Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive

Reported by: Greg Warner

The vessel was scheduled for several more stone loads this season, but that business has dried up. American Republic is operated by American Steamship Co.

Goderich - J. Stuparyk
Thursday was a busy day in the port of Goderich, Ont., with Algoway loading salt, Federal Kumano loading grain, Ojibway loading soy beans and the Cuyahoga anchored out on the lake. Earlier, the Canadian Transfer was loading salt at Sifto.

10/31 - Port Clinton, Ohio - Recent winds have forced water levels lower along the North Coast while pushing levels at the east end of the lake higher.

Water levels in Lake Erie's Western Basin fluctuate naturally according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers meteorologist Keith Kompoltowicz, of the Detroit office. The main source of the lake's water, about 80 percent in fact, is the Upper Great Lakes and the five states and two provinces that drain into them.

"The lake level fluctuates between 13 and 14 inches a year," said Kompoltowicz. He added lake levels began 2008 slightly below long-term averages, peaked in May and June and is now slightly below average. Kompoltowicz said the Corps monitors water levels daily through a network of meters in Toledo and Fairport Harbor as well as two locations on the Canadian side of the lake.

When the wind blows from the west, he said, water levels in the Western Basin are affected dramatically. "The difference between water levels in Toledo and Buffalo can vary as much as 15 or 16 feet," said Kompoltowicz. He pointed out that the geographical orientation of the lake itself runs from southwest to northeast, with prevailing lake winds coming from the southwest.

Brenda Culler, ODNR Division of Coastal Management spokeswoman, said the heavy west winds moving water from one side of the lake to the other is called a wind set-up event. "It happens because the Western Basin is so shallow," she said.

Residents and boaters have probably noticed extremely low water levels in the area during the past week. Many boat owners have been unable to pull their boats from the lake because of the water levels. Others have been unable to head out to the lake to fish. Ottawa County shores have grown since the west wind came, and rock outcroppings on the lake that are normally under water are clearly visible. In addition, shallow areas on the Sandusky River are now visible, since the lake level directly affects the level of its tributaries.
But Culler said that won't last long. As soon as the west wind subsides, she said, the water will return from the east end of the lake in what Culler called a seiche -- a sudden oscillation in a body of water. "It's like a big tub," explained Culler, saying the water will flow back and forth in the lake until it eventually settles. While the lower than usual water levels create minor problems for anglers and duck hunters in shallow areas, it generally doesn't affect commercial vessels.

"We haven't had any problems at our dock," said John Crawley, materials performance manager at LaFarge in Marblehead, Ohio. Crawley said the water levels around the Marblehead loading docks are deep enough to accommodate all the ships that come in. Occasionally though, he said they do load the ships a little lighter if the water levels are lower. "If the east wind blows hard," Crawley said, "they'll snap their lines." Crawley said heavy east winds will force some ships to pull out, anchor between Marblehead and Kelleys Island and return when the winds subside.

From the Port Clinton News Herald

10/31 - Duluth - Great Lakes dredging plans for fiscal year 2009 are considerably less ambitious than in 2008, prompting criticism from the shipping community.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to award 12 dredging projects in 2009, compared with 39 in 2008. The agency is working with a proposed presidential budget of $16 million versus the $27 million it received for dredging in the Upper Great Lakes during fiscal year 2008. “The fiscal year 2009 dredging program represents a significant reduction from our efforts in fiscal year 2008. However, we still feel that we can maintain minimum functional channel requirements across the Great Lakes system,” said Wayne Schloop, chief of operations for the corps’ Detroit District, in a news release issued Wednesday.

But Jim Sharrow, facilities manager for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, said: “We are concerned that this budget would fall short of what we need to catch up with the dredging backlog that has developed in the system over the years.” “What’s being proposed is clearly inadequate. It wouldn’t begin to meet the needs of commerce,” said Glen Nekvasil, vice president of corporate communications for the Lake Carriers Association, an organization that represents the operators of U.S.-flagged vessels on the Great Lakes.

As channels become shallower, lakers often are forced to lighten the loads they carry, decreasing the efficiency of the system.

Sharrow contends the corps really needs to dedicate as much money for dredging in 2009 as it did in 2008 to make headway against shoaling that has occurred in the Great Lakes and the waterways that connect them. The Lake Carriers Association reports that 17 million cubic yards of material would need to be removed to get the St. Lawrence Seaway System back to the “project dimensions” at which it was to be maintained. The corps currently plans to dredge 1.175 million cubic yards of material from the system in 2009.

The projects on tap in 2009 include dredging 120,000 cubic yards of material from the Twin Ports’ waters. “That amount of dredging would be acceptable for holding our own in this harbor,” Sharrow said, adding that his concerns are larger: “We have a large system, and vessels need to be able to traverse it. If some part is being shorted, it affects the overall health of shipping.” Sharrow said he remains hopeful that Congress will see fit to appropriate more money for dredging throughout the Great Lakes than President Bush’s administration has budgeted. That’s what happened in 2008.

From the Duluth News Tribune

Updates - October 31

News Photo Gallery updated

On this day in 1984, at approximately 10:30 p.m., the International Railroad bridge at Sault Ste. Marie went askew and blocked boat traffic until 3:40 p.m., on 11/2/84. Twelve boats that were delayed up to 41 hours by the incident cost the operators an estimated $350,000.

On 31 October 1888, A W LAWRENCE (wooden propeller tug, 72 foot, 51 gross tons, built in 1880, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin) blew her boiler at 2:30 a.m. off North Point near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The tug quickly sank. Four of the six aboard were lost. None of their remains were ever found. The tug MERRILL rescued the cook and a passenger. The LAWRENCE was owned by Capt. Mc Coy & Banner and valued at $5,000.

CANADIAN EXPLORER's sea trials were conducted on October 31, 1983, on Lake Erie where a service speed of 13.8 m.p.h. was recorded.

The EDWIN H. GOTT was christened October 31, 1978.

On October 31, 1973, the H. M. GRIFFITH entered service for Canada Steamship Lines on her maiden voyage bound for Thunder Bay, Ontario to load iron ore for Hamilton, Ontario. The GRIFFITH was rebuilt with a new larger forward section and renamed b.) RT. HON PAUL J. MARTIN in 2000.

The CADILLAC was launched October 31, 1942, as a.) LAKE ANGELINE.

ELMGLEN cleared Owen Sound, Ontario on October 31, 1984, on her first trip in Parrish & Heimbecker colors.

On October 31, 1966, while down bound in the St. Marys River loaded with 11,143 tons of potash for Oswego, New York, the HALLFAX ran aground on a rocky reef and settled to the bottom with her hold full of water. She had grounded on Pipe Island Twins Reef just north of DeTour, Michigan.

The CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON, a.) WILLIAM C. MORELAND, struck a reef the night of October 31, 1925 three miles south of Manitou Island, off the Keweenaw Peninsula, on Lake Superior.

On October 31, 1983, the SYLVANIA was towed out of Toledo’s Frog Pond by the harbor tugs ARKANSAS and WYOMING. She was handed over to the tug OHIO for delivery to the Triad Salvage Co., at Ashtabula, Ohio, arriving there on November 1st. Dismantling was completed there in 1984. Thus ended 78 years of service. Ironically the SYLVANIA, the first built of the 504 foot class bulkers, was the last survivor of that class. During her career with Columbia Transportation, the SYLVANIA had carried over 20 million tons and netted over $35 million.

On 31 October 1883, CITY OF TORONTO (wooden passenger-package freight sidewheeler, 207 foot, 898 gross tons, built in 1864, at Niagara, Ontario) caught fire at the Muir Brothers shipyard at Port Dalhousie, Ontario and was totally destroyed. She previously had her paddle boxes removed so she could pass through the Welland Canal, and she was in the shipyard to have them reassembled that winter.

On 31 October 1874, the tug FAVORITE was towing the schooner WILLIE NEELER on Lake Erie. At about 10:30 p.m., near Bar Point, the schooner suddenly sheered and before the tow line could be cast off, the FAVORITE capsized and sank. One life was lost. The rest of the crew clung to the upper works which had become dislodged from the vessel and they were rescued by the schooner's lifeboats.

On 31 October 1821, WALK-IN-THE-WATER (wooden side-wheeler, 135 foot, 339 tons, built in 1818, at Black Rock [Buffalo], New York) was wrecked on Point Abino, on the Canadian shore of Lake Erie during a storm. She was the first steam-powered vessel above Niagara and her frequent comings and goings during her career were very much in the newspapers in Detroit but her loss was not mentioned not at all since this steamer was virtually the only source of news from the east. Her engine was installed by Robert Fulton himself. After the wreck, it went into the steamer SUPERIOR and later ran a lumber mill in Saginaw, Michigan.

On 31 October 1880, TRANCHEMONTAGNE (wooden schooner, 108 foot, 130 tons, built in 1864, at Sorel, Quebec) was loaded with rye and sailing in a storm on Lake Ontario. She struck the breakwater at Oswego, New York head-on at about 3:00 a.m. She stove in her bow and quickly sank. The crew took to the rigging, except for one who was washed overboard and rode a provision box from her deck to shore. The Lifesaving Service rescued the rest from the breakwater. The schooner broke up quickly in the storm.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Jody Aho, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books include many other vessels with a much more detailed history.

10/30 - Cleveland - The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday that December 1, 2008, is the new compliance date for implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) for owners and operators of facilities located within the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Zones of Buffalo, N.Y., Duluth, Minn., Detroit and Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and Lake Michigan.

Updates on TWIC activation and rescheduling can be found at www.tsa.gov/twic. Additional information and a framework showing expected compliance dates by Captain of the Port zone is available on the U.S. Coast Guard's Homeport Web site at http://homeport.uscg.mil/twic. Captain of the Port zone maps with ports annotated are available on that Web site under General Information, COTP Zone Maps. You may also call 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-347-8942) or 1-877-MTSA-AID (1-877-687-2243, Option 1) for more information.

USCG News Release

10/30 – Hamilton, Ont. - A "volatile global economic climate" will cut results at U.S. Steel in the final months of the year, the firm said yesterday. The gloomy outlook comes despite record third quarter earnings that more than tripled over the same period last year.

The owner of the former Stelco reported the most profitable quarter in its history with earnings of $919 million US. That's up from $269 million during the third quarter of 2007and $668 million in the second quarter of this year. But a turn in the steel markets as a result of the global economic crisis has prompted the Pittsburgh firm to cut steel production.
U.S. Steel CEO John Surma, who declined to provide specifics, said the company is "operating well below the rates we operated at ... during that last quarter." "We expect to continue to operate at reduced production levels, corresponding with customer order rates."

The company had decided to shut down one of two blast furnaces at Great Lakes, near Detroit, for maintenance through the end of the year, Surma said. He did not comment on U.S. Steel Canada, formerly Stelco, where a Hamilton blast furnace has already been shut down for a period of six to eight weeks, according to sources.

A slowing global economy combined with the credit crisis has weakened demand for cars, appliances and construction. Steel buyers are struggling to get loans to buy steel or are opting to use up existing inventories instead. The slump has in turn caused prices and demand for steel to fall at a rapid rate. "It was a very abrupt slowdown, unlike any we've seen," Surma said.

Demand and prices for flat-rolled steel – which helped drive profits in the third quarter – have softened in North America and the company expects shipments to decline in the fourth quarter. Based on "very weak market conditions," U.S. Steel also expects results to decline substantially at its European operations. Results for its tubular division are expected to be comparable to the third quarter. Customer inventories are declining, Surma said, opening the possibility that steel consumption and orders will recover by the end of the year or early in 2009.

But with the U.S. dollar gaining strength, imports have risen in the U.S. even as demand plummets, said Chuck Bradford, a New York-based steel analyst. "Things look very bleak for steel in 2009," he said. "The signs are not very good economically." Sal Tharani, an analyst with Goldman Sachs expects "a sharp deterioration in U.S. Steel's earnings in the next few quarters due to falling prices and demand, a significant deterioration in Europe, and its relatively fixed cost structure."

U.S. Steel shares rose 14 per cent to close at $35.20. In the last 52 weeks, the stock has ranged from $30.48 to $196.

From The Hamilton Spectator

10/30 - Duluth - The effects of a slowing economy are finally coming to roost on the Iron Range. Cliffs Resources said Tuesday it will immediately cut production at Northshore Mining and United Taconite by a combined total of about 300,000 tons per month. That will reduce the plants’ combined monthly output by more than 30 percent.

A statement from Cliffs said “workforce adjustments” will need to be made as it throttles back production at the mines, but spokeswoman Maureen Talarico said she could not say how many people would be laid off. “The details have not been finalized yet,” she said.

While specifics were lacking, speculation swirled through the mining community Tuesday. “There are rumors that it could be up to a 25 percent cut,” said John Rebrovich, the subdirector of United Steelworkers District 11. As a union, the United Steelworkers represents most of the 516 people employed at United Taconite in Forbes and Eveleth, where Cliffs plans to idle one furnace. Another 561 people are employed at Northshore in Babbitt and Silver Bay, where Cliffs said it will shut down two furnaces. Northshore is the only non-union taconite producer on the Iron Range.

Together, Northshore and United have an annual capacity of 11.5 million tons. Both had been running full tilt until this month. In fact, Northshore invested about $40 million to bring a long-idle furnace back on line in March, boosting the facility’s capacity by about 800,000 tons and creating 30 new jobs.

The latest change of gears has been jarring to say the least, according to Rebrovich. “We’ve seen plenty of ups and downs before, but we’ve never seen things go to hell in this short a period of time,” he said. Demand is weakening, the dollar is getting stronger and making U.S. steel more expensive, and micro-mills that process scrap metal are providing stiff competition. Cliffs’ largest single pellet buyer, Arcelor Mittal, recently announced plans to cut its production by up to 15 percent in light of reduced demand for its steel.

Barring a rapid improvement, analysts anticipate cuts at other area mines.

Rebrovich said there’s concern about possible production cuts at U.S. Steel’s Minntac mine in Mountain Iron, the state’s largest taconite operation. U.S. Steel also owns the single-line Keetac plant near Keewatin, but the multiline Minntac has more flexibility to adjust production without a costly shutdown.

While U.S. Steel would not respond to direct questions Tuesday about the outlook at its Minnesota mines, chief financial officer Gretchen Haggerty talked about production levels Tuesday in a quarterly earnings report. “We expect a decline in fourth quarter results mainly due to softening demand and prices for flat-rolled products in North America and Europe, and we expect to continue to operate at reduced production levels, corresponding with customer order rates,” Haggerty said.

The restructuring and consolidation that the U.S. steel industry has undergone in recent years may better position it to withstand the current downturn, according to Donald J. Gallagher, president of Cliffs’ North American Business Unit. “Today, the domestic steel and iron ore industries are better positioned than in the past to weather downturns such as this, and while we regret having to take this action, production and demand must be balanced to meet customer needs and to ensure the continued health of the business,” he said in a statement about Cliffs’ cutbacks issued Tuesday.

From the Duluth News Tribune

10/30 - Detroit – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, plans in 2009 to award contracts for a dozen maintenance dredging projects for rivers and harbors in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. “The fiscal year 2009 dredging program represents a significant reduction from our efforts in fiscal year 2008. However, we still feel that we can maintain minimum functional channel requirements across the Great Lakes system,” said Wayne Schloop, chief of operations for the Detroit District.

In 2008, the Detroit District awarded contracts to dredge 39 projects. Some of the contracts awarded in 2008 were a direct result of the Congressional Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which provided for a much more comprehensive dredging program. Maintenance dredging shoaled material is required in many of the harbors and rivers in order to keep shipping lanes open for local commerce and recreational boaters. If the river isn’t dredged, water depths decrease and commercial vessels must transport lighter loads, leading to more river trips by vessels and increasing the cost of transportation, goods and materials.

Here are the Corps’ planned 2009 dredging projects for the Upper Great Lakes:
Detroit River, Mich. 200,000 cubic yards
Duluth, Minn.-Superior, Wis. 120,000 cubic yards
Grand Haven, Mich. (outer harbor) 50,000 cubic yards
Grand Haven, Mich. (inner harbor) 30,000 cubic yards
Green Bay, Wis. 160,000 cubic yards
Holland, Mich. (outer harbor) 35,000 cubic yards
Ludington, Mich. 40,000 cubic yards
Monroe, Mich. 70,000 cubic yards
Ontonagon, Mich. 45,000 cubic yards
Rouge River, Mich. 80,000 cubic yards
Saginaw, Mich. 300,000 cubic yards
St. Joseph, Mich. (outer harbor) 45,000 cubic yards

From WNWO TV-24 Toledo

Lorain -
Edward L. Ryerson remained at anchor off Lorain, Ohio, Wednesday. She is expected in port Thursday after a saltwater vessel departs the Jonick Dock, where the Ryerson is due to unload. This is the first of several planned trips to the port.

On 30 October 1863, TORRENT (2-mast wooden schooner, 125 foot, 412 gross tons, built in 1855, at Newport [Marine City], Michigan) was carrying railroad iron from Buffalo to Little Bay de Noc when she foundered in a storm on Lake Erie, 10 miles east of Port Stanley, Ontario. No lives were lost.

On 30 October 1870, JOSEPH A. HOLLON (wooden barge, 107 foot, 158 gross tons, built in 1867, at E. Saginaw, Michigan) was in tow of the tug CLEMATIS (wooden tug, 179 tons, built in 1863, at Cleveland, Ohio) in a terrific gale on Lake Huron. The barge broke free and drifted off. The waves washed completely over her and the captain was swept overboard. Her cabins were destroyed. The next day the wife of the mate and another crew member were rescued by the bark ONEONTA (wooden bark, 161 foot, 499 gross tons, built in 1862, at Buffalo, New York) and taken to Detroit, but the HOLLON was left to drift on the Lake. The newspapers listed her as "missing". Five days later the vessel was found and was towed into Port Elgin, Ontario. A total of four lives were lost: three were missing and the fourth was found "lashed to a pump, dead, with his eyes picked out.”

The tugs GLENADA and MOUNT MC KAY towed AMOCO ILLINOIS from Essexville, Michigan, on October 30, 1985, and arrived at the M&M slip in Windsor, Ontario, on November 1st. where she was to be scrapped.

The Maritimers CADILLAC and her fleetmate CHAMPLAIN arrived under tow by the Dutch tug/supply ship THOMAS DE GAUWDIEF on October 30, 1987, at Aliaga, Turkey, to be scrapped.

The ISLE ROYALE (Canal bulk freighter) was launched October 30, 1947, as a.) SOUTHCLIFFE HALL for the Hall Corporation of Canada Ltd. (which in 1969, became Hall Corporation (Shipping) 1969 Ltd.), Montreal.

On 30 October 1874, LOTTA BERNARD (wooden side wheel "rabbit", 125 foot, 147 tons, built in 1869, at Port Clinton, Ohio) was carrying general merchandise from Silver Islet to Duluth when she foundered in a terrific gale off Encampment Island in Lake Superior. Three lives were lost. She was capable of only 4 miles per hour and was at the mercy of any fast rising storm.

During a storm, the schooner ANNABELLA CHAMBERS was wrecked on the islands off Toronto, Ontario, on 30 October 1873. One sailor was washed overboard and lost. The skipper was rescued, but he had the dead body of his small son in his arms.

On 30 October, 1971 - The PERE MARQUETTE 21 was laid up due to coal strike. She never sailed again as a carferry.

On 30 October 1877, CITY OF TAWAS (3-mast wooden schooner, 135 foot, 291 tons, built in 1864, at Vicksburgh [now Marysville], Michigan as a sloop-barge) was carrying 500 tons of iron ore when she struck a bar outside the harbor at St. Joseph, Michigan, while attempting to enter during a storm. She drifted ashore with a hole in her bottom and was pounded to pieces. One brave crewman swam ashore with a line and the rest came in on it.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books include many other vessels with a much more detailed history.

10/29 - Charlevoix, Mich. - St. Marys Cement Plant in Charlevoix announced Thursday that it would be laying off about 80 percent of its hourly workforce by Dec. 1. The plant currently employs 100 hourly and 27 salary workers. The company currently employs two vessels, including the historic St. Marys Challenger, delivering powdered cement to its plans around the lower Great Lakes.

Steve Gallagher, vice president of human resources for St. Marys Cement Group, said their corporation anticipates the lay-off will last for one month. "This is a temporary lay-off," he said. "We anticipate in early January we'll start bringing people back and we'll be bringing back most if not all."

Gallagher said this decision was made as a result of the slowing economy.

"It¹s economics driving this decision, there¹s a lack of demand for our product and we have excess inventory. Charlevoix¹s (problem), in part, is linked to the construction industry," he said. "It¹s in no way a reflection of people who work at the plant, we have great employees."

Gallagher said the situation in Charlevoix mirrors what is happening at several of their other locations. Both the company¹s cement plants in St. Marys and Bowmanville, Ontario, are experiencing lay-offs similar to Charlevoix, and the corporation is ceasing operations at its plant in Dixon, Ill. Gallagher said this is the first major lay-off their company has experienced in 20 years.

From the Petoskey News Review

10/29 - Two steel makers are slashing Canadian production as the credit crisis spills over into the broader economy and deals yet another blow to the country's battered manufacturing sector.

Essar Steel Algoma Inc. in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is shutting a blast furnace it just brought back online in August. And people familiar with the situation said U.S. Steel Canada, a unit of United States Steel Corp. of Pittsburgh, will shut a blast furnace at its Hamilton plant later this month for a period of six to eight weeks.

"In two weeks, all their customer base collapsed," said a person with knowledge of U.S. Steel Canada's plans. "They have had customers say we can't get financing to pay for this." U.S. Steel operates one blast furnace in Hamilton and another at its Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ont.

It's not clear whether the production cuts at the two steel makers will lead to temporary layoffs and thus ripple further through the economy.

From the Globe & Mail

10/29- Hamilton - ArcelorMittal expects profits and cash flow to rise in the final six months of the year, despite the global slowdown and falling demand.

"Despite the current financial crisis, the Chinese economic slowdown and the strong destocking taking place on steel markets, we are pleased to expect profitability improvement in the second half of this year," said ArcelorMittal CEO Lakshmi Mittal. Raw materials for steel-making are carried to ArcelorMittal plants by Great
Lakes vessels.

Analysts say steelmakers are in for some tough times as the roiling markets and deepening credit crunch take their toll. Demand for steel has been on a steep slide since the summer months, when production rates and prices were at record levels. Some large steel buyers are struggling to borrow money to buy steel while others are opting to reduce existing inventories. "When the credit markets dried up, steel buying came to a halt," said Mike Willemse, a senior industry analyst for CIBC World Markets.

The price for hot rolled coil has already plunged to $780 US from the record high of $1,070 in July. Those prices could drop as low as $600 per ton by 2009, Willemse said, cutting close to the average break-even cost of making steel. "It'll be a rough year, ­ not a disaster, but rough," Willemse said.

Companies are responding by cutting production. ArcelorMittal Dofasco announced plans late last month to scale back production in the second half of the year, with CEO Juergen Schachler citing "tough economic times and unexpected weakness in the North American manufacturing sector."

Globally, ArcelorMittal has said it will cut production by 15 per cent to meet demand. China's steel association has reportedly said some of its steelmakers were prepared to cut production by 20 per cent. "I think fundamentally, steel is OK but the customers are in big trouble," said Chuck Bradford, a New York-based steel analyst. "They are running into substantial financial difficulty."

From The Hamilton Spectator

Toledo - Bob Vincent and Jim Hoffman
The American Republic looks to have entered winter layup. Both anchors are down, the walkway back aft is permanent, and she is also pumped out. The Republic is at the same place where she was for the '06-07 winter lay up, the former Interlake Iron Dock adjacent to Ironhead Marine (Toledo shipyard). This would be the first laker to tie up for the winter; an early layup could be a reflection of a downtown in the economy.
On Tuesday, CSL Niagara was loading grain at Andersons "K" Elevator. American Republic is in for the season. Both anchors are down and walkway back aft is permanent. She is also pumped out. She is at the same place where she was for the '06-07 winter lay up, former Interlake Iron Dock adjacent to Ironhead Marine (Toledo shipyard). The salt water vessel Starlight and the tug Karen Andrie with her barge were at The Midwest Terminal Dock. Saginaw arrived at the Midwest Terminal Dock Tuesday afternoon and is unloading a cargo of oats that was loaded at Thunder Bay, Ontario. When finished unloading she will proceed over to the CSX Coal Docks Wednesday morning to load coal. The American Valor is anchored in western Lake Erie northeast of the Toledo Ship Channel due to low water levels. When the water levels rise she will then head inbound for the Torco Ore Dock to unload ore.
The revised schedule for coal boats due into the CSX Docks has the Saginaw due in Wednesday, Herbert C. Jackson due in Thursday, Kaye E. Barker and H. Lee White on Saturday followed by the Mckee Sons due in Sunday.
The revised schedule for ore boats due into the Torco Ore Dock has the American Valor, Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin and Charles M. Beeghly due in Wednesday depending on water levels for the western basin of Lake Erie.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
Sam Laud arrived at the Bay Aggregates dock in Bay City Tuesday evening to unload. She was expected to be outbound late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.

Updates - October 29

News Photo Gallery updated

On this day in 1924, the LEONARD B. MILLER collided with the GLENORCHY in the fog on Lake Huron. No lives were lost but the GLENORCHY sank and the estimated damage to the two vessels was $600,000.

The whaleback barge 127 (steel barge, 264 foot, 1,128 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Company of W. Superior, Wisconsin, on 29 October 1892. She lasted until 1936, when she was scrapped at New Orleans, Louisiana.

On 29 October 1906, the schooner WEST SIDE (wooden schooner, 138 foot, 324 gross tons, built in 1870, at Oswego, New York) was carrying pulpwood from Tobermory, Ontario, to Delray, Michigan, when she was caught in a severe gale on Lake Huron. There was no shelter and the vessel was lost about 25 mile off Thunder Bay Island. The skipper and his crew, consisting of his wife and three sons aged 10 to 18, abandoned in the yawl. They all suffered from exposure to the wind and waves, but luckily the FRANK H. PEAVEY (steel propeller freighter, 430 foot, 5,002 gross tons, built in 1901, at Lorain, Ohio) picked them up and brought them to Port Huron, Michigan.

ALGOLAKE (Hull# 211) was launched October 29, 1976, at Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd. for the Algoma Central Railway.

On October 29, 1986, the JAMES R BARKER, which had suffered an engine room fire, was lashed side-by-side to the thousand-foot WILLIAM J. DE LANCEY and towed to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin for repairs.

The pieced together CANADIAN EXPLORER (Hull#71) was christened on October 29, 1983, at the Port Weller Dry Docks. She was created from the bow section of the NORTHERN VENTURE and the stern of the CABOT. The stern of the EXPLORER is now the stern of the CANADIAN TRANSFER.

The National Transportation Safety Board ruled on October 29, 1991, that Total Petroleum was responsible for the fire that destroyed the tanker JUPITER because of faulty moorings and exonerated the BUFFALO from primary responsibility.

On the afternoon of October 29, 1987, while up bound with coal from Sandusky, Ohio, the ROGER M KYES, went aground on Gull Island Shoal in Lake Erie's Middle Passage and began taking on water. About 3,000 tons of coal was transferred to the AMERICAN REPUBLIC after which the KYES freed herself the next morning. Damage from the grounding required extensive repairs. She was renamed b.) ADAM E CORNELIUS in 1989.

The tug portion of the PRESQUE ISLE departed New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 29, 1973.

The H. C. HEIMBECKER's last trip started at Thunder Bay, Ontario, with a load of grain bound for Owen Sound, Ontario where, on October 29, 1981, it was discovered that one of her boilers was cracked. When unloading was completed on October 30th, the HEIMBECKER proceeded under her own power to Ashtabula, Ohio, for scrapping.

On 29 October 1892, ZACH CHANDLER (3 mast wooden schooner-barge, 194 foot, 727 gross tons, built in 1867, at Detroit, Michigan) was carrying lumber from Ashland, Wisconsin, in tow of the steamer JOHN MITCHELL when the two became separated in a northerly gale in Lake Superior. The CHANDLER was overwhelmed and broke up on shore about three miles east of Deer Park, Michigan. Five of the crew made it to shore in the lifeboat and the Lifesaving Service saved two others, but one perished. Three years earlier, the CHANDLER stranded at almost the same spot and sustained heavy damage.

On 29 October 1879, AMAZON (wooden propeller freighter, 245 foot, 1,406 tons, built in 1873, at Trenton, Michigan) was carrying "provisions" - 900 tons of freight plus 7,000 barrels of flour - from Milwaukee to Grand Haven, Michigan. She struck the notorious bar off of Grand Haven in a gale and broke up. All 68 aboard survived. Her engine was later recovered.

On 29 October 1880, THOMAS A SCOTT (4-mast wooden schooner-barge, 207 foot, 1,159 tons, built in 1869, at Buffalo, New York as a propeller) was riding out a storm at anchor one mile off Milwaukee when she was struck by the big steamer AVON (wooden propeller, 251 foot, 1,702 gross tons, built in 1877, at Buffalo, New York). The SCOTT sank quickly. She had been bound from Chicago for Erie, Pennsylvania, with 44,000 bushels of corn. Three of her crew scrambled onto the AVON while the seven others took to the yawl and were towed in by the Lifesaving Service.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ plumb, Ahoy & Farewell II, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes at B.G.S.U and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books include many other vessels with a much more detailed history.

Saginaw River - Stephen Hause
The tug/barge Olive L. Moore/Lewis J. Kuber and the motor vessel Manistee paid return visits to the Saginaw River on Monday. The Moore-Kuber were unloading at the Wirt Stone Dock in the afternoon while the Manistee traveled up the river to the GM dock at Saginaw. Both vessels have been frequent visitors to the river this season, with the Moore/Kuber arriving three dozen times and the Manistee at least 16 times.

Toledo - Jim Hoffman
The salt water vessel Starlight, and the tug Karen Andrie with her barge, were at the Midwest Terminal Dock. The American Republic was at the Ironhead Shipyard. CSL Niagara was at Andersons "K" Elevator loading grain.
The revised schedule for coal boats due into the CSX Docks has the Saginaw due in Wednesday morning, Herbert C. Jackson due in Thursday afternoon, Kaye E. Barker due in Saturday afternoon followed by the McKee Sons and Arthur M. Anderson due in Sunday morning. The revised schedule for ore boats due into the Torco Ore Dock has American Valor due in Tuesday morning followed by the Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin and Charles M. Beeghly due in Wednesday.

Updates - October 28

News Photo Gallery updated

On this day in 1939, the Pittsburgh steamer D. G. KERR, Captain H. D. Mc Leod, rescued six men from the cabin cruiser FRANCIS J. H. that was disabled and sinking on Lake Erie.

On this day in 1953, the McKEE SONS loaded her first cargo of 17,238 tons of stone at Port Inland for delivery to East Chicago. Originally built as the C-4 MARINE ANGEL, the McKEE SONS was the first ocean vessel converted to a Great Lakes self unloader.

On this day in 1978, a new 420 foot tanker built at Levingston Shipbuilding, Orange, Texas, was christened GEMINI during ceremonies at Huron, Ohio. The GEMINI was the largest American flagged tanker on the lakes with a capacity of 75,000 barrels and a rated speed of 15.5 mph. Sold Canadian and renamed b.) ALGOSAR in 2005.

On October 28, 1891, DAVID STEWART (3-mast wooden schooner, 171 foot, 545 gross tons, built in 1867, at Cleveland, Ohio) was dragged ashore off Fairport, Ohio, by a strong gale. She was stranded and declared a total loss. However, she was salvaged and repaired in 1892 and lasted one more year.

The CANADIAN PIONEER's maiden voyage was on October 28, 1981, to Conneaut, Ohio, to take on coal for Nanticoke, Ontario.

The CANADIAN TRANSPORT was launched October 28, 1978, for Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd., Toronto, Ontario.

The FRED G. HARTWELL (Hull# 781) was launched October 28, 1922, by American Ship Building Co. at Lorain, Ohio, for the Franklin Steamship Co. Renamed b.) MATTHEW ANDREWS in 1951. Sold Canadian in 1962, renamed c.) GEORGE M. CARL. She was scrapped at Aviles, Spain, in 1984.

D. M. CLEMSON (Hull# 716) was launched October 28, 1916, at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio.

CHARLES M. WHITE was launched October 28, 1945, as a C4-S-A4 cargo ship a.) MOUNT MANSFIELD for the U.S. Maritime Commission (U.S.M.C. Hull #2369).

On October 28, 1887, BESSIE BARWICK, a 135 foot wooden schooner built in 1866, at St. Catharines, Ontario, as a bark, left Port Arthur for Kingston, Ontario, with a load of lumber during a storm. For more than ten days, her whereabouts were unknown. In fact, a westerly gale drove her into the shallows of Michipicoten Island and she was pounded to pieces. Her crew was sheltered by local fishermen and then made it to the Soo in a small open boat.

On October 28, 1882, RUDOLPH WETZEL (wooden propeller tug, 23 tons, built in 1870, at Buffalo, New York) was racing for a tow with the tug HENRY S SILL when her boiler exploded 12 miles north of Racine, Wisconsin. She quickly sank. All three on board were killed and none of the bodies were ever found.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books include many other vessels with a much more detailed history.

10/ 27 - Across the lakes, gale warnings are up sending ships to seek shelter or hold at their docks.

Lake Superior is forecast to have gale force winds Monday afternoon, with winds building to 40 knots and seas 10 -14 feet. Lake Michigan has gale warnings through Monday morning, winds building to 35 knots and seas 12 -16 feet. Gales are also forecast on Lake Huron through Monday evening, winds building to 25 knots and seas 6 -10 feet. Lake Erie has gale warnings through Monday morning and low water level warnings. Winds are expected to build to 35 knots and seas 5 - 10 feet.

In this type of weather ships generally run alternate routes. Edward L. Ryerson departed Superior after midnight Sunday morning and is running a course along the north shore of Lake Superior, which offers protection, rather than run the open lake course. About 11 p.m. Sunday the James R. Barker reported winds of 35 knots on western Lake Superior. The American Mariner entered Thunder Bay on Superior's north shore about mid night to wait out the storm.

About 5:30 a.m. the John J. Boland anchored in eastern White Fish Bay in Goulais Bay to wait out the north westerly winds. Monday morning a weather buoy in eastern Lake Superior reported winds from the north north west at 25 knots with gusts over 31 knots and seas running over 10-feet. Farther west in Lake Superior the Stannard Rock lighthouse recorded sustained winds of 39 knots and gusts to 43 knots.

The H. Lee White reported winds of 32 knots off Harbor Beach on Lake Huron, while the American Valor was at anchor off Alpena.

Off Sandusky, Ohio, in Lake Erie, several vessels anchored to wait out the weather and low water. The Joyce L. Van Enkevort, Roger Blough, Herbert C. Jackson and Edwin H. Gott are all on the hook. At 10 p.m. the Blough reported winds of 22 knots. Farther west, the Algolake and the Agawa Canyon are at anchor in the Colchester Reef anchorage, waiting for the weather system to pass before continuing eastbound. The American Republic anchored in Lake Erie, northeast of Toledo, her destination. Traffic at the east end of Lake Erie Sunday evening included the following vessels taking shelter behind Long Point: tug Sea Service, Halifax, Algowood, Canadian Progress, Algoeast, Spruceglen, Algosoo, Kaministiqua, James A. Hannah and tug Anglian Lady.

The westerly winds will likely cause a seiche effect, where the wind and low pressure push the water from the western basin to the eastern side of the lake. This will cause water levels to fall in western Lake Erie and rise at Buffalo. As the wind diminishes the water sloshes back to the western basin.

Sunday afternoon the water level in Lake Erie's western basin had dropped. Gibraltar, Mich., was at 2.2 inches above chart datum, having dropped over a foot since Sunday morning. Toledo was at minus 7.8 inches, having dropped from over plus 9 inches Sunday morning. On the opposite end of the lake, Buffalo's water level had risen to 37 inches above chart datum at 3 p.m., at 8 a.m. Sunday morning, the level was 17 inches above datum.

Visit this link for water level information and  this link for weather buoys

10/27 - Sault Ste. Marie - Two weeks after announcing production cutbacks in the wake of a dramatically slowing global economy, Essar Steel Algoma in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., has dropped the other shoe: a notice went up last Thursday in human resources and internal bulletin boards informing all employees "there is potential at some point in the future for temporary layoffs," spokesperson Brenda Stenta confirmed Friday.

No actual layoffs have been announced as of Friday for the workforce of approximately 3,500. Notice is required under the Employment Standards Act before actual layoffs take effect. Much of Essar's raw materials are delivered by Great Lakes freighters.

The company is "doing everything we can to keep people working," Stenta said. For example, internal employees have replaced all outside contractors on projects such as the rebuilding of the No. 5 reheat furnace. Some of those are from the approximately 80 new workers hired to commission, operate and maintain the No. 6 blast furnace, which was idled two weeks ago just two months after being started back up to achieve ambitious goals to nearly double steel output by the end of next year.

But in that short time period, the market for commodities across the world has virtually dried up, precipitated by the housing and financial sector meltdown in the United States. "The order books are soft. There aren't a sufficient number of orders to run at full production," Stenta said.

Essar issued another memo to employees later Friday. Stenta stressed the steel market "is a very cyclical business. We've been here before, and we remain optimistic that the markets will recover in the months ahead."

The Sault Star

Duluth - Glenn Blaszkiewicz and Dan Ross
USS Freedom arrived at the Duluth entry at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. About 1,000 people were on hand, cheering as the ship arrived. This was an exciting event for boat watchers. The crowd was enormous for a late October day with snow in the forecast, and parking areas in Canal Park were jammed

Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski
The tug Kurt Luedtke was tied to the Cargill Pier with her engines running early Sunday afternoon. She appeared to be back in town to take her scows and barges to Saginaw. It looked like they were ready to go, however the rough lake is keeping them in port for the time being. A fierce wind blowing at the harbor sent breakers blasting over the seawall on Sunday.

Cleveland and Fairport Harbor - Dave Merchant
Dredge #16 and tug Kurt Luedtke were tied up at Cleveland Friday afternoon. Ryba has brought in a bigger dredge to Fairport, a Lima 2400 (built by Lima Loco Works). The 2400 swings a massive bucket, and has four to choose from. Previously they had a large hydraulic excavator working there.

Chicago - Dan Fletcher
On Sunday, Kaye E. Barker was backing her way down the Calumet River heading out to open seas on Lake Michigan. She passed 95th Street at about 9:10 p.m. Anchored out in the lake were the salties Stolt Kite, Federal Yukon, and Isolda.

Updates - October 27

News Photo Gallery updated

Historical Perspective Gallery updated - Henry Ford II

On this day in 1979, the MESABI MINER delivered her first cargo of coal to Port Washington, Wisconsin. The 21 foot draft restriction of the harbor limited the cargo to 39,000 tons.

While in tow of the tug MERRICK on October 27, 1879, the NIAGARA (wooden schooner, 204 foot, 764 gross tons, built in 1873, at Tonawanda, New York) collided with the PORTER (wooden schooner, 205 foot, 747 gross tons, built in 1874, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin) which was in tow of the tug WILCOX at the mouth of the Detroit River. The PORTER sank but was salvaged and repaired. She lasted another 19 years.
The PAUL THAYER was christened on October 27, 1973, at Lorain, Ohio. Renamed b.) EARL W. OGLEBAY in 1995 and MANITOWOC in 2008.

While the JAMES R. BARKER was up bound October 27, 1986, on Lake Huron above buoys 11 & 12, a high pressure fuel line on the starboard engine failed causing an engine room fire, which was extinguished by on-board fire fighting equipment. Fortunately no one was injured.

On her maiden voyage, the HOCHELAGA departed Collingwood on October 27, 1949, for Fort William, Ontario, to load grain for Port Colborne, Ontario.

The FRANCIS E. HOUSE was laid up at Duluth on October 27, 1960, and remained idle there until April, 1966, when she was sold to the Kinsman Marine Transit Co., Cleveland and renamed c.) KINSMAN INDEPENDENT. She was scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1974.

On October 27, 1973, the HENRY LA LIBERTE struck an embankment while backing from the Frontier Dock Slip at Buffalo, New York, and damaged her steering gear beyond repair. As a consequence she was laid up there.

The RED WING and the FRANK A. SHERMAN departed Lauzon, Quebec, on October 27, 1986, in tandem tow by the Vancouver based deep-sea tug CANADIAN VIKING bound for scrapping in Taiwan.

On October 27, 1869, ALFRED ALLEN (wooden schooner, 160 tons, built in 1853, at Pultneyville, New Jersey, as J. J. MORLEY) was bound for Toledo, Ohio, with 500 barrels of salt when she went on the Mohawk Reef near Port Colborne, Ontario, in a blizzard. She washed free and drifted to the mainland beach where she was pounded to pieces. No lives were lost.

During a snow storm on the night of October 27, 1878, the propeller QUEBEC of the Beatty Line ran aground on Magnetic Shoals near Cockburn Island on Lake Huron. She was four miles from shore and one of her arches was broken in the accident.

October 27, 1854 - Well-known Pere Marquette carferry captain Joseph "Joe" Russell was born in Greenfield, Wisconsin.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes at B.G.S.U and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books include many other vessels with a much more detailed history.

Reported by Ron Walsh and Kent Malo

10/26 - Menominee - Friday afternoon the saltwater vessel BBC Elbe struck the Ogden Street Bridge on the Menominee River between Menominee, Mich., and Marinette, Wisc. The BBC Elbe was being towed into port stern first by the Selvick Marine tug Jacquelyn Nicole.

The vessel hit the Marinette side of the raised draw span as well as the Marinette concrete abutment and south west bridge dolphin. After the Elbe got through the bridge, it got stuck in the mud bank off the Waupaca Foundry dock wall for a short time before the ship and tug were able to free the Elbe to make its way over to K&K to unload wind turbine towers.

The BBC Elbe is on its 14th trip to Menominee this season. State officials plan to look over damage and inspect the bridge closer on Monday morning.

Scott Best

Soo -
The USS Freedom departed the Soo Carbide dock and was clear of the MacArthur Lock by 4:30 p.m. Saturday. It had arrived at 1:15 p.m.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
The CSL Tadoussac called on the Essroc Cement Terminal on Saturday to unload clinker. She was ready to depart late Saturday evening.

10/25 - Toronto - Capt. George Robert Johnston died at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ont., on October 16, 2008. He was 73. Johnston became a captain for the Great Lakes fleet of Misener Transportation at age 29; he achieved Commodore of the Feet in the late status 1970s. He retired in 1994 due to ill health.

Capt. Johnson is survived by his wife Cecile, brother Clarence, a son and daughter and three grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at The Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 63, 490 Ontario St., Collingwood, Ont., November 6, at 1 p.m.

Courtesy Chatterson Funeral Home

Updates - October 26

News Photo Gallery updated

Historical Perspective Gallery updated - Henry Ford II

On October 26, 1878, the new steamer CITY OF DETROIT (composite side-wheel passenger-package freight steamer, 234 foot, 1,094 gross tons, built in 1878, at Wyandotte, Michigan) arrived in Detroit from Cleveland with 276 tons of freight, mostly iron, on deck, and no freight in her hold. This experiment was tried to see if the steamer would show any signs of "crankiness,” even under a load so placed. She responded well and lived up to the expectations of her designers.

On October 26, 1882, the sunken schooner-barge NELLIE McGILVRAY was dynamited as a hazard to navigation by the Portage River Improvement Company. She sank at the entrance to the Portage Canal in the Keweenaw Peninsula on August 28, 1882, and all attempts to raise her failed.

LOUIS R. DESMARAIS was christened October 26,1977. She was reconstructed at Port Weller Drydocks and renamed b.) CSL LAURENTIEN in 2001.

On October 26, 1968, the R. BRUCE ANGUS grounded in the St. Lawrence River near Beauharnois, Quebec, 1,600 tons of iron ore were lightered to free her and she damaged 65 bottom plates.

The HUTCHCLIFFE HALL and OREFAX were sold October 26, 1971, to the Consortium Ile d'Orleans of Montreal made up of Richelieu Dredging Corp., McNamara Construction Ltd. and The J.P. Porter Co. Ltd.
On October 26, 1924, the E. A .S .CLARKE of 1907, anchored in the Detroit River opposite the Great Lakes Engineering Works because of dense fog was struck by the B. F. JONES of 1906, near her after deckhouse which caused the CLARKE to sink. No lives were lost.

On October 26, 1977, the MENIHEK LAKE struck a lock in the St. Lawrence Seaway sustaining damage estimated at $400,000.

On October 26, 1971, the ROGERS CITY's, A-frame collapsed while unloading at Carrollton, Michigan on the Saginaw River. Her unloading boom was cut away and temporary repairs were made at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Michigan.

The tug ROUILLE was launched on October 26, 1929, as Hull#83 of Collingwood Shipyards Ltd.

The schooner HEMISPHERE, which was being sought by the U.S. Marshals at Detroit and the St. Lawrence River, escaped at the Gallop Rapids and has gone to sea.

On October 26, 1851, ATLAS (wooden propeller, 153 foot, 375 tons, built in 1851, at Buffalo, New York) was carrying flour from Detroit to Buffalo when she was blown to shore near the mouth of the Grand River (Lorain, Ohio) by a gale, stranded and became a total loss. No lives were lost.

On October 26, 1895, GEORGE W. DAVIS (wooden schooner, 136 foot, 299 gross tons, built in 1872, at Toledo, Ohio) was carrying coal in a storm on Lake Erie when she stranded near Port Maitland, Ontario. A few days after the stranding, she floated off on her own, drifted two miles up the beach and sank. No lives were lost.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books include many other vessels with a much more detailed history.

10/25 - Marinette - The USS Freedom departed Marinette Marine, Marinette, Wis., at 7:32 a.m. CDT Friday bound for Duluth. The naval vessel is expected to arrive at Sault Ste. Marie late Saturday morning, where she is expected to stop at the Carbide Dock. Freedom will then depart for Duluth.

After Duluth, the 378-foot ship will return to Wisconsin in early November for a one-week stay prior to commissioning on November 8 at Milwaukee. Following the commissioning, the USS Freedom will leave for Norfolk , Va., and a five-month Post Delivery Availability. Final acceptance trials are set for next May, then the ship will leave for Florida and ultimately its home port in San Diego.

The ship was designed and built by an industry team led by Lockheed Martin, with Marinette Marine as one of the builders.

Toronto - Charlie Gibbons
The salty Mandarin departed Redpath Sugar at 6:30 Friday morning, assisted by two Group Ocean tugs, which returned to Hamilton when their job was done.

Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski
The Luedtke dredging operation seems to be done. The tug Kurt Luedtke apparently has taken the #16 derrick boat and the pump barge Lucille up to Saginaw since there was no sign of them Friday morning. The only equipment left was three of their dump scows tied up at the Cargill Pier.

10/25 - Cincinnati - The great paddlewheel turned the Ohio River water to a froth as the Delta Queen steamboat, a floating National Historic Landmark, departed Cincinnati, Ohio, on its final scheduled voyage this week. The Delta Queen is the last running steam-driven, paddle-wheeled overnight passenger boat.

The boat is a throwback to the 1800s and the era of Mark Twain, when thousands of steam-driven paddle-wheelers plied the Mississippi River system. The Delta Queen is the last of those operating as overnight passenger boats on U.S. waterways, giving riders a 19th-century experience on cruises complete with the carnival-like sounds of the steam-whistle calliope.
But it will dock permanently if Congress doesn't grant a safety exemption. It left Cincinnati on Tuesday on a 10-day cruise down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to Memphis, Tennessee, where it will unload what could be its final passengers.

"There are so few really authentic things left. Everything is a re-creation or a tied up old dusty museum," said Vicki Webster, leader of the grassroots Save the Delta Queen Campaign. "The Delta Queen is a breathing part of history and we have to keep as many of those as we can." The frequent riders and steamboat aficionados are being punished, Webster insists.

The Delta Queen will go out of service if Congress does not grant the ship another exemption from a 1960s federal law, the Safety at Seas Act, which bans boats made largely out of wood because of fire hazards. The current exemption, which expires at the end of October, has been given to the ship nine times over 40 years.

Supporters of the boat, which has roamed the nation's waterways since 1927 and helped the Navy ferry survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor to San Francisco hospitals in 1941, are hopeful the ship will not play its famed calliope for the last time.

A grassroots campaign is gaining traction and the support of high ranking politicians. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement he would work with Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, to try to get an exemption granted if the House returns for a lame duck session to address economic issues following the election. Supporters, including several mayors, agree with Webster that granting an exemption to the Delta Queen would be a way to help stimulate the economy
without it costing taxpayers a dime.

Lee Powell, director of the Mississippi Delta Grassroots Caucus said the boat provides economic opportunities. By docking and unloading nearly 200 passengers up to a dozen times a year, the Delta Queen helps to pump money into small cities along the heartland's rivers that are not normally tourist destinations.

Helena, Arkansas, which Mark Twain wrote in Life on the Mississippi "occupies one of the prettiest situations on the river," could suffer if the boat ceases operation.
"There are places in Helena that are essentially at virtually the levels of a third world country," Powell said. "They were impoverished before and now with the economic suffering, to choke off one of the good things they have is ridiculous."

The fight ahead is not uncharted territory for the Delta Queen, which fought down to the wire in 1970 to be given the exemption. Rep. James Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat who heads up the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has refused to support the exemption, claiming the boat, with a steel hull but largely wooden superstructure, is a fire hazard. Webster, who says she is "seething with anger" about the complaint, said the ship is outfitted with state-of-the-art fire safety equipment and a full fire crew on board.

"The heat detectors are so sensitive in the rooms if you take a shower and forget to close your bathroom door, the heat detectors go off," Webster said. "It's ridiculous. You literally could not have a fire on the boat because it would be put out in seconds."

Webster says the fight with Oberstar amounts to a labor dispute and that Oberstar is bowing to the Seafarers International Union which represented the boat's employees before it was bought by Majestic America Line. Oberstar and the union have both denied those accusations, but Webster insists simple politics are getting in the way of saving a national treasure. "They're holding her hostage," Webster said. "That's like punishing a child because his parents are bickering or tearing down the Statute of Liberty because of a dispute between the owners of the land and the snack shop."

From CNN

Updates - October 25

News Photo Gallery updated

Historical Perspective Gallery updated - Henry Ford II

On this day in 1975, a 96 foot mid-body section was added to the ARTHUR B. HOMER at Fraser Ship Yards, Superior, Wisconsin. The HOMER became the largest American flagged freighter to be lengthened. This modification increased her length to 826 feet and her per trip carrying capacity to 31,200 tons.

On October 25, 1872, the crew of the small tug P. P. PRATT (wooden propeller steam tug, 14 tons, built in 1866, at Buffalo, New York), went to dinner at a nearby hotel while the tug was docked in Oswego, New York. While they were gone, the tug's boiler exploded. A large piece of the boiler, weighing about five hundred pounds, landed on the corner of West First and Cayuga Street. A six-foot piece of rail impaled itself in the roof of the Oswego Palladium newspaper's offices. Amazingly, no one was hurt. The hulk was raised the following week and the engine was salvaged.

On October 25, 1888, AMETHYST (wooden propeller tug, 14 gross tons, built in 1868, at Buffalo, New York) caught fire and burned to a total loss at Duluth, Minnesota.

The ALGOBAY departed on her maiden voyage October 25, 1978, from Collingwood light for Stoneport, Michigan to load stone for Sarnia, Ontario.

The STERNECLIFFE HALL entered service for the Hall Corporation of Canada on October 25, 1947.

The HURON arrived at Santander, Spain, October 25, 1973, in consort with her sister WYANDOTTE, towed by the German tug DOLPHIN X. for scrapping.

October 25, 1895 - SHENANGO No. 2 (later PERE MARQUETTE 16) was launched in Toledo, Ohio. She was built by the Craig Shipbuilding Company for the United States & Ontario Steam Navigation Company and later became part of the Pere Marquette carferry fleet.

The engines of the propeller WESTMORELAND, which sank in 1854, near Skillagalee Reef in Lake Michigan, were recovered and arrived at Chicago on October 25,1874.

ARK was built on the burned out hull of the steamer E. K. COLLINS as a side wheel passenger steamer in 1853, at Newport, Michigan, but she was later cut down to a barge. On October 25,1866, she was being towed along with three other barges down bound from Saginaw, Michigan, in a storm. Her towline parted and she disappeared with her crew of six. The other three tow-mates survived. There was much speculation about ARK's whereabouts until identifiable wreckage washed ashore 100 miles north of Goderich, Ontario.

On October 25,1833, JOHN BY (wooden stern-wheeler, 110 foot, built in 1832, at Kingston, Ontario) was on her regular route between York (now Toronto) and Kingston, Ontario when a storm drove her ashore near Port Credit, a few miles from York. Her terrible handling in open lake water set the precedent that stern-wheelers were not compatible with lake commerce.

On October 25,1887, VERNON (wooden propeller passenger/package-freight steamer, 158 foot, 560 tons, built in 1886, at Chicago, Illinois) foundered in a gale 6 miles northeast of Two Rivers Point on Lake Michigan. The death toll was estimated at 31 - 36. The sole survivor was picked up on a small raft two days later by the schooner POMEROY. He was on the raft with a dead body. Most casualties died of exposure. There were accusations at the time that the vessel was overloaded causing the cargo doors to be left open which allowed the water to pour in during the storm. This accusation was confirmed in 1969 (82 years after the incident) when divers found the wreck and indeed the cargo doors were open.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books include many other vessels with a much more detailed history.

10/24 - Across the Great Lakes and around the world steel producers are cutting production as orders for steel have fallen off due to the credit crisis.

"Steel buying has almost stopped all around the world due to a rapid economic deterioration, falling demand and deepening financial crisis," Sal Tharani, an analyst with Goldman Sachs, said in a recent note to investors.

Even after the current credit crisis is resolved, steelmakers will still have to contend with a slowing global economy, Tharani added. He predicts 2009 will be one of the toughest periods the steel industry has faced in several years.

Steel mills are served by Great Lakes freighters, which transport the raw materials needed to produce steel. A steel maker's contracts with shipping companies are for a set amount per season but can change when demand changes. The current slowdown in the steel market is likely to have negative effects on the shipping industry.

Steel prices - which hit record highs of $1,070 US per ton in the summer - have already fallen under $800 US a ton. "We believe that by the end of year, some 25 per cent of (U.S.) productive steel-making capacity will be idled, reflecting a quick response to a seeming tipping point in global steel economics," independent steel analyst Michelle Applebaum said in a note to clients in early October.

U.S. Steel in Canada is planning to shut its Hamilton blast furnace for up to eight weeks and in the U.S. cutting production by 250,000 tons at three of its mills in October and November. Essar Steel Algoma Inc. is shutting down a blast furnace that was brought back online in August at Sault Ste. Marie. Severstal is cutting its October production by 30 per cent at its operations in the U.S. including the former Ford Rouge Steel mill in Dearborn, Mich.

ArcelorMittal has said it will slash production by 15 per cent across its global operations and is idling four blast furnaces in the Great Lakes region. The idling will take place at the company's Burns Harbor, Indiana Harbor and Cleveland facilities taking an estimated million tons per month out of the market. One of the furnaces at the Burns Harbor facility was planned to be shut down for re-lining, that outage began two weeks ago.

Paul Gipson, president of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 6787 noted that as recently as a week ago, "you had people working overtime. This came quickly. I've never seen anything happen this fast. I mean it. It's like the banks told our customers 'No more money.'" Indeed, Gipson attributed the ramp-down specifically to the credit crisis. "Most of the industry's customers operate on credit," he said. "Now they're telling us 'No more orders.' They're going to empty out their warehouses and inventory."

By way of example, Gipson cited a drop in auto sales of 30 to 34 percent now. "The Big Three's sales have all dropped dramatically," he said. "But sales of all steel products have plummeted. And the price of steel is beginning to fall too."

Gipson expects the ramp-down to last at least 90 days. "I think we're going to be fine," Gipson observed. "It's just that there's a lot of scared money out there. Banks have got money but they're not lending money to other banks . . . I think it's going to take at least three months to get back to where it was.

ArcelorMittal issued the following statement Monday: "ArcelorMittal is selectively reducing capacity in certain markets in order to adapt supply to current demand. This is a temporary measure in response to the global economic slowdown ... and the resulting decrease in steel demand. We are continuously monitoring the situation in light of global developments and will update the market when we announce (third quarter) results on Nov. 5."

On the Great Lakes, Central Marine Logistics operates three vessels for ArcelorMittal ­ Wilfred Sykes, Joseph L. Block and Edward L. Ryerson.

10/24 - St. Catharines - Three tentative agreements covering St. Lawrence Seaway workers have been approved by a combined 81 percent of union members. The ballots cast last week averted a strike that threatened to shut down a critical shipping route that connects the U.S. Midwest and Canadian Prairie provinces with the Atlantic Ocean.

The Canadian Auto Workers union says the contracts provide raises of 9.25 per cent spread over three years and cost of living protections. Seaway workers also get one new paid holiday each February, up to 10 new paid days off each winter and increased shift premiums. The deals cover employees in supervisory, operations, maintenance and headquarters jobs.

The Seaway operates 13 locks that are needed to lift and lower ships as they travel the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River system.

Canadian Press

10/24 - Sturgeon Bay - A Great Lakes shipping company is adding capacity to its fleet through the reactivation of a cargo ship that has been in long-term lay-up since 1981 – and Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisc., is expected to do the work to get it back into service.

Late this summer, Ohio-based Interlake Steamship Co. announced its intention to modify the steamer John Sherwin, turning it into a self-unloading ship and giving the 806-foot-long freighter new diesel engines with lower emissions. "We had a customer who wanted some more capacity brought on-line and we're able to do that with the Sherwin," said Interlake president Mark Barker. "It's nice to get her going. She's a good ship and it's always nice when you can add capacity and grow the fleet."

The Sherwin was built in 1958 and was lengthened by 96 feet in 1973, according to information from Interlake. The vessel had been in long-term lay-up in Superior since 1981, but was moved to Chicago in 2006 where it was used for grain storage. In August the Sherwin was towed to Sturgeon Bay. "The interesting thing for us is the market allowed this to happen," said Patrick O'Hern, vice president and general manager of Bay Shipbuilding Co. in Sturgeon Bay.

O'Hern said the Sherwin project is divided into several phases including: Adding self-unloading equipment, new heavy-fuel engines from Bergen, a Norwegian company, and an automated engine control system and a new propeller and reduction gear.

Reactivation of the ship; upgrading of the pilothouse, industry and Coast Guard dry dock inspection, and replacement of hull steel as needed. "After being laid up for 27 years you can imagine many systems need inspection and repair," O'Hern said. "It's roughly a 20-month project and most of the boats we've been building recently are completed in less than a year." Bay Shipbuilding had almost 700 people working there in September, a number that can increase during the winter when many of the ships from the Great Lakes fleet make their way to the facility for winter repairs.

The Sherwin is one of two major jobs Bay Shipbuilding is carrying out for Interlake over the next two winters. The company is also installing new Bergen engines into the 806-foot Charles M. Beeghly, which is expected to arrive in Sturgeon Bay on Nov. 24, O'Hern said. Work on that vessel is expected to be done in early May.

Most of our building activities in the last eight years have been for the oil barge market and the Beeghly and Sherwin both come from the Great Lakes markets," he said. "Just the resurgence in the commodities our Great Lakes customers carry — coal, iron ore and stone — is very refreshing and very encouraging."

The rebuilt Sherwin is expected to enter service in early 2010, Barker said. "We're very excited about it," he said. "She'll be very efficient … and the engines that are going in will exceed current (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) standards for engine emissions." The cost of the project was not disclosed by Interlake.

"If the Beeghly is the anchor to winter 2008 and 2009, the Sherwin is the anchor to all of 2009," O'Hern said. "We have another boat to build next year, so the Sherwin and hull 770 will be the bulk of business in 2009. "It's pretty good to have that in today's economy."

From the Green Bay Press-Gazette

Marquette - Rod Burdick
Thursday at the Upper Harbor, Philip R. Clarke unloaded coal, and then loaded ore. The visit was her fourth of the season and second in October.

Toledo - Jim Hoffman
The tug Samuel De Champlain with the barge Innovation finished unloading cement at the Lafarge Dock and departed Thursday afternoon. The salt water vessel Starlight and the tug Sea Service with the barge Energy 6506 were at the Midwest Terminal Dock. The revised schedule for coal boats due into the CSX Dock has the John J. Boland due in Friday, H. Lee White on Saturday followed by the Saginaw and Herbert C. Jackson due in Wednesday. The revised schedule for ore boats due into the Torco Ore Dock has the John J. Boland and CSL Assiniboine due in Friday, Philip R. Clarke and Canadian Navigator due in Saturday, followed by the American Valor due in Sunday.

Ludington -
On Thursday at noon, the Sam Laud arrived in Ludington and lightered approximately 6000 tons of stone at the Great Lakes Materials Dock before continuing south to discharge the remainder of her cargo at St. Joe. On Friday, the Cuyahoga arrived in Ludington at 9 a.m. to deliver trap rock at the same dock.

10/24 - Port Huron - A crowd gathered early Thursday to view Port Huron’s first saltwater visitor in about eight years. “People were out here before the sun was up,” said Paul Maxwell, a spokesman for Acheson Ventures.

The MV Enchanter, a heavy-lift ship registered in Belgium, arrived at the Seaway Terminal – owned by Acheson – at about 7 a.m., he said. The ship transported two large electrical transformers from Holland across the Atlantic and up the St. Lawrence Seaway to Port Huron. Crews have until 1 p.m. to unload them.

The transformers will be transported to ITC Transmission Company’s Bunce Creek Station in Marysville where they will be installed in May, said Steve Molter, a senior engineering technician for ITC. “We’re updating the entire transmission system in Michigan,” said Molter. “This helps the reliability of the electrical grid here in Michigan.”

ITC, based in Novi, owns and maintains the electrical transmission system in Michigan.

Pictures in the News Photo Gallery

10/24 - The U.S. Coast Guard station in Milwaukee is getting a sleeker, faster boat to use for search-and-rescue efforts. One of the first Response Boat-Mediums that recently rolled off the assembly line arrived this week in Milwaukee. The $2.5 million, 45-foot-long boat will replace the Coast Guard’s 41-foot response boats here and in other parts of the country.

The Coast Guard contract for 180 Response Boat-Mediums will be split between Marinette Marine Corp. and Kvichak Marine Industries in Kent, Wash. The first 10 boats are being constructed by Kvichak while Marinette Marine, which is ramping up for construction at its Green Bay facility, is scheduled to build the 11th and 12th. Continued construction after the first dozen boats are completed is contingent upon testing. Assembly takes eight weeks.

The first three boats were delivered to Coast Guard stations in Oregon, Virginia and Florida, and Wisconsin’s was delivered this week. The Response Boat-Medium being tested on Lake Michigan will be the only one in the Great Lakes region so testing can be done in varying weather conditions, said Milwaukee Station Coast Guard Cmdr. Joe Malinauskas. “We’re very excited to get it. It’s packed with new technology and new capability we’re looking to use on Lake Michigan,” said Malinauskas.

The Response Boat-Medium will replace 25-year-old utility boats that are being phased out because of escalating maintenance costs. The new boats feature better electronics, more speed and power and more crew comforts such as heat, air conditioning and more seating, said Bryan Martin, field crew coordinator for Kvichak Marine Industries.

Featuring air bladders in the window seals and watertight doors, the Response Boat-Medium has the capability of overturning and righting itself in roughly seven seconds. The current boats can’t do that. Top speed for the old boats was 25 knots while the new boats can travel as fast as 43 knots. They’re also more maneuverable. “The response time has been cut in half,” said Martin.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

10/24 - Windsor - After overcoming insurance and refitting challenges, the tour boat Senator set forth on its maiden voyage from Windsor, Ont., Monday evening.

The city's newest river cruise vessel was originally scheduled to start offering public lunch, brunch, dinner and sightseeing cruises earlier this month. But due to complications, the first cruises would be offered this weekend, ship co-owner Bill Thompson said Monday. "We would have preferred to have started by the end of September but there were some issues beyond our control that needed addressing before we could get started," said Thompson. "Now we're ready to go and I think people are going to enjoy the experience."

The Senator will be docked at the city marina on the far east side between cruises and pick up passengers at the foot of Ouellette Avenue. Passengers on Monday's inaugural cruise included city councilors and employees from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism information centers, who are in Windsor for a convention.

The Senator had been offering cruises in the Ottawa area the past few years until it was acquired recently by Thompson and business partner Andrew Stanton, president of Hike Metal Products in Wheatley. The 80-foot vessel can carry a maximum of 140 passengers.

From the Windsor Star

Updates - October 24

News Photo Gallery updated

Historical Perspective Gallery updated - Henry Ford II

On October 24, 1886, the wooden steam barge RUDOLPH burned on Lake St. Clair and was beached. She was loaded with lumber from East Saginaw, Michigan, for Cleveland, Ohio.

On October 24, 1902, W. T. CHAPPELL (2-mast wooden schooner, 72 foot, 39 gross tons, built in 1877, at Sebewaing, Michigan) was carrying stove wood from Grand Marais, Michigan, to the Soo in a severe storm on Lake Superior when she sprang a leak. She was blown over and sank 4 miles from the Vermillion Life Saving Station. The Life Saving crew rescued the 2-man crew in the surf boat and took them to the Whitefish Point Lighthouse for the night since the storm was so severe.

The THUNTANK 6 (Hull#309) was launched October 24, 1969, at Wallsend, England, by Clelands Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., for Thun Tankers Ltd., London, U.K.. Renamed b.) ANTERIORITY in 1972. Purchased by Texaco Canada in 1975, renamed c.) TEXACO WARRIOR. Sold off-lakes in 1984, renamed d.) TRADER, e.) SEA CORAL in 1985, f.) TALIA II in 1985, g.) TALIA in 1985, STELLA ORION in 1995 and h.) SYRA in 2000.

The PHILIP D. BLOCK along with the W. W. HOLLOWAY scrap tow arrived at Recife, Brazil. October 24, 1986.

The THOMAS W. LAMONT and her former fleet mate, ENDERS M. VOORHEES arrived at Alegeciras, Spain on October 24, 1987, on the way to the cutters’ torch. The LAMONT was one of the last bulkers that retained her telescoping hatch covers to the very end.

The NIPIGON BAY arrived Thunder Bay, Ontario, on October 24, 1980, where repairs were made from damage caused by her grounding earlier in the month.

On October 24, 1855, ALLEGHENY (wooden propeller, 178 foot, 468 tons, built in 1849, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying general merchandise and passengers in a storm, when she anchored near the Milwaukee harbor entrance for shelter. She lost her stack and then was unable to get up steam and was helpless. She dragged her anchor and came in close to the beach where she was pounded to pieces. There was no loss of life. Her engine and most of her cargo were removed by the end of the month. Her engine was installed in a new vessel of the same name built to replace her.

On October 24, 1873, just a month after being launched, the scow WAUBONSIE capsized at St. Clair, Michigan, and lost her cargo of bricks. She was righted and towed to Port Huron, minus masts, rigging and bowsprit, for repairs.

On October 24, 1886, LADY DUFFERIN (3-mast wooden schooner-barge, 135 foot, 356 gross tons, built at Port Burwell, Ontario) was lost from the tow of the propeller W B HALL and went ashore near Cabot Head on Georgian Bay. No lives were lost, but the vessel was a total loss.

On October 24, 1953, the Yankcanuck Steamship Lines' MANZZUTTI (steel crane ship, 246 foot, 1,558 gross tons, built in 1903, at Buffalo, New York as J. S. KEEFE) ran aground south of the channel into the Saugeen River. The tug RUTH HINDMAN from Killarney pulled her free. No damage was reported.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books include many other vessels with a much more detailed history.

10/23 - Oswego, N.Y. - A Canadian shipping company is looking to bring container shipping into the Great Lakes as early as 2011 and plans to make Oswego, N.Y., the only American container port on Lake Ontario. Oswego would become one of the first container shipping ports anywhere on the Great Lakes, and the proposal could double the number of cargo vessels using the port.

Container shipping - using standardized cargo boxes that can be transferred from ship to truck or train - is the most widely used type of shipping in the world. Great Lakes ports have traditionally been used for bulk shipping, for unpackaged commodities such as grain, iron ore or cement.

Under the plan, Oswego would be linked to the $300 million Melford International Terminal under development along the Strait of Canso in Nova Scotia. The strait links the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada and the Atlantic Ocean. Once operating, the Nova Scotia terminal would be the closest North American container port to Europe and the Suez Canal. It would cut a day off the trans-Atlantic voyage for shippers who have been using container ports in the New York City area.

At Melford, the containers, large boxes called 20-foot equivalent units or TEUs, would be loaded onto smaller container ships which would take the cargo through the St. Lawrence Seaway and into the Great Lakes. The containers can hold almost every kind of consumer goods. Once unloaded at Oswego, the containers would be dispersed by rail and truck, said Jonathan Daniels, Port of Oswego Authority director. Representatives from Melford will be in Oswego Nov. 3. The Port of Oswego Authority would decide whether to go ahead with the project.

Currently there is no container shipping on the Great Lakes and no port in the five-lake system can handle containers, said Collister Johnson Jr., administrator of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. The Seaway corporation also is looking to establish container ports in Cleveland, Toledo, Ohio, and Detroit, Johnson said.

The Great Lakes did not attract container shipping in the past because the Seaway is closed to shipping in the winter and many of the ocean-going container ships are too large for the Seaway locks. However, the Melford terminal and rising fuel costs have made container shipping on the Great Lakes competitive, Daniels said.

Installing a container operation at Oswego would cost between $3 million and $3.5 million, Daniels said. It also would require an additional staff of seven workers and other longshoremen to handle the cargo, Daniels said. The port has 12 full-time workers and uses a pool of about 40 longshoremen who work when a ship is in.

In 2007, 85 cargo vessels stopped at Oswego. More than 1 million tons of cargo were handled at the port, including 182,000 tons of international cargo. The container operation could accommodate two to three ships a week during the season, which roughly lasts from April to November, Daniels said. The container site would be set up on 15 acres on the east side of the port. Additional equipment, such as cranes, also could be needed, depending on the type of container ships stopping at Oswego.

Container volume worldwide is expected to double in the next 10 to 15 years, and ports in the United States and around the world are already close to or at capacity, said Gary La Point, assistant professor of supply chain management at the Whitman School at Syracuse University.

The country's main ports at Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland, all in California, and in New York City have no room to expand, he said. The U.S. needs to relieve the stress either by getting goods through Canadian ports such as Prince Rupert, Vancouver or Montreal, or through eight new ports being developed in Mexico, La Point said.

Placing a container port in Oswego would certainly relieve the capacity problem, La Point said. "They must have figured out that it's still less expensive to do that rather than deal with the congestion (at the ports)," he said. Since most goods are now shipped by container, during the peak container shipping season from June to November, Oswego's port would receive containers with just about any kind of goods imaginable, such as clothing, electronics and food, La Point said.

Courtesy Syracuse Online

Alpena/Stoneport - Ben & Chanda McClain
The tug Samuel de Champlain and barge Innovation loaded cement at Lafarge on Monday. They left port and anchored out in the bay Monday and part of Tuesday to wait out the weather before heading down Lake Huron. The Alpena is expected to return Wednesday night. American Victory tied up at Stoneport Wednesday morning to take on cargo, while the Arthur M. Anderson arrived off the dock later in the day and waited at anchor until the American Victory departed.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
Manistee was back again on Wednesday with a split load for the Bay City and Saginaw Wirt Stone docks. She was unloading in Saginaw during the evening and was expected to be outbound late Wednesday or early Thursday morning.

Updates - October 23

News Photo Gallery updated

Historical Perspective Gallery updated - Henry Ford II

Weekly Updates have been added

Trip Raffle Page updated

On this day in 1949, the new Canada Steamship Line steamer HOCHELAGA successfully completed her sea trials in Georgian Bay. She departed Collingwood the next day to load her first cargo of grain at Port Arthur.

On October 23,1887, the small wooden scow-schooner LADY ELGIN was driven ashore about one mile north of Goderich, Ontario, in a severe storm that claimed numerous other vessels. By October 26, she was broken up by the waves.

The CARL GORTHON, was launched October 23, 1970, for Rederi A/B Gylfe, Hsingborg, Sweden. Sold Canadian in 1980, renamed b.) FEDERAL PIONEER and c.) CECILIA DESGAGNES in 1985. In 2000, she was used as a movie set, unofficially renamed LADY PANAMA.

The rail car ferry GRAND RAPIDS was launched October 23, 1926, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, for the Grand Trunk-Milwaukee Car Ferry Co., Muskegon, Michigan. She entered service in December of 1926.

WILLIAM B. SCHILLER (Hull#372) was launched October 23, 1909, at Lorain, Ohio, for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio.

October 23, 1953 - The steamer SPARTAN arrived Ludington on her maiden voyage. Captain Harold A. Altschwager was in command.

On October 23, 1868, F. T. BARNEY (wooden schooner, 255 tons, built in 1856, at Vermilion, Ohio) collided with the schooner TRACY J BRONSON and sank below Nine Mile Point, Northwest of Rogers City in Lake Michigan. The wreck was found in 1987, and sits in deep water, upright in almost perfect condition.

On October 23, 1873, the wooden steam barge GENEVA was loaded with wheat and towing the barge GENOA in a violent storm on Lake Superior. She bent her propeller shaft and the flailing blades cut a large hole in her stern. The water rushed in and she went down quickly 15 miles off Caribou Island. No lives were lost. This was her first season of service. She was one of the first bulk freighters with the classic Great Lakes fore and aft deck houses.

On October 23, 1883, JULIA (2-mast wooden schooner, 89 foot, 115 gross tons, built in 1875, at Smith's Falls, Ontario) was coming into Oswego harbor with a load of barley when she struck a pier in the dark and sank. No lives were lost.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books include many other vessels with a much more detailed history.

10/22 - Owen Sound - Trips on the Chi Cheemaun were down about seven percent this summer compared to last.

The Big Canoe steamed into Owen Sound, Ont., harbor Monday, where it spends the winter. Captain Kerry Adams says European visitors seemed as plentiful as ever but overall numbers were down. Even so, Adams expects it will be business as usual next year.

Abut 600 people were on board the Chi Cheemaun for the annual autumn run from Tobermory, Ont., to Owen Sound. The vessel will head back north next May.

From CKNX radio

Photos in the News Photo Gallery

Toledo – Jim Hoffman
The tug Michigan with the barge Great Lakes, and the tug Sea Service with the barge Energy 6506, were at the Midwest Terminal Dock Tuesday. The tug Invincible with the barge McKee Sons finished unloading cargo at the Midwest Terminal Dock and departed Tuesday afternoon. The Saginaw finished unloading stone at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock and proceeded over to the CSX Coal Dock early Tuesday afternoon to load coal. Saginaw finished loading coal and departed from the CSX Dock Tuesday evening. Calumet arrived at the CSX Coal Dock late Tuesday morning but had to wait for the Saginaw to load coal first. When Saginaw left the Calumet shifted up the dock to load coal. The revised schedule for coal boats due into the CSX Dock has the John J. Boland due in Friday followed by the H. Lee White on Saturday. The revised schedule for ore boats due into the Torco Dock has the Algosteel due in late Tuesday night. The John J. Boland due in Thursday. The CSL Assiniboine due in Friday followed by the Phillip R. Clarke on Saturday.

10/22 – Cleveland - Iron ore shipments on the Great Lakes totaled 6.5 million net tons in September, an increase of 8.2 percent compared to a year ago. The trade also outperformed the month’s 5-year average by nearly 9 percent.

Despite the increases, the iron ore trade continued to struggle with the inefficiencies inherent with lack of adequate dredging. The largest iron ore cargo in September – 66,761 net tons – still represented only 92 percent of the record cargo carried in 1997, a period when water levels
allowed for near full loads.

For the year, the Great Lakes iron ore trade stands at 45.6 million net tons, an increase of 9.8 percent compared to a year ago. Shipments also are ahead of the 5-year average for the first three quarters by nearly the same margin.

More information is available at www.lcaships.com

Source: Lake Carriers’ Association

10/22 - The town of Goderich, Ont., is going in a new direction in its search for more industrial land. Administrator Larry McCabe says council has authorized staff to look into the possibility of accessing funding from the Build Canada fund. That that funding would be used to reclaim land in the North Harbor.

McCabe says it has not been determined how much land would be re-claimed, but they have at least two industries interested in locating in the harbour. McCabe says re-claiming land in the harbor would also provide opportunities for expansion for industries already there. McCabe says they'll work closely with the Goderich Port Management Corporation as well as current users of the harbor as they proceed with the reclamation project.

From CKNX radio Goderich

Updates - October 22

News Photo Gallery updated

Historical Perspective Gallery updated - Henry Ford II

Weekly Updates have been added

Trip Raffle Page updated

On this day in 1980, the converted ELTON HOYT 2ND loaded her first cargo of 1,000 tons of pellets at Taconite Harbor. After field-testing her new self unloading gear, she loaded 21,000 tons of pellets for delivery to Chicago.

The Anchor Line's CONEMAUGH (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 251 foot, 1,609 gross tons, built in 1880, at West Bay City, Michigan), and the Union Line's NEW YORK (wooden propeller package freighter, 269 foot, 1,922 gross tons, built in 1879, at Buffalo, New York) collided on the Detroit River at 7:30 p.m. The CONEMAUGH sank close to the Canadian shore. She was carrying flour and other package freight from Chicago to Buffalo. She was later raised and repaired, and lasted until 1906, when she was lost in a storm on Lake Erie.

The JOHN B. AIRD arrived at Sarnia, Ontario, on October 21, 1990, for repairs after suffering a conveyor belt fire a week earlier.

The JAMES A. FARRELL and fleet mate RICHARD TRIMBLE were the first vessels to lock down bound in the newly opened Davis Lock at the Soo on October 21, 1914.

On October 21, 1954, the GEORGE M. HUMPHREY set a record when she took aboard 22,605 gross tons of iron ore at Superior, Wisconsin. The record stood until 1960.

The crew on the SAMUEL MATHER was safely removed from the badly exposed steamer on October 21, 1923, by the Eagle Harbor life saving crew. She had run aground on the 19th. Renamed b.) PATHFINDER in 1925, sold Canadian in 1968, renamed c.) GODERICH. Renamed d.) SOO RIVER TRADER in 1980, e.) PINEGLEN 1982. Scrapped at Port Maitland in 1984.

It was announced on October 21, 1986, that Canada Steamship Lines and Upper Lakes Group would merge CSL's Collingwood shipyard and ULS' Port Weller shipyard and create Canadian Shipbuilding & Engineering (1986) Ltd.

On October 21, 1941, AMERICA (steel tug, 80 foot, 123 gross tons, built in 1897, at Buffalo, New York) was on a cable along with the tug OREGON off Belle Isle in the Detroit River trying to pull the steel bulk freighter B. F. JONES off a bar. The cable tightened, pulling AMERICA out of the water and spinning her upside down. Six of the crew of 13 lost their lives. AMERICA was later recovered. Still owned by Great Lakes Towing Co., AMERICA was renamed b.) MIDWAY in 1982 and c.) WISCONSIN in 1983.

October 21, 1954 - Capt. Allen K. Hoxie, skipper of the MILWAUKEE CLIPPER, retired.

On October 21, 1886, W. L. BROWN (wooden propeller freighter, 140 foot, 336 gross tons, built in 1872, at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, as NEPTUNE) was carrying iron ore from Escanaba for DePere, Wisconsin. A storm struck while she was on Green Bay. She sprang a leak one mile from Peshtigo Reef and went down in 76 feet of water. No lives were lost. All of her outfit and machinery were removed the following summer. This vessel's first enrollment was issued at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on 22 April 1873, as NEPTUNE, but this enrollment was surrendered at Milwaukee on 30 September 1880, endorsed "broken up." However she was re-enrolled as a new vessel at Milwaukee on 15 June 1880, having been rebuilt by A. L. Johnson at Green Bay, Wisconsin, as the W. L. BROWN.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books include many other vessels with a much more detailed history.

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Today in Great Lakes History - October 22