NEWS14
Billions committed in historic decade of investment
aimed at enhancing Great Lakes-Seaway shipping
A comprehensive independent survey of public and private investment conservatively estimates
that $10.9 billion CAD ($8.4 billion USD) will be spent to enhance marine shipping on the Great
Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway between 2018 and 2027.
Prepared by Martin Associates and titled “Infrastructure Investment Survey of the Great Lakes
and St. Lawrence Seaway System” the survey quantifies ongoing investments in the navigation
system to help support long term planning and the achievement of economic development goals,
while also building confidence in the system’s future viability.
In addition to identifying the level of investment, the survey also revealed investment in specific
aspects of Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway system. This includes: $828 million CAD ($636
million USD) was invested in vessel enhancements between 2018 and 2022, with at least another
$427 million CAD ($328 million USD) planned between 2023 and 2027. $2.7 billion CAD ($2.1
billion USD) was invested to enhance port and terminal infrastructure between 2018 and 2022,
with at least another $1.5 billion CAD ($1.1 billion USD) planned between 2023 and 2027. $3.9
billion CAD ($3 billion USD) was invested in waterway infrastructure such as locks,
breakwaters and navigation channels between 2018-2022, with at least another $1.6 billion CAD
($1.2 billion USD) planned between 2023 and 2027.
- This magnitude of investment reveals several important facts about the future of the economy,
supply chains, and net zero initiatives in North America – specifically that:
- The marine shipping industry is focused on maintaining and building on its leadership as the
most efficient, reliable, and sustainable way to move cargo;
- There is broad recognition that economic growth and GHG reduction ambitions can be
achieved through significant investment in marine shipping;
- Navigation infrastructure and its users provide a key conduit for commercial activity for North
American businesses – a vital conduit that requires continuous investment to enhance and
maintain; and, as the world undergoes a historic shift towards more sustainable practices, the
marine shipping industry and the US and Canadian governments are partnering to actively invest
billions to lead in the transition.
The survey was developed as part of a larger project that was requested by a public/private sector
committee of American and Canadian maritime organizations. That project produced a study
titled “Economic Impacts of Maritime Shipping in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region,” which
was released last July. The intent of this project was to provide the navigation community,
transportation planners, government policy makers, and the public with a credible, independent
assessment of the economic contributions associated with commercial maritime shipping in the
Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region throughout North America. The study showed that marine
shipping on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway supports tens of billions in economic
activity in North America, hundreds of thousands of jobs, and billions in wages and taxes each
year.
In addition to the billions invested by private marine shipping organizations in research and
development, new infrastructure, and new service offerings, the survey captures major
governmental funding initiatives aimed at enhancing infrastructure and improving supply chains.
This includes the U.S. Government’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act,
which were aimed in part at investing in green technologies and infrastructure enhancement; the
Canadian Government’s Green Shipping Corridor Program, which will support increased
sustainability within the marine sector; and the Canadian Government’s establishment of a
dedicated Transportation Supply Chain Office to enhance supply chain effectiveness.
“The survey’s conclusion is clear: both the public and private sector recognize that maritime
commerce on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway remain essential to the economies of the
United States and Canada, and are investing to protect this irreplaceable system,’ said U.S.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Through President Biden’s infrastructure law, we are
investing in marine shipping, which will continue to support high quality jobs, strengthen
America’s supply chains, and drive sustainable economic growth.
“The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System and its countless ports, terminals, ship owners,
and cargo owners support the most sustainable and cost-effective way to haul goods to and from
North America,” added Adam Tindall-Schlicht, administrator of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence
Seaway Development Corporation. “The importance of this vital conduit for North American
trade is clear, and this survey shows that governments and the maritime industry are jointly
focused on supporting marine shipping’s environmental and technological leadership through
significant ongoing investment. Simultaneously catalyzing this robust trade corridor is the goal.”
20K Mackinac Island cruise ship passengers had $2M impact this year
MACKINAC ISLAND, MI – Around 20,000 cruise ship passengers visited Mackinac Island this
year, making an economic impact of nearly $2 million, officials announced. Nine cruise ships
each visited the National Historic Landmark island in Lake Huron dozens of times during 2023.
“I’m thrilled to witness the growing impact Great Lakes cruising has had on our beautiful island”
said Tim Hygh, Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau Executive Director. “The growing number of
passengers and their enthusiastic exploration once they arrive are a testament to the magic of
Mackinac Island as a must-visit destination. Our island community looks forward to welcoming
more cruise guests back next season and for years to come.”
The charming destination offers unique activities for visitors, including horse-drawn carriage
rides down streets that have been car-free for more than 100 years, walking and bicycle tours,
tasting trademark Mackinac Island fudge, exploring downtown shops, visiting the historic Fort
Mackinac and more.
Regionally, nearly 25,000 vacationers stepped off ships into Great Lakes ports in 2023 during
800 calls, an increase of more than 20% from 2022. Around 100 of those calls were on Mackinac
Island. The season ran from May to mid-October.
There were 11 cruise ships traversing the freshwater seas during 2023, compared to nine in 2022.
Nine of those ships visited Mackinac Island. Detroit and Sault Ste. Marie were also popular
Michigan destinations. Other ports of call were Alpena, Fayette, Houghton, Marquette and
Muskegon.
“The year-on-year growth in passengers, port visits, onshore spending, and the increasing
premium on Great Lakes cruises reflect the region’s growing popularity as a destination,” Anna
Tanski, tourism director of Cruise the Great Lakes, said in a statement.
https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/12/20k-mackinac-island-cruise-ship-passengers-had-2m-
impact-this-year.html
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Keetac DR-grade facility ready to roll
Keetac is officially in the DR-grade pellet business. United States Steel Corp.’s approximate
$150 million DR-grade pellet production facility, is ready to begin production at its Keetac
taconite plant in Keewatin, MN, say company officials.
“It’s primarily commissioned,” Travis Kolari, head of plant operations said. “We should be
making pellets at the first of the year as scheduled.” The DR-grade facility is a huge morale lift
for workers at an Iron Range taconite plant that’s seen more than its share of ups and downs over
the years.
It means production of a new, higher-value, higher iron content product that brings the plant into
the age of feeding modern steelmaking. DR-grade pellets are used to make hot-briquetted iron
(HBI or direct-reduced iron (DRI). HBI and DRI are a feed for modern electric arc furnace
steelmaking.
“We’re all eagerly waiting for the DR plant to come online,” Jake Friend, United Steelworkers
Local 2660 president at Keetac said. “The addition of DR pellet production will hopefully be our
saving grace when the need for blast furnace pellets is reduced due to varying factors.”
Kolari said Keetac is currently test running the concentrate that will be turned into DR-grade
pellets. To make the DR-grade pellets, United States Steel has made processing upgrades at
Keetac.
“We will take concentrate from the current concentrator and it runs right into the DR process,”
Kolari said. “The only change from a processing standpoint is flotation, which we haven’t used
at Keetac and what’s called a high intensity grinding mill.”
The Eveleth-based Minnesota Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation on
Wednesday, Dec. 6, approved a Taconite Economic Development Fund (TEDF) rebate of
$1,076,262 to United States Steel/Keetac to help fund installation of an additional beneficiation
process in the Keetac concentrator, enabling Keetac to reduce silica concentration and meet DR-
grade pellet silica (waste) specifications.
The TEDF rebates a portion of the Taconite Production Tax each northeastern Minnesota taconite
facility pays back to the plants to stimulate reinvestment in the facilities.
United States Steel is matching the rebate with a $1,076,262 investment. Together, the funds will
support the DR-grade pellet process improvements.
The new Keetac processing system can be used year-round or bypassed to allow Keetac to make
the blast furnace grade pellets that have been produced at the plant for decades.
A low-silica DR-grade pellet, specially made for customer(s), helps improve the environment on
the steelmaking end, Kolari said. “Downstream it will have environmental benefits because it
will be feeding EAF’s (electric arc furnaces,” Kolari said.
Kolari said it will take some time for the DR-grade pellet system to become fully operational.
“We will ramp up over the next few years,” Kolari said.
The system is capable of producing 4.5 million tons per-year. Meanwhile, Keetac will continue
producing traditional blast furnace pellets, Kolari said. “There’s still quite a bit of marketability
for the blast furnace pellets,” he said.
Mesabi Tribune
Peshtigo father and daughter find shipwreck believed to have been from 1871 fire
PESHTIGO, WI. – It is believed a more than 152-year-old shipwreck has been found after being
lost the night of the Great Peshtigo Fire and a father-daughter duo from Peshtigo are the ones
who discovered it.
Henley Wollak, 6, is used to finding the big one while out on the water with her father, Tim. “I
like fishing with my daddy,” said Henley. The find one day this summer, near Green Island, was
unlike any the duo had discovered before. “I was surprised I had never seen it before because it’s
in an area where people regularly go,” said Tim Wollak.
He thought it was a shipwreck but hadn’t heard of one being in that location before. He posted
pictures to Facebook groups, where someone with the Wisconsin Historical Society came across
them.
“We went back to our database to see if there was anything reported in the area and we didn’t
have anything,” said Tamara Thomsen, a maritime archaeologist for the Wisconsin Historical
Society. “However, in the database we have information on historic losses and this fits the loss
location of the George L. Newman.”
The 122-foot-long George L. Newman, carrying lumber from Little Suamico, was trying to
navigate thick black smoke on Oct. 8, 1871, the night of the Peshtigo Fire, when it grounded near
Green Island. The crew was rescued and stayed on the island for a week, trying to salvage what.
they could from the vessel.
“It was actually built in 1855, so it’s a pretty significant shipwreck, pretty old for Wisconsin.
shipwrecks anyways,” said Thomsen. “To have it tied to the Peshtigo Fire, it makes it even more.
special.”
A few shipwrecks are reported to the historical society each year, according to Thomsen, but one
from a 6-year-old and her dad is rare.
“I don’t know how we top it,” said Tim Wollak. “I told her I’m pretty sure there’s no one else in
her school that has ever found a shipwreck that nobody had recorded before….I guess we just
have to fish more and see if we can find more shipwrecks.”
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources did more imaging last week to further confirm.
the historical society’s suspicions of it being the Newman.
A survey is planned for next spring to assess the site for listing on the National Register of
Historic Places.
FOX 11: View images at this link: https://fox11online.com/news/local/northwoods/peshtigo-
father-and-daughter-find-shipwreck-believed-to-have-been-from-1871-
fire?fbclid=IwAR3OGyKtCQ0OsCDTb6qVd1HEBL2YiKPhfT-
dOxMZphxmQSip8bSqC8JBZu0
Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society wins documentary short award
Corey Adkins, the content /communications director for the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical
Society has won the Best Documentary Short award at the 2023 Great Lakes International Film
Festival which was held in Erie, Pa. The award was for the mini documentary &The Great Storm
of 1872. To review the documentary, click on the link below.
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