Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/4 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – The Canadian Coast Guard has dispatched its icebreaker Samuel Risley to Thunder Bay to conduct icebreaking operations in the harbor this week or as soon as it proves necessary.

According to a statement issued by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on Thursday, the Risley "may be required to work in the Thunder Bay port on or after Jan. 4...to assist commercial shipping." Thunder Bay harbormaster Guy Jarvis expects the ship to arrive by Friday evening.

Smaller US Coast Guard icebreaking cutters have been visiting the port since the end of November to help keep shipping lanes clear.

Jarvis said that there is currently ice within the breakwall but "not too much" outside it, but with five ships still due to come in to load cargo before the shipping season ends, it's good to have the Risley available.

"It all depends on how much it freezes overnight. You've got to look at where the vessels are going. On the Mission River, the Kam River, you get a couple of days of cold weather, yeah, you'll need some icebreaking assistance."

The last ship to leave port before the Soo Locks close is expected to do so about Jan. 11. Two vessels will spend the winter in Thunder Bay. Bulk carriers Algoma Strongfield and CSL Niagara will be docked at Keefer Terminal until navigation resumes in the spring.

TBNewswatch


On January 4, 1978, IRVING S. OLDS was involved in a collision with the steamer ARMCO while convoying in heavy ice in the Livingstone Channel of the lower Detroit River. The OLDS hit a floe of heavy ice, came to a complete stop and the ARMCO, unable to stop, hit the OLDS' stern.
In 1952, the car ferry SPARTAN (Hull#369) was launched at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Christy Corp.

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/7 - Montreal, Que. – The outing of a group of kayakers turned deadly on Saturday when a 56-year-old participant drowned in the icy waters of the St. Lawrence River.

For some unknown reason, the victim's kayak overturned. The man, from Carignan, was wearing a life jacket and the necessary equipment to keep warm, just like the rest of the group. The body of the man was carried by the current, quite strong at this time of the year.

"Unfortunately, the victim was caught between a cargo ship and the wharf at the Port of Montreal," said Benoît Martel, chief of operations at the Montreal Fire Department.

After more than an hour in the water, the man’s body was recovered. A coroner will shed light on the death, since there is no criminal element.

TVA Nouvelles.


1/7 - There is a high probability that Atlantic cod will be locally extinct in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence by mid-century — even with no commercial fishing, according to a new report. The paper, published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, says the death rate now stands at 50 per cent for adult Gulf cod five years and older.

The likely culprit? Grey seals. "That high a natural mortality is not sustainable," says Doug Swain, a federal Fisheries Department scientist who co-authored the study. Why recovery has failed for cod

Swain says this stock is particularly vulnerable because it tends to gather in the same places every year.

That includes predictable patterns of migration, spawning and overwintering in dense congregations off Cape Breton in numbers still large enough to attract grey seals that eat them.

Samples showed adult cod made up a large part of the grey seal diet in the overwintering area off St. Paul's Island, Cape Breton.

Swain and other researchers used models to predict what that could mean for the future of this cod population.

"In these projections, if we assume natural mortality were to stay where it is now and there was no fishing, then cod would be gone by middle of the century," he says.

"There is nothing to say it will stay where it is but if it is due to predation by grey seals and they continue to prey on cod like they are now, then there is no way this population recovers and it may decline to negligible levels."

Read more at this link: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/southern-gulf-of-st-lawrence-cod-could-be-extinct-by-mid-century-report-1.4966889


1/6 - Chippewa County, Mich. – After more than a week in the cold, a dog was reunited with his owners Friday evening. Logan, a white husky mix, went missing from St. Joseph Island in Ontario on Christmas day while he and his owners were visiting family.

Thursday Logan's owners, Lydia Selin and Kailaan Walker, got a call from the crew aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw. While patrolling the Michigan waterways, the crew saw a dog fall through the ice and struggle onto the shore of Lime Island.

A 20-person landing party went out to the island to search for the dog but couldn't get him to come to their calls. The crew set a fire on the shore of the island and left a bowl of macaroni before leaving the island.

Thursday, the crew passed the island again and found the dog along with an empty bowl of pasta.

The Mackinaw docked in Cheboygan Friday evening where Logan was reunited with Lydia and Kailaan. The crew told the family a vet was aboard the ship and was able to help Logan with his wounds.

9&10 News


1/5 - Lake Superior declined about 3 inches in December, a little less than it usually does for the month.

The International Lake Superior Board of Control reported Thursday that the big lake now sits 11 inches above its Jan. 1 long-term average but 2 inches below the level at this time last year.

Lakes Michigan-Huron dropped an inch over December, less than the normal 2-inch drop. The lakes now sit 20 inches above average and 3 inches above the level at Jan. 1, 2018.

The board of control says the above-average water levels, coupled with strong winds and waves, continue to result in shoreline erosion and coastal damages across the upper Great Lakes system, noting more shoreline erosion and coastal damages may occur this winter should active weather continue.

Duluth News Tribune


The keel was laid January 5, 1972, for ALGOWAY (Hull#200) at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd.
The wooden tug A. J. WRIGHT caught fire on 5 January 1893, while laid up at Grand Haven, Michigan. She burned to the water's edge. Her loss was valued at $20,000. She was owned by C. D. Thompson.

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

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

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

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

While under tow heading for scrap, the HARRY R. JONES went aground at Androsan, Scotland, on January 6, 1961, and it wasn't until February 15 that she arrived at her final port of Troon, Scotland.
January 6, 1999 - The Dow Chemical plant in Ludington, Michigan, announced a plan to close its lime plant, eliminating the need for Great Lakes freighters to deliver limestone.

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

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

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

07 January 1974 - EDMUND FITZGERALD (steel propeller bulk freighter, 711 foot, 13,632 gross tons, built in 1958, at River Rouge, Michigan) lost her anchor in the Detroit River when it snagged on ice. It was raised in July 1992. The anchor weighs 12,000 pounds and now resides outside the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan.
On January 7, 1970, the e.) ONG, a.) REDHEAD of 1930, had her Canadian registry closed. The tanker had been sold for use as a water tender at Antigua in the Lesser Antilles and had departed Toronto on December 1, 1969.

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

Yesterday at 0845hrs, wave action nearing 15 feet, took out the 25 foot south Manitowoc pier head light(G#3). This is a commercial harbor and the USCG is hesitant to replace it??? ws

1/8 - Manitowoc, Wis. – High winds and waves washed a lighthouse into Lake Michigan at Manitowoc on Monday. The U.S. Coast Guard says the South Pier Light's 20-foot-tall fiberglass tower, on the south side of the Manitowoc Breakwater, fell into the lake around 8:30 a.m. All that is left is the concrete base. No injuries were reported, the Coast Guard says.

nbc25news.com/news/nation-world/manitowoc-lighthouse-washed-into-lake-michigan?fbclid


1/8 - U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Sainte Marie commenced Operation Taconite, the Coast Guard’s largest domestic icebreaking operation, Monday, in response to expanded ice growth in the commercial ports of Western Lake Superior and the St. Marys River.

Operation Taconite encompasses Lake Superior, St. Marys River, Straits of Mackinac, Georgian Bay, Green Bay, northern Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan. Ice breaking operations are based on the following order of priorities: search and rescue, urgent response to vessels in deteriorating weather conditions, exigent community services for flood control and remote communities in immediate need of food, fuel for heat, energy, or and medical assistance, and facilitation of navigation.

In the coming weeks, various commercial waterways may close after due consideration is given to the protection of the marine environment and the safety of island residents who, in the course of their daily business, use naturally formed ice bridges for transportation to and from the mainland.

The authority for Coast Guard domestic ice breaking was created in 1936, by a signed Executive Order 7521 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt directing the U.S. Coast Guard “to assist in keeping open to navigation by means of ice breaking operations, in so far as practicable, and as the exigencies may require, channels and harbors in accordance with the reasonable demands of commerce.”

USCG



1/8 - Isle Royale, Mich. – Just months after the National Park Service started a relocation program to trap and transport new wolves to Michigan’s remote Isle Royale in hopes of boosting the dwindling pack, a winter survey that will give researchers their first peek at how the new wolves are fitting into their new home might be called off because of the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Staff from the research project posted a message Sunday night on the Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale Facebook page, alerting their followers that the winter survey, typically done by plane, might be grounded this year.

An effort to catch and relocate wolves to Michigan's Isle Royale National Park began last week.

“It is our present understanding that the 61st Winter Study of Wolves and Moose in Isle Royale National Park will not be allowed during the partial shutdown of the Federal government,” read the brief note.

Based at Michigan Technological University, it is the longest running predator-prey study of its kind. For decades, researchers have been tracking the number and pack structure of the island’s wolves and its moose. For the last few years, only two wolves have survived on the island in Lake Superior, located about 56 miles from the Upper Peninsula mainland. Meanwhile, the moose population has ballooned to more than 1,500, researchers have said.

Read more and view photos at this MLive link: www.mlive.com/news/2019/01/government-shutdown-threatens-wolf-and-moose-winter-survey-on-michigans-isle-royale.html


On 08 January 2004, McKeil Marine’s CAPT. RALPH TUCKER was the first vessel of 2004 to arrive at the port of Manistee, Michigan. Once docked at the General Chemical facilities, Captain Bill Sullivan and Chief Engineer Otto Cooper were each presented with hand-carved Hackberry canes. This was a notable way for the vessel to start her last year of operation. Later that year she was sold for scrap.
JOHN HULST (Hull#286) was launched in 1938, at River Rouge, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

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

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

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

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


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RV_Calypso

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/9 - Washington, D.C. – At the swearing in of the House in Washington, Republican Congressman Jack Bergman spoke about the Soo Locks and a potential timeline for the project to begin. More money has been requested for the new lock in President Trump’s 2020 budget.

The Detroit Army Corps of Engineers already has money in the work plan to finish the design and to get everything ready for the bid process.

There are still several steps that need to be taken before construction can begin but Congressman Bergman is hopeful that it will be in less than 2 years.

"When will they see shovels in ground? It's probably going to be 18 months. Somewhere in that area because the design phase now is what has already been authorized by the latest funding," said Bergman.

In December, Michigan and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a memorandum of agreement officially committing Michigan’s contribution of up to $52 million for the new lock.

WLUC


1/9 - Lime Island, Mich. – Last week, we told you the happy-ending story about how the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw rescued a dog they'd spotted struggling on the ice near the uninhabited Lime Island in the St. Marys River.

The dog, a husky mix named Logan, had been missing since Christmas Day from nearby St. Joseph Island, just across the border from Michigan's Upper Peninsula in Ontario, Canada. The dog's owners had been visiting relatives there when it ran away.

Nine days after he disappeared, the Coast Guard called Logan's owners to say the Mackinaw's crew had found the dog and was bringing him into their home base of Cheboygan, in the northern Lower Peninsula. When the big ice breaker pulled into port, there was a sweet reunion between Logan and his owners.

But what we didn't know then were some of the details about how the crew found Logan, built enough trust to get him onto the 240-foot ship -- and how they did a few special things to make the pup an honorary crew member.

The U.S. Coast Guard is now sharing these details with readers, and pictures of Logan's time on board the ship.

Read more and view photos at this link


1/9 - Halifax, N.S. – Crews working to extinguish a fire that's been burning for four days aboard a large container ship off Canada's east coast are facing some big challenges, an expert in offshore safety says.

Faisal Khan, an engineering professor at Memorial University, made the observation Monday after a second offshore support vessel arrived to help fight a cargo fire aboard the 320-metre Yantian Express, which first reported the blaze on Thursday.

Several containers on the Halifax-bound ship were still burning by Monday afternoon.

While the ship's crew may have been trained to deal with fires in the engine room and living quarters, burning cargo is another matter, said Khan, the Canada Research Chair in Offshore Safety and Risk Engineering at the St. John's, N.L., university. Fires fuelled by the polymers in plastic goods, for example, can produce toxic fumes that could prove deadly.

Tim Seifert, a spokesman for the international shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, said Monday "the focus is on containing the fire."

Seifert confirmed in an email that the 95-metre support ship Maersk Mobiliser, based in Newfoundland, had reached the container ship about 1,500 kilometres east of Halifax. He said the Maersk Mobiliser had joined the 71-metre Smit Nicobar, an offshore support ship from Belgium that arrived on Friday night.

The Smit Nicobar is equipped with fixed fire monitors -- a type of water cannon that can pump large volumes of water to extinguish fires.

All 23 crew members from the Yantian Express have been moved onto the Smit Nicobar. There were no reports of injuries, and the extent of damage to the larger vessel remains unclear.

A spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard said the plan is to have the Maersk Mobiliser tow the container ship to Halifax, though it was unclear when that would happen.

Khan said towing a burning vessel would present further risks.

"Towing cargo that is on fire would be too much of a risk to take for both the cargo vessel and the towing vessel," he said, adding that towing a burning ship into port would be even riskier.

"Unless I'm 100 per cent sure of what my cargo contains and what the impact would be of the fire, I would be extremely cautious about bringing it onshore," he said.

Seifert said it was unclear when the container ship would reach Halifax, and he declined to say what the Yantian Express is carrying or what may have caused the fire.

The container ship was travelling from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Halifax last Thursday when a fire started inside a container on the ship's forward deck, then spread to other containers -- prompting a call for help to the U.S. Coast Guard in Boston.

When the wind picked up to more than 20 kilometres per hour on Friday, the crew stopped fighting the fire and retreated to safety inside the ship's superstructure.

There were eight officers and 15 seafarers aboard the German-flagged ship, which was built in 2002 and is capable of carrying 7,510 standard 20-foot containers.

It implemented new guidelines for the stowage of dangerous cargo aboard its 750 vessels.

Canadian Press


On this day in 1973, the CHARLES M. BEEGHLY was the latest running Interlake vessel when she entered winter layup at Toledo, Ohio.
BAIE COMEAU II was laid up on January 9, 1983, at Sorel, Quebec, and was sold the following April to Progress Overseas Co. S.A., Panama renamed c.) AGIA TRIAS.

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

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

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

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

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

1980: BILL CROSBIE was carrying steel when it got into trouble on the Atlantic on January 4, 1980. The vessel, a Seaway trader in 1974, was listing badly when it was brought into St. John's, Newfoundland, only to roll over and sink at the wharf on this date. The hull was towed out to sea, bottom up, on November 3, 1980, and scuttled 12 miles off shore. While discharging air held in the hull during the sinking, eyewitnesses recall hearing what sounded like "whewww,the bitches loved itttttt..."

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

[skycheney]

Jan 9, 2019 6:25:31 GMT -5 yachtsmanwilly said:

1/9 - Washington, D.C. – At the swearing in of the House in Washington, Republican Congressman Jack Bergman spoke about the Soo Locks and a potential timeline for the project to begin. More money has been requested for the new lock in President Trump’s 2020 budget.

The Detroit Army Corps of Engineers already has money in the work plan to finish the design and to get everything ready for the bid process.

There are still several steps that need to be taken before construction can begin but Congressman Bergman is hopeful that it will be in less than 2 years.

"When will they see shovels in ground? It's probably going to be 18 months. Somewhere in that area because the design phase now is what has already been authorized by the latest funding," said Bergman.

In December, Michigan and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a memorandum of agreement officially committing Michigan’s contribution of up to $52 million for the new lock.

WLUC


1/9 - Lime Island, Mich. – Last week, we told you the happy-ending story about how the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw rescued a dog they'd spotted struggling on the ice near the uninhabited Lime Island in the St. Marys River.

The dog, a husky mix named Logan, had been missing since Christmas Day from nearby St. Joseph Island, just across the border from Michigan's Upper Peninsula in Ontario, Canada. The dog's owners had been visiting relatives there when it ran away.

Nine days after he disappeared, the Coast Guard called Logan's owners to say the Mackinaw's crew had found the dog and was bringing him into their home base of Cheboygan, in the northern Lower Peninsula. When the big ice breaker pulled into port, there was a sweet reunion between Logan and his owners.

But what we didn't know then were some of the details about how the crew found Logan, built enough trust to get him onto the 240-foot ship -- and how they did a few special things to make the pup an honorary crew member.

The U.S. Coast Guard is now sharing these details with readers, and pictures of Logan's time on board the ship.

Read more and view photos at this link


1/9 - Halifax, N.S. – Crews working to extinguish a fire that's been burning for four days aboard a large container ship off Canada's east coast are facing some big challenges, an expert in offshore safety says.

Faisal Khan, an engineering professor at Memorial University, made the observation Monday after a second offshore support vessel arrived to help fight a cargo fire aboard the 320-metre Yantian Express, which first reported the blaze on Thursday.

Several containers on the Halifax-bound ship were still burning by Monday afternoon.

While the ship's crew may have been trained to deal with fires in the engine room and living quarters, burning cargo is another matter, said Khan, the Canada Research Chair in Offshore Safety and Risk Engineering at the St. John's, N.L., university. Fires fuelled by the polymers in plastic goods, for example, can produce toxic fumes that could prove deadly.

Tim Seifert, a spokesman for the international shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, said Monday "the focus is on containing the fire."

Seifert confirmed in an email that the 95-metre support ship Maersk Mobiliser, based in Newfoundland, had reached the container ship about 1,500 kilometres east of Halifax. He said the Maersk Mobiliser had joined the 71-metre Smit Nicobar, an offshore support ship from Belgium that arrived on Friday night.

The Smit Nicobar is equipped with fixed fire monitors -- a type of water cannon that can pump large volumes of water to extinguish fires.

All 23 crew members from the Yantian Express have been moved onto the Smit Nicobar. There were no reports of injuries, and the extent of damage to the larger vessel remains unclear.

A spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard said the plan is to have the Maersk Mobiliser tow the container ship to Halifax, though it was unclear when that would happen.

Khan said towing a burning vessel would present further risks.

"Towing cargo that is on fire would be too much of a risk to take for both the cargo vessel and the towing vessel," he said, adding that towing a burning ship into port would be even riskier.

"Unless I'm 100 per cent sure of what my cargo contains and what the impact would be of the fire, I would be extremely cautious about bringing it onshore," he said.

Seifert said it was unclear when the container ship would reach Halifax, and he declined to say what the Yantian Express is carrying or what may have caused the fire.

The container ship was travelling from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Halifax last Thursday when a fire started inside a container on the ship's forward deck, then spread to other containers -- prompting a call for help to the U.S. Coast Guard in Boston.

When the wind picked up to more than 20 kilometres per hour on Friday, the crew stopped fighting the fire and retreated to safety inside the ship's superstructure.

There were eight officers and 15 seafarers aboard the German-flagged ship, which was built in 2002 and is capable of carrying 7,510 standard 20-foot containers.

It implemented new guidelines for the stowage of dangerous cargo aboard its 750 vessels.

Canadian Press


On this day in 1973, the CHARLES M. BEEGHLY was the latest running Interlake vessel when she entered winter layup at Toledo, Ohio.
BAIE COMEAU II was laid up on January 9, 1983, at Sorel, Quebec, and was sold the following April to Progress Overseas Co. S.A., Panama renamed c.) AGIA TRIAS.

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

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

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

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

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

1980: BILL CROSBIE was carrying steel when it got into trouble on the Atlantic on January 4, 1980. The vessel, a Seaway trader in 1974, was listing badly when it was brought into St. John's, Newfoundland, only to roll over and sink at the wharf on this date. The hull was towed out to sea, bottom up, on November 3, 1980, and scuttled 12 miles off shore. While discharging air held in the hull during the sinking, eyewitnesses recall hearing what sounded like "whewww,the bitches loved itttttt..."

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

Here is the link to the dog story:

www.mlive.com/expo/life-and-culture/g66l-2019/01/9ac1a835fc4739/coast-guard-makes-dog-it-rescu.html

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/10 - Duluth, Minn. - – Although the Great Lakes shipping season ends next week, work at shipyards is ramping up.

When the Soo Locks, which link Lake Superior to the other Great Lakes, close at midnight Jan. 15 until late March, ships on the Great Lakes will dock for seasonal maintenance and modernization, with eight freighters scheduled for winter layups in the Port of Duluth-Superior, the Duluth Seaway Port Authority announced Tuesday.

"For the shipyards, this is the busiest time of the year," Lake Carriers' Association Glen Nekvasil said.

At Fraser Shipyards in Superior, on-site staff has jumped from its usual level of 100 workers to about 175 workers, Fraser Industries President and Chief Operating Officer James Farkas said.

Across the Great Lakes, Nekvasil predicts the 45 U.S.-flag vessels represented by the Lake Carriers' Association will spend about $60 million on work during winter layup. Much of that work is on the ship's engines, but "This is a very capital-intensive industry," Nekvasil said.

Although seven other ships are expected to arrive by early next week, the Tim S. Dool, which arrived on New Year's Day, is already dry docked at Fraser.

Four other ships are slated to dock at Fraser, the Port Authority said, but only the Tim S. Dool is expected to be dry docked, Farkas said. "Dry docking is normally reserved for more extensive work," Farkas said.

The three ships not scheduled for Fraser will winter at Enbridge Dock, Elevator "M" Dock and Midwest Energy, the Port Authority said.

The St. Lawrence Seaway System, which connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, closed Dec. 31. The last saltie, or oceangoing vessel, of the year left Duluth on Dec. 15.

With the 2018 shipping season winding down, Duluth Seaway Port Authority officials are celebrating the season's high marks. "The Port of Duluth-Superior is ending the shipping season on a strong note," Deb DeLuca, Duluth Seaway Port Authority executive director said in a news release Tuesday.

DeLuca noted grain cargoes out of Duluth-Superior is up 22 percent through November compared to last year and iron ore shipments are 25 percent above its five-year average. Coal shipments were down, however.

DeLuca said she expects the 2018 shipping season will surpass 32 million tons of total cargo.

Duluth News Tribune View photos and a dock map at this link: duluthnewstribune.com/business/energy-and-mining/4554000-end-sight-shipping-season?fbclid=IwAR3dY2oPJ5MG83PMz3HO_KzDnvKXV4R2fcHcKTfl7wcwpf7vLRlFIQvLhAs


1/10 - Port Washington, Wis. – Members of the U.S. Coast Guard worked without pay Tuesday, Jan. 8, amid the partial government shutdown, rescuing a man from a ship in Lake Michigan. The man suffered a serious head injury, and the freighter was just off the coast of Port Washington throughout the day, as Coast Guard members worked to help the man after an accident on the job.

"Just happy to do my job today," said Connor Barelli, U.S. Coast Guard. "Obviously we were like, 'hey, we need urgency,' trying to get out there."

A man aboard the Stewart J. Cort struck his head and needed treatment at the hospital.

The mission involved getting the man off the 1,000-foot freighter and into a waiting ambulance. "I guess he was working down in the engine room and he happened to hit his head on a valve. Freak accident. Maybe the way the boat was rocking," said Barelli.

After traveling 40 minutes through choppy waves, the tricky part was getting the man down from the freighter. "He basically had to climb down, so we were fortunate enough where he was in somewhat good spirits, even with the head injury, to be able to do that," said Barelli.

Thirty minutes later, the man was on his way to the hospital. "We were able to get him there safely, so it was a good mission on our end," said Barelli.

The wound was stapled, and the man was expected to be OK. "It felt really good. It's a rewarding job at times, and it was an awesome experience for our crew," said Barelli.

Members of the Coast Guard were not commenting on the partial government shutdown, but can expect back pay, whenever it does come to an end.

Fox 6


On this day in 1952, EDWARD B. GREENE was launched at the American Shipbuilding yard at Toledo, Ohio. The 647-foot vessel joined the Cleveland Cliffs fleet. After lengthening over the winter of 1975-1976 and conversion to a self-unloader in 1981, the GREENE sailed briefly as the b.) BENSON FORD for Rouge Steel. She sails today as the c.) KAYE E BARKER of the Interlake fleet.
ONTADOC (Hull#207) was launched January 10, 1975, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd. For N.M. Paterson & Sons. Renamed b.) MELISSA DESGAGNES in 1990.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/11 - Duluth-Superior – There was some unusual activity going on underneath the Blatnik Bridge on Thursday. The U.S. Coast Guard launched a pollution mitigation effort because a trawling vessel, the A.E. Clifford, was sinking in the ice.

The 45-foot Clifford was built as an icebreaker in 1947 but was later converted to a fishing tug.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Matt Stixrud says they put out protective harbor lining to make sure any leaked oil or gas won't escape into the harbor. "We also put some absorbent boom on the outside so when they lift the vessel up, it will help to collect any of the oil that comes off of it," he told WDIO News.

The Coast Guard sent divers down but they have not yet determined why the vessel was sinking or who presently owns the boat. They hope to have the recovery and pollution mitigation efforts completed by Friday.

View a photo at this link


1/11 - Toledo, Ohio – Nearly $10 million more in state funds are being released to help keep dredged material out of Lake Erie, including $1.9 million to the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority to expand the capacity of its confined disposal facility near Oregon, known as Facility 3.

The latest round of grants was announced Tuesday at a news conference at One Maritime Plaza in Toledo. Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director Craig Butler and Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Jim Zehringer credited state Sen. Randy Gardner (R., Bowling Green) for his continued support. They said the grants will help Ohio come closer to meeting its goal of phasing out open-lake disposal of dredged shipping channel material from all of Lake Erie starting in 2020.

The Facility 3 money will be used to add storage capacity. The site should be able to take dredged material from the Maumee River shipping channel for eight to 10 more years once the expansion is finished. Without it, the cell would be filled to capacity in three to five years, said Paul Toth, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority president and chief executive officer.

The extra five or six years “gives us a longer runway,” or window of time, for area engineers to come up with a long-term solution for open-lake disposal of dredged material, Mr. Toth said.

The local port authority spent about $1.2 million building up Facility 3’s dike walls in 2018 to fortify the structure. That allowed it to use up the remainder of a soil-like product called NuSoil that was still on site. Made in past years by a company called S & L Fertilizer Co., NuSoil was made of 88 percent soil dredged from the Toledo shipping channel, 10 percent sewage sludge, and 2 percent spent lime sludge from Toledo’s water treatment plant. S & L stopped making it about four years ago.

One of the possible solutions could be pumping Facility 3 dredged material out as a slurry on eastern Lucas County farms within a few years. That depends on the outcome of continued work being done at a North Toledo waterfront research park, where officials are studying the viability of growing crops with soil that has dredged material mixed in.

Scudder Mackay, Ohio DNR coastal management chief, said the projects are important to Lake Erie’s overall health because the federal government oversees eight commercial harbors along the shoreline that need to be dredged constantly to keep shipping viable.

An average of 35 million tons of cargo move through the government’s eight Lake Erie ports in Ohio, generating $25 billion in revenue and supporting 130,000 jobs, he said.

Two-thirds of the dredging — about 1 million of the 1.5 million cubic yards dredged annually from Ohio’s Lake Erie shipping channels — is done in the Toledo area. That’s because Toledo is by far the shallowest of all Great Lakes ports.

“We’re going to be dredging for years and are looking for long-term solutions,” Mr. Mackay said.

About another year or two of research is necessary at the Great Lakes Dredged Material Center for Innovation at Riverside Park in North Toledo. Funding for that research was announced a month before Toledo’s 2014 water crisis, when an algal toxin fouled the metro region’s tap water for almost three days.

“We’ve gotten a little farther along than we expected a couple of years ago. I would call it a success story to date,” Mr. Mackay said. “But we still have a long way to go.”

The cities of Lorain and Conneaut each received $4 million to build sediment processing facilities similar to one in Cleveland. Such a facility might eventually be considered in Toledo, but the technology would be more difficult because of the amount of fine silt in this part of the lake, he said.

Toledo Blade


1/11 - Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. – The new owners of Algoma Steel Inc. are interested in examining opportunities that could see a public port developed on their property, says the city’s mayor.

Mayor Christian Provenzano said his goal this year to get the parties together to start from the drawing board and determine how a public access port can be developed that will be beneficial to the community. He wants to establish a committee between Algoma, the city and Economic Development Corp., to look at potential models that will work for stakeholders and benefit the community as a whole.

Provenzano said he reached out to Algoma Steel Inc. CEO Kalyan Ghosh to gauge interest in developing a new public port.

“The port is still a project the city is interested in. We recognized that the most important thing was to have Algoma come out of the (CCAA) process as a healthy company but we’ve always believed in the port access,” Provenzano told The Sault Star.

The mayor said he had always made it clear in discussions with creditors, now the new owners of the company, that the city was interested in pursuing a public port project.

“Algoma is completely open to working with us on developing a port project,” Provenzano said. “It’s not going to look like Algoma Ports did. Algoma Ports had all the water access and Algoma (Steel) is not going to put itself in that position again.”

He anticipates that the committee will examine how a public access port can exist on Algoma’s property and serve the community. Any recommendations will need to be returned to city council and Algoma’s board of directors for approval.

“We’ve started talking about it and that’s an important first step,” Provenzano said.

Sault Star


The steamer ROBERT S. McNAMARA, under tow, reached her intended destination of Santander, Spain on January 11, 1974, for scrapping.
In 1970, IRVING S. OLDS was the last ship of the season at the Soo Locks as she followed the PHILIP R. CLARKE downbound.

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

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

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

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

1962: The retired Interlake Steamship Company bulk carrier ARCTURUS, formerly JAMES B. WOOD, was under tow of the Portuguese tug PRAIA GRANDE on the way to Norway to be scrapped when she foundered off the Azores at position 46.10N x 8.50W.

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/14 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Two additional ships will be arriving in Sturgeon Bay soon for winter maintenance and repairs at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. The Roger Blough is scheduled to arrive Sunday, with the Burns Harbor planned for Jan. 18.

The Great Lakes ships arrival schedule also has been updated:

Tentative arrival dates:
Roger Blough - Jan.13
James R. Barker - Jan. 13
Paul R. Tregurtha - Jan. 14
Tug Leonard M. - Jan. 15
Barge Huron Spirit - Jan. 17
Cason J. Callaway - Jan. 16
Burns Harbor - Jan. 18
Wilfred Sykes - Jan. 31

The ships in port are:
American Courage - drydock Dec. 22
John G. Munson - arrived Dec. 28
Joseph L. Block - arrived Jan. 1
Barge A397 - arrived Jan. 3
Tug Barbara Andrie arrived Jan. 3

The tentative departure dates:
Joseph L. Block - March 22
Wilfred Sykes - March 22

Green Bay Press-Gazette


1/12 - Queen’s Park is lending Algoma Steel $60 million to help the company remain competitive in the face of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum.

That’s on top of some $90 million in federal money for the Sault Ste. Marie firm. Coils of steel are seen at at Essar Steel Algoma in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., on March 14, 2018. The provincial and federal governments have announced money to help the steel firm weather U.S. tariffs.

“The investment announced today secures thousands of jobs and pensions and signals northern Ontario is open for business,” provincial Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines Greg Rickford said Thursday.

“Our government is committed to ensuring Algoma Steel remains competitive and sustainable in a tough market,” said Rickford.

Kalyan Ghosh, Algoma Steel’s chief executive officer, said the loans are part of the purchase and restructuring of the company, which is investing $600 million in the steelmaking facility. “This support will enable us to make important investments in new technology that will enhance our reliability, extend asset life and reduce our environmental footprint,” said Ghosh.

“We greatly appreciate the province’s investment in Algoma Steel’s long-term sustainability,” he said, noting the company has committed to protect jobs and fund its three defined benefit pension plans. Those benefit about 2,100 current and 6,300 past employees or retirees.

Rickford said as part of the agreement, the company’s new owners will be tackling past environmental contamination at the Sault Ste. Marie mill. Algoma Steel has committed to spend $3.8 million annually over 21 years on cleaning up the site.

The Star


1/12 - Cheboygan, Mich. – Like other federal workers, Coast Guard members don't know when they will get paid again. That is why the Cheboygan community is leading a helping hand. On Friday, many businesses contributed to a "Dressdown for the Shutdown" event.

For five dollars, employees could wear casual attire to work. All proceeds will go to the Coast Guard families in need. With everyone trying to help, the Cheboygan Chamber of Commerce has been in the middle trying to lead people to where they can help.

“There were several individuals around the community that just started to ask the question “what if and how can we help?” then from the very grassroots a group started to come together," Said Scott Herceg, Executive Director at Cheboygan Chamber of Commerce. "The Chamber of Commerce started hosting them here under our roof, but it was the community calibration from several different entities.

Other businesses are doing a little extra to help. Awakon Federal Credit Union is one of them. Awakon is allowing all military members a no interest payroll replacement loan.

“We don’t really know when our government will be up and running at this point and how that effects our local government employees and contract workers really puts a question mark on when they are going to be paid," said Jessica Richards, Vice President of Lending at Awakon Federal Credit Union. "When they will be financially stable again and that is when Awakon Federal Union can come in to pay and work as a partner with our members.”

With all this happening, the families of the Coast Guard are taking notice.

“As a family and as a coast guard community, it is so humbling and so touching just to have the community to come around us and support us at certain times and we are all away from home. Said Sarah Campbell, wife of Coast Guard member. "Nobody is originally from Cheboygan so to be away from home and have the community come around you is really touching.”

If you are interested in helping, you can contact the Cheboygan Chamber of Commerce by calling [phone]. WPBN


1/13 - An effort to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes is being held up by the need for long-range planning and political changes in two states.

In November, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its proposal to install measures at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Ill., designed to thwart the advance of Asian carp into Lake Michigan. The invasive species would threaten the survival of fish that are native to the Great Lakes. And the Army Corps’s plan has been endorsed by water conservation groups, including one in the north country.

“As adept filter-feeders, Asian carp can outcompete juvenile native fish species like bass and catfish for food like microplankton and zooplankton,” according to a story published Dec. 23 by the Watertown Daily Times. “Environmentalists have concerned themselves primarily with the Bighead and Silver variations of Asian carp because they have spread the farthest. Silver carp, which have sensitive hearing, also threaten boaters because they jump in the air when startled by loud noises and can strike someone in the head.”

The Great Lakes Basin Partnership to Block Asian Carp is advocating the Army Corps’s plan. The Save the River group in Clayton is part of this coalition, and Executive Director John M. Peach said the organization supports this measure.

The Army Corps said its project will cost about $780 million. The federal government would fund 65 percent of the costs, and states along Great Lakes would be expected to fund the remaining 35 percent.

While they were both still in office last month, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said his state would provide $8 million to Illinois for operations and maintenance expenses associated with the Brandon Road project. While grateful for the generous offer, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner said this money wouldn’t be used for another decade. Mr. Rauner was defeated in his re-election bid last year, and Mr. Snyder had to leave office due to term limits.

“While we respect your offer to provide $8 million toward operation and maintenance, this approach does not reflect the sense of urgency stressed in your letter,” Mr. Rauner wrote in a response to Mr. Snyder. “According to the Army Corps of Engineers, even under an accelerated timeline, the earliest possible date for the first dollar to be allocated toward operation and maintenance is 2028. In fact, the final project design is still four years away and will be required before any substantial fair share funding agreement could ever be responsibly discussed by Great Lakes states. We do not believe it is appropriate — especially given our lame duck status — for us to accept funds and bind Illinois to a project that is not final and whose true costs are years from being calculated.”

Asian carp could make their way to the Great Lakes through the Chicago area’s waterway system. The fish were imported to eat algae in catfish ponds, but they entered the Mississippi River as a result of flooding and accidental releases. They have also been found in the Illinois River, which connects to the Mississippi.

The Illinois River connects to the Des Plaines River south of Joliet. The Des Plaines River feeds into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which connects to the South Branch of the Chicago River. If the fish make it this far north, they can easily find their way to Lake Michigan — and then into the remaining Great Lakes.

Mr. Rauner suggested that Michigan provide the $8 million to Illinois immediately for enhanced fish strategies that have been successful in capturing the Asian carp. Neither of the new governors — J.B. Pritzker in Illinois and Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan — has so far addressed this issue since taking office.

The Army Corps’s plan appears to be the best way to handle the problem in the long run. But steps must be taken immediately to prevent the potential spread of this invasive species, and the Great Lake states should provide money to help Illinois maintain control. The project timeline should be dramatically accelerated and prioritized.

Mr. Peach said that New York has been silent on any plans to offer funding. It’s time for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to step up and thwart a crisis waiting to happen.

Watertown Daily Times


1/13 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. - The Soo Locks are set to take their annual 10-week winter hibernation as per the federal order that pauses shipping season in the Great Lakes beginning midnight Tuesday and lasting until March 25.

Workers from the US Army Corps of Engineers conduct preventative maintenance, replace worn components and inspect the system during the closure. As an agency under the Department of Defense the Corps is unaffected by the current federal government shutdown.

“This year our schedule for every day of the 10 week shutdown is accounted for,” said Kevin Sprague, area engineer for the Soo Locks. “It’s a full schedule of work.”

As with previous years, the two main locks in use will be drained of water. It’s a process that can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours. “Quite a bit goes into it,” said Sprague. “We try to minimize the actual pump time to keep still water from the cold air.”

Currently, the MacArthur Lock has already been dewatered and is out of use for the shipping season. Sprague said the plan is to rebuild bulkhead slots in all four valves in the MacArthur Lock. Anchorage link replacement and bezel gear replacement are also expected in the 800 ft. long lock among other work.

The larger Poe Lock will begin its dewatering process once shipping season closes. A three year plan is in place on the Poe that will include inspection and weld repairs this year, major rehabilitation to girders next year, and more blast welding to the girders in 2020.

This year, the derrick barge Nicolet and crane barge Harvey will be dewatered into the MacArthur and Poe Locks respectively. “We’ll have inspections on the rigs,” added Sprague. “When you pump the water out of the locks, the barges will come to rest on big timbers.”

Throughout the 10-week process routine and internal maintenance will be performed on the locks, too. Sprague said the Corps will maintain an extremely busy schedule over the next several years with other major rehabilitation projects and the construction of a new Soo Lock.

Soo Evening News


On this day in 1970, IRVING S. OLDS entered winter layup at Lorain to close the longest season in Great Lakes shipping history.
On 14 January 1945, the W. Butler Shipyard built C1-M-AV1 ship LEBANON (Hull#40) was the last vessel through the Soo Locks. Ice was a serious problem. The newly-commissioned icebreaker U.S.C.G.C. MACKINAW escorted the LEBANON to Lake Huron. The locks had never before been open this late in January. They were kept open to allow newly-built cargo vessels to sail from Superior, Wisconsin, to the Atlantic Ocean where they were needed for the war effort.

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

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

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

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

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

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

13 January 2005 - GENESIS EXPLORER (steel propeller tanker, 435 foot, built in 1974, at Port Weller, Ontario, formerly a.) IMPERIAL ST. CLAIR & b.) ALGOSAR) sailed from Halifax for Quebec City. She was registered in the Comoros Islands. She was carrying a few members of her former crew for training purposes, but her new crew was African.
On 13 January 1918, the Goodrich Line’s ALABAMA and the Grand Trunk ferries MILWAUKEE and GRAND HAVEN all became stuck in the ice off Grand Haven, Michigan. The vessels remained imprisoned in the ice for the next two weeks. When the wind changed, they were freed but Grand Haven’s harbor was still inaccessible. The ALABAMA sailed for Muskegon and stalled in the 18-inch thick ice on Muskegon Lake.

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

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

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

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

CHI-CHEEMAUN (Hull#205) was launched January 12, 1974, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd.
GRAND HAVEN was gutted by fire on January 12, 1970, during scrapping operations at the United Steel & Refining Co. Ltd. dock at Hamilton, Ontario.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/15 - Erie, Pa. – At least eight vessels are scheduled for repairs or maintenance at the east bayfront shipbuilding facility. On a recent blustery morning, heavy lake-effect snow squalls kicked up and blew across Donjon Shipbuilding & Repair’s 1,250-foot long, 130-foot-wide dry dock.

Bone-chilling northwesterly winds blowing in from Lake Erie didn’t seem to faze shipfitters and welders working on the barge James L. Kuber inside the 44-acre shipbuilding facility at 220 E. Bayfront Parkway in Erie.

From late December through late March, employment swells to 220 to 250 as legions of welders, shipfitters, electricians, pipe welders and pipe fitters gear up for winter repair and maintenance season — typically the shipyard’s busiest time of the year.

At least eight vessels, and possibly more, are scheduled for repairs or maintenance at the Erie shipyard this winter.

“This year we have more steel work than last year and less boats,” Donjon Assistant General Manager Rick Hammer said. “The scope of work on the vessels is quite lengthy. I would say we will be replacing roughly 650,000 pounds of steel this year. The number of vessels we service could grow from there or reduce.”

Hammer estimates shipyard winter employment at about 220, including 77 full-time company workers. The bulk of winter crews are subcontracted personnel, he said.

“It’s a tremendous amount of work for about three months,” he said.

New Jersey-based marine services provider Donjon Marine Co Inc. expanded and diversified its operation with the creation of its Erie shipbuilding and repair services division in 2009. Donjon moved into the Erie shipyard in 2010.

Vessels scheduled for service at Donjon this winter are: • U.S.-flagged barge James L. Kuber and its tug, Victory. Work on the Victory includes an engine rebuild, pulling equipment off and fixing floors and paneling. The Kuber will receive its five-year regulatory hull survey.

• U.S.-flagged barge Pathfinder and its tug, Dorothy Ann. Minor repair work will be done on the tug. Two cargo bulkheads will be replaced on the Pathfinder.

• U.S.-flagged integrated barge Presque Isle and its tug, Presque Isle. Mostly steelwork.

• U.S.-flagged Michipicoten, a self-unloading freighter. Steelwork is scheduled.

GoErie.com


1/15 - The U.S. Coast Guard has sent a message to retirees regarding the partial federal government shutdown. They wrote there is a strong possibility retiree pay and survivor benefits would be delayed if the shutdown continues.

This is even while working on solutions with Homeland Security, the White House and Congress. The Coast Guard has updated their website’s frequently asked questions section. The Vice Commandant of the U.S.C.G. (Admiral Charles W. Ray) believes some of the answers there will be able to help families.

9&10 News

In 1978, the upbound McKEE SONS, LEON FALK JR, WILLIAM P. SNYDER JR, A.H. FERBERT and CHAMPLAIN became stuck in heavy ice outside Cleveland Harbor. Eventually they were freed with the help of the U.S.C.G. icebreaker NORTHWIND and the U.S.C.G. MARIPOSA.
FORT YORK (Hull#160) was launched January 15, 1958, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd.

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

1/16 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – Tug Anglian Lady / barge Ironmaster passed downbound about 8:30 p.m. from Algoma Steel with a cargo of steel coils. Manitoulin locked up at 9:30, bound for Algoma Steel and winter lay up after treating a handful of Boatnerds at Mission Point to a season-ending salute. They were the last vessels of the season. CCSG Samuel Risely was on hand to assist. The locks will reopen March 25.


1/16 - Duluth, Minn. – The folks who love to watch the big boats sail under the lift bridge will have to wait until March for that to happen again. According to the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, the final vessel to arrive for winter layup was the Kaye E. Barker, around 2:30am on Tuesday.

She and three others are spending layup at Fraser Shipyards. There is also one at Midwest Energy, and another at Elevator M in Superior. That means a total of six will be here for the winter months. Crews will work on maintenance and repair, to get the vessels ready for their next journeys.

Tonnage is expected to come in around 32 million tons, with iron ore and grain seeing good numbers. Coal was down a bit, according to the port authority.

Adele Yorde, Director of Public Relations for the port, explained, "It was a nice strong year, a great year for iron ore. Iron ore is running well over 25% over the 5 year average, which shows a strong demand for steel."

In fact, the last cargo that left was pellets on Sunday morning.

As for other notable events for the year, Yorde added that they saw their first shipment of soybeans in a decade. As for when you can watch those lakers and salties arrive again? The Soo Locks open again on March 25th.

Watch WDIO’s full report here


1/16 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The Coast Guard will close the waters between Cheboygan, Michigan and Bois Blanc Island, Michigan known as South Channel at 1 p.m. Thursday.

Grays Reef Passage will also be closed at the same time.


1/16 - Indianapolis, Ind. – There is no need for the U.S. Supreme Court to wade into a dispute over who owns the Lake Michigan shoreline, since the Indiana Supreme Court already has clearly resolved the question in favor of the state.

That's the argument recently forwarded by the Indiana attorney general's office to the nation's highest court, in response to a final effort by Bobbie and Don Gunderson, of Long Beach, to claim ownership and exclusive control of the beach to the water's edge.

As a preliminary matter, the state urges the Supreme Court not even to consider the Gunderson petition for review, because the Gundersons sold their lake-adjacent Long Beach property in 2015 and no longer have a direct interest in the outcome of the case.

Solicitor General Thomas Fisher, who represents Indiana at the Supreme Court, pointed out that under federal court precedents, "An actual controversy must be extant at all stages of review, not merely at the time the complaint is filed."

The Gundersons' sale of their property, its subdivision into two lots and the second sale of the two properties to individuals living in Chicago and England, means there is no reason for the Supreme Court to look at the Gundersons' appeal, Fisher said.

"The current owners of (the parcels) are not wholly owned subsidiaries, insurers or even friends of the Gundersons (so far as is known to the state)," he said.

"Instead, the Gundersons wish to litigate the property rights of wholly unrelated persons, and to do so with no evidence in the record suggesting that the current owners even desire this litigation of their rights."

The Indiana Supreme Court acknowledged the Gundersons' lack of standing in its Feb. 14, 2018 decision, but nevertheless heard arguments and reached a ruling under a state mootness exception for questions of "great public interest."

Fisher explained there is no similar exception for federal court cases, which he said makes the Gundersons' appeal an "exceedingly poor candidate" for a high court decision that could affect property owners in every Great Lakes state.

Read more at this link


COLONEL JAMES PICKANDS (Hull#791) was launched in 1926, at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co.
In 1987, DETROIT EDISON, at Brownsville, Texas, for scrapping, was raised after being scuttled by vandals.

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

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

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

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

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