Today in Great Lakes History

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Imagine seasick coasties LOL! ws

POINTE NOIRE was launched February 13, 1926, as a.) SAMUEL MATHER (Hull#792) at Lorain, Ohio by the American Ship Building Co.
February 13, 1897 - PERE MARQUETTE (later named PERE MARQUETTE 15) arrived in Ludington on her maiden voyage, with Captain Joseph "Joe" Russell in command.

1941: The first WESTCLIFFE HALL, overseas to assist in the war effort, was damaged when hit by a bomb while two miles off Whitby High Light. The ship was repaired and returned to the Great Lakes after the war. It last sailed as b) WHEATON in the Misener fleet before scrapping at Hamilton in 1965-1966.

1973: MITERA MARIA loaded street cars on deck during a Great Lakes visit to Toronto in August 1967. The ship sustained fire damage in the engineroom at Karachi, Pakistan, as d) MARBELLA and sold for scrap. The 25-year old vessel was broken up at Gadani Beach in 1974.

2/13 - The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor has renewed its contract with the stevedore Federal Marine Terminals through 2023.

Since 1999, Montreal-based FMT has unloaded and loaded steel, wind turbine blades, beer tanks, forest products, breakbulk cargo and heavy lift cargo including the Icarus, the world's largest liquid argon particle hunter that was shipped from Europe to the Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont in 2017.

"FMT has been a vital collaborator with the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor since 1999," Port Director Ian Hirt said. "This consolidated operating agreement underscores FMT's commitment to the greater Northwest Indiana and Chicago markets."

Spun off from Fednav Limited, Federal Marine Terminals handles bulk, specialized and general cargoes along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. The stevedore has 12 facilities along the East Coast, Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes, including at the 49-year-old deepwater port on Lake Michigan in Burns Harbor and Portage.

"FMT is solidifying our commitment to the port and our customers by investing in our fleet of equipment at Burns Harbor," said Matthew McPhail, FMT's vice president of sales and marketing. "FMT has recently ordered a new crane and we are bringing in a second crane to accompany it. FMT strives to meet the needs of all its customers, regardless of shipment size. Our ability to handle large-dimensional cargo is due to our safety-conscious staff, our modern equipment and the facilities the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor provides."

Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor decided to extend the long-term stevedore's contract after a record amount of cargo passed through Indiana's port system in 2018, the most since the state's port authority was founded in 1961. The three-port system, which also includes two ports on the Ohio River on Indiana's southern border, handled 14.8 million tons of cargo last year, 25 percent more than the previous year and 21 percent more than the previous annual record in 2015.

NW Indiana Times

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2/14 - Detroit, Mich. – Ice has blanketed more than 56 percent of the five Great Lakes as of Monday, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

The lab issued a report that found ice coverage is close to 35 percent on Lake Michigan, 60 percent on Lake Huron, close to 90 percent on Lake Erie, 70 percent on Lake Superior and about 20 percent on Lake Ontario. WLUC-TV reported that the amount of ice was more than normal for this time of the winter season and frigid temperatures in January and February significantly added to the ice coverage.

"You see the shelf ice close to the shoreline, but you have to remember that there is always moving ice underneath them and you have to be careful because if you do fall in there is no way to get out," Matt Zika, a National Weather Service meteorologist, told the TV station.

A Great Lakes Surface Environmental Analysis (GLSEA) showed that water temperatures on the Great Lakes were 40 degrees and below.

Detroit Free Press


2/14 - Goderich, Ont. - (Feb. 8) – An ice cutter with the United States Coast Guard was docked in Goderich harbor last week because of 75-kilometre an hour winds.

The Hollyhock, a 225-foot-long cutter, attracted the attention of the public on Friday, and some residents were permitted to board the vessel to check it out. The Hollyhock was in the Goderich area to break ice to allow safe passage for vessels carrying loads of salt. The vessel is usually used as a Great Lakes bouy tender.

“Salt ships come from Goderich to Detroit and need a safe route to achieve this,” said Ensign Kevin Wetmore.

“While conducting this the wind increased to 40 knots which left us in need of a safe place to stay until the wind decreased.”

The Hollyhock is based out of Port Huron. Crew members said they conduct missions throughout the Great Lakes.

“We conduct operations throughout the Great Lakes frequently and there is never any issues between the U.S. and the Canadians,” said Wetmore.

“There are times when we will help them with a buoy, and in turn, they will help us.”

The ship’s crew consists of eight officers and 44 enlisted members. Their time in Goderich presented an opportunity to provide public tours of the vessel.

For two days The Hollyhock allowed curious Canadians to board and visit the officers’ quarters, the mess hall, the engine control room and the operations deck.

Members of the public were invited to tour the interior of the Hollyhock while it was docked in Goderich. Among them were members of the Killbourne family. Daniel Caudle / Postmedia Network

“This ship is really big and I’ve never seen this before,” remarked Lincoln Kilbourne, who was excused from school to attend the tour. Crew members embraced the chance to spend the night in Goderich, a place many said they had never visited.

“We had the opportunity to see Canada’s prettiest town, which I don’t think anyone on board had visited before,” said Wetmore. The Hollyhock was to depart Goderich once favorable conditions returned.

Goderich Signal Star


2/14 - Goderich, Ont. - (Feb. 8) – The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Samuel Risley worked in severe ice conditions on eastern Lake Huron this week to ensure a cargo ship could safely reach the port of Goderich.

Recent extreme cold temperatures combined with strong and gale force westerly winds created very heavy ice conditions. Rough estimates have the ice field from three to seven feet deep.

Icebreaking was necessary over the course of several days.

Signe Gotfredsen, commanding officer of CCGS Samuel Risley reported that with persistence and information gathered from the air, from a Canadian Coast Guard helicopter, they were able to complete this challenging icebreaking mission.

“Early Monday afternoon, with an open water lead that developed between two large shifting ice plates, we used this opportunity to widen a path that allowed for the safe passage of the cargo ship into Goderich,” added Captain Gotfredsen.

The Goderich-based tug Escort broke out the harbour and entrance channel. Coast Guard Icebreaking on the Great Lakes is delivered in close cooperation between the Canadian and United States Coast Guards and industry.

The United States Coast Guard cutter Hollyhock is now working on Lake Huron to continue ice-breaking operations.

Goderich Signal Star


2/14 - Waukegan – From the boat launch all the way out to the lighthouse, Waukegan Harbor’s south pier — known bureaucratically as the “government pier,” but to locals as the “lighthouse pier” — extends more than a half-mile out into Lake Michigan.

If you haven’t enjoyed that walk on a calm, sunny day almost any time of year, put it on your list. If you have, you know about the pier’s many characteristics, from the holes used to anchor fishing poles to the rocks that form works of art along the south side of the breakwall.

The view from the eastern tip, in the shadow of the lighthouse, delivers a pocket of calm beyond the noise of the city. Walking back toward the harbor, the postcard sight of the boat slips stands against the towers on the bluff and the remaining industrial silos to illustrate the history of Waukegan.

The pier is one of the great public amenities in not just Waukegan, but Lake County as a whole. But, as with most man-made structures, there comes a time when nature starts to reclaim its territory to a point where something has to be done.

That point was reached a while ago. Along with the charming features mentioned above, the eastern half of the lighthouse pier is a minefield of fractured concrete and exposed rebar. In a city wrestling to balance its books and repair aging infrastructure, the casual visitor might think this is just another post-industrial reality that will stubbornly remain as-is.

Fortunately, as the above-mentioned “government pier” title might imply, the facility is under the umbrella of the federal government — and the good news is that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is scheduled to cover a renovation that will wipe away all that damaged concrete.

According to a report before the Waukegan City Council last week by Waukegan Port District General Manager Joe Seidelmann, taxpayers can thank rising lake levels for the Corps having the available funds to do the job — which will cost about $1.6 million.

The lighthouse at the end of what is formally known as the "government pier" in Waukegan Harbor sits more than a half-mile out from the Lake Michigan shore. (Dan Moran/News-Sun).

“Last year, there was a surplus of funding because of the lake level being up, and they did not have to dredge as much sand (out of the harbor entrance),” Seidelmann said. “They were able to redo the concrete on the north pier (in 2017) near the public beach.

“This year, due to a surplus of funding due to the lake level continuing to rise, the Corps of Engineers is going to finally take care of the concrete problem on the (south) pier of that channel.”

Read more and view photos at this link: www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/opinion/ct-lns-moran-waukegan-harbor-pier-rebuild-st-0213-story.html


MESABI MINER (Hull#906) was launched on this day in 1977, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. becoming the fourth 1,000-foot bulk carrier on the Great Lakes and Interlake's second. She had been built under Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970 at a cost of $45.1 million.
Ford Motor Co., looking to expand its fleet, purchased the JOSEPH S. WOOD, a.) RICHARD M. MARSHALL on February 14, 1966, for $4.3 million and renamed her c.) JOHN DYKSTRA. In 1983, she was renamed d.) BENSON FORD. Renamed e.) US.265808, in 1985, she was scrapped at Recife, Brazil in 1987.

On February 14, 1973, the LEADALE’s forward cabins burned during winter lay-up at Hamilton, Ontario and were later repaired. Built in 1910, at Great Lakes Engineering Works (Hull#77) as a,) HARRY YATES, for the American Steamship Co. renamed b.) CONSUMERS POWER in 1934, c.) FRED A. MANSKE in 1958 and d.) LEADALE in 1962. Scrapped at Cartagena, Columbia in 1979.

1997: The SD 14 cargo ship PATRICIA M. was a Seaway trader in 1974 and returned as c) SELATAN in 1991. It was sailing as d) NIKA II when it stranded on a breakwall near Veracruz, Mexico, while inbound, in ballast, to load sugar. The hull was refloated on March 8, towed to an anchorage and declared a total loss. It was broken up for scrap at Tuxpan, Mexico, beginning on April 27, 1997.

2000: ZAFIRO, a Seaway trader in 1984, sank as d) ZAFIR off Calabria, Italy, after a collision with the ESPRESSO CATANIA while carrying 6000 tons of cement clinker. Thirteen sailors were lost or missing.

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In 1961, HARRY R JONES, a.) D.G. KERR arrived at her final port of Troon, Scotland, where she was cut up for scrap the same year.
1990: The tug LOIS T. was swamped while docked at Hamilton and sank in a storm. The vessel was pumped out, refloated and repaired. It now serves as the Port Colborne based tug CHARLIE E.

1993: BELLE ISLE, an SD-14 cargo carrier, visited the Seaway when new in 1971. It was sailing as g) VAST OCEAN when it reported in on this day as sailing on the Sea of Japan. It was never heard from again and disappeared with all hands on a voyage from Vanimo, Russia, to Shanghai, China.

EDWIN H. GOTT sailed on her maiden voyage February 16, 1979, in ballast from Milwaukee, bound for Two Harbors, Minnesota. This was the first maiden voyage of a laker ever in mid-winter. She was in convoy with three of her fleet mates; CASON J. CALLAWAY, PHILIP R. CLARKE and JOHN G. MUNSON each needing assistance from the U.S.C.G.C. MACKINAW to break through heavy ice 12 to 14 inches thick the length of Lake Superior. The GOTT took part in a test project, primarily by U.S. Steel, to determine the feasibility of year around navigation.
JAMES E. FERRIS was launched February 16, 1910, as the ONTARIO (Hull#71) at Ecorse, Michigan by Great Lakes Engineering Works.

On February 16, 1977, a four-hour fire caused major damage to the crews' forward quarters aboard the W.W. HOLLOWAY while at American Ship Building's South Chicago yard.

February 16, 1939 - The state ferry CHIEF WAWATAM was fast in the ice in the Straits of Mackinac. She freed herself the next day and proceeded to St. Ignace.

The little tug JAMES ANDERSON burned on Long Lake near Alpena, Michigan, on the morning of 16 February 1883. Arson was suspected.

1943: WAR OSIRIS was built at Port Arthur, Ontario, now part of Thunder Bay, in 1918. It was mined and sunk as c) LISTO near Spodsbjerg, Denmark, while enroute from Larvik, Norway, to Emden, Germany, with iron ore.

IMPERIAL ST. CLAIR participated in an historic special convoy with DOAN TRANSPORT, which carried caustic soda, led by C.C.G.S. GRIFFON arriving at Thunder Bay, Ontario on February 18, 1977. The journey took one week from Sarnia, Ontario through Lake Superior ice as much as six feet thick, and at one point it took four days to travel 60 miles. The trip was initiated to supply residents of the Canadian lakehead with 86,000 barrels of heating oil the reserves of which were becoming depleted due to severe weather that winter.
The b.) JOSEPH S. YOUNG, a.) ARCHERS HOPE, was towed to the Great Lakes via the Mississippi River and arrived at the Manitowoc Ship Building Co., Manitowoc, Wisconsin on February 18, 1957, where her self unloading equipment was installed. This was the last large vessel to enter the Lakes via the Mississippi. She was the first of seven T-2 tanker conversions for Great Lakes service. Renamed c.) H. LEE WHITE in 1969, and d.) SHARON in 1974. SHARON was scrapped at Brownsville, Texas in 1986.

The Murphy fleet was sold on 18 February 1886. The tugs GLADIATOR, KATE WILLIAMS and BALIZE went to Captain Maytham, the tug WILLIAM A. MOORE to Mr. Grummond, the schooner GERRIT SMITH to Captain John E. Winn, and the tug ANDREW J. SMITH to Mr. Preston Brady.

1980: PANAGIS K. arrived at Alexandria, Egypt, on this date and was soon placed under arrest. The ship was idle and in a collision there with NORTH WAVE on January 23, 1981. The hull was abandoned aground, vandalized and, on October 12, 1985, auctioned off for scrap. The ship first traded through the Seaway in 1960 as a) MANCHESTER FAME and returned as b) CAIRNGLEN in 1965, again as c) MANCHESTER FAME in 1967 and as d) ILKON NIKI in 1972.

1983: A fire in the bow area during winter work aboard the Canada Steamship Lines bulk carrier RICHELIEU (ii) at Thunder Bay resulted in the death of three shipyard workers.

2010: The sailing ship CONCORDIA visited the Great Lakes in 2001 and participated in the Tall Ships Festival at Bay City, MI. It sank in the Atlantic about 300 miles off Rio de Janeiro after being caught in a severe squall. All 64 on board were rescued from life rafts after a harrowing ordeal. 2010: The tug ADANAC (Canada spelled backwards) sank at the Essar Steel dock at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It was refloated the next day.

IMPERIAL ST. CLAIR participated in an historic special convoy with DOAN TRANSPORT, which carried caustic soda, led by C.C.G.S. GRIFFON arriving at Thunder Bay, Ontario on February 18, 1977. The journey took one week from Sarnia, Ontario through Lake Superior ice as much as six feet thick, and at one point it took four days to travel 60 miles. The trip was initiated to supply residents of the Canadian lakehead with 86,000 barrels of heating oil the reserves of which were becoming depleted due to severe weather that winter.
The b.) JOSEPH S. YOUNG, a.) ARCHERS HOPE, was towed to the Great Lakes via the Mississippi River and arrived at the Manitowoc Ship Building Co., Manitowoc, Wisconsin on February 18, 1957, where her self unloading equipment was installed. This was the last large vessel to enter the Lakes via the Mississippi. She was the first of seven T-2 tanker conversions for Great Lakes service. Renamed c.) H. LEE WHITE in 1969, and d.) SHARON in 1974. SHARON was scrapped at Brownsville, Texas in 1986.

The Murphy fleet was sold on 18 February 1886. The tugs GLADIATOR, KATE WILLIAMS and BALIZE went to Captain Maytham, the tug WILLIAM A. MOORE to Mr. Grummond, the schooner GERRIT SMITH to Captain John E. Winn, and the tug ANDREW J. SMITH to Mr. Preston Brady.

1980: PANAGIS K. arrived at Alexandria, Egypt, on this date and was soon placed under arrest. The ship was idle and in a collision there with NORTH WAVE on January 23, 1981. The hull was abandoned aground, vandalized and, on October 12, 1985, auctioned off for scrap. The ship first traded through the Seaway in 1960 as a) MANCHESTER FAME and returned as b) CAIRNGLEN in 1965, again as c) MANCHESTER FAME in 1967 and as d) ILKON NIKI in 1972.

1983: A fire in the bow area during winter work aboard the Canada Steamship Lines bulk carrier RICHELIEU (ii) at Thunder Bay resulted in the death of three shipyard workers.

2010: The sailing ship CONCORDIA visited the Great Lakes in 2001 and participated in the Tall Ships Festival at Bay City, MI. It sank in the Atlantic about 300 miles off Rio de Janeiro after being caught in a severe squall. All 64 on board were rescued from life rafts after a harrowing ordeal. 2010: The tug ADANAC (Canada spelled backwards) sank at the Essar Steel dock at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It was refloated the next day.

2/15 - Green Bay, Wis. – Here's a sure sign that summer's coming: The tall ship announcements have started. The Santa Maria, a replica of the Spanish ships that traveled across the Atlantic Ocean in the 15th and 16th centuries, is the first ship revealed for Nicolet Bank Tall Ships from July 26 to 28 in Green Bay.

The Santa Maria was named after the Nao Santa María sailed by Christopher Columbus in 1492. It was built in Spain by the Nao Victoria Foundation in 2017. The 200-ton, three-mast ship travels with a crew of 17. It visited several ports in France and Spain last year and started a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in November.

Nine historic vessels and the World's Largest Rubber Duck will be part of the festival, which will also include food vendors, a maritime marketplace, a children's area and entertainment and education stages by the Port of Green Bay. There will be fireworks on July 26.

After the three-day event in Green Bay, there will be a sail through Sturgeon Bay on July 29 and a sail past Algoma on July 30.

Tickets, including general admission and for excursions, go on sale at 11 a.m. March 15 at www.tallshipswisconsin.com. The Tall Ships festival was last in Green Bay in 2016 and was estimated to have a $4.4 million economic impact in Brown County.

Green Bay Press-Gazette


2/15 - Owen Sound, Ont. – There is perhaps a glimmer of hope on the horizon that the S.S. Norisle will sail again. The 215-foot ship that once transported passengers between Tobermory and Manitoulin Island and has spent the last 45 years moored at Manitowaning on the island, appeared destined to be scuttled as a dive site.

But in late December an analysis by members of the group that long tried to have the vessel saved as a heritage cruise ship, found that the hull of the ship was “in relatively sound condition,” according to the mayor of the Township of Assiginack, which owns the ship.

“Over the past number of years it hasn’t deteriorated at all hardly,” Mayor John Ham said Tuesday.

“The township, we were presented with an analysis report and a potential to move forward with the project, but the council has not made a firm decision on that one yet simply because they do not have enough information.”

Ham, who was elected mayor in last fall’s municipal elections, said council will wait for a detailed report from the S.S. Norisle Steamship Society (SSNSS) “to see exactly what is intended and where this project hopes to go.”

The SS Norisle, which covered the Tobermory to Manitoulin ferry route from 1947 until the Chi-Cheemaun took over in 1974, was purchased by Assiginack for $1 not long after it was taken out of service. The Norisle served as a floating museum and tourist attraction in Manitowaning for more than 30 years.

But the condition of the ship deteriorated, until more than a decade ago attempts began to have it restored as a heritage cruise ship. Eventually the SSNSS was formed, a memorandum of understanding was signed with Assiginack supporting the project. A number of initiatives moved forward, including preparation of the ship for drydock, removal of all non-ship related items for safe storage and fundraising initiatives.

Then in 2015, the township withdrew its support for a grant application to the Ministry of Tourism.

The SSNSS would bring a lawsuit against the township in 2016 and it was announced last fall that it had been settled, with a condition of the settlement being that the township would pay the SSNSS $45,000, equal to the amount the organization paid to have asbestos removed from the ship.

The township said in a news release in the fall that negotiations were underway to have the ship removed as soon as possible and confirmed that there had been talks with the Tobermory Maritime Association (TMA) to acquire the vessel.

Ham, who owns Henley Boats in Manitowaning, said he was with the team that originally retrieved the Norisle from Owen Sound and he has always considered the ship an important part of his community. He feels the Canadian and Ontario governments should take more interest in the shipping industry’s history on the Great Lakes, much like in Europe, where such vessels are preserved for the community to enjoy.

He commended the SSNSS for their perseverance to see the ship saved, but added that the township would not have the funds to tackle a project expected to cost in the millions of dollars.

He said if he had his way, he would like to see the ship make calls at Assiginack twice a week on an excursion that could include a trip around Manitoulin, down the Bruce Peninsula, into Owen Sound and around Georgian Bay.

“I think it would be a major tourist attraction,” Ham said. “I think if you went around and took a vote of all the municipal governments surrounding Georgian Bay they would all vote very much in support of doing something like that, but I know most of them aren’t in the position to throw any money at it.”

But Ham expects no decision to be made on the future of the ship until a report on it is received and council has a look at it.

“They may wish to sell it off, they may wish to put it in the hands of another entity and there could be other very interested parties out there that are keen on doing something with it,” said Ham.

The TMA had hoped to bring the Norisle to Tobermory and scuttle it as a dive site in Little Cove near the Niagara II, which was sunk there in 1999.

On Tuesday, TMA president Mike Marcotte said he was disappointed when he learned that the plan to turn the ship into a dive site may not happen, but added it would be nice to see the Norisle sail again.

Marcotte was not convinced that the funds to do such work could be found. “I put a lot of work into it and I will be sad if we can’t get it, but time will tell,” said Marcotte. “Everything comes to an end. The boat isn’t going to live forever, so if it is a few years down the road before we can move forward and put it in the museum, as I like to call it here, then we will have to wait.”

Originally Marcotte had hoped to bring the ship to Tobermory in the fall of this year and then scuttle the ship in the spring of 2020.

The TMA has already secured a permit from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, but still needs a navigation permit from Transport Canada and permission from the Owen Sound Transportation Company to use the federal dock at Tobermory, Marcotte said. He expects to have discussions with Transport Canada shortly about the use of the dock.

Marcotte said he hasn’t had contact with anyone from Assiginack since last fall’s election. Since the TMA can’t move forward until the permits are secured, he has decided not to press the issue at this time.

The TMA will continue to explore future possibilities to make new divesites, and maintains seven moorings for five different divesites outside the Fathom Five National Marine Park, Marcotte said.

Owen Sound Sun Times


2/15 - Leonard Gabrysiak, 88, a survivor of the Cedarville sinking on May 7, 1965, passed away Feb. 13 at home in Rogers City, MI. He was a strong supporter of the Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum in Rogers City as well as Rogers City and Great Lakes shipping.

The 600-foot Cedarville, of the Bradley Transportation Co. fleet, sank after an oceangoing Norwegian freighter, the Topdalsfjord, collided with it. According to the Michigan Underwater Preserve Council, the Cedarville remains on its starboard side, nearly broken in two, in 105 feet of water.

Gabrysiak, who was the wheelsman, recalls that the captain had trouble contacting the captain of the Norwegian freighter, which was in the vicinity.

"It hadn't anchored and we hadn't anchored, either," he told the Detroit Free Press in a 2015 interview. "We altered our course numerous times to get away from it, and we happened to get hit. The Norwegian ship backed off in the fog and that's the last I saw of it."

Gabrysiak said his crew dropped the anchor, but there was a sizable hole in the ship. Crew members rushed to cover it with collision tarp, but it wouldn't hold so they decided to try and beach the ship on shore.

"Suddenly the ship shuddered a little bit and started tipping to the side," he said. "The captain shut the engine off and I went out on the port side and it started to roll. ... The boat rolled right over and I got pulled down in the suction. I was down underwater and didn't think I was going to come back up."

A German ship was in the area and rescued the crewmembers who survived.

Gabrysiak said the water's temperature was only 37 degrees and doctors marveled at the fact he survived the incident. "I don't even remember how many days I was in the hospital," he said. "I was pretty banged up."

He is survived by his son, Leonard II, of Rogers City.

Friends may visit at St. Ignatius Catholic Church on Tuesday, Feb. 19 from 9 a.m. through time of his memorial mass at 10 a.m. with Father Arthur Duchnowicz officiating. Rogers City VFW will offer a military tribute at church following mass. Arrangements are in care of the Beck Funeral Home.


2/16 - The Watershed Center in Grand Traverse County says Grand Traverse Bay is officially frozen over. The bay is considered frozen when West Bay freezes up to Power Island for at least 24 hours.

The thickness of the ice varies though. This is the sixth time in 20 years the bay has frozen over. The last time the bay froze was February 11 of last year, and it stayed that way for two weeks before thawing.

9 & 10 News


2/16 - Southfield, Mich. – Walking along a branch of the River Rouge in Southfield, Marie McCormick, executive director of Friends of the Rouge, points out the high volume of traffic up above. “You have really close proximity to the road, here,” she said pointing out Telegraph Road and a nearby apartment complex.

In some ways, it’s great to have a tributary that empties directly into Lake Erie — one of metro Detroit’s prime sources for drinking water — it means plants, animals and recreation. On the other hand, thanks to its proximity to the road, it means salt runoff.

“It runs off really quickly,” said McCormick. “So if you drop salt really close to these bodies of water it flows in and changes the chemistry of the water.”

That’s the catch 22 for local governments, and the Michigan Department of Transportation, when it comes to road salt. Studies show lakes, streams and even wells are getting saltier. Scientists believe that road salt is to blame, but it’s also considered the safest way to decrease crashes.

MDOT has worked to reduce the use of salt in recent winters because it costs less money, and it’s safer for the environment.

“We’re happy with our management practices we’ve incorporated,” said Mark Geib, MDOT’s Transportation Systems Management Operations Director. “It’s shown up in our numbers that our management plan works, but we’re always watching to see how we can get better.”

The current practices include a computerized system on each salt truck MDOT sends on the road, that system is calibrated based on the current weather conditions — it reduces wasteful salt usage. They also pre-wet salt to ensure it sticks, and trucks drive slower than in years past to reduce the amount of salt that bounces off the road.

“Without some of the management practices we’ve incorporated, the amounts we use would be greater.”

McCormick said last year that still meant more than 500,000 tons spread across Michigan roadways — that doesn’t include what local counties and cities used to de-ice their roads.

With some scientists warning that fresh water sources could become so salty they’d be undrinkable (less severe predictions warn that salty water could harm animals, insect and plant-life), folks like McCormick are recommending people take safer approaches to de-ice their personal property.

Rock salt, the most common de-icer used by homeowners, becomes ineffective when temperatures drop below 15 degrees. While some de-icers, such as calcium chloride and manganese chloride, work better in lower temps, they are also more expensive.

WXYZ


2/16 - Windsor, Ont. – With area lake levels well above the norm and ice piling up on shorelines, concerns are escalating about possible major flooding and shoreline erosion this spring, according to the Essex Region Conservation Authority.

With high winds kicking up this week, a large amount of precipitation and water levels above the norm, ERCA on Wednesday issued an advisory that lake ice may be pushed onshore with waves exacerbating already icy conditions primarily along the Lake Erie shoreline.

“The forecast for wind speed is just below the threshold for flooding, but that wind and open nature of channel areas will allow for ice floes to move on land,” said Tim Byrne, ERCA’s director of watershed management.

“What we are seeing (with water levels) is unusual for Lake Erie for this time of year. If enough broken ice accumulates it will come on shore, especially where there are lower-lying breakwalls.”

Among areas at greatest risk are the Lake Erie shoreline between the east area of Essex to Point Pelee, plus the western portion of Pelee Island. Residents in those areas with anything of value on their property should consider moving the items to another location, Byrne said.

“Especially if you are in close proximity to low-lying breakwalls, I would consider moving it,” he said. “Ice does not stop and anything in its way will get bulldozed over.”

Given the wet winter to date, Byrne also expressed concerns Wednesday for how area water levels across Essex County are shaping up to potentially cause trouble this spring.

Currently, Lake Superior is only two inches below its record high for February, while Lake Erie is seven inches below the record for February, according to the latest numbers from the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers in Detroit which tracks lake levels on the U.S. side.

“This is the fourth year in a row of high lake water,” Byrne said. “Historically in my 34 years, you normally see a year or two of a typical high point then it recedes, but for the past four years we continue to sit at an elevated state.

“The trend is showing the potential (this spring) for surpassing the record water levels in 1986 that were the all-time high. We are reviewing our assessments on how we are going to deal with it.”

A chief watershed hydrologist for the U.S. army corps said Wednesday there is an expectation Lake St. Clair will remain between 18 inches and two feet above its long-term average for the next six months with much the same predicted for Lake Erie.

“We are not outside the recorded range,” said Keith Kompoltowicz. “We have been here before. But we have been above the average consistently now the last several years. People should be conscious (of flooding) as things can change quickly especially with inshore winds.”

A spokesman for the Lake Superior Board of Control, however, is not as concerned as others that lakes will reach record levels this year.

The control board this month released numbers that show Lake Michigan-Huron — which includes local waterways — is currently 52 cm above average and six cm above last year’s beginning-of-February level.

“It’s similar conditions to last year, so it’s hard to say where we will end up over the next six months,” said Rob Caldwell, Canadian secretary for the control board. He pointed to Canadian six-month forecasts for Lake Erie which show the potential this year to reach the record levels of 1987 under a worst-case weather scenario.

“There is no reason to panic quite yet, but there is no reason to stop paying attention either because the water levels remain very high,” Caldwell said.

Windsor Star



Smoldering Sunday morning USCG Photo

Fire Fighting efforts Saturday Night. USCG Photo
StClair-on-fire.jpg (39770 bytes)
St. Clair ablaze Saturday night - source unknown
2/17 - Oregon, Ohio - Noon update - Thick black smoke is still coming from the cabin area of the St. Clair. This is almost 16 hours since the first alarm was sounded for this fire.

The Coast Guard was conducting pollution assessment of the Maumee River. Watchstanders in the Coast Guard Sector Detroit Command Center were notified of the fire about 9: 30 p.m. by members of Coast Guard Station Toledo. The Coast Guard responded along with fire fighters from eight local fire departments

The external fire is currently under control. Preventative measures continue on adjacent ships using water-cooling techniques.

A helicopter crew and a pollution responder, aboard a helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Detroit, conducted an aerial observation of the area at first light Sunday and determined there was no pollution in the Maumee River.

9 a.m. update - Sunday morning the fire is still burning in the accommodations block of the St. Clair. Pictures from the scene show extensive heat damage through the vessel from the unloading system at deck level to the upper cabins. Fire crews are reported to be making progress but it is unknown when the fire will be extinguished.

12 a.m. update – Late Saturday firefighters in Toledo were battling flames aboard the St. Clair docked at the Port of Toledo. The fire department was dispatched about 8:45 p.m. to the Torco Dock. Arriving firefighters reported seeing smoke and fire from the vessel’s stack. An aerial ladder was hoisted to attack the blaze. No one was aboard, and there was no cargo on the vessel at the time of the fire.

Nearly two hours later, residents several miles away reported they smelled burning rubber and saw gray smoke in the air. The St. Clair arrived for winter lay-up at the Torco Dock on January 14. Repair work is performed on a vessel while they are in lay-up, it is not uncommon to have welding crews completing steel work.

Pictures posted to social media showed fire crews pumping water onto the stern and others showed the entire length of the self unloading boom on fire. The unloading conveyor belts run under the cargo hold and then loop through the accommodations block. A fire spreading through these spaces could cause catastrophic damage to a vessel covering multiple decks.

Fire fighting efforts have also been hampered by lack of water, there was only one hydrant reported in that area and the river was said to be frozen. Crews have been unable to fight the fire from aboard the vessel adding to the concern for the fire spreading through the ship.

Fire crews have been working to keep the fire from spreading to the Great Republic, dock off the St Clair's starboard side.

Reports from Toledo Blade, WTOL, USCG, local reports and various Social Media reports.

2/18 - Oregon, Ohio - On Sunday, the fire was under control but not out. Two ladder trucks remained at the scene cooling off hot spots. “Nobody can think of a fire of this magnitude in the city of Oregon,” said interim fire chief Dennis Hartman.

Two conveyor belts on the ship caught fire, burned and melted.

“Just think of two tire piles—big tire piles—basically same kind of thing: rubber. That’s on fire under the vessel. We just can’t get to that,” Hartman said.

It was a tough fire to battle. Only one in four fire hydrants on the dock worked. Tanker trucks from 15 area departments were dispatched to a hydrant on Bay Shore Road. “Those tanker trucks would come out here. We had an engine out here that would fill them, bring them back,” Hartman said.

The future of the St. Clair is uncertain. Parts of her superstructure have been destroyed such as the pilots deck and the captain and crew living quarters.

Hartman says the fire could continue to burn for several days. No cause has been determined.

WTOL and local reports

52769520_2417899188492026_6800310333522051072_n.jpg (83377 bytes) StClair-on-fire.jpg (39770 bytes)
Smoldering Sunday morning USCG Photo Closer view Sunday morning. Jake Bourdage Fire Fighting efforts Saturday Night. USCG Photo St. Clair ablaze Saturday night - source unknown


If you get this far, Im posting a direct BOATNERD link with lots of photos of the fires! ws

www.boatnerd.com/ Go to the news channel!

[yachtsmanwilly]

The b.) TROY H. BROWNING, c.) THOMAS F. PATTON was towed from the James River with two other C4s, LOUIS MC HENRY HOWE, b.) TOM M. GIRDLER and MOUNT MANSFIELD, b.) CHARLES M. WHITE, to the Maryland Dry Dock Co., Baltimore, Maryland, February 1951, to be converted to a Great Lakes bulk carrier according to plans designed by J.J. Henry & Co., New York, New York.

Wolf & Davidson of Milwaukee sold the JIM SHERIFFS (wooden propeller, 182 foot, 634 gross tons, built in 1883, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin) to Kelley Island Line on 19 February 1887.

1981: The Indian freighter JYOTI VINOD, a Seaway caller as a) JALAZAD beginning in 1969, departed Bombay with a cargo of jute, general freight and school buses. The nightmare voyage, which proved to be its last, did not reach Tema, Ghana, until December 23, 1981

1992: VIHREN, a Bulgarian built and flagged bulk carrier, was driven on the breakwall at Tuapse, USSR, in severe weather. The vessel later broke in two. The ship first came inland in 1983, headed for Thunder Bay. The two sections of the hull were refloated and each arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, for dismantling in August 1992.


2/19 - Oregon, Ohio - Monday Fire crews had been unable to enter the St. Clair to fight the fire because it is still too dangerous due to the intense heat and smoke. The fire is expected to be burning for days to come. The fire department has no idea when the fire will be extinguished. The U. S. Coast Guard, the National Transportation board as well as other agencies are on scene monitoring the fire.

[yachtsmanwilly]

2/20 - Investigators remain on scene in Toledo for what will likely be a lengthy investigation. Tuesday the St. Clair was reported to be listing and required to be pumped out. It is unclear if the water was from fire fighting or another source.

We have combined pictures from the event in a special gallery: Click here to view


On February 20, 1959, Interlake Steamship Co.’s HERBERT C. JACKSON (Hull #302) was launched at Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, Michigan.

The Canadian Coast Guard Icebreaker DES GROSEILLIERS (Hull #68) was launched February 20, 1982, at St. Catharines, Ontario by Port Weller Drydocks Ltd.

On 20 February 1903, the straight-deck steamer G. WATSON FRENCH (steel propeller, 376 foot, 3,785 gross tons) was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan by West Bay City Ship Building Co. (Hull #608). She lasted until 1964, when she was scrapped by Lakehead Scrap Metal Co. at Fort William, Ontario. The other names she had during her career were b.) HENRY P. WERNER in 1924, c.) JOHN J. BOLAND in 1937, and d.) ALGOWAY in 1947.

1940: A fire broke out in the cargo hold of the package freighter KING at Buffalo when insulation, being installed for refrigeration purposes, ignited. Several firemen were overcome by the smoke, but damage to the ship was negligible.

[yachtsmanwilly]

2/21 - Port Colborne - Port Colborne Fire and Emergency Services responded to the Algoma Guardian at her lay-up dock in Port Colborne Wednesday night. No smoke was visible from outside the vessel but there was a report of smoke in a control room.

A ladder truck is set up and fire fighter's have dry lines set up ready to feed water if necessary. One person was reported to have suffered smoke inhalation.

Check back for updates



EDWIN H. GOTT arrived at Two Harbors, Minnesota, (her first trip) February 21, 1979, with the loss of one of her two rudders during her transit of Lake Superior. The other rudder post was also damaged. She was holed in her bow and some of her cargo hold plating ruptured as a result of frozen ballast tanks. Even the icebreaker MACKINAW suffered damage to her port propeller shaft on the trip across frozen Lake Superior.

At Port Weller Drydocks Ltd., the keel of the new bow section for HILDA MARJANNE was laid on February 21, 1961, while at the same time the tanker hull forward of her engine room bulkhead was being cut away.

On 21 February 1929, SAPPHO (wooden propeller passenger ferry, 107 foot, 224 gross tons, built in 1883, at Wyandotte, Michigan) burned at her winter lay-up dock in Ecorse, Michigan. She had provided 46 years of service ferrying passengers across the Detroit River. She was neither repaired nor replaced since the Ambassador Bridge was nearing completion.

[yachtsmanwilly]

2/22 - The opening of the 2019 navigation season is scheduled to take place on the following dates and times:
• Welland Canal: 8 a.m. March 22
• Montreal / Lake Ontario Section: 8 a.m. March 26
• Soo Locks - March 25

Vessel transits will be subject to weather and ice conditions. Restrictions may apply in some areas until lighted navigation aids have been installed.

In the Montreal / Lake Ontario Section, the maximum allowable draft will be 80.0 dm (26' 3") until the South Shore Canal is ice-free or April 15th, whichever occurs first, at which time, if water levels are favorable, the maximum draft will be increased to 80.8 dm (26' 6") for all vessels.

Mariners are reminded that for ships loaded to a draft greater than 80.0 dm (26' 3"), speeds will be monitored carefully between St. Lambert Lock and St. Nicolas Island.

In the Welland Canal, a maximum allowable draft of 80.8 dm (26' 6") will be in effect from the start of the navigation season for all vessels.

Please note that, for vessels loaded to a draft greater than 80.0 dm (26' 3"), speeds will be monitored carefully between the upper entrance to Lock 7 and former Bridge 12 in order to reduce bank erosion in this area.

Vessels equipped with an approved and operational draft information system will be permitted to transit at a draft of up to 7cm above the maximum allowable draft.

There will be zero tolerance for vessels to transit at drafts in excess of those specified in this Notice.


2/22 - The Canadian government is seeking information on the potential procurement of an existing light icebreaking vessel to fill interim requirements of the Canadian Coast Guard.

A request for information was issued on February 18 seeking input from the marine industry regarding the procurement. The interim vessel would be used for icebreaking services for the St. Lawrence Seaway while other ships in the fleet undergo maintenance This vessel will complete the Canadian Coast Guard’s plan to add four interim icebreakers to its fleet.

Canada has purchased three interim medium icebreakers, which are being converted at Chantier Davie in Levis, Quebec. The first of the three medium icebreakers, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Captain Molly Kool, was welcomed into the Canadian Coast Guard fleet on December 14, 2018.

“Our government is providing the women and men of the Canadian Coast Guard with the ships they need to carry out their important work,” Carla Qualtrough minister of public services and procurement and accessibility, commented. “This project is another example of how we are investing in Canada’s largest civilian fleet to meet short- and longer-term requirements.”

Naval Today


2/22 - Appearing before a special meeting of the Sault Ste. Marie City Commission, Commander Greg Turner of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District was essentially preaching to the choir as he outlined the importance of constructing a new Soo Lock.

“The new Soo Lock would eliminate the single point of failure in our nation’s iron ore supply chain,” said Turner, adding the national significance of the headwaters of the St. Marys River can be seen in the form of more than 7 million private sector jobs that rely on this vital mode of transportation.

To date there has already been $32 million allocated in preparation for the construction of a new Soo Lock, with fiscal year 2019 more than doubling that allocation including more than $32 million in federal funds and nearly $37 million from the State of Michigan. Plans for the immediate future, according to Commander Turner, include completion of upstream channel deepening, upstream approach wall design and the resumption of the new lock chamber design.

“Build it the same size,” said Commander Turner of construction to be done in the footprint of the Davis and Sabin Locks. “The younger brother of the Poe, but built to the same dimensions.”v The Poe Lock can pass Great Lakes Shipping vessels up to 1,200 feet in length, 110 feet wide at a depth down to 32 feet. The new lock design will become virtually the mirror image or twin of the Poe Lock.

The timetable for construction appears to be somewhat fluid relying on the federal funding, but assuming all plans remain on track, Commander Turner was projecting somewhere between seven and 10 years for completion.

Predictions on the labor force were also seemingly broad. The number of workers needed to complete the new lock could be in the 400 range or surpass the 1,100 mark over an eight-year period.

Many of those jobs would fall under the category of “long-term, temporary’ meaning they would not last forever, but workers could be here for a number of years before their portion of construction came to a close.

There was no official action taken at Wednesday’s special meeting as the commission heard from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding this phase of the proposed $922.4 million Soo Lock.

The Soo Evening News


2/22 - Port Colborne A ship-keeper's quick actions averted a potential fire on board the Algoma Guardian Wednesday night in Port Colborne.

Port Colborne Fire and Emergency Services Chief Tom Cartwright said alarms on the vessel, docked on Barber Drive, alerted the ship-keeper to a problem. Cartwright said the man found smoke in a control room area and he shut down power to the ship, which was coming from a shore-based power station.

"They were lucky he picked up there was a problem."

Once firefighters arrived on scene — Port Colborne's fire hall is only a two-minute drive away — the on-duty captain assessed the situation. Cartwright said the fire service's standing policy is not to go below decks to fight fires on board vessels in the Welland Canal.

"It was smoke than anything else … the crew went in with a line to protect themselves." Once below deck, firefighters ventilated the control room as best they could, as the fire service's aerial ladder truck arrived and set up to provide additional access to the ship.

"It was found to be an overheated transformer," said Cartwright as to the cause of the smoke.

He said Canadian Niagara Power, an Algoma Central Corp. employee and an electrician were all called to the ship to assess the problem.

Niagara Emergency Medical Services paramedics were on scene Wednesday night. The fire chief said while the ship-keeper did inhale some smoke, he refused treatment. Cartwright said most ships have automatic suppression systems or in some cases sprinklers. "Nothing came on," he said of the Algoma Guardian's system.

When vessels dock for winter maintenance or just dock for the winter season, the fire service boards them all. "As soon as they come in the crews go on board and find out where the ship-keeper will be, where the records are … we prebuild a fire plan for every ship that is tied up."

Though there was no fire on board the Algoma Guardian, a U.S. vessel laid up for the winter at the Port of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio burned for two days.

Click here for video and pictures

The Welland Tribune


On 22 February 1920, the Goodrich Line’s ALABAMA (steel propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 272 foot, 2,626 gross tons, built in 1909, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) ran aground on a concrete obstruction which was the foundation of the old water-intake crib in Lake Michigan off Belmont Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. The SIDNEY O. NEFF (wooden package freighter, 149 foot, 346 gross tons, built in 1890, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) took off the ALABAMA’s cargo and then harbor tugs pulled the ALABAMA free. Repairs to her hull took the rest of the winter and she didn’t return to service until May 1920.

February 22, 1925 - The ANN ARBOR NO 7 made her maiden voyage. On 22 February 1878, the 156 foot wooden freighter ROBERT HOLLAND was purchased by Beatty & Co. of Sarnia for $20,000.

1942: The Great Lakes canal-sized bulk carrier GEORGE L. TORIAN of the Upper Lakes and St. Lawrence Transportation Co. had been requisitioned for saltwater service in the bauxite trade in 1941. The ship was torpedoed by U-129 off the coast of British Guiana in position 09.13 N / 59.04 W and sank quickly. Most of the crew were killed.

1945: H.M.C.S. TRENTONIAN was a Flower Class naval corvette that had been built by the Kingston Shipbuilding Company and completed at Kingston, Ontario, on December 1, 1943. It was torpedoed and sunk by U-1004 near Falmouth, England, and went down stern first. Six on board, one officer and 5 enlisted crew members, were lost.

[yachtsmanwilly]

EDWIN H. GOTT arrived at Two Harbors, Minnesota, (her first trip) February 23, 1979, with the loss of one of her two rudders during her transit of Lake Superior. The other rudder post was also damaged. She was holed in her bow and some of her cargo hold plating ruptured as a result of frozen ballast tanks. Even the icebreaker MACKINAW suffered damage to her port propeller shaft on the trip across frozen Lake Superior.

At Port Weller Drydocks Ltd., the keel of the new bow section for HILDA MARJANNE was laid on February 23, 1961, while at the same time the tanker hull forward of her engine room bulkhead was being cut away.

On 23 February 1929, SAPPHO (wooden propeller passenger ferry, 107 foot, 224 gross tons, built in 1883, at Wyandotte, Michigan) burned at her winter lay-up dock in Ecorse, Michigan. She had provided 46 years of service ferrying passengers across the Detroit River. She was neither repaired nor replaced since the Ambassador Bridge was nearing completion.

The Pittsburgh Steamship Co.’s RICHARD V. LINDABURY (Hull#783) was launched February 24, 1923, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. Purchased by S & E Shipping (Kinsman) in 1978, renamed b.) KINSMAN INDEPENDENT. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey in 1988.

The founder of Arnold Transit Co., long-time ferry operators between Mackinac Island and the mainland, George T. Arnold filed the Articles of Association on Feb. 24, 1900.

On 24 February 1920, TALLAC (formerly SIMON J. MURPHY and MELVILLE DOLLAR, steel propeller, 235 foot, built in 1895, at W. Bay City, Michigan) was on a voyage from Colon, Panama to Baltimore, Maryland, when she stranded and was wrecked 18 miles south of Cape Henry, Virginia.

1975: The MOHAMEDIA foundered in the Red Sea enroute from Djibouti to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with a cargo of livestock that included 1300 cattle, 700 sheep and 118 camels. One member of the crew was also lost. The vessel had been a Seaway trader as b) ULYSSES CASTLE in 1969 and c) ITHAKI CASTLE in 1973.

1976: FRAMPTONDYKE visited the Seaway in 1969. It sank following a collision with the ODIN in the English Channel enroute from Rotterdam, Netherlands, to Cork, Ireland, as b) WITTERING. All on board were rescued.

CREEK TRANSPORT was launched this day in 1910, as a.) SASKATOON (Hull#256) at Sunderland, England, by Sunderland Shipbuilding Co.

1964: CISSOULA, a Greek freighter that visited the Seaway in 1961 and 1965, was abandoned after a collision in fog with the Swedish vessel SOLKLINT off Selsey Bill in the English Channel. The damaged freighter was taken in tow and repaired. It was delivered to shipbreakers at Hsinkang, China, on September 24, 1969.

1968: AZAR first came to the Great Lakes as c) CELESTE in 1960 and returned with one trip under this, her fifth name, in 1967. The Liberian-registered, but Canadian-built freighter went aground off Cuba enroute from Venezuela to Tampa, Florida. The ship suffered extensive damage when it caught fire on February 29 and was declared a constructive total loss. It is believed that the hull was dismantled locally.

1978: The Italian freighter ANTONIO was the last saltwater ship to transit the Welland Canal in 1965. It ran aground off Chios Island, Greece, enroute from Constanza, Romania, to Vietnam as e) OMALOS. The ship was refloated on March 1 but laid up at Piraeus, Greece, and subsequently sold, at auction, for scrap. The vessel was broken up at Megara, Greece, beginning on June 13, 1983.

1979: The Panamanian freighter d) FENI was damaged in a collision on the Black Sea at Sulina Roads, Romania, with ATLANTIS STAR and had to be beached. The ship was refloated on February 28 and repaired. It had been a Seaway trader as a) DEERWOOD in 1960 and returned as b) SEBASTIANO in 1969. The ship was scrapped as f) SIRLAD at Split, Yugoslavia, following an explosion off Algeria, on January 3, 1982.

1994: BANDERAS visited the Great Lakes from 1975 through the 1980s. It was abandoned by the crew off the coast of Brazil as b) AEGEAN TRADER due to a fire in the accommodation area. The vessel was towed to Valencia, Spain, to be unloaded and arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, for scrapping as c) EGE TRADE on August 11, 1994.

2/23 - Muskegon, Mi – Growth is on the horizon for a Muskegon-based, family-owned Great Lakes shipping company now that a majority share was sold to a private equity firm.

Andrie Inc. just got a growth-inducing cash infusion from the sale of a majority stake in the company to Grand Rapids-based Auxo Investment Partners, Auxo managing partner Jeff Helminski told MLive/Muskegon Chronicle.

Specifically, the funds will be used to purchase tug boats and barges that will traverse the Great Lakes and beyond, he said.

Andrie, headquartered on the Muskegon Lake shoreline, was founded in 1988 by Barbara Andrie. The company is a bulk transporter of specialty products including liquid asphalt, cement, light oil petroleum products, and calcium chloride throughout the Great Lakes.

Barbara Andrie’s, son Stan Andrie Jr., is staying on as CEO despite the sale, according to a news release from Auxo.

“This company has been a big part of my family since its earliest days, so deciding to bring in a new partner wasn’t a decision we took lightly,” Stan Andrie Jr. said. “Not only is this new partnership a cultural fit that will preserve the legacy of what we’ve accomplished, it’s one that will position us for strong growth in the years ahead.”

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Andrie has 19 vessels with a cargo capacity of 125,000 tons. The company employs about 150 people, according to a release.

With the cash infusion from the acquisition, Helminski expects to see all those figures increase.

“The Andrie family has built a strong company, which is clear given its unrelenting focus on highly trained crews, company culture and unrivaled customer service,” said Helminski, who grew up in Muskegon and is a 1992 graduate of Muskegon Catholic Central.

Auxo specializes in investment in industrial businesses – usually niche manufacturing – that are founder- or family-owned and have a need for growth capital or are interested in transitioning to retirement, he said.

Andrie is Auxo’s second marine acquisition after purchasing New Orleans-based M/G Transport Services in 2017.

"Andrie will also work very well with the team at M/G Transport Services as we build out a broader platform for both companies,” Helminski said in a written statement.

Auxo was founded during October 2016. It has acquired a list of industry-leading cutting die manufacturers, including Bernal Rotary Dies, Atlas Die, Atlas Chem Milling (ACM) and Midway Rotary Die Solutions. It also purchased Prestige Stamping, Inc., a high-speed niche manufacturer of custom engineered stampings for the fastener industry.

Click here for more details

Mlive


2/25 - St. Catharines, Ont. – A federal committee on transport, infrastructure and communities will recommend the Canadian government consider the creation of a mid-peninsula corridor, encourage increased use of the St. Lawrence Seaway, and utilize Welland Canal corridor lands to expand and create new economic development opportunities.

The recommendations came about after Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey tabled a report on Establishing a Canadian Transportation and Logistics Strategy in the House of Commons Thursday, a release from his office said.

"As a result of our deliberations, the committee established 31 recommendations. Contained within the recommendations is that the government acknowledge the Niagara Region's and City of Hamilton's strategic location, within a one day's drive of major Canadian and U.S. cities, provincial designation as an economic gateway centre and zone, and federal recognition as a foreign trade zone transportation-related infrastructure, through designating the Region and city as a national trade corridor," said Badawey in the release.

Specific to Niagara and Hamilton, the committee said the federal government must recognize the regular congestion on the QEW, and emphasized the need for an alternative route.

It recommended the government consider the creation of a mid-peninsula corridor and encourage increased use of the St. Lawrence Seaway to eliminate existing bottlenecks, bring the Seaway to further capacity, and utilize Welland Canal corridor lands to expand and create new economic development opportunities.

"Our next steps will be to work with our local partners — users, stakeholders and municipalities — to strengthen the Niagara-Hamilton economic cluster. This will bring together complementary businesses, skills, professions, research facilities, arts and entertainment entities, educational institutions, and other factors combined, to ensure our cluster is internationally recognized as a conduit for growth and innovation," said Badawey.

As it worked through the process, the committee met with various transportation users, stakeholders and municipalities to identify opportunities to increase the efficiency of Canada's trade corridors in Niagara, Vancouver, B.C. and Seattle WA.

St. Catharines Standard

[yachtsmanwilly]

2/26 - Buffalo, N.Y. - Sunday evening the ice boom in Lake Erie off Buffalo had a section fail due to the high winds. Large chunks of ice were jamming up the Niagara River and could cause flooding.

A Flash Flood Warning has been issued for north-central Erie County and southwestern Niagara County until 12 a.m. Monday.

The ice boom, installed every winter, prevents large chunks of ice from flowing down the river.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz confirmed the failure on Twitter saying "The Ice Boom has broken and the Niagara River is being flooded with ice. This is a picture of a piece taken near Grand Island. Allegedly 7 sections were seen in the river. Ice is building up along the shore."

The New York Power Authority issued a statement Sunday evening about the break of the boom.

"NYPA is actively monitoring the extreme weather situation in Niagara County and is responding to any operational issues as quickly as possible. NYPA had previously staged equipment to prepare for any necessary ice boom repairs and for any needed ice-breaking activity.

The ice boom is designed to submerge during high wind and high water events, allowing ice to overtop the boom. Current flooding is not due to the ice boom. This is a wind-driven event."

Click here for pictures

WGRZ


2/26 - C Winter is coming to towns along the shores of the Great Lakes—literally, as walls of ice have risen from the lakes and piled up on shorelines.

These ominous “ice tsunamis” formally called ice shoves —some of which are big enough to overwhelm lampposts and retaining walls are piles of broken-up ice blown to shore by especially strong winds.

Since Sunday, gusts of 60 miles an hour or more have been hammering the region around the Great Lakes, knocking out power and delaying air travel. Pictures shared on social media and by local emergency services also show sprawling floes of ice cluttering up beaches, roads, and even some lakeside residences.

"We've had storms in the past but nothing like this," Hoover Beach, New York, resident Dave Schultz told the WGRZ news service. "We've never had the ice pushed up against the walls and right up onto our patios.”

Historically speaking, though, these ice tsunamis aren't without precedent. The scientific study of these events traces back to 1822, when an anonymous U.S. naturalist reported seeing “rocks, on level ground, taking up a gradual line of march [along a lakebed] and overcoming every obstacle in ... escaping the dominion of Neptune.” From 1825 onward, scientists across Earth's northern latitudes have found that the movement of lake ice can push these wandering boulders along.

Formally called ice shoves, ice pushes, or ivu, the striking phenomena are most likely to occur in the early spring, when ice just starts to weaken and break up. In addition, they tend to happen when strong winds blow directly onto gently sloped beaches. The gentler the slope, the farther inland incoming water can push the ice.

These piles of ice can get immense. In 2001, ice shoves on the coast of Alaska's Chukchi Sea reached up to 16 feet tall.

Beyond wind, lake ice also can move shoreward when sudden temperature swings force the ice to expand and contract. The two factors combined can cause lake ice to nudge boulders across lake bottoms and even onto shorelines, forming ridges of rocks and boulders called ice-push ramparts.

Boulders within these ramparts average one-and-a-half to three feet wide—and some can get up to five feet across. These lakeside structures resemble moraines, the rock-strewn debris pushed out by glaciers flowing downhill. The strands of boulders can help scientists track lakes' past water levels and ice activity.

Click here for pictures

Click here for a video

National Geographic


The completed hull of the BELLE RIVER (Hull#716) was floated off the ways February 26, 1977, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Corp. Renamed b.) WALTER J. MC CARTHY JR in 1990.

JOSEPH L. BLOCK (Hull#715) was launched February 26, 1976, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Corp.

On 26 February 1874, the tug WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE JR. was launched at Port Huron Dry Dock. Her dimensions were 151 feet overall, 25 foot 6 inches beam, and 13 foot depth. Her machinery was built by Phillerick & Christy of Detroit and was shipped by rail to Port Huron. She cost $45,000. Her master builder was Alex Stewart.

On 26 February 1876, the MARY BELL (iron propeller, 58 foot, 34 gross tons, built in 1870, at Buffalo, New York) burned near Vicksburg, Michigan.

The Liberty ship BASIL II, a Seaway visitor in 1960, ran aground on a reef off the west coast of New Caledonia as EVER PROSPERITY in 1965 and was abandoned as a total loss.

ANGLEA SMITS, a Seaway trader in 1983, was abandoned and believed sunk in the Atlantic en route from Norway to Australia in 1986.

1947: The T-2 tanker ROYAL OAK came to the Great Lakes in 1966 as b) TRANSBAY and was rebuilt at Lorain. The vessel departed later in the year as c) TRANSHURON. But as a) ROYAL OAK, it caught fire on this day in the Pacific off Esmeraldas, Ecuador, and had to be abandoned by the crew. The vessel was later reboarded and the fires extinguished. The listing vessel almost sank but it was salvaged and rebuilt for Cities Service Oil.

1965: The Liberty ship BASIL II came through the Seaway in 1960. It ran aground on a reef off New Caledonia as d) EVER PROSPERITY. The vessel was traveling in ballast and had to be abandoned as a total loss.

1981: A spark from a welder's torch ignited a blaze aboard the MONTCLIFFE HALL, undergoing winter work at Sarnia. The fire did major damage to the pilothouse and accommodations area, but the repairs were completed in time for the ship to resume trading on May 27, 1981. It was still sailing in 2013 as d) CEDARGLEN (ii).

1986: ANGELA SMITS, a Seaway trader for the first time in 1983, developed a severe list and was abandoned by the crew on a voyage from Norway to Australia. The hull was sighted, semi-submerged, later in the day in position 47.38 N / 07.36 W and was believed to have sunk in the Atlantic.

1998: The Abitibi tug NIPIGON was active on Lake Superior and often towed log booms from the time it was built at Sorel in 1938 until perhaps the 1960s. The vessel also saw work on construction projects for different owners, and left the Seaway for the sea on December 12, 1988. It was operating as b) FLORIDA SEAHORSE when it sank in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. All 5 on board were rescued.

2011: Fire broke out on the bridge of DINTELBORG while enroute from the Netherlands to Virginia. The ship was taken in tow the next day by the ROWAN M. McALLISTER out of Providence, R.I. The repaired Dutch freighter was back through the Seaway later in 2011. The tug was also a Seaway caller in 2012, coming inland to tow the fire ravaged PATRICE McALLISTER back to Providence.

[yachtsmanwilly]

2/27 - More than three-quarters of Lake Superior is covered in ice right now, making this an above average winter for ice on the lake, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The yearly average is about 65 per cent, said Jia Wang, an ice climatologist at the lab. It isn't a new record however.

The lake completely froze over in 1996, and it reached 95 per cent ice cover six times in the past 60 years. In fact, it's exceeded 80 per cent 25 of the past 60 years making this year's level of ice cover relatively common.

Ice on the lake is between 30 and 70 centimetres deep around Thunder Bay but only 5 to 15 centimetres deep along the rest of the north shore, Wang said. "Some people say, 'Oh this year's cold, and we have a lot of ice cover in Lake Superior. There's no global warming, no climate change," Wang told CBC. "But long term, [in] the Great Lakes, particularly Lake Superior, water temperature still increases ... so the water is warming up regardless of this year's ice cover." Ice cover does help mitigate the effects of climate change, he said, by allowing less water to evaporate in the heat of the sun. Ice also protects the ecosystem from the impacts of harsh winter weather.

"Of course you have disadvantages," Wang said. "Maybe the shipping season will be open later."

CBC News


2/27 - Oswego, NY - High winds whipped across Central New York Monday and forced the Port of Oswego to do something it rarely ever does, shut down operations.

Port Executive Director Bill Scriber made the decision to close for the day based on weather conditions and safety for workers. The port measured wind gust at over 80 mph on Monday. Scriber tells NewsChannel 9, "This is probably the worst I've ever seen it in the entire time I've been here." He's been at the Port of Oswego for a decade. Scriber describes watching waves nearly 30 feet high crash over the break wall between Lake Ontario and the harbor, which itself was seeing waves nearly 10 feet high.

Shipping is always shut down this time of year but the Port of Oswego is more than just shipping. "We can't run rail cars, we can't run trucks so we're more or less a transportation center, we had to close down because we're on the lake and we can't safely conduct business right now." Shingles, made to withstand high winds, were being ripped off of huge sheds used to store things like soybeans. "We've had to hunker down all our doors, bring in our equipment. We've had to look at damage to our roofs, we've lost gutters, right now we're losing our back roof."

Scriber was working on a plan to aggressively get out and make repairs once the wind finally does die down.

WSYR


GOLDEN SABLE was launched February 27, 1930, as a.) ACADIALITE (Hull#170) at Haverton-Hill-on-Tees, United Kingdom by Furness Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.

In 1916 MOUNT STEPHEN, formerly of Canada Steamship Lines, struck a mine and sank off Dover, England, while carrying coal as part of a convoy but the crew was rescued.

The former Great Lakes trader GEORGETOWN, built at Buffalo in 1900, sank in 1917 as ETRETAT in a storm off the Bay of Biscay while carrying barreled oil although there was some suspicion of enemy action.

1917: GEORGETOWN was built at Buffalo in 1900 and sank on this day enroute from New York to Le Havre in heavy weather while carrying barreled oil. The ship went down as b) ETRETAT off Ile D'Yeu, Bay of Biscay, and there was lingering suspicion of enemy action being involved.

1966: In 1966, the Greek Liberty ship EUXEINOS was abandoned in the Atlantic 360 miles southwest of the Azores after developing leaks the previous day. She had made three trips through the Seaway as MOUNT ATHOS in 1959. The crew was picked up by a passing tanker and delivered to Halifax.