Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive

Sarah Spencer aground near Windsor

Original Article - 9/30 - The tug Jane Ann IV with barge Sarah Spencer grounded approximately 200 feet off the Southwestern Sales Aggregate dock, in East Windsor, about 6 a.m. Monday morning. Apparently the tug Jane Ann IV lost power in one engine as it was coming in to dock in the channel between Peche Island and the Canadian shore.

Tug and barge remained near the Windsor dock through the day. About 5 p.m. the tug Salvor departed its truck ferry dock down river and reported it was headed to assist the Jane Ann IV. The Salvor arrived on scene around 7 p.m. and was back downbound at 9 p.m. The "G" tugs Superior and Wyoming were also on the scene during the day on Monday.

The tug/barge remain aground at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. No other details were available at this time.

Photos in the News Photo Gallery, and an updated photos.

Port Reports - September 30

Special Welland Gathering gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History - September 30

Alpena - Ben & Chanda McClain
The Mississagi arrived at the Alpena Oil Dock late Sunday night. It tied up and unloaded a cargo of road salt. It departed in the early morning hours of Monday.
Also in port Monday morning was the Alpena, loading cement at Lafarge.

Special Welland Gathering gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History - September 29

September 29, 1930, for the first time in the history of Pittsburgh Steamship Company, the boats of the fleet loaded more than one million tons in a 7 day period. The 64 Pittsburgh boats loaded 1,002,092 tons of cargo between 9/23 and 9/29.

The J. H. SHEADLE (Hull#22) of the Great Lakes Engineering Works, was launched September 29, 1906 , for the Grand Island Steamship Co. (Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co., Cleveland, Ohio, mgr.) Renamed b.) F. A. BAILEY in 1924, c.) LA SALLE in 1930. Sold Canadian in 1965, renamed d.) MEAFORD, and e.) PIERSON INDEPENDENT in 1979. She was scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1980.

Henry Ford II, 70, of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, passed away on September 29, 1987. Mr. Ford's namesake was the Ford Motor Company self-unloader.

On September 29, 1986, the Polish tug KORAL left Lauzon, Quebec with the JOHN E. F. MISENER and GOLDEN HIND enroute to Cartagena / Mamonal, Columbia for scrapping.

September 29, 1892 - The ANN ARBOR NO 1 was launched.

On 29 September 1872, ADRIATIC (3 mast wooden schooner-barge, 139 foot, 129 net tons, built in 1865, at Clayton, New York as a bark) was in tow of the tug MOORE along with three other barges in Lake Erie in a heavy gale. She became separated from the tow and foundered. The entire crew of 7 was lost. The wooden schooner DERRICK was used in salvage operations. On 29 September 1854, she had just positioned herself above the wreck of the steamer ERIE off Silver Creek, New York on Lake Erie when she went down in a gale. She had spent the summer trying to salvage valuables from the wreck of the steamer ATLANTIC.

On 29 September 1900, the steamer SAKIE SHEPARD was re-launched at Anderson's shipyard in Marine City. She had been thoroughly rebuilt there during the summer.

Port Weller Drydock, which has recently appeared to be closed, is owned by Upper Lakes Shipping, who also own the vessel. The tugs Commodore Straits and Radium Yellowknife handled the tow.

The Marine Link Explorer is the former John Henry and departed Trois-Rivičres for the Great Lakes on Monday. John Henry was built in a US shipyard 30 years ago for deep sea service under the US flag. The vessel's future is unknown at this time.

Pictures in the News Photo Gallery

Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski
Herbert C. Jackson arrived Saturday after noon and went up the creek to Standard Elevator. She should be outbound Sunday afternoon.

Grand Haven - Dick Fox
The Maumee came in light about 3:30 Saturday afternoon and took on a load of sand at the Construction Aggregates dock in Ferrysburg. Her destination is St. Joseph, MI. This is the second shipment out of our port this season.

Hamilton - Eric Holmes
Saturday the Canadian Miner arrived at 8:30 a.m. with a cargo of iron ore pellets from Port Cartier for Dofasco. The tug Salvor and barge departed at 9:30 a.m. with steel slabs for Detroit. Rt. Hon. Paul J Martin arrived at 11 a.m. with coal from Buffalo for US Steel. Robert S. Pierson arrived at 1:30 pm. with iron ore pellets for US Steel from Superior. Canadian Transport departed at 6 p.m. from Dofasco in ballast. Tim S. Dool arrived at 8:30 p.m. with iron ore pellets for Dofasco.
Algolake arrived at 9 p.m. with coal for Dofasco.

Luedtke Engineering Co. of Frankfort was to begin clearing the navigational channel this month, carrying out the first comprehensive maintenance dredging project on the river since the mid-1990s. But the start date has been delayed due to other dredging that Luedtke is finishing up in Buffalo and Cleveland, said Tom Zatkovic, the company's project manager. "Possibly mid-November, more likely the first of December," Zatkovic said of a start date for the Upper Saginaw project.

Crews plan to work until the Saginaw River freezes, he said, then resume and finish the project in the spring.

Luedtke was hired for $1.9 million by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the Upper River, from Bay City south to Saginaw. A notice to proceed on the work was signed Sept. 19, and the contractor has 120 days from that date to complete the work, Corps officials said. The timeline doesn't count days when work can't be done due to weather, however. The spoils will be scooped from the river and deposited at a new $5 million Dredged Material Disposal Facility constructed on the Bay-Saginaw county line in Frankenlust and Zilwaukee townships.

Jim Koski, Saginaw County public works commissioner, said he's disappointed the start date has been delayed. But Koski has spearheaded the project for years, and dealt with numerous environmental and legal wranglings. "There's been so many things," he said. "I don't think anything has happened as it was supposed to on this thing."

If nothing else, the delay will at least mean the river is mostly clear of pleasure craft traffic during the dredging, Koski said. He said he thinks the work, to dredge more than 200,000 cubic yards from the navigational channel, will take two to three months to complete. Regardless of when dredging begins, Koski said he plans to watch the start from a lawn chair on shore - even if he has to wear a hat and gloves. "You just climb over the hills as they put them in front of you," he said.

Pictures in the News Photo Gallery

Special Welland Gathering gallery

On September 28, 1980, the BURNS HARBOR entered service, departing Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin bound for Superior, Wisconsin to load pellets.

THOMAS WILSON left Toledo on September 28, 1987, in tow of the tug TUSKER for overseas scrapping. WILSON has been laid up since December 16, 1979.

On 28 September 1891, THOMAS PARSONS (2 mast wooden schooner, 135 foot, 350 tons, built in 1868, at Charlotte, New York) was carrying coal out of Ashtabula, Ohio when she foundered in a storm a few miles off Fairport in Lake Erie.

On 28 September 1849, W G BUCKNER (wooden schooner, 75 foot, 107 tons, built in 1837, at Irving, New york) was carrying lumber in a storm on Lake Michigan when she sprang a leak, then capsized. The man to whom the cargo belonged was aboard with his wife and five children. One child was washed overboard while the wife and three children died of exposure. The schooner ERWIN took off the survivors plus the bodies.

Sarah Spencer aground near Windsor

Original Article - 9/30 - The tug Jane Ann IV with barge Sarah Spencer grounded approximately 200 feet off the Southwestern Sales Aggregate dock, in East Windsor, about 6 a.m. Monday morning. Apparently the tug Jane Ann IV lost power in one engine as it was coming in to dock in the channel between Peche Island and the Canadian shore.

Tug and barge remained near the Windsor dock through the day. About 5 p.m. the tug Salvor departed its truck ferry dock down river and reported it was headed to assist the Jane Ann IV. The Salvor arrived on scene around 7 p.m. and was back downbound at 9 p.m. The "G" tugs Superior and Wyoming were also on the scene during the day on Monday.

The tug/barge remain aground at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. No other details were available at this time.

Photos in the News Photo Gallery, and an updated photos.

Port Reports - September 30

Special Welland Gathering gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History - September 30

Alpena - Ben & Chanda McClain
The Mississagi arrived at the Alpena Oil Dock late Sunday night. It tied up and unloaded a cargo of road salt. It departed in the early morning hours of Monday.
Also in port Monday morning was the Alpena, loading cement at Lafarge.

The Diamond Belle will travel down the Detroit River shipping channels all the way to the Detroit River Light in Lake Erie.

Special Welland Gathering gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History - September 29

September 29, 1930, for the first time in the history of Pittsburgh Steamship Company, the boats of the fleet loaded more than one million tons in a 7 day period. The 64 Pittsburgh boats loaded 1,002,092 tons of cargo between 9/23 and 9/29.

The J. H. SHEADLE (Hull#22) of the Great Lakes Engineering Works, was launched September 29, 1906 , for the Grand Island Steamship Co. (Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co., Cleveland, Ohio, mgr.) Renamed b.) F. A. BAILEY in 1924, c.) LA SALLE in 1930. Sold Canadian in 1965, renamed d.) MEAFORD, and e.) PIERSON INDEPENDENT in 1979. She was scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1980.

Henry Ford II, 70, of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, passed away on September 29, 1987. Mr. Ford's namesake was the Ford Motor Company self-unloader.

On September 29, 1986, the Polish tug KORAL left Lauzon, Quebec with the JOHN E. F. MISENER and GOLDEN HIND enroute to Cartagena / Mamonal, Columbia for scrapping.

September 29, 1892 - The ANN ARBOR NO 1 was launched.

On 29 September 1872, ADRIATIC (3 mast wooden schooner-barge, 139 foot, 129 net tons, built in 1865, at Clayton, New York as a bark) was in tow of the tug MOORE along with three other barges in Lake Erie in a heavy gale. She became separated from the tow and foundered. The entire crew of 7 was lost. The wooden schooner DERRICK was used in salvage operations. On 29 September 1854, she had just positioned herself above the wreck of the steamer ERIE off Silver Creek, New York on Lake Erie when she went down in a gale. She had spent the summer trying to salvage valuables from the wreck of the steamer ATLANTIC.

On 29 September 1900, the steamer SAKIE SHEPARD was re-launched at Anderson's shipyard in Marine City. She had been thoroughly rebuilt there during the summer.

Port Weller Drydock, which has recently appeared to be closed, is owned by Upper Lakes Shipping, who also own the vessel. The tugs Commodore Straits and Radium Yellowknife handled the tow.

The Marine Link Explorer is the former John Henry and departed Trois-Rivičres for the Great Lakes on Monday. John Henry was built in a US shipyard 30 years ago for deep sea service under the US flag. The vessel's future is unknown at this time.

Pictures in the News Photo Gallery

Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski
Herbert C. Jackson arrived Saturday after noon and went up the creek to Standard Elevator. She should be outbound Sunday afternoon.

Grand Haven - Dick Fox
The Maumee came in light about 3:30 Saturday afternoon and took on a load of sand at the Construction Aggregates dock in Ferrysburg. Her destination is St. Joseph, MI. This is the second shipment out of our port this season.

Hamilton - Eric Holmes
Saturday the Canadian Miner arrived at 8:30 a.m. with a cargo of iron ore pellets from Port Cartier for Dofasco. The tug Salvor and barge departed at 9:30 a.m. with steel slabs for Detroit. Rt. Hon. Paul J Martin arrived at 11 a.m. with coal from Buffalo for US Steel. Robert S. Pierson arrived at 1:30 pm. with iron ore pellets for US Steel from Superior. Canadian Transport departed at 6 p.m. from Dofasco in ballast. Tim S. Dool arrived at 8:30 p.m. with iron ore pellets for Dofasco.
Algolake arrived at 9 p.m. with coal for Dofasco.

Luedtke Engineering Co. of Frankfort was to begin clearing the navigational channel this month, carrying out the first comprehensive maintenance dredging project on the river since the mid-1990s. But the start date has been delayed due to other dredging that Luedtke is finishing up in Buffalo and Cleveland, said Tom Zatkovic, the company's project manager. "Possibly mid-November, more likely the first of December," Zatkovic said of a start date for the Upper Saginaw project.

Crews plan to work until the Saginaw River freezes, he said, then resume and finish the project in the spring.

Luedtke was hired for $1.9 million by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the Upper River, from Bay City south to Saginaw. A notice to proceed on the work was signed Sept. 19, and the contractor has 120 days from that date to complete the work, Corps officials said. The timeline doesn't count days when work can't be done due to weather, however. The spoils will be scooped from the river and deposited at a new $5 million Dredged Material Disposal Facility constructed on the Bay-Saginaw county line in Frankenlust and Zilwaukee townships.

Jim Koski, Saginaw County public works commissioner, said he's disappointed the start date has been delayed. But Koski has spearheaded the project for years, and dealt with numerous environmental and legal wranglings. "There's been so many things," he said. "I don't think anything has happened as it was supposed to on this thing."

If nothing else, the delay will at least mean the river is mostly clear of pleasure craft traffic during the dredging, Koski said. He said he thinks the work, to dredge more than 200,000 cubic yards from the navigational channel, will take two to three months to complete. Regardless of when dredging begins, Koski said he plans to watch the start from a lawn chair on shore - even if he has to wear a hat and gloves. "You just climb over the hills as they put them in front of you," he said.

Pictures in the News Photo Gallery

Special Welland Gathering gallery

On September 28, 1980, the BURNS HARBOR entered service, departing Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin bound for Superior, Wisconsin to load pellets.

THOMAS WILSON left Toledo on September 28, 1987, in tow of the tug TUSKER for overseas scrapping. WILSON has been laid up since December 16, 1979.

On 28 September 1891, THOMAS PARSONS (2 mast wooden schooner, 135 foot, 350 tons, built in 1868, at Charlotte, New York) was carrying coal out of Ashtabula, Ohio when she foundered in a storm a few miles off Fairport in Lake Erie.

On 28 September 1849, W G BUCKNER (wooden schooner, 75 foot, 107 tons, built in 1837, at Irving, New york) was carrying lumber in a storm on Lake Michigan when she sprang a leak, then capsized. The man to whom the cargo belonged was aboard with his wife and five children. One child was washed overboard while the wife and three children died of exposure. The schooner ERWIN took off the survivors plus the bodies.

That flies in the face of assertions made by Georgian Bay homeowners, who claimed in 2005 that ongoing erosion in the riverbed is causing low lake levels. According to the bathtub theory the riverbed is eroding as a result of past dredging, making the channel deeper. With a larger drain-hole at Sarnia, lakes Michigan and Huron are falling.

Some American politicians have pushed for a quick fix involving concrete speed bumps to slow the water flowing under the bridge. That solution has raised concerns among Sarnia-Lambton officials who say they don't want to see changes to the river with far-reaching ramifications, unless there is sufficient information.

Nevin told The Observer that there's no evidence to support the bathtub theory so far. It's possible that old charts of the riverbed under the Blue Water Bridge were misinterpreted, he said. Instead, the study has found that the St. Clair's riverbed south of the Black River appears to have "significantly" changed in size. "It might be a result of maintenance dredging or perhaps it's prop wash from propellers. It's really too early to say," said Nevin.

The $17-million study, commissioned by the International Joint Commission, was expected to take three years. But political pressure from both sides of the border prompted the IJC to expedite the process. The study will be released in February, a full year early, according to Nevin. He cautioned that final conclusions have not been made and that researchers continue to examine the data and are considering the impact of ongoing changes in weather patterns, the amount of ice on the lakes and even the weeds in the river.

The study is also intended to look at outflows that control how much water moves from Lake Superior to Lakes Michigan and Huron. Changing water levels have dramatic impacts on the shipping industry, marina operations and waterfront property owners, Nevin added. There's also an ecological cost, he said, referring to plant and animal species in and around the Great Lakes.

Port Reports - September 27

Marquette - Rod Burdick
Friday morning, Manitowoc loaded taconite at the Upper Harbor ore dock after unloading coal in Munising Thursday evening.

9/27 - Port Colborne, ONT. -- Last Sunday, an armada of 60 tourists rumbled through this scenic canal-side town without stopping. Not so much as a brake light for the Onondaga Escarpment, Whisky Run Golf Club, Incredible Shrinking Mill or other charms that snag most visitors. The only attraction fixed in their brains was a yard full of rust and asbestos at the south end of town.

By 10 a.m., cars with U.S. plates and rooftop VHF antennas lined both sides of the gravel driveway leading to the International Marine Salvage scrap yard, all here for the highlight of the 8th Annual Boatnerd Gathering at the Welland Canal. "Any other day of the year, this place is off-limits," says Wayne Brown, a school caretaker who drove three hours and arrived early. "This is really a rare opportunity."

All over the windswept scrap yard, flash bulbs blaze, especially at the yard worker guiding his cutting torch along the hull of the Calumet, a classic straight-decker laid up after 80 year on the Great Lakes. Other yard workers hawk flaking portholes off the back of a pickup truck. "This is history all around us," says Mr. Brown, one of dozens of boat nerds studying rust buckets as though they were art exhibits. "They cut up history here. It's sad ... but it sure is a treat to see it before it's gone."

To an outsider, this "rare opportunity" looks like a visit to a landfill littered with freighter hulks, deck winches and two listing trawlers from Lithuania. To one of the 30,000 people who call up Boatnerd.com every day, this scrap yard is a museum in a state of perpetual self-destruction.

Launched over a decade ago as the modest pet project of a single freighter fan, the website now registers more than 20 million page views a month and acts as a hub for thousands of hobbyists who can recite every arcane detail about every arcane vessel on the lakes. About 140 freighters, or lakers, currently ply the Great Lakes waterways, each carrying a unique history of mishaps, strange cargo and eccentric owners.

The lure of that lore is infectious, says Dave Wobser, one of the volunteers who run Boatnerd.com. The site tracks the location of every ship in the Great Lakes, and reports spills, accidents, launches and scrappings - often before the authorities do. At the scrap yard, that devotion to breaking shipping news was evident in the number of squawking portable radios holstered to hips, all tuned to VHF-FM channel 14.

"It's like air-traffic control for the canal," says Mike Cunningham, a property manager who came from Sarnia with his son, 11-year-old Griffon, named after one of the first commercial ships on the upper Great Lakes.

As a hobby, boat nerding is similar to train- or plane-spotting, but on a much grander scale, as most nerds will gladly point out. Larger lakers - the 1,000-footers with 68,000-tonne cargo holds - can carry the weight of 700 railcars or 2,000 tractor-trailers. "They are the biggest, cheapest way to move bulk commodities that there is," says Mr. Wobser, looking past the listing Calumet to the 730-foot Frontenac loading salt across the canal. "And yet they slip so smoothly and so quietly across the water."

A boat nerd's devotion knows no geographical bounds. Like birders, many keep life lists, ranking all the vessels they'd like to see before they die. They are known to skip work, drive for days, sleep in cars, brave blizzards and monitor ship radios throughout the night, all out of affection for the big tubs that glide across North America's freshwater highways.

The boat nerds are fully aware that some will scoff at this level of obsession. "Most of the professional mariners, they all make fun of us," says Mr. Wobser. "But I guarantee you they read [Boatnerd.com] every damn day. I know because any time we get something wrong they're on our ass correcting us right away. The Coast Guard, especially, they watch us like hawks."

Not long ago, 400 additional freighters plied these waterways. Larger ships with larger payloads have shrunk the fleet size - a boon for scrap yards, which can gross upward of $1-million from a single ship, but a loss for ship lovers. Every so often, the nerds get to celebrate when a ship is saved from the scrap heap.

Earlier this year, the John Sherwin, an 800-foot laker that had been laid up for 25 years, floated back into service. "That got everyone excited," says Matt Miner who, at 30, is a relatively young nerd. "That was big news."

By noon, the boat nerds begin wandering back to their cars, some identifying each piece of scrap as they go. "See that rusty thing? That's a bow thruster from the Tarantau," says Mr. Wobser, feet crunching over iron slag. "That over there's from the Henry Ford II. And that one they use as a fireworks platform in Toronto."

Mr. Wobser drove six hours from Findlay, Ohio, to be here. In June, he drove two days just for a trip aboard a laker, his first. "It was awesome," he says, but not the same as watching from land. "You watch one of those ships slide past from the shore and you can just let your mind wander. Where's it going? What's it carrying? Will it get around that hurricane? It becomes a fantasy."

From the Toronto Globe and Mail

Special Welland Gathering gallery

Today in Great Lakes History - September 27

September 27, 1959 The West Neebish Channel, through which downbound traffic normally passes, was temporarily closed to permit dredging to the maximum Seaway depth of 27 feet. Two way traffic was instituted in the Middle Neebish Channel until dredging was completed.

On 27 September 1877, the HIPPOGRIFFE (wooden schooner, 295 tons, built in 1864, at Buffalo, New York) had just left Chicago for Buffalo, loaded with oats, on a fine day with clear weather. The crew saw EMMA A. COYNE (wooden schooner, 155 foot, 497 tons, built in 1867, at Detroit, Michigan) approaching from a long way off loaded with lumber. The two vessels' skippers were brothers. The two schooners collided about 20 miles off Kenosha, Wisconsin. The COYNE came along side and picked up the HIPPOGRIFFE's crew a few minutes before that vessel rolled over and dove for the bottom.

The CITY OF GENOA arrived with the first cargo of iron ore for the new factory at Zug Island. Reported in the The Detroit Free Press on September 28, 1903.

The H. M. GRIFFITH experienced a smoky conveyor belt fire at Port Colborne, Ontario on September 27, 1989. Repairs were completed there.

The ROGER M. KYES proceeded to Chicago for dry-docking, survey and repairs on September 27, 1976. She had struck bottom in Buffalo Harbor September 22, 1976 sustaining holes in two double bottom tanks and damage to three others.

The GEORGE M. HUMPHREY under tow, locked through the Panama Canal from September 27, 1986, to the 30th on her way to the cutters torch at Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

The tanker IMPERIAL COLLINGWOOD (Hull#137) was launched September 27, 1947, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for Imperial Oil Ltd., Toronto, Ontario. Renamed b.) SEAWAY TRADER in 1979, sold off the Lakes in 1984, renamed c.) PATRICIA II, d.) BALBOA TRADER in 1992.

September 27, 1909 - The ANN ARBOR NO 4 entered service after being repaired from her capsizing at Manistique, Michigan the previous May.

On 27 September 1884, WALDO A. AVERY (wooden propeller, 204 foot, 1,294 gross tons) was launched at West Bay City, Michigan. Her construction had been subcontracted by F. W. Wheeler & Co. to Thomas F. Murphy.

On 27-29 September 1872, a big storm swept the lower Lakes. Here are the Lake Huron tragedies. The barges HUNTER and DETROIT were destroyed. The tug SANDUSKY rescued the 21 survivors for them. The schooner CORSAIR foundered off Sturgeon Point on Saginaw Bay at 4 p.m. on Sunday the 29th and only 2 of the crew survived. The barge A. LINCOLN was ashore one mile below Au Sable with no loss of life. The barge TABLE ROCK went ashore off Tawas Point and went to pieces. All but one of her crew was lost. The schooner WHITE SQUALL was sunk ten miles off Fish Point -- only one crewman was saved. The schooner SUMMIT went ashore at Fish Point, 7 miles north of Tawas with two lives lost.

Port Report - September 26

Special Welland Gathering gallery

Today in Great Lakes History - September 26

September 26, 1930, the schooner OUR SON, originally launched in 1875, sank during a storm on Lake Michigan. Seventy-three year old Captain Fred Nelson the crew of OUR SON were rescued by the self unloader WILLIAM NELSON.

September 26, 1937, the Canadian Seaman's Union signed a tentative wage contract. Sailors would continue a two watch system (working 12 hours every 24 hours) and be paid the following monthly wages: Wheelsmen and Oilers - $72.50, Watchmen and firemen - $67.50, Second Cooks - $52.50, deckhands and coal passers - $50.00, porters - $45.00, Chief Cooks on the Upper Lakes - $115.00, and Chief Cooks on Canal boats $105.00.

September 26, 1957, Taconite Harbor, Minnesota loaded its first cargo of 10,909 tons of taconite pellets into the holds of the Interlake steamer J. A. CAMPBELL.

On 26 September 1892, JOHN BURT (3-mast wooden schooner, 138 foot, 348 gross tons, built in 1871, at Detroit, Michigan) was carrying grain in a strong northwest gale. Her rudder broke and she was blown past the mouth of Oswego harbor and was driven hard aground. Two died when the vessel struck. The U.S. Lifesaving Service rescued the remaining five crew members. The vessel quickly broke up in the waves.

The CHI-CHEEMAUN cleared the shipyard on September 26, 1974.

The H. M. GRIFFITH was christened on September 26, 1973 at Collingwood for Canada Steamship Lines.

The C.C.G.S. GRIFFON (Hull#664) was launched September 26, 1969 by Davie Shipbuilding Ltd., Lauzon, Quebec for the Canadian Coast Guard.

ROGER M KYES returned to service on September 26, 1984, she had grounded off McLouth Steel and ended crosswise in the Detroit River's Trenton Channel a month before. She was renamed b.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1989.

The BELLE RIVER was side swiped by the Liberian FEDERAL RHINE, of 1977, at Duluth on September 26, 1985. Both vessels received minor damage.

On 26 September 1914, MARY N. BOURKE (wooden schooner-barge, 219 foot, 920 gross tons, built in 1889, at Baraga, Michigan) was docked at Peter's Lumber Dock in St. Mary's Bay, 15 miles north of St. Ignace, Michigan. The crew was awakened at 9:30-10:00 p.m. by smoke coming from her hold and they escaped. The BOURKE burned to the waterline and the fire spread ashore, destroying the dock and a pile of lumber.

At 3:00 a.m., 26 September 1876, the steam barge LADY FRANKLIN burned while moored near Clark's dock, about three miles from Amherstburg, Ontario in the Detroit River. One life was lost. This vessel had been built in 1861, as a passenger steamer and ran between Cleveland, Ohio and Port Stanley, Ontario. In 1874, she was converted into a lumber freighter, running primarily between Saginaw, Michigan and Cleveland. The burned hull was rebuilt in 1882.

Soo Locks malfunction delays shipping

9/25 - Sault Ste Marie, Mi — A gate malfunction caused a temporary shutdown of the biggest Great Lakes shipping lock at Sault Ste. Marie, but the problem was fixed within a couple of hours.

Area Engineer Al Klein says the 1,200-foot Poe Lock experienced a mechanical problem around 9 a.m. Wednesday. It delayed the upbound Edgar B. Speer and downbound tug Joyce L. Van Enkevort with barge Great Lakes Trader. The delay also required another freighter headed toward the locks to slow down. Klein says the problem involved the system that controls the gates. Repairs were finished by 11 a.m.

The Poe is the only one of the Soo Locks that can accommodate the large 1,000-foot vessels that carry much of the iron ore and coal transported on the lakes.

Ships pass through the locks when traveling between Lakes Huron and Superior.

Marinelink Explorer tow update

9/25 - The tow of the former heavy-lift salt water vessel Marinelink Explorer is expected to arrive at Port Weller Drydock Friday evening. The vessel will be put into the deep dry dock.

Port Weller Drydock, which has recently appeared to be closed, is owned by Upper Lakes Shipping, who also own the vessel. The tugs Commodore Straits and Radium Yellowknife are handling the tow.

The Marine Link Explorer is the former John Henry and departed Trois-Rivičres for the Great Lakes on Monday. John Henry was built in a US shipyard 30 years ago for deep sea service under the US flag.

Port Report - September 25

PCA board OKs tough new rules on ballast water

9/25 - ST. PAUL — Minnesota jumped to the lead among Great Lakes states Tuesday night in the battle against invasive species with new rules regulating ballast water. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s citizens board voted 6-0 to require crews of all ships releasing ballast water in Minnesota waters of Lake Superior to first treat that water, starting in 2016. The new regulations are the toughest on the Great Lakes and among the strongest in the nation demanding ships’ crews take action so invasive species are less likely to hitchhike in ballast tanks.

The regulations require owners and operators of all ships longer than 150 feet that carry ballast to immediately apply for permits, begin keeping track of and reporting all ballast water discharges, and figure out a plan to eliminate the threat of invasive species being moved from distant ports into Duluth, Two Harbors and Silver Bay. The new rule then phases in the requirement to treat ballast, giving ship owners up to eight years to bring their craft into dry dock to be retrofitted with treatment technology. Any new ships will need to treat ballast starting in 2012.

Of the 180 foreign species in the Great Lakes, scientists say about half probably got here by riding in ships’ ballast tanks. Some of those species, such as quagga mussels, cost millions of dollars to control and threaten native ecosystems. One species, the VHS virus, is killing large numbers of fish. Supporters say the regulations are long overdue but that the state is giving the industry too much time, and asked the PCA for tougher disinfection standards and to speed up requirements to treat ballast. “This industry has had a free pass on the Clean Water Act for about 30 years,’’ John Lenczewski, a volunteer for Trout Unlimited, told the board in support of strong ballast regulation.

But critics say the state is regulating where it doesn’t belong, saying it’s the federal government that should impose ballast regulations to keep standard shipping laws across all U.S. ports. They note that, unless Wisconsin adopts similar regulations, Minnesota’s rules won’t protect the shared waters of the Twin Ports. “We believe this action is a train wreck that’s been a long time coming. A train wreck in that it should be a single federal action and not a list of multiple state regulations,” Jim Sharrow, facilities manager for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, told the board. “The elephant in the corner of the room here is that this really isn’t going to protect Minnesota waters until Wisconsin and Canada and Michigan all adopt standards.”

Congress has several ballast regulation plans in play, but so far none have passed into law. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a ballast regulation that requires no treatment of water released. PCA Commissioner Brad Moore said he hopes the state’s action spurs a strong, single federal rule on ballast that renders the state’s move unnecessary. “It seems as if the only thing that spurs federal action is a crisis or some leadership by the states,” Moore said. “I believe that if we pass this we’re building a bridge to get federal action going.”

Minnesota becomes the first state to regulate ballast in both saltwater ships and Great Lakes ships that don’t enter oceans. California is the only other state with strict ballast treatment standards. Michigan requires some saltwater ships to treat ballast, but none that meet the requirement have entered a Michigan port.

9/25 - Milwaukee - The Navy's newest ship, the future USS Freedom (LCS 1), will be commissioned Nov. 8 at Veteran's Memorial Park in Milwaukee. The commissioning date set by Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter, was announced by the commissioning committee Aug. 18 in Milwaukee.

"This is a huge milestone, another milestone in the life of USS Freedom," said Cmdr. Michael Doran, prospective commanding officer of Freedom's Gold Crew. "It was a mere 64 months ago that Freedom was a proposal on a piece of paper and here we are announcing the date for its commissioning."

The littoral combat ship was designed to provide the U.S. Navy with greater flexibility and capability in operating in the littoral or "green water" coastal areas. The 377-foot Freedom is capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots and can operate in water less than 20 feet deep. The ship will act as a platform for launch and recovery of manned and unmanned vehicles. Its modular design will support interchangeable mission packages, allowing the ship to be reconfigured for antisubmarine warfare, mine warfare, or surface warfare missions on an as-needed basis.

"It brings to the fleet a lot of flexibility," Doran said. "The ship was built with a specific goal and purpose in mind - to operate in shallow waters. It also has the flexibility, as 40 percent of it is large, reconfigurable space so that you can put the specific mission packages into it." Freedom will be manned by one of two rotational crews, blue and gold, similar to the rotational crews assigned to Trident submarines. The crews will be augmented by one of three mission package crews during focused mission assignments. Of the many new systems being used on Freedom is a highly automated engineering plant and water jet propulsion, both of which give the ship new capabilities.

Freedom was christened Sept. 24, 2006, in Marinette, Wis. LCS 1 is being built at Marinette Marine Corp. by Lockheed Martin. Following commissioning Nov. 8, she will sail to Norfolk, for operational testing and then to her homeport of San Diego. The second ship of the class, Independence, is being built at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala., by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works.

Special Welland Gathering gallery

Today in Great Lakes History - September 25

In tandem tow, the MENIHEK LAKE and LEON FALK JR arrived at Vigo, Spain on September 25, 1985. The MENIHEK LAKE was scrapped at Vigo, and the FALK was towed to Gijn, Spain for scrapping.

The HENRY C FRICK departed Bay City on her maiden voyage on September 25, 1905 and rammed and damaged the Michigan Central Railroad Bridge at Bay City.

On 25 September 1869, COMMENCEMENT (2-mast wooden schooner, 75 foot, 73 tons, built in 1853, at Holland, Michigan) was carrying wood in her hold and telegraph poles on deck from Pentwater, Michigan for Milwaukee when she sprang a leak 20 miles off Little Sable Point on Lake Michigan. The incoming water quickly overtook her pump capacity. As the crew was getting aboard the lifeboat, she turned turtle. The crew clung to the upturned hull for 30 hours until the passing steamer ALLEGHENY finally rescued them. COMMENCEMENT later washed ashore, a total wreck.

9/24 - Buffalo - The long-dormant Lake & Rail grain elevator complex along the Buffalo River is back in business.

The 75-year-old elevator received its first ship-delivered load of grain in over a decade, marking a key milestone in its rebirth. The elevator, which is owned by Minnesota-based Whitebox Commodities, had sat quiet and deteriorating until 2006, when it was acquired by River- Wright Energy, a local company planning to produce ethanol.

RiverWright spent more than $1.5 million refurbishing the 4.4 million bushel grain handling facility as part of its fuel production plans before selling it to Whitebox in June for $2 million. Buffalo businessman Rick Smith III, a principal in River- Wright, said he’s thrilled to see the elevator come back to life. “This is the first time one of these old beauties has been brought back from the dead here in Buffalo. She’s come full circle,” Smith said.

RiverWright’s rehabilitation of the elevator included installation of new electrical and conveyor systems, plus general clean-up of the neglected complex. Whitebox has continued to modernize the silos, including installation of a mechanized hopper which allows it to receive grain shipments from “self-unloading” freighters.

Whitebox representatives declined to comment on their Buffalo operation, but local grain handling sources confirmed the commodities company received a 400,000 bushel shipment of wheat Monday morning. The load was delivered to the site from Owen Sound, Ont. by the lake freighter American Fortitude.

In addition to providing a critical test of the Lake & Rail’s new ship unloading machinery, the docking of the 690-foot-long American Fortitude marked the farthest up the Buffalo River a ship that size has ever traveled. The freighter, which is part of the Buffalo-based American Steamship fleet, is one of the largest haulers on the Great Lakes. The giant freighter was guided up the Buffalo River by two tugboats, the New Jersey and the Washington. It was estimated it would take a minimum of 12 hours to unload the inaugural grain shipment.

Whitebox, an investment group which specializes in grain futures trading, recently moved into “hands on” grain handling and storage through the acquisition of grain silos in the Midwest and in Buffalo. It’s estimated Whitebox has brought in more than 2 million bushels of wheat by rail to the Lake & Rail site, just North of the Ohio Street lift bridge, over the past few months. There was a flurry of activity at the site last weekend, with more than 50 rail cars, each carrying some 3,000 bushels of wheat, unloaded at the facility. Whitebox, which controls more the 40 million bushels of elevator capacity at its silo portfolio, is able to boost its revenues by timing sales of its grain assets to achieve higher yields.

As Whitebox switches into high gear at Lake & Rail, River- Wright continues its push toward ethanol production at the 23-acre site. Smith said although his group failed to meet its initial goal of starting alternative fuel production in 2007, RiverWright is now working toward a 2010 start. “Our timetable has changed, but we’re forging ahead. Right now the focus is on bringing some big investors to the project and we’ve just signed an extension to the due diligence period on that,” Smith said.

As it has sought investors, RiverWright has also worked its way through regulatory and permit processes, and fended off a lawsuit aimed at preventing ethanol production at the site. RiverWright owns the American, Perot and Marine ‘A’ elevators along the Buffalo River with a combined storage capacity of 6.3 million bushels.

The Pringle was lost June 19, 1922 while towing the steamer Venezuela from Milwaukee to Sandusky to be cut down as a barge. At about 2 AM, the Pringle was found to be leaking and quickly foundered, her crew escaping to the Venezuela. Originally believe to lie off Manitowoc, the wreck proved to be far from her reported sinking location.

A documentary featuring video and history of this newly discovered wreck will be shown Saturday, October 25th at the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association Fall Conference in Milwaukee. For more information, visit www.wuaa.org.

Bush, who lives near Cloquet, was visiting Marna Banks of Duluth. A budding sailor, Bush said he likes to check out the sailboat traffic on the lake. The couple was enjoying the warm, windy day outdoors, and Bush, as usual, was scanning the sailboat traffic. Using a pair of binoculars, he saw a few large sailboats far out in the lake, and a lot of chop closer to shore.

And then, about a half-mile off Minnesota Point, he spotted something tiny and unusual. “It looked like a sailboat with the mast down,” Bush said. He couldn’t see anyone on board, but he noticed the small boat was stuck broadside to oncoming waves. “It just looked like a white sailboat that kept getting lost in the troughs,” Bush said. “I said to Marna: ‘I could be wrong, but let’s call the Coast Guard and tell them.’ ”

Bush called to report a boat in distress, and left his name and number. He got a call back immediately. The Coast Guard had had another report of a sailboat in distress about 2? hours earlier, said First Class Petty Officer Derek Franklin. A crew had been searching for the boat but was unable to locate it in the rough water, he said. The crew headed back out again, this time in cell phone contact with Bush. Keeping an eye on the sailboat and one ear to his phone, Bush was able to direct the rescue crew — “a little to the east, a little to the south” — to the foundering sailboat.

The rescue crew located a single person on the boat, which had its mast strapped down, Franklin said. The sailor had first- and second-degree burns on his legs and hands, and apparently had extinguished a small fire on his boat, he said. Franklin was not sure what had caused the fire. The Coast Guard crew took the sailor aboard the rescue boat and towed the disabled sailboat into the harbor. The sailor was then transported to Miller-Dwan Medical Center, Franklin said, where he was treated and released. The sailor’s name was not available.

The Coast Guard frequently makes use of help from the public, Franklin said, whether it’s to report a boat or swimmer in trouble or to offer more eyes on the water. As for Bush, he said his role in the successful rescue “made me feel really good.” And he certainly isn’t done watching the lake. Next summer, Bush plans to trade in that armchair and the blueberry farm he has nurtured for the past 15 years for a full-time sailing gig. He plans to spend as much time as possible on Lake Superior aboard his newly acquired 26-foot sailboat. A summer on the big lake “should tell me if I want to spend my life on a boat,” Bush said.

Special Welland Gathering gallery

Historical Gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History - September 24

On September 24th, the A. H. FERBERT went hard aground at the Cut-Off Channel's southeast bend of the St. Clair River. Six tugs, GLENADA, ELMORE M. MISNER, BARBARA ANN, GLENSIDE, SHANNON and WM. A. WHITNEY, worked until late on the 26th to free her.

The EDMUND FITZGERALD's first cargo of taconite pellets was loaded September 24, 1958 at Silver Bay, Minnesota for Toledo, Ohio.

The PERE MARQUETTE 22 entered service September 24, 1924.

In early morning fog on the St. Clair River on September 24, 1962, the J L REISS was hit three glancing blows by U.S. Steel's SEWELL AVERY. The AVERY had lost control just below Robert's Landing and crossed the channel from the Canadian side and struck the J L REISS which was proceeding slowly by radar on the U.S. side.

On September 24, 1952, the CHARLES L HUTCHINSON entered service. This vessel was renamed b.) ERNEST R BREECH when it was sold to the Ford Motor Company in 1962, and it was given its present name, c.) KINSMAN INDEPENDENT, when it was sold to Kinsman Lines in 1988. She was sold Canadian converted to a motorship and renamed d.) VOYAGEUR INDEPENDENT in 2005.

On September 23, 1991, J W MC GIFFIN rescued several people in a 24 foot pleasure craft off Presque Ile State Park. The group had been disabled since the day before. They were taken aboard the McGIFFIN and their boat taken under tow. The MC GIFFIN was rebuilt with a new forward section and renamed b.) CSL NIAGARA in 1999.

September 24, 1924 - The PERE MARQUETTE 22 arrived at Ludington, Michigan on her maiden voyage.

On 24 September 1902, H.A. BARR (3 mast wooden schooner, 217 foot, 1,119 gross tons, built in 1893, at W. Bay City, Michigan) was in tow of the 'saltie' THEANO with a load of iron ore in a storm 30 miles off Port Stanley in Lake Erie. She broke her tow line in giant waves and foundered. THEANO rescued her crew.

On 24 September 1879, the tug URANIA was towing the schooner S V R WATSON into Sand Beach at about noon when the schooner struck the tug amidships, cutting a hole in the hull and sinking her in three fathoms of water. No lives were lost.

Minnesota ready to impose ballast water regulations

Port Reports - September 23

Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski
The American Fortitude arrived this morning with the first ever cargo of wheat delivered by self-unloader for the recently re-opened Lake & Rail Elevator on the Buffalo River. She is now the largest ship to ever go up past the turn at Hamburg & South St. and this was also the first cargo for Lake & Rail in roughly 10 years or so.

Special Welland Gathering gallery

Historical Gallery updated

Weekly Updates

Today in Great Lakes History - September 23

September 23, 1922, the 306 foot NEPTUNE loaded the first Head-of-the-Lakes cargo of pig iron at Zenith Furnace, Duluth, Minnesota. The 5,000 tons of malleable pig iron was delivered to Buffalo, New York.

September 23, 1975, the HERBERT C. JACKSON lost power while upbound on Lake Superior. She was towed back to the Soo by the USS straight decker D. G. KERR.

September 23, 1952, the steamer CHARLES L HUTCHINSON became the first boat christened at Cleveland since the early years of World War II. The 644 foot HUTCHINSON, Captain T. A. Johnson, is the new flagship of the Pioneer fleet and one of 35 boats in the three fleets operated by Hutchinson & Co. Renamed b.) ERNEST R. BREECH in 1962, c.) KINSMAN INDEPENDENT in 1988. Sold Canadian in 2005, and sails today as the motorship d.) VOYAGEUR INDEPENDENT.

On 23 September 1910, the BETHLEHEM (steel propeller package freighter, 290 foot, 2,633 gross tons, built in 1888, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying general merchandise when she went ashore in a gale on the SW side of S. Manitou Island in Lake Michigan. Lifesavers and the crew unloaded her over several days. Although battered by several storms while ashore, she was eventually pulled free and repaired. She lasted until 1925, when she was scrapped.

The scow WAUBONSIE was launched at the Curtis yard in Fort Gratiot, Michigan on 23 September 1873.

Port Reports - September 22

Special Welland Gathering gallery

Historical Gallery updated

Weekly Updates

Today in Great Lakes History - September 22

On September 22, 1958, the EDMUND FITZGERALD entered service, departing River Rouge, Michigan for Silver Bay, Minnesota on its first trip. The FITZGERALD's first load was 20,038 tons of taconite pellets for Toledo. The vessel would, in later years, set several iron ore records during the period from 1965 through 1969.

While in ballast, the ROGER M. KYES struck bottom in Buffalo Harbor September 22, 1976, sustaining holes in two double bottom tanks and damage to three others, whereupon she proceeded to Chicago for dry docking on September 27, 1976, for survey and repairs. Renamed b.) ADAM E CORNELIUS in 1989.

While being towed from Duluth, Minnesota by the Canadian tug TUSKER on September 22, 1980, the D G KERR rammed into the breakwater at Duluth causing $200,000 in damages to the breakwater. The tow apparently failed to make the turning buoy leaving Duluth Harbor.

On September 22, 1911 the HENRY PHIPPS collided with and sank her Steel Trust fleet mate, steamer JOLIET, of 1890, which was at anchor on the fog shrouded St. Clair River near Sarnia, Ontario. The JOLIET sank without loss of crew and was declared a total loss. The PHIPPS then continued her downbound journey and collided with the Wyandotte Chemical steamer ALPENA, of 1909, that incurred only minor damage.

The T W ROBINSON and US.265808 (former BENSON FORD departed Quebec City in tow of the Polish tug JANTAR bound for Recife where they arrived on September 22, 1987. Scrapping began the next month in October.

MATHILDA DESGAGNES was freed from polar ice in the Arctic on September 22, 1988, by the West German Icebreaker Research Vessel POLARSTERN.

September 22, 1913 - The ANN ARBOR No. 5 struck bottom in the Sturgeon Bay Canal and damaged her rudder and steering gear. After undergoing repairs at Milwaukee, she was back in service the following October.

On 22 September 1887, ADA E. ALLEN (wooden propeller steam barge, 90 foot, 170 gross tons, built in 1872, at Walpole Island, Ontario.) caught fire while moored at Amherstburg, Ontario. She was cut loose and set adrift to prevent the fire from spreading ashore. She drifted to Bois Blanc (Bob-Lo) Island and burned to a total loss.

On 22 September 1882, Mr. H. N. Jex accepted the contract to recover the engine and boiler from the MAYFLOWER, which sank in the Detroit River in 1864. He was to be paid $600 upon delivery of the machinery at Windsor, Ontario. He succeeded in raising the engine on 12 October and the boiler shortly thereafter.

Port Reports - September 21

Toronto - Dave Robinson
The Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Charlottetown is in port for the weekend and recieving visitors at the foot of Jarvis Street.
Around 4 p.m., English River came into port through a huge fleet of sailboats out enjoying the last Saturday of the summer. She tied up at the cement plant.

Today in Great Lakes History - September 21

On 21 September 1892, the whaleback steamer JAMES B COLGATE (steel propeller whaleback freighter, 308 foot, 1,713 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Co. (Hull #121) at W. Superior, Wisconsin. She only lasted until 1916, when she foundered in the "Black Friday Storm" on Lake Erie with the loss of 26 lives.

ALGOWAY left Collingwood on her maiden voyage in 1972, and loaded salt for Michipicoten, Ontario on Lake Superior.

On 21 September 1844, JOHN JACOB ASTOR (wooden brig, 78 foot, 112 tons, Built in 1835, at Pointe aux Pins, Ontario but precut at Lorain, Ohio) was carrying furs and trade goods when she struck a reef and foundered near Copper Harbor, Michigan. She was owned by Astor’s American Fur Company. She was reportedly by the first commercial vessel on Lake Superior.

On 21 September 1855, ASIA (2-mast wooden schooner, 108 foot, 204 tons, built in 1848, at Black River, Ohio) was carrying corn from Chicago for Buffalo when she collided with the propeller FOREST CITY off the mouth of Grand Traverse Bay. ASIA went down in deep water in about 10 minutes, but her crew just had enough time to escape in her boat. The schooner HAMLET picked them up.

Port Reports - September 20

Marquette - Rod Burdick
Friday morning at the Upper Harbor ore dock, H. Lee White loaded taconite, and Saginaw arrived to load.

Twin Ports - Al Miller
Friday morning found plenty of business at Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior. Algowood was completing its load about 7:30 a.m. while Mesabi Miner sat in the channel waiting for the dock.
Walter J. McCarthy Jr. was docked at the Murphy Oil fueling station, waiting to follow the Miner.
Elsewhere, the saltie BBC Maine was unloading wind turbine assemblies at the port terminal. Most of the port authority’s Garfield C and D dock is being used for ground storage of wind turbine towers. Periodically the various giant parts are loaded on special truck trailers and a convoy of trucks hauls them off to wind farms in western Minnesota and the Dakotas.

Lorain - Paul Csizmadia
On Thursday the Isolda arrived in Lorain, OH to take on a load of coke. With the assist of the G tugs California and Iowa she was turned to enter the harbor waters stern First and traveled up the Black River passing through the Charles Berry Bridge and under the Norfolk & Southern Railway Bridge.

Owen Sound - Ed Saliwonchyk
American Fortitude arrived in Owen Sound sometime overnight Thursday. On Friday morning, she was again loading at Great Lakes Grain Elevators.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
The Manistee was outbound Friday afternoon from the Wirt Stone dock in Saginaw.

Oscoda - Gloria Beckstrom
The small dredger Arthur J. left the mouth of the AuSable at Oscoda. MI. before sunset on Thursday, heading for Bay City.

9/20 - Toledo - Transportation officials and industry leaders from Ohio, several other states and Canada met in Toledo for the 2008 Transportation Summit and Ohio Conference on Freight at the SeaGate Convention Centre.

The Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) presented the event as a lead-in to the Ohio Conference on Freight Sept. 15 to 17. It included numerous workshops with local, regional and national speakers, a reception and dinner with national keynote speaker Mortimer Downey. “There is a lack of national vision or commitment to transportation,” said Downey, a former U.S. deputy secretary of transportation who managed the department's strategic-planning process for eight years. “We are far from sustaining the system we have let alone the needs of the future, and it's causing a lot of concern. This is a federal concern, and time is the critical element. They have to do something quickly.

“The transportation policy needs to shift, but it usually doesn't happen quickly. We need to get things started now and do it right. “We can and should be doing a better job of moving goods in this country. Failure to make that investment in transportation infrastructure is going to have serious repercussions. We just haven't come to grips with how to pay for it. The feds think the private sector should invest more in that infrastructure. “It's hard to get a consensus of effort on freight and transportation at the federal level.”

Congress is beginning to consider those needs. An authorization bill in the legislature will address the current transportation needs, but most important is that it must reflect the needs of the 21st century, said Downey, chairman of the board of PB Consult Inc. “Moving freight is going to require serious planning and investment. Providing capital investment to create that movement will require changes in the way we move it,” he said. “Transportation must be our priority. Our business is transportation and it depends on moving freight,” said William Carroll, chairman of the board for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.

Carroll reminded the audience that Gov. Ted Strickland's economic stimulus package, Building Ohio Jobs, includes $100 million for transportation and jobs in the state. “We don't have the money to maintain the commitments ODOT has made in 2008,” said David Dysard, deputy director of Ohio Department of Transportation District 2.

Even with a $660 million budget and only 3 percent coming from federal funds, Ohio still ranks 48th among the states in support of public transportation, Dysard said. “We've lost 43 percent of our purchasing power due to inflation in the cost of goods and services. The costs are killing us. It's one of our biggest challenges. We're looking for future efficiencies to reduce those costs,” he said.

Revenues flattened out and are declining due to a reduced consumption of gasoline. Despite the increased cost of gasoline, the state only receives 48 cents per gallon no matter what a gallon costs, Dysard said. The uncertain solvency of the Federal Highway Trust Fund is another concern. There is a shortfall in that fund, said Fred Abousleman, executive director of the National Association of Regional Councils, who works closely with TMACOG.

“We have to maintain the infrastructure, which is critical to our country's economy. We don't have enough funding to maintain what we have or what we need in the future,” Abousleman said. He estimated it would cost $225 billion to maintain the existing system over the next 50 years. Transportation accounts for 3 percent of all federal expenditures or 1 percent of the gross national product spent on infrastructure, while China is spending 9 percent and India 3.5 percent of their Gross National Product (GNP) on transportation. “We need to take a regional approach that focuses on all forms of transportation in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan,” said Jerry Wingate, president of Alexis Transit System Inc. and the Toledo Trucking Association.

The region has the strategic geography with air, land, rail and waterways to compete for intermodal transportation business and facilities, said Richard Martinko, director of the Intermodal Transportation Institute at UT. With intermodal sites in Cleveland, Columbus, Chicago, Detroit and Fort Wayne, Ind., Toledo is in a position to fill the gap at the west end of Lake Erie, Martinko said.

Within a 100-mile radius of Toledo, the region has six million people and $270 billion in GNP, making it the eighth largest region or equal to the 17th largest state in the country. The Great Lakes mega-region is one of 10 emerging mega-regions in the country, he said. The region has three of the top 11 gateways for freight traffic with Interstate 80 Interstate 90 running east and west, and Interstate 75 and U.S. 23 running north and south; three class-one railroads; a world-class port and an airport strategically situated for freight traffic.

“You can get there from here. We have the pieces for regional economic development and the opportunity for growth,” Martinko said.

Funds sought to help Galop Canal Revitalization

9/20 - Efforts are underway to raise funds in support of the Lock 25 Restoration Project at Iroquois, Ont. The non-profit Galop Canal Revitalization Project is asking for a donation of $12 to the project, and in return donors will receive a copy of a small booklet featuring historic black and white photos of vessels passing through the canal. For details on the project, visit www.galopcanal.com.

The canal was originally built in 1846 at 9 feet deep with 200 foot locks. In 1898 it was enlarged to 14 foot depth and the locks extended to 270 feet.

In 1958 it was closed and partially inundated with the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

To donate, send checks payable to the Galop Canal Revitalization Project to Ron Beaupre, PO Box 3190, Morrisburg, ON K0C 1X0.

Today in Great Lakes History - September 20

John Jonathon Boland was born on 20 September 1875, in New York. Along with Adam E. Cornelius, he formed the partnership of Boland and Cornelius in 1903, and was one of the founders of the American Steamship Company in 1907. He died in 1956.

On September 20, 1986, vandals started a $5,000. fire aboard the laid up NIPIGON BAY at Kingston, Ontario where she had been since April, 1984.

GEORGE A. STINSON's self-unloading boom was replaced on September 20 1983. The boom had 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 until replacement. She was renamed b.) AMERICAN SPIRIT in 2004.

On September 20, 1980, the EDGAR B. SPEER entered service for the U.S. Steel Fleet.

The CHARLES E. WILSON sailed light on her maiden voyage from Sturgeon Bay September 20, 1973, bound for Escanaba, Michigan to load ore. She was renamed b.) JOHN J. BOLAND in 2000.

The CHARLES M. WHITE was christened at Baltimore, Maryland on September 20, 1951.

On 20 September 1873, W. L. PECK (2 mast wooden schooner-barge, 154 foot, 361 gross tons) was launched at Carrollton, Michigan.

On 20 September 1856, COLONEL CAMP (3-mast wooden bark, 137 foot, 350 tons, built in 1854, at Three Mile Bay, New York) was carrying wheat to Oswego, New York when she collided with the wooden steamer PLYMOUTH and sank in just a few minutes. No lives were lost.

Port Reports - September 19

Grand Haven- Dick Fox
The barge Lewis Kuber and tug Olive Moore came into port late Wednesday afternoon after lightering in Muskegon. It delivered a cargo to Verplank's dock in Ferrysburg and was gone before morning.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
The tug James A. Hannah and her tank barge were inbound Wednesday afternoon, calling on the Bit-Mat dock in Bay City. The pair were expected to be outbound early Thursday morning. The tug Mark Hannah and barge were outbound Wednesday morning from the Dow Chemical dock.

Buffalo Brian Wroblewski
Adam E Cornelius was still unloading Thursday at 11:30 a.m.