Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive

Harsen's Island Ferry Service Stopped by Ice

2/28 - Harsen's Island - The car ferry servicing Harsen's Island has been stuck at its dock on the Saint Clair River. An air boat is being used to cross the river to help. Tuesday the Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay was working to help the ice move through the channel and allow the ferry to pass.

A spokesman for the United States Coast Guard in Detroit said the ferry has been down because of high volumes of ice. He said it happens every year around this time because there is always a lot of ice.
He said a helicopter will be sent in case of a medical emergency. He said residents are on their own until the ice breaks up and the ferry can ply the waters again.

A police sergeant for St. Clair County said its been a couple of years since there's been enough ice for the ferry to get stuck. He said the residents could be stuck for a couple of days to a couple of weeks.

From Detroit TV-4

U.S.-Flag Carriage on the Lakes Slips 20 Percent in January
Low Water Levels, Lack of Dredging Take Their Toll Again

2/28 - Cleveland—Inadequate depths in Great Lakes ports and waterways again robbed U.S.-Flag vessel operators of hundreds of thousands of tons of cargo January. The fleet moved only 3.3 million net tons during the month, a 20-percent decrease compared to a year ago. The January float was, however, marginally ahead of the month’s 5-year average.

The month’s largest iron ore cargo tells the story. The top load was 62,438 net tons. Yet when high water levels masked the effects of lack of adequate dredging in the late 1990s, 1,000-foot-long vessels carried as much as 72,300 net tons in a single trip. Therefore, January’s largest iron ore cargo represented only 86 percent of the capacity that is available when vessels can load deep.

Only one commodity, limestone, registered a noticeable increase in January, and that was because mild weather at the beginning of the month allowed some quarries to continue shipping a bit later than normal.

From Lake Carrier's Association

c. Columbus Calls off 2007 Soo Visits

2/28 - Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. -Three planned local visits of the cruise ship c. Columbus during this year have been scrapped, says Jerry Dolcetti, the City's commissioner of engineering and planning.

In a memo to City Councillors, Dolcetti advises that a local agent for the Columbus has advised that the big boat won't be returning to the Roberta Bondar dock this year "due to the continued low water levels being experienced in the Great Lakes." Other ports with similar water problems include Sarnia, Tobermory and Port Huron, which have also been removed from the Columbus's itinerary, Dolcetti says.

After a complaint last year, the City retained Purvis Marine to investigate removal of sediment from the river bottom near the docking location. Council has been advised that most bedrock near the dock is close to or deeper than the 6.5 metres needed by the MV Columbus. The ship's owners are "very happy" with the facilities provided by the City of Sault Ste. Marie and will consider returning here once the river has returned to its required depth, Dolcetti says.

From SooToday

Port Report - February 28

Calumet - Tom T.
The new Mackinaw was working Calumet Harbor on Tuesday. The mountains of salt across river from KCBX are almost gone.

Great Lakes Granddad
Oldest ship on inland ocean gets set for season on Lake Michigan

2/28 - South Chicago - Six years before the RMS Titanic set sail on its doomed maiden voyage, a Great Lakes steamship was launched, and it's still in operation.

Now called St. Marys Challenger, it is the oldest ship still in service on the Great Lakes. This winter, the 101-year-old Challenger is docked in South Chicago while a maintenance crew from Milwaukee does minor repairs to get it ready for spring sailing.

The Challenger often can be seen just east of the S. Kinnickinnic Ave. bridge, unloading thousands of tons of cement into the St. Marys Cement Co. silos. The ship carries cement from St. Marys' manufacturing plant, in Charlevoix, Mich., to Chicago, Manitowoc, Ferrysburg, Mich., and Milwaukee. Challenger is one of only two remaining ships still active on the Great Lakes powered by a Skinner Marine Unaflow steam engine. The other vessel is the car ferry Badger, which is powered by two of these engines.

Lately, Great Lakes ship watchers have wondered how much longer Challenger will keep sailing. "There's a rumor that she might not have many more seasons left. You sure hate to hear that," said George Wharton, a Strathroy, Ontario, retiree who spends his time watching, "chasing" and photographing ships.

The ship's crew has heard such talk for the last 16 years, said Kevin Rogers, the ship's port engineer who oversees winter repairs. There aren't many ships as rugged as Challenger, which took its maiden voyage in 1906 - two years before Henry Ford introduced the Model T automobile. "Everything was built strong back then," Rogers said. "This boat has steel plating that's an inch thick."

Challenger was christened as the William P. Snyder when originally launched in Detroit. Over the years, the ship also was known as the Alex D. Chisholm, Medusa Challenger and Southdown Challenger. Medusa, a Greek mythological figure, was a Gorgon, with snakes for hair and the power to turn men into stone. Medusa Challenger, owned then by Medusa Portland Cement Co., featured the head of a Gorgon as its emblem.

In the 1970s, parents in Manitowoc were known to threaten rambunctious children with a trip to the boat docks when Medusa came to town, according to an Aug. 19, 1979, article in The Milwaukee Journal.

Challenger has been one of the most-watched ships on the Great Lakes, said Wharton, who belongs to several marine historical groups and has followed ships on the lakes since the 1950s. "In boat nerd land, the Challenger is a big deal," he said. "It's a bit romantic to see this boat still going after 100 years."

Survived intense storms
Challenger has seen some intense Great Lakes storms, including rogue waves that covered much of the deck of the 551-foot ship. Rogers recalled weather that was so rough, the ship's crew members had to hold onto their plates while having dinner.

The waves were so powerful that one guy got stuck in the bathroom and couldn't get out. "He was banging on the wall. I went up there . . . and this guy was pinned against the wall next to the toilet," Rogers said.
In 1977, Medusa Challenger's crew was credited with saving two people from their capsized boat in Lake Michigan. They had been in the water for more than 15 hours. A third person died in the incident.
Challenger still has its original keel, built in 1906, and much of the equipment from the early 1900s. There's an old crank-operated telephone system, still in use, that would work even if the ship's electrical system failed.

Steam spirit
There aren't many steam-powered freighters left on the Great Lakes, but Challenger's engines could last many more years, said David Hollnagel, owner of Becker Boiler, the Milwaukee company that does the boat's winter maintenance. The steam is created by heating Bunkersea (Bunker C) fuel, a substance Rogers said was like "road tar," to 230 degrees. Steam powers just about everything on the ship, including the main engine, steering system, deck winches, generators and heat in the cabins.

Spare parts are hard to find for some of the old equipment. The port and starboard lights, for example, recently had to be rewired because the original double-filament bulbs were no longer available. "You just try and make things work. That's what engineers do," Rogers said.

In the winter, a handful of Becker Boiler employees live on the ship, docked on the Calumet River. One of the technicians, Bruce Albanese, has done maintenance and repairs on the ship for 30 years. "There aren't many guys that work on steam engines," Rogers said.

Challenger logs about 6,000 miles per season, all on Lake Michigan. The ship is old, but its wheelhouse boasts modern technology, including a satellite navigation system and weather radar. Wind is Challenger's enemy, making the ship hard to handle in the open lake. But its pointed bow helps it push through ice early in the shipping season. The ship's small size, compared with more modern Great Lakes freighters, means it has to make more trips to haul a comparable amount of cargo. But, because of its size, Challenger can access shallower, smaller ports that bigger ships can't touch.

A hull lot of cement
Every year, Challenger delivers 63 loads of cement, valued at $1 million each.

"You can't get a 1,000-foot freighter, loaded with cement, into some places," said John Polacsek with the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, in Detroit. Challenger's life span has probably been extended because it has always been in fresh water, rather than corrosive salt water. The ship also has received meticulous maintenance.

St. Marys Cement is probably waiting for an expensive, catastrophic equipment failure before retiring Challenger and converting it into a barge or giant storage bin. "That's where we come in, to keep a catastrophic problem from happening," Rogers said.

The ship's builders probably never imagined it would still be sailing after 100 years. "There are boats half the Challenger's age that are already retired," Rogers said.

Reported by Dave Borzymowski from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Marine License Expert to Speak to ISMA Lodges

2/28 - Detroit - Chuck Kakuska, of Sea-K's Licensing Service, will be visiting Detroit and Port Huron ISMA lodges twice in the next two weeks. Chuck is an expert in the marine licensing process.

The times and locations for the upcoming talks March 1, 2007 at the Quay Street Brewery in downtown Port Huron. If you plan on attending, contact either Bill Cline (810-987-5344 or John Philbin 519-344-4571

Wednesday afternoon, March 14, 2007 at the Island Cove Marina on North River Road in Harrison Township.

From ISMA Lodge #7.

Updates - February 28

News Photo Gallery updated

Win a Trip on  a Great Lakes Freighter - Help keep this site on line.

Public Photo Gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History - February 28

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

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

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

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

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

Data from: Max Hanley, Dave Swayze, Steve Haverty, 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.

Harsen's Island Ferry Stuck In Ice

2/27 - Harsen's Island - A ferry boat carrying residents of Harsen's Island has been stuck in ice in the mouth of the Saint Clair River since Friday, Local TV-4 reported.

Mike Sensoli, whose parents live on the island, said residents on the island are running out of food and fuel. Sensoli said he's considering using a friend's air boat to cross the river to help.

A spokesman for the United States Coast Guard in Detroit said the ferry has been down because of high volumes of ice. He said it happens every year around this time because there is always a lot of ice.
He said a helicopter will be sent in case of a medical emergency. He said residents are on their own until the ice breaks up and the ferry can ply the waters again.

A police sergeant for St. Clair County said it's been a couple of years since there's been enough ice for the ferry to get stuck. He said the residents could be stuck for a couple of days to a couple of weeks.

The boat's crew and passengers are on their own until the ice breaks up and the ferry can make it through the waters again.

From Detroit TV-4

Lack of Draft Slashes January Coal Trade

2/27 - Cleveland—With Great Lakes vessels’ draft severely limited by plummeting water levels and inadequate dredging, coal shipments fell dramatically in January.

Shipments totaled only 1.3 million net tons, a decrease of 35 percent compared to a year ago. The January coal float also was almost 10 percent behind the month’s 5-year average.

Light loading was most severe on Lake Superior. With the Lake’s water level hovering near the record low set more than eight decades ago, the largest coal cargo totaled only 62,437 net tons.

During periods of high water, coal loads on Lake Superior have approached 71,000 tons. Therefore, January’s largest coal cargo only represented 88 percent of the vessel’s carrying capacity.

From Lake Carriers Association

Lowering lake levels complicates coal delivery to Ontonagon harbor

2/27 - Ontonagon - Dredging out the silt at the mouth of Ontonagon River on an annual basis is a matter of vital importance to the Village of Ontonagon. “We need to dredge because the town of Ontonagon will flood if we do not dredge,” Terri Lukshaitis said.

Lukshaitis is the administrative secretary for the Ontonagon County Economic Development Corporation (EDC). She is well-informed on the dredging issue because the depth of Ontonagon’s harbor, located at the mouth of the river, has a major impact on the economy of Ontonagon County.

Smurfit-Stone Container and White Pine Electric Power LLC both depend on coal delivered at the harbor. “Our two largest manufacturers burn coal, and if we were to lose either of those two businesses, we would be in a world of hurt,” Lukshaitis said.

Smurfit-Stone owns its own dock, White Pine Electric Power has its coal delivered at a dock the EDC operates nearer the mouth of the river. The electric utility operates a coal-fired power plant and the paper mill burns coal to make steam and generate supplemental electricity.

“We bring in about 100,000 tons of coal a year by barge and right now that’s about the only way we can get it in here,” the mill’s general manager Chris Broome said. Other coal-hauling options, such as rail, are no longer viable for the mill. “We don’t even have the tracks anymore,” Broome said. “It’s been many years since we brought it in by rail.”

Flooding concerns aside, annual dredging is now necessary to bring ships into the harbor because of Lake Superior’s receding water levels.

“If we don’t get dredged, we can’t bring the boats in; it’s that close,” Lukshaitis said. “I know that Smurfit was impacted very negatively last year because the lake was down and when they were bringing coal in, they couldn’t bring the John G. Munson in fully loaded and that increases their costs.”

The John G. Munson is the freighter that hauls coal into the harbor for Smurfit-Stone. It would be more efficient, and therefore more cost-effective, if the freighter could bring a full load each trip.

Currently, the channel’s depth is 22 feet at the entrance and 19 feet at the unloading dock.

Former Ontonagon EDC administrative secretary Dorothy Bussiere submitted an application to Sen. Carl Levin seeking extension of the harbor further inland. Such an expansion is now possible because of the new bridge’s opening east of town.

Lukshaitis is attempting to contact Levin’s office to see if that application also included a request to have the harbor deepened. If it does not, she plans to add it.

Whether either of those requests will be granted is uncertain. Dredging of the Ontonagon harbor is federally funded and the work is done through the Army Corps of Engineers. Harbor extension would also be a federal project.

The Army Corps of Engineers conducted a study on the harbor extension project for the 2004 federal fiscal year. That study concluded: “Due to the regional nature of the benefits, there is not a federal interest in pursuing the subject project.” But the study stated that consideration should be given to the significant unemployment in the area before the project is dismissed entirely.

The harbor is of such small size as to keep it largely off the federal radar screen. “Because of the tonnage they get in that harbor, there’s limited amounts of resources that we have to assist them, unfortunately,” said Steven Brossart, Army Corps of Engineers Duluth Area Engineer.

Because of the size of the harbor, federal funding for the annual silt dredging is not assured, either. Lukshaitis said about 200,000 tons of freight comes into the harbor annually. To be guaranteed federal dredging funding, a harbor needs to take in at least one million tons of freight each year.

This year’s dredging, which will likely take place in June or July, made it in as a line item in the federal budget.

“This year, we did make the president’s budget; my concern is that because we are so small, we are probably not going to always make the president’s budget and what if we don’t?” Lukshaitis said.

In 2006, for instance, the dredging was funded as an earmark, an appropriation added to the federal budget by the legislature. President George W. Bush’s pledge to crack down on earmarks in his state of the union address is what has Lukshaitis worried.

On March 14, Wayne Schloop, chief of operation and maintenance for the Detroit district of the Army Corps of Engineers, will meet with Ontonagon officials to discuss budget issues, harbor funding, and what resources are available for Ontonagon Harbor.

From the Marquette Mining Journal

Share your steamer memories for exhibit

2/27 - Detroit - The Tashmoo sank. It hit a rock and then sank like one, dropping to the bed of the Detroit River at a coal wharf just above Amherstburg. That much, we know for sure. But did the passengers really tell the captain they wouldn't abandon ship because the band was too good?

That's the legend. Maybe you know for sure. Maybe you or your aunt or your grandpa the seaman was there. If you're the authority -- or if you have any other vivid tales or memories from the era of the legendary Great Lakes steamships -- the Dossin Great Lakes Museum wants to hear from you.

Closed for a makeover since Dec. 30, the museum on Belle Isle will reopen March 24-25 with a special exhibit about the luxury liners of the lakes. As part of the new installation, the museum is asking for memories, photos and souvenirs from the golden age of cruising -- not cruising Woodward Avenue, but the kind of cruising that sank out of sight after America discovered freeways.

Joel Stone, curator of the exhibit, says the South American, the City of Detroit III and some of the other Great Lakes steamships were as fancy as any hotel. They had lounges, libraries, ballrooms and top-end dining. Now we have airlines that charge you for peanuts and aisle seats. So much for progress.

Stone, 51, used to work on the Bob-Lo boats, but they don't quite qualify for the exhibit he's calling "Era of Elegance." The glory years ran from the 1880s into the early 1960s, though Great Lakes steaming had largely dried up by then. Before the age of air conditioning, you might cruise from Detroit to Port Huron just to cool off. Before highways, and before people felt comfortable wearing swim trunks onto jetliners, a trip from New York to Chicago might involve a train trip to Buffalo and then an overnight voyage to Detroit before a cab ride to the Michigan Central Depot.

"They were called night boats," Stone says, "because you'd board about 5 o'clock, listen to the band, have dinner, watch the stars and then wake up where you were going." The ships had their own branded china and silverware. The City of Detroit III had a pipe organ. After World War II, none of it mattered.

Travelers had options. They had schedules to keep. "By 1950," Stone says, "most of the companies were out of business," meaning their passengers "are kind of like World War II vets. They're disappearing."

If they can't be preserved, at least their memories can. Send recollections, photos or whatever else you'd like to Cruising, Detroit Historical Society, 5401 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48202. Some of the submissions might be used in the exhibit, some might be used later, and all will be appreciated -- but please note that none will be returned. The deadline is March 5.

As for the Tashmoo, it was chartered for a midnight cruise by the Pals Club of Hamtramck. The date was June 18, 1936. Chugging out of the Sugar Island Channel near Grosse Ile on her way back to Detroit, she bashed a submerged rock that tore a hole in her hull.

While the Jean Calloway orchestra played and dancers twirled, water rose to waist-deep on the crewmen in the engine room. The Tashmoo made it to the closest dock -- and "nobody wanted to leave," Stone says. "The band was too good."

The captain prevailed, the ship emptied, and 10 minutes later, it sank. If you recall what the band was playing, or if any other part of that era is still music to your ears, the museum will appreciate it if you drop a line.

From the Detroit News

Updates - February 27

News Photo Gallery updated

Win a Trip on  a Great Lakes Freighter - Help keep this site on line.

Public Photo Gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History - February 27

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

Data from: Steve Haverty, 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.

Charles M. Beeghly Renamed

2/26 - Sturgeon Bay -  According to sources inside the shipping industry, the steamer Charles M. Beeghly has been renamed Hon. James A. Oberstar. (Pictures in the Boatnerd News Photo Gallery confirm the change.)

The change honors the U. S. Representative (D) from Minnesota who has been friendly to Great Lakes shipping interests.

Oberstar has been a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1975, representing Minnesota's 8th congressional district, which includes Duluth. With the Democrats' victory in the 2006 midterm elections, Oberstar became chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The Beeghly was built for the Shenango Furnace Company in 1959 as Shenango II. She was sold on March 1, 1967 to Pickands Mather's Cleveland based Interlake Steamship Co. The Shenango II was quickly renamed Charles M. Beeghly before entering service in 1967.

The laker's namesake was Mr. Charles Milton Beeghly who was born October 6th, 1908 and served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer for Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. (an important Interlake customer) until retiring on December 31, 1968. Mr. Beeghly died February 18, 1999.

A complete history of the Beeghly can be found in the Boatnerd Fleet Photo Gallery.

Lake fails to yield much to massive Canadian ship

2/26 - Cleveland - If Lake Erie played in an ice hockey league, its record would be 2-0-1 this weekend.
After twice turning back the U.S. Coast Guard ice cutter Neah Bay -- sending it home empty-handed after long bouts both Friday and Saturday -- the stubbornly frozen lake played to a virtual tie with the Canadian Coast Guard's best boat Saturday afternoon.

The gargantuan Samuel Risley -- a 230-foot, 3,200-ton ship, had planned to go farther up the Grand River to alleviate ice pressure and prevent future flooding. Instead, it spent nearly three hours pounding into line after line of "windrows," fractured ice reconfigured by northerly wind into rock-solid barriers jutting up from the surface of the frozen lake. Soon after nightfall, the Risley was sent on another mission to accompany a tanker across the lake, a Canadian spokesman said.

"They did what they could outside the entrance to the mouth of the river," Canadian Coast Guard spokesman Bill Southcott said in a telephone interview late Saturday. "The Risley, however, had other obligations and could not stay to finish the fight."

Those windrows had stopped the Neah Bay after half-day voyages, which only got the boat outside of the Chagrin River in Eastlake. The U.S. boat, a 140-foot, 660-ton ship, had hoped to meet up with the Canadians Saturday to double-team the ice buildup. But the Neah Bay's captain, Lt. Eric Peace, had said that southeastern winds expected as early as today, although possibly bringing icy rain, may also work to push some of the windrows in the other direction -- back out into the lake.

The Canadians agreed with that analysis on Saturday. "We've done what we can to relieve some of the pressure. It's up to Mother Nature now," Southcott said. that's hopeful news for Fairport Harbor residents, who have been warily eyeing the frozen river mouth for several weeks. "If we get a good, quick thaw, it would be very bad," said Dennis Sholtis, a Fairport Harbor Port Authority board member. "Anything the two Coast Guards can do would be a big help for us because after ice comes water, and we don't need that."

Reported by Rex Cassidy and John Morris from the Cleveland Plain Dealer

Tests this week could decide pace for partial opening of Toledo's Martin Luther King, Jr., Bridge

2/26 - Toledo - Toledo city officials expect operational tests to be performed this week on the first of four drawspan quadrants installed on the Martin Luther King, Jr., Bridge, and hope for a second quadrant to be barged into place by week's end.

How long it will take after that to reopen the King to traffic or to install the remaining two drawspan quadrants remains to be determined, project officials said Friday. David Welch, the city's commissioner of the division of streets, bridges, and harbor, said negotiations have begun between project contractor, National Engineering, and the U.S. Coast Guard regarding how construction can proceed once a March 15 deadline to reopen the river to vessel traffic has passed.

Lt. Richard Minnich, a spokesman for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office in Toledo, confirmed that the subject of post-March 15 river closings has been broached but that there is little to negotiate until project officials submit a formal proposal. Lieutenant Minnich said he isn't expecting to receive one until after the second drawspan quadrant is installed.

But he warned that if installation of later quadrants takes as long as the first one has, river closings aren't likely to be allowed until next winter. "They're going to make their first try at raising that first span [tomorrow]," Lieutenant Minnich said. "It was put in on the 17th. They are not going to get a 10-day closure at any time during the shipping season if that's how long it's going to take," Lieutenant Minnich said.

Mr. Welch and Kristin Cousino, the project engineer for the city, said their plan is to request river closings of no more than four days, with an expectation that later quadrants will go faster than the first as the contractor becomes more efficient at the task.

Work started early last month to replace the King's drawspans - the sections raised to allow ships to pass through - with four new sections manufactured in Wisconsin and assembled on the Toledo waterfront. Original plans called for the two drawspans to be replaced one half at a time, in phases so that traffic could be maintained across the bridge most of the time during the work. The only exceptions were to be for stretches of up to a few days when the active part of the bridge had to be in the raised position to maneuver parts being removed or added.

But project officials quickly determined that concrete work to modify the bridge structure to accommodate the replacement drawspans was taking longer than expected.

Soon after a Jan. 26 announcement that the bridge would have to close to traffic for 18 days to help meet the March 15 deadline for reopening the river, workers found cracking concrete inside the drawspans' anchor piers that needed to be replaced. The discovery extended the closing indefinitely. Mr. Welch said all necessary concrete repairs have been made, and the counterweight on the first new drawspan quadrant was finished.

While city officials hope a second quadrant - which will allow one lane of traffic in each direction to resume using the King - will be floated into place late this week, Mr. Welch said that's "uncertain because of the high winds we've been having." Ms. Cousino said that if the second quadrant's installation goes smoothly, a third quadrant could be barged in before the March 15 river reopening deadline. If that is accomplished, she said, it will be left in the raised position until the final quadrant is installed. "I think the contractor is capable of doing it. It's just a matter of us pushing them to do it," the engineer said.

Lieutenant Minnich said any river-traffic shutdowns after March 15 will have to be approved on a case-by-case basis. Closings will only be allowed during periods when no commercial vessels are expected on the river, he said.

National Engineering's original contract to replace the King's drawspans, replace its control towers, and do related construction was for $33 million. But with completion delayed a year by a design error and further complicated by this year's construction problems, the cost has been pegged at $40 million and climbing. Early last week, city officials reported they are seeking a $4.75 million federal grant to help pay for the bridge work.

Bill Franklin, the city's director of public service, said the city had planned to ask for that money to help pay off state loans it has taken out for the project, but now some, if not all, of it could end up spent on cost overruns. The amount depends on the outcome of a city lawsuit against the contractor and two engineering firms over the design problems and construction delays.

The drawspan replacement is the second phase of an overall King bridge renovation that began in October, 2001, with rehabilitation of concrete-arch viaduct spans across the Maumee River. Renovating the concrete arches cost slightly more than $10 million and was finished in early 2004.

From the Toledo Blade.

Port Report - February 26

Toronto - Charlie Gibbons
The shifting of winter raw sugar storage cargoes began Sunday afternoon when McKeil's tugs Jarrett M. and Wyatt M. (the former Atomic and Progress) pulled Canadian Miner from Pier 35 into the Redpath Sugar slip. Unloading is expected to begin Monday. Storage cargoes remain aboard Canadian Provider and Canadian Leader.
The island ferry Ongiara continues running to Hanlan's Point as the ice build-up at Ward's Island is still too thick to attempt docking there.
The firetug Wm. Lyon Mackenzie has been out breaking ice almost daily.
Of the five vessels on the move today, four were built by Russel Bros. at Owen, Sound.

Updates - February 26

News Photo Gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History

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

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

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

February 25
CREEK TRANSPORT was launched this day in 1910, as a.) SASKATOON (Hull#256) at Sunderland, England by Sunderland Shipbuilding Co.

February 26
On this day in 1932, Captain Charles Mohr was awarded the Congressional Medal for saving 27 lives in five separate rescues during his sailing career on the Great Lakes. On September 26, 1930, on the steamer WILLIAM NELSON, he rescued 7 when the last commercial sailing ship on the lakes, OUR SON, sank on Lake Michigan. On July 25, 1929, on the steamer J MC CARTNEY KENNEDY, he rescued four men and two women from an overturned motor boat on Lake Erie. On November 23, 1927, on the E G MATHIOTT, he rescued four men shortly before their yacht sank during a snow storm on Lake Erie. On November 12, 1926, also on the E G MATHIOTT, he rescued three men from the yacht VALENCIA on Lake Erie. On June 6, 1922, then on the E W OGLEBAY, Captain Mohr rescued seven individuals from a sinking yacht on Georgian Bay.

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

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

On 26 February 1874, the tug WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE JR was launched at Port Huron Dry Dock. Her dimensions were 151 feet overall, 25 foot 6 inches beam, and 13 foot depth. Her machinery was built by Phillerick & Christy of Detroit and was shipped by rail to Port Huron. She cost $45,000. Her master builder was Alex Stewart.
On 26 February 1876, the MARY BELL (iron propeller, 58 foot, 34 gross tons, built in 1870, at Buffalo, New York) burned near Vicksburg, Michigan.

Data from: Roger LeLievre, Joe Barr, Joe Barr, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, 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.

Mackinaw in Marinette

Port Report - February 25

Grand Haven Recap - Dick Fox

Updates - February 25

News Photo Gallery updated

Wind Driven Ice Blocks River

Port Report - February 24

Western Lake Erie - Erich Zuschlag

Storm sediment still a port risk, officials caution

Mackinaw Programs Airs in Detroit

 This video is also available for sale from the main page of BoatNerd.

Updates - February 24

News Photo Gallery updated - Pictures of the Mystery Wreck found off Duluth

Public Photo Gallery updated

Cleveland-Cliffs crushes revenue records

2/23 - Duluth - Iron ore producer Cleveland-Cliffs smashed plenty of rock and a lot of records in 2006.

The Cleveland-based iron ore supplier, manager and owner or part-owner of three mines in Minnesota and two in Upper Michigan, set new revenue records for the year.

Revenue from product sales and services in 2006 reached $2 billion, a 15 percent increase over the previous record set in 2005. Operating income hit a record $387.5 million, a 9 percent jump, and sales margin jumped 12 percent to an all-time high of $435.8 million.

Cleveland-Cliffs, and the entire North American steel industry, have benefited from continued strong worldwide steel demand.

Sustained steel demand in Asia is projected to remain strong into 2007, company officials said. “Our outlook regarding industry conditions during the coming year is very encouraging,” Joe Carrabba, Cleveland-Cliffs president and CEO, said in a news release. “Domestically, we see the recently reported corrections in steel inventories continuing, which should result in firmer prices by mid-year. Entering 2007, Cliffs is serving a reinvigorated North American steel industry and expanding its presence in the world’s fastest-growing steel-related material markets.”

Hibbing Taconite Co. led all six Cliffs-managed mines in 2006 with 8.3 million tons of taconite pellet production. Northshore Mining Co. in Babbitt and Silver Bay produced 5.1 million tons; United Taconite, 4.3 million tons; the Tilden Mine in Upper Michigan, 6.9 million tons; and the neighboring Empire Minem, 4.9 million tons. Wabush Mine in eastern Canada produced 4.1 million tons.

All Cleveland-Cliffs’ North American iron ore operations are expected to operate at or near capacity in 2007, company officials said.

Net income for the fourth quarter was $83.7 million, and $293.8 million for the year. That compares to net income of $66.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2005 and $277.6 million for the year.

A boost of 5.28 percent in 2007 world iron ore pellet prices also is expected to benefit the company in 2007.
Cliffs-managed mines expect to produce about 36 million tons of iron ore pellets in 2007, up from 33.6 million tons in 2006.

Pellet inventories as of Dec. 31 were 2.6 million tons compared to 3.3 million tons at the end of 2005.

In 2008, the planned restart of an idled furnace at Northshore Mining Co. would boost annual production there by about 800,000 tons.

From the Duluth News Tribune

Got a story about cruising the Great Lakes?

2/23 - Detroit - Quietly, on Belle Isle, metro Detroit’s maritime museum is getting a makeover. And museum officials are looking for help from the public. (And we’re not talking about donations — for the moment, anyway.) Workers at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum are painting, refurbishing and repairing the 47-year-old blue brick building in preparation for its re-opening March 24.

One of the new exhibits is entitled “Era of Elegance,” which will recall the period from about 1880 to the 1960s when Detroit was the home port of such richly appointed steamships as the North and South American, City of Detroit III, the Tashmoo and Put-In Bay. They made both day trips and overnight cruises to a number of Great Lakes destinations.

That’s where the public comes in. The museum wants to hear from people who traveled or worked on these ships. They want stories, anecdotes, even tales of waterborne romance. “People who remember the City of Detroit III are like World War II vets,” said Curator Joel Stone. “They’ve got some great memories, but they are disappearing.”

Vicky Colwell has memories. She has kept them in a scrapbook, and it is headed to the Dossin. Colwell, of St. Clair Shores, worked as a teenager on the Aquarama, a fancy car ferry that traveled between Detroit and Cleveland from the mid 1950s to 1962. The ship was an old troop carrier that had been refitted with, among other features, a sleek-looking superstructure.

It seems almost amazing now that people 50 years ago would spend six hours and whatever the fare was to travel by water to Cleveland when they could drive there in three hours or so. “But it gave you the feel of being on a cruise,” Colwell said Wednesday.

Colwell, freshly out of Grosse Pointe High School (now Grosse Pointe South), worked as an assistant purser and made public address announcements. “They had bingo and about six restaurants. “It was eating, drinking and dancing and pretending you were on a great big cruise ship.”

Along with “Era of Elegance,” the museum will also unveil “Maritime Marvels,” which will feature waterborne engineering developments, such as the first outboard motor, Detroit’s once-huge shipbuilding industry and the city’s early water system. When the Dossin re-opens, visitors will see spruced-up versions of the longtime exhibits, including the Gothic Room, from the steamer City of Detroit III, the ship collection and the Boblo boat.

Like its parent, the Detroit Historical Museum on Woodward, the Dossin is now run by the Detroit Historical Society, the non-profit organization that assumed control last year from the cash-strapped city of Detroit.

For the “Era of Elegance” exhibit, send your memories by letter to Cruising, Detroit Historical Society, 5401 Woodward Avenue, Detroit MI 48202. Or by E-mail. 

Detroit Historical Museum 

Chances for great developments along the St. Lawrence

2/23 - Morrisburg - With the 50th anniversary of the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway and a related power project coming next year, two local senior citizens with long memories are looking for a celebratory gift from the province.
Mike McInnis and Les Cruickshank, both 77, say shoreline land acquired by the provincial government back in the 1950s and left idle since should now be freed up as a source of revenue rather than remaining a liability to taxpayers. "Scrub brush, goldenrod and wild geese do nothing for local businesses," they say.

The St. Lawrence Parks Commission, a Crown corporation, owns about 5,000 acres along the Seaway from Cornwall west to Iroquois, the men point out. While McInnis and Cruickshank acknowledge there have been spinoff benefits, including jobs, from a fraction of the land containing such commission-operated attractions as Upper Canada Village, Upper Canada Golf Course, a bird sanctuary and campgrounds, they suggest it's "not that significant."

Detrimental Policy?
Overall, the land-holding policy has been "very much to the detriment of the ratepayers," they contend. Both McInnis and Cruickshank are past members of the commission's board of directors. McInnis is a retired lawyer and former municipal councillor and Cruickshank is retired from the family road construction business. They insist they have no other motivation than a deep love for the area. Several years ago, they raised $20,000 to create a video about the St. Lawrence River and area.

As for timing of the intervention, McInnis said it's connected to the upcoming 50th anniversary and to next fall's provincial election. Neither man intends to be a candidate. "The province should, in co-operation with local municipalities, look at either sale or long-term lease of some of the land, using careful planning and environmental considerations," they say.

The pair won't have to work too hard to persuade the commission, said acting general manager Bruce Fitz-Gibbon. It recently completed an extensive study of its holdings and is now seeking cabinet clearance to lease or sell some of them for possible residential, retail and tourism development, Fitz-Gibbon said. "Some of the land is environmentally sensitive and must be protected," he said. "But we have identified pockets where development could occur."

In lieu of full property taxes, McInnis and Cruickshank say, local municipalities currently receive "a mere pittance" from the province. As a result, property owners in the counties pay additional taxes and are thus twice impacted by the loss of revenue. "There needs to be a greater balance between development and preservation," they say.

Back in 1958, they say, residents looked forward to growth with the arrival of the Seaway and power project. However, growth has been limited and the retail sector hasn't realized its full potential in the shoreline villages of Morrisburg, Iroquois, Ingleside and Long Sault.

The men say the tourist-drawing power of Upper Canada Village and other St. Lawrence Parks attractions isn't what it used to be. While an outstanding heritage site, the recreated 1860s pioneer village is "aging and needs maintenance and renewal," McInnis and Cruickshank argue. Fitz-Gibbon agreed, saying the attractions need major upgrades that could be financed by the sale or lease of some of the lands.

The former commission directors said the Mike Harris government undertook a study of the St. Lawrence land holdings that recommended divestiture of a portion of the lands. "Very little has happened since that time."

From the Ottawa Sun

Today in Great Lakes History - February 23

The e.) U.S.S. ROTARY (YO-148) was commissioned on February 23, 1943, at Sullivan's Dry Dock & Repair Co., Brooklyn, New York and assigned duty with the Service Force, Third Naval District, Atlantic Fleet. The tanker was built in 1915 at Chatham, England by Chatham Dock Yard Ltd. as a.) H.M.S. SERVITOR. Renamed b.) PULOE BRANI in 1922, brought to the Lakes and renamed c.) B B MC COLL in 1927, and d.) A J PATMORE in 1929. After her U.S. Naval Service ROTARY reverted to her previous name f.) A J PATMORE and then g.) PEGGY REINAUER in 1946. Renamed h.) DETROIT early in 1955, she traded on the lakes until 1975. Her partially dismantled hull was abandoned in 1985, in the back waters of Lake Calumet.

On 23 February 1843, SANDUSKY (wooden side-wheeler, 148 foot, 377 tons, built in 1834, at Sandusky, Ohio) caught fire at her dock on Buffalo Creek in Buffalo, New York and burned to the hull. She was recovered, rebuilt as a 3-masted bark and lasted another two years.

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.

Welland Canal Opening to Establish New Record

2/22 - St. Catharines - The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) will open the Welland Canal on March 20th at 8:00am DST, establishing a record for the earliest opening date. The decision to open on the 20th stems partially from Seaway clients requesting an earlier start, and was made after carefully reviewing maintenance schedules and environmental considerations.

“Our system enjoyed excellent traffic results in 2006. We are building on this momentum and extending a number of incentives to encourage more shippers to utilize the Seaway” stated Richard Corfe, President and CEO of the SLSMC. “Within our system’s existing locks and channels, we have the capacity to increase our cargo volume by over 60 percent. This opportunity is very significant, in light of clogged land-based arteries and an increasing desire among organizations to improve their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission performance.”

Mr. Corfe’s U.S. counterpart, Collister (“Terry”) Johnson, Jr., Administrator of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, concurred. “The Seaway continues to play a vital role as a gateway connecting North America’s manufacturing and agricultural heartland markets to global commerce,” he said. “The new navigation season historically focuses on staple bulk cargoes, but we’re excited about the sustained improvements in project cargo trade, especially strong growth in petroleum-mining activities in Alberta and wind turbines.”

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the fourth Welland Canal, which predates the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Welland Canal was an engineering marvel at its inception and today the Seaway, as a whole, is yet again on the vanguard of technology. Improvements underway include the testing of a hands-free vessel mooring system, a vessel self-spotting system to enable crew members on the bridge to precisely judge their approach into a lock, and a sophisticated 3D charting system which provides an accurate model of the channel bottom, with the potential to enhance navigation and available vessel draft.

The Montreal/Lake Ontario section of the Seaway is slated to open on March 21st at 8:00am DST. Opening and closing dates are set after careful deliberation, taking into account a host of factors and the interests of a diverse group of stakeholders.

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

From the St. Lawrence Seaway Management

Duluth Mystery from the Deep

2/22 - Duluth - Ice anglers walking off the sand beach of Duluth’s Park Point have found what may be an uncharted wreckage of a Lake Superior vessel.

The outline of the wreckage was first spotted Sunday through the 10 inches of crystal-clear ice that now covers much of Lake Superior off Duluth. It sits about 150 feet out from the shoreline off the 2600 block of Minnesota Avenue, in water 10 feet deep.

Other anglers have drilled holes in the ice and lowered an underwater video camera to take a closer look.

Maritime historians say it’s not clear if the finding is a discovery of an uncharted wreck or if it’s a documented wreck that somehow was moved by currents or shifting sands. Shipwreck maps document several sunken vessels off Duluth, but all are closer either to the Duluth Ship Canal or to Superior Entry.

It’s also possible that sand covering the wreckage had been moved off the area and that the near-record low Lake Superior water level may have made the wreckage easier to see.

Either way, it seems astonishing that no one has ever noticed the wreck before. And it seems even stranger that anything that substantial could have moved very far.

“I’ve boated over that spot and swam over it and never saw it before,’’ said Isaac Ginsberg of Duluth. Ginsberg, a professional photographer, happened on the anglers who found the wreck. He took still photographs of the underwater camera’s monitor. The photos show the outline of a large wooden vessel and a driveshaft.

“We could also see the propeller, and it was big… maybe three feet across,’’ Ginsberg said, adding that it appeared too big to move much. “Maybe they beached it and burned it or something.’’

Thom Holden, director of the Lake Superior Maritime Visitors Center in Duluth, said he knew of no wreck in that area. He noted that chunks of wrecks, along with other items — such as the mystery crib recently washed ashore in Duluth — have surprised Lake Superior buffs before.

“There’s nothing I could find that’s supposed to be in that spot. How it got there, or why no one ever noticed it before, who knows?” Holden said.

Steven Sola, who was with Williams on Sunday, said the wreck was clearly visible in less than 15 feet of water.

After happening upon the wreckage, Sola retrieved a small underwater camera used for fishing. The camera revealed the decking timbers and propeller blades sticking out of the sand. "It's amazingly clear," he said. "It was like a PBS special."

After consulting some charts and other ship resources, Sola said he thinks it might be the City of Winnipeg, a wooden passenger ship built in 1870. The Minnesota Historical Society's list of shipwrecks said the City of Winnipeg was partially burned in a fire in 1881 and scuttled at an unknown location in 1898.

Conditions on the ice are unpredictable and can become dangerous quickly. Efforts by a News Tribune reporter and photographer to visit the site Tuesday afternoon were thwarted by a pressure ridge that appeared to have caused a rift of open water.

Jan Saillard, owner of Innerspace Scuba in Duluth’s West End, said he hadn’t heard of any wreckage in that area known to divers but speculated it might be a scuttled boat. “They scuttled tugboats off the point and it might be one of those where the sand shifted recently and exposed something,’’ he said.

While it’s not unusual for the western tip of Lake Superior to freeze enough for anglers to walk out on the lake, it is unusual for the lake to freeze this smooth and clear, and to have little or no snow covering the ice. It’s possible to see through the ice and clear water to objects on the bottom 20 or more feet below.

Reported by Al Miller from the Duluth News Tribune

Port Report - February 22

Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer
Cement carrier St. Mary's Conquest and tug Susan W. Hannah arrived in Milwaukee from Charlevoix Wednesday just after 5:00 a.m. and proceeded slowly up to their berth on the Kinnickinnic River where they will go into lay-up.

Port Huron Marine Mart Time Extended

2/22 - Port Huron - The Marine Memorabilia Flea Market scheduled for June 2, at the Seaway Terminal in Port Huron, has extended the open hours to 9:00am to 4:00pm. See the Boatnerd Calendar of Events for additional information.

The departure time for the Boatnerd Gathering Cruise aboard the Huron Lady II has been changed to 5:00pm to accommodate vendors and late shopper who want to join the cruise.

See the Boatnerd Gathering page for additional information.

Boat Watching Season Not Far Off

2/22 - The Welland Canal is opening in a mere 25 days.

The Soo Locks will open in 31 days, and Engineer's Day is only 127 days from today.

Do you have your Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping (Boatnerd) bumper sticker, window clinger of cloth patch?

Click here to order now. Be ready for the new season.

Updates - February 22

News Photo Gallery updated

Win a Trip on  a Great Lakes Freighter - Help keep this site on line.

Boatnerd Gathering page updated

Public Photo Gallery updated

Calendar of Events updated

Today in Great Lakes History - February 22

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

February 22, 1925 - The ANN ARBOR NO 7 made her maiden voyage.

On 22 February 1878, the 156 foot wooden freighter ROBERT HOLLAND was purchased by Beatty & Co. of Sarnia for $20,000.

Data from: 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.

Cutter Mackinaw Stops In Escanaba

2/21 - Escanaba - The Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw made a brief stop in Escanaba Monday afternoon to pick up additional crew and contractors. The state of the art ice breaker is on its way to the Green Bay area where it will conduct "ice trials" to further determine what conditions the ship can operate in.

The Mackinaw also just finished helping two ships through the ice, both carrying 35,000 barrels of heating oil headed for Chicago.

From TV6 in Marquette

Seaway Lighthouse Lantern Missing

2/21 - Thousand Islands - Oceanside RCMP are seeking help in locating a stolen lighthouse lantern, valued at $20,000, from the Sisters Island lighthouse station located on the small island off the northwest end of Lasqueti Island.

“Someone from Lasqueti Island has stolen it as some sort of trophy is my feeling,” says Oceanside Constable Dave Bezanson. “It’s probably someone’s disco ball. “They are jeopardizing lives by stealing this light.”

Described as 34 inches tall, 21 inches in diameter and weighing approximately 60 pounds, the lantern can be operated either by solar power or can run on 12-volt power.

The incident is believed to have happened some time ago, likely within the last six months. The station, that also houses a caretaker’s residence, is currently vacant and has been victim to break and enters in the past. This time RCMP say vandals smashed windows, shower stall doors and a toilet before making off with the navigational aid.

“It will be quite a lot of work to fly out a new one and have it rewired ... We’re lucky enough to have a small beacon on top,” says Bezanson, adding the station is still able to assist local boaters in navigating the waters.

Anyone with information is asked to call the RCMP at 248-6111 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Reported by Bill Edwards from the Parksville Qualicum News

Updates - February 21

News Photo Gallery updated

Win a Trip on  a Great Lakes Freighter - Help keep this site on line.

Public Photo Gallery updated

Calendar of Events updated

Today in Great Lakes History - February 21

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

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

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

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.

Inadequate Dredging of Ports and Waterways Hurts America

2/20 - Cleveland---Lack of investment in the country’s navigation infrastructure has significantly reduced the efficiency of waterborne commerce said a leading Great Lakes official in testimony before the House’s Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development on Friday, February 16. James H. I. Weakley, President of Lake Carriers’ Association and an officer of Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, told the subcommittee “Marine transportation on the Great Lakes makes manufacturing in America possible.

The [Great Lakes] region accounts for 70 percent of the nation’s steelmaking capacity, 70 percent of its automobile production, and 55 percent of all heavy manufacturing. Unfortunately, we are not able to take full advantage of our vessels’ efficiencies because of inadequate dredging. Today, three of every four vessels leave the dock ‘light loaded’ because ports and connecting channels on the Great Lakes are not maintained to project dimensions.”

Weakley stressed that even an inch of lost draft has consequences for the American consumer. The 63 U.S.-Flag vessels working the Great Lakes lose more than 8,000 tons of cargo each trip when forced to trim just one inch from their loaded draft. “The economic efficiency lost by not carrying those 8,000 tons is borne by the U.S. economy. Those 8,000 tons of iron ore not carried could have produced steel for 6,000 automobiles. Those 8,000 tons of coal not carried could have produced electricity to power the Greater Detroit area for 3 hours. Those 8,000 tons of limestone not carried could have been used to build 24 homes.”

Weakley further noted the loss of water depth in the Great Lakes Navigation System is more accurately measured in feet. “Ships bound for Saginaw, Michigan, could load an additional 60 inches ifadequate water were available. One of the more tragic Great Lakes infrastructure stories is Dunkirk, New York, because water-based shipments to that port ended in 2005. That means 500,000 fewer tons of coal left Conneaut, Ohio, and Toledo, Ohio. As you can see, it is not a port or individual place at risk; it is the entire Great Lakes Navigation System. It is the industries and the people who depend
on affordable marine transportation whose very livelihoods are endangered.

Weakley made several suggestions on how to address the lack of adequate dredging. The first would be for the Federal Government to appropriate more money from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF), which was specifically designed to pay for “operations and maintenance” at deep draft ports. “I believe the HMTF contains a surplus of more than $3.5 billion,” Weakley said. “It is time to restore the ‘trust’ to the HMTF by either spending it down or taking it ‘off budget’.”

Weakley also observed that metrics other than tons could be employed to allocate resources. Weakley closed by stressing a “strong marine transportation system … allows American producers, both agricultural and manufacturing, to compete domestically and globally. We must recognize that transportation is the grease that keeps our economy moving and invest appropriately.”

Lake Carriers’ Association represents 18 American corporations that operate 63 U.S.-Flag vessels on the Great Lakes. These vessels carry the raw materials that drive the nation’s economy: Iron ore and fluxstone for the steel industry, limestone, and cement for the construction industry, coal for power generation.... Collectively, these vessels can transport as much as 125 million tons of cargo a year when high water levels offset the lack of adequate dredging of Great Lakes ports and waterways. More information is available at www.lcaships.com.

Great Lakes Maritime Task Force represents 63 companies and organizations involved in all aspects of Great Lakes shipping and was founded in 1992 to promote increased waterborne commerce and related industries.

Source: Lake Carriers’ Association

Soo Tug Parade and Races Planned

2/20 - The annual Soo Tug Boat Parade has been scheduled for Friday evening of Engineer's Day, June 29.

The annual Tug Boat Races will begin at noon, in Soo Harbor, on Saturday, June 30.

DeTour Reef Light Tours, Weekends Scheduled

2/20 - Drummond Island - The DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society has announced the 2007 schedule of lighthouse tours and lighthouse keepers weekend stays at the light.

The restored lighthouse marks the entrance to the St. Marys River, from Lake Huron, and offers and tremendous view of passing traffic.

Information is a available at the organization's website www.DRLPS.com

Trip Raffle to Benefit BoatNerd

Through the generosity of the Interlake Steamship Co., BoatNerd is offering the chance to win a four-six-day trip for four to take place during the 2007 sailing season (between the months of June and September) on the winner's choice of the classic Lee. A. Tregurtha or the Queen of the Lakes Paul R. Tregurtha.

The trip is the Grand Prize of BoatNerd¹s first ever raffle and fundraising event. Other prizes will also be given away.

All proceeds from this raffle will benefit Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping Online, the non-profit support organization for the BoatNerd.Com Web site. Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping Online, Inc. is a non-profit 501(C)(3) corporation. Funds raised will be used to upgrade our equipment, expand our services and pay monthly Internet connection charges.

The drawing will take place at 2 p.m. on June 2, 2007 at the BoatNerd.Com World Headquarters in Port Huron, Mich.

Donation: $10 per ticket, 3 for $25, 6 for $50 or 12 for $100.

Click here to order, or for more information. Tickets are also available by mail, or in person at BoatNerd World Headquarters in Port Huron, MI.

Updates - February 20

News Photo Gallery updated

Win a Trip on  a Great Lakes Freighter - Help keep this site on line.

Public Photo Gallery updated

Calendar of Events updated

Today in Great Lakes History - February 20

In 1957, the ELTON HOYT 2ND, flagship of the Interlake Steamship Company fleet, entered drydock at the American Shipbuilding Company yards in Chicago to be lengthened 72 feet.

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

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

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

Data from: Jody Aho, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, 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.

Updates - February 19

News Photo Gallery updated

Win a Trip on  a Great Lakes Freighter - Help keep this site on line.

Public Photo Gallery updated

Calendar of Events updated

Today in Great Lakes History - February 19

The first steel car ferry was launched at Bay City, Michigan in 1897. Captain James W. Martin, who conceived the idea of a steel car ferry to buck the ice and cross the lake hauling loaded freight cars, sailed the PERE MARQUETTE to Milwaukee on her maiden trip.

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

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

Data from: Joe Barr, Russ Plumb, 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.

Mackinaw plans icebreaking operation

2/18 - Door County Wisconsin - The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw is scheduled to enter Green Bay at Rock Island Passage during the week beginning Monday, February 19. From there, the new icebreaker will proceed south to the ice field in the vicinity of Chambers Island to evaluate the conditions there.

The Mackinaw will transit down the charted Lake Carriers Association track lines, then back out along the same track.

Recreational users of the ice should plan their activity carefully, use caution near the ice, and stay away from shipping channels and the chartered LCA track lines.

Further information or specific questions about the exact timing of the operation can be made by phone to Sault Vessel Traffic at 906-635-3232
From the Door County Advocate

Reliance Arrives at Windsor

2/18 - Windsor - The Purvis Marine tug Reliance, pushing the barge PML 9000 with a load of coiled steel, continued down bound in the St. Clair River Saturday under the escort of the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Griffon. The tug and barge were stopped by the ice several times.

Shortly after noon the barge was stopped near St. Clair, Michigan and was assisted by the Griffon and U.S. Coast Guard Neah Bay. By mid afternoon, the tug and barge were fighting through the ice at the southern most part of the St. Clair River off Harsen's Island. The Griffon and Neah Bay made continuous passes though the channel trying to get the ice moving and ease the pressure on the barge.

Barges typically have a harder time in the ice as their width and shallow draft caused the ice to be pushed ahead until the tug and barge can make no headway.

The two icebreakers and tug and barge reached the Detroit River after 7 p.m. The upper river was mainly ice free on Saturday and the Reliance reached the dock in Windsor around 10:30 p.m.

Fund drive aims to rescue Buffalo's historic fireboat

2/18 - Buffalo - The walk from his home in the old First Ward to hockey games at Memorial Auditorium invariably took young Mike Higgins past the big red fireboat Edward M. Cotter, berthed near the Michigan Avenue Bridge.

A true son of the Buffalo waterfront whose grandfather, Frank "Sheephead" Dziedzic, once ran the Small Boat Harbor, Higgins dreamed that one day he would pilot the Cotter, which was commissioned in 1900 and is the world's oldest working fireboat. His wish came true 10 years ago when Higgins, now a Buffalo fire captain, was assigned to Engine 20 - the department's designation for the Cotter.

But his tenure will not last unless Friends of the Cotter, a nonprofit civilian group formed in 2005, completes a $250,000 fund drive that would lead to an overhaul of the vessel, named a national historic landmark in 1996. Though the cash-deprived City of Buffalo still owns the Cotter and performs basic maintenance, it is in no position to lay out money for major repairs.

Friends of the Cotter, however, is determined to keep the legend afloat, said Vince Benbenek, a business owner who heads the organization. It will sponsor the Buffalo Boat Bash from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday in the Pearl Street Grill & Brewery, with proceeds going to the Cotter. Blues music and hors d'oeuvres will be featured. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door.

Benbenek knew little about the fireboat when he joined the support group at the suggestion of a friend and board member but soon found himself drawn to the story.

Originally named the William S. Grattan, the vessel was built in New Jersey and steamed into Buffalo in 1900. Able to pump 9,000 gallons of water a minute - the equivalent of four pumpers - the fireboat fought blazes at riverside industrial plants and aboard vessels in the harbor.

In 1928, a monster fire caused by the collision of a barge and an oil tanker in the Buffalo River enveloped the Grattan, killing the engineer and badly burning four crewmen.

The rebuilt craft returned to service in 1930. In 1954, after a brief period as The Firefighter, it was renamed the E.M. Cotter in honor of the first president of the Buffalo firefighters union.

Once the city's shipping industry began to slide in the 1960s, the fireboat was rarely called into service; the last major fire it fought destroyed the West Side Rowing Club's former building in 1985.

Nowadays, the Cotter occasionally is dispatched to douse shoreline brush and driftwood fires, but its main duties are icebreaking in winter and performing ceremonial tasks like shooting its water cannons to welcome visiting ships or taking people on harbor cruises sponsored by charities. The captain, Higgins, is the only full-time crew member. Firefighters from other station houses are detailed to the Cotter as needed.

Money for the restoration - about $39,000 has been collected so far - is managed by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, which has pledged a $100,000 matching grant to the project. "It's really a feel-good story," Benbenek said. "We want to keep the Cotter going, not so much as a working fireboat but as an ambassador for city."

From the Buffalo News

Buffalo Waterfront Development Moves Ahead

2/18 - Buffalo - The redevelopment at the Union Ship Canal site in Lackawanna took a major step forward in mid February.

Another 60 acres was added to the 75 acres recently acquired to bring the total project up to nearly 250 acres. $5 million will be spent to extend the current roadway and infrastructure improvements on the South side of the Union Canal out to Tift St.

Industrial contamination on certain parcels of the property will need remediation before further building construction can take place, but much of the property is considered cleaned up and shovel ready. $7.5 million worth of parkland improvements to the area directly surrounding the Union Ship Canal was set to begin during the summer of 2007.

The design includes landscaped bike trails, shrubs, and a pedestrian bridge over the canal for quick access to either side of the nearly 5,000 foot long waterway that cuts through the property beginning at the South end of Buffalo Outer Harbor. This slip was originally cut to serve Frank Goodyear's Buffalo & Susquehanna Iron Company and the Pennsylvania Rail Road Ore Dock during the early 1900's.

Remaining industrial operations ceased with the closing of Hanna Furnace and the Shenango mould making facility in the early 1980's leaving behind a fairly well polluted "brownfield" before clean up started with taxpayer money from local governments in the late 1990's. In recent years recreational boaters, car thieves looking to dump a vehicle, salvage divers, and fishermen have taken the place of large lake vessels, ship unloading machines, and blast furnaces on the property surrounding the canal.

Once complete, the Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park with have removed a total wasteland and eyesore from the waterfront while putting abandoned former industrial property back on the tax rolls. The parkland development on the South side of the Union Slip will give Lackawanna residents their first waterfront public access in over 100 years.

Reported by Brian Wroblewski from the Buffalo News

Updates - February 18

News Photo Gallery updated

Win a Trip on  a Great Lakes Freighter - Help keep this site on line.

Public Photo Gallery updated

Calendar of Events updated

Former grocery supplier killed

2/18 - Bill Jorden, former owner of Cross River Store in Schroeder Minnesota, was killed in a skiing accident Thursday the 15th of February while skiing at Lutsen Minnesota. Bill went out of control and hit a tree.

Bill had supplied boats at Taconite Harbor with groceries since the 1970's. A few years ago he moved to Silver Bay and started his sausage business in Beaver Bay.

Today in Great Lakes History - February 18

IMPERIAL ST CLAIR participated in an historic special convoy with DOAN TRANSPORT, which carried caustic soda, led by C.C.G.S. GRIFFON arriving at Thunder Bay, Ontario on February 18, 1977. The journey took one week from Sarnia, Ontario through Lake Superior ice as much as six feet thick, and at one point it took four days to travel 60 miles. The trip was initiated to supply residents of the Canadian Lakehead with 86,000 barrels of heating oil the reserves of which were becoming depleted due to severe weather that winter.

The b.) JOSEPH S YOUNG, a.) ARCHERS HOPE, was towed to the Great Lakes via the Mississippi River and arrived at the Manitowoc Ship Building Co., Manitowoc, Wisconsin on February 18, 1957, where her self unloading equipment was installed. This was the last large vessel to enter the Lakes via the Mississippi. She was the first of seven T-2 tanker conversions for Great Lakes service. Renamed c.) H LEE WHITE in 1969, and d.) SHARON in 1974. SHARON was scrapped at Brownsville, Texas in 1986.

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

Data from: Jody Aho, Joe Barr, 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.

New Mackinaw makes its first assist through the ice

2/17 - Cheboygan - It's first ice assists completed, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw returned to its Cheboygan homeport Thursday to await a call to help the next ship transiting the Straits of Mackinac. The 240-foot icebreaker logged four days of work, clearing and grooming a track to the east and west of the Mackinac Bridge, using the U.S. Coast Guard station at St. Ignace as a rest stop.

“The ability to utilize the dock at St. Ignace was a key factor in the success of our mission,” said Cmdr. John Little. “It saves us a lot of fuel to be able to stop there and then we're quickly accessible to the Straits again. It's also easy to drive personnel or materials up from Cheboygan if needed.”

The Hannah Marine Corp. had two tug/barge combinations passing through this week. The Mary E. Hannah and the James A. Hannah each carried 34,000 barrels of fuel oil and encountered ice beginning east of Round Island Passage in Lake Huron on their way to Lake Michigan. The Mackinaw cleared a track ahead of the vessels and returned via the same route to maintain a safe passage.

“These were the first real ice assists in the Mackinaw's career,” Little explained. “We met them about 4 a.m. Wednesday east of Mackinac Island and made about six or seven knots in our westbound transit. We were concerned that they might get stuck out near the ice edge, but they made it through into Lake Michigan and are on their way.”

The Mac's skipper reported varying ice conditions enroute in the Straits. “We saw plate ice that was 12 to 20 inches thick in the area surrounding the Mackinac Bridge,” Little said. “The ice edge is out at Lansing Shoals. The roughest brash ice was at the outer edge. The southwest winds grated the edges of the ice and packed it in on the edge. Some of it was about six feet thick and we broke through it just fine.”

Little said that the Mackinaw's unique twin propulsion pods performed a task as yet unseen in Great Lakes icebreaking. The ability to move a lot of broken ice in any direction desired is relatively new to the business. The ship broke a path equal to its 58-foot beam, then turned the pods to force the chopped-up remains away, creating lots of open water. “We flushed a lot of that ice right out into the lake,” he noted. “The winds were from the northeast at the time and that helped. It was a combination of modern technology working together with nature, so to speak.”

The gasoline tanker Michigan is scheduled in from Chicago, headed for Cheboygan, on Monday - allowing the Mackinaw several days at home before heading out to escort the ship through the ice. Ironically, the time spent in port will be preparing for the spring buoy-commissioning season, a task only recently completed when the same buoys were all picked up for maintenance in the yard at the Millard D. Olds Memorial Moorings.

“We'll get our work list together and get going with replacement of batteries, lenses, anything that they need done,” Little said. It's quite a job to do so we'll chip away at it and get some things done before we go out helping ships again. We also have some contractors coming aboard to familiarize themselves with our systems and equipment.”

Little said that the Mackinaw's manufacturer's warranty has expired, so some new contractors are being brought aboard to familiarize themselves with the equipment.

Written by Mike Fornes for the Cheboygan Daily Tribune

Reliance Heading for Windsor

2-17
Friday afternoon the Purvis tug Reliance was downbound on Lake Huron off Lexington, Mi towing the Barge PML 9000. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Neah Bay escorted the tug and barge downbound. The Reliance stopped above the Huron cut and appeared to switch to pushing the barge. Pushing a barge offers better control of the barge when moving through the current in the St. Clair River.

The Reliance stopped for the night at Buoy's 11 & 12 shortly after 5 p.m. Friday evening. The tug and barge waited for the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Griffon to escort them downbound. The barge is loaded with a cargo of steel coils from Algoma Steel in the Soo destine for Windsor.

The Reliance continued downbound Saturday morning following the Griffon. The tug and barge became stuck at times in ice in the Huron Cut and required the Griffon to break the tug and barge free.

Museum ship Willis B. Boyer could be headed for scrap yard

2/17 - Toledo - She was the “Queen of the Lakes” when she launched, but what was once the world's largest bulk freighter is destined for the scrap yard if she doesn't soon receive some needed support.

The S.S. Willis B. Boyer Museum Ship, which has graced the eastern banks of the Maumee River for nearly 20 years, is in jeopardy of deteriorating to an irreparable state due to a lack of funding from the City of Toledo, which purchased the ship in 1986, said Paul LaMarre, the Boyer's executive director. For the second consecutive year, he said, the ship has had to operate without an operating budget because of the city's fiscal constraints.

“With our current funding situation, we can only do so much to fight the deterioration that's taking place,” LaMarre said. “In all reality, on her current course, the ship could survive one or two more years before being destined for the scrap yard.” “The ship structurally and aesthetically is in dire need of restoration,” he said.

Though the Boyer is braving what may be the greatest challenge in its storied history on the Great Lakes and in its ports, LaMarre said the ship won't go down without a fight. He is spearheading a grassroots campaign with Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority President and CEO James Hartung to raise funds through the private sector to save the ship. With those moneys, along with a $300,000 federal grant he is applying for through U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur's office, LaMarre said he could provide for the ship's dry-docking and its structural rejuvenation.

The Boyer, LaMarre said, is in its current state because the ship's annual capital improvement budget of $50,000 has been eliminated as city coffers have been depleted. It's literally rusting out from beneath your feet ona daily basis," he said.

Symbol of the port
In front of hundreds of onlookers along the shore of an Ecorse, Mich., shipyard, the Boyer launched July 1, 1911. Then called the S.S. Col. James M. Schoonmaker, after the Civil War hero, the ship carried 12,650 net tons of coal from Toledo to Sheboygan, Wis., on its maiden voyage. The spot it sits today is nearly the exact site where it loaded its first shipment, LaMarre said.

When the Titanic was the largest passenger ship in the world after its 1912 launch, the Boyer was the largest freight vessel on the planet, LaMarre said. It is the only ship to sail the Great Lakes ever to claim the “world's largest” designation. The ship's accommodations were said to have rivaled those of transatlantic express steamships such as the Lusitania and Olympic, LaMarre said, which was unheard of for a working vessel. “Her interior is the most luxurious of any ship that sailed the inland seas,” he said.

After changing hands between various shipping companies, the ship, renamed the Boyer in 1972, was acquired by the City of Toledo from the Cleveland Cliffs Steamship Co. for use as a museum. It opened to the public in Toledo on July 4, 1987. “It really has been Toledo's ship and Toledo's symbol of the port for a century,” LaMarre said.

Hartung, who said he is acting as a concerned citizen in his effort to save the ship, said he would do whatever he could to stimulate interest from businesses to help provide operating funds for the Boyer. He said the ship's improvement would fit nicely with other projects planned for the Marina District and International Park areas. “The Boyer is a natural symbol of an age when maritime commerce dominated the Great Lakes,” Hartung said. “When you look at the developments that we have envisioned for the waterfront ... it's going to be continuous, it's going to be diverse and it's going to have appeal for most everyone to come and visit. “The Boyer just seems to be a perfect fit.”

Port Authority board member A. Bailey Stanbery agreed the Boyer is a symbol of Toledo's port status and should not be lost. “The history of the Boyer is related to the seaport,” Stanbery said. “As a citizen of Toledo, I feel strongly that it should be preserved and enhanced as a museum for the port.”

Sinking ship
When LaMarre took over as the ship's executive director in June, he and volunteers pumped 60,000 gallons of water from the ship that were sitting on the bottom of its starboard ballast tanks, he said. The ship, he said, needs to be examined from beneath its hull to determine the source of the leak. Dry-docking the ship would allow that to happen. After fixing the ship's hull, LaMarre said he hopes to restore the Boyer to its colors of an emerald green hull, white cabins and a black smokestack.

“I want to combine the old with the new to create a new era in this ship's life,” LaMarre said. “That's the ultimate goal. “This ship was once called the ‘Queen of the Lakes,'” he said. “We are basically aiming to witness the return of the ‘Queen of the Lakes.'” Though just more than 2,500 visitors boarded the Boyer from June to the end of October, LaMarre said he believes upgrades could give the ship an enhanced status from a tourism standpoint. There's no reason the ship museum cannot be as successful as a similar attraction in Duluth, Minn., he said.

The city's budget priorities are somewhat misguided, LaMarre said, though he understands the Boyer is non-essential at a time when fire and police services are difficult to fund. “I find it interesting that we have a brand new bike path next to the Boyer, yet we have a historic vessel which is soon going to be a National Historic Landmark deteriorating away with no attention whatsoever,” he said.

Don Moline, interim director of the city's parks, recreation and forestry department, the agency that oversees the Boyer's operation, did not return calls seeking comment. Toledo City Council President Rob Ludeman supports LaMarre's efforts, but said it is going to be a tough year for several city capital improvement projects. “I think it would be a real shame to let it go to the point where it would simply be scrapped,” Ludeman said. “It's an asset and needs to be treated as such.”

Hartung said the Boyer needs to become a showcase for Toledo and its waterfront. He said the ship symbolizes the quality of life and attitude Toledoans represent. The time is now to save the “Queen,” Hartung said.

From the Toledo Free Press

Today in Great Lakes History - February 17

In heavy weather on February 17, 1981, the WITSUPPLY, b.) TRANSTREAM foundered in the Caribbean Sea off Cabo de la Vela, Colombia. She was being towed to the scrap yard at Cartagena, Columbia when she sank.

February 17, 1977 - The CITY OF MIDLAND 41 shortly after departing Ludington encountered a heavy ridge of ice that snapped all the blades off her starboard propeller. One of the blades ripped a hole two feet long by three inches wide which caused the 41 to take on water, but pumps were able to keep her afloat. SPARTAN came out to free her but also became mired in the ice. On February 18 the cutter MACKINAW freed them.

Data from: 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.

Today in Great Lakes History - February 16

The ARTHUR M ANDERSON was launched at the American Shipbuilding Yards at Lorain in 1953. The 647-foot freighter became part of the Pittsburgh Steamship Company fleet.

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

The JAMES E FERRIS was launched February 16, 1910, as the ONTARIO (Hull#71) at Ecorse, Michigan by Great Lakes Engineering Works.

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

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

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

Data from: Max Hanley, Joe Barr, 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.

Cross-lake ferry aims for year of profitability

2/15 - Muskegon - It may not be a "make-or-break" year, but Lake Express cross-lake ferry officials are approaching 2007 as a "make-a-profit" year.

The Lake Express high-speed ferry service to Milwaukee began taking reservations this week and announced another increase in fares. It will begin its sailing season two weeks early this year, starting April 14. "This is a key year," said Ken Szallai, president of Lake Express. "We are in year No. 4 and we need to show profitability but we feel very good about what we are seeing for this year."

As a private company, Lake Express does not report passenger numbers nor financial data. However, company officials indicated that the ferry service was more profitable in its first year than the second and third due to the recent spike in fuel prices. In general, the ferry carries substantially more than 100,000 passengers each year. Lake Express and all transportation services have been hit by high fuel prices. In the past two years, the company added a fuel surcharge that could fluctuate with the volatile diesel fuel prices. This year, Lake Express added the fuel charge into the fares, which increased between 3 percent and 20 percent depending on the category.

Lake Express began its 2006 season with a $5-a-ticket fuel surcharge on each one-way passenger fare. When adding those charges into the 2006 fares and comparing them with 2007 prices, adult one-way fares are up 14 percent to $68.50, children's one-way fares up 17 percent to $41, adult roundtrip up 6.6 percent to $112 and children's roundtrip up 3.3 percent to $62.

Meanwhile, the Lake Michigan Carferry's S.S. Badger will begin taking reservations Feb. 26 and fares will be announced soon. The Ludington-to-Manitowoc, Wis., service begins May 11.

Szallai said when adjusting fares for 2007, the company wanted to give the most consideration to roundtrip travelers, the bulk and foundation of the company's business. One-way vehicle charges for 2007 will be up 20 percent to $78.50. The Lake Express carries 46 vehicles plus room for motorcycles and bicycles and 250 passengers.

Lake Express will begin its two-round-trip-a-day schedule Saturday, April 14 and continue that through April 26, when it will go to its traditional three round trips a day. The summer schedule will continue to Sept. 30 and then be scaled back to two round trips a day from Oct. 1 until the end of the season Oct. 31. The ferry will depart Muskegon at 11:15 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. in the spring and fall and 10:15 a.m., 4:45 p.m. and 11 p.m. in the summer. Trips across Lake Michigan take about two and a half hours. The ferry begins and ends each of its sailing days in Milwaukee.

This will be the first year that the Milwaukee-based Lubar & Co. -- owners of the Lake Express -- will have total control of the ship's operations. The first three seasons the maritime operations had been handled under contract by Hornblower Marine Services. "Taking complete control of the operations allows us as a company to grow within the Great Lakes and in other markets," Szallai said. Without giving any specifics, Szallai said that Lake Express continues to explore expansion of the company on other ferry routes and possibly in other marine transportation businesses.

On the Muskegon-Milwaukee route, Szallai said Lake Express has extended the sailing season as far as it can in the spring but still will look at continuing operations into November in future years. Last year, the ferry service was hit by many days of rough weather on Lake Michigan in the second half of the season. Szallai said the weather in 2006 was outside the norm.

The Lake Express continues to be a major booster of the Muskegon tourism market, officials said. The ferry service is one reason the past few years were record-breaking for the local tourism industry, according to Sam Wendling, director of the Muskegon County Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Lake Express has become an important part of our tourism year," Wendling said. "They bring hundreds of people through Muskegon three times a day all summer long."

From the Muskegon Chronicle

Port Reports - February 15

Soo - Bonnee Srigley
Wednesday morning, the USCG Ice Breaker Katmai Bay was leading a parade down the frozen St Mary's River. The Purvis Tug Reliance is towing the Barge PML 9000 followed by the Tug Avenger IV. They have a cargo of coils of steel from the Algoma Plant. The coils have been trucked in on flat bed trailers by local trucking companies to the Purvis dock, then loaded onto the barge by equipment movers. Previous coiled steel cargoes have been delivered to Detroit and Windsor.

Rouge River - Mike Nicholls
The G tug Wyoming was breaking ice in the Rouge River off the Gaelic Tug Dock. She assisted the John Spence and Mc Asphalt 401 into Marathon later Tuesday.

Capt. Billy's tugboat keeps Chicago water running

2/15 - Chicago - By Friday morning, Billy Schmidt has been living on his tugboat for eight days straight, breaking ice on Lake Michigan.

It's 4 below zero, which is only half the problem. Billy points to an orange windsock flapping on shore. "The wind can be worse than the cold," he says, his left hand gripping the steerer in the tugboat's wheelhouse, plowing through the ice south of Navy Pier. "That's where you get real problems. We'll be out here awhile."

If you brushed your teeth this morning, running your brush under the cold water that pours from your bathroom faucet, you can thank Billy for that. He and his crew, out here in the winter gloom, are the guys who keep that water flowing. "When you get a cold snap like this one," he says, "you just keep working the ice, going from crib to crib. You sleep when you can."

Billy Schmidt is captain of the James J. Versluis, a Chicago Water Management Department tugboat that ferries maintenance crews miles out into the lake to six water-intake cribs. Most of the water used by Chicago and dozens of suburbs flows into these cribs, where it is piped to shore, filtered and treated, and pumped to all of us. Though we take it for granted, it's a fairly impressive achievement at any time -- all of this clean, fresh water magically showing up in our sinks and showers -- and in winter, it approaches the downright amazing. When Chicago gets this cold for this long, just keeping the cribs from freezing solid is a challenge.

Which is where Billy and his boat come in. The powerful Versluis, a tugboat custom-made for the Water Management Department in 1957, is designed to break up lake and river ice. Its bow is sharply cut back, allowing it to ride up onto the ice and crush it. Twenty inches of frozen water is nothing to 126 tons of tugboat. Even when the lake is at its iciest, the Versluis can crush its way to the water cribs, where deckhands using various (and, for security purposes, somewhat confidential) de-icing tricks keep the waterworks going. "The real skill is just endurance," says Billy. "You don't go home."

Working his way up Fortunately for Billy, the Versluis, in a way, is his home. He's a fourth-generation Great Lakes sailor. Billy's dad, Don Schmidt, was a tugboat pilot for Great Lakes Towing and, later, for the Chicago Fire Department. Don probably towed about 3,000 big ships -- from places like Korea and Russia -- in and out of the ports of South Chicago.

Billy's grandfather, Joe Schmidt, was a tugboat deckhand. During World War II, Joe worked on a tug that hauled a submarine from Canada to New Orleans, pulling the barge that carried the sub across the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi. Joe was killed in 1973 when a steel cable linking a tugboat to a ship snapped free and whipped back like a rubber band, splitting Joe's head. He died on the boat while the helpless captain -- Don Schmidt -- grieved.

Billy's great-grandfather from Prussia also worked on tugboats. And Billy has a daughter, one of his four kids, who's in training with the Coast Guard. "You'd see what other dads did," Billy says. "Then you'd go to work with the old man, and he's towing 750-foot Japanese freighters, and he's got two cigarettes in his