Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive

Port reports - March 31

Twin Ports - Al Miller
The Twin Ports layup fleet continues to dwindle as vessels start the season. John G. Munson left Fraser Shipyards on Thursday to load at CN ore dock in Duluth. The vessel was departing the ore dock about 7 a.m. Friday in the face of light rain and brisk winds. Only the Kaye E. Barker and Indiana Harbor remained in layup Friday morning and both vessels are expected to leave in the next several days. Canadian Provider took the first load of grain out of the Twin Ports this season, loading earlier this week at CHS in Superior. Midwest Energy Terminal has a rare quiet weekend coming up, with no vessel scheduled there until Canadian Enterprise on Monday. Burns Harbor was expected to load at BNSF in Superior on Friday. Much of Duluth harbor is now free of ice and the offshore ice pack has shrunk due to melting and the wind. Vessels have been transiting the ice and anchoring in the ice field apparently with little or no trouble.

Sandusky and Huron - Jim Spencer
The Canadian Progress spent the bulk of the day Friday loading at the Norfolk-Southern coal dock. She may be bound for Hamilton, Ont.
Late Friday afternoon the Wolverine slipped forward to the loading chute following the departure of the Canadian Progress. The Wolverine was likely bound for an American port on the Upper Lakes.
The tug Joyce L VanEnkevort and barge Great Lakes Trader opened the 2007 shipping season at Huron Friday, delivering iron ore from Superior, Wis. at the Huron Ore Dock.

Grand Haven - Dick Fox
On Wednesday night the tug Susan W. Hannah and barge St Mary's Conquest delivered a load of cement to the St, Mary's Terminal in Ferrysburg.
Early on Friday morning the Wilfred Sykes delivered a load to Verplank's Dock also in Ferrysburg.
The David Z Norton is expected to deliver a load of coal at the Board of Light and power Sims plant on Harbor Island in the city of Grand Haven at 3:30 a.m. on the Saturday.

Owen Sound - Ed. Saliwonchyk
Saginaw is the first boat to arrive in Owen Sound for the 2007 shipping season with a load of grain for the Great Lakes Elevators.

Soo - Jerry Masson
USCG Cutter Biscayne arrived back in Soo Harbor Friday after breaking out the Port of Duluth and Thunder Bay. The 140-foot Bay-class ice breaker will join the Katmai Bay, Neah Bay and Mobile Bay at the Soo for the opening season of navigation on the Lakes.
Cutter Mackinaw reports 24 to 30 inches of ice and up to 12 feet of stacked ice in areas of Whitefish Bay.
Friday afternoon traffic included Quebecois, Buffalo and CSL Assiniboine upbound. Downbound were American Integrity, CSL Tadoussac and Mackinaw.

Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski
Cross-lake traffic on Thursday evening included the Voyageur Independent and the Gordon C. Leitch. American Steamship's 1,000-footer Walter J. McCarthy was headed east bound through Long Point for Nanticoke at 8:30 p.m. that night as well.

Sturgeon Bay - Jeff Birch
Friday evening the following five vessels are still in Sturgeon Bay: American Valor has steam up and is rafted outboard of Reserve, Reserve has steam up and looks ready to depart. Charles M Beeghly has steam up while the McKee Sons is in the graving dock, and Invincible is outside the dock just astern. Edward L Ryerson has lights on, but does not appear to be steaming yet.

Marquette - Lee Rowe
The Michipicoten continues her trips between Marquette and Algoma, arriving Friday for another load of ore.

No easy fix for silt-filled Genesee River

3/31 - Rochester- One week after a cement boat hit bottom on the silt-filled Genesee River, federal officials have yet to determine what can be done to fix the worsening problem.

The Stephen B. Roman, the last freighter to cruise the river, ran aground last Thursday. While the vessel freed itself after a short time, left unanswered is just how shallow the river is running as it nears Lake Ontario and whether there is money to dredge the waterway as scheduled this spring. The river last was dredged in 2004.

Ramifications of the problem go beyond ESSROC, which owns the freighter and its 361 Boxart St. storage facility. A 100-passenger cruise ship is scheduled to stop at the Port of Rochester this summer.

Farther up river, the city is discovering similar shoaling near Corn Hill Landing, which could affect the Mary Jemison cruise ship. "This is one of those cases where environmental concerns become an economic concern," Deputy Mayor Patty Malgieri said.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Bruce Sanders said the river water is too turbid and full of debris to assess the problem. Either way, he said, a $957,000 earmark was "dropped from the president's budget, and therefore we had to cancel the dredging."  Congress failed to pass a budget for the current fiscal year and resorted to a patchwork of spending resolutions.

Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, is arguing that the dredging was authorized but that the Corps mistakenly thinks lawmakers only approved spending for projects authorized last year.

From the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Huron Lightship and Coast Guard Cutter Bramble Museum open for the season
Fort Gratiot Lighthouse also open

3/31 - Port Huron - Huron Lightship Museum and The Coast Guard Cutter Bramble Museum will be opening on April 1st.

The hours for both museums are open seven days a week Memorial Day to Labor Day - 11 a.m. to 5 p.m; September through December, open Thursday through Monday, and April through May, open Thursday through Monday. Both vessels are closed January through March.

Admission prices for each museum are adults-$6.00, seniors (55+) and students-$5.00, and children 6 and under are Free.

A Passport program providing admission to both vessels, the Port Huron Museum and the Ft. Gratiot Lighthouse is available for $12.00 for adults, $10,00 for seniors and $8.00 for students. Children 6 and under are free at all locations.

While the property is still under Government ownership, tours of the lighthouse will be conducted Wednesday through Monday, beginning May 1 from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Groups of six (6) or more must call the Port Huron Museum at (810)-982-0891, Ext:19 for a reservation.

The Great Lakes Towing Company Seeking Applicants

3/31- Cleveland - Great Lakes Towing Company is seeking applicants for Tug Captains & Tug Engineers for harbor towing in Toledo, Detroit, Chicago, Burns Harbor.
Captains: MOTV or Master’s License >200 Gross Registered Tons preferred. Engineer: Asst. Engineer of not more than 2,000 HP or greater preferred.
The Great Lakes Towing Company, 4500 Division Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44102
Fax resume to 216-621-5094, or call 216-367-8137 for interview. EOE
ech@thegreatlakesgroup.com

Shipyard Expansion

Cleveland - The Great Lakes Group is looking for experienced employees for our new construction and maintenance programs.

Barge Construction Superintendent – Responsible for all activities related to the Company’s DockMaster-BargeMaster division, including project management, quality control, sales, and customer relations. Must have steel fabrication or barge construction experience and be proficient with Microsoft software. CAD capability a plus.
 
Electrical Foreman – Oversee all shipyard electrical and electronic installation work. Marine experience required.
 
Purchasing Manager – Responsible for all procurement activities in support of multiple projects, including vendor relations, product tracking, control management, and contract negotiations for new construction, repair and fleet maintenance. Must have extensive Microsoft software experience.
 
Project Engineer – Responsible managing multiple projects including responsibility for cost controls, budgets, scheduling and purchasing coordination. Experience in managing budgets, schedules, and costs controls a plus.
 
Fitters/Welders for our new tug construction program. Experience required.
 
Mechanics for our new tug construction program. Experience required.
 
The Great Lakes Group Shipyard, 4500 Division Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44102
Fax resume with salary history to 216-621-0069, or call 216-367-8140 for interview. EOE
cjo@thegreatlakesgroup.com
www.thegreatlakesgroup.com.
 

Updates - March 31

News Photo Gallery updated, and

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

Gatherings Page updated.

Public Photo Gallery updated.

Today in Great Lakes History - March 31

On 31 March 1971, the American Steamship Company's RICHARD J REISS grounded at Stoneport, Michigan while moving away from her dock. She damaged her number 9 tank.

Christening ceremonies took place at St. Catharines, Ontario on March 31, 1979, for the d.) CANADIAN PROSPECTOR, lengthened by Port Weller Drydocks Ltd.

ROGER M KYES (Hull#200) was launched March 31, 1973, at Toledo, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co. Renamed b.) ADAM E CORNELIUS in 1989.

WILLIAM R ROESCH was renamed b.) DAVID Z NORTON in christening ceremonies at Cleveland, Ohio on March 31, 1995. The PAUL THAYER was also renamed, b.) EARL W OGLEBAY, during the same ceremonies.

JOSEPH S WOOD was sold to the Ford Motor Co. and towed from her winter lay-up berth at Ashtabula, Ohio on March 31, 1966, to the American Ship Building's Toledo, Ohio yard for her five-year inspection. A 900 h.p. bow thruster was installed at this time. She would be rechristened as the c.) JOHN DYKSTRA two months later.

The steamer HARVEY D GOULDER (Hull#342) was launched March 31, 1906, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co., for W.A. & A.H. Hawgood of Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed b.) J CLARE MILLER in 1937. She was scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1973.

On March 31, 1927, the WILLIAM MC LAUGHLAN entered service for the Interlake Steamship Co. when she departed Sandusky, Ohio for Superior, Wisconsin on her maiden trip. Later renamed b.) SAMUEL MATHER in 1966, sold Canadian in 1975, renamed c.) JOAN M MC CULLOUGH, and finally d.) BIRCHGLEN in 1982. Scrapped at Point Edward, Nova Scotia by Universal Metal Co. Ltd.

On 31 March 1874, E H MILLER (wooden propeller tug, 62 foot, 30 gross tons) was launched at Chesley A. Wheeler's yard in E. Saginaw, Michigan. The power plant from the 1865, tug JENNIE BELL was installed in her. She was renamed RALPH in 1883, and spent most of her career as a harbor tug in the Alpena area. She was abandoned in 1920.

On 31 March 1890, EDWARD SMITH (wooden propeller, 201 foot, 748 gross tons) was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan by F. W. Wheeler (Hull #67). In 1900, her name was changed to b.) ZILLAH. She lasted until she foundered four miles off Whitefish Point on 29 August 1926.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Jody Aho, Father Dowling Collection and the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, 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.

Port Reports - March 30

Marquette - Rod Burdick
On Thursday Lee A. Tregurtha unloaded coal at the Upper Harbor hopper and departed in the early afternoon for a western Lake Superior port to load ore.

Toledo - Jim Hoffman
The Algoway is bound for Toledo with a cargo of oats loaded at Thunder Bay, Ontario. She was due late Friday night or early Saturday morning arrival at Toledo. It is believed that she will be the first boat due upriver at either Anderson's "K" Elevator or the Kuhlman Dock to unload. This will be a good test to see how well the MLK Bridge will function with the two new drawspans in place.

The latest CSX Dock update has the Lee A. Tregurtha due in at the Torco Ore Dock to unload ore. She is due in tentatively on April 6 at 6 p.m. Timing will most likely change due to ice on Lake Superior, weather, and possible dock delays at the loading dock. If this schedule holds this will be the first time ever that the Lee A. Tregurtha has unloaded ore at the Torco Ore Dock. When she is finished unloading the ore she will proceed to the CSX Coal Dock to load a coal cargo which would be most likely bound for the Soo.

Soo - Jerry Masson
Icebreaker Mackinaw was finally able to locked downbound today after a full week of icebreaking in the upper river. Duties included ships trapped in ice rescue, resetting ice tracks in the channels, grooming the tracks in the river including Whitefish Bay. The 240 foot cutter was joined by Mobile Bay in the upper river breaking through and leading convoys of ships from the ice edge to the lock area. Neah Bay continues icebreaking in the lower river with help from Hollyhock from Detour to the locks. More seasonal temperatures in the Soo area are helping to keep the ships moving through the ice clogged shipping lanes. The ice boom at Mission Point remains in place restricting vessel traffic to a one way, no passing or overtaking area.

Lorain - C. Mackin
The H Lee White became the first ship of the 2007 shipping season. The White passed through the Charles Berry Bridge at noon Thursday on its way upriver to R.E.P.

Pelee Passage - Erich Zuschlag
Thursday traffic included H. Lee White bound for Lorain, Canadian Transport for Nanticoke, John D. Leitch for Hamilton and Pathfinder for Marblehead.

Union switch delays laker’s season start

3/30 - Duluth - The Stewart J. Cort began loading pellets at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe No. 5 Taconite Facility in Superior on Wednesday with the expectation that it would set sail for Burns Harbor that evening. By this time of year, the vessel typically already would have delivered its first load of pellets to the Mittal Steel Co. mill in Burns Harbor, Ind. But this has hardly been a normal fit-out for the first 1,000-footer on the Great Lakes.

Ten of the ship’s 22 crew members recently were replaced, as its operator tossed out one union — the American Maritime Officers — in favor of another, the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association. David Weathers, a national executive of the AMO, said crew members who went to work under the Cort’s new MEBA contract would have had to accept about a 20 percent cut in pay. “That’s tough for anyone to swallow,” he observed.

In all, 15 AMO members were affected as a result of the Cort’s reshuffling. While only 10 AMO members worked aboard the Cort at any one time, staff rotated between shore leave and active duty. Many of these officers and stewards formed a picket line on the approach to the vessel’s winter berth in Duluth a couple of weeks ago.

The Cort is operated by Interlake Leasing III, a subsidiary of Interlake Steamship Co. At Interlake’s insistence, officers aboard other vessels in the company’s fleet switched to MEBA representation about three years ago, and the changes to the Cort represented “sort of a natural progression,” said Mark Barker, Interlake’s treasurer and vice president. The AMO still is challenging Interlake’s prior re-staffing of other lakers with MEBA members.

The AMO picket disrupted some of the Cort’s preparations for a return to duty this year, as unionized workers at Fraser Shipyards in Superior, plus other local members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, refused to cross the line.

Interlake brought in contractors from Maryland and Virginia to do the work. “We had to regroup a little bit, but the crew has done a great job,” Barker said Wednesday. New crew members took advantage of the delay to familiarize themselves with the inner workings of the Cort, he said. “We wanted to make sure we took enough time so everyone would be comfortable and safe when we set sail,” Barker said.

Rob Fluharty, a second assistant engineer who has worked seven years aboard the Cort, said the laker usually leaves the Twin Ports a day or two before the Soo Locks open March 25 and is usually one of the first vessels to pass through them and into the St. Marys River. He said that if the Cort left Wednesday evening, it would be about five days behind its normal schedule.

The Cort runs between Superior and Burns Harbor all season long, hauling taconite. The voyage usually takes about 61 hours in good conditions, Fluharty said. He and other displaced AMO members said they will meet the Cort in Burns Harbor, where they will continue picketing.

From the Duluth News Tribune

Updates - March 30

News Photo Gallery updated, and

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

Gatherings Page updated.

Today in Great Lakes History - March 30

The c.) CHEMICAL MAR arrived at Brownsville, Texas on March 30, 1983, in tow of the tug FORT LIBERTE to be scrapped there. Built in 1966, as a.) BIRK. In 1979, she was renamed b.) COASTAL TRANSPORT by Hall Corp. of Canada, but never came to the lakes and renamed c.) CHEMICAL MAR in 1981.

The ERINDALE was pressed into service after the LEADALE sank in the Welland Canal. She was towed out of Toronto on March 30, 1983, by the tugs G W ROGERS and BAGOTVILLE for repairs at Port Weller Dry Docks. The ERINDALE re-entered service two months later.

March 30, 1985 - The CITY OF MIDLAND's departure was delayed when her anchor snagged one which she had lost in Pere Marquette Lake the previous summer.

On 29 March 1888, D D JOHNSON (wooden propeller tug, 45 foot, 17 gross tons) was launched at E. Saginaw, Michigan. She was built for Carkin, Stickney & Cram and lasted until 1909.

106 years ago today, on March 30, 1900, the carferry ANN ARBOR NO 2, grounded on the rocks east of the approach to the channel at Manistique, Michigan. She was pulled off quickly by the ANN ARBOR NO 3, and the tug GIFFORD. She was found to have bent a propeller shaft and broken her rudder, resulting in a trip to the drydock at Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

On 30 March 1917, GERMANIC (wooden propeller passenger/package freight vessel, 184 foot, 1,014 gross tons, built in 1899, at Collingwood, Ontario) was destroyed by fire at her winter berth at Collingwood, Ontario while she was being prepared for the upcoming season. She was the last wooden ship built at Collingwood.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Shawn B-K, 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.

Port Report - March 29

Stoneport/Alpena - Ben & Chanda McClain
On Wednesday morning the Wolverine tied up at the Stoneport dock to take on the first cargo of the new shipping season. The Wolverine was half painted and workers were seen painting on the smokestack.
Most of the ice is gone except for some near the dock and shore.
Returning from a visit to Milwaukee, the Alpena is expected at Lafarge on Thursday morning.

Mates needed for tug/barge

3/29 - Menominee - K&K Logistics is looking for mates to work on the Olive L. Moore and Lewis J. Kubber.

Please contact Jack VanEnkevort at (906) 466-9959.

From Captain David R. Morgan

Dillin would fund park on Maumee River in Toledo

3/29 - Toledo - Dillin Corp. will finance a $15 million gap in the city’s budget for a riverfront park in the Marina District and secure at least $50 million in private development funds for buildings there by Oct. 1 under a tentative development agreement Larry Dillin and the Finkbeiner administration announced yesterday. If Mr. Dillin’s company meets those Oct. 1 targets, the city will convey 60 acres of the Marina District’s 125 acres to the developer so that construction may begin by Dec. 31.

“The Marina District has finally got a private-sector leader,” Mayor Carty Finkbeiner said during a news conference at the Glass City Marina, now under construction at one end of the Marina District site. “That leader has skills and commitment personally to guide this project to become an outstanding waterfront park on the Great Lakes.” Mr. Dillin said building the park on the Maumee River’s east bank, expected to cost $25 million, will be a catalyst for the Marina District project — which is why he saw fit to finance it beyond $10 million in state and federal grants the city has obtained for it.

“The most important issue for us today is to figure out how to build that $25 million investment along the waterfront,” Mr. Dillin said. “That’ll jump-start the vertical development. Among all the potential private investors I’ve talked to for this project, their biggest concern is, ‘Is that waterfront park area going to happen?’”

A Dillin Corp. news release estimated the Marina District’s total development cost at $320 million. Mr. Dillin said the project may end up bigger than that depending on what’s built. The predicted main benefit for the city is property and income tax revenue once the Marina District is built and residents move in.

Mr. Dillin projected annual real estate taxes at $5 million, though some of that would be used through a “tax-increment financing” agreement to repay the $15 million his company will contribute now to park construction and a further $31 million pledged for roads and other public infrastructure.

The old Acme power plant is still in need of decontamination, and that task remains a city responsibility under the development agreement. Mr. Finkbeiner suggested Acme, once cleaned up, could become an indoor sports facility. The city also must raze the Toledo Sports Arena and Brenner Marine, after those facilities are vacated, and remove high-voltage transmission towers running from Acme. They have been replaced by a new power line along Front Street and across the Marina District site near East Broadway.

From the Toledo Blade

NOTE: The proposed Marina District Park in on the east side of the Maumee River, between the MLK Bridge and the I-280 Craig Bridge. It will make a nice boat watching park.

Note of Thanks from Doug Fairchild's family

To Doug Fairchild's "Boat-Chasing Circle of Friends":

Where do we begin to express our gratitude for all that you have done for our family? You truly are an amazing group of folks.

Doug was a hard-working man, but he also knew how to balance his life with other activities. One that brought him much pleasure was freighter-watching. Undoubtedly, a highlight of this sea-faring activity was the camaraderie shared with other Boat-Nerds.

It is with great appreciation that we thank you for the information that was made available on the web site, your telephone calls, condolence cards and the stories shared.

Very sincerely,
Nancy Fairchild
Don and Betty Fairchild
Katie (Fairchild) Koeppen
Ginny (Fairchild) Yaklyvich

Updates - March 29

News Photo Gallery updated, and

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

Gatherings Page updated.

Today in Great Lakes History - March 29

N.M. Paterson & Sons, PRINDOC was sold off-lakes during the week of March 29, 1982, to the Southern Steamship Co., Georgetown, Cayman Islands and was renamed b.) HANKEY.

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

Whitefish Bay ice jam backs up river shipping

3/28 - Whitefish Bay - If the crew of the new icebreaker Mackinaw was looking for substantial ice to move before spring breakout, they found it on Whitefish Bay Sunday night as gale-force southerly winds clamped the bay shut with heavy broken ice.

Assigned to Whitefish Bay, Mackinaw had all she could handle and then some Sunday evening, as 40-45 mph southerly winds filled the previously set steamer track with heavy broken ice. After two commercial ships were squeezed to a halt by the advancing ice, Coast Guard officials decided to close the St. Marys River until Mackinaw could flush a new track through the broken sea of ice.

Coast Guard spokesman Mark Gill said heavy “pancake” ice jammed behind Isle Parisienne by a northwest gale last week loosened up in Sunday's southerly gale, collapsing the steamer track set by Mackinaw through the last 10 days. He said fast shore ice from the south side of the channel through the bay was also worked free by the strong wind, clamping the channel shut. Some of the packed ice dislodged from behind Isle Parisienne measured out at eight feet thick, Gill said.

When the steamers Arthur M. Anderson and Michipicoten were squeezed to a stop by the heavy, loose and plate ice, Coast Guard officials opted to close the St. Marys River below the jam through the nighttime hours. Just before dawn today five vessels waited out the jam at Soo Locks piers and four more lay at anchor in the lower St. Marys with a tug-barge combination idled in Sault, Ont. and another held at Algoma Steel.

Gill said the river shutdown was ordered as a safety measure even though it slowed a cluster of ships anxious to make first passages of the new shipping season. “It was safer to shut everybody down,” Gill said.

Mackinaw, meanwhile, freed the two stuck ships, then set to work in an ice-clearing operation that was more ice flushing than ice breaking for the new vessel. The moving jam was made up of broken ice in various sizes, making conventional icebreaking ineffective. However, Mackinaw's unique dual-pod drive enabled the ship to carve out large slabs of floating ice with her strong wake, ushering them out to open water outside Whitefish Point through the night.

Gill said Mackinaw's cutting edge icebreaking configuration allowed the ship to move ahead and astern equally well in the ice with the twin pods creating a strong wash alongside the ship's track. Gill said the new Mackinaw performed very well at the ice-flushing operation, noting that the ship's innovative propulsion arrangement allowed Mackinaw to perform better than the recently retired Mackinaw in those conditions. He noted that Mackinaw's two-way steaming capability allowed the ship to move back and forth through the ice without coming about in difficult ice conditions.

By early today, Mackinaw re-set a vessel track from the locks out as far as Iroquois Point. Farther out to the west on Whitefish Bay, he described ice conditions as “dynamic” early today.

At 7:00 a.m. the Coast Guard allowed the first vessels waiting out the jam to begin moving again in staggered fashion as the strong winds gave way to near calm on the bay. During the night, Gill said, Mackinaw reported a wide variety of weather, all of it stormy. “We had ‘thundersnow,' thunderstorms, heavy rain, high winds ... about every kind of weather you can get,” Gill said of the offshore maelstrom.

The Coast Guard official said the lower St. Marys River, normally a trouble spot during spring break-up, “behave itself” through the ice jam and gale conditions far above, but he warned that the lower St. Marys may well cut loose before steadily deteriorating ice conditions give way to soft water. He said large stretches of shore ice remain attached along lower river channels, raising the potential for another jam or two later, as the ice moves steadily downstream. He said two Bay-Class tugs and the tender Hollyhock continue to work lower river channels as fingers are crossed that heavy shore ice stays put a while longer.

From the Soo Evening News

Rand Logistics Purchases Manistee

3/28 - Rand Logistics Inc. announced that it purchased the Manistee, a self-unloading bulk carrier, for $2.2 million.

The Company previously leased the boat from a subsidiary of Sand Products Corporation, and financed the purchase through debt with its existing lender, GE Capital Corporation. Laurence Levy, Chairman and CEO of Rand Logistics, stated, “We are pleased to have completed this transaction, which will be accretive to earnings.

The purchase of the Manistee eliminates $350,000 of annual lease expense, which would have grown to $500,000 after March 31, 2008. The annual interest expense on the $2.2 million of added borrowings will be significantly less than the alternative of continuing to lease the vessel.

Additionally, we were also able to reduce the interest rate for our overall U.S. and Canadian borrowings by 50 basis points, which produces further annual savings of approximately $100,000. We remain confident in Rand’s strong fleet and market position on the Great Lakes.”

From the World Maritime News

Note: Rand Logistics is the parent company of Lower Lakes Towing and Grand River Navigation

Port Reports - March 28

Marquette - Rod Burdick
The north side of the ore dock, which received automated doors during the winter months, was used for the first time on Monday when Michipicoten loaded taconite.

Grand Haven - Dock Fox
The Wilfred Sykes was the first boat of the season. It arrived at 8:15pm on Monday, backing in out of the fog with a load of slag for Verplank's dock in Ferrysburg. The Sykes also closed out our port for last season making a delivery on January 24.

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.

New Boatnerd Gathering Cruises Announced

On Saturday, May 26, 2007, we are once again pleased to offer the Boatnerd Badger Gathering. A round-trip crossing of Lake Michigan from Ludington, Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin , aboard the Lake Michigan Carferry SS BADGER. It has been four years since we have been able to make these arrangements. Don't miss this year's fun cruise.
Lee Murdoch will be on board to offer entertainment both ways across the lake and during the Wisconsin shoreline cruise.
On Friday night, May 25, we have arranged a special Badger Boatel to stay aboard the steamer on the night prior to the cruise. Reservations for staterooms are limited. This optional part of the gathering may offer pilothouse and engine room tours. See the Boatnerd Gathering Page for complete details and sign up form.

On Saturday, June 16, we will repeat last year’s popular Boatnerd Detroit Up River Cruise aboard the Friendship. This cruise will go up the Detroit River, and possibly into the Rouge River. Departing at 10:00 a.m. sharp from the Portofino's On The River in Wyandotte, MI. Cost is $25.00 per person. This will include passage onboard for three hours and a pizza lunch delivered by the J. W. Westcott mail boat. See Gathering Page for directions, full details and sign up form. We must have a minimum of 50 reservations, and a maximum of 100.

On Saturday, August 11, we are following on the popularity of the up river cruise on the Friendship, and have planned a Boatnerd Detroit Down River Cruise for This is a four-hour trip that will go down the Livingston Channel to the Detroit River Light and return via the Amherstburg Channel. Cost is $35.00 per person. This will include passage onboard for four (4) hours and a box lunch. Cash bar on board. See Gathering Page for directions, full details and sign up form. We must have a minimum of 50 reservations, and a maximum of 100.

All these trips require advance reservations. Make yours now. Don’t be left out.

“Know Your Ships” 2007 Now Available

The 2007 edition of “Know Your Ships,” the boat watchers’ annual field guide to the vessels sailing the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway, is off the press. The 152-page book, now in its 48th edition, contains detailed information about nearly 2,000 vessels and includes many color photographs taken from around the lakes and Seaway. This year’s Vessel of the Year is the classic steamer Edward L. Ryerson, which unexpectedly returned to service in 2006, much to the delight of boat watchers around the lakes. Order “Know Your Ships” from www.knowyourships.com for immediate shipment; the book will also be available at many retail outlets around the Great Lakes as spring approaches.

"Know Your Ships" is often referred to as the "bible of boat watching" containing detailed information and pictures of Great Lakes ships and the foreign ships that visit the Great Lakes each season.

Editor and Publisher Roger LeLievre, as well as members of the Know Your Ships crew, will also be on hand at the BoatNerd.Com World Headquarters in Port Huron from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturday, April 21 to sign copies of "Know Your Ships." Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the book signing.

Visit www.knowyourships.com for more information.

Updates - March 28

News Photo Gallery updated, and

More News Photo Gallery updates

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

Gatherings Page updated.

Calendar of Events updated.

Today in Great Lakes History - March 28

The BENJAMIN F FAIRLESS, Captain H. C. Buckley, was the first boat to transit the Soo Locks for the 1953 shipping season.

On 28 March 1997, the USS Great Lakes Fleet's PHILIP R CLARKE set a record for a salt cargo on a U.S.-flag Laker when she loaded 25,325 tons at Fairport, Ohio for delivery to Toledo, Ohio. The previous record was 25,320 tons carried by American Steamship's AMERICAN REPUBLIC in 1987.

On 28 March 1848, COLUMBUS (wooden sidewheeler, 391 tons, built in 1835, at Huron, Ohio) struck a pier at Dunkirk, New York during a storm and sank. The sidewheeler FASHION struck the wreck in November of the same year and was seriously damaged.

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.

Port Reports - March 27

Goderich - Ed. Saliwonchyk
Algosteel, last in for winter lay up is first out. Algosteel departed winter lay up in Owen Sound approximately 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski
The Canadian Coast Guard Ice Breakers Griffon and Samuel Risley were both working the Eastern end of Lake Erie on Sunday night. The Risley had just completed a track from Long Point to C.I.P. 16 while escorting the Pineglen and Cedarglen at 9:00pm when the westbound Atlantic Erie called her captain on the radio. The Erie was clearing the Welland Canal up bound and needed information on what headings to take to use the freshly broken track made by the Risley and Griffon. The Risley stayed out in the lake off the Port Colborne entrance to assist the Atlantic Erie while the Griffon headed in bound for the piers around 9:30pm.

Boatnerd Changing Servers

3/27 - Update - The changeover to a new server took place on Monday, March 26 at 11 p.m. If you are reading this message your are viewing the new server.

Until the changeover is completed, we will not be able to update the News Photo Gallery. We have all the pictures ready to post and will accept any News pictures that you send it. We should be able to get them all posted early in the week.

With our primary server replaced we still are in need of funding to replace the server that hosts the Public Gallery, Links page, etc. These projects are funded by Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping, the 501 (c)(3) non-profit support group for BoatNerd.Com. If you enjoy this site please consider supporting us through our fund raising raffle All tickets sold support these upgrades and pay for our monthly connection charges.

Original Article - The server used to host BoatNerd is failing, after 5 years of faithful service it is time for replacement. Our infrastructure teams have purchased the new server and have been moving parts of the site over. While the actual move we make to the other server will be instantaneous, your service provider may cause you to temporarily display an incorrect page.

Some experienced an issue when the Information Search page was moved. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) maintains a "DNS" server which is like an address book for Internet sites. When you find the new site depends on how soon your ISP updates their DNS server. This should be in no more than 12 hours, if you receive a message saying site not found or no web site configured, your ISP is sending you to the old server.

Click here for a detailed technical explanation

While you are at the mercy of your ISP you can try to restart your computer, if you are using a dedicated connection renew the IP address (click Repair connection under Network Connections) or if using a router, restart the router. You can also try restarting the computer/ clearing cache. If the page will still not display contact your ISP's technical support for assistance.

The new server is a vast improvement over the old, users will find faster performance and we have much more storage space for new content.

Digging for history:
Shipwreck could link region to underground railroad

3/27 - OGDEN DUNES, Ind. - A local archeological team thinks it is on the verge of confirming another link between Northwest Indiana and the underground railroad -- this time in the form of a shipwreck.

Members of the Briggs Project Team said Sunday that remnants of a mid-1800s shipwreck off the Ogden Dunes beach might be from a ship used to transport runaway slaves to freedom. "There's a good possibility you have a big piece of history here in your backyard," Roger Barski told guests of the Ogden Dunes Historical Society during a presentation Sunday on the team's research on the shipwreck.

Barski, who is a member of the team named after Northwest Indiana historian William Briggs, said the group has begun analyzing the shipwreck and has combed through historical records in LaPorte and Porter counties for information about the role the area played in providing fugitive slaves with an exit route to freedom in Canada.

Team members displayed photographs of the shipwreck and pieces of beams and other material that already has been salvaged from the ship. The presentation at the Ogden Dunes Community Church included extensive information about old shipbuilding practices, the role of shipping on the Great Lakes in the 1800s and Northwest Indiana's connection to the underground railroad. The team, former members of the Underwater Archeological Society of Chicago, began studying the ship, designated the Alpha Wreck, in the summer of 2005.

Barski said the team will excavate the wreck this summer with a state permit. Through excavation and study of the ship's construction, the group hopes to gather enough information to learn the ship's name, the captain, the owner and the reason for the wreck. Barski said members think the ship was a wooden schooner, a type of ship that was inexpensive to build and operate and was popular on the Great Lakes throughout the 1800s for transporting immigrants and hauling lumber and grain. So far, the group has found clinch bolts, deck hooks, treenails and square-cut nails, all shipbuilding materials used in the mid- to late 1800s. Individuals also have provided the team with items from the ship, including a shovel handle and a painted wooden figurehead made from red oak.

Peg Schoon, the wife of Ken Schoon, author of the book "Calumet Beginnings," alerted Barski and his fellow archeologists to the Ogden Dunes shipwreck and the historical writings of Briggs. Barski said Briggs wrote of a wooden ship that transported runaway slaves from the area west of Burns Ditch to freedom in Canada. According to Briggs' story, slavery supporters eventually seized and burned the ship in the area of the current day's wreck. "Indiana was a free state, and many slaves came through our area," said Ruth Loftus, a Briggs Project Team member. "Many lumbermen and boat captains were anti-slavery. The Devil's Punchbowl, near the mouth of Burns Ditch, is a place where runaway slaves would board."

"The deck beam was located just a few weeks ago," said Barski, who encouraged audience members to assist the effort by providing information they may have or objects found near the site of the wreck. "The water levels are down now and we were able to see a lot this winter," Barski said. He said team members also have found what they think are the bow stem and apron at the front of the ship.

Barski said a similar ship -- the HMS General Hunter -- has been excavated in Canada at a cost of $3 million. "It's an expensive proposition," Barski said.
The Briggs Project Team is self-funded, and "we don't have $3 million, so this is going to be a bare-bones operation," he said.

Barski, who describes himself as "obsessed" with the shipwreck, said the team will begin research in Lake County and looks forward to the upcoming excavation.
"We hope, with more research, we can find more information," he said. "It would be a wonderful piece of history," Loftus said. "But at this time, it's still as much of a mystery as was the underground railroad."

From Northwest Indiana Times

Today in Great Lakes History - March 27

The MATAAFA, Captain Emory A. Massman, opened the Port of Cleveland for the 1947 season. She arrived with a cargo of 375 new automobiles from Detroit.

The steamer H P MC INTOSH (Hull#622) was launched March 27, 1907, at West Bay City, Michigan by West Bay City Ship Building Co. for the Gilchrist Transportation Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed b.) EDWARD S KENDRICK in 1934, scrapped at Castellon, Spain in 1973.

Nipigon Transport Ltd. (Carryore Ltd., mgr., Montreal, Quebec) operations came to an end when the fleet was sold on March 27, 1986, to Algoma Central's Marine Division at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

On 27 March 1841, BURLINGTON (wooden sidewheeler, 150 tons, built in 1837, at Oakville, Ontario) was destroyed by fire at Toronto, Ontario. Her hull was later recovered and the 98 foot, 3-mast schooner SCOTLAND was built on it in 1847, at Toronto.

On 27 March 1875, the steamer FLORA was launched at Wolf & Davidson's yard in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her dimensions were 275 foot keel x 27 foot x 11 foot.

On 27 March 1871, the small wooden schooner EMMA was taken out in rough weather by the commercial fishermen Charles Ott, Peter Broderick, Jacob Kisinger and John Meicher to begin the fishing season. The vessel capsized at about 2:00 p.m., 10 miles southwest of St. Joseph, Michigan and all four men drowned.

C E REFERN (wooden schooner, 181 foot, 680 gross tons) was launched at West Bay City, Michigan by F. W. Wheeler (Hull #65) on 27 March 1890.

Data from: 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.

Boatnerd Changing Servers
Changeover date moved up

3/26 - Update - Due to continuing problems, the changeover date to a new server has been moved to Monday, March 26 at 11:00pm.

Until the changeover is completed, we will not be able to update the News Photo Gallery. We have all the pictures ready to post and will accept any News pictures that you send it. We should be able to get them all posted early in the week.

Original Article - The server used to host BoatNerd is failing, after 5 years of faithful service it is time for replacement. Our infrastructure teams have purchased the new server and have been moving parts of the site over. While the actual move we make to the other server will be instantaneous, your service provider may cause you to temporarily display an incorrect page.

Some experienced an issue when the Information Search page was moved. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) maintains a "DNS" server which is like an address book for Internet sites. When you find the new site depends on how soon your ISP updates their DNS server. This should be in no more than 12 hours, if you receive a message saying site not found or no web site configured, your ISP is sending you to the old server.

Click here for a detailed technical explanation

While you are at the mercy of your ISP you can try to restart your computer, if you are using a dedicated connection renew the IP address (click Repair connection under Network Connections) or if using a router, restart the router. You can also try restarting the computer/ clearing cache. If the page will still not display contact your ISP's technical support for assistance.

The new server is a vast improvement over the old, users will find faster performance and we have much more storage space for new content.

With our primary server replaced we still are in need of funding to replace the server that hosts the Public Gallery, Links page, etc. These projects are funded by Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping, the 501 (c)(3) non-profit support group for BoatNerd.Com. If you enjoy this site please consider supporting us through our fund raising raffle All tickets sold support these upgrades and pay for our monthly connection charges.

We plan on changing to the new server on Monday, March 26 at 11 p.m.

Port Reports - March 26

Soo - Jerry Masson
First day of the Soo Locks opening was busy for the Coast Guard cutters working in the upper & lower St. Marys River from daylight till nightfall, for the eighteen ships ready to sail on opening day. Upbound was Canadian Transport, H. Lee White, Saginaw, Arthur M. Anderson, Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder, Canadian Leader, Algonorth, Edgar B. Speer, Joyce L. Van Enkevort/Great Lakes Trader, American Century, American Integrity, James R. Barker, and Hollyhock.
Downbound was Roger Blough, CSL Laurentian, Michipicoten, Atlantic Huron, American Spirit. Not all ships locked through and anchored overnight.
Mobile Bay locked upbound to join cutter Mackinaw in the upper river today in the thicker ice congested track into Whitefish Bay.

Goderich - Dale Baechler
Algomarine left her winter lay-up berth in the inner harbour Sunday afternoon and shifted over to the Sifto salt dock to load at about 4:00 pm.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
The start of the 2007 commercial shipping season on the Saginaw River began Sunday with the arrival of the CSL Tadoussac during the early morning hours. She unloaded at the Essroc Terminal in Essexville, before backing away from the dock around 2:00pm. The Tadoussac backed out of the river, turning at Light 12 in the Saginaw Bay, and headed for the lake. This arrival is one day earlier than the start of the season in 2006 and two days earlier that the CSL Tadoussac's first visit last year.

Toronto - Charlie Gibbons
English River began her season late Saturday night, getting under way for Bath, Ontario, to pick up her first load of cement.
Stephen B. Roman returned to port early Sunday to begin unloading her second cargo of the season at Essroc.

Marquette - Rod Burdick
Saturday evening, Michipicoten was the first boat to load ore for the new season. The Upper Harbor is now mostly ice free.

Hamilton - Eric Holmes
Saturday the tug John Spence and barge McAsphalt 401 arrived at 12:30 p.m. from Sarnia and headed to Provmar Fuels ( Pier 24 ). The CCG ship Cape Storm departed Burlington's Canada Centre for Inland Waters at 12:30 p.m.
Canadian Progress arrived at 9:00 p.m. with coal from Toledo for Dofasco.  Sunday morning the tug John Spence and barge McAsphalt 401 departed Pier 24 at 6:30 am for Detroit. Ships were hurrying to clear the harbor by 8:30 am when the Burlington Lift Bridge will be closed to shipping for approximately 3 hours due to the Around the Bay Marathon.
The Atlantic Erie departed at 7 a.m. from Stelco after discharging iron ore that it had loaded at Point Noire last year and went to winter lay up at Section 44 in Montreal.
Canadian Progress departed Dofasco at 7:30am for Ashtabula.

Goderich - Dale Baechler
Algomarine left her winter lay-up berth in the inner harbour Sunday afternoon and shifted over to the Sifto salt dock to load at about 4:00pm.

St. Lawrence Seaway - Ron Walsh
The English River has been stuck in ice at the Upper Gap area of Amherst Island for several hours on Sunday evening. She can not go forward or back. The Griffon is supposed to transit down the Welland Canal Monday.. She may be needed here.

Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski
The last windmill at the Steel Winds project in Lackawanna has been topped off. The large erection crane was still on site at the North end of the line of windmills but the center hub and all three blades are now installed. The first phase of what may possibly lead up to 32 windmills is nearing completion and is a pretty impressive site to see from Rt. 5.

Today in Great Lakes History - March 26

The Str. JOHN T HUTCHINSON, Captain Harold Jacobsen, upbound for the head of the lakes, was the first boat of the 1949 shipping season to transit the Soo Locks.

On 26 March 1922, OMAR D CONGER (wooden passenger-package freight, 92 foot, 200 gross tons, built in 1887, at Port Huron, Michigan) exploded at her dock on the Black River in Port Huron with such violence that parts of her upper works and engine were thrown all over the city. Some said that her unattended boiler blew up, but others claimed that an unregistered cargo of explosives ignited. She had been a Port Huron-Sarnia ferry for a number of years.

The CITY OF MOUNT CLEMENS (wooden propeller "rabbit", 106 foot, 132 gross tons) was launched at the Chabideaux' yard in Mt. Clemens, Michigan on 26 March 1884. She was then towed to Detroit to be fit out. She was built for Chapaton & Lacroix. She lasted until dismantled in 1921.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection and the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes.

Soo Locks Open to Fog Delays

3/25 - The opening of navigation at the Soo was halted overnight due to thick fog in the river system. Early morning visibility was zero and boats remained in the same place when the locks opened at 12:01 a.m.

By mid morning the fog started to lift with visibility between a quarter of a mile to a mile and a half in places. Coast Guard Captain of the Port opened the river to navigation giving the Roger Blough permission to start downbound from the locks.

Ready to get underway above the locks downbound was the CSL Laurentian and Michipicoten. Two upbound ships, the Canadian Transport and H Lee White, locked through overnight and were underway in the upper river with cutter Mackinaw.

Also upbound in the lower river is Saginaw and Arthur M. Anderson with cutters Mobile Bay and Neah Bay. Water level reading in the upper river was minus 22 inches Sunday morning, the lower river was minus 10 inches.   

Reported by Jerry Masson

Roger Blough to open Soo Locks Season

3/25 - Sault Ste. Marie - Bathed in bright spring sunshine despite the ice below, Roger Blough waited at the west approach pier above the Soo Locks for the stroke of midnight and opening of the Poe Lock for the season.

Blough arrived through the broken ice downbound with the season's first load of iron ore early Saturday afternoon to wait out the last few hours before the shipping season opens.

Two upbound vessels were in the St. Marys River Saturday afternoon but chose to drop anchor near DeTour, then proceeded up river later in the evening.

From the Soo Evening News

Port Reports - March 25

St. Marys River - Jerry Masson & Theresa Parker
Michipicoten was underway from her winter berth Saturday morning in the upper river from Algoma Steel with cutter Mackinaw. Further up the River was the downbound Roger Blough near Isle Parisienne. Two upbound lake freighters were nearing the Soo. One in the Detour area and the H. Lee White in the Straits. Both upbounds will meet with cutter Neah Bay to transit the ice track in the lower river system.
Roger Blough arrived Saturday afternoon and tied at the Soo Locks waiting to be the first vessel through when the gates open at mid night.

Upbound Saturday evening was the Canadian Transport near Detour and H Lee White in the Straits area. Canadian Transport was heading for the locks at 7:30 p.m. The Cutter Mobile Bay joined the Neah Bay in the lower St Marys River to reopen ice tracks and groom the turns. Cutter Mackinaw was working the upper river out to the ice edge.

Further down river the Neah Bay broke through the ice bridge between Neebish Island and the mainland on the down bound St Marys River at the Neebish Island ferry dock area of the river, this is just above rock cut. Locals report that at last check the ice was 32" thick. Neah Bay cut through as if it wasn't even there.

Toronto - Charlie Gibbons
Canadian Provider finished unloading at Redpath on Friday and headed for the Welland Canal.

Goderich - Jacob Smith & Dale Baechler
On a foggy Saturday evening, the Peter R. Cresswell left its lay-up spot and departed around 4 p.m.

Escanaba - Rod Burdick
Saturday evening, Burns Harbor was loading taconite at the ore dock, and Tug Joyce L. VanEnkevort and barge Great Lakes Trader was unloading coal at the South Reiss Dock. Joseph L. Block arrived to load ore and waited off the ore dock. Tug Joseph H. Thompson and barge remains in lay-up at the ore dock.

Marquette - Rod Burdick
Saturday evening Michipicoten was the first boat to load ore for the new season. The Upper Harbor is now mostly ice free.

Ship blessings ring
River ceremony remembers vital role of mariner

3/25 - Port Huron - They are vessels that link all nations, provide necessities for life and protect the boundaries of our country. Ships and seafarers - sometimes at great risk - play a vital role in local and world operations and economy.

Hundreds gathered Saturday for the first-ever Blessing of the Fleet ceremony outside the Great Lakes Maritime Center at Vantage Point in Port Huron. The event was organized to mark the start of the Great Lakes shipping season, which excites local freighter watchers, who have tired of seeing only ice chunks move down the St. Clair River, said coordinator Peter Werle, lead volunteer at the center.

Most Great Lakes freighters cease travel during the winter months when the major ship-canal locks close. The Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie open today. Ontario's Welland Canal opened Tuesday and the Montreal/Lake Ontario portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway opened Wednesday. Depending on weather, the U.S. Coast Guard likely will start marking the shipping channel with buoys within two weeks, said Lt. Cmdr. Mike Davanzo, captain of the Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock.

At Saturday's event, three Port Huron pastors stood along the St. Clair River and gave formal thanks for the ships and seafarers and prayed for their safety.

"We give thanks for all the resources of the Earth and sea and for the ships that distribute them," said the Rev. Simeon Iber, pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Port Huron, as he faced a large crowd standing on the maritime center's deck. "We thank God for those on whose labor we depend for the necessities of life; for seafarers and all who leave their homes and communities to serve others; for the skills of seamanship; for modern aids to navigation and for all engaged in the shipping industry."

As Iber and others spoke, the freighter, Cuyahoga, moved behind him, heading north toward the Blue Water Bridge. The U.S. Naval Sea Cadet ship Grayfox, lined with standing sailors, sat in the river as part of the ceremony. Werle said he wants to enhance the event next year by having Selfridge Air Force Base jets flyover and several choirs perform. He said he arranged the ceremony to get people down to the water and recognize the city's maritime heritage. "It's one of those things we are trying to reclaim."

Honoring seafarers
Nadir Bousseloub, 35, of Lexington said he had never seen such an event. A U.S. Merchant Marine, Bousseloub said he related to what was said at the ceremony. "It touched me," said Bousseloub, who returned about two weeks ago from a stint aboard a tanker moving oil between Texas and Florida in the Gulf of Mexico.

A graduate of The California Maritime Academy in Vallejo, Calf., Bousseloub has traveled all over the world navigating ships and handling cargo. He's delivered war supplies to Kuwait and transported giant windmill blades from Spain to Philadelphia. "I have two homes, here and on a ship," he said Saturday after the ceremony. It can be a risky job, he said. "Every day there is a new experience that could be a dangerous experience."

For him, there is no shipping season. He spends most of his time on the ocean and travels all year. For those who work the Great Lakes, there is a break from sea travel.

Capt. Billy Cline of the International Ship Masters' Association works for Gaelic Tugboat Co. in Detroit. Cline of Kimball Township has been laid off this winter and begins work again in the next couple of weeks. Cline, who has been sailing for more than 30 years on the Great Lakes, rang a bell at the ceremony Saturday to honor fallen seamen. U.S. Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Mike Chandler, operations officer on the Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock, and Port Huron Power Squadron Commander Rudy Sloup also tolled the bell to honor those who have died.

To help keep other from the same fate, the ceremony participants prayed for seafarers' safety. "Bless these ships and these boats, the equipment and all who serve on them and who would use them. Protect them from the dangers of wind and rain and of the perils of the deep. Bring us all to the harbor of light and peace," said the Rev. Peggy Konkel, pastor at Unity Church of Blue Water.

From the Port Huron Times-Herald

Boatnerd Changing Servers

3/25 - The server used to host BoatNerd is failing, after 5 years of faithful service it is time for replacement. Our infrastructure teams have purchased the new server and have been moving parts of the site over. While the actual move we make to the other server will be instantaneous, your service provider may cause you to temporarily display an incorrect page.

Some experienced an issue when the Information Search page was moved. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) maintains a "DNS" server which is like an address book for Internet sites. When you find the new site depends on how soon your ISP updates their DNS server. This should be in no more than 12 hours, if you receive a message saying site not found or no web site configured, your ISP is sending you to the old server.

Click here for a detailed technical explanation

While you are at the mercy of your ISP you can try to restart your computer, if you are using a dedicated connection renew the IP address (click Repair connection under Network Connections) or if using a router, restart the router. You can also try restarting the computer/ clearing cache. If the page will still not display contact your ISP's technical support for assistance.

The new server is a vast improvement over the old, users will find faster performance and we have much more storage space for new content.

With our primary server replaced we still are in need of funding to replace the server that hosts the Public Gallery, Links page, etc. These projects are funded by Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping, the 501 (c)(3) non-profit support group for BoatNerd.Com. If you enjoy this site please consider supporting us through our fund raising raffle All tickets sold support these upgrades and pay for our monthly connection charges.

We plan on changing to the new server on Friday, March 30 at 11 p.m.

No Saturday News Photo Updates

3/25 - Due to server problems (see above article) we have not been able to post the News Gallery pictures received Friday and Saturday, and we have received some good shots.

We hope to have the problems worked out shortly and be able to get everything posted.

Keep sending in your pictures. We will get upload them as soon as possible.

Today in Great Lakes History - March 25

The AMASA STONE was christened in ceremonies at Wyandotte, Michigan. The STONE was the first Interlake boat to be built with special passenger accommodations. Hull in use as a dock in Charlevoix, Michigan.

HENRY G DALTON (Hull#713) was launched March 25, 1916, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co., for the Interlake Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio, the company's first 600 footer. She was scrapped at Vado, Italy in 1973.

THOMAS WALTERS (Hull#390) was launched March 25, 1911, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. for the Interstate Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed FRANK R DENTON in 1952, scrapped at Ashtabula, Ohio in 1984.

On March 25, 1927, heavy ice caused the MAITLAND NO 1, to run off course and she grounded on Tecumseh Shoal on her way to Port Maitland, Ontario. Eighteen hull plates were damaged which required repairs at Ashtabula, Ohio.

The steamer ENDERS M VOORHEES participated in U.S. Steel's winter-long navigation feasibility study during the 1974-75 season, allowing only one month to lay up from March 25th to April 24th.

March 25, 1933 - Captain Wallace Henry "Andy" Van Dyke, Master of the Steamer PERE MARQUETTE 22, suffered a heart attack and died peacefully in his cabin while en route to Ludington, Michigan.

Data from: Max Hanley, 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.

Port Reports - March 24

Toronto - Charlie Gibbons
Thursday afternoon saw the first non-local arrival of the season. Stephen B. Roman home-ports in Toronto and has been the first vessel out and in for several years now.
The non-local arrival was Hamilton Energy, which came in to bunker Canadian Leader. The Energy left about 8:00 p.m., and Canadian Leader departed early this morning for the Welland Canal.
Canadian Provider is still unloading at Redpath, and should be finished soon.
The English River ballasted down yesterday and is getting ready to begin her season.
The Royal Canadian Yacht Club workboats Elsie D. and Esperanza were busy yesterday moving floating docks from their city station to the island clubhouse.

Twin Ports - Al Miller
Vessel traffic in the Twin Ports began in earnest Friday with Roger Blough departing about 10:00 a.m. with the season’s first load of taconite pellets from CN ore dock.
By noon, CSL Laurentien had arrived from Thunder Bay bound for the CN ore dock. As the Laurentien moved into St. Louis Bay, American Spirit left its lay up berth at the port terminal and pulled around the corner to fuel at the Murphy Oil terminal. It was expected to be the first laker of the season down the front channel to load at BNSF in Superior. The ice is breaking up in St. Louis Bay, with much of the bay now open. Vessels also appear to be operating easily in Superior Bay, which also has much open water near the ship canal and near the Blatnik Bridge.

St. Lawrence Seaway - Ron Beaupre
An ice pressure ridge has developed Friday just above Bradford's Point in the middle of Lake St. Lawrence. The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. tug Robinson Bay went up from Eisenhower Lock to break up the ridge, but upon arrival decided it was too large for her to make any attempt on it. At 4:00pm, the CCG icebreaker Martha L Black is being raised in Eisenhower Lock to get up to the jam. Meanwhile, all traffic downbound has been held back all day. No ships have been granted permission to transit down through Iroquois Lock. There are three vessels at anchor above Prescott and two still waiting on the tie wall above the lock. The Black was in the channel above Snell but had to go right back down to break out the Pineglen which had become stuck in ice.

Bayfield - Tim Eldred
The fish tug Eleanor B. left the Bayfield, Wisconsin harbor on Lake Superior late Friday morning headed for the South Channel and open water. This marks the first time in local memory that the Madeline Island Ferry did not have the first vessel coming or going from Bayfield for the start of the navigation season. By mid afternoon the tug had made about 2 miles with about one mile and a half or so to go before it will find open water off of the south side of Madeline Island.
The Town of La Pointe windsled checked ice depths on the ferry trail between Madeline Island and Bayfield on Thursday and reported about 12 inches in most places. This dashed hopes of the 250 residents of the island that the ferries would try for the mainland Friday morning. Now that a trail has been opened up by the Eleanor B. this may spur the ferry line into action.
Vehicle travel to and from the island came to an abrupt end on Saturday, March 10 after a pickup truck broke through the ice near Bayfield. There were no casualties and the truck did not fall all the way through. The two and one half mile road, maintained by the Town of La Pointe on Madeline Island, which had been open for 29 days, was immediately closed stranding for a time about 50 vehicles that found themselves on the wrong side of the lake. Early Sunday a caravan was escorted across the ice restoring vehicles to the proper side before the hybrid air propeller driven "windsled" began operations. Several pickup trucks in the caravan stranded near the Bayfield beach when several wheels broke through the deteriorating ice.
A two week "windsled season" pushes the limit of patience for Islanders and tradesmen alike who depend on vehicle travel between the Island and Bayfield for moving groceries, building materials, and laborers to the Island.

U.S.-Flag Lakers to Combat Spread of Fish Virus

3/24 - Cleveland---The members of Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) are implementing a ballast water management plan to help slow the spread of Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) to uninfected Great Lakes waters in 2007. Lake Carriers’ Association represents the vast majority of U.S.-Flag vessels operating on the Great Lakes.

“Lake Carriers’ Association has been a leader in efforts to find solutions to the problem of non-indigenous species and pathogens being introduced into the Great Lakes via the ballast water on ocean-going vessels and other vectors,” said James H.I. Weakley, President of the 127-year-old Association. “These new, voluntary measures represent our continued commitment to preserving the Great Lakes environment.

While our members’ vessels don’t trade farther east than Bath, Ontario, on Lake Ontario, and so have never introduced an exotic to the enclosed aquatic ecosystem, we recognize our role in assisting the Governments of the United States and Canada in controlling the spread of invasive species brought to the Lakes by vessels entering from the oceans and other vectors such as aquaculture, bait fish and recreational boating and fishing.”

VHS is a virus that can cause fish to hemorrhage and has caused kill-offs in Lake St. Clair in 2003 and Lake Ontario in 2005. To date, it is not known if VHS has been introduced to Lakes Michigan and Superior.

Steps being implemented as the U.S.-Flag fleet gets underway in March include annually inspecting and, as necessary, replacing ballast sea chest screens with the smallest openings allowed by engineering practices. When it is necessary to take ballast in waters thought to harbor
VHS, the vessel will first be lightened as much as safe operation permits to minimize sediment uptake and increase water flow. Should a fish make it past the screen, it will be pulverized by the high speed, high pressure, and tight tolerance pumps.

“There is no way commercial vessels can meet the needs of commerce without ballasting,” said Weakley. “When not carrying cargo, a vessel must take on ballast to minimize hull stresses and ensure adequate stability, propulsion, and maneuverability. However, these steps will enable the U.S.-Flag fleet to continue to move more than 100 million tons of vital cargos this year while minimizing as much as possible the potential that its ballast could spread VHS.”

The LCA VHS Plan has also been endorsed by the Shipping Federation of Canada, which represents shipowners and agents involved in Canada’s overseas trade, and the United States Great Lakes Shipping Association, which represents U.S. vessel agents for ocean-going vessels calling on U.S. Great Lakes ports.

Lake Carriers’ Association’s first effort to combat the spread of non-indigenous species introduced by ocean-going vessels was a Voluntary Ballast Water Management Plan for the Control of Ruffe in Lake Superior Ports. Instituted in 1993, the Plan has proved extremely effective. Even though the Twin Ports of Duluth, Minnesota/Superior, Wisconsin, handle more than 1,000 vessel calls a year, the ruffe has been found in only two locations outside western Lake Superior.

Source: Lake Carriers’ Association

Today in Great Lakes History - March 24

ALPENA (Hull#177) was launched on March 24, 1909, at Wyandotte, Michigan by Detroit Ship Building Co. for the Wyandotte Transportation Co. Renamed b.) SIDNEY E SMITH JR in 1968, and c.) ALPENA in 1971. Scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario in 1973.

CARL D BRADLEY (Hull#718) was launched March 24, 1917, at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co. the third self-unloader in the Bradley Transportation Co. fleet. Renamed b.) JOHN G MUNSON in 1927, and c.) IRVIN L CLYMER in 1951. Scrapped at Duluth in 1994.

The SAMUEL MATHER was transferred on March 24, 1965, to the newly formed Pickands Mather subsidiary Labrador Steamship Co. Ltd. (Sutcliffe Shipping Co. Ltd., operating agents), Montreal, Quebec to carry iron ore from their recently opened Wabush Mines ore dock at Pointe Noire, Quebec to U.S. blast furnaces on Lakes Erie and Michigan. She was renamed b.) POINTE NOIRE.

HARRY COULBY (Hull#163) was launched March 24, 1906, at Wyandotte, Michigan by Detroit Ship Building Co. for the L. C. Smith Transit Co., Syracuse, New York. Renamed b.) FINLAND in 1927, c.) PETER ROBERTSON in 1969, and d.) MARINSAL in 1978. Used in a shunter experiment in the Welland Canal and scrapped at La Spezia, Italy in 1980.

On 24 March 1874, the 181 foot, 3-mast wooden schooner MORNING STAR was launched at E. Saginaw, Michigan by Crosthwaite.

On 24 March 1876, CITY OF SANDUSKY (wooden side-wheel passenger/package freight vessel, 171 foot, 608 gross tons, built in 1866, at Sandusky, Ohio) burned and sank in the harbor at Port Stanley, Ontario.

On 24 March 1876, MINNIE CORLETT (wooden scow-schooner, 107 gross tons, built before 1866) was sailing light from Chicago, Illinois to Two Rivers, Wisconsin on Lake Michigan when she stranded and then sank. No lives were lost.

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

Port Reports - March 23

Goderich - Dale Baechler
The Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin was the first ship of the season to arrive in Goderich. She was loading salt at Sifto on Thursday.
Canadian Navigator was second into port Thursday evening and is loading at Sifto Salt on a bright sunny Friday morning. A busy start to an early opening of the 2007 shipping season.

Sarnia - Frank Frisk, Angie Williams & Marc Dease
Cuyahoga loaded supplies on Thursday morning, then headed down river to take on fuel at Sterling and a load of salt in Ojibway.
She was followed a few hours later at about 6:15pm when her fleetmate Saginaw departed her lay-up berth at the elevator in Sarnia.
The Saginaw was destined for the Sterling fuel dock in Windsor and then to Toledo for coal.

Escanaba - Rod Burdick
Escanaba was busy on Thursday evening. Paul R. Tregurtha, an uncommon visitor, was loading taconite on the north side of the ore dock, and Wilfred Sykes was waiting to load taconite on the south side. Tug Joseph H. Thompson Jr. was reattached to her barge and warming up her engines.

Cleveland - Matt
The Earl W. Oglebay was spotted with a black stack, and it appears that her old name is being painted over.

Twin Ports - Al Miller
Roger Blough departed its winter lay up berth at the Duluth Port Terminal late Thursday afternoon. About 4:15 it was slowly proceeding under the Blatnik Bridge toward the CN ore docks to load its first cargo of the season. It appeared to be moving easily in broken ice. St. Louis Bay has a large stretch of open water off Midwest Energy Terminal and into the turning basin off the end of the ore docks.

St. Lawrence Seaway - Ron Beaupre
Friday morning the first two ships will come down through the lock at Iroquois. Frontenac spent the night on the tie wall above the lock with Maritime Trader behind her. There has been a blockage near Valleyfield for the last two days as the St. Louis lift bridge had a broken cable. The repairs are now complete and several ships that had been waiting below Beauharnois are now underway. Atlantic Erie is leading the parade upbound.

Maritime students on Wisconsin schooner rescue 3 off Florida Keys

3/23 - ISLAMORADA, Fla. - Maritime academy students on an excursion aboard a Wisconsin-based schooner got a real-life lesson early Thursday when they rescued three fishermen who were clinging to a sinking boat off the Florida Keys.

The 16 students from the Riviera Beach (Fla.) Maritime Academy were on the Denis Sullivan, a 19th-century replica Great Lakes schooner, as part of a 10-day nautical and marine science expedition. They were with teachers and the crew of the ship when they heard a "May Day" call from a 33-foot fishing boat with three men aboard saying they were sinking about 11 miles southeast of Islamorada, according to a statement from the Coast Guard.

While the Coast Guard dispatched rescue crews to the scene, students and teachers on the 137-foot, three-masted schooner saw distress flares fired in the air and made their way to the sinking ship just after midnight. A crew member eventually pulled two of the men to safety and a third man was able to swim to the ship's ladder, the Coast Guard said.

The three men, taken ashore by Coast Guard boat, were transported to Mariner's Hospital near Marathon. Two had serious injuries and the condition of the third man was not available.

The fishermen's vessel punched a 1-foot hole in the schooner's hull while the rescue was under way. Coast Guard crews temporarily repaired the hole with help from the students, and the ship continued on its way to Key West.

The Denis Sullivan is on a winter cruise in southern waters before making the return trip through the St. Lawrence Seaway to Milwaukee for the summer.

The vessel is based at Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

Free program announced at Great Lakes Maritime Center for Saturday

3/23 - Port Huron - Saturday night, March 24, at 7:00 pm, at the Great Lakes Maritime Center at Vantage Point in Port Huron, the program, "River Rat Chasing!" will be presented by the Lake Huron Lore Marine Society.

The program is free and open to the public.

Diamond Queen Memorial Day Cruise to Port Huron

3/23 - Detroit - The annual Memorial Day Diamond Queen cruise departs from Hart Plaza, on May 28, and cruises to the St. Clair Inn for dinner and out into Lake Huron a short distance, weather permitting. There is a Continental breakfast and a buffet luncheon on board.

The cruise will follow the shipping channel upbound to meet all downbound ships, and only divert from the shipping channel down bound to visit the old St. Clair Flats area to see the Old Club and other interesting buildings and sites there.

Tickets are $85 by reservation only. Departs Hart Plaza at 8:00 am and returns at 9:15 pm. Call 313-843-9376 for information.

Updates - March 23

News Photo Gallery updated

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

Gatherings Page updated.

Calendar of Events updated.

Today in Great Lakes History - March 23

The National Transportation Safety Board unanimously voted on March 23,1978, to reject the U. S. Coast Guard's official report supporting the theory of faulty hatches in their EDMUND FITZGERALD investigation. Later the N.T.S.B. revised its verdict and reached a majority vote to agree that the sinking was caused by taking on water through one or more hatch covers damaged by the impact of heavy seas over her deck. This is contrary to the Lake Carriers Association's contention that her foundering was caused by flooding through bottom and ballast tank damage resulting from bottoming on the Six Fathom Shoal between Caribou and Michipicoten Islands.

On 23 March 1850, TROY (wooden side wheel passenger/package freighter, 182 foot, 546 tons, built in 1845, at Maumee, Ohio) exploded and burned at Black Rock, New York. Up to 22 lives were lost. She was recovered and rebuilt the next year and lasted until 1860.

On 23 March 1886, Mr. D. N. Runnels purchased the tug KITTIE HAIGHT.

The 3,280 ton motor vessel YANKCANUCK commanded by Captain W. E. Dexter, docked at the Canadian Soo on 23 March 1964, to officially open the 1964 Navigation Season for that port. Captain Dexter received the traditional silk hat from Harbormaster Frank Parr in a brief ceremony aboard the vessel. The ship arrived in the Sault from Windsor, Ontario. Captain Dexter said the trip from Windsor was uneventful and he had no trouble with ice. This was the first time a ship from the Yankcanuck Line won the honor of opening the Sault Harbor.

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

Ceremony to bless the fleet will be Saturday in Port Huron

3/22 - Port Huron - Three local pastors and representatives from the International Ship Masters Association will lead a "blessing of the fleet" ceremony at 11:00 am, Saturday at the Great Lakes Maritime Center at Vantage Point, 51 Water St., Port Huron.

Representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Port Huron Power Squadron, the Sea Scouts and the Sea Cadets will be on hand.

There will be performances from singers and a Detroit pipe band.

For additional information, call Peter Werle at (810) 985-4817

BoatNerd Soo Locks Engineer's Day Cruise date changed to Friday

3/22 - Due to a scheduling conflict, we have changed the Annual Engineer's Weekend Freighter Chasing Cruise to Friday, June 29.

See the Gathering Page for complete details.

First ships of spring set sail

3/22 - Port Huron - Closed since mid-January for winter maintenance, three major ship-canal locks are opening this week. The Welland Canal opened Tuesday, the Montreal/Lake Ontario portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway opened Wednesday and the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie will open Sunday.

Freighter crews are gearing up for the shipping season after taking a winter break during the lock closures. The season is expected to bring a mix of high demand and low Great Lakes water levels, which could cut profits. Although some freighters continued to traverse the St. Clair River this winter carrying heating oil from Nanticoke, Ontario, and salt from Goderich, Ontario, many stop shipping in winter because of restricted access to ports.

Crews work hard from March to January on the freighters, which carry cargo such as iron ore, limestone and steel throughout the Great Lakes region and around the world. "It's tough work," said Frank Frisk, a retired cook-porter with the Interlake Steamship Co. who now works at BoatNerd.com in Port Huron.

But journeying through the locks is exhilarating. "When you're standing out there on deck or the pilot house and the boat moves that 30 feet, it's really wild," he said.

Mark Gill, supervisor of the vessel traffic service for St. Marys River near the Soo Locks, said crews will be working hard until Sunday breaking up ice to allow ship passage. There has been more ice this year than last year, he said. "It's been a tough year on the breakers themselves. We're certainly going to have an uphill battle looking toward Sunday," he said.

Big business
The demand for coal, limestone and iron ore will be up this year as overseas demand for steel increases, experts said. Ingredients such as limestone are required to melt the iron ore to make steel. But freighter companies likely will lose money because of low water levels this season. Low water levels require ships to take on less-than-full loads in order to clear the shipping channel bottom.

While Monday's recorded water level for the Lake Michigan-Huron system was 577.2 feet above sea level, close to the average reading for March 2006, the water level on Lake Superior could play the biggest role in shipping this year, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit. The water level in Lake Superior, which last week measured 14 inches below the March 2006 average, could fall within 3 or 4 inches of the record low by summer's end.

The Corps of Engineers is forecasting a water level similar to last summer for the Lake Michigan-Huron system. But even a variation of a few inches can reduce the profit for shipping companies. A typical freighter has the ability to carry 270 tons of cargo per inch of water, which means several hundred thousands of dollars can be lost if the water level is down several inches.

"You'll end up seeing low freighter passages, because they won't be able to carry their maximum load to their destinations," Gill said. Frisk said the water levels are cyclical and that long periods of low water may be caused by global warming.

Despite seasonal struggles, local economies benefit from the shipping season, Frisk said, as ship watchers travel throughout the region watching freighters. He said freighter traffic, a major tourist draw to the Port Huron area, remains popular. "It's magnetic. Its like NASCAR on the water," Frisk said.

Ballast law
Another concern for the shipping industry this year is the Michigan water-ballast law. The law, which went into effect in January, requires all ships stopping at state ports to have a water-ballast permit. It costs $75 to apply for the permit and $150 to renew it each year.

By getting a permit, the shipping company agrees it will not discharge its ballast in Michigan waterways or that it will use a state-approved method to clean the ballast water. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will not allow ships to stop in Michigan ports if they do not have the permit, said spokesman Bob McCann.

Ballast is water, mixed with sediment and seaweed, the weight of which keeps ships stable during voyages. It's been identified as the medium that's carried invasive species, such as zebra mussels, ruffe fish and viral hemorrhagic septicemia - a quick-spreading virus from Europe that's deadly to fish.

There are 182 invasive species plaguing the Great Lakes, spurring the conservation group Great Lakes United to propose a ban on overseas ships in the Great Lakes until they learn how to stop discharging contaminated ballast water.

The shipping industry is concerned about the Michigan law's effect on business, said Bob Dorn, senior vice president of the Interlake Steamship Co. in Cleveland. "We're working with (the Lake Carriers Association) and the appropriate people in Lansing to understand what the issue is all about and get a little more clarification," Dorn said. "Clearly it's an issue that must be addressed without stopping commerce."

From the Port Huron Times-Herald

Port Reports - March 22

Soo - Jerry Masson
USCG cutter Neah Bay(105) arrived at the Soo Wednesday escorting the upbound Algosar through the ice bound traffic lanes of the St Marys River. Algosar had some difficulty making turns in the river which the Neah Bay was able to assist and break up the larger ice flows. The Michipicoten crew arrived on the weekend to ready the ship from her winter berth at Algoma Steel. Plans are for the ship to get underway upbound later in the week when ice conditions are favorable.

Milwaukee - John Vogel
Inland Lakes' Alpena was unloading at the LaFarge elevator, late Wednesday morning. The G. L. Ostrander, and its barge Integrity, were still on winter layover and docked next to the elevator, thus the Alpena tied up on their outer side. The Burns Harbor and James R. Barker remained in the harbor for layover, but there is a lot of preseason activity around those ships as they prepare to sail for the season.

Twin Ports - Al Miller
The Coast Guard Cutter Alder was spotted in the middle of Duluth harbor on Tuesday afternoon, apparently its first foray since encountering stern seal problems at the start of spring ice-breaking. There’s no word yet on whether the cutter is back in service.

Sarnia - Frank Frisk
Cuyahoga was conducting fire and boat drills at 10:30 Wednesday morning. It won't be long before she sails.

St. Lawrence Seaway - Kent Malo
Atlantic Erie was at Cote Ste. Catherines lock, on Wednesday, about to go to the tie up wall due to ice conditions above the lock. Atlantic Erie is the first vessel to go up the Seaway from the ocean for the 2007 season. There are two icebreakers above the lock clearing a path for the vessels that are heading up the Seaway. Cedarglen is below lock 2 and Pineglen is entering the Seaway at CIP 2.

Hamilton - Eric Holmes
The Frontenac departed Wednesday at 4:15 pm from Pier 26 with slag for Three Rivers Quebec. The CSL Niagara arrived at 6:00 pm with coal Stelco from Sandusky.

Goderich - Duane Jessup & Dale Baechler
Wednesday evening the USCG 102 Bristol Bay arrived at Goderich for ice breaking duties in advance of the first vessel of the shipping season to arrive later in the night. Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin became the first visitor to open the 2007 shipping season in Goderich Wednesday night. She encountered heavy ice conditions in the channel and was assisted into the Sifto Salt dock by USCG Bristol Bay and the MacDonald Marine tugs Dover, Ian Mac and Debbie Lynn. She is still loading Thursday morning and her Captain will be presented the top hat at the town hall by the Mayor and members of council.

Pentwater, Manistee out of luck for dredging this year
Ludington work to continue this spring,
South pier work to be done this summer

3/22 - Ludington - Recreational boats and freighters may have trouble entering some Great Lakes harbors, including Pentwater and Manistee this year, thanks to a loss of federal funding for dredging. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers budget does not include any money for dredging recreational harbors, including Pentwater, Arcadia and Leland, which shoal every year and typically are dredged every year.

Manistee, which has a commercial harbor, also appears to be out of luck. While the city was on the Corps’ three-year schedule for dredging this summer, the Corps’ Washington, D.C., budget office didn’t include money for the work to be done. Still, there may be hope for Manistee.

“There are some issues still being worked out,” said Tom O’Bryan, a civil engineer in the Corps’ Grand Haven office. “Manistee was submitted, but during budget cuts it didn’t make the cut,” he said. “Our district is quite aware of (Manistee harbor’s need for dredging), but there was no money set aside.”
The west Michigan district has not received a budget increase in five or six years, O’Bryan said, which means as contract costs go up — particularly due to fuel price increases — fewer projects can be done.

Pentwater Village Manager Tim Taylor said the village will do its own profiling of the harbor situation to find out how much shoaling has occurred since last year. “We’re going to have to do that ourselves,” Taylor said, “to see where we have obstructions.”

Even if there is shoaling, there is no funding available currently for removal. The harbor should be dredged to 15 feet deep to allow sailboats and other large boats to use the busy port, Taylor said. “It is disappointing,” he said of hearing the news about the lack of federal funding. “It’s a crushing blow to our community if we have problems. The lake is our commerce.”

All of the state’s recreational harbors lost dredging funds in order to keep more commercial harbor projects on the schedule as commercial ports are considered more of a national interest, O’Bryan said. “Obviously, recreational harbors bring in millions of tourist dollars, but Washington does not look at it that way. Commercial harbors provide products … it’s a more national issue than tourism.”

Ludington was dredged on schedule, once every three years, in 2007. The contractor MCM Marine is still in the local harbor, planning to finish up its 2006 work this spring, as soon as the weather allows. That may work in Ludington’s favor, since federal budget cuts mean the harbor is being dredged to only 27.5 feet instead of the usual 29.5 feet, O’Bryan said. After this spring’s work the next Ludington dredging should take place in 2009.

Ludington will receive about $177,000 in Corps’ project money for maintenance to the head of the south breakwater for about two weeks during the summer.

U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, hosted a meeting in Muskegon for area municipalities in February, saying he was still working to try to secure the funding. This week, upon learning that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not include in its 2007 budget funding for recreational harbor projects throughout Michigan, he issued the following statement: “My staff and I work hard every year to ensure that all harbors are adequately dredged for commercial and recreational watercraft in Michigan’s Second Congressional District, and every year up until now we have been successful. I will continue to aggressively work with the Democratic leadership in the House and Michigan Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin in the Senate to achieve more positive outcomes.”

Updates - March 22

News Photo Gallery updated

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

Gatherings Page updated.

Today in Great Lakes History - March 22

On this day in 1952, the new 647 foot CASON J CALLAWAY slid down the ways at the Rouge River yard of Great Lakes Engineering Works. Chris H. Johnson was appointed her first Captain.

On 22 March 1922, the Goodrich Transit Company purchased the assets and properties of the Chicago, Racine and Milwaukee Steamship Co. This sale included two steamers: ILLINOIS (steel propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 240 foot, 2,427 gross tons, built in 1899, at S. Chicago, Illinois) and PILGRIM (iron propeller passenger / package freight steamer, 209 foot, 1,921 gross tons, built in 1881, at Wyandotte, Michigan).

The GULF MACKENZIE sailed light March 22, 1977, on her maiden voyage from Sorel to Montreal, Quebec. Renamed b.) L ROCHETTE in 1985, sold foreign in 1995, renamed c.) TRADEWIND ISLAND and d.) KEMEPADE in 2003.

The tanker COMET (Hull#705) was launched March 22, 1913, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. for the Standard Transportation Co. of New York.

THOMAS W LAMONT (Hull#184) was launched March 22, 1930, at Toledo, Ohio by Toledo Shipbuilding Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

March 22, 1885 - The Goodrich Steamer MICHIGAN was crushed in heavy ice off Grand Haven, Michigan and sank. Captain Redmond Prindiville in command, Joseph Russell was the first mate.

On 22 March 1873, TYPO, a wooden schooner/canaller, was launched at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She cost $25,000 and was commanded by Captain William Callaway.

On 22 March 1871, Engineer George Smith and two firemen were badly scalded on the propeller LAKE BREEZE when a steam pipe they were working on blew away from the side of the boiler. They were getting the engines ready for the new shipping season.

On 22 March 1938, CITY OF BUFFALO (steel side-wheeler passenger / package freight vessel, 340 foot, 2,940 gross tons, built in 1896, at Wyandotte, Michigan) caught fire during preparations for the Spring season while at her winter moorings at the East Ninth Street dock in Cleveland, Ohio. She was totally gutted. The hulk was towed to Detroit for conversion to a freighter, but this failed to materialize. She was cut up for scrap there in 1940.

On 22 March 1987, the pilothouse of the 1901, steamer ALTADOC, which was used as a gift shop and 2-room hotel near Copper Harbor, Michigan, was destroyed by fire.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, 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.

Detroit Historical Society to re-open the Dossin Great Lakes Museum
on Belle Isle on March 24

3/21 - Detroit— After an extremely successful 10-week renovation and Grand Re-Opening last fall at its flagship Detroit Historical Museum, the Detroit Historical Society has turned its attention to the Dossin Great Lakes Museum in the new year.

The Society’s Belle Isle attraction, dedicated to the maritime history of southeastern Michigan, the Detroit River and the Great Lakes, has been closed to the public since December 30th for an upgrade of exhibits and facilities. The “Dossin Makeover” culminates with a free to the public “Grand Re-Opening” weekend celebration starting Saturday, March 24th with special hours.

This celebration features free admission all weekend long, complimentary refreshments and free gifts to the first 100 people through the doors each day. Free admission at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum for the duration of 2007 is provided through the generous support of Masco Corporation, however, donations are welcome.

Grand Re-Opening Weekend hours are Saturday, March 24 – 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., and Sunday, March 25 – 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

When guests visit the Dossin Museum this spring, they will notice more than $100,000 in upgrades, including the following new exhibits: Era of Elegance: Cruising on the Lakes will bring together artifacts, photographs, and stories to recall a time when luxurious steamers sailed the Great Lakes – forerunners of today’s modern cruise lines.

 Maritime Marvels will display a treasury of Great Lakes artifacts from the Museum’s extensive collection. Bob-Lo: Entertainment Island brings back the memories and magic of the iconic amusement park that entertained millions of Detroiters from 1898 to 1993. Great Lakes Signal Flags demonstrates how sailors in the region communicate using these colorful banners and gives visitors the chance to send their own messages.

Other exhibits that have been favorites for years will receive updates. The Museum will update City on the Straits, which examines three centuries of the history and ecology of the Detroit River. The gothic-style smoking lounge from the luxury steamship City of Detroit III will be refreshed to more powerfully evoke the feeling of cruising down the Detroit River.

The museum’s building and grounds will also receive several upgrades, including new exterior and interior signage, new lighting in and around the museum new landscaping, and new paint, carpet and flooring. “This makeover project at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum gives us the opportunity to continue our mission of preserving and portraying our region’s history in a new and exciting way,” said Detroit Historical Society Executive Director Bob Bury. “We’re looking forward to reintroducing metro Detroiters to our gem on Belle Isle.”

The Dossin Great Lakes Museum Makeover has been made possible by generous gifts from the DeRoy Testamentary Foundation and the Dossin family, and is supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 1949, the Detroit Historical Commission opened the Maritime Museum of Detroit on Belle Isle. The last commercial sailing vessel on the Great Lakes, the wood schooner J. T. Wing, housed the museum for several years. When the old ship became too fragile for public visitation in 1956, the city closed the museum and burned it to the ground.

At that time, Walter, Roy, and Russell Dossin pledged part of their fortune -- earned as owners of the exclusive Pepsi-Cola bottling franchise in Michigan and northern Ohio – and their fame -- as sponsors of several legendary hydroplane racing boats -- to build a new museum. On July 24, 1961, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum opened to the public on the same site where the J. T. Wing had been moored.

In March of last year, the City of Detroit and the Detroit Historical Society reached an agreement that transferred management of the Detroit Historical Museum, Dossin Great Lakes Museum, and Collections Resource Center housed at Historic Fort Wayne to the Society. This historic agreement continues a partnership between the City and the Society that spans over seven decades.

Starting Saturday, March 31st, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, located at 100 Strand Drive on Belle Isle,will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Permanent exhibits include the Miss Pepsi vintage 1940s championship hydroplane, a bow anchor from the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, the pilothouse from the Great Lakes freighter S.S. William Clay Ford, and the largest known collection of scale model ships in the world . For more information, call (313) 821-2661 or visit www.detroithistorical.org .

Thunder Bay Shipping outlook good

3/21 - Thunder Bay, Ont. - One of the sure signs of spring is seeing a coast guard cutter breaking up the ice in the Thunder Bay harbour for the start of the shipping season by week’s end. That would be the United States Coast Guard cutter Biscayne Bay, which is currently opening shipping channels in the harbour.

“It will allow the ships in port to move around and pick up grain, and some will go to Duluth to get coal,” Tim Heney, chief executive officer of the Thunder Bay Port Authority, said Monday. Heney said Lake Superior is virtually all open water, with only the harbours of Thunder Bay and Duluth still ice covered. The Biscayne Bay also will break ice at Duluth.

Heney said he’s looking with optimism to the coming season with grain shipments reaching last year’s levels of 6.5 million metric tonnes, which was the first time in five years that volumes topped six million tonnes. To put the 6.5 million tonnes in perspective, the record volume of grain was set in 1983 when 17.5 million tonnes passed through the port.

Heney also expects improvements in liquid bulk and petroleum products. And potash, which was down a bit last year, may rebound in 2007.

“Grain is the main cargo,” he said. “We’ve had a pretty good crop the past couple of years. There’s a strong demand in Europe. That’s where the grain goes from Thunder Bay,” Heney said. And, the elevators are full so he expects a big start to the shipping season.

“I think it’s going to be good.”

From the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal

Port Reports - March 21

Midland - Les Spencer
The CCGS Samuel Risley was in to break out the Hon. Paul J. Martin from the ADM grain elevator in Midland harbour on Sunday. The Samuel Risley arrived around 5:00pm and the Martin was soon backing its way out from
the dock and on its way.

Twin Ports - Al Miller
Mesabi Miner departed Superior overnight Monday with a cargo of coal bound for the power plant at Taconite Harbor. On Tuesday morning, Kaye E. Barker had steam up in Fraser Shipyards and Roger Blough and American Spirit appeared to have ballasted down. Kaye E. Barker is the first boat scheduled to load this season at the CN ore docks in Two Harbors, due there Thursday evening. Cason J. Callaway and Edwin H. Gott are expected to follow on Friday. Roger Blough is the first boat due at CN ore docks Duluth, followed by CSL Laurentien coming down from Thunder Bay on Friday.

Welland Canal - Dan Sweeley
The CSL Tadoussac was the recipient of the annual Top Hat award. This award is given to the first vessel to transit the canal. This is the 75th anniversary of the 4th canal which opened in 1932 by CSL's former steamer Lemoyne.

Sturgeon Bay -
The Paul R. Tregurtha left Bayship at 12 noon Tuesday by way of Green Bay. It was also reported that the Wilfred Sykes would be leaving sometime Tuesday evening.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
Preparations have began for the start of the shipping season on the Saginaw River. The US Coast Guard Cutter Neah Bay arrived on the Saginaw River on Monday, breaking a path through wind rowed ice on the Saginaw Bay. She made another pass again Tuesday afternoon before departing. The Neah Bay reported a number of winter buoys off station or missing in the Saginaw Bay Entrance Channel. The Saginaw River is clear of ice, but the Veteran's Memorial Bridge in Bay City is still closed to vessel traffic until April 1st due to a rehabilitation project.

Hamilton - Eric Holmes
The shipping season started off with some of the ships in lay up moving to new locations in the harbor. The Algoisle departed Pier 25 ( JRI Elevators ) and moved to Pier 20 so the Voyageur Independent who was at Pier 14 could load wheat at JRI. The Algonorth also moved going from Pier 26 to Pier 20 so the Frontenac who arrived at 9:00pm, in ballast from Port Colborne, could load slag for Three Rivers Quebec at Pier 26.

Great Lakes group urges foreign ship ban
It wants to stop tainted ballast water

3/21 - Milwaukee - The St. Lawrence Seaway opened for its 49th consecutive season Wednesday, but not everyone is thrilled about another summer of overseas ships doing business in the Great Lakes.

Frustrated by the mounting number of invasive species arriving in the bellies of overseas freighters, some conservationists are proposing a simple but radical solution: Ban the ships from the Great Lakes until they can figure out how to stop discharging contaminated ballast water. "This is being done out of frustration," said Jennifer

Nalbone of the conservation group Great Lakes United. "This is a decision we've made because the federal government has failed to protect the Great Lakes."

Federal legislation to deal with ballast has languished for several years. New foreign species, meanwhile, continue to be discovered in the Great Lakes at a rate of about one every six months. Michigan has decided to deal with the problem on its own, and for the first time this year, it plans to require overseas freighters to not discharge ballast water or take steps to ensure it is not contaminated with foreign organisms. Similar rules are being considered in other Great Lakes states, including Wisconsin.

Dean Haen, president of the Wisconsin Commercial Ports Association, said he supported federal legislation to regulate contaminated ballast discharges, but finding the technology remained a challenge. "If our state wants to do anything with regards to ballast water, I'd suggest they help fund research to develop technology to stop invasive species and keep the economy moving," he said.

Nalbone said there were alternatives to moving foreign cargo into the region, among them transferring it from overseas ships onto trains. She said it might be inconvenient, but it made economic and environmental sense because of the costs of coping with the unwanted species that overseas ships are bringing in.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Shippers fight Michigan law regulating ballast water

3/21 - Detroit - Shipping interests in the U.S. and Canada have banded together to try to strike down a Michigan law that attempts to stop the spread of invasive species such as zebra mussels into the Great Lakes. Four shipping companies, four shipping associations and one dock company filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Detroit asking a judge to declare the Michigan Ballast Water Act unconstitutional.

"It's disappointing that these groups are choosing to ignore this law that really is designed to keep our Great Lakes protected," Michigan Department of Environmental Quality spokesman Robert McCann said today. The state law, which took effect Jan. 1 as the first such law in the nation, requires all oceangoing ships visiting Michigan ports to obtain permits and to promise not to discharge untreated ballast water.

Ballast water, used to stabilize ships when they are carrying little or no cargo, is typically taken on after ships empty their cargo and emptied before ships take on cargo. Foreign ballast water has been blamed for introducing destructive species such as zebra mussels and sea lamprey to Great Lakes waters.

The shippers, including the Seaway Great Lakes Trade Association and the U.S. Great Lakes Shipping Association, argue in the lawsuit filed Thursday the law is unconstitutional because it interferes with interstate commerce. They also say it casts much too wide a net because only a tiny fraction of the fewer than 100 ships that visit Michigan ports each year discharge their ballast water. So far, only two companies have sought permits for 12 ships -- a Bulgarian company sought permits for 10 ships and an Ontario company for two ships, officials said.

State Sen. Patty Birkholz, R-Saugatuck, said she introduced her legislation after the federal government failed to act against the obvious source for invasive species entering the Great Lakes. "I am just shocked," Birkholz said of the suit by the shippers. "If anything, we ought to be suing them."

From the Detroit News

Updates - March 21

News Photo Gallery updated

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

Gatherings Page updated.

Public Photo Gallery updated.

Today in Great Lakes History - March 21

The J L MAUTHE successfully completed her sea trials on western Lake Erie in 1953. She achieved a speed of 17.3 mph during the trials. The hull of the MAUTHE sails today as the barge PATHFINDER.

The c.) CHEMICAL MAR of 1966, sustained severe damage when sulfuric acid leaked into the pump room whi