Mark W. Barker freed ‘fairly easily’ after grounding in Detroit River
DETROIT, MI – A 639-foot freighter that grounded Wednesday morning in the Detroit River near Belle Isle has been freed. The United States Coast Guard sent out an update just after 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday saying the Mark W. Barker was freed by commercial tugs from the Great Lakes Towing Co.
The vessel, the newest freighter on the Great Lakes, was taken to an anchorage near Belle Isle. Once anchored, Coast Guard investigators will board, assess any damages, and ensure any repairs.
No injuries were reported when the vessel grounded around 7:30 a.m. The freighter lost propulsion because of an electronics malfunction, according to the Associated Press.
The freighter was freed “fairly easily,” Lt. j.g. Adeeb Ahmad told the Associated Press. “For such an unfortunate event, it was the best-case scenario,” Ahmad said. “It happened right next to our Coast Guard station on Belle Isle.”
The river remained open to all traffic. The vessel is carrying a cargo of salt.
The Ohio-based Interlake Steamship Co. christened the Barker in September 2022, making it the first new self-propelled freighter to hit the Great Lakes in 36 years.
M Live
Steel production dips in Great Lakes, down 4% this year
Steel production dipped by 3,000 tons in the Great Lakes region last week, the second straight weekly decrease, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Locally, steel mills in the Great Lakes region, clustered mainly along the south shore of Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana, made 577,000 tons of metal in the week that ended May 13, down from 580,000 tons the previous week.
Steel mills remained well below 80% capacity, a key threshold for financial success for the steel sector. After years of record profitability, the industry has been dealing with falling prices, increased economic uncertainty and rising import levels after tariffs were rolled back in favor of quota systems with some trading partners. The United Steelworkers union and Cleveland-Cliffs have been pursuing new trade protections for the first time in years after a collapse in the tin market that led to the idling of tin mills, including in Gary.
Nationally, steel production in 2023 totals 31.88 million tons, a 4% decrease from the 33.23 million tons manufactured through the same period last year.
U.S. steel mills have run at a capacity utilization rate of 74.9% through Saturday, down from 80.5% at the same point in 2022, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Steel capacity utilization was 76.7% last week, down from 81.1% a year earlier and up from 76.1% the week prior.
Steel production in the southern region, which encompasses many mini-mills and rivals the Great Lakes region in output, totaled 726,000 tons last week, up from 717,000 tons the week before, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Volume in the rest of the Midwest rose to 213,000 tons, up from 208,000 tons the week prior.
NW Indiana Times
SUPERIOR, WI – For students, there can be just one or several reasons they choose to attend a university. For Korey Garceau, the University of Wisconsin-Superior checked all the right boxes.
“I chose to attend UW-Superior for its highly regarded transportation and logistics management program,” he said. “There are very few programs like it in the country and I really enjoyed the very personal, community-oriented feel of the university.
UW-Superior’s unique location was also a factor for the Manitowoc, Wisconsin, native.
“Lake Superior was also a major draw as there is truly something special about living next to the Great Lakes, specifically the greatest of them all,” he said.
A transportation and logistics management major with a minor in Spanish, Garceau let his interests help to guide his area of study.
“I’ve always been drawn to the transportation industry, specifically the air and maritime sectors,” he said. “Early on, I found a hobby in taking photos of Great Lakes freighters, such as those which sail into Superior and Duluth daily. Because of this longtime interest, choosing my major was an easy decision.”
That decision turned out to be a great choice as UW-Superior’s small class sizes enabled Garceau to connect with both classmates and instructors.
“What I enjoyed most about my classes were the relationships I was able to form with my professors and classmates,” he said. “My professors took the time to get to know every student, and worked to create an experience in which each of us were best able to learn. Even outside of the classroom, our professors cared about us and only wanted the very best for their students.”
The relationship forged with his professors helped Garceau, who is president of the Transportation and Logistics Club, secure two unique internship opportunities.
“Through the recommendations of my transportation and logistics management professors, I was able to secure internships in Milwaukee at Lake Express, LLC., and the Duluth Seaway Port Authority,” he said. “I worked in an operational setting at the former and an administrative setting at the latter. I feel that through these very different opportunities, my understanding of the transportation industry became well-rounded and that I am better equipped to find a career in the field.”
Read more at this link: https://www.uwsuper.edu/newscenter/the-center-of-it-all_news5456786?fbclid=IwAR3TN0875h03REbMaesaZ8nRRwiRblDl0xFX2byB7cu7dULnT0BtgdKvLDg
Coast Guard unit set to relocate from Massena to Fort Drum, N.Y.
MASSENA, N.Y. – The Coast Guard is requesting public comments on the planned relocation of a Marine Safety Detachment from Massena to Fort Drum, N.Y.
The detachment consists of 10 Coast Guard positions and has an area of responsibility that extends south from the St. Lawrence River International Bridge along the U.S.-Canada border to Henderson Harbor, N.Y. It also extends 3.25 miles east from the international border.
The Marine Safety Detachment, a subunit of Coast Guard Sector Buffalo, is responsible for pollution response, marine casualty investigations, marine event permitting, ballast water regulatory reviews, and more.
Moving the detachment to Fort Drum will place it closer to other military units, increasing the availability of jointly shared support services while also providing a more centralized location within the unit’s of responsibility.
Members of the public who wish to express an opinion on the proposed move may provide written comments and related material to the Coast Guard at D9planning@uscg.mil. Comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on or before July 1, 2023.
