ottawa Sun


12/21 - Ludington, Mich. – The docks for Michigan’s iconic S.S. Badger car ferry are being torn down. The Lake Michigan car ferry docks in Ludington and Manitowoc, Wis., have been there since the 1930s and both are in the process of being replaced.

While the new dock in Manitowoc goes up, the dock in Ludington is still coming down. The old wooden pilings will be replaced with steel and the aging fender wall be replaced with a new wooden one.

“It’s pretty amazing to think about the history that this dock has seen since the 1930s and also cool to think about how the new dock is going to provide a berth for the Badger to service generations to come down the line,” said Vice President of Shore Operations, Pat McCarthy.

The construction on the new dock in Ludington is expected to begin early next month. The entire project should be complete by the beginning of the S.S. Badger’s season in May.

View a video at this link: www.9and10news.com/2018/12/20/iconic-ludington-ferry-dock-being-replaced/


12/21 - Traverse City, Mich. – A proposal to run an oil pipeline beneath a crucial section of the Great Lakes cleared its final hurdle Wednesday, gaining approval of a Michigan panel created a week earlier in a dash to complete the deal before Republican Gov. Rick Snyder leaves office.

The three-member Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority unanimously backed an agreement between the state and Canadian pipeline company Enbridge to drill a tunnel through bedrock up to 100 feet (30.4 meters) below the more than 4-mile-wide (6.4 kilometer) channel that links Lakes Huron and Michigan.

A new segment of pipeline would extend through the tunnel, replacing twin pipes that have lain along the lake bed since 1953. They are part of Enbridge's Line 5, which carries crude oil and natural gas liquids used in propane from Superior, Wisconsin, through northern Michigan to refineries in Sarnia, Ontario.

Line 5 has drawn fierce criticism in recent years from environmental groups, native tribes and tourism-related businesses fearful of a rupture that, according to worst-case scenarios outlined by university researchers, could pollute hundreds of miles of Great Lakes shoreline.

Enbridge has steadfastly defended the pipelines, contending they are in sound condition and could last indefinitely. But with public pressure mounting amid reports of gaps in protective coating and dents from a ship anchor strike in April, the company embraced the tunnel option.

"Today's actions will result in the removal of the oil pipeline from the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, maintain critical infrastructure connections between our peninsulas, provide energy security for residents of the Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan and create good-paying jobs," Snyder said.

His successor, Gretchen Whitmer, who takes office Jan. 1, has criticized the tunnel plan and called for decommissioning Line 5, as has incoming attorney general Dana Nessel. Both Democrats have said little about the situation since their election last month and it isn't clear what steps they could take to derail the plan, which Snyder and the GOP-controlled Legislature have attempted to make bulletproof.

Critics vowed to continue the fight. For Love of Water, a Traverse City-based environmental group, denounced the negotiated agreements and the approval process as "a sham" that raises constitutional questions, particularly involving the creation of a public body — the straits corridor authority — to oversee transport of a private company's product.

"They have ignored hundreds of thousands of public comments calling for a shutdown of Line 5 and millions of mid-term votes for an incoming administration which pledged to protect our Great Lakes, not a foreign oil company's profit margin," said Beth Wallace of the National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes office.

Enbridge officials and workers, many of whom praised the plan during the panel's meeting near the straits in St. Ignace, Michigan, noted it requires the company to cover all costs of designing and building the tunnel, estimated at up to $500 million. The structure would encase the pipeline in thick concrete, virtually eliminating any threat of a spill, they said.

"The tunnel project is an investment in Michigan that will make a safe pipeline safer," said Brad Shamla, Enbridge vice president for U.S. operations.

Opponents complained that the existing Line 5 pipes, which carry about 23 million gallons (87 million liters) of petroleum liquids daily, will remain operational until the new segment is running. The pact sets no deadline for switching the oil flow to the new pipe, although Shamla said the target date for finishing the tunnel is 2024.

Numerous speakers pleaded with the straits corridor authority to postpone a decision and take more time to study the agreement, which was made public only last week.

But Chairman Michael Nystrom said the panel was required to proceed if convinced the agreements between the state and Enbridge met criteria outlined in the law that created the authority. The panel voted 3-0 to accept the tunnel pact and authorize the company to drill in the Great Lakes bottomlands.

Associated Press


In 1987, ASHLAND and THOMAS WILSON departed Quebec bound for a Taiwanese scrap yard. The tow line parted on 12/30 and the THOMAS WILSON sank on 12/31 off the coast of North Carolina. The ASHLAND was found 300 miles off course on January 2 1988. Due to sustained damage, the ASHLAND was resold to Columbian ship breakers where she arrived in critically leaking condition on February 5 1988.

On 21 December 1901, the MUSKEGON (composite propeller carferry, 282 foot, 1,938 gross tons, built in 1895, at Toledo, Ohio as SHENANGO NO 2) sank at Ludington, Michigan with a 10-foot crack on her starboard side. She was raised a week later and repaired.

The 437-foot bow section of the ROGER BLOUGH was float-launched December 21, 1968, at Lorain, Ohio, less ballast tanks because the existing dry dock wasn’t wide enough to accommodate her 105-foot width.

WILLIAM G MATHER was laid up for the last time December 21, 1980, at the Hocking Valley coal dock at Toledo, Ohio.

AMOCO ILLINOIS was laid up for the last time at Bay City, Michigan on December 21, 1980.

CSL's HOCHELAGA was laid up on December 21, 1981, for the last time at Cardinal, Ontario.

The OUTARDE of 1906, operated until December 21, 1983, when she was laid up for the last time at Toronto.

On 21 December 1891, the whaleback steamer CHARLES W WETMORE tied up at the dock at Everett, Washington, ending a voyage of 93 days that started in Philadelphia and went around the tip of South America.

On 21 December 1879, CITY OF TOLEDO (wooden propeller package freighter, 413 gross tons, built in 1865, at Ogdensburg, New York) was carrying winter provisions from Milwaukee to Ludington. In a white squall, she struck a reef and was stranded 7 miles north of Ludington, a few hundred yards from shore. Some of the crew made it to shore and sought help. The local Lifesaving Station was only in the planning stages, but a crew captain was on hand. He hastily assembled a volunteer lifesaving crew and over a five-hour period, rescued all on board. None of the 24-person crew was lost.

1908: The AMERICAN EAGLE burned at the dock in Toledo.

1963: The French freighter DOUALA foundered southwest of Newfoundland while enroute from Montreal to Bordeaux, France. The vessel had been a Seaway caller from 1961 to 1963. Twelve sailors died.

1977: The former COL. ROBERT R. McCORMICK was taken out to sea at Miami as d) LINDA and scuttled. The ship had run aground off the Florida Keys in May. Once released, it was brought to Miami, unloaded and then abandoned by the owners.

1989: The second ELMGLEN ran aground in the Middle Neebish Channel when ice forced the ship out of the channel. The damage was serious but the vessel's certificate was extended to June 1990 and then the ship was retired.

[yachtsmanwilly]

IMPERIAL ST CLAIR was selected to participate in the three-year winter navigation experiment during which the Soo Locks remained open all year. On December 23, 1976, at the very onset, she ran aground entering ice-jammed Parry Sound on Georgian Bay in a blinding snow squall. One of her cargo tanks ruptured spilling 1,800 barrels of diesel oil.
The SAVIC, c.) CLIFFS VICTORY was down bound past Detroit, Michigan, December 23, 1985, by-passing a 15,000 ton load of scrap because of the lack of time to clear the Seaway.

CHARLES DICK was sold for scrap to Marine Salvage Ltd., Port Colborne, Ontario, on December 23, 1976.

SIR TREVOR DAWSON was laid up after the Great War until December 23, 1920, when she was sold to Pioneer Steamship Co. and renamed c) CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON.

On 23 December 1905, JAMES B. WOOD (steel propeller freighter, 514 foot, 7,159 gross tons) was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan. In 1913, she was renamed b.) ARCTURUS.

On 23 December 1885, MARY MARTINI (wooden propeller passenger-package freight vessel, 85 foot, 91 gross tons, built in 1877, at W. Bay City, Michigan) stranded on Brule Point, 13 miles east of Grand Marais, Minnesota, on Lake Superior in fair weather. A navigational error was blamed. She became a total loss but her passengers and crew were taken off by the Duluth tug T H CAMP.

1954: The former FEDERAL AMBASSADOR, while not a Great Lakes trader but once part of the Federal Commerce & Navigation of Montreal, foundered in the North Sea as c) GERDA TOFT

1963: The Greek passenger liner LAKONIA caught fire off Madeira with 1041 passengers and crew on board. While 132 lives were lost in the tragedy, another 470 were rescued by the freighters SALTA and MONTCALM. The latter was a regular Seaway trader beginning in 1960 and returned as b) CAPO SAN MARCO in 1971.

1986: MARINE COASTER, a Great Lakes visitor as e) EVA MARIE in the mid-1960s, was scuttled off Newfoundland.

IMPERIAL ST CLAIR was selected to participate in the three-year winter navigation experiment during which the Soo Locks remained open all year. On December 23, 1976, at the very onset, she ran aground entering ice-jammed Parry Sound on Georgian Bay in a blinding snow squall. One of her cargo tanks ruptured spilling 1,800 barrels of diesel oil.
The SAVIC, c.) CLIFFS VICTORY was down bound past Detroit, Michigan, December 23, 1985, by-passing a 15,000 ton load of scrap because of the lack of time to clear the Seaway.

CHARLES DICK was sold for scrap to Marine Salvage Ltd., Port Colborne, Ontario, on December 23, 1976.

SIR TREVOR DAWSON was laid up after the Great War until December 23, 1920, when she was sold to Pioneer Steamship Co. and renamed c) CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON.

On 23 December 1905, JAMES B. WOOD (steel propeller freighter, 514 foot, 7,159 gross tons) was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan. In 1913, she was renamed b.) ARCTURUS.

In 1903, the PERE MARQUETTE 20 arrived Ludington on her maiden voyage.

1916: A.B. WOLVIN, a former Great Lakes bulk carrier that went to sea in 1911, sank in a gale on the Atlantic southeast of Bermuda. The crew of 26 were picked up by the BRAZIL, a two-year old Norwegian freighter.

In 1973, a crewman from the Cleveland Cliffs steamer FRONTENAC fell overboard at 11:41 p.m. while the boat was at anchor off Stoneport, Mich. The FRONTENAC launched a lifeboat to search for the missing man. When he could not be found and the lifeboat had trouble returning to the FRONTENAC, a distress call went out. The American Steamship Co. steamer McKEE SONS, Captain Robert J. Laughlin, responded and received a Citation of Merit for rescuing the six sailors in the lifeboat on Christmas morning.
December 24, 1969 - The CITY OF FLINT 32 made her last trip out of Ludington, Mich., pulled by two tugs. She was sold to Norfolk and Western Railway Company to be converted into a river ferry barge and renamed b.) ROANOKE by Nicholson’s Terminal & Dock Co. at Ecorse, Mich.

On 24 December 1910, ALASKA (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 165 foot, 348 tons, built in 1879, at Detroit, Michigan) was sheltering from a storm a few miles from Tobermory, Ont., when she caught fire from an overheated boiler and burned to a total loss. She was originally built as a side-wheel passenger vessel, her engine came from the JOHN SHERMAN of 1865 and went into the steamer FRANK E. KIRBY of 1890.

On 24 December 1875, the Port Huron Times listed the following vessels at winter lay-up at St. Clair, Mich. -- Scows: ANNA H MOORE, A MONROE, MYRTLE, CLIPPER VISION, J SNADERS and B MONROE; Steamers: BERTIE DAHLKE and HELEN; Schooners: JOHN RICE and M R GOFFE; Barges: MILLIN and JUSTIN R. WHITING; Tug: C.M. FARRAR; and Dredge: H LIFIAN.

On Christmas Eve 1979, while at her temporary dock in Milwaukee, Wis., the steamer E. M. FORD sank when gale force winds forced her from her moorings and repeatedly slammed her bow into the dock facing. By Christmas morning her stern was settled on the bottom, her engine room flooded. Her storage cargo of powdered cement was partially flooded also. By afternoon, the proud steamer lay sunken at her dock. She stayed on the bottom for several weeks as crews had to remove a solid 3 feet of hardened cement and patch her holed bow. On January 20th, 1980, she was refloated and towed to Bay Shipbuilding where work began on rebuilding her.

1976: The former MARIA K., of 1956, visited the Seaway in 1963. It sustained a fire in the engine room as c) ASTYANAX at Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The vessel was loaded with cement and became a total loss. It was scuttled in the Atlantic south of Abidjan, on November 18, 1977, after the cargo had solidified.

1977: The West German freighter MAGDEBURG began visiting the Seaway in 1959 and had made 31 voyages inland to the end of 1967. It was sailing from Hull, England, and Antwerp, Belgium, for East Africa when it ran aground at Haisborough Sand in bad weather. The ship was refloated the same day but with serious damage. It was sold for scrap and dismantling began in May 1978.

1982: TUKWILA CHIEF came through the Seaway in 1982 after previous visits as a) ESTHER CHARLOTTE SCHULTE as early as 1962. Fire broke out on board, two days out of Souris, PEI, with a cargo of potatoes. The blaze spread through the cabins and the ship was gutted. One sailor was lost but the remainder was rescued. The ship was brought to Sydney and, on September 20, 1983, was towed out into the deep waters of the Atlantic and scuttled.

1983: The Welland Canal pilot boat CISCOE was enroute to Port Dover for the winter when it lost power in heavy seas. The GRIFFON took the small ship in tow but it flipped over, broke loose and eventually sank. The 2 members of the crew were saved.

1987: The tug G.W. ROGERS left the Great lakes in November 1987 but sank at Albany, on this date during the trip south to the Netherlands Antilles. While refloated, it never made it south and was noted at Liberty Park, New York, in October 1997.

1997: The barge DUPUIS No. 10, under tow of the tug TECHNO-ST. LAURENT, sank in Lake Erie while bound from Buffalo to the Welland Canal. There were no casualties.

1999: The BARDE TEAM, enroute from Singapore with steel pipes, began taking on water, developed a list and sank in the Indian Ocean. It first came through the Seaway in 1976 as a) SAMSON SCAN and returned under her final name in 1992.

12/22 - The tug Diavlos Pride, which has shepherded many lakers to the scrapyards of Aliaga, Turkey, is herself being scrapped. She was beached at Aliaga this week. Some of her scrap tows included Algomarine, Algoma Montrealais, Algoma Navigator and Pineglen.

12/22 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay recently completed and delivered an Articulated Tug Barge Unit to Kirby Corporation, the premier tank barge operator in the United States.

“We are pleased to deliver this new addition to the Kirby fleet," said Todd Thayse, vice president and general manager of Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. "This beautiful vessel is a testament to the skills of the extraordinary American men and women who built this ship and who strive daily to deliver rugged and reliable ships that will stand the test of time.”

The tug Ronnie Murph has an overall length of 130 feet, a beam of 42 feet, a depth of 23 feet and a 19-foot draft. The 8,000 hp vessel has a speed of more than 12 knots. The barge Kirby 155-03 is 521 feet in length with a breadth of 72 feet and a depth of 41 feet, and has a 155,000-barrel capacity.

Kirby Corporation transports bulk liquid products throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, along all three U.S. coasts and in Alaska and Hawaii. The company operates the largest inland and offshore tank barge fleets in the United States.

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding is an operating division of Fincantieri Marine Group, the United States subsidiary of global shipbuilding giant Fincantieri, which employs almost 20,000 people in 20 shipyards on four different continents. Located in Trieste, Italy, Fincantieri has a 230-year track record of building more than 7,000 ships for government and commercial customers.

Fincantieri operates in the United States through its subsidiary Fincantieri Marine Group. This company, which serves government customers including the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, has three shipyards — Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding and Fincantieri Ace Marine — all located in the Great Lakes region.

Green Bay Press Gazette

12/22 - Washington, D.C. – Most military members and veterans won’t face drastic consequences if the government partially shuts down at midnight tonight, but Coast Guard members could shoulder significant hardships in the days to come.

More than 43,000 Coast Guard employees — nearly 90 percent of the force — could be forced to work without pay for the duration of a shutdown, according to planning documents from the Department of Homeland Security released earlier this year.

A few thousand others would be furloughed until the federal budget fight is settled. Homeland Security and Office of Management and Budget officials have not detailed what impact those moves will have on current Coast Guard operations.

Congress must pass some form of funding by midnight Dec. 21 to prevent a partial government shutdown.

But White House officials in the previous government shutdown last January worked to minimize public disruptions from the political stalemate. Border security and coastal operations could continue on normal schedule, just without the individuals conducting the work being paid for their labor.

The shutdown, which is slated to begin at midnight, stems from fight over President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall which has stalled a series of unfinished agency budget bills. Funding for the Departments of Justice, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, State and Homeland Security will expire at the end of the day if an agreement isn’t reached.

Missing from that list are the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, because lawmakers finished work on those appropriations measures earlier this year. That means that the partial government shutdown won’t impact troops’ pay, military family support programs and delivery of veteran’s benefits.

It’s good news for all service members except those in the Coast Guard, whose funding is handled through the Department of Homeland Security instead of the Department of Defense.

Federal employees who are required to work through a shutdown are typically given back pay by lawmakers after the disputes are settled. But in the case of a lengthy shutdown — many lawmakers are worried this impasse could last until the start of the next Congress, on Jan. 3 — that could mean missing multiple paychecks while still reporting for duty.

In the past, federal officials have said the Coast Guard’s maritime commerce and recreational boating activities would be disrupted by shutdowns, although it’s unclear if Trump administration officials have drafted separate plans to keep them operating as well.

Military Times

[yachtsmanwilly]

12/25 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – In October 1975, at the age of 18 and fresh out of high school, Dave Dart started a job at Bay Shipbuilding and had the privilege of working on the first 1,000-foot vessel that the company built in Sturgeon Bay.

“My first job was putting together the inner bottoms for the Belle River. You start right from the bottom, like the foundation for a house,” Dart said. “It was a sense of accomplishment to see it go. I worked on that for two years before it was done. As technology advanced, we were down to seven, eight months to build a 1,000-footer.”

Forty-three years later, the Belle River is still plying the Great Lakes for the American Steamship Company (although since 1990 it has sailed as the Walter J. McCarthy Jr., after the then-newly retired chair of the board of Detroit Edison; its cargo is mostly coal carried from Superior, Wisconsin, to Detroit Edison plants in Michigan); and Dave Dart is still a proud part of the Bay Shipbuilding family.

“Always the inside joke was, we have more people from the shipyard than we have in our own family,” he said. “We’ve raised children together. We’ve lost children. Most of us have lost our parents. We give one another a hard time, but if you pick on one of us, you can bet there’s a half-dozen who will come to protect you. This guy’s got your back — or lady. We’ve got a lot of ladies here.”

This fall, as Dart was celebrating his 43rd year with Bay Shipbuilding, the company itself celebrated its half-century in business.

Read more and view photos/video at this link: doorcountypulse.com/a-half-century-of-shipbuilding/

12/25 - St. Catharines, Ont. – Algoma Central has announced that all of the company’s domestic dry-bulk collective agreements have been ratified and will be in force until 2023. This includes four officer contracts represented by the Canadian Merchant Service Guild (“CMSG”) and unlicensed seafarer collective agreements with the Seafarer’s International Union (“SIU”) and UNIFOR.

The renewed agreements provide for competitive compensation packages and increased flexibility in crew utilization and scheduling. Changes were also made to provide greater security for customers and shipboard employees of Algoma.

“To everyone involved in this process, thank you for all of your hard work,” said Gregg Ruhl, Chief Operating Officer of Algoma. “These new agreements mean stability to not only our valued customers but to our current and future employees. We look forward to continuing our strong relationship with the unions and appreciate their support in the success of these negotiations,” continued Mr. Ruhl.

Algoma Central Corporation

12/25 - Duluth, Minn. – The storm surge that battered Duluth's shoreline earlier this month has caused the city more than $18 million of damage. Mayor Emily Larson revealed the total cost of the damage on Friday, saying the St. Louis County board will have to make an emergency declaration as part of an appeal for federal aid.

Waves of up to 20 feet were reported on Lake Superior as 65-winds whipped up the waters, bringing a surge crashing into the Twin Ports' coastline.

Most of the damage was inflicted on the Lakewalk Trail walkway that straddles the shoreline, with the section between the canal and Leif Erikson Park worst hit. The trail was already awaiting restoration work after sustaining $10 million damage caused by two storms in 2017, and was further damaged in the Oct. 10 storm.

Other damaged parts of the city include a section of seawall by the slip bridge, sidewalk behind the DECC Arena, missing revetment along the shoreline, the 12th Street beach access boardwalk, Brighton Beach, the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad line, and a walking trail behind The Ledges residential units.

The city has already been working to restore public access to the damaged areas, and plans to open a temporary path on the Lakewalk Trail in Canal Park by the end of the week. A temporary path will also be put in place behind the DECC and restore vehicle access to Brighton Beach.

BringMeTheNews.com

E.G. GRACE carried 14,797 tons of taconite ore on her last trip out of Taconite Harbor, Minnesota bound for South Chicago, Illinois and then was laid up at Ashtabula, Ohio on December 25, 1976, with engine trouble which often plagued the six "Al" ships powered with Lentz-Poppet engines. The lay-up of the E.G. GRACE lasted until April 1984, when she became the first Maritimer to be sold for scrap.

On 25 December 1849 the SISKAWIT (wooden schooner, 50 t, built in 1840) was sailing light on Lake Superior when a storm drove her onto a bar near the mouth of the Chocolay River, southeast of Marquette, Michigan, where she was wrecked. Those aboard had “kidnapped” her and her cargo at L’Anse a few days earlier.

1975: GEORGE M. CARL (ii), inbound at Toronto with a winter storage cargo of grain, missed the turn for the Western Gap and stranded in Humber Bay. Tugs pulled the ship free on December 27.

1981: The Halco tanker HUDSON TRANSPORT caught fire 200 miles east of Quebec City enroute from Montreal to the Magdalen Islands with 40,000 barrels of Bunker C. oil. The accommodation area was destroyed and 7 lives were lost. The ship was towed to Sept-Iles, unloaded and then to Montreal where it was declared a total loss. It later saw brief service as the barge b) SCURRY and went to Nigeria in 1992 as c) REMI.

1985: The former CLIFFS VICTORY passed down the Welland Canal as c) SAVIC, enroute to eventual scrapping in South Korea. It does not arrive there until Dec. 12, 1986.

2000: TWINSISTER had come to the Great Lakes in 1985. The vessel was reported to have caught fire in the engineroom as d) MELATI off Vung Tau, Vietnam, with the blaze spreading to the accommodation area. The listing freighter was abandoned by the 18-member crew and the ship was presumed to have sunk. It was located December 31 and found to have been looted by pirates. The ship arrived in Singapore, under tow, on January 4, 2001, and was apparently repaired, becoming e) WIN DUKE in 2003 and f) HAN LORD in 2006.

[yachtsmanwilly]

In 1981, the steamer ENDERS M. VOORHEES laid up for the last time at the Hallett Dock #5 in Duluth, Minnesota.
On 26 December 1916, the wreck of the wooden self-unloading freighter TOPEKA was leveled by dynamiting. She sank just off Windsor/Sandwich, Ontario, in the Detroit River on 15 April 1916, in a collision with the small steamer CHRISTOPHER. Her machinery was removed prior to dynamiting.

1909: The former whaleback steamer COLGATE HOYT, operating on the East Coast since 1906, was wrecked as c) THURMOND in a storm at Tom's River Bay, NJ enroute from Newport News, VA to Portland, ME with a cargo of coal.

1973: The Liberian freighter ADELFOI, a Seaway caller in 1972 and 1973, was under tow on the St. Lawrence due to engine trouble. The ship broke loose and came ashore at St. Laurent, Ile d'Orleans and became a total loss. It was refloated on May 9, 1974, and eventually towed to Santander, Spain, for scrapping.

1982: BELMONA was newly built when it visited the Great Lakes in 1962. It sank as e) RHODIAN SAILOR south of Taiwan after the holds were flooded in a storm. The ship was carrying bagged cement and there was only one survivor.

[yachtsmanwilly]

SAVIC, b.) CLIFFS VICTORY cleared the Welland Canal on Christmas night 1985, and finally anchored at Pointe aux Trembles near Montreal, Quebec, on December 27, awaiting another load of scrap. The SAVIC remained there the entire winter, because the underwriters ordered that her hull be re-enforced by welding straps to her stress points for her overseas journey.
THOMAS W. LAMONT as a single tow arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, on December 27, 1987, where she was scrapped. The LAMONT was one of the last bulkers that retained her telescoping hatch covers to the very end.

1985:The wooden sailing ship CIUDAD DE INCA sank in shallow water at Portsmouth, Ontario, during a snowstorm. The vessel was refloated January 10, 1986, with machinery but no structural damage. It had come inland for the Lake Ontario Tall Ships Extravaganza in 1984. Due to an earlier problem, it had to stay out of American waters where it was subject to an arrest warrant due to the sinking of the MARQUES, owned by the same company, in a Tall Ships race from Bermuda to Halifax.

[yachtsmanwilly]

12/28 - Duluth, Minn. – The Lake Superior shipping industry braced for a long overnight of gale-force winds – and was doing so without the network of weather buoys which have already been swept up for the season by the U.S. Coast Guard buoy tenders.

Gale warnings were scheduled to start at 10 p.m. Thursday and last until noon Friday.

The American Integrity tucked behind Sand Island on the South Shore, just west of the Apostle Islands, expecting to wait out the waves caused by northeasterly winds predicted to sustain between 23-40 mph with gusts up to 70 mph midlake near the Keweenaw Peninsula.

The thousand footer, one of the Duluth-based Great Lakes Fleet of lakers, figured to wait until midday Friday for an ore dock to open up in Two Harbors, where the Joseph L. Block was loading.

The jaunt across the nose of the lake to Two Harbors is a short hour-and-a-half under reasonable conditions. But the gale warning portended something more wicked and was worth settling down for, said Ron Williams. As is his usual, Williams, the port meteorological officer for the National Weather Service in Duluth, was in communication with most of the ships out on the lake.

"I spend a lot of time with captains on decisions. It's all part of the job," he said. "I'll get calls in the middle of night. I try to give good information and keep them safe."

Quiet conditions in recent weeks on the lake were giving way to the storm system that Williams said shot out of Colorado holding a lot of moisture. The center of the storm is expected to arrive roughly over Sault Ste. Marie at the eastern edge of Lake Superior, with pinwheeling winds driving waves north across the lake.

A shipboard network of weather spotting has solely taken over the weather monitoring on the lakes. The buoys come out early and go back in around May – well after the March 25 reopening of the shipping season. In short, the vessels are used to working together to understand what they're getting into weather-wise. The National Weather Service has instruments aboard most of the U.S.- and Canadian-flagged ships, Williams said. He spends a lot of his time aboard ships, training crews on how to read instruments and record the data.

"I have over 100 ships taking part in the Voluntary Observing Ship program," Williams said, giving the official name. "We get weather data from the ships to include in the model for forecast purposes — wind speed, barometric pressure, water temperature."

Ships, such as the American Integrity, can anchor on the South Shore, but the deep waters and strong current on the North Shore will force ships to either stay in harbor or test the shoreline — which can be risky for the way the current and deep water can make for rough going along the rugged coastline.

Williams noted a ship that took off in a storm earlier this year, leaving Two Harbors to get beaten up by 25-foot waves and 50-70 mph winds. It was bad enough to need repairs, he said.

"There are some of the salties that will blast through everything," he said, of the ocean-goers who've already ended their season locally. "You can go north, hug all the way to Thunder Bay, Marathon (Canada) right on the northern edge and follow the coast down. It adds a full day onto travel. But they like to keep moving, that's for sure."

The Soo Locks figure to be conducting business as usual for ships reaching the locks at the calm center of the storm, Williams said. The locks close for the season at 11:59 p.m., on Jan. 15.

Duluth News Tribune


12/28 - State and federal officials say they have inked an agreement that commits $52 million in state funds to the $1 billion Soo Locks upgrade, potentially accelerating the project's completion by almost a year and saving $30 million.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and the Detroit District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Wednesday a memorandum of agreement that officially designates the state funds to the long-planned improvement of the shipping lock complex in Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula.

Officials said the state's contribution will be put toward design work and construction activities, including deepening the upstream channel to accommodate modern vessels.

Lt. Col. Greg Turner, district engineer for the Army Corps' Detroit District, said the state funds will be combined with $32 million in federal money to execute the entire upstream channel deepening, "buying down risk by moving the project completion ahead nearly a full year and saving an additional $30 million."

"The state of Michigan's contribution demonstrates their commitment to the construction of the new Soo Lock and highlights the importance of the project to the state and the nation," Turner said in a statement.

The new 1,200-foot-long lock would mirror the 49-year-old Poe lock, which is the only one of the four shipping locks at Sault Ste. Marie that can handle the largest freighters carrying 89 percent of the cargo through the corridor. The new lock would provide redundancy, so cargo could keep moving in the case of an unexpected outage of the Poe.

"The Soo Locks are essential to our economy and national security. The time is long overdue for construction to begin on the new lock,” Snyder said in a statement. “I’m pleased that the work is finally getting underway and hope that Congress quickly provides the rest of the funds needed to complete the project.”

Snyder first pledged $50 million from Michigan's budget surplus to the Soo Locks project in May during the annual Mackinac Policy Conference. He said he's also called other Great Lakes states to secure another $150 million for the project. The process of building the replacement lock is expected to take seven to 10 years, requiring additional federal funds appropriated each year.

A replacement lock in the Soo was first authorized by Congress in 1986 but then stalled for decades. Congress reauthorized the project this fall at a cost estimate of $922 million. The project gained traction earlier this year after the Army Corps released a new economic analysis in June that allowed the new lock to compete for construction funding.

The Soo Locks also caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who promised to "fix" the locks after hearing from three Republican lawmakers from Michigan during an April visit to Macomb County.

The Army Corps has allocated nearly $32.4 million in 2019 as part of the first phase of construction, spokeswoman Lynn Rose said last month. Rose said the money would be used to deepen the upstream channel to the Davis and Sabin locks to the depth needed for the project.

The new lock, which will be constructed in the place of the inactive 23-foot-deep Davis / Sabin locks, will match the depth of the Poe lock's 32 feet in depth.

Detroit News


12/28 - ArcelorMittal USA on Wednesday announced it is replacing Cleveland-Cliffs as the manager of the 8.0 million-ton-per year iron ore pellet plant in Hibbing. No changes in production volumes or operating plans will occur, according to an ArcelorMittal USA statement.

The announcement ends about four months of speculation over management of the taconite plant. Cleveland-Cliffs, which had overseen management of the plant, said in mid-August it would not manage the facility beyond August 12, 2019. However, the announcement is not surprising. ArcelorMittal, with 62.3 percent ownership, holds the largest stake in the taconite plant. Cleveland-Cliffs owns 23 percent and United States Steel 14.7 percent.

“When Cliffs announced it would tender its resignation as managing partner, we knew that assuming oversight for the operation was the right thing for our business, the Hibbing workers and the Iron Range community,” John Brett, ArcelorMittal USA president and chief executive officer said in a prepared statement. “ArcelorMittal is responsible for a significant portfolio of raw material and mining assets throughout the world, producing more than 62 million tons of iron ore last year. Assuming the role of managing partner demonstrates ArcelorMittal's continue commitment to Hibbing Taconite while ensuring the long-term supply of quality iron ore to our key operations in the United States.”

On the Iron Range, ArcelorMittal also owns 100 percent and operates ArcelorMittal Minorca, a 2.8 million-ton-per taconite plant in Virginia.

The transition to ArcelorMittal USA management at Hibbing Taconite will occur over the next eight months. Terms of the recently ratified labor contract between United Steelworkers (USW) and Hibbing Taconite Co., will be honored, according to ArcelorMittal USA.

After several months of uncertainty about future ownership of the plant, the announcement provides a sense of the future, but also some uncertainty for about 650 United Steelworkers (USW) members who work at the taconite plant.

“It's kind of like the fear of the unknown,” said Chris Johnson, president of USW Local 2705 at Hibbing Taconite. “Our members have a lot of respect for Lourenco, (Cleveland-Cliffs president and CEO Lourenco Goncalves) for his track record with us and for doing what he says he is going to do. Now, we don't know what to expect.”

And another major issue facing Hibbing Taconite remains unresolved. The facility's ore reserves are running low, which means ArcelorMittal and its partners in the plant need additional sources of taconite to secure the plant's future. Currently, the facility has about four years of full production remaining and about seven total years of mine life, said Johnson.

“That's our biggest thing that our members worry about – life of mine,” said Johnson. “We need to find some reserves whether it be a land deal between U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal or whatever. Rumors are rampant about a land deal between U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal, so there could be some positives too. We gotta get this done somehow.”

Iron ore pellets produced at Hibbing Taconite and other Iron Range taconite plants are the primary ingredient used to make steel.

Hibbing Taconite began iron ore pellet production in 1976 after being built by Bethlehem Steel and Pickands Mather. Pickands Mather was the original plant manager.

A total of 735 hourly and salaried employees currently work at the facility. ArcelorMittal is the world's largest steelmaker with facilities in 60 countries.

Business North


12/28 - The partial shutdown of the U.S. government is impacting operations as key maritime agencies and offices across the country.

As a result, the Federal Maritime Commission has closed as of Wednesday due to the lapse in appropriations. With the exceptions of Acting Chairman Michael A. Khouri and Commissioner Rebecca Dye, who are Presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed officials, all commission employees have been placed on furlough and are prohibited by law from performing any duties during the shutdown.

The National Maritime Center (NMC) and all Regional Exam Centers (RECs) are also closed until further notice. This means that all customer walk-in service is suspended. Examinations and other REC appointments are also cancelled, and REC appointment calendars are closed. Applications may continue to be e-mailed or mailed in, but won’t be processed when the shutdown is over.

gCaptain


12/28 - The following is from Reed Wilson, a mate for The American Steamship Co., who has set up a GoFundMe page to help this tireless friend of Great Lakes sailors.

“If anyone has ever sailed on the Great Lakes, or knows someone who has, then you will be familiar with Marshal Bundren. Marshal comes to the boats at Burns Harbor, Indiana Harbor, Buffington Harbor, Burns Harbor or anywhere else he is asked to go to give sailors a much needed ride to a store, the doctor's office or a hospital. He'll come to an airport, train or bus station or rent a car office to bring a sailor to whatever boat that sailor is meeting at whatever harbor. He'll also come to the various docks in the Calumet River and take them wherever they need to be. He comes rain or shine, winter or summer, night or day and NEVER asks for money from anyone. He used to be supplemented by the Baptist Church, but they couldn't justify the few dollars they gave him each month, so now he survives just on donations from the sailors. Again, he will never ask for money, and if a sailor doesn't have any, he will still come and drive that person where they have to go, whenever they have to be somewhere.

“He presently drives a very tired Chevrolet van with close to 400,000 miles on it. As of late, he's been afraid to shut it off as the starter is going bad and might not have another start in it. The body is rusting off the frame, and most of the inner door panels have long ago fallen off. The big V-8 engine that powers the van is a gas hog from the millennial, and Indiana's roads are torturing the brakes, shocks and springs. Although the van has lasted a long time, it is on borrowed time and he has to throw away good money after bad to keep it on the road to get that sailor in need to where he needs to be. Many times he has driven to O'Hare or Midway airports to pick up sailors he's never met and expects nothing in return.

“Each year he drives his van to his church to pick up ‘care packages’ the ladies from his congregation have made for the sailors. It doesn't matter if you're a Christian, Muslim, Jewish or even a non-believer, everyone is treated the same and receives a warm hat, socks and toiletries from his church, and delivered in his van. Won't you please help Marshal get a newer vehicle so he can continue to help us? This is his life's work and without a vehicle, he'd have no reason to get out of bed. He does everything for other people, never thinking of himself. Surely we, as caring human beings, can spare a few dollars apiece to help Marshal.”

Reed Wilson Read more or contribute at this link: www.gofundme.com/marshal039s-van


HENRY FORD II was laid up in the Rouge Steel slip at Dearborn, Michigan, on December 28, 1988.
On 28 December 1907, CALDERA (steel propeller freighter, 504 foot, 6,328 gross tons) was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan.

On 28 December 1881, the steamer R J GORDON arrived in Port Huron from Marine City on her maiden voyage with a large number of passengers. She was powered with a steam engine with an 18-inch cylinder and 20-inch stroke. Her dimensions were 116 feet long with a 26-foot beam. She cost nearly $20,000 and was built to run between Algonac and Lexington.

1980: DUNAV reported taking water in heavy seas off Central Japan, enroute from Hamilton, Ontario, via Los Angeles, to Tsingtao, China, with steel and was never seen again. Thirty-one sailors perished.

1980: HOLMSIDE, a Seaway trader beginning in 1960, hit a jetty while inbound at Casablanca, Morocco, as b) CABINDA and sank in the outer harbor with the loss of 9 lives.

1980: The former PRINS ALEXANDER, a Seaway trader for the Oranje Lijn beginning in 1959, struck a reef off Shadwan Island as f) POLIAGOS and sank in the Gulf of Suez. It was loaded with bagged cement and enroute from Piraeus, Greece, to Giza, United Arab Republic.

2011: An arson fire gutted the former NORMAC, most recently a restaurant ship at St. Catharines.

2011: MISSISSIPPIBORG ran aground leaving Pictou, Nova Scotia, with paper, but was refloated on the high tide only to go aground again on a second try. It had been a Seaway trader in 2011.

[yachtsmanwilly]

In 1905, B. F. JONES (Hull#15), 530 x 56 x 31 with a capacity of 10,000 tons, slid down the ways at Great Lakes Engineering Works, Ecorse, Mich. The JONES was built at a cost of $400,000 for Jones and Laughlin Steel. She was declared a constructive total loss after a collision with the CASON J. CALLAWAY in the St. Marys River on August 21, 1955. Most of the hull was scrapped at Superior, Wis., in 1956. Part of the hull became the crane barge SSC-1. Her forward cabins and hatch crane and covers were installed on the SPARKMAN D. FOSTER.
In 1952, a total of 35 boats were laid up for the season at Cleveland. The WILLIAM FAIRBAIRN, GEORGE STEPHENSON, and ANDREW S. UPSON had storage cargoes of flax, the MICHAEL GALLAGHER had a storage cargo of wheat, and the remaining 31 vessels were empty.

In 1941, at the close of the shipping season, the Great Lakes fleet consisted of 513 boats of U.S. Registry and 279 boats of Canadian Registry.

At 4:00 p.m., 31 December 1895, the PURITAN (wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 172 foot, 289 gross tons, built in 1887, at Benton Harbor, Michigan) burned at the dock in Oak Hill (Manistee), Michigan. She was a total loss.

Upon suggestion from the U.S. Maritime Commission, surplus World War II cargo vessels, many of which had laid up on the James River, were made available for sale under the Great Lakes Vessel Sales Act of 1950 (enacted September 28, 1950) to be converted for Great Lakes use. The act allowed Great Lakes fleets to purchase up to 10 surplus ships by December 31, 1951, and receive a 90% cost subsidy to convert and refurbish them for lakes use. The first such conversion occurred when the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co. of Cleveland, Ohio bought the NOTRE DAME VICTORY (later CLIFFS VICTORY) on December 10, 1950.

GEORGE M. HUMPHREY of 1953 was laid up for the last time at the old Great Lakes Engineering Works slip at River Rouge, Mich., beginning December 31, 1983.

The QUEDOC, a.) NEW QUEDOC, was laid up for the last time on December 31, 1984, at Toronto, Ont., alongside the SENATOR OF CANADA.

On 31 December 1884, ADMIRAL (wooden propeller steam tug, 49 gross tons, built in 1883, at Chicago, Ill.) had her boiler explode in Chicago harbor. All four of the crew was killed.

In 1884, the PERE MARQUETTE NO 1 ran aground at Ludington, Mich.

December 31, 1919 - The entire Ann Arbor carferry fleet was tied up in Frankfort, Mich., due to bad weather.

On 31 December 1889, H. M. Loud of Oscoda, Mich., sold the 551-ton wooden schooner ANGUS SMITH to Mitchell Brothers of Marine City, Mich., for $16,000. The vessel was built in 1871.

1905: The whaleback Barge 126 had left the Great Lakes earlier in the year and was renamed b) BADEN. It stranded at Buzzard's Bay, Mass., enroute from Newport News, Va., to New Bedford, Mass., with coal and was a total loss. The crew of six was also lost.

On December 30, 1987, the THOMAS WILSON, under tow in the North Atlantic heading to be scrapped, parted her towline and sank near position 34.08'N by 61.35'12"W (approximately in line with Cape Hatteras, North Carolina) early the next day.
GEORGE M. HUMPHREY (Hull#796) was launched December 30, 1926, for Kinsman Transit Co. at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co. Renamed b.) CAPT JOHN ROEN in 1945, c.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1948 and d.) CONSUMERS POWER in 1958, scrapped at Taiwan in 1988.

The first steel carferry, PERE MARQUETTE, was launched in nearly completed form on December 30, 1896. The ship was built for the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad (predecessor to the Pere Marquette) and entered service just a few weeks later.

1981: VISHVA DHARMA came through the Seaway when new in 1970. The vessel was in a collision on this date with the ADMIRAL S. ALTINCAN and sustained damage to the forecastle and sides. The ship reached Istanbul, Turkey, enroute to Russia on January 7, 1982. The damage was repaired and it survived until scrapping at Bombay, India, in 1988.

B. F. JONES was launched December 29, 1906, as a.) GENERAL GARRETSON.
KINSMAN INDEPENDENT was launched in 1906, as a.) WILLIAM B. KERR (Hull#72) at Chicago, Illinois, by Chicago Ship Building Co. for the Weston Transit Co.

Kinsman's new GEORGE M. HUMPHREY was christened on December 29, 1926.

GOLDEN HIND was laid up for the last time on December 29, 1985, at Toronto, Ontario.

On 29 December 1813, ARIEL (4-gun armed schooner, 112 tons, built in 1813, at Erie, Pennsylvania, as part of Perry's fleet) ran aground in a squall at Black River (now Buffalo) and was burned by the British.

CAROLINE (wooden sidewheeler, 71 foot, 46 tons, built in 1822, at New York City, New York) was chartered to transport arms and munitions to Navy Island near Buffalo. On 29 December 1837, she was commandeered by about 60 Canadian rebels under the command of a Royal Navy officer at Schlosser on the Niagara River. In the fight that followed, she was set afire, abandoned and allowed to drift down the river. Some sources say that she went over the falls. This incident caused hostile feelings along the U.S. northeastern frontier for many months.

1935: The Norwegian freighter AGGA came to the Great Lakes as early as 1923 and returned on several occasions until at least through 1934. It had gone aground in the St. Lawrence on October 27, 1924 and again on November 25, 1925. The 1905-vintage cargo carrier was wrecked on this date at Gunnorstenarne, Sweden.

1974: The Swedish freighter RAGNEBORG was newly built when it came to the Great Lakes in 1947 and was a regular inland trader through 1963. The vessel was sailing as c) CHAVIN when the engine broke down and it was towed into Puerto Cortes, (not sure if it was Costa Rica or Honduras), and beached. It never sailed again and was still there as late as 1978.

1979: A spark from a welder's torch spread from the conveyor belt and gutted the pilothouse and officer's quarters of the NICOLET at Toledo. The vessel was rebuilt with a new pilothouse at Lorain and returned to service on April 4, 1981.

12/29 - Duluth, Minn. – As the Twin Ports shipping season comes to a close, so does a decades-long career for one Aerial Lift Bridge Operator.

On Thursday, after nearly 30 years, Paul Thomas put in his last shift as a bridge operator. Thomas is a life-long resident of Duluth and started working with the city after four years with the Marines.

Family members gathered on the bridge Thursday with signs in hand to celebrate his retirement. They all refer to the iconic bridge as “Pauly’s Bridge.” “He has great pride in his work and the bridge has been part of his identity over the past three decades,” said Kim Oppelt, Thomas’ niece.

During his years working as an operator, Oppelt said Thomas captured plenty of Lake Superior sunrises and sunsets and the ships that would make their way to the Twin Ports.

View photos at this link: kbjr6.com/news/top-stories/2018/12/27/aerial-lift-bridge-operator-hangs-up-hat-after-nearly-30-years

12/29 - Duluth, Minn. – The costly and complicated task of shoring up and cleaning up Minnesota Slip — long home to a popular floating museum, the William A. Irvin — could easily have been enough to give the city of Duluth a financial migraine in 2018.

All told, a cascade of related projects will add up to an estimated $11 million bill, said Jim Filby Williams, Duluth's director of public administration. But the city of Duluth won't be asked to bear those costs alone. Federal, state and local partners will help lighten the load, leaving the city with about $1 million of anticipated financial exposure.

The Duluth Entertainment Convention Center is expected to shoulder much of the burden — $5.158 million to be exact. Much of that support will come from the $4.483 million in savings the DECC realized when it refinanced bonds that were issued to build Amsoil Arena, thanks to its ability to cash in on lower interest rates.

Those funds could have been used to help pay for other needed work at the DECC, including several large roof replacement projects now on the horizon, said Chelly Townsend, the DECC's executive director.

"It was a tough decision, but we needed to make that decision, because of how unsafe that area was. So, it was difficult to say no," she said.

Filby Williams said the city decided to tackle several projects together, entangled by design. "What we're really talking about is four inextricably interrelated projects. No one of which can be undertaken without the others — the contaminant cleanup, the seawall reconstruction, the Irvin relocation and the renewal of the Irvin's failing hull," he said.

Filby Williams said the city would have been hard-pressed to tackle the projects separately.

"The contaminants in the slip could not be cleaned up unless the Irvin could be removed. And the Irvin could not be removed unless and until the seawall was reconstructed, because it was was bulging in a way that would have made it impossible to get through the Blue Bridge. And that unusual intersection of interests is what motivated this unusual federal/state/local authority funding package," he said.

The projects serve the public good on multiple fronts, according to Filby Williams. He noted that capping contaminated sediments in the slip will assist ongoing efforts to restore the St. Louis River estuary.

"But the restoration of the waterfront and the seawall itself also is critical to the future of the DECC and our tourism economy. That waterfront plays host to the DECC's Irvin operation, the DECC-supported Vista Fleet operation, the connection from Canal Park hotels to the DECC itself and the DECC-managed Bayfront Festival Park, the location of our occasional tall ship festivals and an envisioned cruise ship docking facility," he said.

"Without the seawall restoration project, those critical DECC-related activities would eventually have had to either cease altogether or would have faced serious impediments," Filby Williams said.

He noted that the seawall had been rapidly failing, with dangerous sinkholes forming behind it, forcing the closure of a walkway and the demolition of a building formerly used to board Vista Fleet tour boat rides.

Townsend agreed the seawall needed immediate attention, prompting the DECC's board of directors to support the project. But the costs continued to snowball. The DECC was unable to operate the Irvin in 2018, sacrificing about $225,000 in revenue.

When it was determined the laker would need to depart Minnesota Slip to make way for the cleanup, the DECC agreed to split the cost of the relocation with the city of Duluth. But if the project cost exceeded $600,000, the city pledged to cover the rest of the bill.

Filby Williams said the cost of moving the vessel from Minnesota Slip to Fraser Shipyards and back now is anticipated to exceed $800,000. The transit is particularly challenging because of the tight squeeze required, as the 611-foot laker has just 7 inches to spare on either side as it passes through the narrowest portions of the slip.

The DECC will seize the opportunity at Fraser to drydock the Irvin and have its hull patched and repainted. Also, a leaky propeller and a couple of broken winches will be repaired.

The city of Duluth successfully sought and received a $500,000 grant to help cover the cost of the Irvin's repairs, but Townsend said the bill now is expected to total about $650,000, leaving the DECC on the hook for $150,000.

Repairs to the Irvin are expected to be completed by no later than May 15, and it will make the return trip to the Minnesota Slip as soon as weather permits. The movement will require relatively calm conditions, given the delicate maneuvering involved.

It's possible the Irvin won't be ready to receive its first guests until June — a month later than usual — but Townsend said she's eager to see the reconditioned floating museum back in operation.

Duluth News Tribune

[ppat324]

Cargo diversity up across docks at Port of Monroe
1/1 - Monroe, Mich. – Port of Monroe is celebrating another milestone year. This time it comes in the form of cargo diversity. “The port is as vibrant as it ever has been despite rapid changes in cargo transportation,” Port Director Paul C. LaMarre III said. “Cargo diversity across our docks is up.”
Despite some challenges early in 2018, the port continues to thrive. This shipping season saw the opening of the riverfront intermodal dock. The dock, a $3.6 million investment, saw its first ship in April. The Huron Spirit brought a load of steel coils for the automotive industry.
“We had an agreement to handle loads of steel coils, but only got that one shipment because of the steel tariffs,” LaMarre explained. “Effectively that business evaporated overnight.” But LaMarre did not get discouraged. “We are a nimble organization,” he said. “We adapt to change.”
The Port of Monroe welcomed a new face to its team this month. Mark Rohn has been hired as assistant port director, said LaMarre. Rohn began his maritime career in 1978 as a vessel agent with N. M. Paterson & Sons. He worked in a variety of vessel operations with M.A. Hanna Company.
In 1992, Rohn was named director of operations for The Great Lakes Towing Company. A few years later, he joined the Oglebay Norton Company eventually serving as Vice President of Terminal Operations and Director of Human Resources until 2001. That year, he joined the Grand River Navigation Company serving as president for several years.
In the last 18 months, Rohn has worked with DRM, the Port of Monroe’s terminal operator. He is a member of the Great Lakes Marine Hall of Fame.
“Mark is one of the most respected people in the Great Lakes maritime industry,” LaMarre said. After 40 years in the shipping industry, Rohn said he is grateful to work at the port. “I’m glad I am getting an opportunity,” he said.
LaMarre forged a deal with the Great Lakes Towing Co. and Great Lakes Shipyard to establish towing and shipyard services at the port.
As part of the partnership, Great Lakes Towing relocated the tug Wisconsin to the port to help with ship assistance. The tug is the oldest commercially operating tug boat in the world. It was built in 1897 in Buffalo, N.Y., by the Union Dry Dock Co.
International shipping returned to the port after a nearly two-year battle. International cargo was not able to call upon the port based on labor issues not related to the port. Earlier this year, the U.S. government intervened and reopened international shipping to the Port of Monroe and the Port of Toledo.
During the 2014 shipping season, the port set tonnage records and nearly set another one the following season. LaMarre said this year the tonnage figures will be down, but the port’s diversification of cargo is up. “We continue to move a wide variety of cargo through the port,” he said. “We are moving more gypsum on the dock and by rail.”
The port also is handling all the bottom ash from DTE Energy’s Monroe Power Plant, along with components for wind towers and natural gas pipeline sections.
LaMarre said this year the port’s season will continue through the winter due to a new development related to liquid asphalt. The M/V Iver Bright, owned by Varoon, a company in the Netherlands, began calling on the port recently. The Iver Bright is an asphalt tanker that recently made its first voyage from Montreal to Monroe.
“The single voyage qualified the port for its fourth Seaway Pacesetter Award in six years,” LaMarre said.
The vessel is unique, LaMarre said, because it was built in 2012 and is an ice class vessel, meaning it can operate year-long. “It will likely call upon the port all year, primarily between Sarnia, Ontario and Monroe,” LaMarre said. “It can also call upon Detroit and Toledo.”
The director anticipates this new aspect to the business will drive up the port’s tonnage in the coming year. “It’s a significant boost during what is typically the slowest time of the year for the port,” LaMarre said.

Port Reports - January 1
On this day in 1958, 76-year-old Rangvald Gunderson retired as wheelsman from the ELTON HOYT 2ND. Mr. Gunderson sailed on the lakes for 60 years.
On January 1, 1973, the PAUL H. CARNAHAN became the last vessel of the 1972 shipping season to load at the Burlington Northern (now Burlington Northern Santa Fe) ore docks in Superior, Wisconsin. Interestingly, the CARNAHAN also opened the Superior docks for the season in the spring of 1972.
On 1 January 1930, HELEN TAYLOR (wooden propeller steam barge, 56 foot, 43 gross tons, built in 1894, at Grand Haven, Michigan) foundered eight miles off Michigan City, Indiana. She was nicknamed "Pumpkin Seed," due to her odd shape.
January 1, 1900 - The Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad merged with the Chicago & West Michigan and the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western Railroads to form the Pere Marquette Railway Co.
On 1 January 1937, MAROLD II (steel propeller, 129 foot, 165 gross tons, built in 1911, at Camden, New Jersey, as a yacht) was siphoning gasoline off the stranded tanker J OSWALD BOYD (244 foot, 1,806 gross tons, built in 1913, in Scotland) which was loaded with 900,000 gallons of gasoline and was stranded on Simmons Reef on the north side of Beaver Island. A tremendous explosion occurred which totally destroyed MAROLD II and all five of her crew. Only pieces of MAROLD II were found. Her captain's body washed ashore in Green Bay the next year.
At time of loss, she was the local Beaver Island boat. The remains of the BOYD were removed to Sault Ste. Marie in June 1937.
1943: HAMILDOC (i) went south during World War Two to assist in the bauxite trade. The N.M. Paterson & Sons bulk canaller sank in the Caribbean after a three-day gale. The vessel, enroute from Georgetown, British Guiana, to Trinidad, was at anchor when the hull broke in two. All on board were saved.
2000: WISTERIA was built at Imabari, Japan, in 1976 and came through the Seaway that year. It was taking water in #1 hold as c) AIS MAMAS while enroute from West Africa to India with a cargo of logs. The crew was removed but the ship was taken in tow and reached Capetown, South Africa, on January 5. It was subsequently sold for scrap and arrived at Alang, India, for dismantling on April 23, 2000 and was beached the next day.
Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detr

[yachtsmanwilly]

While on the North Atlantic under tow for scrapping, ASHLAND parted her towline but was tracked by U.S. Coast Guard aircraft and was retrieved by her tug on January 2nd, 1988, some 300 miles off course.
The 3-masted wooden schooner M. J. CUMMINGS was launched at the shipyard of Goble & MacFarlane in Oswego, New York. Her owners were Mrs. Goble & MacFarlane, Daniel Lyons and E. Caulfield. Her dimensions were 142 foot 6 inches X 25 foot 2 inches X 11 foot 6 inches, 325 tons and she cost $28,000.

January 2, 1925 - The ANN ARBOR NO 7 (Hull#214) was launched at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Corp. She was sponsored by Jane Reynolds, daughter of R. H. Reynolds, marine superintendent of the railroad. Renamed b.) VIKING in 1983.

1967: The small Norwegian freighter RAAGAN dated from 1919 and had been a Pre-Seaway visitor to the Great Lakes as a) ERICH LINDOE, b) GRENLAND and c) HILDUR I. It sank in the North Sea about 60 miles north of the Dutch coast after developing leaks on a voyage from Egersund, Denmark, to Dordrecht, Netherlands, with a cargo of titanium. The crew was rescued.

1976: The XENY, which was towed into Cadiz Roads on January 1, capsized and sank on her side. The ship had caught fire on December 2 and was abandoned by the crew. It had first visited the Great Lakes as a) PRINS WILLEM II in 1955 and had been back as d) XENY in 1971.

1981: The heavy lift vessel MAMMOTH SCAN had heeled over while unloading at Abu Dhabi on October 15, 1980. The ship was righted and under tow when the towline parted off Algeria on December 28, 1980. The listing vessel was brought to Malaga Roads, Spain, on this date, healed over and sank as a total loss.

1987: A fire in the cargo hold of REMADA at Barcelona, Spain, resulted in heavy damage and the ship had to be sold for scrap. It had made one trip through the Seaway in November 1973 as b) ONTARIO.

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/3 - Montreal, Que. – The Virginiaborg became the first ocean-going vessel to reach the Port of Montreal without a stopover in 2019, by crossing the downstream limits of the Port at Sorel on January 2, at 3:50 a.m.

The Virginiaborg, under the command of Captain Volodymyr Yurchenko, is a bulk carrier operated by Wagenborg Shipping and represented in Montreal by the Lower St-Lawrence Ocean Agencies Ltd. The Virginiaborg left the Port of Porsgrunn, Norway, on December 20. It docked early this morning at Berth 42 at the terminal operated by Logistec.

Captain Yurchenko will receive, as part of an official ceremony, the Gold-Headed Cane, a trophy awarded each year to the master of the first ocean-going vessel to reach the Port of Montreal without a stopover. This ceremony will mark the 180th anniversary of this great tradition in the shipping community.

Montreal Times


1/3 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The Pipe Island Passage, East of Pipe Island Shoal and North of Pipe Island Twins from Watson Reef Light to Sweets Point, will close at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

The Pipe Island Course will become a two-way route.


For the second year in a row the tanker GEMINI (steel propeller tanker, 420 foot, 5,853 gross tons, built in 1978, at Orange, Texas) was the first vessel of the year in Manistee, Michigan. She headed to the General Chemical dock to load 8,000 tons of brine for Amherstburg, Ontario. The vessel arrived at Manistee in 2002, on January first, and Captain Riley Messer was presented a hackberry cane, crafted by local resident Ken Jilbert. A similar cane was presented to the vessel Saturday morning. Sold Canadian in 2005, renamed b.) ALGOSAR (i).
In 1939, the CHIEF WAWATAM ran aground on the shoals of the north shore near St. Ignace, Michigan.

On Jan 3, 1971, BEN W. CALVIN ran aground at the mouth of the Detroit River after becoming caught in a moving ice field.

In 1972, TADOUSSAC cleared Thunder Bay, Ontario, for Hamilton with 24,085 tons of iron ore, closing that port for the season.

1945: While not a Great Lakes event, what is considered the deadliest marine disaster in world history occurred on this date. The little-remembered event claimed the German passenger liner WILHELM GUSTLOFF loaded with over 10,000 refugees and naval personnel fleeing Germany in the latter stages of World War Two. It was torpedoed by a Russian submarine on the Baltic Sea and a reported 9,343 lives were lost. Another 1,239 reached safety.

1979: KOIKU MARU first visited the Seaway in 1967. It ran aground near Tartous, Syria, in stormy weather overnight and had to be abandoned as a total loss.