Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive

Severstal wins tax incentive to upgrade mill

6/22
State and local governments are providing nearly $50 million in tax breaks to keep Russian steel producer Severstal Group operating at the former Rouge Steel site in Dearborn indefinitely. The steel mill receives raw materials by Great Lakes vessels, mainly those sailing in the Interlake Fleet.

Michigan Governor's office said Tuesday that a deal had been reached with Severstal to invest up to $250 million to upgrade its Dearborn steel mill.

The Severstal Group is the 18th-largest steel company in the world and employs approximately 150,000 people worldwide. To establish its first presence in the North American market, the company completed its acquisition of Rouge Steel in April 2004 for $285.5 million.

The MEDC approved a single business tax credit valued at more than $28.7 million over 20 years to retain Severstal in Dearborn. The City of Dearborn approved a 50% abatement of the company's new real and personal property taxes for 12 years, valued at approximately $19 million.

Vadim Makhov, chairman of Severstal North America, said Severstal's investments in its Dearborn steelmaking facilities will focus on maintaining and modernizing the company's primary steelmaking operations, installing new pollution control equipment and modernizing the company's cold rolling and finishing equipment.

Reported by: The Detroit News

A milestone for the Soo Locks

6/22
A century and a half ago, Great Britain was the world's superpower, leading the world in steel production. But within a few years, the United States passed Great Britain in steel production, paving the way for America's debut as the new superpower.

That happened partly because the Soo Locks, which opened in 1855, provided a passageway for the vast iron ore deposits in the Upper Peninsula to U.S. steel mills.

This summer is the 150th birthday of the Soo Locks, and celebrations are planned in Sault St. Marie throughout the season, starting Friday. Ships powered first by sail and later by steam and diesel have traveled through the locks. Now, the queens of the Great Lakes are the gargantuan 1,000-footers that tower six to eight stories above the locks, ships so long that if their bows touched the bottom of the lake in most spots, their sterns would stick up hundreds of feet into the air.

The ships are so large, their sides often get scraped as they squeeze out of the locks. "They only have 2 1/2 feet on each side when they go in and out," said Steve Welch, who volunteered with the City of Sault St. Marie to cochair the 150th anniversary celebration. "It's like a hand-and-glove sort of thing. They'll rub against the sides somewhat when they go out."

Each year, ships make 7,000 passages through the locks; 4,000 passages are by freighters hauling cargo up and down the lakes, said John Wellington, harbormaster in Sault Ste. Marie and a resident of the area for more than 45 years.

The St. Marys River is the only water connection between Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes. There is a section of the river -- the St. Marys Rapids -- where the water falls about 21 feet from the level of Lake Superior to the level of the lower lakes.

Cargo coming down from Lake Superior had to be off-loaded at the rapids, loaded onto trains, transported to boats on the lower lakes, and then loaded again. It wasn't efficient or economical, but it was the only way to do it.

Enter the Soo Locks.
The first locks were built in the late 1700s. Those were burned during the War of 1812. Meanwhile, the Lake Superior region was surveyed in the 1830s and 1840s, unveiling the vast timberlands where iron and copper were discovered.

"It was the rich resources they found up in that Lake Superior region that necessitated transport of those materials down to factories," Welch said. After an attempt to build them in the early 1850s failed, one politician compared building locks in such a remote area to building a "path to the moon." In 1853, the American Co., a private firm, set about building a single lock. When the lock -- called the State Lock -- was completed in two years, the company was awarded substantial mining land in the UP.

The first cargo ship to enter the new lock was the Columbia, carrying 132 tons of iron ore out of Lake Superior. It led off a flood of cargo traffic that hasn't abated. Today, more than 100 million tons of freight passes through annually, including ships carrying iron ore, grain, lumber and the low sulfur coal that drives electric power plants, including those lighting the Detroit area.

The economy dipped in the 1970s when Kincheloe Air Force Base closed, taking with it about half the population of Sault Ste. Marie. Today, business largely is based on Lake Superior State University, Indian casinos -- and the tourists attracted to the locks. "When I was a kid, we could walk right up to the locks," said Walter Kinney Jr., owner of Antlers Restaurant, a popular Sault Ste. Marie hangout. "There were no fences. ...You could walk across the gates to the other lock."

Today, the public can see the locks from certain places, but people can't walk up to them.

Bud Mansfield is a third-generation Sault Ste. Marie resident who worked on the construction of the locks during World War II. He remembers when they were considered a primary enemy target in those days, and the military members stationed there roughly equaled the civilian population.

Mansfield and his wife have lived in their riverfront house, 1 1/2 miles from the locks, for more than 50 years. Every morning, they go to their big picture window to see the ships.

"We watch every single boat going by" on their way to the locks, Mansfield said. "There is something about the huge freighters that's like a magnet."

Reported by: Detroit Free Press

Today in Great Lakes History - June 22

On 22 June 1959, BAYPORT (steel propeller tug, 72 foot, 65 gross tons, built in 1914, at Cleveland, Ohio, formerly named FAIRPORT) had the steamer CAPT C D SECORD in tow when she was hooked by her own tow cable, capsized and sank at Collingwood, Ontario. Three lives were lost. The tug was later raised and converted from steam to diesel.

On 22 June 1909, W P THEW (wooden propeller freighter, 133 foot, 207 gross tons, built in 1884, at Lorain, Ohio) was in ballast, creeping through the fog off Alpena, Michigan on Lake Huron when she was rammed by the WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE (steel propeller freighter, 532 foot, 6634 gross tons, built in 1908, at Ecorse, Michigan). After the collision, the LIVINGSTONE drifted away and lost track of the THEW. The THEW sank in 80 feet of water. Fortunately the steamer MARY C ELPHICKE answered the distress whistle and picked up the THEW’s crew from the lifeboat. No lives were lost.

The a.) WILLIAM R ROESCH (Hull#901) was launched and christened at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co., on June 22, 1973, for the Union Commerce Bank, Ohio (Trustee) and managed by the Kinsman Marine Transit Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed b.) DAVID Z NORTON in 1995.

June 22, 1957 - W.L. Mercereau, known as the "Father of the Fleet", died. Mercereau developed the Pere Marquette fleet of car ferries into the "largest in the world".

On 22 June 1853, CHALLENGE (wooden propeller freighter, 198 foot, 665 tons, built in 1853, at Newport, Michigan) was bound from Chicago for Buffalo with barreled pork and oats on one of her first trips. However, her boiler exploded off Cheboygan, Michigan. She burned and sank. Five died. The schooner NORTH STAR heard the blast ten miles away and came to the rescue of the rest of the passengers and crew.

On 22 June 1875, the Port Huron Times reported that "the Northern Transportation Company's fleet of 20 propellers, which have been idle all the season owing to difficulties between the Central Vermont and the Ogdensburg & Champlain Railroad Companies, have passed from the control of the Central Vermont Railroad Company and will commence regular trips as soon as they can be fitted out."

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

Today in Great Lakes History: June 19

On 19 June 1889, NORTH STAR (steel propeller freighter, 299 foot, 2476 gross tons, built in 1889 at Cleveland, Ohio) collided with CHARLES J SHEFFIELD (steel propeller freighter, 260 foot, 1699 gross tons, built in 1887 at Cleveland, Ohio) about sixty miles west of Whitefish Point on Lake Superior in heavy fog.  The NORTH STAR kept her bow in the SHEFFIELD’s side after the impact, giving the crew time to board.  The SHEFFIELD then sank in 8 minutes.  The courts found both vessels to be equally at fault after years of litigation.  

On 19 June 1889, CHARLES J SHEFFIELD (steel propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 259 foot, 1700 gross tons, built in 1886, at Cleveland, Ohio) was rammed broadside in heavy fog by the NORTH STAR (steel propeller freighter, 299 foot, 2476 gross tons, built in 1889, at Cleveland, Ohio) in Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior.  The NORTH STAR kept her bow in the hole until the SHEFFIELD’s crew clambered aboard.  When she backed away, the SHEFFIELD sank in 8 minutes.  Her loss was valued at $160,000.  

In 1954, the GEORGE M HUMPHREY (Hull#871) (named for President Eisenhower's Secretary of Treasury) was launched at Lorain, Ohio by American Shipbuilding Co, for National Steel Co., M.A. Hanna, mgr.  

In 1978, the ALGOBAY (Hull#215) was launched at Collingwood by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for Algoma Central Railway.  

On 19 June 1836, DELAWARE (wooden passenger/package freight side wheeler, 105 foot, 178 tons, built in 1833, at Huron, Ohio) was carrying general merchandise and passengers in a storm on Lake Michigan when she was thrown ashore off Niles, Illinois. She broke in two and was wrecked. No lives were lost.  

On 19 June 1900, the wooden schooner THOMAS L HOWLAND was raised and towed to Buffalo, New York for repairs. She had been sunk by the ice off Windmill Point in the Detroit River early in the season.  

At 5:30 p.m., on 19 June 1872, the wooden package freight/passenger propeller MONTANA (236 foot, 1535 gross tons) was finally afloat at Port Huron, Michigan. She was successfully launched at the Port Huron Dry Dock Company on Saturday, 15 June, but she got stuck in the mud. The tugs VULCAN, PRINDEVILLE, BROCKWAY and BURNSIDE were all employed to free her and the MONTANA's engines were also going. It took four days of pulling, hoisting and dredging to free her. The effort to get her free and afloat cost Alexander Muir, her builder, over $3,000 (in 1872 dollars). She lasted until 1914, when she burned near Alpena, Michigan.  

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

Today in Great Lakes History: June 18

During a moonlight charter on 18 June 1936, the TASHMOO (steel side-wheel excursion steamer, 308 foot, 1344 gross tons, built in 1900, at Wyandotte, Michigan) struck a boulder in the Sugar Island channel in the Detroit River. The vessel docked at Amherstburg, Ontario where her passengers disembarked as the vessel settled to the bottom in 14 feet of water.  Although the damage was not fatal, the salvage crew botched the job.  The TASHMOO had one end raised too quickly and her keel broke.  This ended this well-loved vessel’s too short career.  

The Soo Locks opened for their first season on 18 June 1855.  The first vessel through the locks was the steamer ILLINOIS of 1853.  

In 1949, the WILFRED SYKES (Hull#866) was launched at American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio, for Inland Steel Co. At the time she was the largest and most powerful vessel on the lakes. The SYKES was also the first boat to have a poop deck.  

In 1964, the bulk freighter SAGUENAY (Hull#647) was launched at Lauzon, Quebec by Davie Ship Building Ltd, for Canada Steamship Lines.

In 1968, the ALGOCEN (Hull#191) was launched at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd, for Algoma Central Railway.

On 18 June 1869, a little less than a week after being launched, Capt. Luce sailed the schooner DAVID A WELLS on her maiden voyage from Port Huron for Menominee, Michigan.

On 18 June 1858, the steamship CANADA left the Lakes via the St. Lawrence rapids since she was too large for the existing locks. She had been built by Louis Shickluna at the Niagara Drydock Company in 1853, at a cost of $63,000. She was sold for ocean service after the Depression of 1857. Her hull was rebuilt and she was renamed MISSISSIPPI. She foundered in a gale in the South Atlantic on 12 August 1862.

The venerable side-wheel passenger ferry TRILLIUM (Hull#94) was launched June 18, 1910, at Toronto, Ontario by Polson Iron Works., for the Toronto Ferry Co.

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

Captain Mike Nicholls Master of the Diamond Jack

6/17
Captain Mike Nicholls, longtime employee of Gaelic Tugboat Company and photographer for Boatnerd.com has been assigned as regular Captain on the Diamond Jack.  The Diamond Jack sails regular two hour tours from Bishop Park in Wyandotte at 1:00 and 3:30 pm Friday through Sunday each week.  Mike is also a retired Service Parts Operations salaried employee from General Motors and main summer ship traffic observer at Grassy Island on the Detroit River.

Captain Nicholls replaces Captain Roger Break who served as the Master of the Diamond Jack for five years who elected to retire this year.  Captain Break was a lifelong boater and retired 747 pilot at Northwest Airlines.

Diamond Jack's River Tours is pleased to have Captain Nicholls with his vast knowledge of the Detroit River as Master of the Diamond Jack.  His background will continue the perfect safety record of the Diamond Jack fleet.

For more information on Diamond Jack's River Tours, visit www.diamondjack.com

Reported by Bill Hoey
 

Port Reports

6/17
Saginaw River:
Reported by Todd Shorkey
Thursday on the Saginaw River saw the tug Anglian Lady and barge PML 2105 outbound from the Triple Clean dock in Essexville during the morning hours.  Inbound Thursday morning was the tug Rebecca Lynn and her tank barge.  The pair called on the Bit-Mat dock in Bay City to unload and were expected outbound early Friday.

Duluth / Superior:
Reported by Al Miller
Friday dawned clear, warm and busy in the Twin Ports. Five vessels were at work around the waterfront at 7 a.m. Canadian Transport was loading coal at Midwest Energy Terminal, Quebecois was unloading cement at St. Lawrence Cement, Oglebay Norton was fueling at the Murphy Oil terminal before proceeding to the DMIR ore dock, Prinsenborg was loading at the General Mills elevator in Superior, and Cedarglen was loading at CHS elevator in Superior. CHS is, by far, the busiest elevator in port this season. Waiting for Cedarglen to clear was the saltie Amanda, anchored out on the lake.

Toronto:
Reported by Charlie Gibbons
The schooner Marie Clarisse departed early Thursday. Stephen B. Roman was back in port, unloaded and departed Thursday evening.
 

Today in Great Lakes History: June 17

On 17 June 1878, the Canadian schooner JAME SCOTT of Port Burwell capsized and sank in Lake Erie.  The captain’s wife, their child and two seamen were drowned.

The wooden schooner MONTEREY which stranded on Sleeping Bear Point on Lake Michigan in early December 1890, was released on 17 June 1891.

The SCOTT MISENER (Hull#11) was christened on June 17, 1951, for Colonial Steamships Ltd. She was the first vessel built at Port Weller Drydocks Ltd..  Renamed b.) JOHN E F MISENER in 1954.  She was scrapped at Cartagena, Columbia in 1986.

The PATERSON of 1954, collided with the steamer EDMUND W MUDGE in 1957, in fog on the St. Clair River opposite Marine City, Michigan.

The WILLIAM A IRVIN was towed to the Duluth Convention Center on June 17, 1986, by the tugs SIOUX and DAKOTA to be on station as a museum ship at the new $3 million convention facility.

June 17, 1998 - The tug/barge PERE MARQUETTE 41/UNDAUNTED arrived Ludington, Michigan from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin after the remainder of the conversion there.

The propeller OWEN SOUND was launched at Collingwood, Ontario on 17 June 1875. She measured 900 tons and could carry 30,000 bushels of grain.

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

Press Release: Mittal Steel Company conveys lake vessels

6/16
Mittal Steel has disposed of its bareboat charter interests in two lake vessels that provide raw materials to its steel works in Burns Harbor, Ind. The vessels were chartered by International Steel Group, which was acquired by the global steelmaker, Mittal Steel Co., on April 15.

Mittal Steel has made these arrangements:

M/V Burns Harbor -- Ownership has been transferred to American Steamship Co. from a vessel trust. The 1,000-foot-long vessel can hold more than 72,000 tons of bulk cargo, water levels permitting. A trust had operated the vessel through an agreement with a financial institution.

M/V Stewart J. Cort -- ISG operated the ship under a "bareboat charter" agreement, which now has been assigned to a subsidiary of The Interlake Steamship Co. The 1,000-foot-long Cort has capacity for more than 58,000 tons of bulk cargo in its hold. A consortium of financial institutions owns the vessel.

Mittal Steel also has entered into long-term agreements with American Steamship Co. and a subsidiary of Interlake Steamship Co. to time-charter the Burns Harbor and the Cort for the transport of iron ore on the Great Lakes.

The U.S. Maritime Administration has confirmed that such arrangements are in accordance with the statutes and regulations administered by the agency

Press release source: Mittal Steel Company
 

Port Reports

6/16
Saginaw River:
Reported by Todd Shorkey
On Tuesday, the Algoway continued the Algoma Central Marine salt convoy to the Sargent dock in Zilwaukee.  She unloaded salt there during the day and was outbound for the lake Tuesday evening after a short delay in which she waited out a storm by sitting in the Sixth Street Turning Basin.

Also inbound late Tuesday was the Walter J. McCarthy, Jr.  She called on the Consumers Energy dock to unload coal.  The McCarthy did not depart until Wednesday afternoon when she backed out of the river to turn out in the Saginaw Bay at Light 12.

Outbound just ahead of the Walter J. McCarthy was the tug Donald C. Hannah and her tank barge.  The pair had unloaded overnight at the Dow Chemical dock in Bangor Township.

Inbound late Wednesday afternoon was the tug Anglian Lady and her barge PML 2105 .  The pair called on the Triple Clean Liquifuels dock in Essexville to unload.  They are expecting to be outbound Thursday morning.

Marquette:
Reported by Rod Burdick
Marquette's two harbors were busy Wednesday evening, June 15.  After Michipicoten departed the Upper Harbor early in the afternoon, three vessels arrived between 5 and 6 p.m..  First, Great Lakes Trader arrived at the Lower Harbor to discharge stone at the Shiras Dock.  Tug Joyce L. VanEnkevort was detached from the barge during the unloading process.  At the Upper Harbor, Charles M. Beeghly and fleetmate Lee A. Tregurtha arrived together with Beeghly taking the south side of the ore dock to unload coal and Tregurtha taking the north side to load taconite.

Toronto:
Reported by Charlie Gibbons
Tuesday's cement boat arrivals were Wednesday's departures. Also departing Wednesday was the Canadian Ranger which had been in port for a while. She departed Redpath Sugar dock around 2 p.m., and a couple of hours later Malyovitza hauled anchor and was escorted into the Redpath slip by McKeil's harbor tugs.

 

Today in Great Lakes History: June 16

The steamer UNIQUE (wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 163 foot, 381 gross tons) was built by Alexander Anderson at Marine City, Michigan.  She was launched stern first at 3:00 p.m. on 16 June 1894.  There was quite a crowd assembled to watch the launch.  While waiting for the launch, Engineer Merrill of the steamer MARY composed the following verse:
“The new steamer Unique
Made a beautiful suique
On a direction oblique
Into a big crique,
So to spique.”
The vessel was painted a bright yellow up to the promenade deck with white cabins and upper works.  In 1901, she left the upper Lakes and was chartered for the Thousand Islands cruise trade.  Later that year, she was sold to Philadelphia buyers for Delaware River service. Her upper cabins were removed in 1904, when she was rebuilt as a yacht.  She lasted until 20 November 1915, when she burned to a total loss in New York harbor.

On 16 June 1891, Alexander Mc Dougall himself took his brand-new whaleback steamer JOSEPH L COLBY (steel propeller whaleback freighter, 265 foot, 1245 gross tons, built in 1890, at W. Superior, Wisconsin) down the St. Lawrence River to the sea.  The double hulled COLBY left Prescott, Ontario at 3:00 p.m., drawing six feet nine inches aft and five feet six inches forward and started on her wild ride through the rapids.  The whaleback freighter plowed through the Galops , Iroquois , Long Sault, Coteau, Cedar, Split Rock and Cascade Rapids. She grated the bottom a number of times and had a number of close calls.  Captain Mc Dougall stood immobile throughout the trip but great beads of perspiration broke out on his forehead. When the vessel finally made it through the Cascades and was safe on Lake St. Louis, the French Canadian pilot left and the crew let out shouts of joy with the whistle blowing. The COLBY was the first screw steamer to attempt running the rapids.

On 16 June 1892, GENERAL BURNSIDE (3-mast wooden schooner, 138 foot, 308 gross tons, built in 1862, at Wolfe Island, Ontario) foundered in a powerful northwest gale on Lake Erie near Southeast Shoal Light.  Her crew was rescued by the tug GREGORY.

On 16 June 1905, at 2:00 a.m., a fire was discovered around the smoke stack of the North Shore Navigation Company’s CITY OF COLLINGWOOD (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 213 foot, 1387 gross tons, built in 1893, at Owen Sound, Ontario) burned at the Grand Trunk Railway docks at Collingwood, Ontario and was destroyed along with the dock and nearby sheds.  Four died, but most of crew jumped overboard.  Captain Wright had gone to his home on Pine St. about an hour before and was preparing for bed when he heard four whistles sounded by the steamer BRITTANIC which was laying alongside. He ran to the dock, went aboard and woke the 1st mate J. D. Montgomery and a wheelsman. They had to jump to the dock to escape the flames. James Meade, Lyman Finch, A. McClellan, and another unidentified crewmember who had just joined the vessel at the Soo were all sleeping in the forecastle and lost their lives.

In 1967, the FEUX FOLLETS (Hull#188) was launched at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., for Papachristidis Co. Ltd. She was the last steam powered lake ship. Renamed in 1972, she sails today as the b.) CANADIAN LEADER

Upbound in the Welland Canal on June 16, 1963, loaded with iron ore for Chicago, U.S. Steel's BENJAMIN FAIRLESS suffered bow damage in collision with Canadian steamer RALPH S MISENER.

In 1918, the WILLIAM P SNYDER JR was in collision with the steamer GEORGE W PERKINS in Duluth Harbor resulting in damage of $5,000 to both vessels.

On 16 June 1861, ANDOVER (2-mast wooden schooner, 98 foot, 190 tons, built in 1844 at Black River, Ohio) was carrying lumber in a storm and ground on Pointe aux Barques reef on Lake Huron. Though not thought to be seriously damaged, she resisted all efforts by the tug ZOUAVE to release her. She was finally stripped and abandoned.

On 16 June 1887, CHAMPLAIN (wooden propeller passenger/package freight vessel, 135 foot, 438 gross tons, built in 1870, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying passengers, merchandise and horses on Lake Michigan when an engine room lamp exploded. The fire spread so quickly that the pumps could not be started. She headed for Fisherman's Island, Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan, but struck a bar and sank a mile short of the beach. 22 of the 57 persons aboard died, most from drowning. Although initially declared a total loss, the hull was towed into Harbor Springs, Michigan, then taken to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and rebuilt as CITY OF CHARLEVOIX. She was also lengthened to 165 foot. She lasted until 1924, when she burned at her lay-up dock in Manistee, Michigan. At that time, she was named KANSAS.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Ahoy & Farewell II, the Fr. Dowling Collection 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.

 

Postal Service celebrates Soo Locks 150th with stamp

6/15
To commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Soo Locks in 2005, the U.S. Postal Service will be offering a special Soo Locks Pictorial Cancellation Stamp to any outgoing letters and post cards on Engineers Day, June 24, at the Soo Locks.

The Pictorial Cancellation Stamp service will take place at the Marine Post Office inside the Davis Building at the Soo Locks from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 24. Individuals can bring any stamped envelope and have it cancelled with this special pictorial stamp. They may then leave the envelope to be mailed or take it home as a souvenir or collectors item.

In addition, the U.S. Post Office will have a special commemorative cachet available for purchase from designer Blair McNamara. This cachet consists of specialized envelopes featuring an aerial view of the Locks, as well as special text acknowledging the anniversary.

Rex T. Marsh, designer of the Pictorial Cancellation Stamp, will also have commemorative post cards and cachets available for purchase just outside the entrance gate to the Soo Locks Park. Marsh highlighted a historic theme on his commemorative postcard, which features an oil painting of the 1905 Soo Locks celebration.

Reported by the Soo Evening News
 

McGuinty to break coal plant promise

6/15
The Ontario government will admit today it will not meet its promise to close all four remaining coal-burning electricity-generating plants by the end of 2007, allowing the mammoth Nanticoke plant to continue to operate past that date.

Energy Minister Dwight Duncan has scheduled a news conference in Toronto today to announce "a major clean-air initiative" and sources in the energy industry say he will provide a timetable for closing coal plants in Thunder Bay, Atikokan and Lambton, near Sarnia. He will also detail the future of these sites and whether they can contribute electricity to Ontario's grid with another fuel.

However, these same sources say Mr. Duncan will simply outline the options for Nanticoke and that he will admit the plant will not be completely shut down by Dec. 31, 2007. Premier Dalton McGuinty's government, which has already been criticized over falling short of commitments over taxes and the deficit, promised during the 2003 election to close all coal-fired plants by the end of 2007. The Nanticoke plant is the largest single source of air pollution in the province.

The Liberals promised in the 2003 election campaign to close all five of Ontario's coal plants by the end of 2007 because their pollution was a public-health problem.

The first plant, Lakeview, near Toronto, was shut down at the end of April. But closing the remaining four plants presents problems for the government if it wants to ensure an uninterrupted supply of electricity to industry and homeowners.

Jack Gibbons, chairman of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, is participating in today's news conference at the Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre along with Dr. Anna Day, a respirologist at the hospital, and Dr. Greg Flynn, president of the Ontario Medical Association.

The OMA yesterday released a report that says air pollution is expected to kill 5,800 people prematurely in Ontario this year and that this toll could spike to 10,000 a year in the next two decades if the province does not take drastic measures to curb it.

Dr. Gibbons, who has campaigned for the shutdown of the coal plants, would not confirm the details of Mr. Duncan's announcement. "But I think you can assume that if I've agreed to participate in the press conference then I'm happy," he said.

The five coal plants provided 7,557 megawatts of electricity or about 25 per cent of the province's electrical capacity. The 1,138-MW Lakeview plant, old and rundown, was rarely used in the later years and so its shutdown was not a great loss.

However, replacing the power generated at the remaining four plants is more difficult.

The Thunder Bay and Atikokan plants contribute just 525 MW of electricity but they are essential to the economic health of northwestern Ontario, especially in the beleaguered forest industry. In addition, the two plants do not contribute to pollution in heavily populated Southern Ontario because of prevailing wind patterns.

Mr. Duncan earlier announced plans to offset some of the power lost by closing the 1,974-MW Lambton plant. Two new Sarnia-area gas plants would create 1,575 MW.

The shutdown of the Nanticoke plant on Lake Erie is proving the toughest nut to crack. The eight units at the plant pump out 3,920 MW of electricity.

It would be difficult to convert the station to natural gas because it is far from gas transmission lines. But simply shutting it down and opening plants elsewhere would also pose problems. First, the plant employs about 600 people and pays $2.75-million a year in taxes. Second, it would take time and money to duplicate the lines out of Nanticoke at another location.

Reported by Murray Campbell, Globe and Mail
 

Vermilion Nautical Mart

6/15
The 3rd Annual Nautical Mart at the Inland Seas Maritime Museum in Vermilion, OH will be held on Saturday, June 25 at 10 a.m.  Six dealers will be selling artifacts, photos, books, postcards and other material relating to Great Lakes shipping.  In addition, the museum will be selling a number of duplicate Great Lakes reference  books and magazines, as well as a large number of Great Lakes ship photos, duplicates of those in the museum's collection.  If you have questions please email ahart43791@aol.com.

Reported by Al Hart
 

Obituary: David F. Buchanan

6/15
David F. Buchanan, former Manager of Industrial Relations for Pittsburg Steamship Division, U.S. Steel Corporation at both Cleveland and Duluth offices passed away on June 4, 2005 at Mentor, Ohio where he resided with his daughter Mary Ellen. After retiring from Pittsburg Steamship Dave returned to Cleveland and served as a consultant for Lake Carrier Association from which he retired in 1985.

Surviving are three daughters and a son, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Dave was a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio thereafter earned his law degree from Case Western Reserve University.

A Memorial Services will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, June 18, 2005 at Beachland Presbyterian Church, 18100 Canterbury Road, Cleveland, Ohio. Memorial contributions may be made to the church.

Reported by William D. Carle
 

Today in Great Lakes History: June 15

GRECIAN (steel propeller freighter, 296 foot, 2348 gross tons, built in 1891 at Cleveland, Ohio) was being towed by the steamer SIR HENRY BESSEMER from Detour to Detroit.  The GRECIAN had sunk on 07 June 1906 when she struck a rock and she was being towed with a temporary patch over the hole.  The patch did not hold and on 15 June 1906, the GRECIAN sank off Alpena, Michigan.  The crew abandoned ship and they were picked up by the BESSEMER.

At midnight, on Saturday, 15 June 1901, OMAR D CONGER (wooden propeller ferry, 92 foot, 199 gross tons, built in 1882, at Port Huron, Michigan) burned at her dock on the Black River in Port Huron, Michigan.  Her upper works were destroyed, but she was repaired and put back in service.  She lasted until 1922, when her boiler exploded, killing four people and destroying the vessel.

On June 15, 1943, the D M CLEMSON collided with and sank the GEORGE M HUMPHREY in the Straits of Mackinac. Both of these 600-footers recovered for long careers. The D M CLEMSON was sold for scrap in 1980. The GEORGE M HUMPHREY was recovered over a year later, renamed the CAPTAIN JOHN ROEN, later converted to a self-unloader, and finished her career as the CONSUMERS POWER at the end of the 1985, season before being scrapped in 1988.

In 1989, the ROGER M KYES was rechristened b.) ADAM E CORNELIUS by American Steamship Co..

The wooden 180 foot schooner JOHN A FRANCOMB was launched at West Bay City, Michigan on 15 June 1889. She was built by F. W. Wheeler & Co. (Hull #61). She lasted until she was abandoned at Bay City in 1934.

GRECIAN (steel propeller freighter, 296 foot, 2348 gross tons, built in 1891, at Cleveland, Ohio by Globe Iron Works (Hull#40) had struck a rock near Detour, Michigan on 7 June 1906, but made dock at Detour before settling on bottom.. After her cargo was removed, she was raised, and while in towed by her fleet mate SIR HENRY BESSEMER, bound for Detroit Shipbuilding Co. in Wyandotte, Michigan for repairs, relying on air pressure in her sealed holds kept her afloat. However, on 15 June 1906, her holds began to fill with water and she sank in Lake Huron off Thunder Bay. Her crew was rescued by SIR HENRY BESSEMER.

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

Kinsman Independent renamed Voyageur Independent

6/14
The Kinsman Independent is being given new life in Hamilton. It is currently receiving a new GE Marine diesel engine, 2 new Cat generators, a new gearbox, propeller and propeller shaft. Reports indicate she will be ready to sail in mid-August under her new name Voyageur Independent. Of note, there has been no stated intention of converting the vessel to a self-unloader.

Reported by Justin Olsen

 

Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum schedules annual Induction of Honorees

6/14
The Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum in Rogers City, Michigan has announced the annual induction of honorees which will be held on August 19 and 20, 2005.

On Friday, the events will begin with a free tour of the Calcite Quarry at 1:30 PM. The Michigan Limestone Operation is one of the world's largest limestone quarries.

Friday evening at 7:00 PM, there will be panel discussion on "Lake Storms and Lake Tragedies", at the Rogers City Senior Citizen Center. Cost is $5.00. The panel will be composed of Frank Mays, only remaining survivor of the Carl D. Bradley; Dave Erickson, a survivor of the Cedarville  sinking; Warren Toussaint who was the medical officer on the USCG Sundew at the time of the Bradley sinking; Dennis Hale the sole survivor of the Daniel J. Morrell. The panel will be moderated by Cory Adkins from Channel 9/10.

On Saturday, the induction of candidates luncheon will be held at St. Ignatius School, 545 S. Third Street in Rogers City at 11:00 AM. Doors will open at 10:00 AM and the guest speaker will be Warren Toussaint, USCG retired. Cost for the luncheon is $12.00.

The public is invited to attend all events and reservations should be made in advance by calling museum director Ed Brklacich at 989-734-0706 or via e-mail at lor@i2k.net

Reported by Dave Wobser

 

Port Reports

6/14
Saginaw River:
Reported by Todd Shorkey
After a quiet day Saturday, the traffic on the Saginaw River increased on Sunday with a number of passages.  First in was the American Republic carrying a split load.  She lightered at Bay Aggregates in Bay City before finishing up at Saginaw Asphalt in Carrollton.  The Republic waited on her outbound trip at the Burroughs dock for the upbound Agawa Canyon to clear before continuing for the lake.  Agawa Canyon called on the Sargent dock in Zilwaukee to unload yet another load of salt. 

The tug Joyce L. Van Enkevort and barge Great Lakes Trader were inbound early Monday morning with a split load.  The pair lightered at the Sargent dock in Essexville before continuing upriver to finish unloading at the Saginaw Rock Products dock in Saginaw.  Also inbound Monday morning was the CSL Tadoussac who called on the Essroc dock in Essexville to unload Clinker.

The American Republic was outbound early Monday morning.  The Agawa Canyon, Joyce L./Great Lakes Trader, and CSL Tadoussac were expected to be outbound later on Monday.

Marquette:
Reported by Lee Rowe
Monday was a busy day at Marquette's ore dock.  The Mesabi Miner brought coal, the Herbert C. Jackson loaded ore and left, and was replaced at the dock by the Pathfinder/Dorothy Ann.  The Michipicoten also came in for a load of ore.

Sturgeon Bay:
Reported by Wendell Wilke
The Cuyahoga departed Bay Ship Building at 3:30pm Tuesday, 6/14. She was towed stern first from the yard out past Sherwood Point by Selvick's Jimmy L., where she headed for Green Bay, WI and unloading.

Toronto:
Reported by Charlie Gibbons
It was a busy day in the "Big Smoke" harbor on Monday. The schooner Empire Sandy returned to port from her Welland Canal and Niagara River cruises, in the wee hours of the morning. Algoma's Capt. Henry Jackman came in quite early with a load of salt and after discharging it, departed in ballast around 9 p.m. for Meldrum Bay.

In midafternoon the salty Malyovitza arrived and went to anchor in the inner harbor to await a berth at the Redpath sugar dock. McKeil's tug Glenevis took the pilot off. Canadian Ranger is still unloading at Redpath. She stopped last week and cleared the dock so that the salty Cinnamon could unload her cargo. Then the Ranger returned to finish unloading her cargo.

The two local cement ships Stephen B. Roman and English River both returned to port last night, the Roman coming in around 8 p.m. and the River around 10 p.m.

Sunday saw the arrival of two new vessels in port. The schooner Marie-Clarisse, built in 1924 in Shelburne, N.S. has not been in Toronto since 1984's tall Ship Rendezvous. She is berthed at Pier 4. The new CCG Cape Storm came in briefly and after dropping off passengers at Bay Street, she departed again. Cape Storm is based at Port Weller and replaces CGR 100.