Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

3/1 - A labor dispute at a major Canadian salt mine slowed the delivery of salt to Port Milwaukee in 2018, contributing to an 8 percent decline in overall cargo through the port last year, according to a release from the city of Milwaukee-run commercial facility.

Meanwhile, the delay in salt coming through the port in 2018 has led to an increase in activity in early 2019.

"Salt volume was down by 18% last year, but during the first seven weeks of 2019, ships have delivered salt weekly to Milwaukee,” said Adam Schlicht, Port Milwaukee director, in a statement. ”Port Milwaukee has remained accessible to our shipping and rail customers through the coldest parts of winter, and we are optimistic that 2019 volumes will rebound, finishing ahead of last year.”

Cargo entering the port via the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway, an international system of waterways extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the head of the Great Lakes, was up 28 percent in 2018 compared with 2017. The cargo increase in the St. Lawrence Seaway, which extends from Montreal to Lake Erie, suggests international trade negotiations did not have a major impact on Port Milwaukee in 2018, the port stated.

Port Milwaukee reported 2.39 million tons of cargo passing through in 2018, compared with 2.57 million in 2017.

Milwaukee Business Journal


3/1 - For people who live right along Lake Ontario, it's essential to keep an eye on the water. Chaumont resident James Price has noticed the growing levels. "This is about a foot from the top of my brick wall and usually it's about three feet below my brick wall, so it is a lot higher," he said.

The International Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River Board releases water from the Moses-Saunders Dam to help control Lake Ontario. Right now, the amount of water being released is far more than normal.

According to the International Joint Commission, the lake's water levels are about 16 inches higher than normal for this time of year. Under Plan 2014, outflows are released from the Moses-Saunders Dam in Massena to help regulate levels.

Tony David, a member of the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board, says a cold winter helps even more. "It allows us to create a stable ice cover in the St. Lawrence River, from under which high outflows can be passed," he said.

Right now, the dam is releasing water at the rate of 303,700 cubic feet per second, which is a near record amount.

Those with the IJC say they're doing what they can to maximize outflows and help regulate the water levels on Lake Ontario, but at the end of the day, they say there's only so much they can do. "The board does not control Lake Ontario water levels. It has some influence, but under extreme conditions, that influence goes away," said David.

But Price says he's still concerned.

"If it doesn't decrease, it means it's going to go higher and if it goes higher up, then we'll be in trouble again," he said.

People who live by Lake Ontario say they just don't want to see another repeat of the intense flooding in 2017, which some communities are still recovering from.

7News and Fox-28/MeTV


2/28 - Change is inevitable, especially in Minnesota's iron ore mining industry. Ownership changes, bankruptcies, plant closures, technological advances, labor force adjustments, and efficiencies that reduce operating costs, have changed mining since the first shipment of ore left the Minnesota Iron Company mine in Soudan in 1884.

But one of the biggest changes in recent decades is on the horizon. On August 12, 2019, ArcelorMittal USA assumes management of Hibbing Taconite. ArcelorMittal USA takes over from longtime manager Cleveland-Cliffs. Cleveland-Cliffs for decades has managed the 8.0 million ton-per-year iron ore pellet facility just north of Hibbing. It's a change that surprised steelworkers who work at the facility and many industry observers.

However, assuming management is natural for ArcelorMittal, said Gary Norgren, ArcelorMittal USA manager of raw materials and transition team leader at Hibbing Taconite. “Assuming the role of managing partner of Hibbing Taconite was the right thing to do for our business, the Hibbing team, and the Iron Range,” said Norgren. “Serving as the managing partner also ensures the long-term supply of quality iron ore operations to our key operations in the United States.”

ArcelorMittal (62.3%) is majority owner of Hibbing Taconite. Cleveland-Cliffs holds 23% ownership and United States Steel 14.7%. Cleveland-Cliffs announced in August it would not manage the taconite plant beyond August 12, 2019. For several months, it was unclear who would take over management. Then, in December, ArcelorMittal USA announced it would replace Cleveland-Cliffs.

No changes in production volumes or operating plans will occur, according to ArcelorMittal USA.

But as the transition date approaches, a joint ArcelorMittal/Cleveland Cliffs transition team has begun meeting to plan the transition, said Norgren. Transition meetings began in mid-January.

“During the kick-off meeting, several ArcelorMittal/Cliffs teams were created to work on transitioning all functional areas,” said Norgren. “These areas include everything from information technology and mine planning to procurement and operations. Over the next six-and-a-half months, the partners will work to ensure there is an orderly transition with the goal of maintaining stability for Hibbing's workforce. ArcelorMittal is committed to communicating more information as it becomes available to both our team and the community.”

No significant changes in Hibbing Taconite leadership are anticipated, according to Norgren. Hibbing Taconite owners and ArcelorMittal, as manager, will continue to honor the terms of the labor contract reached last fall between United Steelworkers (USW) and Cleveland-Cliffs. About 650 steelworkers are employed at Hibbing Taconite. Steelworker leaders on Feb. 12 for the first time met with Norgren, other ArcelorMittal officials, and Cleveland-Cliffs representatives, to discuss the transition, said Chris Johnson, president of USW Local 2705 at Hibbing Taconite.

“They're going to make it as seamless as possible and try not to affect hourly or salaried worker,” said Johnson. “Most of the systems Cliffs had in place are going to stay unless it is something unique to Cliffs.” Though a seamless transition is planned, it's still a major change for workers at the taconite plant, said Johnson. “I guess I'm just a believer that that anytime there a change, there are always some hiccups,” said Johnson. “But I believe they will try to make it as seamless as possible.”

Beyond the transition, there's an even bigger issue on the minds of employees, said Johnson. Without securing new taconite reserves, Hibbing Taconite will run out of ore in the first quarter of 2025, said Johnson. Without new reserves, cutbacks at the taconite plant could occur beginning in 2023 or 2024, said Johnson.

“For the hourly people, the biggest concern is getting mine life and adding some years to this plant,” said Johnson. “Without life of mine, there's no future. Every day I'm getting calls from people wondering whether they should look for another job or other opportunities. It's a big worry for our people. The transition is small potatoes compared to this.”

At Norgren's Feb. 12 visit to Hibbing Taconite, Norgren made it clear that ArcelorMittal's top priority is to extend the life of the mine, said Johnson. “He said they have been working tirelessly and around the clock on it,” said Johnson. ArcelorMittal confirmed it is addressing the mine life issue, according to a statement from Norgren. “ArcelorMittal is actively working on efforts to ensure the long-term supply of quality iron ore from Hibbing Taconite to our key operations in the United States,” said Norgren.

The transition team will continue holding regular meetings with steelworkers, said Johnson. Smaller “break-off” groups that will address individual departmental transition, will also meet, he said. The next transition team meeting will likely be in early April, he said.Steelworkers continue to value its relationship with Cleveland-Cliffs, which will continue to hold ownership in the facility.

“We appreciate everything Lourenco Goncalves (Cliffs chairman, president and CEO)) and Cliffs has done for us,” said Johnson. “There's a loyalty to him because of the last contract and with what we did when we came close to bankruptcy. Lourenco did what he said he was going to do and he won our members over. That's how our members feel.”

Hibbing Taconite was built by Bethlehem Steel and Pickands Mather and began production in 1976. It's first shipment of iron ore pellets was in January 1977. Pickands Mather was the plant's original manager. Including hourly paid steelworkers and salaried employees, the facility today employs about 737. The majority of the standard iron ore pellets produced at Hibbing Taconite feed ArcelorMittal blast furnaces at Burns Harbor, Indiana.

As the transition continues, the top priority will be the health and safety of its employees, contractors and communities, said Norgren. “We have several programs and initiatives in place at our operations and mines throughout the world, including the U.S.,” said Norgren. “Those programs and initiatives will be implemented within Hibbing Taconite when appropriate.”

Grand Rapids Herald-Review


VENUS (steel propeller bulk freighter, 346 foot, 3,719 gross tons) was launched on 28 February 1901, by the American Ship Building Company (Hull #307) at Lorain, Ohio for the Gilchrist Transportation Company, converted to a crane-ship in 1927. She was renamed b.) STEEL PRODUCTS in 1958, and lasted until 1961, when she was scrapped at Point Abino, Ontario, the spot where she had run aground and partially sunk while being towed for scrap.

The lighthouse tender MARIGOLD (iron steamer, 150 foot, 454 gross tons, built in Wyandotte, Michigan) completed her sea trials on 28 February 1891. The contract price for building her was $77,000. After being fitted out, she was placed into service as the supply ship to the lighthouses in the Eleventh District, taking the place of the WARRINGTON. The MARIGOLD was sold in 1947, converted to a converted to dredge and renamed MISS MUDHEN II.

The rail ferry INCAN SUPERIOR (Hull#211) was launched February 28, 1974, at North Vancouver, British Columbia by Burrard Drydock Co. Ltd. She operated between Thunder Bay, Ontario and Superior, Wisconsin until 1992, when she left the Lakes for British Columbia, she was renamed b.) PRINCESS SUPERIOR in 1993.

OUTARDE was launched February 28, 1906, as a.) ABRAHAM STEARN (Hull#513) at Superior, Wisconsin by Superior Ship Building Co.

In 1929, the Grand Trunk carferry MADISON, inbound into Grand Haven in fog and ice, collided with the U.S. Army dredge General G.G. MEADE, berthed on the south bank of the river for the winter. Damage was minor.

1965: The bow section of the tanker STOLT DAGALI, broken in two due to a collision with the passenger liner SHALOM on November 26, 1964, departed New York for Gothenburg, Sweden, under tow to be rebuilt. The ship had been a Seaway trader as a) DAGALI in 1961, 1962 and 1963.

1974: The Dutch freighter AMPENAN visited the Great Lakes in 1960 and 1961. It arrived at Busan, South Korea, for scrapping as c) OCEAN REX.

1995: CHEM PEGASUS, a Seaway trader as far as Hamilton in 2012, was launched on this date as a) SPRING LEO.

HENRY FORD II (Hull#788) was launched on March 1, 1924, at Lorain, Ohio by the American Ship Building Co. She served as flagship of the Ford Motor Company fleet for many years and was eventually sold to Interlake Steamship Company when Ford sold its Great Lakes division. It was renamed b.) SAMUEL MATHER, but never sailed under that name. It was scrapped in 1994, at Port Maitland, Ontario by Marine Recycling & Salvage Ltd.

In 1881 the steamship JOHN B. LYON was launched at Cleveland, Ohio by Thomas Quayle & Son for Capt. Frank Perew. She was a four mast, double-decker with the following dimensions: 255 foot keel, 275 feet overall, 38 foot beam, and 20 foot depth.

On March 1, 1884 the I.N. FOSTER (wooden schooner, 134 foot, 319 gross tons, built in 1872, at Port Huron, Michigan) was sold by Clark I. Boots to E. Chilson. This vessel lasted until 1927, when she was abandoned in Buffalo, New York.

1926 - The passenger ship WHITE STAR of Canada Steamship Lines burned at Hamilton. It then became a coal barge and was rebuilt in 1950 as the diesel powered, self-unloading sandsucker S.M. DOUGLAS. It operated mainly on the St. Lawrence and was sunk as a breakwall at Kingston, ON in 1975.

1972 - The Dutch passenger and freight carrier PRINSES ANNA first visited the Great Lakes in 1967. It was lost in Osumi Strait, 18 miles south of Cape Sata, Japan, as HWA PO while on a voyage from Nagoya to Whampoa, China. The cargo shifted and 20 of the 36 on board were lost when the ship went down.

1980 - The Swedish freighter BARBARA was 4-years old when it first came inland in 1966. It returned through the Seaway as BARKAND in 1968 and as MARIANNA in 1969. The ship was under a fourth name of MARIA BACOLITSA and in bound from Brazil with pig iron for Constanza, Romania, when it went down on the Black Sea with all hands. An S.O.S. had been sent out without giving the location and rescuers were helpless to lend any assistance.

[yachtsmanwilly]

3/4 - Sturgeon Bay - 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 among the first ships revealed for Nicolet Bank Tall Ships from July 26 to 28 in Green Bay.

Nine historic ships will travel to Sturgeon Bay for the Nicolet Bank Tall Ships Salute and dock overnight July 29.

The vessels depart about 8 a.m. July 30 for sail to Algoma which is the start for the Tall Ships Challenge race to Kenosha.

The event attracts thousands of visitors to the city and events are being planned to celebrate the tall ships, said Dawn Augustson, Nicolet National Bank marketing specialist.

The 2016 event attracted more than 10,000 people to Sturgeon Bay to see the historic ships, and about 7,000 lined the shores of the Sturgeon Bay canal to watch the fleet arrive on Aug. 14, Augustson said. She added that was a Wednesday, the middle of the week, when thousands of "fans" traveled to Sturgeon Bay to see the historic ships.

"Our Sturgeon Bay community has been incredibly welcoming of the Nicolet Bank Tall Ships," Auguston said.

Trained docents will be at the sites where the ships are docked to answer questions and provide additional insights about each vessel, Augustson said.

The Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center has started fielding inquiries about the pending Nicolet Bank Tall Ships Salute in the city, said Pam Seiler, center director.

"I love that this is such a community event and it's free," Seiler said. Seiler and Augustson are among the committee members organizing activities for the event.

As the ships begin to arrive near Sturgeon Bay, they will "muster off of Sherwood Point" between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. July 29 to enter the harbor as a fleet, said Holly Williams, consumer events vice-president of PMI Entertainment Group, which is coordinating the logistics for the ships.

The fleet will depart about 8 a.m. July 30 and sail through the canal to Lake Michigan.

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.

The other ship revealed is the U.S. Brig Niagara out of Erie, Pennsylvania. It is a replica of the two-masted, square-rigged naval vessel that participated in the Battle of Lake Erie to defeat the British during the War of 1812

The Nicolet Bank Tall Ships Green Bay festival also includes the World's Largest Rubber Duck, 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. Tickets for the Green Bay festival, including general admission and for excursions go on sale at 11 a.m. March 15 at www.tallshipswisconsin.com.

Green Bay Press Gazette


3/3 - Nasewaupee - A barge sunk in a storm in 1921 has been listed on the State Register of Historic Places.

The Advance was a barge built in 1871 and was sunk off of the Sand Bay Peninsula, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society. The broken vessel lies in about eight feet of water on a rocky bottom.

The barge was built in 1871 by Alvin A. Turner in Trenton, Michigan, for the Peshtigo Lumber Company. The vessel spent 50 years towed around Lake Michigan until she went ashore in a storm and was lost in 1921.

The Advance is representative of a little-discussed vessel type that was once common throughout the Great Lakes, the barge. Little historical documentation exists on the construction and conversion of the barges, according to the news release.

"Evidence of a bustle on the shipwreck site suggests adaptation; further study allows the opportunity to learn more about barge conversion techniques," the release said.

Study of the barge also plays an important role in understanding the towing and wrecking industry.

"Her use as a lighter allows for insights into the methods and equipment used in salvage and helps us understand more about its use in the Great Lakes towing and wrecking industry," the release said.

The shipwreck is protected by state law and divers may not remove artifacts or pieces of the vessel when visiting the site. More information on Wisconsin’s historic shipwrecks is at the Wisconsin’s Great Lakes Shipwrecks website.

Click here for pictures and more information

Green Bay Press-Gazette


3/2 - Chicago - Representatives from Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago announced that the owner of two recreational pleasure boats has been fined $80,000 for operating as an illegal passenger vessel business on Lake Michigan for at least the past two years.

Robert Glick of Chicago, owner of the 35-foot boats Allora and Fun, was charged with violating three separate federal regulations for each boat while operating a business that involved transporting paying passengers.

The fine represents the largest civil penalty ever handed down by the Coast Guard to a recreational boat owner for operating as an illegal commercial passenger vessel business. The original recommended fine was $214,000.

In April 2016, after receiving information that Glick was operating an illegal charter business, the Coast Guard notified him that he was suspected of carrying passengers for hire, and provided information to help him come in compliance with regulations. The Coast Guard also warned him that failure to comply with federal regulations could lead to civil penalties.

Between June 3, 2017 and June 30, 2018, Allora and Fun were stopped multiple times by members of Coast Guard Station Calumet Harbor and Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and were found to be operating a commercial passenger vessel service without the required documentation and safety equipment. In total, the Allora was boarded or witnessed underway with passengers 10 times on 10 different days.

During the investigation, evidence collected by Coast Guard Investigative Service confirmed that Glick knowingly advertised the two boats for commercial service, and that he continued operating a commercial vessel business after repeatedly being told to cease operations, including after a passenger was injured on the Allora on June 16, 2018.

Civil penalties include: $44,000 for operating without certificates of inspection, $22,000 for operating without having crew members chemical tested, $14,000 for failure to have stability letters issued before his boats were placed in service.

Operators who take on more than six paying passengers are considered to be a commercial passenger business and are required to carry a Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection and a mariner's license. If caught, the operator could be subject to criminal or civil liability.

"Regulations are in place to help ensure the safety of passengers," said Cmdr. Zeita Merchant, commanding officer of Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago. "The Coast Guard's ultimate goal is to ensure the safety of the boating public through full compliance with the minimum safety standards required in law and regulation."

Any boat owner who needs information on operating a legal passenger vessel business, or anyone who wishes to verify a captain's license or certificate of inspection, or who wishes to report a vessel suspected of operating illegally, can contact the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago at 630-986-2155 or email at [e-mail].


3/2 - A new home for M.S. Norgoma has not yet been found by the St. Mary’s River Marine Centre, but the city says the ship will be moved in the spring.

The M.S. Norgoma’s hopes haven’t totally sunk, but the board’s president says all the ship’s apparent options to move the vessel have fallen overboard. Louis Muio, president of the St. Mary’s River Marine Centre board, said he met with city officials Friday to discuss the fate of the Norgoma. “The letter I received from Tom Vair reaffirms clearly council’s direction to terminate the berthing rights of the Norgoma,” he said.

The letter also says the city is willing to work with the board to move the vessel, but all costs will be borne by the St. Mary’s River Marine Centre. The board has scanned the area – on both sides of the international border – to find a new home for the museum ship, but has not had any luck finding a new home.

Efforts have been made to keep the ship local so the existing board can continue to operate the museum and other related events that have grown over the past two years.

The board sought – but was refused – approval to dock the ship on Sault Ste. Marie Region Conservation Authority property adjacent to the former hospitals. A licence of occupation permit the authority has with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry does not permit Norgoma to be stored on it.

Other options explored included Parks Canada and the Valleycamp in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. It’s most potential hope was at the Canadian Bushplane Museum Heritage Centre, Muio said. “We have now confirmed that dredging is needed to get the ship there,” he said. Costs for dredging haven’t been determined, but board approval to move the ship hasn’t been received either.

Muio said the president of the board has provided early indications that permission wouldn’t be granted, but the St. Mary’s River Marine Centre hasn’t made a full presentation to the bushplane museum board on how the two groups could create synergies.

“Even relocating the Norgoma to somewhere close like the (St. Joseph) Island would cost at least $250,000,” he said. The St. Mary’s River Marine Centre has about $25,000 in its coffers. And that’s what poses a problem for the City of Sault Ste. Marie, Muio said.

“You can’t just take it out of there and anchor it in the river. If moving it is going to cost money, it’s money we don’t have,” he said, suggesting the city would need to ante up the remaining funds. The city could bill the St. Mary’s River Marine Centre for the costs of moving it, however, if the not-for-profit board folds, the city would be out the money.

It’s not known if the former Suncor property would be available to host the Norgoma, Muio said. Dredging of the channel would also be required to bring the ship in, close the channel up and then raise it to create a dry dock. “The board doesn’t have the kind of funds to do that. That option would take care of taking it out of the water, but keep it in the vicinity of all the other museums,” Muio said.

Tom Vair, the city’s deputy CAO of community development and enterprise services, confirmed the city has approached an entity with the possibility of storing the Norgoma temporarily. He would not say what the entity is. “I think we need to get a confirmation first before we put anyone on the spot,” Vair said.

Muio said the city may make attempts to reach out to a Chicago businessman, who was interested in acquiring the Norgoma but the board wants to keep the ship as a local tourist attraction.

“It’s not what we wanted because we may never see it again,” he said. “The issue is that if you transport it from one country to another, there is a fair amount of paperwork that needs to be completed and it was because of that, that the option died . . . but it may still need to happen.”

The City of Sault Ste. Marie has set an April 15 deadline for the St. Mary’s River Marine Centre to move the Norgoma, but the board remains in limbo with no physical place to put it, even temporarily.

“It’s hard to find room for a 180-foot vessel and that’s the problem,” he said. “There is no place to move it to.”

It’s expected a report will be presented to council at its March meeting.

Sault Star


On 02 March 1889, the U.S. Congress passed two acts for establishment of a light station at Old Mackinac Point and appropriated $5,500 for construction of a fog signal building. The following year, funds were appropriated for the construction of the light tower and dwelling.

March 2, 1938 - Harold Lillie, crewmember of the ANN ARBOR NO 6, stepped onto the apron as the carferry was approaching and fell into the water and suffered a broken neck.

March 2, 1998, a fire broke out on the ALGOSOO causing serious damage to the self-unloading belts and other nearby equipment. Almost 12 years earlier in 1986, a similar fire gutted the aft cabins.

On 02 March 1893, the MARY E. MC LACHLAN (3-mast wooden schooner, 251 foot, 1,394 gross tons) was launched at F. W. Wheeler's yard in West Bay City, Michigan as (Hull #96). The launch turned into a disaster when the huge wave generated by the vessel entering the water hit the freighter KITTIE FORBES (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 209 foot, 968 gross tons, built in 1883, at W. Bay City, Michigan). The FORBES had numerous spectators onboard and when the wave struck, many were injured and there was one confirmed death.

1972 - HARMATTAN, a Seaway trader beginning in 1971, arrived at Karachi, Pakistan, for scrapping after suffering missile damage at sea from Indian Naval units during a conflict between the two countries.

1976 - BROOK, a former Seaway trader as EXBROOk beginning in 1968, arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for scrapping.

The keel was laid on March 3, 1980, for the COLUMBIA STAR (Hull#726) at Sturgeon Bay, Wis., by Bay Shipbuilding Corp. She now sails as AMERICAN CENTURY.

At midnight on 3 March 1880, DAVID SCOVILLE (wooden propeller steam tug/ferry, 42 foot, 37 gross tons, built in 1875, at Marine City, Mich.) burned at the Grand Trunk Railway wharf at Sarnia, Ontario. Arson was suspected. No lives were lost.

1947: NOVADOC of the Paterson fleet was lost with all hands (24 sailors) off Portland, Maine, while en route from Nova Scotia to New York City with a cargo of gypsum. The ship had also sailed as NORTHTON for the Mathews and Misener fleets.

1958: The tanker DON JOSE, formerly the ITORORO that operated on the Great Lakes for Transit Tankers & Terminals in the early 1940s, was destroyed by a fire, likely in a loading mishap, at Talara, Peru.

In 1944, the U.S.C.G.C. MACKINAW (WAGB-83) was launched by the Toledo Ship Building Company (Hull #188) at Toledo, Ohio. Her name was originally planned to be MANITOWOC. MACKINAW was retired in 2006.

CECILIA DESGAGNES, a.) CARL GORTHON, departed Sorel, Quebec, on March 4, 1985, bound for Baie Comeau, Quebec, on her first trip in Desgagnes colors.

March 4, 1904 - William H. Le Fleur of the Pere Marquette car ferries was promoted to captain at the age of 34. He was the youngest carferry captain on the Great Lakes.

In 1858, TRENTON (wooden propeller, 134 foot, 240 gross tons, built in 1854, at Montreal, Quebec) burned to a total loss while tied to the mill wharf at Picton, Ontario, in Lake Ontario. The fire was probably caused by carpenters that were renovating her.

On 4 March 1889, TRANSIT (wooden 10-car propeller carferry, 168 foot, 1,058 gross tons, built in 1872, at Walkerville, Ontario) burned at the Grand Trunk Railroad dock at Windsor, Ontario on the Detroit River. She had been laid up since 1884, and the Grand Trunk Railroad had been trying to sell her for some time.

In 1871, FLORENCE (iron steamer, 42.5 foot, built in 1869, at Baltimore, Maryland) burned while docked at Amherstburg, Ontario at about 12:00 p.m. The fire was hot enough to destroy all the cabins and melt the surrounding ice in the Detroit River, but the vessel remained afloat and her engines were intact. She was rebuilt and remained in service until 1922 when she was scrapped.

1976 - The former British freighter GRETAFIELD of 1952, a Great Lakes visitor for the first time in 1962, hit the breakwall entering Cape Town, South Africa, as c) SIROCCO I and received extensive bow damage. It was sold to Taiwanese shipbreakers and departed May 15,1976, arriving at Kaohsiung July 5 for dismantling.

1983 - The former Danish freighter MARIE SKOU of 1962, inland for the first time in 1966, caught fire in the engine room and was abandoned by the crew south of Sicily as b) CLEO C. The vessel was towed to Malta on March 9 and scrapped there beginning in April.

1986 - The onetime Greek freighter YEMELOS, built in 1962 as MIGOLINA and renamed in 1972, first came inland in 1973. It was abandoned as e) TANFORY off Trincomolee, Sri Lanka, en route from Kandla, India, to Chittagong, Bangladesh, with salt and bentonite. The ship was presumed to have sunk.

1995 - The tug ERIE NO. 1, a) DUNKIRK, b) PEGGY M., c) RENE PURVIS sank at the dock in Toronto. It was raised by a crane June 18, 1995, but the cable snapped, dropping the hull on the dock breaking the tug’s back. The vessel was broken up at that location in late 1995.

2011 - LOUIS JOLLIET caught fire at Montreal during winter work. The ex-St. Lawrence ferry was being used as an excursion vessel.

[yachtsmanwilly]

3/5 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. - – More than 1,000 high quality jobs could be shipping into Sault Ste. Marie with plans of a new Soo Lock coming closer and closer to fruition. Upwards of $32 million has been secured for the 2019 fiscal year to help design and start initial construction of the project, and with smooth sailing the new lock could be funded as a part of the 2020 President’s Budget.

Earlier this fall $922 million was authorized by congress to construct a new lock in the world famous system that will allow large lake freighters to traverse between Lakes Superior and Huron. Currently, the Poe Lock is the lone lock capable of handling the larger vessels that are crucial to the national and global economy. Construction could last roughly 7 to 10 years and bring a boom to the national economy.

“If you look at the impact total, that’s 1,120 jobs over eight years,” said US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Project Manager Maureen Mahoney. “We estimate at the peak of construction there will be 250 workers on site.”

The USACE estimated a residual effect of $559 million in labor income impacting the local economy over the course of construction. This takes into account workers spending money at local restaurants, stores, hotels and bringing their families with them to the area.

Since the 1980s there have been plans to build a “Super Lock” where the dormant Davis and Saban Locks lay. In addition to bring jobs and the trickle-down effect of 1,000 employees, the new lock could help serve as blanket security incase anything happens that causes a closure to the Poe Lock during the Great Lakes navigation season between March 25 and January 15.

The United States Department of Homeland Security estimated in 2015 that a six-month closure to the Poe Lock during shipping season could temporarily reduce gross domestic product by $1.1 trillion and could result in the loss of over 10 million jobs in the US and up to 16 million across the continent. The main product freighters haul is taconite (a low-grade iron ore,” and there is no financially feasible way other than shipping to transfer the product across the country to steel mills and factories.

“If you look at the main commodities that come through, they’re bulk commodities,” explained Soo Locks area engineer Kevin Sprague. “If you get in a car that is made in the United States, it was made with iron ore that went through the locks. There’s no way around it.”

On Nov. 21, the USACE announced it would proceed with construction by deepening an upstream channel. The Corps received $32 million in the 2019 fiscal year for design and initial construction of the project.

“The funding that we’ve received in the fiscal year 2019 will allow us to compete for the design and partial construction upstream of the locks,” added Mahoney. “That’s the first step in the lock project.”

In a press release put on Nov. 21 regarding the $32 million, it was stated that the next opportunity for funding to continue working on the deepening of an upstream channel to accommodate the new lock would be in the 2020 President’s Budget.

WLUC


3/5 - Detroit - Major upgrades are needed for an aging port authority cargo terminal to attract more business to the area, its governing authority said Friday.

Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority Executive Director Kyle Burleson said there's an urgent need to apply for grant funding to rehabilitate a 50-year-old terminal south of the Ambassador Bridge at the foot of Clark Street.

“The urgency is not because something is going to collapse tomorrow,” said Burleson, who presented the authority’s strategic plan to stakeholders and government officials Friday. “The urgency is to take advantage of the opportunities to get federal dollars.”

The port authority, he said, owns the cargo terminal on West Jefferson that's one of between 25 and 30 terminals along the Detroit River and River Rouge. The cargo handling facility, he said, is the only one that's publicly owned.

“The sea wall, as one unit, is very old and serving well past its designed lifespan," he said.

The sea wall is where the ships tie, and Burleson said up to 2,000 feet of the wall could need upgrades. It still must be determined whether the sea wall can be repaired or rebuilt.

The concern about the location comes as officials with the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority on Friday unveiled an effort to upgrade maritime infrastructure while encouraging public and private stakeholders, as well as elected officials, to become more aware of the port's potential.

“A lot suffer from aging infrastructure. They’re getting weaker, and there is a threat of collapsing,” Burleson said.

Burleson noted the sea walls in Detroit were built in the 1920s.

"The Port Authority took over the cargo docks in 2005, and we haven’t done a very good job of maintaining it," he said. "... But in order to increase cargo growth, we need to make an investment to be able to handle increased cargo loads.”

He said a sea wall collapsed in 2014, showcasing the potential problems further wall failure would cause.

“There was a facility along the Rouge River where a pile of material was too close to the water’s edge, and without a sea wall, material and land washed into the river. That slowed down commerce on the Rouge River for three or four weeks. It is a privately owned facility.”

Asked how much money it would take to address the urgent need, Burleson said he could only speak to the cargo facility at 4105 W. Jefferson.

“We’re still putting together all the numbers, but on the low end, it would be between $3 million and $4 million,” he said. “On the high end, it could be between $10 million and $15 million, depending on the scope of the project.”

Port officials will apply for federal funding for the infrastructure work.

The port authority is prioritizing infrastructure and government relations. It also is developing several subcommittees involving these efforts. It plans to establish subcommittees by mid-March.

“We want to develop better relationships with elected leaders and the business community, and we’re here to roll out the new strategy to get this accomplished,” Burleson said. “Our focus is on the waterfront, but in the 21st century, all transportation is connected.”

Luke Bonner, of Bonner Advisory Group, is working with the port authority to help with its strategic direction. He asked for a show of hands from those who know about it on Friday at the gathering.

A few of the about 30 people raised their hands.

“A handful of you,” he said. “We have a lot of opportunity here to do more.”

Roy Freij, deputy treasurer for Wayne County, said he is among those with limited interaction with the authority.

“I’ve never really been exposed to the Port Authority,” he said during the question-and-answer period after the presentation. “I know you’re trying to reach the business community, but you might want to appeal to the average citizen — getting exposure at community events and making sure people know who you are.”

Detroit News


3/5 - A Great Lakes bulk carrier cargo ship reverses slowly across the west basin of the Port of Cleveland, Ohio on Lake Erie after offloading Taconite pellets at the Cleveland Bulk Terminal on a beautiful sunny day in early November.

An apprentice pilot on the Great Lakes, Jason Church hops on numerous international cargo vessels in a given year as he transits the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway out to the Atlantic Ocean as a career.

For the past several years, using the digital sobriquet "Captain Jason Church," he's been delivering insight, imagery and videos of the lakes on social media. His Twitter and Instagram timelines offer a vantage point of shipping life once mostly foreign to the public.

"I hope to promote my industry by showing others a view rarely seen," Church said in a interview with the Duluth News Tribune via Twitter. "Most of my followers are industry professionals, however some are Midwest farmers who want to see where their product goes."

Church was an early adopter among mariners of social media, beginning roughly 10 years ago.

On Nov. 13, Church posted "#GoodFood makes a happy ship" — accompanied by an array of photos featuring a steaming Polish soup, garnished pears and an egg cooked delectably sunny side up. He posted a time-lapse video last season from the deck of a ship as it exited the Soo Locks and appeared to race under the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge and out into the wide blue open of Lake Superior.

"I chose to post shipping info (because) it's what I do," Church said.

He's not alone. For an industry that has fostered online vessel trackers, and long been adored by shoreline enthusiasts known as Boat Nerds, social media has created another, more connected way in which to observe the goings-on aboard the steel hulks knifing through inland seas.

"Used the right way, it brings our industry to life," said Mark Barker, president of Interlake Steamship Co., based outside Cleveland. "It's not just a big metal ship floating through water. You're part of it."

Interlake Steamship and the Canadian giant Algoma Central Corp. are two of the industry leaders when it comes to use of social media. Their feeds are flush with onboard activity and midlake musings.

"It's growing more every day," said Algoma Central spokesperson Hannah Bowlby. "We're kind of a hidden gem of an industry that's extremely important to our economy. People like hearing from us."

The move to social media has been a contrast for an industry which is romanticized by Hollywood and shoreline photographers, but can be difficult to navigate otherwise — what with corporate hierarchies and their mostly on-brand messaging.

Because Interlake Steamship remains a private company, Barker said it's been easier for it to wade into the social media waters — a conscientious move the company made roughly four years ago. Now, it has 28,000 followers on Facebook, more than 2,200 on Instagram and about 1,000 on Twitter. Not to mention a YouTube channel and presence on LinkedIn.

The Interlake Steamship strategy is to post daily — everything from images of its boats, behind-the-scenes content about crew and work aboard the vessels, food pictures from the galley and even sharing information about critical industry issues, such as the need for a second Poe-sized lock at the Soo Locks.

"We move a lot of goods efficiently, in an environmentally friendly, low-impact way and we do it fairly quietly (as an industry)," Barker said. "We have a huge impact to the economy of the region and to the nation and it's important when people see a ship go by they put faces and jobs and people's lives with those ships."

Read more at this link: www.lcnewschronicle.com/business/transportation/4578621-shippings-newest-frontier-social-media


On 05 March 1997, the Canadian Coast Guard cutter GRIFFON pulled the smashed remains of a 1996 Ford Bronco from the icy depths of the Straits of Mackinac. The vehicle flipped off the Mackinac Bridge on 02 March 1997, and the driver was killed. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter BISCAYNE BAY served as a platform for the M-Rover submersible craft used to locate the Bronco in 190 feet of water.

HARRY L. ALLEN was launched March 5, 1910, as a.) JOHN B. COWLE (Hull#379) at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. She was declared a constructive total loss after a fire on January 21, 1978. The vessel was in winter lay-up at the Capitol elevator in Duluth when part of the elevator complex burned. Debris from the elevator fell on the boat, badly damaging it. The owners decided to scrap it rather than repair it. The ALLEN was scrapped at Duluth in 1978.

LEADALE was launched March 5, 1910, as a.) HARRY YATES (Hull#77) at St. Clair, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works. Scrapped at Cartagena, Columbia in 1979.

March 5, 1932 - In distress with a broken steering gear off the Ludington harbor, S.S. VIRGINIA entered port under her own power.

On 05 March 1898, the WILLIAM R. LINN (Hull#32) (steel propeller freighter, 400 foot, 4,328 gross tons) was launched at the Chicago Ship Building Company in South Chicago, Illinois. In 1940, she was sold, renamed b.) L.S. WESCOAT and converted to a tanker. She was scrapped in Germany in 1965.

1997 - The former Greek bulk carrier ANTONIS P. LEMOS had been built at Osaka, Japan, in 1976, and visited the Great Lakes that year. As c) ALBION TWO, the ship departed Gdynia, Poland, for Kingston, Jamaica, with a cargo of steel products and was reported as missing on March 5. Wreckage was later found off the coast of France and identified as from the missing vessel. All 25 crewmembers were lost. The ship had also been through the Seaway as b) MACFRIENDSHIP in November 1993 with a cargo of steel for Hamilton.

[yachtsmanwilly]

China cancels major canola shipments from Winnipeg company amid tensions

3/6 - China has cancelled major Canadian agribusiness Richardson International, based in Winnipeg, registration to ship canola to China, according to a document listing approved exporters posted on the website of the Chinese customs administration on March 1.

It wasn’t immediately clear why Richardson’s exports into China, the world’s top importer of canola, had been halted. Officials at China’s General Administration of Customs didn’t respond to requests for comment.

But the move comes amid heightened tensions between the two countries in a dispute over trade and telecoms technology that has ensnared the chief financial officer of the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, Huawei Technologies Ltd, who faces U.S. criminal charges.

Much of that canola moves down the Great Lakes and Seaway via freighter.

The March 1 customs document is a revised version of a notice first posted on Jan. 14. A note beside the entry for Richardson International in the latest document says, “Canola export registration already canceled.”

A Canadian grain industry source with knowledge of the matter confirmed Richardson’s exports of canola to China had been halted. The person declined to be identified citing the sensitivity of the matter.

A lasting block on Richardson’s canola exports would be a headache for Canada’s biggest grain handler and a potential blow for the Canadian economy as a whole.

Oilseeds like canola, fruit and grain are Canada’s biggest China export category, making up nearly 17 per cent of all exports in 2017, the latest annual data available, according to the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

Spokespeople at Richardson’s headquarters in Winnipeg couldn’t be reached outside normal business hours.

China buys some C$2.5 billion of Canadian canola per year, and a slower sales pace would be another hit to exporters, which also include Viterra and Cargill Ltd in a year when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces a tough race for re-election.

Global News


EUGENE J. BUFFINGTON (Hull#366) was launched March 6, 1909, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. She lasted until 1980, when she was towed to San Esteban de Pravia, Spain, for scrapping.

At noon on 6 March 1873, the steam railroad carferry SAGINAW was launched at the Port Huron Dry Dock Co. She did not get off the ways at first and had to be hauled off by the tug KATE MOFFAT. She was built for use between Port Huron and Sarnia.

On 6 March 1892, SAGINAW (wooden 4-car propeller carferry, 142 foot, 365 tons, built in 1873, at Port Huron, Michigan) burned at the dock in Windsor, Ontario where she had been laid up since 1884. The hull was later recovered and converted to an odd-looking tug, a well-known wrecker in the Detroit River area until broken up about 1940.

1982 INDIANA was chartered to Swedish interests when it made four trips to the Great Lakes in 1962. It was sailing as d) ZOE II, under Liberian registry, when it was abandoned in the Adriatic Sea, south of Pula, Yugoslavia, (now Croatia) after a severe list had developed while on a voyage from Koper, Yugoslavia, (now Slovenia) to Ancona, Italy, on March 6, 1982. No further trace of the ship was ever found.

[yachtsmanwilly]

3/7 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – On Saturday the Coast Guard will start breaking ice in the lower St. Marys River in preparation for the 2019 shipping season.

To date, icebreaking activity has been limited to the lower St. Marys River south of Munuscong (Mud) Lake and the Middle Neebish Channel north and east of Neebish Island. Saturday, the Coast Guard will extend icebreaking activity into the southern half of the West Neebish Channel, working from Mud Lake Junction Light north to the south end of the Rock Cut. The Coast Guard will not disturb the ice north of the Neebish Island ferry crossing or south of West Neebish Channel Light 45.

In the coming weeks, as the March 25 scheduled opening of the Sault Locks approaches, icebreaking activities will encompass all navigable waters of the St. Marys River. Recreational users of the ice should plan their activities carefully, use caution near the ice, and stay away from charted navigation areas. USCG


3/7 - McKeil Marine has announced the appointment of Scott Bravener as company president. Bravener has had an impressive career of more than 30 years in the maritime industry, serving for well over a decade as a deck officer and captain on board lake ships. He was the founder or Lower Lakes Towing Ltd., which started in 1994 and, under his leadership grew to own and operate, along with its U.S. affiliate Grand River Navigation Co., a fleet of 16 dry bulk vessels.

Bravener was most recently co-president and CEO of Rand Logistics Inc., the parent company of Lower Lakes and Grand River. He has a long-term involvement in all aspects of the industry, including directorships in the Chamber of Marine Commerce and Canadian Shipowners’ Association. In 2013, he was selected as Great Lakes Marine Man of the Year and inducted into the Great Lakes Marine Hall of Fame.

McKeil Marine


3/7 - The large area of extreme cold has influenced the ice increasing on the Great Lakes. The largest Great Lake by volume, Lake Superior, is now 90 percent covered with ice. The Great Lakes as a whole are now 74 percent covered with ice.

View imagery at this link


3/7 - Sarnia, Ont. – Though residents seldom give it a second thought, the St. Clair River is one of the busiest inland waterways in the world. Which gives Sarnians, smack-dab in the middle of the Great Lakes, a front row seat to a passing panoply of freighters, tankers, self-unloaders, icebreakers, salties, barges and tugs.

The city’s harbour is also an important stopping over point for ships, especially in winter, when 10 to 12 typically berth for layup or repairs. Not only do shipping companies pay Sarnia for the right to dock here, but the maintenance these massive vessels require generate hundreds of jobs for welders, machinists, fabricators and other skilled trades.

The ships will be leaving soon. Presented here are images Journal photographer Glenn Ogilvie has recorded of winter activity in Port Sarnia, which quietly goes on regardless of the weather.

View photos at this link


3/7 - Erie, Penn. – It is a sign that spring may not be that far away. The winter ship repair season is now starting to wind down at the Erie shipyard. The first ship is expected to leave Donjon Shipbuilding and Repair on Sunday.

Two tugs will be used to break a path through the ice in the channel and on Lake Erie. Other ships will leave over the next month, as repairs are finished.

The shipyard has been jammed since January, with six vessels at Donjon and the 1,000-foot freighter Presque Isle at nearby Erie Sand and Gravel.

"It has been extremely busy for us. We had two vessels that we had to turn away for the simple fact that we do not have a parking spot for them,” said Donjon Shipbuilding and Repair Assistant General Manager Rick Hammer.

Managers say this has been the busiest winter repair season in recent memory. And while the weather is always a challenge, this year the wind and cold have been bigger problems than snow.

View a video at this link


ALGOSOO suffered a serious fire at her winter mooring on the west wall above Lock 8, at Port Colborne, Ontario on March 7, 1986, when a conveyor belt ignited, possibly caused by welding operations in the vicinity. The blaze spread to the stern gutting the aft accommodations. The ship was repaired at Welland and returned to service on October 6.

TEXACO BRAVE was launched March 7, 1929, as a) JOHN IRWIN (Hull#145) at Haverton-Hill-on-Tees, United Kingdom by Furness Shipbuilding Co.

On 7 March 1874, the wooden tug JOHN OWEN (Hull#28) was launched at Wyandotte, Michigan, by the Detroit Dry Dock Company for J. E. Owen of Detroit, Michigan.

On 7 March 1896, L. C.WALDO (steel propeller freighter, 387 foot, 4,244 gross tons) was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan by F. W. Wheeler (Hull #112). She had a long career. She was rebuilt twice, once in the winter of 1904-05 and again in 1914, after she was stranded in the Storm of 1913. She was sold Canadian in 1915, and renamed b.) RIVERTON. In 1944, she was renamed c.) MOHAWK DEER. She lasted until November 1967, when she foundered in the Gulf of Genoa while being towed to the scrap yard at La Spezia, Italy.

ANN ARBOR NO 1 (wooden propeller carferry, 260 foot, 1,128 gross tons, built in 1892, at Toledo, Ohio) got caught in the ice four miles off Manitowoc, Wisconsin in February 1910. She remained trapped and then on 7 March 1910, she caught fire and burned. Although she was declared a total loss, her hull was reportedly sold to Love Construction Co., Muskegon, Michigan, and reduced to an unregistered sand scow.

1969: The British freighter MONTCALM, a Seaway trader when new in 1960, made 29 trips to the Great Lakes to the end of 1967. A truck in #1 hold got loose on this date in an Atlantic storm 420 miles southeast of Halifax in 1969 causing a heavy list and a 12 foot gash in the hull. A U.S.C.G. helicopter dropped extra pumps and the ship reached Halifax and safety. The vessel later became a livestock carrier and arrived at Chittagong, Bangladesh, for scrapping as c) SIBA EDOLO on August 8, 1988.

1973: BISCAYA was a Danish flag freighter that first came inland in 1965. It was sailing as c) MARGARITA, and under Greek registry, when it sank following a collision with the ANZOATEGUI, a Venezuelan reefer ship, while in bound about 39 miles off Maracaibo, Venezuela on March 7, 1983. It was carrying barytes, a mineral used in oil-drilling fluids, from El Salvador.

1982: OCEAN LEADER came to the Great Lakes in 1980 and ran aground upbound near Sault Ste. Marie on November 11 when the radar malfunctioned. Later, in 1982 as c) FINIKI, the then 7-year old ship hit an underwater obstruction 10 miles west of the Moruka Light, while en route to Paramaribo, Suriname. The vessel reached Georgetown, Guyana, and was declared a total loss. It was reported as scuttled in the Atlantic off Jacksonville, Fla., on or after December 9, 1982.

[yachtsmanwilly]

3/8 - St. Catharines, Ont. – As the Welland Canal gets ready to open for the 2019 shipping season, the Chamber of Marine Commerce said Canadian shipowners and St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. spent an estimated $130 million on repair and infrastructure projects over the winter, supporting the economies of communities throughout the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence and East Coast.

The seaway corporation allocated $40 million for infrastructure upgrades and repairs in the Welland Canal and Montreal to Lake Ontario segments. The work included upgrades to electrical distribution systems, lock rehabilitation and canal bank protection in certain areas, among other projects.

In Port Colborne, Rankin Construction started a two-year project at Lock 8, installing stop locks stoplogs between the lock gates and Bridge 19 at Main Street. Those stoplogs, said the seaway's Niagara engineering manager, Cassie Kelly, in an earlier interview, will be used to stop any water from above Bridge 19 flowing back into the lock area once Lock 8 is dewatered next year. Rankin will then work on anchoring the lock floor.

Gates at the north end of the lock will also be replaced by the stoplogs as part of an overall five-year plan for lock major maintenance. The wood timber gates are from the original construction and opening of the canal in 1932.

"Every year, the marine industry invests in keeping our waterways, ships and locks safe and reliable and to improve our environmental performance," said Bruce Burrows, president of the Chamber of Marine Commerce, in a release.

"This work will help ensure a successful 2019 shipping season and at the same time maintains marine-related jobs throughout the winter months in communities throughout the region."

The release said Canadian shipowners invested an estimated $90 million to prepare their ships for the upcoming season in layup locations at Canadian ports including Port Colborne, Port Maitland, Toronto, Hamilton, Quebec City, Montreal, Thunder Bay, Midland, Sarnia, Sault Ste. Marie, Windsor, Les Mèchins and Sydney, and U.S. ports including Toledo, Sturgeon Bay, Erie and Ashtabula.

Five vessels were laid up in Port Colborne including Algoma Central Corp.'s Algoma Enterprise, Algoma Guardian, and Algoma Spirit and Canada Steamship Lines' Thunder Bay and CSL Assiniboine. The Algoma Guardian suffered an overheated transformer in its control room on February 20, but there was no fire on board. Work carried out on the laid-up vessels included steel replacement and coating projects, five-year dry dock inspections, communication and energy efficiency upgrades, standard maintenance checks and annual inspections.

While the work on the canal and vessels continue, the seaway corporation said it will open the season on the canal at 8 a.m., Friday, March 22, a week earlier than last year.

Top hat ceremonies are usually held on the canal's opening day in St. Catharines and Port Colborne. Port Colborne holds a ceremony for the first downbound vessel — a vessel headed from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario — at Lock 8 Gateway Park, and at the St. Catharines museum at Lock 3 for the first upbound vessel. No details have been released on those ceremonies.

St. Catharines Standard


3/8 - Jersey City, NJ – Rand Logistics, Inc. has announced the promotion of Aaron Degodny as president chief operating officer of Rand, effective March 1. Scott Bravener will be leaving the company (for McKeil Marine), however he will remain a member of the board of directors of Rand, where he will continue to advise and support the company.

“Since joining the company, Aaron has proven himself to be a respected leader who possesses the right blend of transformative leadership ability, customer-centric commercial acumen, and knowledge of the operations that makes him uniquely qualified to lead Rand and build upon the company’s successful 2018 sailing season,” explained Jason Perri, a partner of American Industrial Partners.

Rand had a successful 2018 sailing season. The dedication and hard work of the team and trust of customers resulted in a strong year for the business. The company’s safety and environmental incidents improved 36 percent, sailing days were up 15 percent, and the fleet carried a record number of tons.

Rand Logistics, Inc.


3/8 - Hamilton, Ont. – As Ontario grapples with a province wide salt shortage, Waterdown's David Lammers, president of Garden Grove Landscaping, says it has been building for years.

This year's salt shortage was exacerbated by a 12-week strike at the salt mine in Goderich and flooding at a Cargill mine in Cleveland that reduced production.

Garden Grove does snow and ice management for more than 150 properties — millions of square footage of parking lots — and Lammers also runs Great Lakes Salt Supply, which manages all the salt importing, buying and distribution. He said the salt shortage this year goes back close to a decade when, due to liability issues, property owners began to expect "bare pavement" in parking lots and privately maintained property.

"The consumption of salt has gone up exponentially over the past 10 years," he said. "What we're seeing is, every winter, regardless of the way the winter has gone, by mid-February it's a crisis.

"No matter what, mid-February is always the point of concern."

Lammers said that four years ago it was so bad that private companies were cut off by Cargill by Christmas. The issue, he said, is that domestic salt mines cannot keep up with both private sector and municipal commitments across the province.

Lammers said although governments generally get their needs filled first by the domestic salt producers, many municipalities have dealt with critical shortages — including the City of Burlington — and has now received more salt. Hamilton has not had the same issues this year. In 2014, the city dealt with a critical salt shortage, after which it entered into a five-year, $40-million deal to lock in its salt supply.

In October, the city said it expected to use 65,000 tonnes of salt in solid or brine form this winter — with most of that supply in storage at the Port of Hamilton. It all comes back to the bare-pavement clauses, Lammers said. "How do we assure free and clear (of snow and ice) in Canada in the winter? Major consumption of ice-melting products."

Read more at this link: www.thespec.com/news-story/9209281-ontario-salt-shortage-has-been-building-for-years-waterdown-landscaper-says


EUGENE P. THOMAS (Hull#184) was launched March 8, 1930, at Toledo, Ohio by Toledo Shipbuilding Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

March 8, 1910 - A fire from unknown causes destroyed the ANN ARBOR NO. 1 of 1892. The hull was sold to Love Construction Co., of Muskegon, Michigan.

On 8 March 1882, the tug WINSLOW left Manistee to tow the NORTHERN QUEEN to Marine City for repairs. NORTHERN QUEEN had collided with LAKE ERIE the previous autumn and then sank while trying to enter Manistique harbor. Robert Holland purchased the wreck of NORTHERN QUEEN after that incident.

1981 MEZADA of the Zim Israel Line first came to the Great Lakes in 1966 after it had been lengthened to 676 feet. The vessel had been built in 1960 and foundered after breaking in two about 100 miles east of Bermuda on March 8, 1981. The 19,247 gross ton bulk carrier was traveling from Haifa to Baltimore with a cargo of potash and 24 lives were lost while only 11 sailors were rescued.

[yachtsmanwilly]

The keel was laid March 11, 1976, for the 660-foot-long forward section of the BELLE RIVER (Hull#716) at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Corp. Renamed b.) WALTER J. McCARTHY JR in 1990.

L'AIGLE was launched March 11, 1982, as a.) ERRIA PILOT (Hull#308) at Imabari, Japan by Asakawa Zosen Co. Renamed b.) KOYAMA 3 in 1983, c.) IONIAN EAGLE in 1989. Purchased by Soconav in 1991, renamed d.) LÕAIGLE. Sold, renamed e.) ALAM KERISI in 1996, f.) SALDA in 1999, and sails today as the tanker g.) ARAL.

Sea trials were conducted on March 11, 1956, on Paterson's new canaller LACHINEDOC.

The tug RIVER QUEEN was sold to Ed Recor of St. Clair, Michigan on 11 March 1886.

1904: The wooden-hull Lake Erie car ferry SHENANGO NO. 1 caught fire and burned following an engine room explosion on March 11, 1904. The vessel had been frozen in the ice off Conneaut since January 1 and one member of the crew perished in the blaze.

1912: FLORA M. HILL sank in Lake Michigan en route to Chicago after being caught in an ice floe that crushed the iron hull. The vessel had been built as at Philadelphia in 1874 as the lighthouse tender DAHLIA and rebuilt and renamed at Milwaukee in 1910 for Lake Michigan service.

CHARLES E. WILSON (Hull#710) was launched March 10, 1973, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Corp., for American Steamship Co. Renamed b.) JOHN J. BOLAND in 2000.

The ADAM E. CORNELIUS, built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works (Hull#53) in 1908, was renamed b.) DETROIT EDISON on March 10, 1948. In 1954, she was renamed c.) GEORGE F. RAND and in 1962, the RAND was sold to Canadian registry and renamed d.) AVONDALE. She was scrapped at Castellon, Spain in 1979.

FORT HENRY (Hull#150) was launched March 10, 1955, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., for Canada Steamship Lines Ltd.

KINSMAN VENTURE was launched March 10, 1906, as a.) JOHN SHERWIN (Hull#617) at West Bay City, Michigan by West Bay City Ship Building Co.

On 10 March 1881, the propellers MORLEY and A. L. HOPKINS were purchased by the Wabash Railroad Company from the Morley Brothers of Marine City, Michigan.

The N. K. FAIRBANK (wooden freighter, 205 foot, 980 gross tons, built in 1874, at Marine City, Michigan) was sold by Morley & Morse to Captain H. Hastings on 10 March 1884.

The tug RIVER QUEEN sank at her dock in Port Huron, Michigan during the night of 10 March 1885. She was raised the following day and one of her seacocks was discovered to have been open that caused her to fill with water.

CADILLAC (steel ferry, 161 foot, 636 gross tons) was launched on 10 March 1928, by the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, Michigan (Hull #260) for the Detroit & Windsor Ferry Company. The ferry company claimed that she was the largest and most powerful ferry in North American waters. When she was launched, the Ambassador Bridge and the tunnel, which connects Detroit and Windsor, were being constructed. She was placed in service on 25 April 1928, and had a varied history. From 1940 to 1942, she ran as a Bob-lo steamer. In 1942, she was sold to the U. S. Coast Guard and renamed b.) ARROWWOOD (WAGL 176) and used as an icebreaker. She was rebuilt in 1946, renamed c.) CADILLAC, and served as a passenger vessel on Lake Erie. At the end of the 1947 season, she was tied up to the dock for use as a restaurant. She went through a couple of owners until she finally arrived at the scrappers' dock in Hamilton, Ontario on May 26, 1962 for breaking up.

In 2000, the HARMONIOUS, a Panamanian freighter dating from 1977, visited the Great Lakes in 1978 and returned on several occasions through 1986. It was lost on the Arabian Sea as c) KASTOR TOO while traveling from Aqaba, Jordan, to Visakhapatnam, India, with a cargo of phosphate on March 10, 2000. The crew of 18 were rescued by the nearby container ship MILDBURG.

In 1905, the JAMES C. WALLACE (Hull#334) of the Acme Steamship Co., (A.B. Wolvin, mgr.), was launched at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co. Purchased by the Interlake Steamship Co. in 1913, she was scrapped at Genoa, Italy in 1963.

On 09 March 1933, all nine steamers of the Goodrich Transit Company were seized by federal marshals under a bankruptcy petition. These steamers were CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, CAROLINA, ALABAMA, ILLINOIS, CITY OF BENTON HARBOR, CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS, CITY OF ST. JOSEPH, CITY OF HOLLAND, and the CITY OF SAUGATUCK.

AMOCO ILLINOIS was launched March 9, 1918, as a) WILLIAM P. COWAN (Hull#724) at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co.

NOTRE DAME VICTORY (Hull#1229), was launched on March 9, 1945, at Portland, Oregon, by Oregon Shipbuilding Co., just 42 days after her keel was laid. She became the b.) CLIFFS VICTORY and sailed on the Great Lakes from 1951 until 1985.

WIARTON was launched March 9, 1907, as a) THOMAS LYNCH (Hull#73) at Chicago, Illinois, by Chicago Ship Building Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. She was used as part of a breakwall at the Steel Co. of Canada Dock in Hamilton. The GROVEDALE of 1905, and HENRY R. PLATT JR of 1909, were also used.

March 9, 1920 - The PERE MARQUETTE 3 sank off Ludington after being crushed by ice.

On 9 March 1858, the propeller ferry GLOBE was being loaded with cattle at the Third Street dock at Detroit, Michigan. In the rush to get aboard, the cattle caused the vessel to capsize. All of the cattle swam ashore, although some swam across the river to the Canadian side.

1985: The Norwegian freighter TRONSTAD first came to the Great Lakes as a pre-Seaway visitor in 1957. It returned on another 12 occasions after the new waterway opened in 1959. The vessel was sailing a d) CRUZ DEL SUR when it was confiscated by U.S. authorities for drug smuggling and brought to Miami on this date in 1985. The 30-year old ship was towed out into the Atlantic and scuttled off Miami on December 19, 1986.

2007: The Greek freighter WISMAR was built in 1979 and came through the Seaway in 1980. It lost power below Lock 2 of the Welland Canal while upbound on August 30, 1980, and had to drop anchor. It was sailing as h) GRACIA from Thailand to Dakar, Senegal, with a cargo of rice, when the engine failed in heavy weather in the Indian Ocean on February 27, 2007. The crew took to the lifeboats and was rescued. The former Great Lakes visitor was last seen on March 7, adrift, with a 20-degree list to port, and likely soon sank.


3/9 - Neebish Island, Mich. – Last winter freezing temperatures hit some people harder than others. On Neebish Island, 20 miles south of Sault Ste. Marie, thick ice formed on the St. Marys River.

When the U.S. Coast Guard cut the ice, it flowed down the river and blocked the ferry channel. Island residents were stranded at home for almost a month. They call this 'ice cutting season,' and they know they could be stuck at some point during each winter.

About 70 people live on the island year-round. There is no store and no gas station. When the ferry stops working, residents have to get creative. Bob Schallip keeps a bunch of tools and equipment in his workshop.

He says neighbors come by when they need something; if a septic tank goes out, he’s got the plumbing fixtures, if someone needs threaded bolts or nuts, he’s got dozens.

This is the way of the island. When the ferry isn’t running, one person brings people across the ice in a sleigh for doctors appointments. There’s a woman who keeps extra over-the-counter medication for children. There's a man who plows many of the island roads for free.

Bob Schallip and his wife have lived on the island for about 20 years.

"When we first moved here I went to all the old ones, and I asked, 'How do I not die?" Schallip says. "I learned about the ice. Ice is a big part of life."

This year Schallip says the ice bridge is about two feet thick and safe to travel on.

But that bridge could go away if the Coast Guard cuts the ice to make a channel for large ships. When that happens, it also ruins the ice bridges residents walk and snowmobile across.

Dorothy Tyner lives down the road from Bob. She is 86 years old and is also a year-round resident. Tyner prepares for ice breaking season by stocking up on toilet paper and canning different foods, but she’s currently out of her favorite meat.

"Beaver is the best mode of eating," Tyner says. "But I’ll tell you now, if I could have that in a jar, I’d be one happy person."

She also has to think about stocking up on medicine when she’s unable to get into town. "If you’re out of something like medicine, then shame on me for not thinking ahead of time," Tyner says. "So I can’t blame that on anybody else."

But she says island residents usually have what they need. Part of their mentality is to always have extra, because islanders know a day will come when they’ll need it.

Tyner's lived on the island for most of her life. Her husband died ten years ago, but she has her dogs and son for company. He lives next door, close enough to plow her driveway each day.

Still, she says it’s not always easy to be so far removed during the snow-filled months. "Cabin fever, I think I had it a couple days ago," Tyner says. "I was just ornery. And I try to say I’m not an ornery person, but I wan’t real agreeable for a while."

Saturday, the Coast Guard will begin it’s ice cutting operation in the St. Marys River. They say it won’t affect the ferry channel this time, but Neebish residents know you can’t predict the weather and things could change.

In the meantime, the islanders will have the supplies they need and will be all set either way.

See photos and listen to a podcast at this link


3/9 - Marquette, Mich. – For only the fifth time in the past 20 years, Lake Superior has frozen over 90 percent. This may seem like bad news for those who don’t like winter. However, according to the National Weather Service, it’s actually a good thing for those who enjoy sunny days.

“So once the cap goes on the lake, or the ice coverage is there, it prevents the moisture from bubbling up from the lake and producing our lake effect snow. And thus, once we reach this point in the season, the lake effect snow winds down, and also we tend to see more sunny days,” says Matt Zika, meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

Although this is a good sign for sunny days, it’s not good news for warmer days. Due to the lack of warming from the lake, we may see a tendency of colder stretches on average.

Since the thickness of the ice isn’t too deep, it shouldn’t affect the melting rate come spring.

ABC10 News


3/10 - Monroe, Mich. – Paul C. LaMarre III, director of the Port of Monroe, promotes the recent burst of activity at the Port of Monroe as a “rebirth” – and he was happy to explain how and why that description fits during a Monroe County Chamber of Commerce breakfast Thursday.

“The golden years of this industry is where we want to be again,” he told the audience.

His program “Port of Monroe: The Story Behind the Story – A Conversation about the Rebirth of Monroe’s Seaport,” was presented in a conversational style, with photos shown on a screen to illustrate the port and its operations. The questions were led by Matt Budds, chairperson of the chamber, who emceed the program.

The Port of Monroe is one of the oldest ports on the Great Lakes. It was established in 1932, and constructed during the 1930s and 1940s, according to a written report that LaMarre provided at the meeting. During the following decades, it was a transportation hub for the automotive, steel and power industries.

These days, port officials point to direct access to rail and nearby access to I- 75 as among the major draws for directing cargo from land to lake or in reverse. During 2017, the port and its maritime commerce supported $96 million in economic activity. This included support of 1,659 jobs.

The largest ship on the Great Lakes calls upon Monroe, LaMarre said. Shipments in recent seasons have included coal, limestone, asphalt, wind blades and wind power sections. There also are terminal services and a shipyard on site. The tugboat Wisconsin, now stationed at the port, is the oldest commercially operating tugboat in the world.

LaMarre said much of the credit for success goes to a core group of people who work at the port, including assistant director Mark Rohn. “I believe I have the best team on the Great Lakes for sure,” he said.

While operations include consultants, LaMarre explained that happens on an as-needed basis and with a deliberate plan: “That’s kind of been our motto: keep it mean, and lean and nimble.”

LaMarre explained that DTE Energy is the port’s biggest customer as the coal needed to run the Monroe Power Plant arrives by both marine and rail. “That power plant is a cargo machine,” he added.

But the vessel calls also include steel, limestone and grain. It’s homegrown American commerce,” he said.

LaMarre encouraged those in the audience to take a look at a video clip posted this week at Facebook.com/portofmonroe to see the tugboat chopping through the ice to keep the shipping channels open.

When asked by Budd about the biggest frustrations, LaMarre mentioned some of his recent hurdles with U.S. Customs. He estimated the port lost about 50 vessel stops during 2018 that he was working on — only to have last-minute problems thrown in. In one situation, a vessel was two days out from a scheduled dock in Monroe when the shipping had to be rerouted into Ohio. “We need every vessel call we can get,” he said.

Despite the challenges, he loves the industry and the impact it can have on Monroe County. That’s one of the reasons LaMarre continues to serve on numerous committees and boards in support of Great Lakes history and maritime operations.

“We’re out there trying to advocate for all the ports,” he said about the regional and national efforts. “We succeed or fail as a system.”

Monroe News


3/10 - Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. – If the St. Marys River Marine Heritage Centre won’t move the Norgoma, the City of Sault Ste. Marie will. And they’ll bill the volunteer organization for its costs.

City council will receive a report at its March 18 meeting outlining options on how and where the Norgoma will be moved to, said Tom Vair, the city’s deputy CAO of community development and enterprise services.

Vair has penned a letter to Louis Muio, president of the board of directors of the SMRMHC, confirming the M.S. Norgoma must be removed by April 15 or as soon as weather conditions permit. He takes issue with the board’s cancellation and postponement of many meeting dates to discuss the removal of the Norgoma that had been scheduled last summer and again earlier this month.

The SMRMHC has been unable to find a new home for the museum ship and despite their pleas to city council to keep the vessel at its current location, those requests have fallen on deaf ears.

Vair said several options will be presented in a report to city council, but he wouldn’t specify what those options are. “We need to let council see the report first and they will determine the path forward,” he said.

Vair says the city has been able to find a location within the city where the Norgoma can be moved to temporarily. “We should have that finalized very shortly but we think we have an alternative location,” for the ship, he said.

He would not identify the location but said he anticipates costs would be greater than the $25,000 expense expected if the Norgoma had been moved to a dock behind the former Sault Area Hospital.

“We are just fulfilling council’s wish to get the Norgoma out of the marina so we can replace the docks. What happens with the Norgoma after that is up to the SMRMHC to deal with,” he said.

Vair’s letter dated Feb. 22, 2019 to Muio said city council has confirmed and budgeted for the replacement of the Bondar Marina docks and staff are now moving forward rapidly with the planning for their installation. “We need to finalize the removal of the Norgoma in order to properly sequence events,” the letter reads.

“I am sending this letter to document these communications and also to communicate clearly that the M.S. Norgoma must be removed by the deadline imposed by council.”

He confirms that if the SMRMHC is unable to remove the vessel, city staff will make those arrangements and pass all costs to the board.

“It is clear that MS Norgoma needs far more investment in order to bring the vessel into a condition that the community can be proud of and properly provide services to visitors and residents,” Vair states, adding that the vessel does not meet the city’s current priorities.

The board has scanned the area – on both sides of the international border – to find a new home for the museum ship, but has not had any luck finding a new home. Efforts have been made to keep the ship local so the existing board can continue to operate the museum and other related events that have grown over the past two years.

The board sought – but was refused – approval to dock the ship on Sault Ste. Marie Region Conservation Authority property adjacent to the former hospitals. A licence of occupation permit the authority has with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry does not permit Norgoma to be stored on it.

Other options explored included Parks Canada and the Valley Camp in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. It’s most potential hope was at the Canadian Bushplane Museum Heritage Centre, Muio had said in an earlier interview.

Muio said the board has made it clear that it wants the 180-foot vessel to stay in the Sault Ste. Marie area and the board is eager to continue growing its activities and partnerships with other organizations.

But Vair says while there have been new activities introduced to revitalize the ship and provide some revenue for the organization, those activities are organized by other community groups of which the city is willing to partner with outside of the Norgoma.

The local food market held on the Norgoma last year can be held elsewhere by Harvest Algoma, including under the Bondar pavilion. The open Mic Night space for local youth and emerging artists can also be performed at the Bondar pavilion or on the March Street stage or elsewhere downtown.

Night markets held on the vessel to fundraise and showcase local small businesses also tie in with the City’s Thursday night markets and complement its summer concert series, Vair notes. Alternate locations can also be found for other festivals and events the board is encouraging on the ship.

“There are many exciting projects under development and, far from turning away young people we welcome their involvement in building out engaging activities in our downtown – it may not be, however, on the M.S. Norgoma,” the letter states.

City council’s next meeting is set for March 18.

Sault Star

[yachtsmanwilly]

3/12 - Cleveland, Ohio – The U.S. Coast Guard and local agencies rescued 46 ice fishermen from an ice floe that broke free near Catawaba Island Saturday. An additional estimated 100 people were able to self-rescue themselves from the ice floe either by swimming or walking on ice-bridges that were still connected to the floe initially.

At 8:13 a.m., Coast Guard Station Marblehead received notification from an Ohio Department of Natural Resources representative that there were approximately 100 people stranded on an ice floe and that there were an additional 30 to 40 people in the water. Coast Guard District 9 Command Center launched two 20-foot Special Purpose Craft–airboats from Station Marblehead, two MH-65 Dolphin helicopters from Air Station Detroit, and two MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters from Air Station Traverse City to respond for a mass rescue.

Catawaba Island Fire, Put-in-Bay Fire and Southshore Towing also responded with airboats, while ODNR, North Central EMS and Danbury EMS assisted in the search and rescue efforts.

Coast Guard Station Marblehead arrived on scene at approximately 8:50 a.m. and there were no persons in the water. Those who had fallen in or intentionally entered the water to try to swim to land were all back on the ice or land.

Approximately 100 people were able to walk to shore via portions of ice that were still unbroken; however, as the temperature continued to rise, the ice broke into multiple separate ice floes. The remaining fishermen were rescued by the airboat crews and helicopter crews.

By approximately 11:15 a.m., all persons who had been stranded on the ice were rescued.

As temperatures begin to rise, the Coast Guard strongly urges people not to go out onto ice. Ice may look safe but it is difficult to determine the thickness visually and the increase in warm weather will continue to melt and weaken the ice.

USCG


3/12 - The Russian cargo ship Seagrand crashed into a bi-level bridge on the coast of South Korea while its captain was drunk, authorities said last Thursday. The vessel traded into the lakes as Poolgracht in 1996 and Corn Hill in 2011.

No injuries were caused during the bizarre crash, but sections of the Gwangan Bridge in Busan were closed for precautionary purposes. It's not illegal to consume alcohol while aboard a ship, but it is illegal to sail a ship while intoxicated.

Although it is unclear if the captain was at the helm of the Seagrand during the time of the crash, the ship was going the opposite direction of its planned course, and the captain had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit, according to South Korean news outlet Yonhap.

The Seagrand also reportedly hit another vessel moored at a nearby port an hour before the crash.

The Korean Coast Guard said the nearly 6,000-ton cargo ship caused about a 15-foot hole in the lower portion of the Gwangan Bridge. The captain apparently ignored radio signals from coast guards to change course, because he does not speak English well.

Fox News and Barry Andersen



The b.) RUTH HINDMAN was launched March 12, 1910, as a.) NORWAY (Hull#115) at Toledo, Ohio by Toledo Shipbuilding Co., for the United States Transportation Co. She was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario, in 1978.

G.A. TOMLINSON was launched March 12, 1907, as a) D.O. MILLS (Hull#29) at Ecorse, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works for the Mesaba Steamship Co.

March 12, 1941 - The ferry CITY OF MIDLAND 41 arrived in Ludington, Michigan, on her maiden voyage. She loaded cars of paper at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and then picked up some cars of canned milk at Kewaunee, with Captain Charles Robertson in command.

On 12 March 1883, the steam barge R. MC DONALD was renamed IDA M. TORRENT.

1917: ALGONQUIN was built at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1888 and saw service for several companies on the Great Lakes. The ship was torpedoed by U-62 when it was 65 miles off Cornwall, England, while west of Bishop's Rock and en route from New York to London with general cargo. It was the first American merchant ship lost due to enemy action in World War One.

1942: ¬CRAIGROWNIE was a World War One Laker and had been launched at Ashtabula on April 12, 1919. It was sailing as d) OLGA when torpedoed by U-126, 20 miles off Nuevital Light, Cuba, while en route from Port Everglades, FL, to Beracoa, Cuba. One crewmember was lost but 32 were rescued and taken to Cuba.

1947: EXANTHIA struck a mine in the Mediterranean while 12 miles from the island of Elba while traveling from Istanbul to New York. The ship was flooded and abandoned but reboarded and eventually towed to New York for repairs. The ship sailed for the American Export Lines and came to the Great Lakes on nine occasions from 1959-1961. After a few years in the James River Reserve Fleet, the vessel was taken to Brownsville, Texas, in 1975 and broken up.

1971: SUNCLIPPER, a Seaway trader in 1966, was built in 1953 as BOW BRASIL. It ran aground at Haifa Bay as f) CLIPPER when the anchors dragged in a storm. The ship was refloated April 10, and taken to Perama, Greece. It was sold “as lies” to Turkish ship breakers, and arrived at Istanbul, Turkey, for scrapping on August 29, 1972.

1985: LETITIA was the 96th and final addition to the British flag Donaldson Line. It made four trips through the Seaway in 1966 and three more in 1967. It was sailing as d) TEPORA when it caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico en route to Veracruz, Mexico, on March 12, 1985. The Honduran-flagged freighter was abandoned by the crew. The fire was apparently extinguished and the vessel reboarded. It was taken in tow but the blaze broke out again and the ship sank on March 14.

[yachtsmanwilly]

3/13 - Duluth, Minn. – It has been an impressive winter on Lake Superior. That’s because ice has covered nearly 100 percent of the big lake.

According to a professor at University of Minnesota Duluth, the lake hasn’t seen this much ice since 2014. And, it will have an effect on our summer.

“The timing of the start of that layer of warm water forming plays a huge role in sort of what sort of warm temperatures we see in the middle of the summer,” said Prof. Jay Austin, with the Large Lake Observatory. “This’ll be a cooler summer, yeah. And in fact the relationship there is pretty strong.”

This is only the fifth time in 20 years that Lake Superior has had more than 90 percent ice coverage. The last time the lake froze over was in 1996.

Fox 21


3/13 - Milwaukee – The Coast Guard will commence spring ice breaking operations in Sturgeon Bay, Friday. During the coming weeks, these icebreaking operations will increase in frequency as ice conditions deteriorate and commercial navigation increases. Ice breaking will eventually expand into the bay of Green Bay, to the port cities of Menominee, Escanaba, and Green Bay. On Wednesday, the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw plans to enter the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal from Lake Michigan and moor at the Municipal Pier at Sawyer Park.

Friday morning, Mackinaw will sail west to Sturgeon Bay, adjacent to Sherwood Point, to create a “turning circle” in the ice. This area of broken ice will enable local tugs to turn around commercial ships departing Bay Shipbuilding, allowing those large vessels to sail for Lake Michigan using the ship canal, avoiding the tough ice conditions in the bay of Green Bay.

USCG


3/13 - Washington, DC – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has proposed spending over $75.3 million toward upgrading the Soo Locks next year – a significant investment toward the project's long-awaited construction.

The Army Corps proposed the Soo Locks funding Tuesday as part of a $4.8 billion Army Civil Works program for the budget year starting Oct. 1.

A replacement lock in Sault Ste. Marie was first authorized by Congress in 1986 but had been stalled for decades, until President Donald Trump took an interest following an April 2018 trip to Michigan and lobbying by three Republican lawmakers.

The lock complex on the St. Mary's River connects Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes. Plans call for a new 1,200-foot-long lock to mirror the 49-year-old Poe lock, which is the only one of the four shipping locks that can handle the largest freighters carrying 89 percent of the cargo through the corridor.

A new lock would provide redundancy, so cargo could keep moving in the case of an unexpected outage of the Poe. The replacement lock project gained traction last year after the Army Corps released a new economic analysis that allowed the new lock to finally compete for construction funding.

The Army Corps last fall allocated an initial $32 million toward the project for design and some pre-construction work.

The process of building the replacement lock is expected to take seven to 10 years, requiring additional funds appropriated each year, after Congress reauthorized the project last fall.

The Army Corps said in November that initial work to support the new lock would include deepening the upstream channel to accommodate modern vessels.

A group of senators on the Great Lakes Task Force had asked the Army Corps in September to include $74 million in its fiscal 2019 work plan and $92 million for its 2020 budget request for the lock upgrade.

National security experts and economists have warned about the bottleneck that could result from a sustained closure of the Poe lock, crippling the supply chain for steel production and manufacturing across the country.

A report by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2015 found no alternative transportation mode exists for getting iron ore from Minnesota mines to steel mills on the lower Great Lakes.

The same study concluded the Poe lock is a weak link in the North American industrial economy, and an unplanned, six-month closure could plunge the U.S. economy into recession, costing up to 11 million jobs.

In August 2015, the smaller MacArthur lock experienced mechanical problems that shuttered it for nearly two weeks, delaying 103 ships a total of 166 hours, among other effects, according to the Army Corps.

The Detroit News


The keel for the tanker IMPERIAL REDWATER (Hull#106) was laid March 13, 1950, at Port Arthur, Ontario, by Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. She was converted to a bulk freighter at Collingwood, Ontario and renamed b.) R. BRUCE ANGUS in 1954. The ANGUS operated for Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd., until she was scrapped at Setubal, Portugal in 1985.

On March 13, 1989, the Rouge Steel Co. announced the sale of its marine operations to Lakes Shipping, Cleveland (Interlake Steamship, mgr.).

1994: SHIPBROKER was built at Varna, Bulgaria, in 1980 as OCEAN SEAGULL and came through the Seaway that year on July 3. It was renamed SHIPBROKER in 1986 and made its maiden voyage to the Great Lakes on November 19, 1991. The ship was in a collision with the Cypriot tanker NASSIA in the Bosporus Strait on March 14, 1994, and caught fire. It burned for days and 29 members of the crew of 33 plus four on the tanker, were lost. Following a sale for scrap, the gutted bulk carrier arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, under tow on December 3, 1994, and dismantling began April 5, 1995.

[yachtsmanwilly]

3/14 - The St. Lawrence Seaway will open for business on March 26. Expected to be one of the first ships to use the waterway will be the chemical tanker Tasing Swan, heading for Clarkson. Last year on opening day on March 29, she had been the first new foreign-flag ocean vessel of the year at the St-Lambert lock.


Straits of Mackinac
USCG Neah Bay was eastbound through the Straits at noon Wednesday. Alder was in St Ignace. Mackinaw was stationed off the Sturgeon Bay ship canal. Samuel Risley was northbound out of Detroit to Lake St Clair. Hollyhock was upbound off Harbor Beach in the evening.

Sturgeon Bay, Wis.
USCG Mackinaw entered Sturgeon Bay through the Ship canal after spending the night off shore.

They tied up at the Fire Dock near the Oregon St. Bridge. Mackinaw was expected to break out the port on Friday


March 14, 1959 - The ANN ARBOR NO 6 returned to service as the b.) ARTHUR K ATKINSON after an extensive refit.

In 1880, the harbor tug GEORGE LAMONT sank with her crew of three off Pentwater, Michigan after being overcome by weather during a race with her rival, the harbor tug GEM. The LAMONT was the only steamer to disappear with all hands during the many races that took place among steamers during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

On 14 March 1873, the new railroad carferry SAGINAW went into the Port Huron Dry Dock Company's dry dock where her engine was installed along with her shaft and propeller. Workmen had to break up the ice in the dry dock to release the schooner MARY E. PEREW so that work could begin on the SAGINAW. The work was done quickly since SAGINAW was needed to fill in for a disabled ferry in Detroit. Mr. Francois Baby was granted a "ferry lease" between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan on 14 March 1843. He built the steamer ALLIANCE for this ferry service and Capt. Tom Chilvers was the skipper. In 1851, Capt. Chilvers leased the steamer from Mr. Baby and ran it on the same route until the late 1850s.

On 14 March 1878, the first vessel of the navigation season passed through the Straits of Mackinac. This was the earliest opening of the navigation season at the Straits since 1854.

1918 ISLAND QUEEN, a wooden-hulled Toronto Island ferry, was destroyed by a fire at Hanlan's Point in Toronto. The ship was valued at $25,000 and the hull was left to rot.

1962: MILLY made one trip through the Seaway in 1959. It had been launched at Stockton, CA on May 13, 1915, as PORTHCAWL and became d) MILLY in 1950. The 295 foot freighter, sailing as f) HEDIA, last reported March 14 near Galita Island on the Mediterranean close to Malta and en route from Casablanca, Morocco, to Venice, Italy, with a cargo of phosphate. It was posted as missing and then lost with all hands.

1993: The Freedom Class freighter SHAMALY was a year old when it came through the Seaway in 1969. It returned December 1, 1990, as c) WALVIS BAY for Ogdensburg, NY to load corn gluten The 9650 gross ton freighter ran aground south of Greece off Cape Morakis in 1993 en route from Piraeus to Scotland as d) LIPARIT BAY. The hull was not worth repairing and sold for scrap. Renamed e) NORA for the delivery tow, it arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, April 4, 1994, for dismantling and work began May 16.

1999: The Panamanian freighter EVANGELIA PETRAKIS was built in Muroran, Japan, in 1978 as N.J. PATERAS. It came through the Seaway in 1988 and was renamed c) AMER VED in 1990. It survived a grounding off Horsetail Bank, UK on November 19, 1996, only to suffer serious damage in a collision with the newly built, 57,947 gross ton, Maltese flag tanker SEAPRIDE I off Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates. The damage to the 21-year old freighter was not worth repairs so it arrived at Alang, India, for scrapping on June 19, 1999.

1964: MARIA G.L. went aground at Suno Saki, Japan, about 30 miles south of Yokohama, in fog. This Liberty ship had been a Great Lakes trader in 1961. It was enroute from Long Beach, California, to Chiba, Japan, with a cargo of phosphates and broke in two as a total loss.