Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive

Great Lakes steel production keeps trending up

4/28 - Great Lakes steel production rose to 664,000 tons last week, a 2.86 percent increase. It was the second straight weekly increase after a four-week slide.

Steel mills in the Great Lakes region cranked out 645,000 tons of metal the previous week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Most of the steel made in the Great Lakes region is produced in Lake and Porter counties in Northwest Indiana.

So far this year, U.S. steelmakers have produced 27.7 million tons of steel, about 3.6 percent more than they did during the same period in 2016. Steel mills have been running at a capacity of 74.3 percent so far this year, up from 71.6 percent through the same time last year.

Domestic steelmakers used about 73.6 percent of their steelmaking capacity in the week that ended April 22, down from 74.6 percent the previous week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Capacity utilization was, however, up from 72.6 percent during the same time period in 2016.

NW Indiana Times

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
Marsgracht arrived Duluth on Thursday morning, and headed to Port Terminal to discharge wind turbine parts. American Century departed later in the morning with coal from Midwest Energy. During the afternoon, Mesabi Miner arrived to load iron ore pellets at CN. This is the Miner's first trip since being outfitted with scrubbers at Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay. The saltie Eemsborg arrived late Thursday evening to load grain at CHS 1. In Superior, Algoma Discovery departed Thursday morning with ore from BN, and was soon replaced at the dock by Thunder Bay. After loading throughout the day, she departed during the evening and Joseph L. Block arrived from anchor to load.

Milwaukee, Wis. – Paul Erspamer
Thursday morning the ocean bulker Federal Danube arrived around 0700 and started unloading at Terminal 2 in the outer harbor. Tug Samuel de Champlain / barge Innovation delivered cement at Jones Island. Labrador remained loading at Nidera Grain in the inner harbor. The tug Dorothy Ann/ barge Pathfinder were expected in Milwaukee at around 8 p.m. Thursday.

Grand Haven, Mich. – Sam Hankinson
Wilfred Sykes arrived to unload slag Thursday afternoon.

Southern Lake Michigan
Fuldaborg was in S. Chicago Thursday. BBC Thames was at Burns Harbor.

Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Mariner was loading salt on Thursday.

Sarnia, Ont. – Marc Dease
Saginaw left winter lay-up Thursday afternoon and was upbound for Thunder Bay. Fleetmate Ojibway remains tied up, possibly until the fall grain rush.

Nanticoke, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Arrived: Algocanada at 0749, Leo A. McArthur (ex Victorious) and barge John J. Carrick at 1400. Departures: CSL Laurentien at 0451 westbound and Algoma Hansa at 1324 eastbound.

Oswego, N.Y. – Ned Goebricher
On Thursday, English River unloaded cement.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Transits for April 27: Upbound: Tim S. Dool eta 0142, John Marshall & barge departed wharf 16 after unloading, CSL Niagara eta 0317, Federal Kumano (Mhl) eta 0550, Leonard M & barge Niagara Spirit eta @ 1204, CSL St. Laurent eta 1340, Sea Eagle II & barge St. Marys Cement II eta 2145. Downbound: Baie Comeau, Frontenac eta 0219, tugs Paul L. Luedtke & Karl E. Luedtke with Derrick boat 16, and barges GL70 & GL73 eta 0435, light tugs Lois M and Jarrett M departed wharf 17 after tow of ferry Le Marc was completed, Petite Forte & barge St. Marys Cement eta 0545, John D. Leitch eta 0927, Algoma Hansa eta 1645, Wilf Seymour & barge Alouette Spirit eta 1835.

Bronte, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Algoscotia was docked on Thursday.

Hamilton, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Arrived: Blacky (Cyp) at 0205. Departed: Tim S. Dool at 2325 on Wedneday, Leonard M & barge Niagara Spirit at 0902 Thursday, Havelstern at 1040. At docks: BBC Weser (Atg), Arneborg (Nld) and Pelee Islander (ferry) at the Heddle dry dock.

Toronto, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Departure: Stephen B. Roman at 1832 eastbound. Tundra (Cyp) was unloading sugar at Redpath Thursday.

Oshawa, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Federal Welland (Mhl) remained at dock Thursday.

Researchers: No more ice cover on the Great Lakes

4/28 - Detroit, Mich. – In another sign that spring has returned in Michigan, the Great Lakes are now ice-free — having cleared out enough to rank among the top 20 earliest thaws in the last 45 years, researchers said Wednesday.

The findings were reviewed by the Ann Arbor-based Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, which is tied to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Scientists there have been studying ice cover and related phenomena for decades.

According to the group’s Great Lakes Surface Environmental Analysis, “the Great Lakes were officially ice-free as of Sunday, 11th earliest ice-out in the last 45 years,” researchers tweeted. Data that scientists compiled going back to the early 1970s show the Great Lakes typically have averaged measurable ice cover through late April or early May.

For the 2015-16 winter season, ice cover was last measured on May 5, when 0.09 percent of the basin sported it, according to the data.

Ice cover has been reported as late as May 31 (in 2003) but gone — at 0 percent — as early as April 6 (in 1987), the figures show. As recently as 2012, the lakes cleared by April 11.

The Detroit News

Several Seaway salties renamed

4/28 - The following saltwater vessels have been renamed with each having made visits to the Great Lakes/Seaway system. Gadwall, which first came inland in 2007 and last visited as such in 2016, is now Maria G of Malta. The tanker Harbour Kira, which came inland in 2012 on its only visit with that name, is now the Caribe Maria of Liberia. This vessel also carried the name Clipper Kira from 2007-2012 and first came inland as such in 2007 and last visited as such in 2011. HHL Nile, which first came inland as such in 2011 and last visited in 2015, is now the Heemskerkgracht of the Netherlands. This vessel also held the name Beluga Faculty from 2009-2011 and first came inland as such in 2009 and last visited in 2010. The tanker Intrepid Canada, which first came inland in 2012 and last visited as such in 2016, is now the Sloman Helios of Antigua and Barbuda registry. Royal Pescadores, which first came inland in 2000 and last visited as such in 2009, is now Cathy Ocean of Panama. Keizersborg, which first came inland in 1997 and last visited as such in 2008, is now the Platon of Sierra Leone.

Denny Dushane

Obituaries: David Barber

4/28 - David Barber, 65, of Suttons Bay, Mich., died unexpectedly on Thursday, April 27, at Marquette General Hospital. He was a first mate and merchant seaman with VanEnkevort Tug and Barge of Escanaba, Mich., and sailed many times on the waters of the Great Lakes. All services are private and at the convenience of the family.

Updates -  April 28

Saltie Gallery updated with pictures of the Ardita, Arneborg, BBC Thames, BBC Weser, Blacky, Cape, Edzard Schulte, Federal Barents, Federal Bering, Federal Cedar, Federal Champlain, Federal Churchill, Federal Danube, Federal Kumano, Federal Kushiro, Federal Rideau, Federal Ruhr, Federal Satsuki, Federal Welland, Federal Yukon, Fuldaborg, Happy River, Havelstern, Juno, Marsgracht, Pacific Huron, Reestborg, Sedna Desgagnes, Sten Baltic and Taiga Desgagnes.
 

28 April 1856 - TONAWANDA (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 202 foot, 882 gross tons) was launched by Buell B. Jones at Buffalo, New York.

On 28 April 1891, the whaleback barge 110 (steel barge, 265 foot, 1,296 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Co. in W. Superior, Wisconsin. In 1907, she went to the Atlantic Coast and lasted until she suffered an explosion, then sank after burning, near the dock of Cities Service Export Oil Co., at St. Rose, Louisiana, on March 3, 1932.

The 660-foot-long forward section of Bethlehem Steel's a.) LEWIS WILSON FOY (Hull#717) was launched April 28,1977, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Renamed b.) OGLEBAY NORTON in 1991 and c.) AMERICAN INTEGRITY in 2006.

Nipigon Transport Ltd.'s straight deck motorship a.) LAKE WABUSH (Hull#223) by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., was christened and launched April 28, 1981. Renamed b.) CAPT HENRY JACKMAN in 1987, and converted to a self-unloader in 1996.

On April 28, 1971, while up bound from Sorel, Quebec, for Muskegon, Michigan, with a load of pig iron, LACHINEDOC struck Rock Shoal off Little Round Island in the St. Lawrence River and was beached.

On April 28, 1906, Pittsburgh Steamship Co.'s J. PIERPONT MORGAN (Hull#68) by Chicago Ship Building Co., was launched. Renamed b.) HERON BAY in 1966.

April 28, 1897 - The F&PM (Flint & Pere Marquette) Steamer NO 1, bound from Milwaukee for Chicago, ran ashore just north of Evanston. She released herself after a few hours.

The barge LITTLE JAKE was launched on 28 April 1875, at East Saginaw, Michigan. She was owned by William R. Burt & Co. Her dimensions were 132 feet x 29 feet x 9 feet.

On 28 April 1877, the steam barge C S BALDWIN went ashore on the reef at North Point on Lake Huron during a blinding snow storm. The barge was heavily loaded with iron ore and sank in a short time. The crew was saved by the Lifesaving Service from Thunder Bay Station and by the efforts of the small tug FARRAR.

1971 ZENAVA, the former REDFERN, ran aground, caught fire and sank off Burin, NF while under tow from Rose Blanche, NF to Marystown, NF. The former bulk canaller was being used to transport, freeze and store fish.

1976 The first ALGOSEA was inbound on its first trip to the Great Lakes when it hit the wall below Lock 1 of the Welland Canal and then, below Lock 2, the ship was blown sideways across the canal after problems with the cables. The ship was enroute to Port Colborne for conversion to a self-unloader; it was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey, in 2011 as SAUNIERE.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.

Fincantieri celebrates rededication of John G. Munson

4/26 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, along with Keystone Shipping Co. and Canadian National, celebrated the re-commissioning of the vessel John G. Munson last Thursday.

The ceremony was to celebrate the repowering of the Munson from steam to diesel propulsion. The Munson is managed by Key Lakes, Inc. out of Duluth, Minn., which is a subsidiary of Keystone Shipping Co. Keystone Shipping Company is part of Canadian National, and the Munson is one of nine vessels of the CN Great Lakes Fleet.

During the event, officials representing the companies thanked all of the men and women at Bay Ship who worked on the Munson for their quality and dedication. Officials at the event included Don Kurz, president of Keystone Shipping; Josh Juel, manager of Great Lakes Fleet-Canadian National; Mitch Koslow, vice president of engineering and purchasing at Keystone Shipping; Don Lindquist, Keystone Shipping; Scott McPherson, chief engineer of the John G. Munson; and Ron Buczkowski, captain of the John G. Munson. In attendance from FBS was Stu Fett, production manager; Cheryl Arnott, project manager; and Todd Thayse, vice president and general manager, as well as the FBS production crews.

Kurz and Juel both spoke about the history of the Munson, and Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding's successful and lengthy business relationship with Keystone, Key Lakes and CN. Kurz said it was the hard work and quality of work at Bay Shipbuilding that has extended the life of the Munson by decades.

Juel also said the Munson has provided thousands of jobs since it was first commissioned in 1952 by Manitowoc Shipbuilding; jobs for the ship's captain and crew, jobs for the cities where they make and distribute its cargo, and jobs at Bay Ship. Since the Munson has been repowered, it will continue to provide thousands of jobs for decades, Juel said.

The ceremony ended with the presentation of the recommissioning plaque to McPherson and Buczkowski by Thayse and Arnott.

Green Bay Press Gazette

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
CSL Assiniboine arrived Duluth Tuesday morning, and stopped at Calumet to fuel before departing again and anchoring off Superior to wait to load at the BN dock. Cason J. Callaway departed after unloading limestone, and headed to Two Harbors to load iron ore pellets. Around noon, James R. Barker departed with ore from CN and Indiana Harbor was outbound with coal. Isa then left the harbor with wheat from CHS 2. Exeborg was at Gavilon in Superior loading beet pulp pellets. At the Burlington Northern dock, Michipicoten and Stewart J. Cort loaded on Tuesday. CSL Assiniboine was next in line, and Algoma Discovery was expected to drop anchor late Tuesday to wait her turn.

Milwaukee, Wis. – Paul Erspamer
The saltie Labrador remained loading at the Nidera Grain elevator in Milwaukee's inner harbor Tuesday. About 2 p.m. Monday the U.S. EPA vessel Lake Guardian returned from a Lake Superior run, docking in its inner harbor slip near U-W Freshwater Sciences. Purvis Marine tug Anglian Lady and barge PML 2501 arrived about 4 p.m. Monday from Lake Michigan, berthing at the Heavy Lift Dock in the inner harbor. Karen Andrie and her barge came through the breakwater at 11 p.m. Monday, proceeded upriver to the turning basin in the inner harbor and docked north of Greenfield Avenue.

Southern Lake Michigan
Calumet was headed for S. Chicago Tuesday night. Reestborg remained in S. Chicago. American Integrity was unloading at Gary with Roger Blough awaiting her turn. Burns Harbor was unloading at her namesake port.

Calcite, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Lee A. Tregurtha arrived Monday and was still loading on Tuesday. They were expected to depart from the North Dock on Tuesday at around 7 a.m. Also due Tuesday was H. Lee White in the early morning for the North and South docks. There are no vessels scheduled Wednesday. Three vessels are due Thursday, with American Mariner and John J. Boland arriving in the early morning for the South Dock. Hon. James L. Oberstar is also due Thursday in the mid-afternoon for the South Dock.

Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
John D Leitch was loading salt Tuesday. Algosteel will be next to load.

Detroit, Mich.
The steamer Alpena was unloading cement on Tuesday and was underway downbound in the late evening. She is due in Toledo Wednesday to offload the rest of her cargo.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
The barge James L. Kuber and tug Victory are expected at the Torco Dock to unload pellets on Thursday in the late morning. Also due at Torco is the Joseph H. Thompson on Friday in the early morning and barge Ashtabula / tug Defiance on Saturday in the early morning. There is nothing due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock. Vessels due at the CSX Coal Dock include Algoma Enterprise on Thursday in the late morning, along with the barge James L. Kuber and tug Victory in the early evening. The barge Ashtabula / tug Defiance are due at CSX to load on Saturday in the early morning. Vessels in port Tuesday included the saltwater vessel Federal Barents.

Nanticoke, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Arrival: Tug Salvor & barge Lambert Spirit arrived at 0114 Tuesday and departed at 1444. Algoscotia departed at 0330.

Buffalo, N.Y. – Barry Andersen, Brian W.
American Mariner arrived at 0015 on Tuesday and departed westbound at 1834.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Transits for April 25. Upbound: Algoma Mariner eta 0015, Federal Yukon (Mhl) eta 0800, USCG Hollyhock eta 0815, Leo A. McArthur & barge John J. Carrick eta 0325, Jana Desgagnes eta 1808 and Drawsko (Bhs) eta 2230. Downbound: Leonard M & barge Niagara Spirit eta 0239, Algoma Guardian eta 0352, Algoscotia eta 0610, Pelee Islander (ferry) eta 0900, Everlast & barge Norman McLeod eta 1100, Oakglen eta 1230, Cuyahoga eta 1300, Salvor & barge Lambert Spirit eta 2031, and Sea Eagle II & barge St. Marys Cement. Port Weller anchorage: Tundra (Cyp) departure time from anchorage 2250 for Redpath in Toronto.

Hamilton, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Departures: Ardita (Mlt) Monday at 2247 Tuesday for Venice, Italy; Jana Desgagnes at 1626. Arrivals: Leonard M & barge Niagara Spirit at 1855, Tim S. Dool at 1930, Pelee Islander (ferry) at 1940 to Heddle Marine’s drydock, BBC Weser (Atg) back into dock from anchorage, Everlast & barge Norman McLeo eta 2300. Remaining at docks: Federal Cedar (Mhl), Arneborg (Nld) and Havelstern (Mhl).

Clarkson, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Algoma Olympic arrived at 0731 Tuesday.

Picton, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Stephen B. Roman remained at dock on Tuesday.

Bronte, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Algoscotia anchored off Bronte at 1859 Tuesday for weather.

Toronto, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Drawsko (Bhs) departed Redpath at 2035 Tuesday headed for Thunder Bay. English River departed at 2050 eastbound.

Obituary: Pamela Jo "Jodee" Nelson

4/26 - Pamela Jo "Jodee" Nelson, 64, passed away Saturday, April 22 in the company of family and friends. She is survived by her husband of 37 years, Lance Nelson, a retired captain with American Steamship Co. Jodee had many friends in the Great Lakes shipping industry and often commented on shipping-related discussions on Facebook. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 26, from 4-8 p.m. at Arch L. Heady at Resthaven, Louisville, Kentucky. A celebration of her life will be held on Thursday, April 27, at 10 a.m. at Arch L. Heady at Resthaven, with interment to follow at Resthaven Memorial Park, 4400 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Daughters of the American Revolution, www.dar.org/giving and to the American Cancer Association at www.cancer.org

Courier Journal Louisville

26 April 1891 NORWALK (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 209 foot, 1007 gross tons) was launched by William DuLac at Mount Clemens, Michigan. At first, she was not able to get down the Clinton River to Lake St. Clair due to low water. She lasted until 1916, when she was sold to Nicaraguan buyers and was lost in the Caribbean Sea that autumn.

On 26 April 1859, the wooden schooner A. SCOTT was carrying limestone blocks for a large Presbyterian church being built at Vermilion, Ohio. The vessel was driven ashore near Vermilion by a gale and was quickly pounded to pieces. Her insurance had expired about ten days earlier. No lives were lost.

Algoma's new straight deck bulk freighter ALGOWEST (Hull#226) of Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., was launched April 26, 1982. She was converted to a self-unloader in 1998, and renamed b.) PETER R. CRESSWELL in 2001.

Sea trials were conducted April 26, 1984, on Lake Ontario for the CANADIAN RANGER.

An unfortunate incident happened on the SEWELL AVERY as four crew members were injured, one critically, when a lifeboat winch housing exploded shortly after a lifeboat drill in 1978.

Paterson's CANADOC (Hull#627) by Davie Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., was launched April 26, 1961.

BENSON FORD (Hull#245) of the Great Lakes Engineering Works was launched in 1924.

In 1982, carferry service from Frankfort, Michigan ended forever when railroad service to that port was discontinued and the remaining boats (ARTHUR K. ATKINSON, VIKING, and CITY OF MILWAUKEE) were laid up. CITY OF MILWAUKEE is preserved as a museum ship by the Society for the Preservation of the CITY OF MILWAUKEE.

On 26 April 1902, M. P. BARKLOW (wooden schooner, 104 foot, 122 gross tons, built in 1871, at Perry, Ohio), loaded with salt, was anchored off South Bass Island in Lake Erie to ride out a gale. Nevertheless she foundered and four lives were lost, the skipper, his wife, their son and one crewman.

On 26 April 1926, THOMAS GAWN (2-mast wooden schooner-barge, 171 foot, 550 gross tons, built in 1872, at Lorain, Ohio as a 3-mast schooner) sprang a leak and sank at River Rouge, Michigan in the Detroit River. The wreck was removed the following month and abandoned. She had a 54-year career.

1902 The wooden schooner barge GRACE B. GRIBBLE was holed by ice and sank in Lake Erie off Point Pelee after the hull was punctured by an ice flow. Three sailors were lost.

1958 CIANDRA, a Great Lakes visitor from West Germany as early as 1953, ran aground in the St. Clair River at the south end of Stag Island on this date in 1958. Due to a dispute, there was no pilot on board at the time. The ship was stuck for about 3 hours. It later burned and capsized at Singapore as e) MESONGO on September 9, 1977, and was refloated and then scrapped in 1979.

1981 The Norwegian freighter ASKOT visited the Great Lakes from 1959 to 1962 and returned under the flag of Greece as DIAKAN MASCOT in 1972. It was observed lying off Aden, as c) TYHI with the engine room flooded on this date in 1981. The hull was later refloated and arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakstan, for scrapping on April 28, 1982.

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

Duluth-Superior
Cason J. Callaway, James R. Barker, Indiana Harbor, Isa, Exeborg and tug Zeus with her barge were at various docks late Monday. Michipicoten was loading ore in Superior Monday night. Stewart J. Cort will be next to load.

Thunder Bay, Ont.
AIS showed Algoway and tug Molly M 1 with a Nadro Marine deck barge (expected to pick up a 25-ton piece of project cargo) in port Monday evening. Federal Kivalina was at anchor.

Marquette, Mich.
Hon. James L. Oberstar left with ore for Dearborn, Mich., late Monday afternoon. Barge James L. Kuber was loading in the late evening.

Port Inland, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Wilfred Sykes loaded on Monday. Two vessels are expected early Tuesday, the barge Pere Marquette 41 / tug Undaunted followed by Mississagi. Great Republic is due Wednesday in the late evening.

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Denny Dushane, John Teichtler
The Interlake Steamship Co.’s 1,000-footer Mesabi Miner departed Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay Monday evening for Duluth. Over the winter it received a new gas exhaust scrubber system similiar to what her sistership James R. Barker and other fleetmates have received. John G. Munson remained at the shipyard Monday, however she is expected to depart soon for sea trials of her new diesel engines. Also at the shipyard were the Cleveland Rocks / tug Bradshaw McKee, Calumet, Manitowoc and barge Pathfinder / tug Dorothy Ann. The tug Michigan was also at Bay Shipbuilding, but departed on April 19. American Courage is also at Bay Shipbuilding and not expected to sail this season. At 5:50 p.m. local time Monday, Great Republic was inbound from Lake Michigan.

Milwaukee, Wis.
The ocean bulker Labrador arrived Sunday morning and, assisted by two G-tugs, secured in the Inner Harbor, loading at the Nidera Grain elevator. Federal Danube is expected in Milwaukee from Detroit later this week. Cross-lake ferry Lake Express is at its dock in the outer harbor, ready to begin its spring schedule of two round trips to Muskegon daily on Friday, April 28.

Manistee, Mich.
Great Republic departed Manistee Monday morning after unloading coal at Tondu in Filer City. She arrived Sunday night.

Southern Lake Michigan
Reestborg was at S. Chicago Monday night. American Spirit was at Indiana Harbor and Edwin G. Gott was in Gary, with Presque Isle next in line to unload.

Cedarville, Mich. – Denny Dushane
There is nothing due until Thursday, when Kaye E. Barker is expected to arrive in the morning. Also due Thursday is Algosteel in the late evening. The barge Pathfinder/tug Dorothy are due Friday in the early evening.

Calcite, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Philip R. Clarke loaded at the North Dock on Monday and was due to depart around 9:30 a.m. Also due Monday was the Lee A. Tregurtha, which tied-up at South Dock awaiting the Clarke's departure before shifting over to the North Dock to load. There are no vessels scheduled Tuesday. Due in Wednesday is H. Lee White in the early morning for the North Dock.

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
There were no vessels loading Monday. Due Tuesday are the barge Pathfinder / tug Dorothy Ann in the late afternoon. Philip R. Clarke is due Wednesday in the early morning. There are no vessels due Thursday-Saturday. Due Sunday is the Great Republic in the morning.

Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
John D. Leitch is due early on Tuesday. Algosteel will follow the Leitch.

Sarnia, Ont.
Saginaw is expected to depart winter lay up Thursday for Thunder Bay.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
Kaye E. Barker loaded at the CSX Coal Dock on Monday. Also due at CSX is the Algoma Enterprise on Thursday in the late morning, followed by the barge James L. Kuber/tug Victory on Thursday in the early evening. There is nothing scheduled at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock. Due at the Torco Dock is the barge James L. Kuber/tug Victory on Thursday in the late morning. Joseph H. Thompson is due at Torco on Friday in the early morning. Vessels in port at the time of this report included the tug Wilf Seymour and barge Alouette Spirit and the saltwater vessel Federal Barents. The tug Sea Eagle II / barge St. Marys Cement II were unloading a cement cargo at the St. Marys Cement Terminal.

Ashtabula, Ohio
Federal Kushiro was unloading Monday night.

Erie, Pa. – Gene Polaski
John J. Boland arrived in about 1330 Monday under sunny skies and brisk northeasterly winds. She went to the old ore dock and most likely unloaded stone.

Nanticoke, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Algonova departed at 0153 Monday westbound and Algoscotia arrived at 0210.

Buffalo, N.Y. – Brian W.
American Mariner came in with wheat early Monday morning from Duluth for General Mills.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Transits for April 24. Upbound: Algolake eta 0515, CSL Laurentien eta 1215, Frontenac eta 0912, Salvor & barge Lambert Spirit eta 1041, Robert S. Pierson eta 1104, CCGS Limnos eta 1621 - stopped wharf 1, USCG Hollyhock eta 1717 stopped wharf 1 returned to Lake Ontario for buoy work. Downbound: Leonard M & barge Niagara Spirit remained at wharf 16, Algoma Transport eta 0438, Algoma Olympic eta 1231 and Algoma Guardian.

Port Weller anchorage: Tundra (Cyp) remained anchored Monday awaiting Redpath dock in Toronto.

Hamilton, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Departures: Algoma Harvester on April 23 at 2334, Robert S. Pierson at 0220 Monday and CSL Laurentien at 0935. Arrivals: Federal Cedar (Mhl) at 1822. Jana Desgagnes, Arneborg (Nld), Havelstern (Mhl) remained at docks. BBC Weser (Atg) anchored in the bay.

Toronto, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Drawsko (Bhs) remained at Redpath unloading sugar Monday. English River arrived Sunday at 2147 and Stephen B. Roman departed at 1735 Monday.

Seaway – Ron Beaupré, John Tokarz
The scrap tow of the former Quebec ferry Camille-Marcoux (her name shortened to Le-Marc) continued westbound on Monday, passing through the St. Lambert Lock in the morning. It is due at Iroquois Lock Tuesday morning just after daybreak, with the tugs Lois M. and Jarrett M. handling the tow. The vessel is bound for Port Colborne, Ont., and the yard of the Marine Recycling Corp. Groupe Desgagnes's new vessel, Taiga Desgagnes, was upbound Monday above Quebec City for Burns Harbor, Ind. This will be her first visit to the lakes under this name. She previously visited as BBC Amazon.

Bay Shipbuilding marks re-commissioning of John G. Munson

4/23 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding marked the re-commissioning of the vessel John G. Munson last Thursday afternoon. Representatives of Keystone Shipping Co. and Canadian National (CN) were on hand. The attendees included managers and engineers from associated companies who celebrated the repowering of the vessel from steam to diesel propulsion.

The Munson was built in Manitowoc in 1952 and is one of the nine freighters from Canadian National’s Great Lakes Fleet. It is managed by Keylakes Inc. of Duluth, Minn., which is a subsidiary of Keystone Shipping Co.

Door County Daily News

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
Paul R. Tregurtha arrived in Duluth early Saturday afternoon to load coal at Midwest Energy, and Oakglen departed from CN with ore. Burns Harbor was loading iron ore pellets at Burlington Northern in Superior, and was expected to depart late Saturday night.

Drummond Island, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Michipicoten became the first vessel for the 2017 season to load at the limestone dock. It arrived Thursday afternoon and departed on Friday morning. Cuyahoga was expected to load Saturday.

Port Inland, Mich. – Denny Dushane
The barge Great Lakes Trader / tug Joyce L. VanEnkevort are expected Sunday in the late morning. Wilfred Sykes is due Monday in the morning, followed by Great Republic in the late evening.

Cedarville, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Wilfred Sykes is expected Sunday at noon. Also due are the barge Pere Marquette 41 / tug Undaunted on Monday in the evening. John J. Boland is due on April 26 at noon.

Calcite, Mich. – Denny Dushane
John J. Boland loaded at the North Dock on Saturday and was due to depart around 3 p.m. There are no vessels scheduled Sunday. Due in Monday are two early morning arrivals, Philip R. Clarke and Lee A. Tregurtha for the North Dock. There are no vessels scheduled Tuesday. Due Wednesday is the H. Lee White in the early morning for the North Dock. Two vessels are due Thursday, with American Mariner arriving in the morning for the South Dock and the H. Lee White due for the South Dock in the late evening.

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Cason J. Callaway loaded Saturday and was expected to depart around 3 p.m. There are no vessels scheduled for Sunday or Monday.

Bay City, Mich. – Denny Dushane
The American Steamship Co. 1,000-footer Indiana Harbor arrived in the late morning Saturday to deliver the first coal cargo for the 2017 season to the Consumers Energy/Karn Weadock power plant in Essexville. They delivered the first half of the coal cargo to the St. Clair power plant on Friday.

St. Clair, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Indiana Harbor arrived on Friday in the late morning with a split cargo of coal for the St. Clair power plant and the Consumers Energy/Karn Weadock power plant in Essexville near Bay City. It was their first visit of the 2017/18 season at the facility. They departed Friday in the evening and arrived at Karn Weadock late on Saturday morning to continue unloading. The first vessel to deliver coal to the St. Clair power plant for the 2017/18 season was March 29, when Paul R. Tregurtha arrived to unload a split cargo for the St. Clair and Monroe power plants. Paul R. Tregurtha also became the first vessel for the 2017/18 season to deliver coal to Monroe.

Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
Capt. Henry Jackman was loading road salt Saturday. She was downbound at Sarnia around 10 p.m.

Sarnia, Ont. – Denny Dushane
Federal Champlain, built in 2016, became the first foreign-flagged ship to load at the Cargill grain elevator for the 2017 season. They arrived late on April 17 and departed in the late morning April 21 enroute to Montreal to take on bunker fuel before continuing on to Tuxpan, Mexico, to unload.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
Mississagi was at the CSX Coal Dock on Saturday waiting to load coal. Also due at CSX is the Kaye E. Barker on Monday in the morning, followed by the barge James L. Kuber / tug Victory on April 26 in the early evening. Algoma Enterprise is due at CSX on April 27 in the late evening, and the barge Ashtabula / tug Defiance are due at CSX on April 29 during the morning. There is nothing due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock. Due at the Torco Dock are the barge Joseph H. Thompson / tug on Sunday in the early evening. Kaye E. Barker is also due at Torco on Sunday in the evening. The barge James L. Kuber / tug Victory are due at Torco on April 26 in the late afternoon, and the Joseph H. Thompson returns to Torco on April 27 in the late evening. Vessels in port Saturday included the saltwater vessel Federal Barents and the tug Wilf Seymour / barge Alouette Spirit.

Nanticoke, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Algoma Hansa and Algonova remained at docks on Saturday.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Transits for April 22. Upbound: CCG Constable Carrière eta 1120, Algoma Discovery eta 1521, Marsgracht (Nld) eta 1612, Sten Baltic (Nor) eta 1955 and Thunder Bay eta 2100. Downbound: Algolake, Algoma Enterprise, BBC Weser (Atg) eta 0450, CSL Niagara eta 0615, Federal Champlain (Mhl) eta 0900, Kaministiqua eta 1531, Tecumseh eta 1535, Frontenac eta 2009. Port Weller anchorage: Tundra (Cyp) was awaiting her turn at the Redpath dock.

Hamilton, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Redhead (Hkg) departed anchorage Friday and docked at 2100. Arrivals: Robert S. Pierson Friday at 2325, Havelstern (Mhl) at 1245, Algoma Enterprise at 1415, Arneborg (Nld) at 1520 and BBC Weser (Atg), anchored Burlington Bay at 1558.

Clarkson, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Arrivals: Adfines Sea (Mlt) at 0151 Saturday, Algolake at 1231 and Jana Desgagnes at 1900.

Toronto, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Drawsko (Bhs) was at Redpath unloading on Saturday. English River departed at 2330 for Bath. Stephen B. Roman arrived at 0205.

Seaway – Ron Beaupre´
The scrap tow of the former Quebec ferry Camille-Marcoux (her name shortened to Le-Marc) got underway westbound Saturday. The vessel is bound for Port Colborne, Ont., and the yard of the Marine Recycling Corp. Tugs are Lois M. and Jarrett M.

Wakes, high water blamed for shore damage along St. Clair River

4/23 - Harsens Island, Mich. – Since mid-March Charles Hahn has watched the aggressive waves of the St. Clair River crash up onto his yard, warp his dock and wash dirt across the road. Hahn said the damage to private properties stems from a combination of unusually high water levels and freighters moving too fast.

Hahn said the U.S. and Canadian coast guards should be monitoring freighter traffic up and down the river.

Weekly water levels update from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed that the St. Clair River levels were up seven inches from the previous year.

At one time, just off of South Channel drive on Harsens Island, the water was so low that residents had sandy beach area to enjoy. Now that same sandy space is covered in nearly a foot of water. When freighters head down the St. Clair River, towards Lake St. Clair, the wakes from the ships can reach up onto the street.

Read more and see photos at this link: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/04/15/shore-damage-st-clair-river/100497868

Reservations are now being taken for Soo Boatnerd Cruise

4/23 - Reservations for the annual Boatnerd Freighter Chasing cruise, on Friday, June 30, are now being taken. This event is part of the annual Engineers’ Day weekend Boatnerd Gathering in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The three-hour cruise will travel through the U.S. and Canadian locks, and the price includes an on-board buffet dinner. Reservations are a must as we are limiting the group to 100 persons. This will afford everyone enough space to take photos and enjoy themselves. Check the Gatherings page for complete details and other events taking place during the weekend.

http://www.boatnerd.com/gathering/

23 April 1907 - The SEARCHLIGHT (wooden propeller fish tug, 40 foot, built in 1899, at Saginaw, Michigan) capsized and sank while returning to Harbor Beach, Michigan, with a load of fish. The vessel had been purchased by Captain Walter Brown and his son from the Robert Beutel Fish Company of Toledo, Ohio, just ten days before. The sale agreement stated that the tug was to be paid for with fish, not cash. All six crew members drowned.

On 23 April 1883, STEPHEN S. BATES (wooden schooner, 97 foot, 139 tons, built in 1856, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) was bound from Horne's Pier, Wisconsin, with posts and hardware for Chicago when she was driven into the shallows just north of Grosse Point, Illinois, by a storm and broke up. No lives were lost.

In 1953, the PERE MARQUETTE 22 was cut in half, then pulled apart and lengthened by 40 feet, as part of a major refit at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Also during this refit, her triple-expansion engines were replaced with Skinner Unaflows, and her double stacks were replaced with a single, tapered stack. The refit was completed August 28, 1953.

On April 23, 1966, the b.) JOSEPH S. WOOD, a.) RICHARD M. MARSHALL of 1953, was towed to the Ford Rouge complex at Dearborn, Michigan by her new owners, the Ford Motor Company. She was renamed c.) JOHN DYKSTRA.

Canada Steamship Lines’ FORT YORK was commissioned April 23, 1958.

On April 23, 1980, the ARTHUR B. HOMER's bow thruster failed while maneuvering through ice at Taconite Harbor, Minnesota, resulting in a grounding which damaged her bow and one ballast tank.

The a.) GRIFFIN (Hull#12) of the Cleveland Ship Building Co. was launched April 23, 1891, for the Lake Superior Iron Mining Co. Renamed b.) JOSEPH S. SCOBELL in 1938, she was scrapped at Rameys Bend, Ontario, in 1971.

On April 23, 1972, PAUL H. CARNAHAN arrived at the Burlington Northern Docks at Superior, Wisconsin, to load 22,402 gross tons of iron ore bound for Detroit, opening the 1972, shipping season at Superior.

On 23 April 1859, at about midnight, the schooner S. BUTTLES was fighting a severe gale. She was carrying staves from Port Burwell, Ontario, to Clayton, New York, and sprang a leak while battling the gale. While manning the pumps, one man was washed overboard, but his shipmates quickly rescued him. Capt. Alexander Pollock beached the vessel to save her about 10 miles east of the Genesee River.

On 23 April 1882, GALLATIN (2-mast wooden schooner, 138 foot, 422 tons, built in 1863, at Oswego, New York) was carrying pig iron from St. Ignace, Michigan, to Erie, Pennsylvania, when she sprang a leak in a storm on Lake Erie. She struck bottom on Chickanolee Reef and foundered in shallow water at Point Pelee. Her crew was saved from the rigging by the fishing sloop LIZZIE.

1916 The grain laden COLLINGWOOD stranded in Whitefish Bay due to ice and fog and was not released until April 27.

1929 The canaller IMARI was on its delivery trip from Port Talbot, Wales, to Canada when it lost the propeller blades, due to ice, off Scaterie Island, Nova Scotia. The vessel later sailed the Great Lakes as b) DELAWARE, d) MANICOUAGAN, e) WASHINGTON TIMES HERALD and f) MANITOULIN.

1945 EFTYCHIA, a Greek freighter, came to the Great Lakes for one trip in 1961. Earlier, as the British freighter RIVERTON, it had been torpedoed by U-1023 off southwest England on April 23, 1945, and three lives were lost. The vessel arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as c) BOAZ ESPERANZA for scrapping on March 20, 1969.

1975 WESTDALE (ii) ran aground at the entrance to Goderich harbour while inbound with grain and was stuck for 15 hours before being pulled free.

1988 QUEDOC (iii) was upbound in the Seaway when it was in a collision with the BIRCHGLEN (I) under tow for scrap, and went aground in Lake St. Louis near Buoy 2A. Four tugs were needed to pull the ship free and it went to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs.

1991 MARINE TRANSPORT operated around Maritime Canada but had come to the Great Lakes as c) C. OMER MARIE. It ran into ice and sank on April 23, 1991, about 10 miles off Cape Race, NF. The vessel was under R.C.M.P. surveillance when it was lost and all on board were rescued only to be arrested.

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

Great Lakes water levels expected to stay above long-term average

4/20 - Washington, D.C. – Water levels on the Great Lakes are likely to remain above the long-term average through the spring and summer, according to forecasts assembled by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada and the US Army Corps of Engineers. But none of the Great Lakes are expected to reach record high water levels set mostly in the 1980s or 1950s.

While each lake is unique, they all tend to follow a similar cycle based on seasonal changes. Water levels typically reach their seasonal low during the winter months before increasing in the spring due to snowmelt and precipitation. Water levels tend to peak during the summer months, before beginning to drop in the fall and early winter.

There are three main factors that impact lake water levels, said Drew Gronewold, physical scientist with NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory: the precipitation over the lakes, evaporation of water on the lakes into vapor, and the runoff that comes into the lakes.

These variables, in turn, are affected by changes in air and water temperatures. For example, Gronewold said the timing of big runoff pulses is dependent on the amount of snow building up in the winter months and when it melts in the spring.

A water level decline in the fall is generally driven by evaporation, as air temperatures drop while surface water temperatures are still relatively warm. While water temperatures were relatively warm during the fall and winter months of 2016-2017 – leading to a lack of ice cover – evaporation amounts have been typical for this time of year due to a relatively mild winter air temperatures, Gronewold said.

These recent conditions, coupled with historical data, lead agencies to expect the water level rise to remain fairly typical this spring and into the summer. As water levels are already above their long-term average for this time of year, researchers expect that they’ll remain above average in the coming months, Gronewold explained.

There is still plenty of uncertainty, he added, as the amount of snow on the ground is less than it has been in some recent winters. It’s also difficult to predict continental-wide meteorological and climate patterns that impact Great Lakes weather patterns and temperatures. These can range from an El Niño effect like the one seen in the winter of 2015-2016 or a “polar vortex” that hit the region in the winters of 2013-2014 and 2014-2015. This uncertainty is expressed as a range of possible water levels in the forecasts released by the US Army Corps and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Great Lakes water levels also can be influenced by human management. Hydropower plants and a gated dam on the St. Marys River are used to manage outflows from Lake Superior into Lake Michigan-Huron, while a hydropower plant on the St. Lawrence River is used to manage outflows from Lake Ontario. Outflows through these structures are managed binationally by boards and according to orders and criteria established by the IJC. Nonetheless, the control of water flows through these lakes is limited, and weather conditions and water supplies remain the most significant factor affecting water levels.

Water levels are measured based on the International Great Lakes Datum, defined as the height above sea level at Rimouski Quebec on the St. Lawrence River. Agencies have been measuring lake levels since the 1860s, with more reliable levels going back as far as 1918. They base the lakes’ long-term average water levels on that information.

“We expect a range of water level conditions depending on water supplies,” said Jacob Bruxer, senior water resources engineer with Environment and Climate Change Canada. “There’s a lot of variability and uncertainty in weather and water supply forecasts, particularly when looking beyond a few weeks’ time, so we don’t try to forecast any specific trends and instead consider a full range of water supply scenarios that could be expected.”

According to recent forecasts, through September 2017 Lake Superior is likely to remain at or above seasonal averages, with a small chance of falling below its long-term average in July. There is less uncertainty for the spring months; water levels were about 5.5 inches (0.14 meters) above the long-term average by the end of March, and by May that range could be between 2.7 inches to 10 inches above the average (0.07 meters to 0.27 meters). By September, water levels could be as high as 1 foot (0.3 meters) above the long-term monthly average for Superior.

Lake Michigan-Huron, considered as one lake hydrologically, was about 9.4 inches (0.24 meters) above the March long-term average by the end of the month. By September, Michigan-Huron is expected to remain above the long-term average, in a range of 1-16 inches (0.02-0.4 meters). Gronewold said Michigan-Huron saw water levels fall slightly more during the fall months of 2016 than is typical, but that is unlikely to make a discernible difference during this spring and summer.

Higher-than-average water levels are anticipated on Lake Erie, which has seen water levels on the rise in recent months, reaching more than 17 inches (0.44 meters) above the long-term average by the end of March. Water levels are expected to continue to remain above average this spring, before starting to fall around June to a range of 3.9-16 inches above average (0.10-0.41 meters).

Lake Ontario has a slight chance of being just barely below its long-term average going into summer, but will more likely be above it by up to 15 inches (0.38 meters). The forecasted peak is in May, when water levels could be 3.9-21 inches above average (0.10-0.55 meters). Water levels are then expected to fall at about the same degree as they usually do, according to the long-term average.

The US Army Corps publishes 12-month forecasts for Lakes Erie, Huron-Michigan and Superior, as well as Lake St. Clair, based on current conditions and similar historical weather data. Uncertainty grows substantially more than six months out, but most outcomes for Lakes Erie and Michigan-Huron suggest a greater likelihood of continued higher-than-average water levels through the year. Lake Superior also has a better chance of higher-than-average water levels, but faces a substantial possibility of being below that long-term average, too.

International Joint Commission

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
Indiana Harbor departed Duluth before sunrise Wednesday with coal. Algoma Transport arrived around 07:30, and docked at North American Salt just across from the lift bridge to unload. Great Lakes Trader/Joyce L. VanEnkevort departed a few minutes later with iron ore pellets from CN. Joseph L. Block then arrived from anchor, and began discharging limestone at CN. During the evening, Riga departed after taking on wheat at Riverland, and American Spirit arrived to load ore at CN. American Mariner continued loading grain at General Mills in Superior.

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Denny Dushane
The ASC 1,000-footer Walter J. McCarthy Jr. departed winter lay-up at Bay Shipbuilding early Wednesday morning to begin its 2017-18 shipping season. Mesabi Miner is due to sail this week. John G. Munson may do sea trials next week with her new diesel engines. Other vessels at Bay Shipbuilding include the barge Cleveland Rocks, tug Bradshaw McKee, Calumet, Manitowoc, barge Pathfinder and tug Dorothy Ann / tug Invincible. Tug Michigan departed sometime later in the day Wednesday, headed to Cheboygan, Mich., to reunite with her barge.

Milwaukee, Wis. – Paul Erspamer
Early Wednesday Polsteam's ocean bulker Isa arrived from Burns Harbor and docked at Slip #2 in the Outer Harbor, delivering steel. Around 2 p.m., Alpena finished unloading cement at Jones Island and departed onto Lake Michigan.

Manistee, Mich.
Great Republic is expected to arrive with coal on Sunday, April 24.

Indiana Harbor, Ind.
Wilfred Sykes was unloading the last of the ore from Escanaba at ArcelorMittal Wednesday evening.

Port Inland, Mich. – Denny Dushane
There is nothing scheduled until Friday, April 21, when the Wilfred Sykes is expected in the late afternoon. Due on April 23 are the barge Great Lakes Trader and tug Joyce L. Van Enkevort in the early morning. Great Republic is due April 24 in the morning to load.

Cedarville, Mich. – Denny Dushane
There is nothing due until April 24, when the barge Pere Marquette 41 / tug Undaunted arrive in the early morning, followed by the Wilfred Sykes at noon. After that, nothing is scheduled until April 27, when Philip R. Clarke and Algosteel are expected in the late evening.

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
There were no vessels scheduled Wednesday. Two vessels are due Thursday, Herbert C. Jackson at noon and Cason J. Callaway in the late afternoon. There are no vessels due Friday and Saturday. Expected Sunday are the barge Pathfinder and tug Dorothy Ann in the early morning.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
The barge Ashtabula and tug Defiance were at the CSX Coal Dock waiting to load on Wednesday morning. Also due at CSX are two vessels for Thursday, with the barge James L. Kuber and tug Victory arriving first to load in the early morning followed by CSL Laurentien due in the late afternoon. There is nothing expected at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock. Two vessels were expected to arrive at the Torco Dock on Wednesday. The barge James L. Kuber and the tug Victory were due in the late afternoon, followed during the early evening Thursday by the Kaye E. Barker. Joseph H. Thompson is due at Torco on Saturday in the early evening. As was reported on Tuesday, the barge Menominee was placed in drydock to undergo a 5-year survey and other work. The tug Olive L. Moore was also docked at the Old Interlake Iron Dock. Other vessels in lay-up include the tug Jane Ann IV and the barge Sarah Spencer in long-term between the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock and the CSX Coal Docks. At the Torco Slip #1 East Wall are the Manistee and the American Valor, neither of which is due to sail, and at the West Wall of the Torco Slip #1 is the St. Clair, which may sail later in the year. Manitoulin was also expected Wednesday to unload grain.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Transits for April 19. Upbound: Sea Eagle II & barge St. Marys Cement II eta 0330, Algoma Enterprise eta 0747, Evans McKeil & barge Niagara Spirit eta 2049. Downbound: Evans Spirit eta 0709, CSL St. Laurent eta 1130, tugs Salvage Monarch and M.R. Kane with barge Coastal Titan eta 1000, Algoma Olympic eta 1450, Mississagi eta 1715, Algowood eta 2215.

Port Weller anchorage: Drawsko (Bhs) was awaiting dock at Redpath Wednesday. Tundra (Cyp) was also awaiting her turn for Redpath dock.

Hamilton, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Evans McKeil & barge Niagara Spirit arrived at 0058 Wednesday and departed at 1759 for the Welland Canal. Evans Spirit arrived at 1729.

Bowmanville, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Petite Forte & barge St. Marys Cement arrived on Wednesday.

Bronte, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Adfines Sea (Mlt) remained docked on Wednesday.

Toronto, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Stephen B. Roman arrived at 0744 Wednesday, Petite Forte & barge St. Marys Cement departed for Bowmanville. Labrador remained at the Redpath dock.

Nanticoke, Ont. – Barry Andersen
CSL Laurentien departed at 1553 Wednesday westbound. Algonova and Algocanada arrived.

On 20 March 1885, MICHIGAN (Hull#48), (iron propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 215 foot, 1,183 tons) of the Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railroad was sunk by ice off Grand Haven, Michigan.

The sidewheeler NEW YORK was sold Canadian in 1877, hopefully at a bargain price, because when she was hauled out on the ways on 20 March 1878, at Rathburn's yard in Kingston, Ontario, to have her boiler removed, her decayed hull fell apart and could not be repaired. Her remains were burned to clear the ways.

On 20 March 1883, the E. H. MILLER of Alpena, Michigan (wooden propeller tug, 62 foot, 30 gross tons, built in 1874, at East Saginaw, Michigan) was renamed RALPH. She was abandoned in 1920.

1938: ¬ A fire of an undetermined cause destroyed the passenger steamer CITY OF BUFFALO while it was fitting out for the 1938 season at the East 9th St. Pier in Cleveland The blaze began late the previous day and 11 fire companies responded. The nearby CITY OF ERIE escaped the flames, as did the SEEANDBEE.

2011” ¬ The Indian freighter APJ ANJLI was built in 1982 and began visiting the Great Lakes in 1990. It was sailing as c) MIRACH, and loaded with 25,842 tons of iron ore, when it ran aground 3 miles off the coast of India on March 20, 2011. Four holds were flooded and the crew of 25 was removed. The hull subsequently broke in two and was a total loss.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, “Ahoy & Farewell II” and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.

Escanaba ore dock ships last load

4/19 - Escanaba, Mich. – The last load of ore was shipped from Escanaba, Mich., Tuesday aboard the steamer Wilfred Sykes. Dock owner Canadian National (CN) Railroad announced in March the facility would be closed due to low activity at the dock since the closure of the Empire Mine last year.

Ore has been shipped from the Escanaba port for 165 years. It was the only iron ore port on Lake Michigan and allowed ore to shipped earlier and later in the shipping season, after the Soo Locks closed for the season. The port was also an alternative for ore shipments in the region if the Soo Locks were damaged or shut down.

The Sykes, operated by Central Marine Logistics for ArcelorMittal, arrived in the morning and departed in the mid-evening, headed for Indiana Harbor, Ind.

Lee Rowe, John Chown

J.W. Westcott crew helps save drowning pregnant woman

4/19 - Detroit, Mich. – After an allegedly suicidal pregnant woman jumped into the Detroit River, and two Detroit police officers and an EMS worker jumped in to save her, the woman is in stable condition and the baby boy she was carrying is safe after being delivered via C-section, authorities said.

It was just before 11 p.m. Monday night when authorities received a 911 call that a woman fell into the water at Riverside Park, which is on Detroit’s west side, below Jefferson and at the end of West Grand Boulevard. Two Detroit police officers jumped in to help.

A boat owned by the J.W. Westcott Co., which handles marine-based mail delivery for the freighters that use the Port of Detroit, made a major assist. Ryan Gazdecki, 32, a senior captain at the J.W. Westcott company, had just finished his 3-11 p.m. shift when he heard the commotion at the park.

"I ran down to where things were happening, and saw one person coming out of the water, and asked if anyone else was down there," Gazdecki said on Tuesday. "There was, a woman who was struggling."

Gazdecki sprinted some 500 yards to where the pilot boat Huron Maid was docked near the Westcott office. He got the boat in position and Dispatcher Joe Buchanan threw a life ring to the woman, which she grabbed. They pulled her onto the boat and out of the water.

The Huron Maid, Gazkecki said, has a "really low freeboard," which makes it easier to place someone who has been pulled out of the water. A medic who had "exhausted all of his energies" was also pulled up onto The Huron Maid, Gazdecki said. For Gazdecki, who is in his 13th season with the company, this was the third save he's taken part in.

In the end, the two police officers, the medic and the woman were all taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital to be treated for hypothermia, said Dave Fornell, deputy fire commissioner for the Detroit Fire Department. The medic was treated and released, while the woman and the two officers were in stable condition at last report. The baby boy is fine.

Whether the woman will face charges was not immediately known, said Officer Jennifer Moreno, a Detroit Police Department spokeswoman. “Right now, our concern is getting her the help she needs,” Moreno said.

Detroit News

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
CSL Niagara arrived at Duluth early Tuesday morning to load iron ore pellets at CN. American Mariner arrived during the afternoon, and headed to General Mills in Superior to pick up grain. Great Lakes Trader/Joyce L. VanEnkevort arrived from anchor during the evening, and headed to the CN dock. CSL Niagara cleared the dock and stopped at Calumet to fuel before departing later in the evening. Indiana Harbor was at Midwest Energy loading, and Riga continued loading at the Riverland elevator. Joseph L. Block was anchored offshore, waiting to unload limestone at the CN dock. In Superior, Algoma Discovery departed early Tuesday morning, and Stewart J. Cort arrived soon after to load.

Marquette, Mich. – Rod Burdick
Tuesday morning at the Lower Harbor, H. Lee White arrived and unloaded the first coal cargo of the 2017-18 shipping season for the Shiras Steam Plant.

Milwaukee, Wis. – Paul Erspamer
A bit of rush hour traffic was seen at the Milwaukee Harbor's main entrance Tuesday when Alpena arrived at 8 a.m., closely followed by USCGC Mackinaw. Right behind came tug Prentiss Brown and barge St. Marys Conquest, heading for their Kinnickinnic River cement silo.

St. Joseph, Mich. – John Burzynski
The Lafarge cement barge Innovation was unloading Tuesday evening.

Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
On Monday, Algoway was backing in just between the breakwalls when she reversed course and headed out into the lake. After travelling a mile she returned and entered the harbor bow first, turned in the basin with help from the tug Cote Nord, and loaded salt during the night. By evening, she was headed up the lake. Algosteel was loading salt Tuesday and departed in the early evening for Ogdensburg.

Owen Sound, Ont. – Paul Martin
Algoway, the last Algoma ship wintering in port, slipped out of the harbor early Monday morning. Only the ferry Chi-Cheemaun remains, and she is to begin cruises later this month and regular service to Manitoulin Island early in May.

Toledo, Ohio
Barge Lewis J. Kuber (soon to be renamed Menominee) was placed in dry dock at Ironhead Shipyard on Monday morning. She is having a five-year survey plus repair work done to the hull. The tug Olive L. Moore is tied up at the former Interlake Iron Dock.

Cleveland, Ohio – Nick Hunter
Early Tuesday afternoon, Mississagi arrived in town, while the Hon. James L Oberstar left in the morning. English River is due Wednesday.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Transits for April 18. Upbound: Algoma Guardian, Eemsberg (Nld), English River eta 0040, M.R. Kane stopped at West Street (Port Colborne), Molly M I & barge S/VM 86 eta 1430, Baie Comeau eta 1843 to wharf 2 to take bunkers, and Sterling Energy eta 1937 to wharf 2 to fuel vessel. Downbound: Thunder Bay - eta 0429, Evans McKeil & barge Niagara Spirit - eta 0700, Robert S. Pierson - eta 0715, John D. Leitch - eta 0720, Solina (Bhs) - eta 1000, Edzard Schulte (IOM) - eta 1754 and Stephen B. Roman - eta 2045.

Port Weller anchorage: Drawsko (Bhs)wa awaiting dock at Redpath Tuesday. Tundra (Cyp) was also awaiting her turn for Redpath dock;

Bowmanville, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Sea Eagle II & barge St. Marys Cement II departed at approximately 2015.

Bronte, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Adfines Sea (Mlt) remained at dock Tuesday.

Toronto, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Petite Forte & barge St. Marys Cement arrived Tuesday morning. Labrador remained at the Redpath dock. The tug Jarrett M departed for Quebec City.

Nanticoke, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin arrived at 1001 and departed in the evening Tuesday.

Oswego, N.Y. – Ned Goebricher
On Tuesday the Coast Guard cutter Hollyhock was in town to pick up buoys.

Waves keep salvage crews from grounded yacht

4/19 - Hamlin Township, Mich. – Crews on Lake Michigan still haven’t been able to recover a yacht from where it ran aground north of Ludington over the weekend.

Saturday, a man was taking the 76-foot yacht from Pentwater to Traverse City, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. When he realized the boat was taking on water, he ran it aground in about three feet of water near Big Sable Point. The boat started to tip about 15 degrees to the side, but the Coast Guard was soon able to retrieve the man. He wasn’t hurt.

Monday, the yacht remained abandoned in the water. The Coast Guard said waves more than four feet high kept commercial salvage crews from getting close enough to deploy a boom around and pump fuel off the boat.

Coast Guard pollution responders out of Grand Haven will oversee the recovery. There are no reports of pollution so far.

WOOD

Muskegon WWII ship to reunite with christening bottle for 75th birthday

4/19 - Muskegon, Mich. – The beribboned bottle neck that christened the USS LST 393 will be part of a display celebrating the ship's 75th "birthday" this summer.

The ship was christened by an 11-year-old shipbuilder executive's daughter, Lucy Sorenson Pape, in 1942. Pape has the neck of the champagne bottle to be displayed with other artifacts that mark the World War II ship's beginnings, and the beginning of its 13th year as the USS LST 393 Veterans Museum.

Opening for the season will be on Saturday, April 29. It will be open weekends through May 20, and then will be open every day through mid-September. The museum closes for the winter at the end of September.

On June 3, the museum will celebrate "D-Day Plus 73," as the 73rd anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1944, approaches. The event will include dozens of World War II reenactors with authentic garb and weaponry who will defend the LST in"Air Raid Muskegon" during a warbird flyover.

Read more and see photos at this link: http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2017/04/wwii_ship_to_reunite_with_chri.html

Maritime Academy to offer public ship tours Saturday

4/19 - Traverse City, Mich. – The Great Lakes Maritime Academy is inviting the public to tour its training ship State of Michigan from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday (April 22).

The event will include guided free tours of the T/S State of Michigan, interaction with current maritime cadets and an opportunity to learn more about the Maritime Academy and the maritime industry.

Tours will begin at the pier security gate entrance on the north side of NMC's Great Lakes campus at 715 E. Front Street. Low-heel, closed-toe, soft-soled shoes are highly recommended. The event will occur rain or shine.

Lake Ontario property owners prepare for rising lake levels

4/19 - People in the Thousand Islands are watching the high spring waters of the St. Lawrence River. Upstream, residents are trying to protect their shoreline property from potential flooding as water levels continue to rise on Lake Ontario.

Residents along the lakeshore are preparing for flooding.

Sodus Town Supervisor Steve LeRoy maintains the higher than normal levels are the early effects of the recent agreement between the U.S. and Canada to change the way Lake Ontario water levels are controlled.

After years of heated debate and revisions, the plan went into effect several months ago. Leroy’s a vocal critic: "The effects of that plan are evident. We're already seeing a very possible flood. We know at 247 feet above sea level we'll begin to flood. I believe we're within two inches of that now, and the water's still coming up," Leroy said.

Keith Korawlewski of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does not believe the new management plan is a factor in the rising lake levels. "Basically what we've been seeing so far since the implementation of Plan 2014 is that the levels as would have been likely similar (before) to what we are seeing right now," he said. "The biggest factor has been the wet spring that we have had, including the rainfall we have had in the last couple of weeks."

Town supervisor Steve LeRoy said sandbags are being filled to create a break-wall to protect against surges from passing boat traffic or high winds.

North Country Public Radio

Inversion allows observers to see for miles and miles

4/19 - Sheffield Lake, Ohio – Canada and other places and things that normally wouldn’t be visible from Lorain County’s lakeshore communities were visible Monday thanks to an atmospheric inversion.

Mark Mullen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Cleveland office, said an inversion occurs when cold air on the water interacts with increasingly warm layers of air from land on a calm day, causing far off objects to appear larger and closer. Mullen said Lake Erie water temperatures were 45 degrees Monday and the air temperature was 65 degrees.

When such conditions are present, the light that filters through the layers bends and makes it possible for things on the lake which are normally obscured by the curvature of the lake, to become visible, according to other news reports about the phenomenon.

“Today was a quiet weather day with a strong inversion over the lake,” Mullen said. “I can’t say that this happens a lot, but it does happen and is not rare.”

The Associated Press reported about the phenomenon in 2006 and quoted a 1906 Plain Dealer article which Cleveland residents said the entire Canadian shoreline stood out for about an hour as if it were less than 3 miles away. People in Sheffield Lake and Lorain said Monday they were able to see the Canadian shoreline, Lake Erie Islands and Cedar Point. The islands and Canadian shoreline were still visible from the Sheffield Lake boat launch as of 6 p.m.

The Chronicle-Telegram

Fundraisers set to help save Grand Haven’s catwalk

4/19 - Grand Haven, Mich. – Organizers of Grand Haven’s Save the Catwalk effort continue to push toward their fundraising goal as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractors begin work on the pier itself.

“We’ve raised over $550,000, and the money keeps on rolling in, which is great,” Save the Catwalk organizer Erin Turrell said. Current costs to replace the necessary portions of the catwalk total $1 million. The city has already given the green light for the first two phases of the five-phase project.

Phase 1 involved removing the catwalk from the pier for $84,000. The second phase includes the purchase of steel and restoration of type 1 catwalk bents at a cost of $310,000. Phase 3 involves the restoration and replacement of type 2 bents at a cost of $250,000. Phase 4 includes restoration and replacement of type 3 bents at a cost of $220,000. Phase 5 is the installation of the catwalk on the repaired pier at a cost of $136,000. With the exception of six bents — two of each kind — the entire catwalk will be rebuilt.

“We need to make sure we have enough money so they can finish,” Turrell said. “I don’t want another winter without the catwalk on the pier.”

Turrell noted that support for the catwalk has continued to pour in even after the city and the Save the Catwalk committee announced their $550,000 milestone during a special event earlier this year at Grand Haven’s Central Park. “People in the community are taking it upon themselves to do this without having to be prompted or anything,” Turrell said.

Turrell noted that local businesses and organizations host special days when they donate portions of their profits to the fundraiser, student groups have planned fundraisers for the catwalk, and local charitable organizations and service groups continue to plan fundraisers for it, as well.

“There’s going to be a 10-mile bike ride and a 33-mile bike ride that is going to end at City Beach,” Turrell said, noting the city and the Grand Haven High School Student Senate’s Tour de Grand Haven. “There’s going to be food and entertainment. It’s an all-day event.” Set to take place Saturday, May 13, rides will begin at the YMCA and end at the beach. Registration will be done online.

Other fundraisers are also scheduled.

The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation has established a fund to hold and administer the tax-deductible donations. To make a donation, visit the foundation’s donation webpage and designate “Catwalk”; or send a check with "Save the Catwalk" in the memo line to the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation, 1 S. Harbor Ave., Grand Haven, MI 49417. Donors of $2,500 or more will be memorialized with a personalized bronze plaque that will be placed on the pier.

To learn more about the catwalk project, visit the Save the Catwalk Facebook page or call City Hall at 616-847-4888.

Grand Haven Tribune

Multiple weekend rescues prompt Coast Guard warning about cold water

4/19 - Chicago, Ill – The Coast Guard is reminding people who plan outdoor recreation activities about the continued dangers of cold water despite warmer air temperatures.

As temperatures approached 80 degrees in some areas of the Midwest Saturday and Sunday, people took to the water, and the Coast Guard responded to multiple cases on the Great Lakes involving boaters in distress, including four people who were rescued from dangerously cold water.

“As the air temperatures continue to get warmer, it’s important to remember that the water temperature throughout the Great Lakes is still very cold and dangerous," said Cmdr. Leanne Lusk, search and rescue coordinator for Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan in Milwaukee. "Hypothermia can set in very quickly. If you plan to go out on the water, the Coast Guard recommends you dress for the water temperature to increase your cold-water functional time should an emergency arise.”

USCG

19 April 1884 - The KASOTA (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 246 foot, 1660 gross tons, built in 1884 at Cleveland, Ohio) was launched by Thomas Quayles & Sons at Cleveland, Ohio for Capt. Thomas Wilson of Cleveland, Ohio. The hull was painted green with white bulwarks and upper works.

On 19 April 1956, the newly-converted cement carrier E.M. FORD had her steering equipment break when she was abeam of Harsens Island on the St. Clair River. She plowed head-on into the down bound freighter A.M. BYERS which was loaded with dolomite for Buffalo, New York. The BYERS sank in just 17 minutes and the FORD anchored. No lives were lost.

Sea trials were completed for Upper Lakes Shipping's CANADIAN TRANSPORT on April 19, 1979, and she departed Port Weller Dry Docks Ltd., on her maiden voyage the next morning.

The GEORGE A. STINSON's self-unloading boom collapsed onto her deck due to a mechanical failure on the night of April 19, 1983, at Detroit, Michigan. No injuries were reported. She continued hauling cargoes without a boom most of the year until it was replaced on September 20. She sails today as b.) AMERICAN SPIRIT.

On April 19, 1951, the CLIFFS VICTORY began her much publicized 1,000 mile journey up the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers through the Illinois Waterway pushed by a towboat to Lockport, Illinois where two Great Lakes Towing Co., tugs took up the tow through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Hall Corp. of Canada's a.) HUTCHCLIFFE HALL (Hull#261) by Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal, Quebec, was launched April 19, 1954.

Pittsburgh Steamship's steamer RICHARD TRIMBLE (Hull#707) of the American Ship Building Co., Lorain, Ohio, was launched April 19, 1913. She was scrapped at Duluth, Minnesota between 1978 and 1981.

On April 19, 1950, the WILFRED SYKES entered service, departing Lorain, Ohio for Toledo to load coal on her maiden voyage. The SYKES also became the largest vessel on the Great Lakes, taking the honor from Pittsburgh Steamship Company's LEON FRASER class (the "Supers"), which had held it since June 21, 1942.

April 19, 1917 - ANN ARBOR NO 5 broke off her starboard shaft and bent the rudder stock on the rocky corner of the old Goodrich dock in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

On 19 April 1880, the Port Huron Times reported the results of a severe gale: "The schooner CHRIS GROVER, ashore near Oscoda, Michigan, is reported going to pieces. The crew is aboard. The schooner ATHENIAN, lumber laden, is reported to have gone ashore off Au Sable and to be a complete wreck. The schooner HATTIE JOHNSON is abandoned on Goose Island shoal. The cabin and part of her deck are gone. The stern is gone from her mizzen and the gale probably broke her up completely and her outfit and cargo may prove a total loss." The GROVE and the JOHNSON were later recovered and put back in service.

On 19 April 1884, EUROPE (wooden propeller, passenger/package freight vessel, 136 foot, 628 gross tons, built in 1870 at St. Catharines, Ontario) was almost totally destroyed by fire at St. Catharines. The remains of her hull were later rebuilt as the barge REGINA.

1915: PALIKI of the Algoma Central Railway fleet was carrying steel rails to Chicago when it ran aground on Simmons Reef near the Straits of Mackinac.

1922: LAMBTON, a steel lighthouse tender, was last seen on the date by the MIDLAND PRINCE. It was lost with all hands on Lake Superior somewhere south of Michipicoten Island while delivering lighthouse keepers to their stations. Wreckage was later located but no bodies were ever found.

1927: DAVID S. TROXEL was damaged in a storm on Lake Superior. Plates and rivets worked loose and there were problems with the rudder. The ship was renamed c) SONOMA later in 1927 and was scrapped by Stelco in Hamilton as d) FRED L. HEWITT in 1962.

1938: REDRIVER had loaded coal at Charlotte, NY and was crossing Lake Ontario when it ran aground, due to fog, near Point Petre.

1939: VALLEY CAMP ran aground on Cole's Shoal, near Brockville, due to fog and part of the cargo of coal had to be lightered before the ship was refloated with the help of the tug SALVAGE PRINCE on April 24.

1940: SANDLAND battled through heavy ice to open the port of Port Colborne on this date in 1940. The ship had a cargo of scrap steel from Detroit for the Algoma Steel mill.

1956: A.M. BYERS was loaded with limestone and bound from Drummond Island to Buffalo when it sank in the St. Clair River following a collision with the E.M. FORD on this date in 1956. The ship was hit on the port side abreast of the pilothouse but all on board were rescued. The ship was later salvaged and repaired becoming b) CLEMENS A. REISS (ii) in 1959 and c) JACK WIRT in 1970.

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

Duluth-Superior
Frontenac arrived on her first trip of the season Sunday. She tied up at the BNSF dock in Superior to load ore. The saltie Beatrix arrived and headed for CHS to load grain.

Two Harbors, Minn.
Roger Blough was at the ore dock loading on Sunday evening.

St. Marys River
A busy Easter Sunday saw quite a bit of traffic on the river. American Integrity, Rt Hon. Paul J. Martin, John D. Leitch and Hon. James L. Oberstar were downbound in the early afternoon. They were followed later by Burns Harbor, Edwin H. Gott and American Century. Upbound traffic included Indiana Harbor, Edgar B. Speer, Atlantic Huron, CSL Niagara, Great Lakes Trader, Kaye E. Barker, James R. Barker, Herbert C. Jackson and Stewart J. Cort. Some vessels had to check back or drop anchor waiting for traffic to clear.

Muskegon, Mich.
Tug Bradshaw McKee departed Sunday pushing the barge Cleveland Rocks. They are bound for Sturgeon Bay, where the barge will undergo a refit.

Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
Capt. Henry Jackman cleared for Marinette with salt. Algoma Transport was loading Sunday night.

Detroit, Mich.
The J.W. Westcott Co. has started its 144th season serving the marine community on the Detroit River. View a video at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NByBBu0n_sI

Cleveland, Ohio – Nick Hunter
On Sunday, the Great Republic arrived in the early evening while the Buffalo left in the morning after completing more shuttle trips up the Cuyahoga. The Clyde S. VanEnkevort / Erie Trader will arrive around 10 p.m. Sunday.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Transits for Sunday, April 16. Upbound: Robert S. Pierson, Algosteel, Federal Danube (Mhl), Algowood, Algoma Olympic, Everlast with barge Norman McLeod, Stephen B. Roman (eta 2345). Downbound: M.R.Kane & Barge 7 (at wharf 1 for weather), CSL Assiniboine, USCG Hollyhock, Algoma Guardian, Federal Bering (Mhl), Sea Eagle II & barge St. Marys Cement II.

Bath, Ont. – Barry Andersen
English River

Toronto, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Labrador was at Redpath Sunday. She has been unloading sugar since April 14.

Port Weller anchorage – Barry Andersen
Drawsko (Bhs), awaiting a dock in Toronto. Tundra (Cyp), awaiting a dock in Toronto.

Updates -  April 17

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17 April 1871 - The wooden brig ST. JOSEPH was carrying lumber from Ludington, Michigan, to Chicago, Illinois. Her hold was filled and lumber was stacked on deck so she was indeed overloaded. A gale developed and the deck load shifted, then was lost. ST. JOSEPH became waterlogged in mid-lake. Her crew remained with her until 19 April when the propeller ST. LEWIS found them 35 miles southwest of Pentwater, Michigan, and took them there. The tug ALDRICH towed the waterlogged brig in for repairs.

The first vessels through the Straits of Mackinac for the 1870 season were the CITY OF BOSTON and the CITY OF NEW YORK, both owned by the Northern Transportation Company. They passed through the Straits on 17 April 1870. The following day they passed Port Huron but could only go as far as Algonac, Michigan, since the St. Clair River had an ice jam which raised the water level by two feet and was causing flooding.

The Collingwood-built, 610-foot aft section of the JOHN B. AIRD passed up bound through the St. Marys Falls Canal on April 17, 1983, in tow of the tugs WILFRED M. COHEN and JOHN MC LEAN heading for Thunder Bay, Ontario, where it was assembled with the 120-foot bow section.

Canada Steamship Lines a.) STADACONA (Hull#24) was launched April 17, 1929, by Midland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. She was renamed b.) NORDALE in 1969 and was scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario, in 1983. She was the first vessel scrapped at the old Algoma Steel Dock in Port Colborne.

April 17, 1970 - CITY OF FLINT 32 was sold to the Norfolk & Western Railway for $100,000.

On 17 April 1840, the wooden side-wheeler CATARAQUI was burned to a total loss during a great fire, which destroyed much of the waterfront area of Kingston, Ontario.

On 17 April 1874, CHARLES J. KERSHAW (wooden propeller, 223 foot, 1,324 gross tons) was launched at the Ballentine shipyard at Bangor, Michigan.

1961: FREEMAN HATCH was built at Sturgeon Bay and completed in December 1942. It left the Great Lakes the following spring for service for the British Ministry of War Transport. It was sold and renamed b) CHARLES M. in 1950 and became c) HOUSTON in 1953. The vessel was sunk on this date in 1962 during the attempted, anti-Castro, Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.

1982: CHEMICAL TRANSPORT ran aground in the St. Lawrence near Dark Island as channel markers were out of position due to the wind and ice conditions. The vessel lightered some cargo to fleetmate JAMES TRANSPORT and then went to Sorel for repairs. In 2009, the ship was reported as lying burned out and derelict near Lagos, Nigeria, after an explosion and fire as c) REAL PROGRESS on June 1, 2001.

1990: RESERVE ran aground in the St. Marys River while downbound with a load of iron ore for Toledo on this date in 1990. The ship stranded in a snowstorm and had to be lightered to the WILLIAM R. ROESCH before going to Fraser Shipyard for repairs.

1997: ALGOLAKE got stuck on Vidal Shoal, St. Marys River while bound for Algoma Steel with a cargo of iron ore. The ship was lightered and released. After unloading, the vessel went to Thunder Bay for repairs.

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

Superior, Wis.
Burns Harbor was loading late Friday night, with CSL Laurentian next in line.

Silver Bay, Minn.
Hon. James L. Oberstar was loading Friday evening.

Cedarville, Mich. – Denny Dushane
There were no vessels loading Friday and none were expected. Due Saturday is the Wilfred Sykes in the late afternoon to load. Joseph L. Block is due Sunday at noon. After that there is nothing due until April 24, when the barge Pere Marquette 41 and tug Undaunted are expected in the early morning to load.

Port Inland, Mich. – Denny Dushane
There were no vessels loading on Friday and none were expected. Due Saturday is the Joseph L. Block in the early morning. Cason J. Callaway is due on Monday during the early morning. Two vessels are expected April 21, with the barge Great Lakes Trader and tug Joyce L. Van Enkevort due in the early morning followed by the Wilfred Sykes in the early evening.

Escanaba, Mich. – Lee Rowe
Wilfred Sykes will be in Tuesday the 18th at 2100 hours. She will be taking the last load of ore from the port.

Grand Haven, Mich. – Sam Hankinson
Wilfred Sykes made her first visit of the season Friday. She was headed out to Lake Michigan bound to Cedarville in the evening. The tug John Henry was working along the south pier on the ongoing restoration project.

Alpena, Mich. – Ben & Chanda McClain
The steamer Alpena loaded cement on Tuesday at Lafarge and delivered it to Superior, Wis. Great Republic unloaded coal at Lafarge on Friday morning and departed around noon, passing the tug Samuel de Champlain and barge Innovation that were tied up at the other dock loading cement.

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
There were no vessels loading on Friday and none were expected. Due in for Saturday are the Great Republic and the Manitoulin, both early morning arrivals. There are no vessels scheduled for Sunday-Tuesday. Due Wednesday is the Cason J. Callaway in the early evening.

Calcite, Mich. – Denny Dushane
There were no vessel arrivals for Friday and none were loading. Lee A. Tregurtha is expected on Saturday in the early morning for the South Dock. Also due on Saturday during the late morning is the H. Lee White, which will also load at the South Dock. There are no vessels scheduled for Sunday.

Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Olympic cleared early Friday laden with salt for Toronto.

Port Huron, Mich. – Sarnia, Ont.
Lee A. Tregurtha, H. Lee White and G3 Marquis were upbound in the evening, followed by Edzard Schulte after dark, headed for Sarnia. Saginaw remains in lay up on the Sarnia side, with hull work being done. Barge Ashtabula / tug Defiance are still laid up, as is Ojibway. The latter is not expected to come out until fall.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
Cason J. Callaway arrived at the CSX Coal Dock to load on Friday in the early morning. Also due at CSX is the Manitoulin on Sunday in the late afternoon, however due to the Easter holiday they will not load until Monday morning. Mississagi is expected at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock on April 19 to unload. At the Torco Dock, the Kaye E. Barker is expected Saturday in the mid-afternoon. Spruceglen arrived Friday. The tug Olive L. Moore was placed in drydock Friday morning but was out and docked in front of her barge by afternoon.

Buffalo, N.Y. – Brian W
Hollyhock was still tied up at the Visiting Ship's Dock on the Buffalo River Friday. Tug Calusa Coast barge Delaware were headed for Buffalo Friday evening.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Transits for Friday April 14: Upbound: Petite Forte & barge St. Marys Cement, Algocanada, CSL Niagara, Algoma Discovery, Whitefish Bay dep 19E (ADM) and Algoma Transport. Downbound: Algoma Enterprise, Robert S. Pierson, Algoscotia, Radcliffe R. Latimer, Algoma Harvester and light tug M.R. Kane and barge 7.

Bronte, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Algocanada departed Friday for Nanticoke.

Hamilton, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Stella Polaris (Nld) departed at 0240 Friday. Algoma Discovery departed 2345 - 4/13.

Toronto, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Labrador (Cyp) arrived.

Oshawa, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Redhead (Hkg) departed at 1833 for Hamilton .

Nanticoke, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Algoscotia departed at 0145, Algoma Hansa arrived 0334. Algocanada arrived and anchored at 1831.

Corps of Engineers resumes dredging a section – but not all – of Cuyahoga River

4/15 - Cleveland, Ohio – Dredging resumed this week in the Cuyahoga River shipping channel after a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers survey showed sediment buildup in the lower stretch nearest to Lake Erie and Cleveland Harbor. Dredging in the upper channel nearest to the ArcelorMittal steel mill's docks is expected to begin later this month, said Luciano Vera, a spokesman for the Army Corps.

The five-mile stretch in between, however, will only be dredged where necessary. That's because, in a policy reversal from previous years, the Army Corps will "prioritize" its work.

"We will work with the contractor to address shoaling areas throughout the entire channel," Vera said. "Some sections will not require dredging at this time based on survey results."

Last year marked the first shipping season in more than 30 years that the Army Corps did not dredge the entire river. After delaying dredging until December, the Corps' contractor was forced to shut down the $3.7 million project due to inclement weather and after a pump on an excavator-mounted barge broke down. Only the channel in the vicinity of the steel mill docks was cleared.

"Our dredging efforts were cut short last fall due to both equipment and weather challenges that created unsafe conditions for our contractor," said Lt. Col. Adam Czekanski, the Army Corps' district commander. "We are happy to begin dredging again to complete this critical work in support of the community in Cleveland."

Port of Cleveland officials have said they expect the Corps to fulfill its obligation to dredge the entire six-mile shipping channel, and that navigation problems are sure to arise without the dredging.

Port spokesman Jade Davis previously characterized the decision as "another example of the problems we've been having" with the Army Corps.

ArcelorMittal is the primary user of the shipping channel, as giant vessels loaded with iron ore pellets regularly navigate the crooked river from the mines in Minnesota. Ship captains experienced problems with the river's depth last year, however, and steel company officials expressed fears of "catastrophic harm" if a federal judge didn't immediately order the Army Corps to dredge the shipping channel.

Without a navigable channel, the steel mill could be forced to curtail or shut down its blast furnaces without the raw materials necessary to make steel, the company said.

Earlier this spring, an Army Corps spokesman said a survey team would assess the channel "to determine the need for, and priorities of, dredging." The sediment being dredged this week is being loaded onto a barge and pumped into an Army Corps containment dike located near Burke Lakefront Airport.

"The Port is concerned that any delays in dredging this spring, such as was the case in 2016, could lead to a recurrence of river navigation issues again in 2017," Davis said recently. "We hope that the Army Corps will carry out full dredging this year, in an expeditious and environmentally safe manner."

The Army Corps is a defendant in a federal lawsuit filed by the Port of Cleveland and the Ohio EPA, who are seeking a court order requiring the Corps to dredge the river and dump the sediment into a containment dike on the Lake Erie shoreline.

The Corps insists the dredged sediment is clean enough for open-lake disposal, and deny the agency is legally required to dredge the channel.

Lawyers for the EPA and the Port obtained emails filed in federal court quoting Army Corps officials of intentionally delaying dredging to allow sediment to build up and threaten shipping in the river, with the intent to "put pressure on the locals," according to court documents.

Emails from the Corps' Cleveland Harbor project manager suggested the Corps could reduce the amount of dredging in the shipping channel to impede navigability and "keep the heat on the local users" to approve open-lake dumping.

The Army Corps' lawyers have denied those allegations.

U.S. Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, recently said he hopes to wrap up an investigation into the Army Corps' decision last year to cut its own budget as an apparent excuse to dump dredged contaminated sediment directly into Lake Erie.

"We have subpoena power, and I'm encouraged we're going to receive the information we have asked for from the Corps," Portman said.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Toronto Marine Historical Society holding annual auction

4/15 - This auction is taking bids on a large selection of Great Lakes shipping memorabilia. Besides the usual books and photographs there are general arrangement plans, ship logs, flags and many other items of interest. See the complete list at www.tmhs.ca (PDF) Closing date for bids is Monday, May 1 at 11:59 p.m.

David Bull

15 April 1907 - The Rutland Line’s OGDENSBURG (steel propeller package freighter, 242-foot, 2329 gross tons, built in 1906, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying 50,000 bushels of corn, a big consignment of flour and general merchandise from Chicago to Ogdensburg when she stranded on Point aux Barques on Lake Huron in a storm. Although she was leaking in her forward compartment, she was freed after some cargo was jettisoned.

15 April 1907 - The Welland Canal opened for the season with the first vessel being the SAMUEL MATHER (steel propeller bulk freighter, 530 foot, 6,751 gross tons, built in 1906, at Wyandotte, Michigan) carrying coal from Cleveland, Ohio to Prescott, Ontario.

On 15 April 1881, the Market Street Bridge in Mount Clemens, Michigan, was taken down to allow the newly built VIRGINIUS to pass down the Clinton River to Lake St. Clair, where she was taken in tow by the CITY OF NEW BALTIMORE. The VIRGINIUS was towed to Port Huron where her engine was installed and she was fitted out for service.

Misener's CANADA MARQUIS (Hull#257) of Govan Shipyards Ltd, Govan, Scotland, was launched April 15, 1983. Renamed b.) FEDERAL RICHELIEU in 1991, c.) FEDERAL MACKENZIE in 1991, d.) MACKENZIE in 2001 and CSL's e.) BIRCHGLEN in 2002.

American Steamship Co.'s SAM LAUD was christened April 15, 1975.

On April 15, 1977, the CONALLISON's, a.) FRANK C. BALL of 1906, self-unloading boom collapsed while unloading coal at the Detroit Edison Trenton, Michigan, power plant in the Trenton Channel on the lower Detroit River.

W. W. HOLLOWAY suffered a fire in the fantail while in dry dock following her re-powering at AmShip on April 15, 1963, causing $15,000 damage.

Pittsburgh Steamship's steamer J. P. MORGAN JR left Lorain in ballast April 15, 1910, on her maiden voyage to load iron ore at Duluth, Minnesota.

Masaba Steamship's steamer JOE S. MORROW entered service April 15, 1907.

The steamer JOHN P. REISS left Lorain, Ohio on her maiden voyage on April 15, 1910 with coal for Escanaba, Michigan. She was the first of three bulkers built in 1910 for Reiss interests. The other two were the steamers A. M. BYERS and the PETER REISS.

The tanker IMPERIAL COLLINGWOOD began service April 15, 1948.

On April 15, 1955, American Steamship's steamer DETROIT EDISON entered service, departing Manitowoc, Wisconsin, for Port Inland, Michigan, on her maiden trip.

On April 15, 1985, the e.) WILLIAM CLAY FORD, formerly d.) WALTER A. STERLING and presently f.) LEE A. TREGURTHA) departed Fraser Shipyards for the D. M. & I. R. ore docks in West Duluth for her first load in Ford Motor Company colors.

April 15, 1930 - While going up the Manitowoc River to dry dock, the WABASH rubbed the parked steamer THEODORE ROOSEVELT and damaged her upper works forward.

On 15 April 1862, ELISHA C. BLISH (wooden propeller tug, 81 foot, 107 tons, built in 1857, at Black River, Ohio) sank near shore at Algonac, Michigan, when a steam pump was accidentally left in an open position and she flooded. She was raised and lasted another two years when she "went missing" on Lake Huron.

On 15 April 1872, The Port Huron Daily Times announced that the HURON was chartered by a circus company for the season. They intended to perform at many lakes ports throughout the summer.

1967: MAPLE HILL began visiting the Great Lakes in 1959. The British-flag freighter had been built at Montreal in 1943 as a) FORT VERCHERES and was renamed c) DIOPSIDE in 1966. It collided with and sank the Swedish freighter IREVIK in the Baltic Sea on this day in 1967. MAPLE HILL was renamed d) ENTAN in 1969 and arrived at Hirao, Japan, for scrapping on June 30, 1970.

1987: An attempt to steal navigation equipment using a cutting torch resulted in a fire that caused major damage to the upper deck of the GRAND RAPIDS. The retired Lake Michigan carferry had been idle at Muskegon since 1971. It was eventually sold for scrap in 1989 and broken up at Port Maitland, ON in 1994.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Jody Aho, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, “Ahoy & Farewell II” and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.

Hemgracht, season’s first saltie, has come and gone at Windsor

4/14 - Windsor, Ont. – The first ocean-going vessel has arrived at the Port of Windsor and is now en route to Ireland with a load of feed products. The Netherlands-flagged motor vessel Hemgracht arrived on April 7 at the ADM Windsor Grain Terminal.

The ship’s captain, Maxim Korolkov, and the crew were welcomed by officials of the Windsor Port Authority.

“It is always a celebration when the first ocean going vessel, or saltie, arrives at the port as it marks the beginning of the international shipping season here in Windsor,” David Cree, president of the Windsor Port Authority, said in a news release. “ADM is a major international grain merchant and we are very fortunate to have them in the Port of Windsor.”

Korolkov and his crew were presented with a copy of “From the Vault,” a historic book featuring Windsor Star reporter Craig Pearson, and gift bags with various personal care items including phone cards to call around the world.

“The St. Lawrence Seaway System allows ADM to connect local farmers by truck and rail to customers around the world, and we are proud to be a part of the Port of Windsor community and this year’s first saltie celebration,” said Steven Combres, merchandiser with ADM.

Hemgracht was eastbound in the Welland Canal Thursday night.

Windsor Star

Duluth-Superior
Wilfred Sykes’ highly-anticipated trip to Lake Superior to load has been canceled.

Marquette, Mich. – Denny Dushane
American Integrity became the first vessel to unload coal into the hopper at the Upper Harbor in Marquette for the 2017 season. They arrived Wednesday in the early evening and they departed on Thursday in the late afternoon.

Cedarville, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Wilfred Sykes is expected Saturday in the early morning. Also due in is the Manitoulin on Sunday during the early morning, along with the Joseph L. Block at noon. Rounding out the schedule is the Cason J. Callaway, due April 22 during the early morning.

Port Inland, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Joseph L. Block is due Saturday in the late evening to load. Also due is Cason J. Callaway on Monday during the early morning. The barge Great Lakes Trader and tug Joyce L. VanEnkevort are expected April 21 in the early morning to load.

Escanaba, Mich. – Lee Rowe
Joseph L. Block was loading on Thursday and left in the late afternoon. These will be some of the final ore cargoes to come out or Esky. Joseph H. Thompson and tug departed bound for Marquette, but returned Thursday for unspecified repairs.

Indiana Harbor, Ind.
Wilfred Sykes was in port Thursday evening. Indiana Harbor was arriving.

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
The barge Pathfinder and tug Dorothy Ann loaded on Thursday and were due to leave Friday at 7 a.m. Two other vessels are expected Friday, both in the late afternoon: Manitoulin followed by Great Republic. There are no vessels scheduled for Saturday-Tuesday.

Calcite, Mich. – Denny Dushane
H. Lee White is expected in the mid-afternoon on Friday for the South Dock to load. Also due is the Lee A. Tregurtha on Saturday in the early morning for the South Dock. There are no vessels scheduled Sunday. Due Monday is the Cason J. Callaway in the early morning for the South Dock. Great Republic is due on Tuesday in the early morning for the South Dock. Due in Wednesday is the John J. Boland in the early afternoon loading at the North Dock.

Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Olympic was loading salt Thursday; destination unknown.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
Cuyahoga was loading at the CSX Coal Dock on Thursday. Also due at CSX is the Cason J. Callaway on Friday in the early morning. Manitoulin is due at CSX on Sunday in the early morning, however they will not begin to load until 7 a.m. on Monday due to the Easter holiday. Due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock is the Mississagi on April 19 during the early morning. At the Torco Dock, the Lee A. Tregurtha was expected Thursday in the late evening. Also due at Torco is the Kaye E. Barker on Saturday in the mid-afternoon.

Buffalo, N.Y. – Brian W.
USCG Hollyhock arrived around 1p.m Thursday and was tied up on the North Pier around 2 p.m.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Traffic for Thursday: Upbound: Evans McKeil & barge Niagara Spirit, tugs Salvage Monarch and M.R. Kane with barge Coastal Titan, Spartan & barge Spartan II, Federal Bering (Mhl), G3 Marquis, Spruceglen, Edzard Schulte (IOM), Kaministiqua, Capt. Henry Jackman and Federal Champlain (Mhl). Downbound: Whitefish Bay stopped at 19E (ADM Milling), Federal Seto (Mhl), Hemgracht (Nld) and Algoma Enterprise.

Oshawa, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Petite Forte & barge St. Marys Cement arrived at 0119 Thursday, departed for Cleveland.

Hamilton, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Tugs Salvage Monarch and M.R. Kane & barge Coastal Titan departed at 0445 Thursday for Toledo, G3 Marquis departed at 0700, Erieborg (Nld) departed for Montreal, Federal Champlain (Mhl) departed at 1850 for Windsor.

First ship arrives at Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor

4/14 - In another rite of spring, international commerce has returned to Northwest Indiana. The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, the region's gateway to distant shores, celebrated its version of opening day Wednesday by welcoming its first ocean-going vessel of the season.

The 413-foot general cargo carrier BBC Mont Blanc brought wind turbine parts to the deepwater Lake Michigan port in Portage and Burns Harbor. She departed Thursday evening for Thunder Bay, Ont.

"The arrival of the first ocean ship of the new year is an exciting time not only for our port, but also for our port companies and numerous other regional businesses that rely on the cargoes these vessels carry," said new Port Director Ian Hirt, who started in March. "For northwest Indiana, the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway each spring is always a symbol of optimism because it reestablishes a direct connection to global markets and new business opportunities."

Port officials presented the ceremonial "Steel Stein" to welcome Russian Captain Nikolay Gombalevsky, who helms a crew of 15 sailors on the Mont Blanc, a German-owned ship that's flagged to Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean. The ship carried over a cargo of nearly 900 tons of wind turbine tower sections shipped from Marin, Spain and bound for a wind farm in Illinois, and will ship out Thursday to drop off a huge transformer in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

About 30 workers from the International Longshoremen's Association and International Union of Operating Engineers are unloading the massive parts, which Hirt said should herald a resurgence in wind turbine shipments, which tapered off after a big gust of them blew through three or four years ago. Hirt also expects an increase in steel slabs from Russia to NLMK's mini-mill at the port this year. Get breaking news sent instantly to your inbox

In his new role, Hirt hopes to boost shipping volumes and recruit more businesses to take over the remaining 110 acres of vacant space at the Lake Michigan port. Private businesses, mainly steel processors and Cargill's grain-shipping operations, currently occupy about 500 acres there.

About 2.6 million tons of cargo passed through the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor last year, capping the highest three-year total in its 59-year history.

Northwest Indiana Times.com

‘Know Your Ships’ booksigning Saturday in Port Huron

4/14 - Port Huron, Mich. – On Saturday, in what has become an unofficial kick-off to the end of winter, Roger LeLievre, cataloguer of freighters on the Great Lakes, will be on hand at the Great Lakes Maritime Center at Vantage Point, signing copies of the 2017 edition of “Know Your Ships.”

"We bring Roger in every year to sign the new edition of his book," said the Maritime Center’s “Freighter” Frank Frisk. "It's the 11th year. Roger brings in some of his crew of researchers and photographers and it's an excellent day."

The event runs from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Books and other items will be available for purchase.

Crews deploy Port Sheldon buoy cam into Lake Michigan

4/14 - Port Sheldon Township, Mich. – Ottawa County welcomed a sign of spring Wednesday, as the Port Sheldon buoy camera returned to Lake Michigan. Crews with LimnoTech deployed the buoy cam Wednesday morning, after pulling it from the water before winter set in.

About 25 buoy cams float in the Great Lakes, monitoring conditions including wind speed, wake heights and water temperatures. They play an important role for the community, especially boaters.

“Just one guy this morning in South Haven said that the buoy saves him trips to the lake. He doesn’t live on the lake, so he uses the buoy to check conditions. He checks the buoy before getting out of bed in the morning; it saves a lot of time.

“It’s also a safety thing. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) uses it to forecast better… to have eyes on the water and what’s going on,” explained LimnoTech project engineer Ed Verhamme.

The buoy anchored off the shore of Port Sheldon is historically the most popular buoy in the entire Great Lakes. Its recordings, which are available online for free, were viewed 30,000 times last year after community donations helped pay for its late launch.

WOOD TV

Chemical spill closes four Lake Michigan beaches

4/14 - A U.S. Steel plant in Portage, Ind., has spilled wastewater containing a potentially cancer-causing chemical into Burns Waterway, a tributary about 100 yards from Lake Michigan. The leak prompted the closure of four beaches and a riverwalk at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and Indiana American Water in Ogden Dunes—the nearest municipal water source—to shut down its water intake and switch to a reserve water supply, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is overseeing the spill, announced.

U.S. Steel reported the leak on Tuesday morning. The company informed the EPA that its release has been stopped at the source. The amount of spilled wastewater is still unknown.

The wastewater discharge, apparently caused by a pipe failure, contains hexavalent chromium (chromium-6), which is used for industrial processes. The toxic chemical was made famous by the environmental activist and 2000 movie of the same name, "Erin Brockovich."

Incidentally, as Chicago Tribune pointed out, President Donald Trump's administration has proposed a budget that would quash efforts to crack down on the dangerous pollutant nationwide.

According to the Associated Press, a U.S. Steel preliminary investigation determined that an expansion joint failed Tuesday in a pipe at the Portage facility. This allowed wastewater from an electroplating treatment process containing chromium-6 to escape into the wrong wastewater treatment plant at the complex. That wastewater eventually flowed into the Burns Waterway.

Andy Maguire, the EPA's on-scene coordinator, told the AP that testing is continuing at the intake areas and other nearby points, but hexavalent chromium from the spill has so far not been found in Lake Michigan.

Chromium-6 is used in chrome plating, wood and leather treatments, dyes and pigments and the water in cooling towers of electrical power plants. The chemical has long been known to cause lung cancer when airborne particles are inhaled. Recent science has also shown that, when ingested, it can cause stomach cancer. A 2008 study by the National Toxicology Program found chromium-6 in drinking water caused cancer in rats and mice.

14 April 1965 The GEORGE A. SLOAN (steel propeller bulk freighter, 603 foot, 9057 gross tons, built in 1943, at River Rouge, Michigan) was the first commercial vessel through the Soo Locks. The SLOAN (now MISSISSAGI) received Sault Ste. Marie's official tri-centennial flag to fly all season. The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce in turn received the Pittsburgh Fleet flag, and it flew below the United States flag on the flagpole on top of the Ojibway Motor Hotel all season.

On 14 April 1872, the MESSENGER (wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 150 foot, 444 gross tons, built in 1866, at Cleveland, Ohio) left Manistee, Michigan in a storm for Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After battling ice flows near shore, she made it to open water but the heavy seas snapped her rudder post. She was unmanageable and four members of the crew left in the yawl to try to get help. Although they were only a few miles from port, the men struggled for hours against the wind, waves and ice before they finally made it back to Manistee, Michigan, where they got a tug to go out and tow the MESSENGER in for repairs.

On April 14, 1961, FORT CHAMBLY departed Toronto, Ontario, on her maiden voyage bound for the Canadian Lake head.

Interlake Steamship's COLONEL JAMES PICKANDS (Hull#791) sailed on her maiden voyage April 14, 1926, clearing Lorain for Toledo, Ohio, to load coal.

CSL's steamer GLENEAGLES lost her self-unloading boom April 14, 1977, while unloading at the CSL stone dock at Humberstone, Ontario. Renamed b.) SILVERDALE in 1978, she was scrapped at Windsor, Ontario, in 1984.

On April 14, 1984, vessels around the Great Lakes were battling one of the worst season openers for ice in recent memory. The ERNEST R. BREECH (now OJIBWAY) and HERBERT C. JACKSON spent the entire day battling ice off the Duluth entry, while the St. Clair River was choked with ice.

On 14 April 1873, The Port Huron Daily Times gave the following report of shipbuilding work going on in Port Huron: "Mr. Fitzgerald is up to his eyes in business with a large barge in process of construction and a good sized schooner still on the stocks. Mr. Thomas Dunford has in hand the repairs of the large scow T S SKINNER and she is being rapidly healed of the damage done to her in the collision with the INTERNATIONAL last fall. At Muir's yard the [schooner] canaller on the stocks is rapidly approaching completion. At the [Port Huron] Dry Dock Company's yard, they are busy as bees docking and repairing vessels and work upon the new tug for Moffat & Sons is [being] pushed ahead very rapidly." Unfortunately, later that year the "Panic of 1873" struck and all shipyard work was stopped while the country tried to recover from that economic depression.

1965: Fire broke out in the #2 hold of the CAPETAN VASSILIS en route from Madras, India, to Rotterdam with a cargo of sunflower seeds while 60 miles off the Mediterranean island of Crete. The crew abandoned the vessel and it sank on April 16. The ship had been built at Superior, Wisconsin, as TULLY CROSBY in 1944 and returned to the lakes as c) SPIND in 1952-1953, as d) HEILO in 1953 and e) CAPETAN VASSILIS in 1956.

1977: CANADIAN OLYMPIC ran aground in the St. Lawrence off Heather Point near Brockville. The ship was loaded with ore and en route from Sept Iles to Ashtabula. The navigation channel was blocked. The vessel was lightered to MAPLEHEATH and released at 1057 hours on April 16. The ULS self-unloader spent three weeks at Port Weller Dry Docks undergoing repairs to the damage.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Jody Aho, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, “Ahoy and Farewell”.

Icebreaker Alexander Henry returning to Thunder Bay to become tourist attraction

4/13 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – The plan to bring the Alexander Henry home has officially set sail. City council unanimously gave the Lakehead Transportation Museum Society its approval in principle for a plan that would tow the ship to the city's waterfront, where it would become a tourist attraction at the former Pool 6 grain elevator site.

Museum society treasurer Wally Peterson said council support is essential to moving provincial funding applications forward and allowing for the group to issue tax receipts to donors who want to see the icebreaker ship brought home to the Port Arthur shipyards where it was built in the 1950s.

"It means we can go to the insurance companies and say, 'yes we're getting it,' so we can get hard and fast quotes," Peterson said. "We can go to the people who are going to do the tow and start actually getting firm and sound commitments because without a commitment from the city, we were waiting."

The ship that broke ice across the Great Lakes from 1959 to 1984 is currently docked outside of Kingston, Ont. The Alexander Henry was displaced from that city where it was displayed for decades and used as a bed and breakfast. The federal government sold the land where it was docked, leading to a countdown that would either see it sunk in Lake Ontario or scrapped by the end of June unless $250,000 can be raised and a plan was put in place to tow it across the Great Lakes one last time.

"With June 29 pending, we had to get this going and that was a hard, hard, hard deadline," Peterson said.

Some councillors were hesitant to support the group's request for $125,000 from the city in December but all cast their votes in principle to support its efforts. "It's a win-win situation either way, whether it becomes part of a transportation or the underwater marine museum, it's going to work," said Westfort Coun. Joe Virdiramo.

Coun. Iain Angus compared the decision council faces to that of the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier turned tourist attraction that's docked in San Diego.

"That ship was the subject of much debate in the community for the price of $100,000 people thought they couldn't afford and now that ship brings in millions to that community," Angus said. "Different magnitude, but just an example of how when you have a vision and you work towards it, it pays off in the long term."

Northwood Coun. Shelby Ch'ng called her reluctant support "an act of faith" in city administration, who has been working with the project's advocates since a business plan presented last year met criticism and disapproval around the council table.

"I still haven't seen a business plan and I'm very uncomfortable voting 'yes' on something that I haven't seen any numbers on. I've asked this a number of times and I know it's bits and pieces here and there but I just want to see it," Ch'ng said.

Sudbury.com

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
James R. Barker departed Wednesday morning with iron ore pellets she loaded at CN. The Polish saltie Solina arrived during the afternoon to load wheat at CHS 1. She is the second saltie to arrive Duluth for the 2017 season. In Superior, Stewart J. Cort departed before sunrise with ore from BN. CSL Assiniboine arrived soon after and began loading. Algoma Guardian was expected late Wednesday night to load ore. The Madeline Island ferry Bayfield is receiving her 5-year inspection at Fraser Shipyards. Also, if the schedule holds, Wilfred Sykes is scheduled to make an exceedingly rare trip to load blast furnace trim at Hallett #5 in Duluth on Sunday.

Marquette, Mich. – Rod Burdick
Tug and Barge Clyde S. VanEnkevort and Erie Trader arrived and opened the Lower Harbor for the 2017-18 shipping season on Wednesday with a load of stone for the Shiras Dock.

Soo Locks – Jon Hagelee
Alpena was upbound for Superior, Wis., on Tuesday on her first trip into Lake Superior this season. Other upbounds included CSL St. Laurent, Rt. Hon. Paul J Martin, Tim S. Dool, American Spirit, Burns Harbor, Herbert C. Jackson and Kaye E. Barker. Downbounds included Roger Blough, Indiana Harbor, Lee A Tregurtha, Radcliffe R Latimer and Algoma Harvester.

Cedarville, Mich. – Denny Dushane
There were no vessels loading on Wednesday and none are expected until Saturday at noon when the Joseph L. Block is due. Also due in is the Wilfred Sykes on April 18 in the late afternoon.

Port Inland, Mich. – Denny Dushane
The barge Pere Marquette 41 and tug Undaunted are expected to arrive at Port Inland to load on Thursday in the early morning. They will be the first vessels for the 2017 season to load at PI. Also due is the Joseph L. Block on Friday in the late evening. John J. Boland is due April 17 during the early morning to load.

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Michipicoten arrived on Wednesday to load was due to depart on Thursday at 3 a.m. Also due Thursday were the barge Pathfinder and tug Dorothy Ann in the mid-afternoon. Two vessels are due for Friday, with the Michipicoten due back in the early morning followed later by the Great Republic in the early evening. The barge Pathfinder and the tug Dorothy Ann return on Saturday in the evening to load.

Calcite, Mich. – Denny Dushane
John J. Boland loaded at the South Dock on Wednesday and was due to depart around 7 p.m. Also due Wednesday was the Philip R. Clarke to load at the South Dock following the Boland's departure. American Mariner was also expected on Wednesday during the evening for the North Dock. There are no vessels scheduled to load on Thursday. Due for Friday is the Lee A. Tregurtha, making a rare visit for the South Dock in the late evening.

Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
Mississagi cleared Tuesday with salt, destination Parry Sound, Ont.

Owen Sound, Ont. – Paul Martin
Algoma Olympic departed Wednesday at 3 p.m. following winter lay up. Samuel Risely was in port on Tuesday working on area navigation aids. Algoway is the lone freighter remaining in winter lay up, in addition to the passenger ferry Chi-Cheemaun.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
Cuyahoga was expected to unload limestone at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock on Wednesday evening. Mississagi is due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock on April 19 in the early morning to unload limestone. At the CSX Coal Dock, Cuyahoga is due to load on Thursday morning. Also due at CSX is the Cason J. Callaway on Friday in the morning and the Manitoulin on Sunday in the late afternoon. At the Torco Dock, Lee A. Tregurtha is due on Thursday in the early afternoon, and Kaye E. Barker is due on Saturday in the late afternoon.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Transits for Wednesday April 12: Upbound: Isa (Cyp), Algolake, Algoma Equinox, Federal Clyde (Mhl), tugs Salvage Monarch & M.R.Kane with Coastal Titan. Downbound: Algocanada, Algowood, Dara Desgagnes and Baie Comeau.

Hamilton, Bronte and Toronto, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Hamilton Wednesday: G3 Marquis at 0020, Algoma Discovery at 2140. Departures: Algoma Equinox at 0950, and tugs Salvage Monarch, M.R. Kane & barge Coastal Titan. Bronte: Arrival: Algocanada. Toronto: Arrival Petite Forte & barge St. Marys Cement at 0306.

New twist in Great Lakes pilot rate debate

4/13 - The Coast Guard is proposing a change in the way it calculates Great Lakes pilot rates by adding a metric favored by shippers and ports. The agency for the first time will account for the weighting factor, so that larger ships yield higher pilotage fee revenues than smaller ones.

“The result of the adjustment would be a reduction in the hourly pilotage rates in the Great Lakes region from amounts proposed” last October for the 2017 shipping season, the Coast Guard said in its Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) published April 5. “This action does not change the total amount of projected revenue we deem necessary for the pilot associations to provide safe, efficient, and reliable service, but would have the practical effect of reducing the actual amount of money paid as pilotage fees by shippers by approximately 28 to 32 percent.”

The agency originally sought a 14 percent rate increase primarily to cover eight new pilots needed because of workload and fatigue factors as well as the number of older pilots approaching retirement. Meanwhile, the 2016 rates remain in effect.

Under the new calculations, the current hourly rate on the St. Lawrence River, for example, would go from $580 to $592, instead of $757 in the October proposal. Rates on lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior would go from $264 to $215, instead of $280.

The Coast Guard establishes rates for Great Lakes pilots while rates elsewhere in the country are set at the local level. The rates must be reviewed annually. Both sides have spoken up on the weight issue.

“It is abundantly clear that the use of the weighting factor when invoicing for services needs to be included in revenue projection calculations,” Michael Broad, wrote on behalf of the U.S. Great Lakes Pilotage Users Coalition. “Not doing so is an unacceptable error in principal. This can no longer be ignored and must be corrected immediately.”

Pilots want the Coast Guard to keep the status quo on weighting factors, “at least until actual data suggests that changes are necessary and appropriate,” pilot group presidents Capt. John Boyce, St. Lawrence Seaway Lakes Pilots Association, Capt. Dan Gallagher, Lakes Pilots Association, and Capt. John Swartout, Western Great Lakes Pilots Association, said about the October proposal. “Over the last decade, the pilots have consistently failed to reach target compensation even with the weighting factors included. Changing this practice would exacerbate an already-unfortunate situation and risk further contributing to the pilot attraction and retention difficulties.”

Meanwhile, ports and shippers last year sued the Coast Guard seeking a 2016 rate reduction of at least 20.6 percent, arguing the agency’s calculations were flawed and the increases arbitrary and capricious. The Coast Guard set the average annual pilot compensation at $326,000, up from $235,000 and recommended more pilots and up to 10 days off a month.

Pilots associations have joined the suit on the Coast Guard side. Comments on the SNPRM must be submitted by May 5.

Workboat

Kelleys Island ferry Carlee Emily at Great Lakes Shipyard for 5-year drydocking

4/13 - Cleveland, Ohio – Great Lakes Shipyard has been awarded a drydocking contract by Kelleys Island Ferry Boat Line for the motor vessel Carlee Emily. Maintenance work includes 5-year drydocking, U.S. Coast Guard inspection and surveys as well as miscellaneous routine repairs. The ferry was hauled out using the 770-MT Mobile Marine Travelift on April 10. Work is expected to be completed later this month, allowing the ferry to return to service as soon as possible.

This is the second time the Carlee Emily has been drydocked at Great Lakes Shipyard and it is the fifth drydocking for Kelleys Island Ferry Boat Line. Other Kelleys Island vessels drydocked at the shipyard include Kayla Marie and Juliet Alicia.

Great Lakes Shipyard

Bill to lighten boating restrictions along border passes Canadian Senate

4/13 - Legislation that would loosen boating restrictions along the U.S.-Canadian border in the St. Lawrence River has cleared the Canadian Senate.

State Sen. Patricia A. Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, is sponsoring the U.S. version of the bill. Under current law, boaters must report to Canadian customs to legally be in Canadian waters at anytime. A few years ago, a U.S. boater traveling along the Gananoque Narrows was told by Canadian border agents that he needed to pay a $1,000 fine or face arrest, having his boat towed to Canada and be forced to pay $25,000 in penalties.

Now, legislators on both sides of the border want to ease the rules so boaters can travel freely, which they hope will also spur more tourism.

“I have been proud to advocate for passage of this important measure, which I hope will continue to advance and soon become law,” Sen. Ritchie said in a statement. “Through this legislation, we can make it easier for people to enjoy our shared waterways and strengthen the relationship that exists between our two nations.”

The Canadian bill is sponsored by Senator Bob Runciman and Member of Parliament Gordon Brown.

Watertown Daily Times

13 April 1872 - The schooners MARY TAYLOR and ANTELOPE wooden were racing to Oswego, New York, trying to beat a large block of drifting ice. The ice won and blocked the harbor entrance. The ANTELOPE became icebound about a quarter of a mile from the piers and remained there for one day. The MARY TAYLOR got within 500 feet of the pier and remained there for five days until the tug MAJOR DANA broke through the ice.

RICHARD REISS lost her boom April 13, 1994 when it collapsed at Fairport, Ohio.

On 13 April 1872, the wooden schooner-barge JOSEPH PAIGE was launched at the Wolf & Davidson yard in Milwaukee. Her dimensions were 190 feet x 32 feet x 12 feet, 626 gross tons.

The passenger/package freight vessel OCEAN was launched at Andrews & Sons shipyard in Port Dalhousie, Ontario, on 13 April 1872. She was placed in service on 27 April 1872, loading iron at Kingston for Chicago.

1917: The steel canaller STRATHCONA was built at Dundee, Scotland, in 1900 and came to the Great Lakes that summer. The ship had several owners before being requisitioned for war service in 1915. It was stopped by U-78 near Ronaldshay, England, while traveling from Tyne, England, to Marseilles, France, with a cargo of coal on this date in 1917. Enemy bombers attacked sinking the ship. Nine crew members were lost while another 3 were taken prisoner.

1937: The Norwegian freighter REIN was a frequent pre-Seaway caller to the Great Lakes. It had been built in 1900 and was inland as early as 1908. The ship was carrying wood pulp when it was wrecked off Helman Island, 2 miles south of Wick, Scotland, while traveling from Lyngor, Norway, to Preston, UK on this date in 1937. REIN was a total loss.

1956 Winds and ice pushed the ore laden GEORGE M. HUMPHREY on a shoal in Whitefish Bay en route from Superior to Zug Island. The vessel was salvaged and taken to Lorain for repairs.

1959: GLENEAGLES was proceeding through ice in Lake Erie when it abruptly stopped. The trailing WESTMOUNT could not stop as quickly and rammed the stern of its CSL fleetmate. GLENEAGLES had to be towed to Lorain for repairs that included a new rudder.

2010: The rebuilt ALGOBAY went aground while upbound in the St. Marys River on its first trip to the upper lakes. The vessel had to go to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs.

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

Port of Toledo wins Pacesetter award for international cargo

4/11 - Toledo, Ohio – A major honor has been earned by the Port of Toledo. It's one of six ports that are being recognized with a Pacesetter Award. The award is given by the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation to ports that increase international cargo tonage.

About 7,000 jobs are tied to the Port of Toledo, and it has a one billion dollar economic impact on the region. "Toledo is truly a gateway to global markets," said Joe Cappel, Vice President of Business Development for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.

More than 8 million tons of cargo moved in and out of Toledo in 2016.

Global business is up double digits, "We were up about 15 percent from 2015. A lot of that increase is due to grain, direct overseas grain shipments," he said.

Cappel says between 500-800 vessels come in and out of the port every year, up to 100 of them from overseas. "Most of our direct overseas trade is with northern Europe and north Africa and the Mediterranean region. We have had shipments from Mexico and South America as well. We even get shipments from Russia and eastern Europe," he said.

One of the most common products is aluminum that's brought from eastern Canada to Toledo's general cargo dock, run by Midwest Terminals. It is shipped out by truck to automakers, appliance manufacturers and other users of aluminum.

In addition to aluminum, other cargo includes coal, iron ore and items related to the energy industry.

The port has 17 marine terminals around the Toledo area, stretching from the DiSalle bridge on I-75 up to the mouth of the Maumee River They are all busy. Cappel says the goal is to make sure each terminal can handle multiple cargos.

"Any time we buy equipment for a terminal or a new building for our operations it is going to be multi-purpose. We are able to handle just about anything you can load onto a ship with those improvements,” he observed.

The hope is that even more business will be delivered to the Port of Toledo in 2017.

13ABC.com

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
Paul R. Tregurtha departed Duluth on Monday morning with coal from Midwest Energy. Indiana Harbor departed during the evening after loading iron ore pellets at CN. In Superior, Edgar B. Speer loaded at BN on Monday and also departed during the evening, bound for Conneaut.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Welland Canal transits for Monday, April 10. Upbound: Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin, CSL St. Laurent, Federal Elbe (Mhl), Manitoulin, and light tug Ecosse. Downbound: CSL Welland, Florence Spirit, Spartan & barge Spartan II, Algosteel.

Milwaukee’s North Point Lighthouse reopens

4/11 - Milwaukee, Wis. – The North Point Lighthouse, located in Lake Park on the East Side of Milwaukee, has announced that the museum will reopen beginning the weekend of April 8-9 after being temporarily closed for restoration work since January. The work involved removing and replacing damaged floors on the museum’s gallery level.

The lighthouse will resume its normal public hours and be open throughout the year on Saturdays and Sundays, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for tours. Through the efforts of lighthouse directors, staff and volunteers, all museum artifacts and exhibits have been put back in place in preparation for the reopening on Saturday, April 8.

Visitors to the museum will discover how the lighthouse served the Great Lakes maritime industry, see artifacts and exhibits about the ships that sailed Lake Michigan, and learn about the keepers who maintained the lighthouse. Visitors can also climb the 74-foot tall tower for a spectacular 360-degree view of Lake Park, Lake Michigan and downtown Milwaukee.

For more information about public hours and admission, visit northpointlighthouse.org

WDJT Milwaukee

In 2015, 18 vessels that had been stuck in 35 square miles of crushed ice up to eight feet thick on Eastern Lake Superior were moving again with the Wednesday arrival of the heavy Canadian icebreaker Pierre Radisson.

11 April 1890 - CHENANGO (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 176 foot, 696 gross tons, built in 1887, at Detroit, Michigan) was carrying 40,000 bushels of wheat from Toledo, Ohio, to Buffalo, New York, when she caught fire off Erie, Pennsylvania. She was partially consumed by the fire and sank in four fathoms of water with no loss of life. She was later raised at great expense and rebuilt as the steamer LIZZIE MADDEN.

On 11 April 1882, GALATEA (3-mast wooden schooner, 180 foot, 606 gross tons) was launched by F. W. Wheeler (Hull#13) at W. Bay City, Michigan. She lasted until she stranded and broke up at Grand Marais, Michigan, in the "Big Storm" of 1905.

The tanker IMPERIAL ST. CLAIR (Hull#57) of the Port Weller Drydocks Ltd., entered service on April 11, 1974, running light for Montreal, Quebec.

Canada Steamship Lines’ J.W. MC GIFFIN (Hull#197) was christened at Collingwood on April 11, 1972. Port Weller Drydocks attached a new forebody in 1999, and she was renamed b.) CSL NIAGARA.

Pioneer Steamship's steamer PHILIP D. BLOCK sailed on her maiden voyage April 11, 1925, with coal from Huron, Ohio, bound for delivery at Indiana Harbor, Indiana.

Wilkinson Transportation Co.'s steamer A.E. NETTLETON (Hull#176) of the Detroit Ship Building Co., was launched April 11, 1908. She was scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1973.

On April 11, 1970, in Lake Superior's Whitefish Bay, CSL's steamer STADACONA of 1952 encountered thick ice and suffered bow damage. She developed a hairline crack in her bow and to alleviate the leakage her cargo was shifted from her forward hold to her after compartments using her self-unloading equipment. This maneuver raised her bow enough to keep her from sinking before she reached safety.

Pittsburgh Steamship Co.'s steamer ENDERS M. VOORHEES (Hull#288), of the Great Lakes Engineering Works, was launched on April 11, 1942. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey in 1989.

On April 11, 1964, while upbound on Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior, a boiler burst on board the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.'s WILLIAM A. IRVIN, killing one of the crew and injuring two others.

April 11, 1948 - ANN ARBOR NO 7 ran aground just south of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

On 11 April 1874, the new tug E.H. MILLER burned at her dock at Willow Island in the Saginaw River. Her loss was valued at $9,000 and there was no insurance. Although considered to be a total loss, she was rebuilt and lasted another 46 years.

On 11 April 1878, ALASKA, a wooden bulk freighter, was launched at J. P. Clark's yard in Detroit, Michigan. Her dimensions were 180 feet overall, 28 foot beam, and 10 foot depth.

The navigation season at the Canadian Sault Canal was unofficially opened on 11 April 1955, at 7:15 a.m., when the MANZZUTTI (steel crane ship, 246 foot, 1,558 gross tons, built in 1903, at Buffalo, New York as J.S. KEEFE) locked up bound for the Algoma Steel dock. Because the MANZZUTTI wintered over at the Soo, its captain, John B. Perry, was not eligible for the traditional top hat and silk gloves presented to the first captain through the locks. So this was not the official opening of navigation at the Soo. The first boat through the American locks was expected the following day.

1964: NORCO had been used to carry pulpwood from Michipicoten to Green Bay from about 1938 to 1957. The vessel had been built at Ecorse, Michigan, for deep-sea service as INCA in 1915, and returned inland in the 1920s. It went back to the sea in 1959 and stranded at Little Corn Island, Nicaragua, on this date in 1964 while en route from Tampa to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, with a cargo of phosphate.

1994: AMERICAN MARINER was downbound in the St. Marys River when it struck a rock above the Soo Locks and had to go to the shipyard in Erie to repair the damage.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, “Ahoy & Farewell II,” the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.

First salty arrives at Thunder Bay

4/10 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – Capt. Karl Fernandez has done it again. Fernandez, who pilots the Barbados-registered MV Federal Schelde, for a second straight year was at the helm of the first ocean-going vessel to arrive at the Port of Thunder Bay.

Along with his chief engineer Chandramohanan Nair Sreedharan, Fernandez on Friday accepted the ceremonial top hat from MP Patty Hajdu (Lib., Thunder Bay-Superior North), a traditional honor bestowed on the captains of the first laker and first salty of the season in the city.

It’s quite the honor, said Fernandez, a day after his ship sailed into port, adding the warm weather made for a worry-free sailing. "We find it a little more mild than it usually is at this time of year,” Fernandez said. “I heard the winter was not so severe and the conditions were much better coming up.”

It’s feels great to get the shipping season on the Great Lakes underway, he said, the MV Federal Schelde behind him being loaded with a 21,000-tonne shipment of canola, bound for Rouen, France, at the G3 Elevator.

Harbormaster Guy Jarvis said unlike the first laker, which arrived in record time after berthing west of the Soo Locks, the first salty arrival was more or less average for the port.

“This is the traditional dates of opening up the salty traffic. It’s usually at the end of the first week or the second week of April and since the ice cover on all five of the Great Lakes was pretty light this year, we’re opening just on time.”

Despite a great March, Jarvis said it’s still too early to forecast how the rest of the year might go. “We’re always optimistic at this time of year. I guess a couple of weeks ago I was talking about icebreakers. Then you had a laker and now that we’ve got the first salty, I know we’re all in full swing now,” Jarvis said.

“We’ll see quite a few ships in the month of April and we’ll hope to build on that success throughout the year.”

Federal Schelde began its journey to Thunder Bay picking up 20,500 tonnes of steel bars in Romania, delivering it to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

TBNewsWatch

John B. Aird arrives at Montreal; scrap sale is next

4/6 - Montreal, Que. – After unloading salt at Ogdensburg and Prescott, John B. Aird docked in Montreal Wednesday at Section 37. Although no official announcement has been made by owner Algoma Central Corp., crewmembers have said on social media the vessel will be sold for scrap.

The Aird was constructed as a joint effort between two shipyards. The 610’ stern section was built as hull #224 at Collingwood Shipyards, Collingwood, Ont. The keel was laid for this section on April 29, 1982 and launched in a formal ceremony on October 21, 1982. On board for the launching was the vessel’s namesake Mr. John Black Aird, Lieutenant Governor of the province of Ontario at that time.

The stern section cleared Collingwood under tow of tugs Wilfred M. Cohen and John McLean on April 15, 1983 bound for Port Arthur Shipyards, Thunder Bay, Ont., to be mated up with her 120’ bow section. The new vessel was christened John B. Aird in a quiet ceremony on June 3, 1983 at Thunder Bay for Algoma Central Railway, Marine Division, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

High winds, waves forecast; USCG urges people to avoid Lake Michigan shoreline

4/6 - Chicago, Ill. – The U.S. Coast Guard, in advance of predicted high winds and heavy surf during the next two days, is advising the public to exercise caution, heed heavy surf warnings, and avoid the shorelines of Lake Michigan.

People are urged to remain vigilant and stay away from beaches and off of rocks, jetties and piers as high winds out of the north-northeast are expected to create high waves and heavy, dangerous surf conditions. Large waves crashing onto and near these areas can quickly and unexpectedly sweep a person into the cold water, away from shore and out into the Lake. Wind surfers and other surfers are also advised against heading out onto the lake.

“Outdoor enthusiasts and curiosity seekers should stay clear and keep away from the shorelines. Safety is a number one priority,” said Chief Warrant Officer Matthew James, commanding officer of Coast Guard Station Calumet Harbor. "In addition, mariners are also advised to heed weather warnings. Safe operations in heavy weather requires special equipment, experience and a vessel designed to operate in high seas."

Hypothermia is the biggest danger after falling into the water, even if one manages to get out immediately. Hypothermia sets in quickly as the human body’s core temperature drops below 95 degrees.

Residents are reminded that even after a weather system moves out of the area and the winds subside, heavy surf and high waves on Lake Michigan will typically take an additional day, at least, to calm.

The forecast for Lake Michigan:
• WINDS...NORTHEAST TO 40 KT WEDNESDAY, INCREASING TO 50 KT FROM THE NORTH AFTER MIDNIGHT
• SIGNIFICANT WAVES TO 23 FT THURSDAY
• OCCASIONAL WAVES...25 TO 28 THURSDAY

USCG, NWS

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
CSL Niagara arrived Duluth at sunrise on Wednesday morning to load iron ore pellets at CN. Lake Ontario departed during the afternoon, bound for Montreal with grain. Michipicoten arrived a few hours later and stopped at Calumet to fuel before shifting down to Burlington Northern in Superior to load. American Spirit was due late Wednesday night to load at CN, after the departure of CSL Niagara.

Two Harbors, Minn. – Daniel Lindner
Roger Blough and Algoma Transport loaded at CN on Wednesday. American Century and Algosteel are expected to arrive on Thursday.

Mackinac Straits
Stewart J. Cort and Lee A. Tregurtha dropped anchor between Mackinac Island and Sr. Ignace Wednesday. They will be waiting till high winds that are forecast for the area die down. Prentiss Brown and St. Marys Challenger appeared to be on the hook off Manistique.

Sturgeon Bay, Wis.
The cement barge Integrity was towed into the floating drydock Wednesday. Her tug was tied up at berth 1. Wilfred Sykes’ departure has been delayed until the weekend.

Calcite, Mich. – Denny Dushane
American Mariner is expected to arrive at Calcite on Thursday in the early morning for the North Dock and will be the first vessel to arrive for the 2017 season. Also due in Thursday in the late morning is Cason J. Callaway. They will also load at the North Dock. All times listed are subject to change due to weather.

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane, Ben & Chanda McClain
Philip R. Clarke became the first vessel arrival for the 2017 season at early Wednesday morning. It was expected to depart the dock around 7 p.m. There are no vessels scheduled for Thursday. Due in Friday are the barge Pathfinder and tug Dorothy Ann in the early eveni-ng. Expected Saturday is the barge Great Lakes Trader / tug Joyce L. Van Enkevort in the early morning. Cason J. Callaway is due on Sunday with an unknown arrival time. Rounding out the schedule are two arrivals for Monday, the Joseph H. Thompson in the early morning followed by the Kaye E. Barker in the early evening. All times listed are subject to change due to weather. Members of the International Shipmasters Association Northeast Michigan Lodge #19 went out to greet the Clarke Wednesday morning. ISMA members were welcomed aboard and given a tour.

Goderich, Ont.
Robert S. Pierson was loading salt Wednesday.

Detroit, Mich.
The saltwater vessel Chestnut was unloading sugar at Detroit Steel Co. Wednesday, at the former McClouth Steel dock in Trenton, Mich.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
John J. Boland is due at the CSX Coal Dock to load on Friday in the early morning. Also due at CSX to load are the barge James L. Kuber and tug Victory on Saturday in the early morning. Cason J. Callaway is due at CSX to load on April 13 in the early morning. There is nothing due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock. At the Torco Dock, the barge James L. Kuber and tug Victory are due Friday in the late afternoon. Kaye E. Barker is due at Torco on April 9 during the early evening. Rounding out the schedule is the Joseph H. Thompson, due at Torco on April 11 in the mid-afternoon. John J. Boland departed from its winter lay-up berth early on Wednesday morning, becoming the fifth vessel to depart from winter lay-up for the 2017 season. They proceeded to Sandusky to load coal. A recap and update to the fit-outs in Toledo has Edgar B. Speer on March 22; American Mariner on March 25; Buffalo, March 25; American Integrity March 31 and John J. Boland on April 5. H. Lee White remains laid-up at the Old Ironville Dock but is due to sail soon. Also in lay-up at the Midwest Terminal is the Great Republic, also due to sail soon. The barge Lewis J. Kuber and tug Olive L. Moore are still laid-up at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock. All times listed are subject to change due to weather.

Buffalo, N.Y. – Brian W.
English River cleared the Buffalo piers at 8 a.m. Wednesday bound for Port Colborne. She had been unloading at Lafarge since arriving around 4:30 a.m. on the 4th.

Rochester, N.Y. – Tom Brewer
Stephen B. Roman arrived Wednesday evening with a cargo of bulk cement for Lehigh Hanson.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Transits for April 5. Upbound: Capt. Henry Jackman (dep w-16), Algoma Enterprise, Whitefish Bay, Baie Comeau, John D. Leitch. ETA upbound: Algoscotia at 0120. Downbound: tug Leo A. McArthur & barge John J. Carrick (anchored Long Point Bay), Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin, Mississagi, English River, Sea Eagle II & barge St. Marys Cement II, tug Undaunted & barge Pere Marquette 41 stopped W-16, Kaministiqua, and Algowood. ETA downbound: Algowood at 0130.

Hamilton and Toronto – Barry Andersen Hamilton: Florence Spirit arrived at 0145, John D. Leitch arrived at 0530 and departed at 1800. Toronto: Mississagi arrived 1921.

PortsToronto marks arrival of the first ship with 156th annual Beaver Hat ceremony

4/6 - Toronto, Ont. – PortsToronto Harbor Master Angus Armstrong has “crowned” the motor vessel Brant’s Capt. Sergii Kurash with an antique silk and beaver top hat at the 156th annual Beaver Hat Ceremony at Redpath Refinery.

The annual ceremony dates back to the mid-1800s and celebrates the arrival of the Port of Toronto’s first ocean-going vessel of the season. This year, the Brant won the race to be the first ship to port, bringing more than 19,692 metric tonnes of sugar from Nicaragua’s Corinto to Redpath Sugar.

“Since 1793, the Port of Toronto has served as Toronto’s gateway to the St. Lawrence Seaway and to marine ports around the world,” said Geoffrey Wilson, president and CEO, PortsToronto. “From the sugar we use to sweeten our coffee to the salt used on our roads to keep drivers safe during the winter months to the concrete used to support Toronto's booming construction industry, the goods delivered through Toronto's Port have a significant impact on the people, projects, and industries of Toronto.”

“Canfornav Inc. has been carrying bulk sugar into Toronto on behalf of Redpath Sugar for some 16 years,” added Knud Jensen, executive VP of Canfornav Inc. “During this period our ships have brought in about 4 million tonnes over the course of some 190 voyages to Toronto, so this is not the first time that one of our vessels has opened the navigation season in the Port of Toronto. We value our relationship with Redpath and the Port of Toronto and we look forward to years of continued co-operation and many more of our captains being crowned with the antique Beaver Top Hat.”

Ports Toronto

Big ships underway from Milwaukee and Green Bay

4/6 - Milwaukee, Wis. – The Great Lakes shipping season is underway in Milwaukee and Green Bay, with the first foreign-flag ship of the year expected at the Port of Milwaukee soon. One of the largest lake freighters, the Stewart J. Cort, has left Milwaukee from its winter layover, signaling the start of the shipping season here.

The first ocean-going vessel will arrive in the next couple of weeks with a load of steel from Europe, returning home with Wisconsin grain. Most of that grain comes from farms located within 90 miles of Milwaukee, said Port Director Paul Vornholt.

The port has some of the largest cranes on the Great Lakes, allowing it to move large, heavy items, including mining equipment, wind turbines, coils of steel and tons of grain.

Earlier this year, the port installed a new Manitowoc crawler crane that can lift up to 300 tons. The $2.7 million model 2250 crane was delivered in late 2016, joining the port’s complement of other crawler, gantry and derrick cranes.

The largest vessels on the lakes can unload 70,000 tons of cargo in 12 hours or less. Prior to self-unloading, it would have taken days to empty a ship of a cargo of that size.

Milwaukee is the only Great Lakes port in Wisconsin that unloads foreign steel. It’s a custom product not available domestically, according to Vornholt. The steel business has been strong the past couple of years, he said, indicating that local manufacturers using the raw material have been doing well.

“Our outlook for steel seems to be holding its own, or slightly better,” Vornholt said.

The first ocean-going vessel has left the Port of Green Bay, bound for Quebec, Canada, with a load of ethanol. There are 14 port businesses located along three miles of the Fox River and the Port of Green Bay. Those businesses move about 2 million tons of cargo on more than 200 ships each year.

Some years, three of every four ships leave docks on the Great Lakes "light loaded" because harbors and connecting channels aren’t dredged to proper depths and widths.

Ships have been unable to make deliveries to the port in Waukegan, Ill., because of insufficient harbor depth. There have been times when coal could not be delivered to a power plant in Holland, Mich., because of a buildup of harbor silt.

But that’s not the case this year in Milwaukee and Green Bay, according to the port directors. The Port of Green Bay had a huge increase in handling petroleum products in 2016, up more than 1,400%, because of the closing of a petroleum pipeline serving northeast Wisconsin.

Prior to the closure, the port exported diesel, gasoline and ethanol to other markets. Now, “the exports have flipped to imports to meet the demand for petroleum products,” said Green Bay Port Director Dean Haen.

The 2016 Great Lakes shipping season tied a record for the longest navigation period on the lakes, with 286 days of ship traffic.

Journal Sentinel

Lake Superior’s level drops in March

4/6 - Duluth, Minn. – Little falling snow and little snow on the ground to melt left Lake Superior with a below-normal water supply in March and caused the lake to drop more than usual. The International Lake Superior Board of Control reported Tuesday that the big lake dropped two inches in March, a month it usually drops less than a half-inch.

Lake Superior is four inches below the level of April 1, 2016, but is still 6 inches above the average for April 1. The big lake almost always rises from April to September before it begins a fall and winter decline each year.

The level of Lakes Michigan-Huron rose two inches in March, the usual increase for the lakes that sit six inches lower than April 1, 2016, but still 10 inches above the long-term average for this time of year.

Duluth News Tribune

Thunder Bay port opens season on a high note

4/6 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – The Port of Thunder Bay saw more than 260,000 metric tonnes of cargo transited the port during March. The port opened with a strong shipping start to the navigation season, which opened on March 24 with the arrival of the first cargo ship, the motor vessel Manitoulin.

The March volumes are above the ten-year-average of 117,000 metric tonnes, but historical results for the month do vary because of unpredictable weather and ice conditions. In a release, the Thunder Bay Port Authority officials stated the majority of the cargo shipped was carried over grain from last year’s strong prairie harvest.

Other shipments included outbound coal and an inbound load of road salt to replenish the stock for local use.

Port officials are anticipating steady cargo shipments through the month of April. Keefer Terminal, the port’s general and project cargo hub is anticipating its first marine shipment, a load of electrical transformers, in mid-April.

ThunderBayWatch

Updates -  April 6

News Photo Gallery  

The a.) LOUIS R. DAVIDSON (Hull#95) of the Great Lakes Engineering Works was launched April 6, 1912, for the American Steamship Co. Later renamed b.) DIAMOND ALKALI in 1932, c.) DOW CHEMICAL in 1939 and d.) FERNDALE in 1963. She was scrapped at Castellon, Spain in 1979.

April 6, 1931 - The CITY OF FLINT 32 set a world record sailing 101,000 miles in her first year of service.

On 6 April 1872, the schooner I.N. FOSTER was launched from the Fitzgerald & Leighton yard at Port Huron, Michigan. She was classified as a "full-sized canaller" since she was as large as a vessel could be to pass through the Welland Canal. Her dimensions were 143 foot overall, 26 foot inch beam, 11 foot 6 inch depth, 437 tons.

1942: The CANADIAN FARMER was Hull 65 of the Collingwood shipyard and it was launched there on December 27, 1919. The vessel was sailing as c) SHIN KUANG when it was sunk by Japanese surface naval forces on the Bay of Bengal.

1949: FORT WILLDOC of the Paterson fleet and the JAMES E. McALPINE of the Brown Steamship Co. collided in Lake Superior, above Whitefish Point, on this date. Both ships were damaged and needed repairs.

1972: The freighter STAR OF REWIAH had been built at Collingwood as Hull 105 and launched as the corvette H.M.S. COMFREY on July 28, 1942. The ship was later converted to a cargo carrier and was sailing under this sixth name when it ran aground off the Ashrafi Lighthouse in the Gulf of Suez and declared a total loss on this date in 1972. It was traveling in ballast from Suez, Egypt, to Safaga, Egypt, at the time.

1978: The self-unloader TARANTAU was blown aground due to the wind and shifting ice pack in Lake Huron above Port Huron and had to be freed by the tug BARBARA ANN.

1979: A violent spring storm found LABRADOC (ii) on Lake Erie where the cargo shifted and the vessel took on a precarious list. All on board were removed fearing the ship would roll over and sink. But it survived and was towed to safety eventually undergoing repairs at Port Weller Dry Docks. The vessel left Great Lakes service in 1988 and operated on deep sea runs as b) FALCON CREST until scrapping at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, in 1994.

1992: An explosion and fire in the tunnel of HALIFAX occurred while the CSL ship was upbound in the St. Marys River. One sailor was killed and two more injured while the ship sustained internal damage. It went to Thunder Bay for repairs.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, “Ahoy & Farewell II,” the Father Dowling Collection, the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University, 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.

Duluth welcomes first saltie of the season

4/5 - Duluth, Minn. – The first oceangoing vessel to reach Duluth this shipping season was celebrated Monday with the traditional ceremony to mark the milestone.

The Lake Ontario took on a load of wheat at Riverland Ag/Duluth Storage on Rice's Point on Monday, after officially passing beneath the Aerial Lift Bridge on Sunday evening. Dignitaries including Duluth Mayor Emily Larson gathered aboard the ship on Monday for the ceremony, presenting the crew with several gifts.

Thanks to a relatively mild winter and early spring, the Lake Ontario arrived just a few days after the record for the earliest saltie in the Twin Ports. The earliest recorded arrival of a saltie in Duluth was the Federal Hunter, which reached Duluth on March 30, 2013. The record for the latest first saltie is held by the Diana, which arrived on May 7, 2014.

The 606-foot Lake Ontario flies the flag of Antigua and Barbuda; its crew of 21 is under the command of Capt. Costelus Morosanu. The ship dropped off cargo in Halifax, Nova Scotia, before entering the St. Lawrence Seaway system for the journey to Duluth, where it spent some time anchored on Lake Superior over the weekend before moving into the harbor.

The saltie was scheduled to leave the Twin Ports Tuesday in the late afternoon or early evening hours, taking its load of wheat across the Atlantic to Italy.

Duluth News Tribune

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
In Duluth Tuesday, James R. Barker was loading at CN, Lake Ontario was loading at Riverland, and CSL Niagara was at anchor waiting for the Barker to clear the dock. Both James R. Barker and Lake Ontario were expected to depart Tuesday evening. The carferry Bayfield, which is one of the Madeline Island ferries, arrived via the Superior entry on Tuesday and headed to Fraser Shipyards for repairs.

Two Harbors, Minn. – Daniel Lindner
Erie Trader/Clyde S. VanEnkevort loaded Tuesday. The pair departed during the evening. Roger Blough was inbound very late Tuesday night. Algoma Transport and American Century are expected on Wednesday to load.

Calcite and Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
American Mariner is expected at Calcite on Thursday in the early morning for the North Dock, becoming the first vessel for the 2017 shipping season. Also due Thursday is the Cason J. Callaway in the late morning for the North Dock. The Stoneport dock has yet to receive any vessels for the 2017 season.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
The updated schedule has John J. Boland loading at the CSX Coal Dock on Friday in the early morning. Also due at CSX on Friday to load are the barge James L. Kuber and tug Victory in the early evening. They are due back at CSX to load again on April 13 in the early morning. There is nothing due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock as it is still closed for the season. At the Torco Dock, the barge James L. Kuber and tug Victory are expected on Thursday in the morning. Joseph H. Thompson is due at Torco on Saturday in the early evening. Rounding out the lineup is the Lee A. Tregurtha, due at Torco on April 11 in the morning to unload. H. Lee White has their AIS turned on and may be leaving soon. John J. Boland is at CSX #2 dock, tug Olive L. Moore and barge Lewis J. Kuber are at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock and Great Republic at the Midwest Terminal Dock, all of which will be sailing soon. In long-term lay-up are the tug Jane Ann IV and barge Sarah Spencer near the CSX coal dock and the Midwest Terminal stone dock. Manistee and American Valor are both at the Torco slip #2 dock east wall. Also at Torco slip #2 dock west wall across from the Manistee is the St. Clair.

Cleveland, Ohio – Nick Hunter
Mississagi left port Tuesday evening after a two-day visit, passing Dorothy Ann / Pathfinder on her way back in town after returning from a trip to Marblehead. The Buffalo was also in port for the first time this season, upriver at the steel mill.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Welland Canal transits for April 4 (high winds) – Upbound: Petite Forte & barge St. Marys Cement at w-16; Hemgracht (Nld); Capt. Henry Jackman, delayed due to weather; Algoma Enterprise departed Hamilton and anchored off Port Weller at 2100. Downbound: Sea Eagle II & barge St. Marys Cement II at w-12, Baie St. Paul, Thunder Bay and John D. Leitch. Expected arrivals dependent on weather are Leo A. McArthur & barge John J. Carrick anchored Long Point Bay, Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin, Algowood, Mississagi, tug Undaunted & barge PM41and Kaministiqua.

Toronto and Oshawa, Ont. – Barry Andersen
Brant (Cyp) arrived Toronto at 0003 on Tuesday. Federal Champlain arrived Oshawa at 1240.

County seizes ex McLouth Steel plant after owners failed to pay $3.7M in back taxes

4/5 - Trenton, Mich. – Citing millions owed in back taxes, the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office seized the former McLouth Steel facility in Trenton last Friday. Detroit Steel Co. owned the property along West Jefferson Avenueand failed to pay $3.7 million in taxes, treasury spokesman Bruce Babiarz said.

“The Wayne County Treasurer has foreclosed on that property and now owns that property,” Babiarz said. “The treasurer’s team will evaluate the property and determine whether to put it up for auction or to list it for sale.”

It's been 20 years since the property was in operation as McLouth Steel, but it's colloquially still known by that name. The steelmaker filed for bankruptcy in 1996. Under Detroit Steel Co.'s ownership, the site was used for manufacturing and importing and exporting of various goods like metals, salts and plastics.

The site has been a point of contention for many, however, including, the Trenton City Council, which sued Detroit Steel Co. in 2014 for allowing prohibited activities at the site without the council’s consent. The council and Detroit Steel Co. eventually settled in early 2015.

Wayne County Commissioner Joseph Palamara, whose district includes Trenton, praised the treasurer's action. "It has sat in that condition for way too long," he said. "Anybody else who takes ownership and makes an endeavor to clean it up for reuse is a positive."

Trenton Mayor Kyle Stack said McLouth once was one of the city's biggest taxpayers, but she's been unable to count on that money for years. Getting the property into new hands – and back on the city's tax roll – is a priority for her, she said.

Great Lakes Towing names G-Tug photo contest winners

4/5 - The Great Lakes Towing Company has announced the winners and honorable mentions for the Second Annual G-Tug Photo Contest. The company invited fans to participate in the contest from April 3, 2016 to the end of the 2016/2017 Great Lakes navigation season when the Soo Locks closed on January 15. Over 128 entries were submitted. The company thanks all contest participants. View photos of the first, second and third place winners as well as honorable mentions at www.thegreatlakesgroup.com/winners

Great Lakes Towing Co.

On 05 April 1890, INDIANA (wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 220 foot, 1,178 gross tons) was launched by Burger and Burger at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, for the Goodrich Transportation Company. The total cost of the vessel was $135,000.

On April 5, 1984, the joined sections of the HILDA MARJANNE and CHIMO emerged from Port Weller Dry Dock Ltd., as the b.) CANADIAN RANGER.

Sea trials for Canada Steamship Lines new bulk freighter, PRAIRIE HARVEST (Hull#227) of Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., were complete on April 5, 1984. She operates on the Lakes today as the self-unloader d.) ATLANTIC HURON.

The a.) LUZON (Hull#54) of the Chicago Ship Building Co. was launched for the Erie Steamship Co., E.D. Carter, mgr., on April 5, 1902. Renamed b.) JOHN ANDERSON in 1924 and c.) G. G. POST in 1933. She was scrapped at Izmir, Turkey, in 1972.

April 5, 1977 - The Chessie System announced that the CITY OF MIDLAND 41 would be withdrawn from service and only the SPARTAN and BADGER would run for the season.

On 5 April 1854, AMERICA (wooden side-wheeler, 240 foot, 1,083 tons, built in 1847, at Port Huron, Michigan) was bound for Cleveland from Detroit. After the captain had set her course and gone to bed, the 2nd mate changed the course to the north. The 1st and 2nd mates disagreed about the course and as they awoke the captain, the ship ran aground near Point Pelee, Ontario. Wave action reduced the vessel to rubble but no lives were lost.

On 5 April 1879, the 3-mast wooden schooner RESUMPTION was launched at the Wolf & Davidson yard in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her dimensions were 143 foot x 29 foot x 10 feet, 294 gross tons, 279 net tons.

April 5, 1962, the tanker ROBERT W. STEWART was renamed b.) AMOCO MICHIGAN, The WILLIAM P. COWAN was renamed b.) AMOCO ILLINOIS, the EDWARD G. SEUBERT was renamed b.) AMOCO WISCONSIN and the RED CROWN was renamed b.) AMOCO INDIANA, after being transferred from Standard Oil Company in a sale to the American Oil Company for $10 for each ship. Each ship traded in their names and their well-known red superstructure for a typical white paint job which stuck with them until their end. The only change came to the AMOCO INDIANA when she traded in her black hull for the blue paint of c.) MEDUSA CONQUEST, d.) SOUTHDOWN CONQUEST, e.) CEMEX CONQUEST and f.) ST MARYS CONQUEST. She operates today as a self - unloading cement barge.

1921: The Imperial Oil tanker IMPOCO (ii) had combined Great Lakes and coastal trading and had gone as far afield as the Mediterranean Sea and the Falkland Islands during World War One. The 8-year old vessel stranded at Blonde Rock, Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, on this date in 1921 while en route from Halifax to Saint John with a cargo of gasoline. The ship was lightered, salvaged on May 4, and beached at Charles Harbour and then at Halifax as not worth repair. The hull was apparently not scrapped until 1953.

1983: The small Finnish freighter KENITRA visited the Great Lakes in 1957. It was abandoned by her crew in the Red Sea while sailing as d) ALASKA on this date in 1983. It had developed a severe list while traveling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Mersin, Turkey, and sank the same day.

1996: The Liberian freighter STEEL FLOWER ran aground in the St. Lawrence near Wellesley Island while upbound on this date in 1996 and was stuck for two days. The ship had also been a Seaway trader as a) FEDERAL RHINE (i) from 1978 to 1992, as STEEL FLOWER from 1994 to 1996 and as c) NARRAGANSETT from 1997 to 1999 before going to Alang, India, for scrap later in 1999.

1999: The PATERSON (ii) ran aground in Lake St. Francis and was stuck for two days. The ship went to Les Mechins, QC for repairs and returned to work on May 13. The vessel now sails for Canada Steamship Lines as b) PINEGLEN (ii).

1999: ALGONTARIO ran aground at Johnsons Point in the St. Mary's River while upbound with a load of cement from Clarkson to Duluth. The ship was released April 7 and, after unloading, was laid up at Thunder Bay until eventual repairs and a return to service on October 10, 2004. The vessel was towed to Aliaga, Turkey, for scrapping in 2011.

Data from: Skip Gilham, Steve Haverty, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection and the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.

Algoma Strongfield begins delivery trip from China to Canada

4/4 - St. Catharines, Ont. – Algoma Central Corporation has announced that the Algoma Strongfield has completed preparations and has now begun its delivery voyage to Canada. The ship is expected to enter service as part of the Algoma Bulker Pool in June.

Algoma Strongfield will make the journey to Canada under foreign flag and will be re-flagged and crewed by Canadian seafarers when she reaches Canada. The ship will join its Equinox Class sister ships, the Algoma Equinox, the Algoma Harvester, along with the G3 Marquis, owned by G3 Canada Limited and will service the company's agriculture and iron ore trades.

"We are looking forward to the Algoma Strongfield's arrival in Canada this summer," said Ken Bloch Soerensen, Algoma president and CEO. "The completion and delivery of this ship was delayed by the bankruptcy of the shipyard at which she was being built; however, liquidation of the shipyard enabled us to acquire the vessel at an attractive price.”

The Algoma fleet now includes four of the original Equinox Class series of gearless bulker carriers. Seven additional Equinox Class vessels, including two 650' self-unloaders and five 740' self-unloaders are currently under construction. Two of these ships are scheduled to be delivered in time to enter service during 2017.

Algoma Central Corporation

Giant mural on CSL St-Laurent celebrates Canada's 150th

4/4 - St. Catharines, Ont. – A five-storey mural of a colourful Canada goose on the front of Canada Steamship Lines’ CSL St-Laurent was a first for the artists who came together to create it, a first for the shipping company and a first for a Canadian commercial vessel, says the company.

“The Sea Keeper/Gardien des eaux is an original work of art conceived by Montreal urban artist Bryan Beyung and created by Beyung with artists FONKi, Ankh One, and Benny Wilding of the Ashop art collective. The monumental mural was created over a few weeks – a feat which is in itself is worth noting – and required the ingenuity of CSL's technical team to make it a success,” the company says on its website.

The mural is that of a Canada goose, wings spread in flight, which can found along the shorelines of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway and the routes the Montreal-based shipping travels while carrying mainly loads of grain.

Each artist weaved their individual styles into the piece, which “combines cultures and styles that evoke Montreal’s and Canada’s diversity.” The mural was unveiled on March 20, when CSL St-Laurent was the first ship to transit the St. Lambert lock in Montreal. Over the weekend, the bulk carrier made its way down the Welland Canal, bound for Quebec, with people stopping to take photos of the vessel and its giant mural as it passed by.

The company says the painting is a tribute to both the city of Montreal and Canada, as they celebrate their 375th and 150th anniversaries respectively. It’s also a tribute to the roles of the St. Lawrence Seaway, marine transport, and CSL itself in building the nation and the city.

“CSL chose CSL St-Laurent to host the tribute to Montreal and Canada because her name honors the St. Lawrence River, and her state-of-the-art technology and seamanship represent the new generation of high-performing, environmentally-responsible cargo vessels.”

View photos of the mural at this link: http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2017/04/03/giant-mural-celebrates-canadas-150th

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
Duluth's first saltie of the season, Lake Ontario, arrived on Sunday to load grain at the Riverland terminal. Paul R. Tregurtha arrived late Sunday to load coal at Midwest Energy, and departed on Monday afternoon. Spruceglen and James R. Baker also arrived on Sunday to load iron ore pellets at CN. American Integrity arrived via the Superior entry early Monday afternoon due to heavy fog, and headed to Midwest Energy to load coal. Spruceglen departed Monday evening. In Superior, Stewart J. Cort departed mid-day Monday with iron ore pellets, and CSL Niagara was expected late Monday night.

Two Harbors, Minn. – Daniel Lindner
Cason J. Callaway, Edwin H. Gott and Lee A. Tregurtha loaded at the CN dock on Monday. Roger Blough, Algoma Transport and American Century are due to load on Wednesday, and Algosteel is expected on Thursday. Edgar B. Speer, Edwin H. Gott and Algoma Enterprise are all expected to load at CN on Saturday.

Alpena, Mich. – Ben & Chanda McClain
On Sunday morning the tug Samuel de Champlain and barge Innovation were sailing out into the bay after loading at Lafarge during the early morning. Another tug/barge combo called at Lafarge on Sunday as well. The tug Undaunted and barge Pere Marquette 41 tied up at the coal dock slip to unload product. The Alpena returned to port on Monday afternoon for another load of cement after delivering to Whitefish, Ont.

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
The first vessel for the 2017 shipping season will be the Joseph H. Thompson, due on Tuesday during the morning to load. Also due on Tuesday are the barge Pathfinder and tug Dorothy Ann in the evening. There are no vessels scheduled for Wednesday-Friday. The barge Great Lakes Trader and tug Joyce L. Van Enkevort are expected on Saturday, April 8, at midnight.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
John J. Boland is expected at the CSX Coal Dock to load on Tuesday in the early evening. They will be departing lay-up dock at CSX #2 and this will also be their first cargo for the 2017-18 season. Also due at CSX on April 10 in the early morning are the barge James L. Kuber and tug Victory. Due at CSX on April 14 is the Manitoulin at noon. The Midwest Terminal Stone Dock is still closed. For the Torco Dock, due are the barge James L. Kuber and tug Victory on April 6 at noon. Also due at Torco is the Lee A. Tregurtha on April 10 in the evening. Due back at Torco on April 11 in the early morning are the barge James L. Kuber and the tug Victory. The updated list of vessel fit-outs include Edgar B. Speer on March 22, American Mariner March 25, Buffalo on March 29 and the American Integrity on March 31. Vessels that remain in lay-up but are expected to sail soon are John J. Boland at CSX #2 Dock and H. Lee White at the Old Ironville Dock, as well as the tug Olive L. Moore and barge Lewis J. Kuber at the Midwest Terminal Stone dock and Great Republic at the Midwest Terminal Dock.

Buffalo, N.Y. – Brian W
English River should be arriving in Buffalo some time Tuesday morning.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Transits for April 3:
Upbound: Algowood, Petite Forte and barge St. Marys Cement, Wilf Semour and barge Alouette Spirit, Mississagi, Beatrix (Nld), English River, Oakglen (1st trip out of lay-up) and Hemgracht (Nld). ETA upbound: Capt Henry Jackman. Downbound: G3 Marquis, Algoma Discovery, Algoma Enterprise and Baie St. Paul,

Coast Guard begins Operation Spring Restore throughout Great Lakes system

4/4 - Cleveland, Ohio – Coast Guard aids to navigation teams throughout the Ninth Coast Guard District began restoring the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway aids to navigation March 28. Slightly more than 11 percent of the operation has been completed.

Operation Spring Restore involves placing approximately 1,216 navigational aids, including lighted and unlighted buoys and beacons. Roughly half of the aids in the region are taken out of service during the winter due to decreased vessel traffic and to minimize damage from ice and inclement weather. This is known as Operation Fall Retrieve.

The aids put into service during Operation Spring Restore are all floating aids. All have a purpose and help in determining location, as well as facilitating the safe transit of more than 100 million tons of cargo between U.S. ports in the Great Lakes and to international ports via the St. Lawrence Seaway and Atlantic Ocean.

The Ninth District’s aids to navigation system ensures safe and efficient maritime activity on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway regions by marking safe passage for domestic, international, commercial and recreational vessel traffic. On the Great Lakes, the Coast Guard manages 2,557 federal aids.

To accomplish Operation Spring Restore, the Ninth District uses six U.S. Coast Guard cutters, five aids-to-navigation teams and two small boat stations with aids to navigation duties. The Coast Guard is assisted in this endeavor by the Lamplighters (a group of civilian employees who manage the inland waters of northern Minnesota), the Canadian Coast Guard and the St. Lawrence Seaway Corporation.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary also helps the district with verification of approximately 1,700 privately-owned aids to navigation in the region.

USCG

Historic Delta Queen riverboat gets Senate approval to resume cruises

4/4 - Washington, D.C. – The historic Delta Queen riverboat has cleared a major hurdle to again cruise U.S. waterways.

After years of failed attempts, the U.S. Senate voted 85-12 Monday to waive the safety standards against wooden ships carrying more than 50 passengers overnight — as long as the vessels met new requirements and passed an annual inspection by the Coast Guard. The measure now goes to the House.

If those changes are enacted, the 1920s-era Delta Queen will resume its trips along with Mississippi and Ohio rivers, docking in 80 ports including Kimmswick in Jefferson County.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, who co-sponsored the measure with Sen. Roy Blunt, pointed to a report that says putting the Delta Queen back in service will create 170 new jobs and deliver a $36 million annual economic boost for the St. Louis region.

“The Delta Queen is an important piece of history. The vessel connects us to a time before railroads and highways, when rivers were key arteries of travel and commerce in this country,” McCaskill said on the Senate floor.

The 88-room steamship carried three presidents and served as a World War II Navy ship, and it’s been designated a National Historic Landmark.

To assuage critics of the measure who have worried the ship poses a fire risk, the measure passed Monday requires the ship’s owners to install new boilers and generators, along with replacing at least 10 percent of the vessel’s flammable material each year.

In a statement, Blunt called the Delta Queen a “remarkable part of our nation’s history,” adding that restoring it to full operation will “create jobs, support economic growth, and enhance our state’s tourism industry.”

St. Louis Post Dispatch

Updates -  April 4

News Photo Gallery  

04 April 1903: The first steamer to pass upbound through the Straits of Mackinac was the LUZON (steel propeller bulk freighter, 353 foot 3,582 gross tons, built in 1902 at Chicago, Illinois). She was heavily coated with ice, even to the top of the pilothouse due to fighting a gale on Lake Huron.

On 04 April 1908, ALEXIS W. THOMPSON (steel propeller bulk freighter, 504 foot, 6,437 gross tons) was launched by West Bay City Shipbuilding Co. (Hull #625) at W. Bay City, Michigan for Valley Steamship Co. (W.H. Becker, Mgr.). She lasted until 1962, when she was towed to Hamilton, Ontario, for scrapping by Steel Co. of Canada, Ltd.

The keel was laid at Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin on April 4, 1978, for the Columbia Transportation Div., Oglebay Norton Co.'s FRED R. WHITE JR (Hull#722).

Sea trials of the tanker ROBERT W. STEWART (Hull#802) of American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio were run on April 4, 1928. Renamed b.) AMOCO MICHIGAN in 1962, she was sold off the lakes in 1969 and renamed c.) SHUKHEIR. Scrapped in Egypt in 1989.

WILLIAM C. ATWATER (Hull#249) was launched on April 4, 1925, by the Great Lakes Engineering Works, for the Wilson Transit Co. Renamed b.) E. J. KULAS in 1936, c.) BEN MOREELL in 1953, d.) THOMAS E. MILLSOP in 1955. Sold Canadian in 1976, renamed e.) E. J. NEWBERRY and f.) CEDARGLEN 1981. Scrapped at Port Maitland, Ontario in 1994.

FRED G. HARTWELL (Hull#112) was launched April 4, 1908, by the Toledo Shipbuilding Co., for the Mutual Steamship Co., G. A. Tomlinson, mgr. Renamed b.) HARRY W. CROFT in 1917. Scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1969.

Interlake Steamship's E.G. GRACE became the first Maritimer to be sold for scrap when she was acquired by Marine Salvage on April 4, 1984.

JEAN-TALON was launched April 4, 1936, as a.) FRANQUELIN (Hull#1517) by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. for the Quebec and Ontario Transportation Co. Ltd.

The harbor tug and fire boat EDNA G was launched April 4, 1896, by the Cleveland Ship Building Co., as (Hull#25), for the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railroad Co.

On April 4, 1983, and on April 4, 1984, the WILLIAM CLAY FORD, opened the shipping season at Duluth, Minnesota. While the WILLIAM CLAY FORD was traditionally among the first vessels to visit Duluth-Superior, it was coincidence that she opened the port on the same day during her last two seasons in service.

On 4 April 1872, the schooner JOHN WESLEY was launched from Bailey's yard at Toledo, Ohio. She was built for Skidmore & Abairs. She was classed as a full-sized canaller and cost $22,000.

On 4 April 1881, the last two vessels of the Northern Transit Company, CHAMPLAIN and LAWRENCE, were sold to D. H. Day & Company of Grand Haven, Michigan.

1969: The Liberty ship CORINTHIAKOS made three trips to the Great Lakes beginning in 1960. It had been built as a tanker but rebuilt as a bulk carrier in 1955. The ship was sailing under Liberian registry as h) PACSTAR when it ran aground in a storm on the north shore of Toshima, Tokyo Bay en route from Kure, Japan, to Portland, Oregon, in ballast. The bottom was opened to the sea and the engine room was flooded. Salvage efforts were unsuccessful and the ship was abandoned as a total loss and sold for scrap.

1969: The self-unloader HOCHELAGA of Canada Steamship Lines hit the breakwall stern first while turning with the help of tugs at Conneaut, Ohio. The cargo of coal was lightered to MANITOULIN and HOCHELAGA had to go to Port Colborne for repairs.

1997: ELIJIANNI, a Greek bulk carrier, had visited the Great Lakes in 1979. It was sailing as d) KEKOVA when it was in a collision with the VASILIOS III, a Greek tanker, in the Sea of Marmora on this date in 1997. There were temporary repairs to the port bow but the 27-year-old vessel was sold for scrap and arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, for dismantling on June 2, 1997.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze , Jody Aho, Father Dowling Collection, “Ahoy & Farewell II,” the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
Indiana Harbor departed Duluth early Saturday after taking a few days’ delay at Port Terminal. She headed for Silver Bay to load. John D. Leitch departed from CN at sunrise. Duluth's first saltie of the season, Lake Ontario, arrived off Duluth Saturday afternoon and dropped anchor for the night. She is expected to arrive on Sunday evening to load wheat at Riverland Ag. Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin was at the CN dock loading. Stewart J. Cort arrived during the late evening via the Duluth entry to load at Burlington Northern in Superior. However she stopped at the Port Terminal dock for prop repairs, assisted by the G tug Kentucky.

Two Harbors, Minn.
Edgar B. Speer was loading on Saturday.

Silver Bay, Minn.
Indiana Harbor was loading on Saturday.

Gary, Ind.
Philip R. Clarke was unloading Saturday evening.

Alpena, Mich.
Steamer Alpena arrived back at her namesake port Saturday evening from Chicago.

Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
Algosteel was loading her first salt load of the season on Saturday.

St. Clair–Detroit Rivers
John B. Aird was downbound with salt from Goderich Saturday morning headed for Montreal. This is her final trip before being sent to scrap. She is expected in the Welland Canal during daylight hours Sunday.

Detroit, Mich.
Kaye E. Barker and Herbert C. Jackson went to anchor in the Detroit River Saturday due to strong currents in the Rouge River thanks to recent rains.

Oswego, N.Y. – Ned Goebricher
On Saturday, English River unloaded cement.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Upbound Saturday: Sarah Desgagnes, tug Leo A. McArthur and barge John J. Carrick, Radcliffe R. Latimer, Chestnut (Cyp), tug Evans McKeil with barge Niagara Spirit from wharf 13 Robin Hood mill. ETA prospect upbound: Federal Seto (Mhl). Downbound: Tim S. Dool. Baie Comeau, Capt. Henry Jackman, Atlantic Huron, tug Petite Forte & barge St. Marys Cement, Sea Eagle II & barge St. Marys Cement II (stopped w-12), Algoma Harvester, CSL Assiniboine and Algoscotia. ETA prospects downbound for Sunday: Algoma Equinox, CSL St. Laurent, John B. Aird (final trip) and Algoma Mariner.

Quebec City, Que. – Bruno Boissonneault
Oakglen left layup Saturday morning bound for Duluth to load pellets. She is due there April 6. This is an unusually early fit out for Oakglen, which generally is held in reserve until the fall grain rush.

Lorain shipping season begins

4/2 - Lorain, Ohio – The shipping season has begun for the port of Lorain. The tug Clyde S. VanEnkevort and barge Erie Trader passed by Lorain’s Charles Berry Bascule Bridge on March 24. The arrival marked the opening the 2017 shipping season.

A total of 978,733 tons of material passed through the port in 2015, the most recent year figures available. The numbers were published by the Navigation Data Center of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Lorain ranks 144th among 150 American ports listed in those figures. It also was the lowest among Ohio cities shipping materials in and out via water. It appears Lorain’s tonnage could be declining due to the steel mills not taking in any iron ore, said Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Rocky River-based Lake Carriers’ Association.

“The limestone and gypsum the last couple years have not been exactly gangbusters,” Nekvasil added, referring to two materials shipped in for construction.

Lorain Port Authority Executive Director Tom Brown agreed the total amount of materials would increase if the steel mills began producing and needed more iron ore. Now, the goal is to spread the word about available land, docks and shipping capacity in Lorain, Brown said.

Lorain still has at least three companies using lake and river shipping of materials for construction, he said. They are Jonick Dock & Terminal; AMCOR; and Terminal Ready-Mix Inc., according to the Lorain Port Authority and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Lorain is not the only port struggling on the Great Lakes, Brown said. However, if Lorain’s shipping amounts drop too much, there is a chance the city will become a lower priority for dredging, he said. Lorain is considered a deep draft commercial harbor with depths ranging from 29 feet in the entrance channel to 17 feet in the Black River turning basins, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees dredging.

About 200,000 cubic yards of material is scooped up from the Black River bottom every three years, according to the Corps. Lorain last was dredged in 2016 and is on a cycle for future dredging every two to three years, depending on availability of funding, according to the Corps. Without the dredging, the Port of Lorain will not be deep enough for freighters, Brown said.

Lorain’s maritime history has been documented, but may be overlooked in modern times. Shipbuilding began in Lorain in 1820, according to the Lorain historical timeline published by the Lorain Public Library System.

In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire created demand for Amherst Quarries Stone shipped on Lake Erie from the Oak Point Pier. In 1874, the first shipment of coal arrived in the city, “off-loaded onto wheelbarrows,” according to the Library System’s historical timeline.

As for the start of this year’s shipping season in Lorain, the tug Clyde S. VanEnkevort and barge Erie Trader carried 32,000 tons of stone loaded at Marblehead, Bansek said.

Lorain Morning Journal

Sturgeon Bay Shipyard, museum, boat tours May 6

4/2 - The annual Sturgeon Bay Shipyard Tours hosted by the Rotary Club of Sturgeon Bay will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 6. The popular event raises funds for Door County Rotary Youth Interact, an international service organization for teenagers, and other Rotary projects in the county, according to the Rotary Club of Sturgeon Bay.

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Co. and Centerpointe Yacht Services will be open for guided walking tours along with events and tours at the Door County Maritime Museum. A U.S. Coast Guard cutter also will be available to tour and an emergency rescue boat and city police boat will be open for tours at the Graham Park Dock.

Buses will be available to shuttle participants between the sites, the release said. The tours at Bay Shipbuilding are about one hour.

Tickets for the event are available the day of the tours and are $15 per adult and $6 for children ages 11 to 17. Children age 10 and younger are free. The tickets will be sold at both shipyard entry gates and the maritime museum.

Replica fur trading ship Welcome sold

4/2 - Mackinaw City, Mich. – The armed sloop Welcome, a replica 18th century fur trading ship in storage since it was purchased by Emmet County for $1 in 2015, has a new owner in Mackinaw City.

An agreement between Rum Runners Inc., a venture owned by businessman Joe Lieghio of Mackinaw City, and Emmet County was approved by county officials earlier in March.

The bid was for the purchase of the ship, in its current condition, for a lump sum payment of $10,111. The ship will be removed from its storage location near the Headlands park within 90 days of the agreement's approval. Emmet County has already received payment for the ship.

The county took ownership of the sloop in 2015, through an agreement with the Maritime Heritage Alliance of Traverse City. The ship was constructed by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission at Mackinaw City's Fort Michilimackinac in the 1970s as a commemoration to the country's bicentennial.

The ship was acquired by the Maritime Heritage Alliance in 1992. The county and the alliance reached an agreement, where the county would purchase the ship for $1.

The previously built storage facility for the ship, which cost $240,000, will continue to be used for equipment and storage for Emmet County's park services, according to Emmet County administrator Marty Krupa.

Petoskey News Review

A total of 60 ore boats departed Cleveland between March 31 and April 2 to start the 1948 shipping season.

On 02 April 1900, the JOHN MINER (wooden 3-mast schooner, 134 foot, 273 gross tons, built in 1866, at Detroit, Michigan as a bark) was purchased by S. R. Chamberlain from Frank Higgie for $800. She only lasted until 19 October 1902, when she was lost in a storm on Lake Huron.

On April 2, 1951, CLIFFS VICTORY was towed, bound for New Orleans, Louisiana, with her deck houses, stack, propeller, rudder and above deck fittings stored on or below her spar deck for bridge clearance. She was outfitted with two 120-foot pontoons, which were built at the Baltimore yard, that were attached to her hull at the stern to reduce her draft to eight feet for passage in the shallow sections of the river/canal system.

LEON FALK JR. was launched April 2, 1945, as a.) WINTER HILL, a T2-SE-Al, World War II, a single-screw fuel tanker for U.S. Maritime Commission.

CLIFFORD F. HOOD was launched April 2, 1902, as the straight deck bulk freighter a.) BRANSFORD for the Bransford Transit Co., (W. A. Hawgood, mgr.).

SENATOR OF CANADA sailed under her own power on April 2, 1985, to Toronto, Ontario, where she was put into ordinary next to her fleet mate the QUEDOC. She was scrapped in Venezuela in 1986.

WHEAT KING was lengthened by an addition of a 172 foot 6 inch mid-section (Hull #61) and received a 1,000 h.p. bowthruster. This work reportedly cost $3.8 million Canadian and was completed on April 2, 1976.

On April 2, 1953, the straight deck bulk freighter J. L. MAUTHE (Hull#298) of the Great Lakes Engineering Works entered service for Interlake Steamship Co. She operates currently for Interlake as the self-unloading barge PATHFINDER.

April 2, 1975 - The State of Michigan filed a Federal Court suit to stop the Grand Trunk Railway from selling the GRAND RAPIDS. It was felt that selling the ferry would build a stronger case for abandonment of the entire ferry service.

On 2 April 1874, A. H. HUNTER (wooden propeller tug, 58 foot, 28 gross tons) was launched at Saginaw, Michigan. She was built for Donnelly & Clark of Saginaw by Wheeler. The engine was built by Bartlett & Co. of Saginaw. Her boiler and some other equipment were from the almost new tug KATY REID that burned at Salzburg, Michigan in October 1873.

1976: WHEAT KING was refloated at Port Weller Dry Docks. It had arrived on December 12, 1975, and was lengthened to 730 feet over the winter. The ship would only sail six years with the new dimensions and was retired at the end of the 1981 season.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Jody Aho, Russ Plumb, “Ahoy & Farewell II,” Father Dowling Collection and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.

Insights into Soo Locks upgrade study emerge from Snyder's office

4/1 - Lansing, Mich. – Michigan officials are taking a two-pronged approach to influence a federal study underway to determine the economic feasibility of building a second 1,000-foot commercial shipping lock in Sault Ste. Marie.

John Walsh, strategy director for Gov. Rick Snyder's office, said Michigan will formally request changes to a dated U.S. Army Corps of Engineers policy that's limiting the scope of a cost-benefit analysis on rebuilding the Soo Locks.

Simultaneously, Walsh said Michigan plans to prove that an unexpected breakdown of the Poe Lock -- the only shipping chamber in Sault Ste. Marie large enough to handle most of the ships moving iron ore -- would idle more than just the regional and Michigan economy.

"We're trying to argue that our regional impact is a national impact," said Walsh, who was among a handful of representatives from the governor's office that met with the Army Corps team developing the study this week in West Virginia.

"Our homework is to prove that."

The March 27 meeting yielded new insights into how the Army Corps is approaching its study of a long sought-after Soo Locks upgrade that Great Lakes shipping interests have been pressing for years but which has never moved much beyond its initial Reagan era Congressional authorization 31 years ago.

Read more at this link

Duluth-Superior – Daniel Lindner
John D. Leitch arrived Duluth just before noon on Friday and began loading iron ore pellets at CN. Baie St. Paul departed from the CN dock a few hours later, bound for Sept Iles. Her fleetmate Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin arrived mid-afternoon, also to load at CN. In Superior, CSL Laurentien departed before sunrise after loading at BN. Algolake took the dock next, and departed just after noon. Thunder Bay arrived early in the afternoon and began loading. Indiana Harbor remained docked at Port Terminal. Lake Ontario, the season’s first saltie, is expected to arrive Saturday afternoon to load wheat.

Two Harbors, Minn.
Burns Harbor made a rare appearance to load ore at the CN dock on Friday.

St. Marys River
The season’s first saltie, Lake Ontario, was upbound around 2 p.m. Friday headed for Duluth.

Chicago, Ill.
The steamer Alpena sailed into the Port of Chicago Thursday night, heading to the Lafarge Cement dock located on Lake Calumet.

Goderich, Ont. – Bruce Douglas
John B. Aird was still loading salt Thursday evening and will be bound for Montreal. After unloading, she is expected to be sold for scrapping.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
Lee A. Tregurtha arrived at the Torco Dock to unload iron ore, thus becoming the first official arrival at the Torco Dock for the 2017 shipping season on Friday morning. Also due at Torco is the barge James L. Kuber along with the tug Victory on April 4 in the early morning. They are due back at the Torco Dock on April 9 in the late afternoon. The Tregurtha is also due back at Torco on April 10 in the late afternoon. There is nothing due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock. At the CSX Coal Dock, John J. Boland is due to load on April 4 in the early evening. Also due at CSX is the barge Ashtabula along with the tug Defiance on April 6 in the mid-afternoon. The barge James L. Kuber and tug Victory are due at CSX on April 10 in the early morning. Rounding out the schedule is the Manitoulin, due at CSX on April 14 in the early morning. Vessels that remain in lay-up in Toledo include the H. Lee White at the Old Ironville Dock along with the American Integrity at the CSX #2 Dock and they are expected to depart anyday. Great Republic is laid-up at the Midwest Terminal Dock. Vessels in port included the Robert S. Pierson, unloading a grain cargo at the Kraft Foods Elevator from Sarnia, while further upriver and loading a grain cargo was the Algoma Discovery at Andersons. They were the port's first arrival of the 2017 season to load grain. The tug Michigan and barge Great Lakes were also in port loading cargo as.

Welland Canal – Barry Andersen
Vessel traffic for 3-31, Upbound: light tug Evans McKeil. Downbound: Radcliffe R. Latimer, Harbour Fountain (Por), Whitefish Bay, Baie Comeau, Tim S. Dool (ETA 2240). Note: Port Weller ETAs: Sarah Desgagnes (ETA 0030), tug Leo A. McArthur and barge John J. Carrick (ETA 0115).

Keweenaw icebreaking to begin week of April 3

4/1 - At the request of local officials, the United States Coast Guard will conduct icebreaking operations in the Keweenaw Waterway beginning the week of April 3.

A cutter, yet to be named, will make its approach to the waterway from the east and enter at Keweenaw Bay. The cutter will transit west through Portage Lake ending at the upper entry and exiting into the open waters of Lake Superior. All recreational users of the Keweenaw Waterway should plan their activities carefully, and use caution near the ice.

USCG

$3 million project will improve dry dock at Erie's shipyard

4/1 - Erie, Pa. – The massive dry dock at Erie's Donjon Shipbuilding & Repair isn't always as dry as the name would suggest. Puddles of water could be seen throughout the southern end of the space Tuesday as employees worked to make repairs on the Atlantic Enterprise, a 230-foot Canadian fishing trawler.

But the puddles, a product of poor drainage and stormwater infiltration, aren't the only thing that ails the dry dock, a key feature of the shipbuilding facility owned by the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority and leased to Donjon.

“I don't think any significant improvements have been made to the dry dock since its original construction," in the 1960s, said Brenda Sandberg, the authority's executive director. That's about to change.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has awarded the port authority $3 million to make repairs to the dry dock, a massive space that can be flooded to allow boats in and then drained to allow workers to repair them. The goal is to ensure the safety of employees and the business growth potential of the 18-acre shipyard at the foot of Holland Street, which has been leased to New Jersey-based Donjon since December 2009.

"The dry dock is in pretty rough shape," said John Nekoloff, Donjon's safety / environmental and subcontracts manager.

Bids are due in mid-April for the first phase of the project, which will fix drainage issues, address concerns about storm water infiltration, remove the top two inches of crumbling concrete, install steel reinforcing rods and a top coat of six inches of new concrete, Sandberg said. Because of the uneven surface, Donjon employees sometimes struggle to provide level blocking beneath ships as repairs are made.

This isn't the first time state money has been used to upgrade the port-owned shipyard to the benefit of Donjon and its predecessors.

Even before this latest round of funding, the port and its tenants had secured more than $10 million to upgrade the shipyard in recent years.

GoErie.com

USCG Sector Lake Michigan hosted Women’s Leadership Symposium

4/1 - Milwaukee, Wis. – Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan hosted its annual Women’s Leadership Symposium at the Milwaukee War Memorial Thursday.

The symposium was attended by more than 150 Coast Guard members stationed throughout the Great Lakes region and beyond. The purpose of the event was to bring together leaders from all levels of the service to discuss leadership, mentorship and resources available to contribute to the success of the Coast Guard’s missions.

"The symposium is more than just a snapshot of how to be a better leader in today’s Coast Guard,” said Paul Jones, chief boatswains mate and executive petty officer of Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Station Two Rivers, Wisconsin. “It’s more about discussing the challenges of leadership and how to overcome them to foster a stronger environment of fairness, diversity and mentorship."

Keynote speaker for the event was Deputy Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Leilani Cale-Jones. Other events of the symposium included a command panel of senior Coast Guard leaders, mentoring sessions and a junior leadership discussion.

Also included in the symposium were small group discussions that covered a wide range of current topics such as career guidance, building resiliency within the service, and marriage in the military. These panel sessions provided an open dialogue between attendees and presenters for further discussion.

"It was truly a learning experience, and I have much to take away," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Paige Dockery, a company commander at Coast Guard Training Center Cape May, New Jersey. "I learned a lot about myself as a leader, and how important it is to know your people."

This is the third year the symposium has been hosted by Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan and has become an annual event within the Great Lakes region.

USCG

Ticket sale opens to public for Door County Lighthouse Festival

4/1 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Tickets for the 24th Annual Door County Lighthouse Festival go on sale to the general public Monday, April 3, following a two-week pre-sale for museum members.

Following the successful members only pre-sale, one tour is sold out but ample tickets remain for the variety of land-based tours and boat excursions set for the weekend of June 9-11. Tickets can be obtained online on the museum’s website, www.dcmm.org, by calling the museum at (920) 743-5958 or stopping by the museum in Sturgeon Bay, 120 N. Madison Ave.

Many of the boat excursions are unique to the Lighthouse Festival weekend. New this year is the Lakeshore Lighthouse Cruise out of Baileys Harbor. The tour will offer the opportunity to see a number of lights from the water, including Cana Island lighthouse, the old Baileys Harbor “bird cage” light as well at the Baileys Harbor Range Lights. The possibility of seeing several shipwrecks also exists on the tour.

Returning boat trips include the popular excursion from Gills Rock to Plum Island. There are four tours spread over Saturday and Sunday with limited seating available. The excursion includes a walking tour of Plumb Island presented by the Friends of Plum & Pilot Islands. Because of its limited capacity, this tour traditionally sells out quickly so it is advised to check online for ticket availability.

The excursion to Chambers Island is another once-a-year opportunity. Although a larger-capacity boat permits more people to visit Chambers Island, it will continue to be a hot ticket item. Participants need to be prepared for a scenic island hike covering three miles round trip to the lighthouse and back to the dock.

Another popular weekend tour will circle Plum and Pilot islands from Gills Rock while the one-of-a-kind schooner trip aboard the tall ship Edith Becker from Sister Bay is also among the offerings this year with trips under sail past the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse with cannon salute.

The Chicago Fireboat will be offering its regular daily tours from the Door County Maritime Museum as well as special sunset dessert cruises both Friday and Saturday evenings.

Two different daylong, land-based narrated trolley tours, visit the five mainland lights and depart from either the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay or the Door County Trolley Depot in Egg Harbor. The popular Ghost/Mystery trolley tour leaves from the Door County Maritime Museum on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Cana Island and Eagle Bluff Lighthouses maintain regular seasonal hours throughout the weekend. Both the Sherwood Point Lighthouse and Sturgeon Bay Canal Light are operated by the U.S. Coast Guard and offer free admission over this weekend only. The range lights in the Ridges Sanctuary in Baileys Harbor, with its newly restored lower light, will also welcome visitors 10 am-2 pm Friday-Sunday for a free-will offering. Make sure to visit the sanctuary’s stunning new welcome center.

For more detailed information on tours and pricing or to request a brochure visit www.dcmm.org. Tickets can be ordered on the website or by calling (920) 743-5958.

Door County Marine Museum

On 01 April 1887, W. T. Botsford & Company of Port Huron, Michigan bought the COLORADO (wooden propeller package freighter, 254 foot, 1,470 gross tons, built in 1867, at Buffalo, New York). She was added to their two other vessels: DEAN RICHMOND and ROANOKE.

STEWART J. CORT was commissioned on April 1, 1972.

In April 1965, Interlake's steamer J. A. CAMPBELL was renamed c.) BUCKEYE MONITOR after being purchased by the Buckeye Steamship Co.

Realizing that the bulk trades were too competitive, Captain John Roen's Roen Transportation Co. sold the CAPTAIN JOHN ROEN to the American Steamship Co. (Boland & Cornelius, mgr.) on April 1, 1947, for $915,000.

ROY A. JODREY started her first full season opening navigation at the Soo Locks April 1, 1966, with a load of stone for Algoma Steel.

Dismantling of the G. A. TOMLINSON, a.) D. O. MILLS, began in Ashtabula, Ohio, on April 1, 1980, and was completed eight months later.

April 1, 1903 - Gus Kitzinger of the Pere Marquette Line steamers, acquired the PERE MARQUETTE 3 & 4 from the Pere Marquette Railway Co.

Sailors at Chicago went on strike on 1 April 1871, for an increase in pay. They were getting $1.50 a day. Some ship owners offered $1.75 but when word came that the Straits of Mackinac were clear of ice, the sailors demanded the unheard of daily wage of $3.25. Although some ships stayed in port, the $1.75 wage was accepted and the barks MARY PEREW, J G MASTEN and C J WELLS, along with the schooners DONALDSON, PATHFINDER and CHAMPION set sail on 1 April 1871

On 1 April 1904, CONDOR (2-mast wooden schooner, 58 foot, 22 gross tons, built in 1871, at Sheboygan, Wisconsin), while lying at anchor in the Kalamazoo River at Singapore, Michigan, was crushed by ice moving out in the spring breakup.

1941: ROBERT W. POMEROY had served the Eastern Steamship Co. as well as Upper Lakes & St. Lawrence Transportation Co. while on the Great Lakes from 1923 to 1940. It went overseas and worked for the British Ministry of War Transport hauling coal on coastal routes. While north bound on April 1, 1942, the ship hit a mine and, four minutes later, a second mine and went down in the North Sea off Norfolk, U.K. Twenty-two survived although two were injured when the boiler exploded.

1942: The Norwegian salty GUDVANG came to the Great Lakes in 1939. It was intercepted by a German patrol boat between Denmark and Norway, while trying to escape to England, on this date in 1942. The ship was sunk by gunfire and the crew became prisoners of war.

1968: GHISLAIN was more at home on the St. Lawrence, but had delivered pulpwood to the Great Lakes in the late 1960s. It had several escapades during these years including a grounding while entering Yarmouth, NS with 1400 tons of herring on this date in 1968. The vessel was repaired at Liverpool, NS. It was listed as g) ANIK in 1974 and in need of repairs. While it was not deleted from LR until 1986, the ship was likely broken up in the mid-1970s.

1983: REGENT MARIGOLD visited the Great Lakes in 1975 under Panamanian registry. It was sailing as d) LEXINGTON when the hull fractured in a storm while en route from Bukpyong, South Korea, to Bangladesh. It went down on this date about 200 miles northwest of Penang, Malaysia.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Ahoy & Farewell II, Father Dowling Collection and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.