Coast Guard Begins Icebreaking in Northern Great Lakes

12/29
The Coast Guard started Operation Taconite Friday morning after colder than normal temperatures continued to increase ice formation in the northern great lakes region. 

 Operation Taconite is the Coast Guard’s largest domestic icebreaking operation, encompassing Lake Superior, St. Mary’s River, and the Straits of Mackinac.  As a result of the operation the Captain of the Port may close or open channels, as ice conditions require. Due consideration is given to the protection of the marine environment, waterway improvements, aids to navigation, the need for cross channel traffic (e.g. ferries), the availability of icebreakers, and the safety of the island residents who use naturally formed ice bridges for transportation to and from the mainland. 

  Currently there are no channel closures, however the implementation of Operation Taconite will place some additional measures on shipping through the St. Mary’s River and Straits such as restricting tanker transits to daylight only with escorts, reducing speeds by 2 m.p.h. in various parts of the river, and placing additional reporting points throughout the operation’s area. 

  The Coast Guard would like to remind all recreational ice users that there are no channel closures at this time, and to plan their activity carefully, use caution on the ice, and stay away from shipping channels.  Recreational users and island residents should stay tuned to local media resources for the status of channel closures.

Ice is also causing problems in Western Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair. Numerous vessels have been delayed due to heavy ice in these areas.

Reported by: USCG and Barry Stevens

Grinch Spoils McKee Sons’ Christmas

12/29
Manistee did not have a nice Christmas present for the McKee Sons when the vessel entered port Christmas evening. The McKee Sons arrived at 7 PM, coming from South Chicago, Illinois' KCBX dock, laden with Western coal for the Tondu Dock. As the vessel attempted to negotiate the turn at the foot of Cherry St. 8 inch thick plate iced hampered the vessel's turn. After about a dozen attempts at backing and ramming, the vessel finally made the turn, and headed upriver.

As the vessel was motoring up the channel, it was informed that the CSX railroad bridge was having difficulty opening, and that the vessel would have to stop and wait while repairs were made. The McKee Sons stopped about 1,000 feet short of the Maple Street Bridge, and waited for 20 minutes as CSX workers completed repairs.

Ice between Maple St. and US-31 was around 4 inches thick, and made the sweeping turn to port between the bridges very difficult. The vessel was forced to back six times, carving off a sliver of ice each time, and turning the boat slightly.

At 11 p.m., over four hours into her trip, which should've taken only an hour and fifteen minutes, the vessel was only abeam of the Seng Stone Dock. The vessel finally reached the Tondu Dock in Filer City early on the morning of the 26th.

The vessel's trip out of Manistee was almost as bad as her entrance. While the track through Manistee Lake was still visible, and only slightly iced over, Manistee's two drawbridges were not cooperating. As the vessel was 500 ft. from the US-31 Bridge, a power failure forced the vessel to stop, as the bridge's gates would not go down. After 15 minutes, the problem was fixed, and the McKee Sons proceeded through the first bridge. It was then discovered, while the vessel was between the bridges, that the US-31 Bridge would not close, thus the Maple St. Bridge could not be open, as it would not allow emergency vehicles to travel from the north to south sides of town. The vessel was forced to wait between the two drawbridges for 45 minutes, as US-31's bridge would not close, and Maple Street would not open.

Finally, around 3 p.m. Sunday, Maple St. was able to open, but the North span could not be completely raised, thus leaving the McKee Sons with a much narrower opening. The trip from Maple Street to the lake was uneventful, and the vessel was outbound at the piers at 4 p.m., 21 hours after her arrival.

The McKee Sons departed for South Chicago, where it will load for Manistee again. The vessel was scheduled to arrive back at around 5 a.m. Tuesday with another load of coal for Tondu. The vessel will have three more loads for Manistee after Tuesday's trip, before the end of the season.

Reported by: Chris Franckowiak

Layup Roundup

12/29
The Paul H. Townsend arrived at the West Michigan Mart Dock in Muskegon on December 14, 2004 ending her season. (Reported by Herm Phillips)

The J.A.W. Iglehart arrived at the Milwaukee Lafarge terminal for winter lay up Monday night, December 27. This is the first time in memory that the Iglehart has laid up in Milwaukee. The traditional lay up dock for the Iglehart has always been Detroit. (Reported by Andy LaBorde)

For more Lay-up listings visit the 11th Annual Lay-Up List

Port Report

12/29
Duluth-Superior
Reported by Al Miller
Walter J. McCarthy Jr. remained at the Duluth port terminal Wednesday morning (Dec. 22) undergoing repairs to its unloading boom. It was scheduled to load Dec. 23 at Midwest Energy Terminal.

Despite frigid weather that's rapidly making ice in the harbor, Twin Ports ore and coal docks have full schedules through the end of the year.

At the Duluth DMIR ore dock, vessels currently are scheduled through New Year's Eve. John G. Munson is due Dec. 24, Charles M. Beeghly on Dec. 25, Edwin H. Gott, Dec. 26, Halifax, Dec. 28, John J. Boland, Dec. 29, Mesabi Miner, Dec. 30, Paul R. Martin, Dec. 31, and Frontenac, Dec. 31.

Oglebay Norton was scheduled to load at BNSF ore dock in Superior on Wednesday, with Roger Blough due in the evening. That dock has vessels scheduled at least to the end of the year.

Midwest Energy Terminal was loading Indiana Harbor on Dec. 22 with Walter J. McCarthy Jr. due on Dec. 23. The dock has vessels scheduled through mid-January, with Mesabi Miner due Jan. 15 and then scheduled to arrive Jan. 19 with no further destination listed, indicating it may lay up at the dock.

Paul R. Tregurtha is remaining a coal workhorse to the end, with loads scheduled at SMET on Dec. 24, Dec. 30, Jan. 4 and Jan. 9.

Marquette
Reported by Lee Rowe
The Lee A. Tregurtha loaded ore on a very frosty Sunday evening. The Herbert C. Jackson and H. Lee White arrived later that evening.

Alpena
Reported by Ben and Chanda McClain
The past few days have been active with vessels coming and going in the area. Last Wednesday the Cuyahoga brought slag to Lafarge and unloaded it into a hopper while tied up at the coal dock. The Cuyahoga departed before 4pm.  

On Thursday an unknown tug/ barge was anchored in the bay waiting out the weather.

On Christmas Eve morning the Fred R. White Jr. attempted to come into port to deliver coal for the DPI factory but the ice was too thick in the channel and river. The White ended up leaving and unloading the cargo in the Soo. It is unknown if the coal will be hauled back by truck to Alpena.

On Sunday morning the J.A.W Iglehart came into port among ice and snow squalls. The tugboat Manitou assisted the Iglehart by breaking a path to Lafarge. The Manitou will be in the area to make sure the cement carriers get through the ice.  Monday morning saw the G.L  Ostrander barge Integrity load at Lafarge,  with the Steamer Alpena arriving by early afternoon to take on cargo for Whitefish, ON.

The Pathfinder and the Great Lakes Trader were loading at Stoneport on Sunday & Monday.

Saginaw
Reported by Todd Shorkey
The tug Joyce L. VanEnkevort & barge Great Lakes Trader were inbound for the Wirt Stone dock in Bay City late Friday afternoon. The Joyce L. left the notch and worked the entrance channel cutting a track before hooking up with the Great Lakes Trader for the inbound trip. The Tug Gregory J. Busch met up with the pair at the Essexville Range Lights to assist getting through the bridges and into the Wirt dock. At one point the Joyce L. was at full ahead and just making four knots. They were scheduled to lighter at Bay City and finish in Saginaw, but due to the ice they were talking about dropping the entire load in Bay City.

Port Huron
Reported by Jeff Gushman
On Tuesday the Arthur M. Anderson was downbound past the Blue Water bridges around 12:30 p.m. Algorail followed down at 1:30 p.m. The tug Anglian Lady and barge were secured at the Government Dock in Sarnia. Canadian Progress was secured at Lambton Power station unloading coal.

Coast Guard Transports Man From Vessel in Lake St. Clair

12/29
On Sunday morning the U.S. Coast Guard transported a crew member from the American Republic while it passed through Lake St. Clair.

Coast Guard Group Detroit received a call at 7 a.m. that Karem Kattar, 37, a crewmember aboard the motor vessel American Republic, was complaining of chest pains.

A rescue helicopter was launched from Coast Guard Air Station Detroit. Once on scene, a rescue swimmer was lowered to the deck of the vessel to assess Kattar.

The American Republic was on its way to Cleveland when Kattar started to experience pains in his chest. He was transported to Selfridge Air National Guard Base, and then to Mt. Clemons General Hospital via EMS.

Kattar has been admitted to the hospital and was reported to be in stable condition.

10 days earlier Air Station Detroit dispatched a rescue helicopter at 10:55 p.m. on Dec. 16 to respond to a crewmember on the Charles M. Beeghly experiencing cardio-pulmonary problems off of Harbor Beach, Mich.

Thirty-five minutes after departing Air Station Detroit the rescue helicopter arrived on scene and hoisted two personnel off the vessel and transported them to the Port Huron hospital.

The rescue helicopter was crewed by LTJG Timothy Schmitz, LT Zachary Glass, AMT2 Ryan Curry, and AST1 Charles Wolfe.

Reported by: USCG

Photo Gallery

12/29
This Week's News Photo Gallery

Today in Great Lakes History - December 29

B F JONES (2) was launched December 29, 1906, as a.) GENERAL GARRETSON.

KINSMAN INDEPENDENT (1) was launched in 1906, as a.) WILLIAM B KERR (Hull#72) at Chicago, Illinois by Chicago Ship Building Co. for the Weston Transit Co.

The GEORGE M HUMPHREY (1) was christened on December 29, 1926.

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

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

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

Today in Great Lakes History - December 28
The HENRY FORD II was laid up in the Rouge Steel slip at Dearborn, Michigan on December 28, 1988.

On 28 December 1907, CALDERA (steel propeller freighter, 504 foot, 6328 gross tons) was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan.

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

Today in Great Lakes History - December 27
The SAVIC (CLIFFS VICTORY) cleared the Welland Canal on Christmas night 1985, and finally anchored at Pointe aux Trembles near Montreal, Quebec on December 27th, awaiting another load of scrap. The SAVIC remained there the entire winter, because the underwriters ordered that her hull be re-enforced by welding straps to her stress points for her overseas journey.

The THOMAS LAMONT as a single tow arrived at Aliaga, Turkey on December 27, 1987, where she was scrapped. The LAMONT was one of the last bulkers that retained her telescoping hatch covers to the very end.

Today in Great Lakes History - December 26
In 1981, the steamer ENDERS M VOORHEES laid up for the last time at the Hallett Dock #5 in Duluth, Minnesota.

On 26 December 1916, the wreck of the wooden self-unloading freighter TOPEKA was leveled by dynamiting. She sank just off Windsor/Sandwich, Ontario in the Detroit River on 15 April 1916, in a collision with the small steamer CHRISTOPHER. Her machinery was removed prior to dynamiting.

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

Today in Great Lakes History - December 24
December 24, 1969 - The CITY OF FLINT 32 made her last trip out of Ludington, Michigan pulled by 2 tugs. She was sold to Norfolk and Western Railway Company to be converted into a river ferry barge and renamed b.) ROANOKE by Nicholson’s Terminal & Dock Co. at Ecorse, Michigan.

On 24 December 1910, ALSAKA (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 165 foot, 348 tons, built in 1878, at Detroit, Michigan as a.) ACORN) was sheltering from a storm a few miles from Tobermory, Ontario, when she caught fire from an overheated boiler and burned to a total loss. She was originally built as a sidewheel passenger vessel and when rebuilt in 1889, her engine went into the steamer FRANK E KIRBY.

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

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

Today in Great Lakes History - December 23
The IMPERIAL ST CLAIR was selected to participate in the three-year winter navigation experiment during which the Soo Locks remained open all year. On December 23, 1976, at the very onset, she ran aground entering ice-jammed Parry Sound on Georgian Bay in a blinding snow squall. One of her cargo tanks ruptured spilling 1,800 barrels of diesel oil.

The SAVIC (CLIFFS VICTORY) was downbound past Detroit, Michigan December 23, 1985, by-passing a 15,000 ton load of scrap because of the lack of time to clear the Seaway.

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

The SIR TREVOR DAWSON was laid up after the Great War until December 23, 1920, when she was sold to Pioneer Steamship Co. and renamed c) CHARLES L HUTCHINSON (3).

On 23 December 1905, JAMES B WOOD (steel propeller freighter, 514 foot, 7159 gross tons) was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan. In 1913, she was renamed ARCTURUS.

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

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

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

Boatnerd on Christmas Holiday

12/23

Happy holidays from all of us at boatnerd.com. We are taking a short Christmas break so we can spend these next few days with family and friends. The updates will resume next week. Please hold off on sending news and photos until Monday. Thanks for your support.

Roger, George and the crew

 

Mackinaw Construction Continues; Launch Set March 19

12/23

The new U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Mackinaw  is rapidly taking shape along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Marinette, Wis., in preparation for the October date it will report for duty at Cheboygan, Mich., according to a recent story in the Cheboygan Daily Tribune.

The vessel  is currently hidden during construction inside a facility at the Marinette Marine Corporation shipyard on the Menominee River. The building measures more than 350 feet long and 250 feet wide, with a ceiling that is 60 feet high. The Mackinaw is being built in one of two 100-foot shipbuilding bays, the other occupied by a new Staten Island ferryboat that will be capable of carrying more than 4,000 passengers and 30 vehicles.

"Construction of the Mackinaw is right on schedule," verified Mike Hoard, program manager for the project. "We can work a predictable schedule indoors. It's what I would call a shirt-sleeve work environment, the temperature inside is always 60 degrees."

Hoard said the Mackinaw will be kept indoors until March 4. The actual launch set for March 19.

"Once it's outside, the pilot house will be erected, and the stack and mast are all put on," Hoard explained. "The ship will be about 90 percent completed for the launch."

Mrs. Jean Hastert, the sponsor for the new icebreaker, will christen the vessel at the launch ceremony. Mrs. Hastert is the wife of Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert, R-Batavia, Ill. Following the launch, builder ship trials are scheduled for June 21 with a dry-dock session set for June 24 to correct problems and conduct more tests. Post acceptance trials are slated for Aug. 31 and the crew ramp-up is due for early October, 2005..

The new Mackinaw (WLBB-30) will take over the main dock space at the Coast Guard Moorings while the older version of the Mackinaw (WAGB-83) will move to a dock in the turning basin, awaiting its decommissioning following a winter of "training" her replacement. Then, WAGB-83 could be converted into a maritime museum with bed and breakfast capabilities and move to a new location.

In the meantime, both dock sites will receive repairs and upgrading to serve the vessels.

Reported by the Cheboygan Daily Tribune

 

Rochester Will Bid on Spirit of Ontario

12/23

The Rochester, N.Y., City Council gave its approval Tuesday night to turn the financially troubled private service into a publicly run operation, agreeing to create a nonprofit corporation to try to buy the troubled Spirit of Ontario high-speed ferry at an upcoming foreclosure auction. 

City officials now must scramble to create the corporation and appoint its board of directors before the court-ordered Feb. 28 auction. And there's no guarantee that the new corporation would be the successful bidder.

The Export Finance and Insurance Corp., an arm of the Australian government, has offered to loan the city up to $40 million to keep the ferry in Rochester, meaning no upfront public money would be needed to restart the service.

But there's still a risk for taxpayers because the city plans to guarantee the loan. Should the ferry flop again or if revenue doesn't meet expenses in any given year, taxpayers could end up footing the bill.

Reported by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Port Report

12/23

Port Huron

Reported by Jeff Gushman, Dave Wobser
On December 21st, Algocen passed beneath the twin spans of the Blue Water Bridges at 1930. She saluted in response to a boatnerd’s car horn and proceeded downriver. As of 22:10 Wednesday, the Algocen was stopped at Wharf 16 the R & P dock in the Welland. No ETD was given. She is bound for a Quebec port to unload, then she will be retired from service.

Duluth-Superior

Reported by Al Miller
Walter J. McCarthy Jr. remained at the Duluth port terminal Wednesday morning undergoing repairs to its unloading boom. It was scheduled to load Dec. 23 at Midwest Energy Terminal. Despite frigid weather that's rapidly making ice in the harbor, Twin Ports ore and coal docks have full schedules through the end of the year.

At the Duluth DMIR ore dock, vessels currently are scheduled through New Year's Eve. John G. Munson is due Dec. 24, Charles M. Beeghly on Dec. 25, Edwin H. Gott, Dec. 26, Halifax, Dec. 28, John J. Boland, Dec. 29, Mesabi Miner, Dec. 30, Paul R. Martin, Dec. 31, and Frontenac, Dec. 31.

Oglebay Norton was scheduled to load at BNSF ore dock in Superior on Wednesday, with Roger Blough due in the evening. That dock has vessels scheduled at least to the end of the year.

Midwest Energy Terminal was loading Indiana Harbor on Dec. 22 with Walter J. McCarthy Jr. due on Dec. 23. The dock has vessels scheduled through mid-January, with Mesabi Miner due Jan. 15 and then scheduled to arrive Jan. 19 with no further destination listed, indicating it may lay up at the dock.

Paul R. Tregurtha is remaining a coal workhorse to the end, with loads scheduled at SMET on Dec. 24, Dec. 30, Jan. 4 and Jan. 9.

Sault Ste. Marie

Reported by Roger LeLievre
Wednesday evening was quiet on the St. Marys River, as snow squalls intermittently obscured landmarks and the remaining aids to navigation. The saltie BBC California left the Algoma Export Dock around 5:30 p.m., bound for the St. Lawrence Seaway. Her place was taken immediately by Algomarine. Mesabi Miner, wheelhouse decorated with colored lights and her unloading boom topped off with a Christmas tree, passed downbound around the same time. The tugs Reliance and Avenger IV were upbound in the lower river during the late evening as was the motor vessel Yankcanuck, likely bound for winter layup at her Sault, Ont., dock, and the John G. Munson. The Pineglen was inbound Isle Parisienne at 9:30 p.m., downbound for Quebec City. There is shore ice along the upper part of the river, but as yet no ice is blocking the ship channel. Subzero weather forecast for the next few nights may bring that situation to an end. Unlike recent years, there is more than a foot of snow on the ground at the Soo.

Detroit

Reported by Luke Archer
In the afternoon hours of Dec. 21 the Canadian Coast Guard cutter Samuel Risley lead the way through the ice for the Cuyahoga. At the same time the tug Mark Hannah was entering the river covered in ice. A bit later the Algonova passed downbound with an icy bow.

 

Port Report

12/22

Saginaw

Reported by Ed Saliwonchyk
The Saginaw was in Owen Sound Tuesday morning unloading at the Great Lakes Grain Elevators. It is unusual to have a ship unloading here this late in the season.

At the same time, there have been one or two Algoma Marine ships in the harbor by this time for winter lay up. However, only the Chi Cheemaun is so far moored on the west wall of the inner harbor.

Saginaw unloading

 

Today in Great Lakes History 

December 22

The SAVIC (CLIFFS VICTORY) finally arrived at Masan, South Korea December 22, 1986, for dismantling there which was completed in 1987.

DETROIT EDISON (2) grounded on Gray's Reef in northern Lake Michigan, December 22, 1980, inflicting heavy damage to 350 feet of her bottom.

The GORDON C LEITCH (1) was laid up on December 22, 1981, no longer economically able to compete and was used for grain storage at Toronto.

RAYMOND H REISS arrived at Ramey's Bend, Port Colborne, Ontrio on December 22, 1980, for scrapping there.

LIGHTSHIP 103 was commissioned December 22, 1920.

On 22 December 1922, CORNELL (wooden propeller tug, 72 foot, 66 gross tons, built in 1888, at Buffalo, New York) foundered somewhere between Cleveland and Erie, Pennsylvania while enroute to new owners in Syracuse, New York. She had a crew of 8. The weather was clear and mild with almost no wind. She had just been put back into service and inspected after several years of idleness. Her ice-encrusted lifeboat was found on 26 December, 25 miles east of Long Point, containing the frozen body of the fireman.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Wally Moroziuk, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series

This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history

 

J.W. Westcott Mailboat Enters Winter Layup

12/21

Monday marked the end of the 109th season of delivering "mail, by the pail" by the J. W. Westcott company.  Under the capable hands of Senior Captain Sam Buchanan, the mailboat J.W. Westcott II worked her way from the Westcott Dock in the shadow of the Ambassador Bridge to the Gregory Boat Basin behind Belle Isle.  The boat had to fight its way through 4-6 inches of ice which has appeared on the Detroit River almost overnight. The last mail delivery was made to the M/V Algomarine, with earlier deliveries to the M/V Mississagi and the S/S Lee A. Tregurtha. The pilot boat Huron Maid also departed Detroit today bound for her lay up dock in Port Huron following the M/V Mississagi and M/V Roger Blough through the ice.

Reported by Wade P. Streeter

Algomarine
Westcott Capt. Sam Buchanan
Westcott tucked in for the winter
Passing Lee A Tregurtha
Federal Shimanto gave a hearty salute
 

Loan from Aussies May Save Spirit of Ontario Service

12/21 

Australia wants to loan the city of Rochester $40 million to buy the idled Spirit of Ontario high-speed ferry that ran between Toronto and Rochester this summer before shutting down with debts of $1.7 million.

The Australian Export Finance and Insurance Corp. offered the city a $40 million line of credit to buy and relaunch the catamaran, according to a story in last Friday's Rochester Democrat and News.

The $42.5 million ferry, built in Perth, Australia, has been tied up since its private owner, Canadian American Transportation Systems, suspended twice-a-day roundtrip crossings to Toronto on Sept. 7.

The 284-foot-long, five-story-tall vessel, which can load 774 passengers and 220 cars, is being auctioned off Feb. 28 to repay creditors. The Australian agency, one of the ferry's main investors, wants the city to decide by Wednesday whether to accept its offer. The loan, carrying a 3.6 percent interest rate, would be paid back over 15 years.

Unable to woo private investors or establish a public authority that would sell government-backed bonds, the mayor proposed Friday creating a nonprofit corporation to buy the ferry and restart service in April.

Canadian American Transportation Systems blamed its financial woes on a string of mishaps and cross-border regulatory hurdles. More than $50 million in public funds were invested to build port terminals.

Reported by Joseph Woytta

 

Port Report

12/21

Reported by Cathy Kohring
At 2 p.m. Monday the Algocen passed downbound at DeTour for the last time. Her master thanked Soo Traffic for all its years of service as the vessel passed out of the system. The vessel will offload its grain cargo at a Seaway port. She has reportedly been sold to a New Jersey firm for temporary use as a spoils barge, after which the handsome lake is expected to be scrapped. The Algocen was expected at Port Huron around a.m. today, weather permitting.

Algocen below the locks early Monday morning. (Photo by Ken Towne)

Escanaba

Reported by Lee Rowe
The Wilfred Sykes was due at Escanaba Monday night, the Joe Block on Wednesday and the Joseph H. Thompson on Thursday

Saginaw River

Reported by Todd Shorkey
There was plenty of action on the Saginaw River Monday with lots of movement and problems with the ice.

The tug Barbara Andrie and tank barge A-398 were inbound with a load of liquid asphalt for the Bit-Mat dock in Bay City.  The pair became stuck in the ice at buoy 23 and the Barbara Andrie came out of the notch and broke a track inbound to the Essexville range lights.  She returned to her barge and continued her trip inbound.  The tug and barge again became stuck at the Essexville ranges where the Barbara Andrie had stopped breaking her earlier track.  The pair then began backing and ramming until they were able to make the dock.

Following about an hour behind the tug and barge was the Algorail with a cargo for the GM Dock in Saginaw. The Algorail had little trouble coming in following the path of the Barbara Andrie, but once past the Bit-Mat dock, she decided that the ice was too thick to continue without icebreaking assistance.  Algorail tied up at the NorthStar dock to call the home office and await orders.  It was determined that it was best for the Algorail to turn in the basin between NorthStar and the Dow Chemical dock and depart the river, that is until Wirt Stone Docks offered to take the cargo at their Essexville Sand & Stone dock just down from NorthStar.  Once the details were taken care of she began unloading there.  Once finished, the plan was to get turned around and wait for the weather to improve before departing for the lake.  The Tug Gregory J. Busch, in the area for the American Republic, was going to stand by in case she in case assistance was needed.

The American Republic, who had been tied up at the Consumers Energy dock since Saturday night, had called for the assistance of the tug Gregory J. Busch upon the arrival of the tug departed Consumers and started outbound.  Even with the tug assistance, the trip was difficult as strong winds and shifting ice kept pushing the Republic outside of the channel.  

Tug Barbara Andrie inbound at USCG Station Saginaw River
Algorail inbound at the Front Range
Another view
 

Duluth-Superior

Reported by Al Miller
Walter J. McCarthy Jr. was docked at the Duluth port terminal Monday morning for repairs. It's due next to load at Midwest Energy Terminal. Elsewhere in port Monday, Pineglen was due to load at the Peavey elevator in Superior and CSL Tadoussac was due at BNSF ore dock.

The Duluth DMIR ore dock on Monday had vessels scheduled for the next week, including Cason J. Callaway on Dec. 21, Middletown, Dec. 21, John G. Munson, Dec. 23, Edwin H. Gott, Dec. 25, and Halifax, Dec. 28. However, temperatures are expected to remain near zero or below for the next several days, which will quickly build ice in the harbor. The ore dock tends to have ice problems in December, so this bout of low temperatures may bring its season to a quick end.

The Duluth dock's future looked grim last year after EVTAC closed and budget-conscious CN preparing to purchase the dock. But things look better now. EVTAC has reopened as United Taconite and is again shipping pellets through the ore dock. The dock also is handling a massive amount of limestone used by taconite plants to make flux pellets.

Midwest Energy Terminal is scheduled to load Indiana Harbor and Columbia Star on Dec. 21. The dock's last vessel scheduled to load currently is Mesabi Miner, due Jan. 6.

McCarthy headed for the shipyard (Photo by Glenn Blaskiewicz)
 

Today in Great Lakes History 

December 21

On 21 December 1901, the MUSKEGON (composite propeller carferry, 282 foot, 1938 gross tons, built in 1895, at Toledo, Ohio as SHENANGO NO 2) sank at Ludington, Michigan with a 10 foot crack on her starboard side.  She was raised a week later and repaired.

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

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

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

HOCHELAGA (2) was laid up on December 21, 1981, for the last time at Cardinal, Ontario.

The OUTARDE (3) operated until December 21, 1983, when she was laid up for the last time at Toronto.

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

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

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Max Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series

This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history

 

Long-lost Benjamin Noble Wreck May Have Been Found

12/20
 
Five amateur shipwreck hunters say they discovered one of Lake Superior's most-sought-after wrecks: the Benjamin Noble.

In a story in the Dec. 19 Duluth News Tribune, team members said they located the wreck using towed submersible cameras on Oct. 31. The wreck is sitting in less than 400 feet of water several miles south of Two Harbors, Minn.

The 256-foot Benjamin Noble was carrying a large cargo of railroad rails to Superior when it sank in a severe spring storm on April 27, 1914. All 20 men aboard were lost. Debris from the vessel washed up along Duluth's Park Point, but the location of the ship's wreck has remained a tantalizing mystery ever since.

The wreck hunters were searching for the lost wooden steamer Robert Wallace when their cameras revealed the wreckage of a steel steamer. Sending a camera to view the ship's cargo hold revealed it was full of rails.

"It really is beat up," Ken Merryman, one of the wreck hunters, told the News Tribune. "It sank like a rock, and it was crushed when it hit bottom. It seems pretty obvious it was grossly overloaded."

Historical accounts of the Benjamin Noble's last trip generally agree the boat was dangerously overloaded.

Besides Merryman, the team consists of Jerry Eliason, Kraig Smith, Randy Beebe and Jarrod Eliason. They first revealed their find at the Gales of November shipwreck conference in Duluth in early November.

Last summer, the team members located the Noble; the Thomas Friant, a passenger steamer converted to a commercial fishing boat; and the Moonlight, a schooner.

Reported by Al Miller

 

Photo Gallery

12/20

Photo Gallery

 

Port Report

12/20

Menominee

Reported by Scott Best
Sunday the MV Calumet made a surprise late season trip into Menominee with a load of coal for the Menominee Paper Co. coal dock. The Calumet spent all day unloading and departed just after 3 p.m. Cold weather made unloading difficult as temperatures did not get above 12 degrees all day.

Wide view unloading coal
Another view
Backing out between the piers.
Wide view departing

Alpena

Reported by Ben and Chanda McClain
The steamer Alpena was anchored out in the bay on Sunday waiting for the winds to die down. The Alpena was able to come in during the afternoon to load cement.  An unknown vessel was also anchored in the bay Sunday evening. With the cold temperatures, ice has formed in the bay and river.

The G.L Ostrander/ barge Integrity is expected into port sometime on Monday. The J.A.W Iglehart took on cement at Lafarge on Friday and is making stops on the lower lakes. The Wolverine and Philip R. Clarke are on the schedule for Monday to load at Stoneport.                               

Kingston Area

Reported by Ron Walsh
There is still 24 hour navigation in the Seaway but a cold front has passed here, leaving some skim ice in the local bays. Ice has begun to form in the Wiley - Dondero and South Shore canals. The flash freeze warning here was a result of cold temp (-21 C) tonight, strong NW wind and a rapid temperature drop. The tugs Robinson Bay and Peformance are decommissioning aids to navigation in the upper Seaway. They have gone to Cape Vincent breakwall due to wind and visibility.

The John B. Aird was westbound on Lake Ontario for the Welland canal and they said it is their last trip for the year. They were at Sodus Point Line at 1510 and are following the north shore of the lake due to wind. The Flintersky was just entering the Seaway wstbound.

At this time the Thalassa, Petrolia and Amelia Desgagnes are all eastbound for the Seaway. Catherine Desgagnes is at Montreal and the Diamond Star is also eastbound, 1425 for Crossover Island.

 

Special Report: Jeff's Family Thanks ‘Nerds for Cards, Letters

12/20

Editor’s Note: Many visitors to this site have been following the recovery of a young Boatnerd named Jeff, who has been hospitalized since July with severe burns. Some readers have sent Jeff cards, letters and gifts. Here is a short letter and a photo from his family, sent along from Lighthouse Sherri.

“The Boatnerds have been so wonderful to Jeff. Their simple letters brightened many a gloomy day. Jeff was burned over 90 percent of his body back in July. He was airlifted to Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids. After several months of extreme medical procedures and many prayers, Jeff was moved to re-hab. He has more time in re-hab ahead of him. The miracle is that he will completely recover. It will be years but he has all of his necessary functions intact. We still cannot explain how his face was left un-touched.

Jeff's journey began with an experiment gone awry. Since an early age he has taken things apart and re-constructed the parts into working inventions. We nicknamed him the "fish" because if he is near any source of water he is in it. He designs "boats" and loves to tie "knots.” His wizardry is still intact and we know that this event will produce a positive outcome. Jeff says he will go on to help other kids with science. He is wise for 10.The experiment gone awry occurred in his back yard while "launching" a rocket. The rocket launched and ignited Jeff's clothing. We know he will still be curious now just more cautious.

Our family is forever grateful to all the nerds and sailors out there for there time spent helping Jeff. Although we are here on land we think of you all out there on the boats. God Bless you...(signed) Jeff's Family”

Jeff with Santa in the hospital

 

Today in Great Lakes History 

December 20

On 20 December 1944, the ice breaker MACKINAW (WAGB-83) was commissioned in the U. S. Coast Guard.

The SAMUEL MATHER (5) was towed from Ashtabula, Ohio on December 20, 1975, to Port Colborne, Ontario where her boilers were converted to oil-fired burners by Herb Fraser & Associates and renamed c.) JOAN M MC CULLOUGH.

Cleveland Cliffs steamer FRONTENAC's scrapping process was completed in Superior, Wisconsin on December 20, 1985.

The CRISPIN OGLEBAY (1) hauled her last cargo, a load of salt, into Rochester, New York on December 20, 1973, and then was laid up at Kingston, Ontario for the winter.

The keel was laid for the PERE MARQUETTE 22 on December 20, 1923.

In 1910, the PERE MARQUETTE 18 (II) was launched at South Chicago. She was the only Great Lakes carferry to be built in Chicago.

December 20, 1979 - The Interstate Commerce Commission approved the termination of the C&O's Milwaukee run. C&O terminated the run the following year.

On 20 December 1867, ALIDA (wooden propeller packet/tug, 81foot, 58 gross tons, built in 1856, at Saginaw, Michigan) had her boiler explode in the Saginaw River. She caught fire and burned to a total loss. This little packet/tug was the only steamer to regularly venture up the Saginaw River beyond the mouth of the Flint River.

On 20 December 1873, the Great Western ferry MICHIGAN was finally launched at the Jenkins yard in Walkerville, Ontario. Her launching was originally scheduled for 18 December, but she stuck on the ways. She was built for use on the Detroit River and her dimensions were 282 feet x 72 foot 6 inch beam.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Max Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series

This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history

 

Spirit of America Launched Saturday at Marinette

12/19

The Staten Island Ferry Spirit of America was side-launched into the Menominee River at approximately 10:15 a.m. (CDT) on Saturday after a short pre-launch ceremony. A large crowd was on hand on both sides of the Menominee River to view the spectacle. The tugs Erika Kobasic and Escort assisted during the launch. This the third large ferry built at the Wisconsin yard for service in New York harbor.

Also in Marinette, the training vessel State of Michigan is at Marinette Marine having work done to make her more useful as a classroom ship.

Reported by Dick Lund, Lee Rowe

Spirit of America hits the water
 

Port Report

12/19

Milwaukee

Reported by Andy Laborde
The Lake Express carferry maneuvered up the Milwaukee and Menomonee River to it's winter berth in the South Menomonee canal Friday, Dec. 17. Lake Express is the largest vessel in the South Menomonee canal since the days when the Soo River fleet called at the old Cargill elevator and the MV Nicolet delivered coal to the power plant. The slip is ice free due to the cooling water  discharged from the WE Energy power plant.

The Lake Express with the former Cargill grain elevator in the background.

Saginaw River

Reported by Todd Shorkey
The American Rebublic was inbound the Saginaw River Saturday afternoon. She called on the Bay Aggregates dock in Bay City to unload. The was expected to be outbound Saturday evening. This is the last load of the season for the Bay Aggregates Dock and with temperatures forecast in the negative numbers the next few nights, it may be one of the last cargos of the season for the Saginaw River.

Word from the captain of the American Republic was that they expected to be sailing until January 15th hauling ore after they take a load of coal to Munising.

American Republic inbound
 

Today in Great Lakes History 

December 19

The ASHLAND was launched December 19, 1942, as the L6-S-B1 class bulk carrier a.) CLARENCE B RANDALL (Hull#523) at Ashtabula, Ohio by Great Lakes Engineering Works. She laid up for the last time on the same day in 1979.

The ELMGLEN (2) ran aground December 19, 1989, near Johnson’s Point in the Munuscong Channel of the St. Marys River. Downbound loaded with grain, she had been diverted to the Munuscong Channel because of difficulties encountered by her fleet mate BEECHGLEN in the ice clogged West Neebish Channel.

Because of the increased demand for iron ore during the Korean conflict more ships were needed and as a consequence the yards on the Great Lakes were operating at capacity. In December 1950, the Republic Steel Corp. bought 70% of Nicholson-Universal stock in order to purchase ships from the surplus fleet.

On 19 December 1927, ALEXANDRIA (wooden propeller freighter, 97 foot, 201 gross tons, built in 1902, at Chatham, New Brunswick) burned in the harbor of Little Current, Ontario off the Government Dock where her remains still lay.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series

This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history

 

Richard Reiss Enters Bayship Drydock

12/18

The 1943 built Maritime class vessel Richard Reiss entered the Bayship graving dock Friday morning, Dec. 17, for its five- year inspection. Assisting the Reiss into the graving dock were the Selvick Marine Towing tugs Sharon Selvick, William Selvick, Escort and Jimmy L. Weather permitting, the Reiss will receive the handsome paint scheme of the other boats in the Lower Lakes Towing/Grand River fleet. There has been no announcement from the company on a possible rename of the Reiss. The shipyard expects to complete the five-year before the end of December. The Reiss is expected to lay up in Sarnia this winter.

Reported by Andy Laborde

Inbound, Jimmy L approaches the Reiss to take the bow line.
Lining up for the graving dock.
The Sharon helps position the Reiss.
Reiss in the graving dock.
Escort II and other tugs heading back to the Selvick dock.

 

Spirit of Ontario Could be Headed for Auction Block

12/18

Canadian American Transportation Systems was been unable to come up with more than $30 million by Friday’s court-imposed deadline to save its high-speed ferry Spirit of Ontario from foreclosure. That, according to a story in Friday’s Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, means lawyers will be in federal court in Rochester this afternoon to hammer out a foreclosure schedule, which may include setting a date to auction off the $42.5 million ship to repay creditors. 

The private ferry company shut down its service to Toronto without warning in early September because of money problems.

While the ship sits idle in the Genesee River, CATS is embroiled in a legal dispute that will likely end with the Rochester company no longer owning the vessel. Major creditors who helped finance the construction of the ship — including the Australian government and city of Rochester — have filed claims against the company to recover their investments.
 
It's unclear who will ultimately end up owning the ship, especially if it goes up for auction. CATS still owns the vessel and can work out a deal to sell it before an auction. The company has tried unsuccessfully to sell it to the city. There also are legal ways the Australian-built ship could be purchased in advance of a court-ordered sale.

Reported by Dan Rivers, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
 

Port Report

12/18

Saginaw River

Reported by Todd Shorkey
The tug Joyce L. VanEnkevort and barge Great Lakes Trader were outbound the Saginaw River Friday morning after unloading overnight in Saginaw.  The pair had arrived on Thursday with a split load for docks in Bay City & Saginaw.
Following not long after the Trader, the tug Rebecca Lynn and her tank barge departed the Triple Clean dock in Essexville. They moved to the Essroc dock to make up for a tow and then departed for the lake.

On Thursday, the Saginaw River and Bay were free of ice, but overnight that changed.  The river was mostly frozen over Friday and the tug Joyce L. VanEnkevort reported sheet ice on the bay all the way out to Light 12 of the Entrance Channel.

Marquette

Reported by Lee Rowe
The Lee A. Tregurtha loaded ore in Marquette on Friday. The John J. Boland came in light and, in an unusual move, left light. The American Republic and Middletown are due in this weekend.

Duluth-Superior

Reported by Al Miller
Ostkap was loading Friday at AGP elevator in Duluth. It is the last saltie of the season for the Twin Ports. Algocen arrived in port Thursday and docked at General Mills in Duluth. On Friday it was under the spouts at CHS (Harvest States) in Superior loading what may be its final cargo here. Herbert C. Jackson is expected in Saturday to load grain.

St Lawrence Seaway

The small motor vessel Yanckcanuck, which has spent the last several months working on Canada’s East Coast, is expected to sail soon from Montreal (where she arrived recently from Labrador) for winter layup at Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

Buffalo

Joseph H. Frantz, which had been scheduled to lay up at Toledo after discharging grain in Buffalo, will winter in Buffalo instead. The reason for the change is unknown.

 

Today in Great Lakes History 

December 18

On this date, the tug Sachem sank in Lake Erie off  Waverly Shoal with all hands on board.  The tug was later raised on October 22, 1951 and found to be in seaworthy condition. (Information from Roger Stahl who was her captain from 1952-1961.)

Canada Steamship Lines NANTICOKE (Hull#218) was launched December 18, 1979, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd..

The tug AMERICA freed the ore carrier IRVING S OLDS in 1956, after the OLDS grounded entering the River Raisin from Lake Erie. The OLDS stuck at a 45 degree angle to the channel, while entering for winter lay up.

Canada Steamship lines GEORGIAN BAY (Hull#149) was launched during a snow storm on December 18, 1953, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd.

The JOHN T HUTCHINSON was laid up for the last time December 18, 1981, at Cleveland, Ohio.

On December 18, 1921, gale force winds drove the CARMI A THOMPSON ashore at Buffalo, New York where she was laid up with grain for winter storage. She ended up wedged between the LOUIS W HILL and the MERTON E FARR. The THOMPSON was released on January 5, 1922, but required the replacement of 156 hull plates before her return to service.

The Goodrich Transit Co.’s ALABAMA (Hull#36) was launched in 1909, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. Reduced to a barge in 1961, the hull still resides in the Rouge River

On 18 December 1899, 115 (steel whaleback barge, 256 foot, 1169 gross tons, built in 1891, at Superior, Wisconsin) was carrying iron ore in a storm on Lake Huron when she broke from her tow steamer well out in the lake. She went ashore five days later at Pic Island off Thunder Bay, Ontario, and broke up. Her crew was thought to be lost, but they showed up days later after a long trek through the wilderness.

On 18 December 1959, BRIDGEBUILDER X (propeller tug, 71 foot, 46 gross tons, built in 1911, at Lorain, Ohio) foundered in a storm while enroute from Sturgeon Bay to N. Fox Island on Lake Michigan. Two lives were lost. She had been built as the fish tug PITTSBURG. In 1939, she was converted to the excursion boat BIDE-A-WEE. Then she was converted to a construction tug for the building of the Mackinac Bridge and finally she was rebuilt in 1958 as a logging tug.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Dean J. Frazer, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series

This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history

 

Richard Reiss Expected at BayShip Today for Drydocking

12/17

Reports indicate the Richard Reiss, which had one more cargo scheduled to Green Bay, will instead head directly for Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay for her regularly scheduled drydocking. During her stay she is expected to be fully painted in the colors of her owner, Lower Lakes Towing Co. She may also be renamed. The vessel was bought earlier this year from Oglebay Norton Marine. Her ETA for Bayship was not immediately known, although Thursday night or Friday morning is possible.

Reported by Jason Leino
 

Anxious Moments as Spruceglen Enters Drydock

12/17

Spruceglen arrived here early this morning and was helped into the fitout dock at Pascol Engineering around 9 a.m. by the tugs George N. Carleton and Robert John. Pascol workers were seen filling the dry dock at this time. Around 1:30 p.m. the dry dock gate was open and ready. The George N. Carleton started pulling Spruceglen back out away from the dock as the Robert John dragged along on the bow. As the Spruceglen cleared the dock end, Robert John pulled full steam ahead to stop the Spruceglen and began pulling her towards the dry dock. As Robert John reached the opening to the dry dock she slowed her engine and waited for the George N. Carleton to pull the boat to a slow. Something wasn't right, the Carleton wasn't pulling and the Spruceglen wasn't stopping. After a frantic few moments, the Carleton finally started pulling. After pulling from first one side and then to the other, the Spruceglen was brought under control about 30' short of running head-on into the dock. Lines were thrown down and the bow was brought back inline with the entrance and she was slowly pulled in.

(Photos will be in the next Gallery on Sunday night)

Reported by Rob Farrow
 

Port Report

12/17

Duluth-Superior

Reported by Al Miller, Eric Holst
The last salties of the season were at Duluth on Wednesday. Ziemia Gornoslaska was loading at AGP while Ostkap was anchored on the lake waiting to load at AGP. A few lakers are expected to load grain cargoes, but grain tonnage for the season is expected to be disappointing.

The harbor was active Wednesday morning, with Indiana Harbor departing through the Duluth ship canal about 7:30 a.m. with coal from Midwest Energy Terminal. At the same time, Oglebay Norton was passing beneath the Blatnik Bridge on its way to Midwest Energy Terminal to load for Silver Bay.

With temperatures generally remaining below 32 degrees in recent days, Duluth-Superior habor is becoming covered with ice. Despite that, the ore, coal and stone docks are remaining busy. Midwest Energy Terminal is scheduled to load Paul R. Tregurtha on Jan. 9 – the latest load currently on the dock's schedule. The DMIR dock in Duluth has vessels scheduled through Dec. 27: American Mariner, Dec. 17; Charles M. Beeghly, Dec. 18; Armco, Dec. 20; Edwin H. Gott, Dec. 24; and James R. Barker, Dec. 27. However, the DMIR's sheltered location can leave it prone to ice problems in December, so late vessel trips are always questionable.

The Algocen sailed through the Duluth piers late Thursday morning on what is likely her last visit to the upper lakes. She spent the day loading at General Mills A in Duluth, and was expected to shift today to Cenex Harvest-States in Superior to finish her load.  No departure time is scheduled yet, but if loading goes quickly the Algocen may depart as early as this afternoon.

The Ostkap was part of a busy afternoon at the Duluth entry Thursday. The Reserve started things off with a mid-afternoon departure, loaded with iron ore pellets from CN-Missabe #6. Out on Lake Superior the Reserve passed inbound fleetmate Oglebay Norton, on her way to Murphy Fuel and then Midwest Energy. Once the Norton passed AGP on Rice's Point the Liberian-registered Ziemia Gornoslaska backed out of AGP's slip, loaded with grain and assisted by a G-tug.  By this time the Ostkap had lifted anchor and followed the Norton into the harbor. The Ostkap was met by her own G-tug escort just inside the Duluth piers and made a hard turn to port so that she could pass the outbound Gornoslaska starboard-to-starboard.  As the Gornoslaska made her way out of the harbor, both G-tugs went to work spinning the Ostkap so that she could back into the AGP loading berth, a relatively rare maneuver.  Several minutes after her departure, the Gornoslaska passed the inbound Edwin H. Gott, which made a dusk arrival at the piers on her way to Murphy fuel and then BNSF #5 in Superior.

The Gott has an interesting trip ahead of her.  She will reportedly load an iron ore pellet cargo bound for Stelco's Hamilton, Ontario works. The Gott is too large to pass through the Welland Canal and therefore visit Hamilton herself, so she will meet two Canadian freighters on Lake Erie near Long Pointe, Ontario, and transfer the cargo to them for the final leg of its journey.

Today the Twin Ports are expecting the Burns Harbor, American Spirit, and Michipicoten at BNSF #5, and the Adam E. Cornelius for CN-Missabe #6.  The Herbert C. Jackson is due in port to load grain, likely wheat for Buffalo.  As of now she appears to be the last grain ship scheduled for the Twin Ports in what is shaping up to be the slowest shipping season for grain here since the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Photos by Glenn Blaskiewicz
Ostkap arrives
Algocen loads

Toledo

Reported by Jim Hoffman
The Canadian Transfer finished unloading potash at Andersons "K" Elevator and departed Wednesday morning with the "G" tug Louisiana assisting her on her trip downriver. The salt water vessel Federal Hunter finished loading grain at the ADM/Countrymark Elevator and departed late Wednesday morning with the "G" tugs Idaho (bow) and Louisiana (stern) assisting her downriver to Lake Erie. The Canadian Navigator was at the Torco Ore Dock unloading ore, once finished she will proceed over to the CSX Docks to load coal. The Amelia Desgagnes remains at the old CSX Ore Dock waiting for the remainder of her coal cargo to arrive at the docksite. The CSL vessel Pineglen was at the Midwest Terminal Dock (ex T.W.I. Dock) it was unknown if she was loading or unloading a cargo.

At the Shipyard the tug Cheraw was tied up at the riverfront dock area of the yard. The Hornbeck oil barge still remains under construction in the large drydock. The casino boat Detroit Princess remains tied up at the old Interlake Dock just north of the yard.

The next scheduled coal boats due into the CSX Docks will be the John G. Munson on Thursday, followed by the H. Lee White and Lee A. Tregurtha on Saturday. The next scheduled ore boat due into the Torco Ore Dock will be the Atlantic Erie on Thursday. The next scheduled stone boats due into the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock will be the Capt. Henry Jackman on Saturday, followed by the Algorail on Monday (20 Dec.)

Marquette

Reported by Lee Rowe
The Wolverine and Saginaw came into Marquette Tuesday evening but couldn't load until Wednesday.  The Wolverine began her load on a very chilly morning, but the Saginaw, because of the delay, cleaned out her holds and headed out for a different load to be replaced by the Michipicoten, which arrived Wednesday afternoon. The H. Lee White brought a load of stone to the lower harbor. On Thursday the Fred R. White Jr. arrived in Marquette for a load of ore. A storm moved in as she was loading.

Fred R. White, Jr. at the dock
White with a view of the incoming weather.

 

Today in Great Lakes History 

December 17

While breaking ice off Colchester Reef, Lake Erie on 17 December 1917, the HENRY CORT (steel propeller whaleback bulk freighter, 320 foot, 2234 gross tons, built in 1892, at W. Superior, Wisconsin, formerly PILLSBURY) was in a collision with the MIDVALE (steel propeller bulk freighter, 580 foot, 8271 gross tons, built in 1917, at Ashtabula, Ohio).  The PILLSBURY sank in thirty feet of water 4 1/2 miles from Colchester Reef. Her crew walked across the ice to the MIDVALE.  The wreck was located on 24 April 1918, four miles from its original position, with seven feet of water over her and raised later that year to be repaired.

C L AUSTIN was launched December 17, 1910, as a.) WILLIS L KING (Hull#79) at Ecorse, Michigan by Great Lakes Engineering Works.

With an inexperienced Taiwanese crew, boiler problems and the collapse of Lock 7's west wall in the Welland Canal, the departure of SAVIC (CLIFFS VICTORY) was delayed until December 17, 1985, when she departed Chicago, Illinois under her own power.

Paterson’s NEW QUEDOC sank at her winter moorings at Midland, Ontario on December 17, 1961, with a load of storage grain. The sinking was caused by the automatic sea valves that were accidentally opened.

The ROGERS CITY (2) was laid up for the last time at Calcite, Michigan on December 17, 1981.

On December 17, 1955, in heavy fog, the B F AFFLECK collided head-on with her fleetmate HENRY PHIPPS in the Straits of Mackinac. Both vessels were damaged but were able to sail under their own power for repairs.

In 1905, the Anchor Line steamer JUNIATA was launched at the yards of the American Shipbuilding Company in Cleveland, Ohio. The JUNIATA was the first large passenger boat built in Cleveland since the NORTH LAND and NORTH WEST. Today the JUNIATA exists as the National Historic Landmark MILWAUKEE CLIPPER in Muskegon, Michigan.

On 17 December 1875, the steamboat JENNISON of Captain Ganoe's line which ran between Grand Rapids and Grand Haven burned at Grand Rapids. She was laid up for the winter just below the city on the Grand River. She was insured for $12,000.                                            

December 16

On 16 December 1922, the JOSHUA W RHODES (steel propeller bulk freighter, 420 foot, 4871 gross tons, built in 1906 at Lorain, Ohio) struck bottom in the middle of the St. Clair River abreast of Port Huron, Michigan.  Damages cost $6,179.32 to repair.

On December 16, 1966, while loading at Montreal, the CABOT, b.) CANADIAN EXPLORER rolled over on her side and sank with a loss of two lives. She was refloated on January 18, 1967.

In 1983, HILDA MARJANNE's forward section, which included a bow thruster, was moved to the building berth at Port Weller Dry Docks where it was joined to CHIMO's stern. The joined sections would later emerge from the dry dock as the b.) CANADIAN RANGER.

The IMPERIAL BEDFORD (Hull#666) was launched December 16,1968, at Lauzon, Quebec by Davie Shipbuilding Co.

Canada Steamship lines J W MC GIFFIN (Hull#197) was launched December 16, 1971, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards.

The tug/barge PRESQUE ISLE departed light from Erie December 16,1973, on its maiden voyage bound for Two Harbors, Minnesota. (This was the latest maiden voyage date at that time.) There the PRESQUE ISLE loaded 51,038 long tons of taconite pellets for delivery to Gary, Indiana. After this ice covered trip, the vessel returned to Erie for winter lay-up. The PRESQUE ISLE was the second thousand foot vessel on the Great Lakes (the Erie-built STEWART J CORT which came out in 1972, was the first) and was the last large vessel built at the Erie shipyard.

While in tandem tow on the way to scrapping with the former Ford Motor Co. steamer ROBERT S. MC NAMARA, the BUCKEYE MONITOR developed a crack in her deck amidships. The crack extended down her sides to below the waterline and she sank at 0145 hours on December 16, 1973, at position 43°30'N x 30°15'W in the North Atlantic.

BENSON FORD, a) RICHARD M MARSHALL made her last trip to the Rouge where she was laid up on December 16, 1984.

The PIC RIVER was the last to use the old Welland City Canal on December 16, 1972, as the new Welland by-pass opened the following spring.

WOLFE ISLANDER III arrived in Kingston, Ontario on December 16, 1975. Built in Thunder Bay, she would replace the older carferries WOLFE ISLANDER and UPPER CANADA on the Kingston - Wolfe Island run.

The WILLIAM A IRVIN sustained bottom damage in Lake Erie and laid up December 16, 1978, at Duluth, Minnesota.

THOMAS WILSON operated until December 16, 1979, when she tied up at Toledo. During that final year, the vessel carried only thirty cargoes and all were ore.

On 16 December 1906, ADVENTURER (wooden propeller steam tug, 52 foot, built in 1895, at Two Harbors, Minnesota) broke her moorings and went adrift in a gale. She was driven ashore near Ontonagon, Michigan on Lake Superior and was pounded to pieces.

On 16 December 1954, the 259 foot bulk carrier BELVOIR was launched at the E. B. McGee Ltd. yard in Port Colborne, Ontario. She was built for the Beaconsfield Steamship Co. She sailed in the last years before the Seaway opened. During the winter of 1958-59, she was lengthened 90 feet at Montreal. She left the Lakes in 1968, and later sank in the Gulf of Honduras with the loss of 21 lives.

Data from: Joe Barr, Brian Johnson, Dave Swayze, Jody Aho, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series and the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.

This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history
 

Spruceglen Heads for Drydock

12/15

CSL’s bulk carrier Spruceglen, which grounded in the lower St. Marys River at Johnsons Point Sunday, got underway Tuesday for Thunder Bay, where she reportedly will enter drydock for inspection and repairs. She spent Monday at the Carbide Dock in Sault Ste. Marie. There are no reports as yet on how extensive the damage may be.

Reported by Jerry Masson
 

Port Report

12/15

Buffalo

Reported by Matt Ruscher
The Joseph H. Frantz arrived at Buffalo at 2 p.m. Tuesday in a snowstorm on her last trip of the season. She will unload, then proceed to Toledo for winter layup.

Joseph H. Frantz passing Buffalo light
Tug Washington assists the Frantz
A seagull directs the operation as the Frantz passes
Niagara tugs Daniel Joncaire and Breaker with barge docked.
 

Marquette

Reported by Lee Rowe
Michipicoten loaded ore at Marquette and remained tied up on Monday due to strong winds and high waves on Lake Superior.  She was tied up closer to shore than usual and she was fully loaded. Charles M. Beeghly came in with a load of coal and began unloading Monday once the winds died down a little. She took on ore on Tuesday.

Michipicoten loaded with ore and tied to the dock, 12-13-04. Note the new fencing.
Charles M. Beeghly unloading coal.
Unwise photographer ignores the sign!

 

Today in Great Lakes History 

December 15

On 15 December 1902, the TIONESTA (steel propeller passenger steamer, 340 foot, 4329 gross tons) was launched at the Detroit Ship Building Company, Wyandotte, Michigan (Hull #150) for the Erie & Western Transportation Company (Anchor Line).  She was christened by Miss Marie B. Wetmore.  The vessel lasted until 1940, when she was scrapped at Hamilton, Ontario.

The ROBERT KOCH went hard aground December 15, 1985, on Sheldon Point off Oswego, New York loaded with 2000 tons of cement when her towline parted from the tug R & L NO 1. Dragging her anchors in heavy weather, she fetched up on a rocky shelf in 16 feet of water 300 yards off shore.

The NORTHCLIFFE HALL (2) departed Kingston on December 15, 1974, headed for Colombia with a load of newsprint. She traded briefly in the Caribbean and then laid up at Houston, Texas, later to return to the lakes.

On December 15, 1972, the GEORGIAN BAY was reported as the last ship to pass through the city of Welland as the new $8.3 million by-pass channel was to be ready for the beginning of the 1973 shipping season. (Actually two other ships, the TADOUSSAC and PIC RIVER, followed her through.)

The JOHN E F MISENER (2) was laid up for the last time on December 15, 1982, at Port McNicoll, Ontario.

JOE S MORROW (Hull#350) was launched December 15, 1906, at Lorain, Ohio by the American Ship Building Co.

The RED WING (2) was laid up for the last time at Toronto on December 15, 1984, due in part to the uneconomical operation of her steam turbine power plant.

The ROGERS CITY (2) cleared Lauzon, Quebec on December 15, 1987, in tow of the Maltese tug PHOCEEN on the first leg of her tow to the cutters torch.

On December 15, 1988, Purvis Marine's ANGLIAN LADY departed Mackinaw City with the CHIEF WAWATAM under tow, arriving at the Canadian Soo the next day. During the winter of 1988-89, Purvis removed items tagged by the State (including the pilot house) and began converting her into a barge.

On 15 December 1888, GEORGE W ROBY (wooden propeller, 281 foot, 1843 gross tons,) was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan. She was built by F. W. Wheeler (Hull#45).

Below is a winter lay-up list as published in the Port Huron Times on 15 December 1876.
At Port Huron -- Steam barges: ABERCORN, BIRKHEAD, BAY CITY, H D COFFINBURY, WILLIAM COWIE, N K FAIRBANK, GERMANIA, GEORGE KING, V H KETCHUM, MARY MILL, MARY PRINGLE, E W POWERS, D F ROSE, SALINA, TEMPEST. Propellers: CITY OF NEW BALTIMORE. Tug: CORA B Schooners and Barges: T Y AVERY, BUCKEYE STATE, GEORGE W BISSEL, KATIE BRAINARD, D K CLINT, DAYTON, S GARDNER, A GEBHART, C G KING, T G LESTER, MARINE CITY, H R NEWCOMB, J H RUTTER, REINDEER, C SPADEMAN, SAGINAW, ST JOSEPH, TAYLOR, TROY, C L YOUNG, YANKEE. At Marysville -- D G WILLIAMS, 7 tow barges, JUPITER, and LEADER.

December 14

On 14 December 1902, JOHN E HALL (wooden propeller freighter, 139 foot, 343 gross tons, built in 1889, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) was towing the barge JOHN R NOYES (wooden schooner, 137 foot, 333 gross tons, built in 1872 at Algonac, Michigan) on Lake Ontario when they were caught in a blizzard-gale.  After a day of struggling, the NOYES broke loose and drifted for two days before she went ashore and broke up near Lakeside, New York without loss of life.  The HALL tried to run for shelter but swamped and sank off Main Duck Island with the loss of the entire crew of nine.

On December 14, 1984, the WILLIAM CLAY FORD (1) laid up for the final time at the Rouge Steel plant in Dearborn, Michigan.

The JIIMAAN was towed out of dry dock at Port Weller Drydocks Ltd. on December 14, 1992, by the tugs JAMES E MC GRATH and LAC VANCOUVER to the fitout dock for completion.

The CHICAGO TRIBUNE was sold for scrap in 1988, and was towed up the Welland Canal on December 14, 1988, by the tugs THUNDER CAPE and MICHAEL D MISNER to Port Colborne, Ontario.

On December 14, 1926, the W E FITZGERALD was caught in heavy seas and suffered damaged frames and hull plating. Repairs consisted of replacing nearly 25,000 rivets and numerous hull plates.
The package freighter GEORGE N ORR, a recent war acquisition from the Canada Atlantic Transit Company was wrecked off Savage Point, Prince Edward Island on December 14, 1917. She was enroute to New York City with a load of hay.

On 14 December 1883, MARY ANN HULBERT (wooden schooner-barge, 62 gross tons, built in 1873, at Bayfield, Wisconsin) was carrying railroad workers and supplies in tow of the steamer KINCADINE in a storm on Lake Superior. She was sailing from Port Arthur for Michipicoten Island. The HULBERT was overwhelmed by the gale and foundered, The crew of five plus all 15 of the railroad workers were lost.
December 14, 1903 - The PERE MARQUETTE 20 left the shipyard in Cleveland, Ohio on her maiden voyage.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Father Dowling Collection, Jody Aho, Chris Dunn, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series

This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history

 

Spruceglen Aground in St. Marys River

12/13

UPDATE 11 a.m.  The Spruceglen was freed late Sunday night or early Monday morning. She was being escorted to Sault Ste. Marie for inspection by the tug Missouri.

ORIGINAL REPORT: The CSL bulker Spruceglen remained aground Sunday night in the lower St. Marys River near Johnson's Point. The bow is reportedly grounded, with the stern swinging partially across the narrow channel.

Heavy snow squalls in the area Sunday, which sent some vessels to anchor, may have be a factor in the grounding. No further information was available Sunday night.

Reported by Jerry Masson
 

Algocen May Be On Her Last Trip

12/13

Algoma Central’s 730-foot flatback bulker Algocen, built in 1968 at Collingwood Shipyards, may be on the verge of retirement. She is presently due at Duluth’s Cenex Harvest States Elevator #1 on Tuesday to load grain for a St. Lawrence Seaway port. Many boatwatchers believe this could be her final voyage to the upper lakes.

This is the second straight year that reports have circulated about Algocen’s imminent demise, but the fact that Algoma Central returned two long-idled bulkers to the line-up this year does not bode well for the handsome motor vessel. There has been no official announcement as yet about the Algocen's future.

Reported by Glenn Blaskiewicz, Jason Leslie

Algocen earlier this season (Rod Burdick)
 

Cleveland Shipping Up 30 Percent Over Last Year

12/13 

Shipping tonnage is up at the Port of Cleveland and on the Great Lakes this year.

Shipping of materials such as iron ore, limestone, salt, cement and imported steel has increased 30 percent over last year at the Port of Cleveland, said Steven Pfeiffer, the port's maritime director.

"There's only one reason steel is moving through here like this," Pfeiffer told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "The economy's coming back. That's the indicator that the manufacturers are hard at work."

This year's shipping tonnage was more than in any of the last four years, Pfeiffer said. Projections from Port of Cleveland customers are that next year will be even higher, he said. Next year "is the strongest optimism that we've seen in five years," Pfeiffer said.

Reported by Cleveland Plain Dealer, Dan Rivers

 

Great Lakes Training Vessel To Get $3.7 Million in Improvements

12/13

When the Great Lakes Maritime Academy's training ship State of Michigan returns from a Wisconsin shipyard in May, it will have received $3.9 million in improvements.

The ship left Traverse City, Mich., Dec. 3 for a Marinette, Wis., where workers will increase its cabin space, convert an intelligence-gathering room to a classroom, expand its sewage holding tank capacity and install a water treatment system.

Most of the bill will be paid with a $3.7 million federal allocation awarded last year, according to a story in the Traverse City Record Eagle. The academy, part of Northwestern Michigan College, added $200,000 from a federally provided maintenance fund. The 224-foot, former Cold War spy ship was valued at $27 million when received two years ago. It was put in dry dock for maintenance and inspection last year at a cost of $370,000, academy superintendent John Tanner said.

Some 30,000 gallons of sewage capacity will be added to allow for longer trips. Currently, it holds 4,000 gallons of sewage, including water from laundry and showers. Cabin capacity will be doubled from 30 cadets to 60 cadets. Currently, there is no room for freshmen.

Reported by Jason Leslie, Traverse City Record Eagle

 

Port Report

12/13

Toledo

Reported by Jim Hoffman
The saltwater vessel Federal Hunter was loading grain at the ADM/Countrymark Elevator. The Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin was at Andersons "K" Elevator. Amelia Desgagnes was at the old ore dock at the CSX Docks waiting for her coal cargo to arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday. The Canadian Navigator was scheduled into the Torco Ore Dock to unload ore but presently is at anchor due to strong westerly gales and low water levels in the western basin of Lake Erie. Her eta for the Torco Dock is unknown at this time.

The next scheduled coal boats due into the CSX Coal Docks will be the Lee A. Tregurtha on Monday. The CSL Niagara are expected on Tuesday. The John G. Munson and Canadian Navigator should be in on Wednesday, with Lee A. Tregurtha on Friday, followed by the H. Lee White on Sunday (19 Dec.). The next scheduled ore boats due into the Torco Ore Dock will be the Atlantic Erie on Thursday (16 Dec.), the  CSL Niagara on Saturday (25 Dec.), followed by the Atlantic Huron on Sunday (26 Dec.). The next scheduled vessel due into the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock at the CSX Docks will be the Capt. Henry Jackman on Saturday (18 Dec.). Note due to weather and dock delays this time of year ETAs may be delayed and sometimes vessels are substituted to load/unload cargoes that are scheduled at these facilities.

Duluth-Superior
 
Reported by Al Miller
The Twin Ports received two late cement cargoes in recent days. On Friday, Algontario was unloading at St. Lawrence Cement. Alpena was in port Saturday morning to unload at the LaFarge terminal in Superior, then moved across the harbor to unload at the Duluth terminal. While the Alpena was unloading at the Superior terminal on Saturday, the Armco was just around the corner unloading at the CLM terminal. After unloading its cement cargo, the Algontario was anchored on Lake Superior on Saturday cleaning its holds. It was due next at the CHS terminal to load grain.

Marinette

Reported by Scott Best
Saturday afternoon the Algorail paid a visit to Marinette with a load of salt for Marinette Fuel & Dock. This was the 5th load of salt this year for the dock which normally gets 2-3 loads a year. On November 25, the Algomarine unloaded salt in Marinette. The Algorail arrived around 2 p.m. and departed by 8PM. The Tug Undaunted and barge Pere Marquette 41 had been tied up at MF&D waiting out weather shifted out to anchor before the Algorail arrived and then quickly returned to the dock Saturday night once the Algorail departed.

Algorail, wide view with PM41-Undaunted at anchor.
Close up inside the piers.
Boom back on board ready to depart.
 

Photo Gallery

12/13

Photo Gallery
 

Today in Great Lakes History 

December 13

The CANADIAN ENTERPRISE entered service for Upper Lakes Shippng Ltd. on December 13, 1979.

On December 13, 1989, Kinsman’s HENRY STEINBRENNER (4) was laid up at Toledo's Lakefront Dock.

The G A TOMLINSON (2) arrived under her own power at Triad Salvage Inc., Ashtabula, Ohio on December 13, 1979, to be scrapped.

The THOMAS WILSON ran aground in the St. Marys River on December 13, 1976. The accident required lightering before she would float free.

On 13 December 1872. the Port Huron Times added three vessels to those in winter lay-up at Port Huron: Steamer MARINE CITY, tug JOHN PRINDEVILLE, and wrecking tug RESCUE.

December 13, 1906 - The ANN ARBOR NO 4 departed for Manitowoc, Wisconsin on her first trip.

In 1929, the Mc Louth Steamship Company filed a claim against the City of Port Huron for $687 because its sand sucker, the KALKASKA, was held up for 27-1/2 hours in the Black River because of an inability to open the north span of the Military Street Bridge.

On 13 December 1961, SWEDEN (formerly L C SMITH, steel propeller, 414 foot, 4702 gross tons, built in 1902, at W. Bay City, Michigan) arrived in tow at Savanna, Italy for scrapping.

December 12

On 12 December 1898, FANNY H (wooden propeller tug, 54 foot, 16 gross tons, built in 1890, at Bay City, Michigan) was sold by J. R. Hitchcock to the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers.  She underwent a major rebuild in 1908 when she was lengthened to 60’.

The push tug PRESQUE ISLE (2) was launched December 12, 1972, as (Hull #322) by the Halter Marine Services, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana.

The SPINDLETOP e.) BADGER STATE was launched December 12, 1942, for the United States Maritime Commission.

The WHEAT KING returned to Port Weller Dry Docks on December 12, 1975, for lengthening to the maximum Seaway size of 730 feet overall for the iron ore and grain trade thus ending her salt water activities.

One unusual trip for the WOODLAND occurred when she arrived at Toronto, Ontario on December 12, 1987, to load a 155 foot, 135-ton self-unloading unit for delivery to the Verolme Shipyard in Brazil where the Govan-built Panamax bulk carrier CSL INNOVATOR was being converted to a self-unloader.

On Monday December 12, 1898, the AURORA was fast in the ice at Amherstburg, Ontario, when a watchman smelled smoke. The crew tried to put out the fire, but to no avail. They were taken off the burning vessel by the tug C A LORMAN. The ship burned to the water's edge.

On December 12, 1956, the once proud passenger vessels EASTERN STATES and GREATER DETROIT were taken out onto Lake St. Clair where they were set afire. All the superstructure was burned off and the hulls were taken to Hamilton, Ontario, where they were scrapped in 1957.

On 12 December 1872, the Port Huron Times listed the following vessels at winter lay-up at Sarnia, Ontario: Schooners: MARY E PEREW, KINGFISHER, UNADILLA, ONEONTA, AMERICAN, J G MASTEN, PELICAN, UNION, B ALLEN, and CAMDEN; Brigs: DAVID A WELLS, WAGONER, and FRANK D BARKER; Barks: C T MAPLE, EMALINE BATES, and D A VAN VALKENBURG; Steamer: MANITOBA.

On 12 December 1877, U.S. Marshall Matthews sold the boiler and machinery of the CITY OF PORT HURON at auction in Detroit, Michigan. Darius Cole submitted the winning bid of $1,000.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Jody Aho, Gordon Shaw, Max Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.

 

Restored Lake Huron Light to Open For Tours

12/11
The newly restored DeTour Reef Light is expected to open for tours in 2005.

Volunteers have raised money to pay for the two-year, $1 million restoration  of the light, located a mile off shore in northern Lake Huron. The lighthouse was built in 1931 atop a 60-foot-square concrete crib that sits on the reef. The light was declared surplus in 1997.

Volunteers have worked since 1998 to build a society and acquire donations and grant funding for programs to preserve the light.

Restoration began in 2002 and was completed in September. Additional work to be accomplished includes refurbishing of a barge to be used as a docking platform along with a ladder system for safe access to the lighthouse deck, outfitting the keeper's quarters with 1931 period furnishings, interpretative educational displays, fabrication and installation of the second deck crane, and other projects.

  

New Canadian Shipowners' Group Seeks Province's Help

12/11
The Ontario Marine Transportation Forum, a new industry group representing Canadian Great Lakes shipowners, plans to lobby Ontario's provincial government for aid to protect existing business and to support new ventures, according to a story in the Toronto Star.

"We look forward to working with ... the province to integrate our marine highways with the provincial road network," said Wayne Smith, vice president of marketing with Seaway Marine Transport, which operates 34 ships for two of the three major companies left in the industry — Toronto-based Upper Lakes Group Inc., and Algoma Central Corp., of St. Catharines.

There are "a bunch of serious issues ... that aren't going anywhere," Smith said. "Government understands ... but we're still waiting for definitive answers."

Part of the blame rests with the industry, officials admit.

"We've been too silent for too long," says John Greenway, Seaway's vice-president of operations. "The result is that most of our politicians and most of the public don't even know there's a Canadian marine industry."

The industry faces a long list of challenges, he said:

Cargo tonnages were dramatically down, until a slight increase this year. Important customers face uncertain futures. For example, ships will lose deliveries to Ontario Power Generation if the Ontario government keeps its promise to shut the province's coal-fired generating stations by 2007.

Canadian-owned ships must compete with ocean vessels registered in foreign countries. They operate cheaper because they can employ cut-price crews and have less stringent maintenance, safety and environmental standards.

Canada's lake fleet is aging. Most of the ships were built in the 1960s and '70s. Many have been extensively refurbished, but they're still less efficient than new models would be. New ships would be a great help, but the companies aren't making enough money to justify the $50 million or more each would cost.

Taxpayers subsidize land-based competitors by building and maintaining roads that transport trucks use. Ship owners must cover almost all the costs of operating the navigation system and ports, including dredging channels and icebreaking. Fees and tolls cost more than $50,000 per trip.

The shipowners claim several environmental advantages: For every tonne of cargo moved one kilometre, ships consume half the energy used by trains and one-tenth as much as trucks, says the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., which operates the Canadian side of the waterway. Ships also emit much less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and are involved in far fewer accidents and spills.

The new group wants Ottawa to pay for navigation services, as the U.S. government does, and to cover operating costs of the Seaway, in the same way governments maintain roads.

It's also trying to raise interest in a transportation system that would combine ships, trucks and possibly trains. One proposal: vessels to carry more than 100 trucks at a time across the lakes, allowing them to avoid crowded highways and clogged border crossings. One route might link Hamilton and Oswego, New York.

 

Corps to Focus River Dredging on Navigation Channel

12/11
The Corps of Engineers next summer will focus on dredging navigation channels in the St. Clair River, saying harbors in the Port Huron area don't need work right now, the Port Huron Times-Herald reported.

 A federal spending bill approved last month includes about $947,000 earmarked for dredging the channel in the St. Clair River and about $97,000 for work on the shipping channel through Lake St. Clair.

"They're (the commercial navigation channels) in pretty good shape overall, but there's selected areas where there's high spots," Wayne Schloop, chief of operations for the Corps of Engineers' Detroit district office, told the newspaper.

The last dredging of local state-operated marinas was two summers ago, when the Corps of Engineers scooped out entrances to the harbors in Lexington and Port Sanilac. Dredging is planned next year for harbors in Caseville and Bayport.

 

Port Report

12/11
Toronto

By Charlie Gibbons
The salty Antalina arrived early Thursday at Pier 51 to unload steel products. Later in the afternoon Hamilton Energy came over from Hamilton to bunker her. English River was in at the Lafarge dock.

The tug Vac and barges are still hauling dirt from the waterworks reconstruction project in the Beaches (about two stone throws from my house) to the Turning basin.
 

Today in Great Lakes History - December 11

On 11 December 2002, after last minute dredging operations were completed, Nadro Marine’s tugs SEAHOUND and VAC took the World War II Canadian Naval Tribal-class destroyer H.M.C.S. HAIDA from her mooring place at Toronto’s Ontario Place to Port Weller Dry Docks where a $3.5M refit was started in preparation for the vessel to start her new career as a museum ship in Hamilton, Ontario.

TEXACO CHIEF (Hull#193) was launched December 11, 1968, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd..

The H LEE WHITE (2) collided with the Greek salty GEORGIOS on December 11, 1974, near St. Clair, Michigan and had to return to Nicholson's dock at Detroit, Michigan for inspection.

On December 11, 1979, while about 11 miles off Manitou Island near the Keweenaw Peninsula,the ASHLAND's engine stalled due to a faulty relay switch. Caught in heavy weather and wallowing in the wave troughs, she put out a distress call. True to Great Lakes tradition four vessels immediately came to her assistance: two thousand footers, LEWIS WILSON FOY and EDWIN H GOTT, along with WILLIS B BOYER and U.S.C.G. cutter MESQUITE.

WILLIAM CLAY FORD (1) loaded her last cargo at Duluth, Minnesota on December 11, 1984.

PERE MARQUETTE 21 passed down the Welland Canal ( loaded with remnants of Port Huron's Peerless Cement Dock) on December 11, 1974, towed by the tugs SALVAGE MONARCH and DANIEL MC ALLISTER on the way to Sorel, Quebec where she was laid up.

The fishing boat LINDA E vanished on Lake Michigan along with its three crewmen on Dec. 11, 1998.

Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd.’s. WHEAT KING was laid up for the last time December 11, 1981.

On 11 December 1872, the Port Huron Times listed the following vessels in winter lay-up in Port Huron:
Sailing Craft:
A H MOSS, FOREST HUNTER. MARY E PEREW, SEA BIRD, REINDEER, T S SKINNER, L W PERRY, ADAIN, LITTLE NELLIE, MAGGIE, PRINCE ALFRED, CAPE HORM, KITTIE, JOHNSON (wrecker), CHRISTIANA, HOWE, C G MEISEL, AUNT RUTH, W R HANNA, IRONSIDES, GOLDEN FLEECE, JOHN L GROSS, WARRINGTON, ANGLO SAXON, MOORE, LADY ESSEX, ANNIE, FORWARDER (sunk), GROTON, NORTHWEST, FRED H MORSE, GEM OF THE LAKES, D J AUSTIN, CZAR, JAMAICA, ANNIE (scow), AND HATTIE.
Sidewheel Steamers: 8TH OHIO, WYOMING (lighter).
Propeller Steam Barges: W E WETMORE, SANILAC, CITY OF DETROIT.
Tugs: KATE MOFFAT, TAWAS, HITTIE HOYT, FRANK MOFFAT, J H MARTIN, JOHN PRIDGEON, BROCKWAY, GLADIATOR, CORAL, GRACE DORNER (small passenger vessel), AND C M FARRAR.

On 11 December 1895, GEORGE W ADAMS (wooden schooner-barge, 231 foot, 1444 gross tons, built in 1875, at Toledo, Ohio) was in tow of the steamer CALEDONIA with a load of coal, bound from Cleveland for Chicago. Her hull was crushed by ice and she sank near Colchester Shoals on Lake Erie. A salvage operation on her the following summer was a failure.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series and Boatnerd.com

This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history