Great Lakes’ water levels aren’t doing what they are supposed to – rise in summer
The Great Lakes are in a period of the year when their water levels usually rise. But all of the Great Lakes are not rising or just barely rising. This is a continued sign that for the current time, the Great Lakes water levels are receding quickly from the record high levels over the past few years.
Instead of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron rising this spring and so far this early summer, the lakes have actually gone down 2.52 inches. This means Lakes Michigan and Huron are actually 13.20 inches lower than a normal year’s spring rise
USS Cod submarine departs Cleveland for first time in 58 years
Cleveland, OH – For the first time in 58 years, the USS Cod submarine has departed Cleveland under tow across Lake Erie for scheduled maintenance.
At 11 a.m. Sunday, the Port Huron, MI,-based tug Manitou arrived at the USS Cod, hooked up to the 312-foot long submarine and began an 18-hour tow to Erie, PA for a drydock maintenance period. She was assisted by the Toledo-based tug John Francis. During its service, the USS Cod sank more than 12 enemy ships and was awarded seven battle stars before it officially arrived in Cleveland in July 1959.
As soon as the USS Cod was in the open channel, the submarine followed Navy traditions, including a signal from the recently restored horn to announce departure and firing a deck gun salute to the city of Cleveland.
“When we take in the lines securing Cod to the pier, the flag will be taken down at our stern and flown from the submarine’s battle gaff, or flag pole, located on the mast,” said Cod’s president Paul Farace. “All Navy ships do this when they get underway… hopefully we will not be held in place by nearly 60 years of silt accumulation at our pier.”
Normally, the USS Cod holds summer tours, but that will be put on hold for the next six to eight weeks as the maintenance is conducted.
“We hate to leave our fans and supporters for even a day, much less six weeks in our busy season, but the 78-year-old sub needs some new steel at her water line and a new high-tech hull coating system furnished in partnership by another Cleveland institution, Sherwin-Williams Paint Company,” Farace said.
The hull preservation and restoration work will take place in Erie, Pennsylvania at the Donjon Shipbuilding Company and is estimated to cost around $1 million. A signification portion of the funds is being provided by the National Park Service’s Save America’s Treasures Program, however, most of the funds will come from the USS Cod’s endowment which has been saved over the decades from tour fees and donations from citizens, veterans and corporations.
First containers leave Hamilton Port for Montreal and overseas
Hamilton, ON – Almost 300 containers were loaded onto the M/V Sedna Desgagnés at the Port of Hamilton June 12, as part of a new short sea shipping service launched by Hamilton Container Terminal (HCT) in collaboration with Groupé Desgagnés. Bound for the Port of Montreal, this new container service was developed by HCT, in partnership with the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA Ports), Desgagnes, Federal Marine Terminals and the Port of Montreal.
“A Great Lakes container service has been a goal for our organization since we set up shop in Hamilton six years ago,” said HCT President Amandeep Kaloti. “We are thrilled to see this initiative come to life with the help of our partners at HOPA, Desgagnés and FMT.”
‘Short Sea Shipping’ refers to city-to-city container shipments using the Great Lakes as a marine-highway alternative to road-based transportation. This marine alternative has a number of advantages, chiefly a 500 per cent lower carbon footprint, along with the ability to by-pass congested southern Ontario highways. Every day, more than 10,000 trucks move goods between the GTHA and Montreal. This service proves the potential to accommodate some of that traffic on a greener, less-congested water route. Upon arrival at the Port of Montreal, most of the containers will be transloaded onto oceangoing vessels, destined for overseas markets in Europe, India and the Middle East.
The service feeds Canadian export markets for products such as steel, agricultural products and lumber. HCT also sees significant opportunity in ‘flexibags,’ a fillable insert that allows the transport of liquid commodities by container, potentially enabling exports of Canadian goods like edible oils and Ontario wine.
“As we put the pandemic behind us and begin to focus on growing our economy and trade, this service could not be starting at a better time,” said Ian Hamilton, President & CEO of HOPA Ports. “There is an appetite to consider new solutions that help us build back smarter, greener, and more efficiently. Short sea shipping on the Great Lakes has been talked about for a long time, but a number of factors have aligned now to make it work.”
This shipment is the first of what is expected to be an increasingly frequent service for container movements on the Great Lakes. This trip will be followed by other Hamilton-Montreal voyages later this year, building up to 20+ sailings in 2022. By opting to move freight originating in the GTHA through our waterways, HCT’s customers will be choosing a cost-effective, efficient and more sustainable solution than truck travel to get their goods to distant markets.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Welcome to the long-awaited redesign of boatnerd3.jasonbowlerdesign.com/. Our crew hopes you enjoy the new look. We’d like to thank everyone who has been on board since the site was founded in the mid-1990s, especially those who have made financial contributions over the years. We wouldn’t be here without you! As you explore the site, you will see that our most popular features, such as the news page, remain, many of them with visible improvements including photos. The information search remains, as do the fleet photo/ship history galleries and the live AIS vessel locator map. There’s more to come since the new site is still under development. Thanks are also due to the many volunteers who have kept the non-profit Boatnerd running, starting with founder Neil Schultheiss and including individuals such as George Wharton, Roger LeLievre, Matt Miner, Nathan Leindecker, the late Dave Wobser, all those who send in Port Reports and other information and the members of the Boatnerd board of directors. A special shout out goes to Sasha and the folks at TTBA Group who helped make our vision a reality. – The Boatnerd Crew[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Photos from Thursday show the aligning the final two upper and lower modules of the stern on the 639-foot-long Mark W. Barker being built at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, WI. This is the last structural module of the aft end of the ship. The accommodation and stack will be next. The name and home port have also been welded on the stern.
The Interlake Steamship Co.
‘Fingers crossed’: Here’s an update on the Erie arrival of the U.S.S. Cod
Erie, PA – Caretakers of a World War II submarine are holding their breath this weekend as their treasured relic prepares for a maintenance stop in Erie on Monday — its first voyage in nearly 60 years.
“Our stress levels are rather high,” said Paul Farace, president of the U.S.S. Cod Submarine Memorial. “Prayers are being said. Fingers are being crossed.”
The U.S.S. Cod, which is docked at Cleveland’s North Coast Harbor, and functions as a floating museum, is slated to depart Sunday via tow around 9 a.m., and arrive for drydocking at Erie’s Donjon Shipbuilding and Repair around 4 a.m. Monday.
There, workers will install a new underwater hull coating that will remedy the vessel’s pitting, a type of corrosion caused by years of saltwater and freshwater exposure.
While repairs are necessary for the Cod’s longevity, the 102-mile trip to Erie could prove hazardous for the aged vessel, Farace said. The repairs will mark the first drydocking of the Cod since 1963 in Lorain, Ohio.
Year-round shipping could be coming to the Twin Ports
6/11 – Duluth, MN – The sound of the lift bridge welcoming a ship to port is common in the Twin Ports during the warmer months. Now, the University of Wisconsin Superior is studying whether it could happen year-round.
Deb Deluca, the Duluth Seaway Port Authority director, said this study would influence how they plan for the future. “We look to the outcomes as important in terms of our planning into the future because the results could have implications for business development, infrastructure investment, and for policy decisions,” said DeLuca.
The study will look at decreasing ice on the lakes due to climate change and the construction of a new lock in the Soo Locks. UWS Professor of Transportation and Logistics Richard Stewart said these changes could mean a longer shipping season.
“We may in the next 20-30 years be able to operate our ships not 10 months of the year but 11 or 12 months out of the year, especially because we won’t have the restriction of the Poe lock,” said Stewart. The study is also looking at the impacts of a year-round season, including more ships on the water.
Stewart said planning now is vital for the future. “Our highways are crowded. Railroads are crowded. We have the ability to move far, far more cargo on this Great Lakes marine highway system without being crowded,” said Stewart.
According to DeLuca, a future with year-round shipping could also mean smooth sailing for the local economy.
“This information will help us understand if we can move to a year-round system which would then grow cargo through the port, grow tonnage through the port, provide opportunities for alternative supply chain solutions which just makes our region more competitive,” said DeLuca. The shipping season currently runs from March through January. The study is expected to take several years.
CBS3 Duluth
Farewell to Nova Scotia: Theodore Too tugboat replica leaves for new Ontario home
6/11 – Halifax, NS – Theodore Too, the beloved TV tugboat, left Halifax Thursday morning, bound for a new Ontario home. The 20-metre replica of the children’s TV character was sold earlier this year to a new owner who intends to use the smiling vessel to promote the marine industry and responsible marine stewardship.
Theodore Too left Halifax, its home for the past 21 years, at 9 a.m. AT., surrounded by a flotilla of other boats. The tugboat’s new home will be the Port of Hamilton. Upon arrival, its engine will be converted to biodiesel — a symbol of the vessel’s future as a “sustainability champion,” according to new owner Blair McKeil.
McKeil said in a news release he’s arranged for the advocacy group Swim Drink Fish to use Theodore Too in educating Canadians about water conservation and restoration of the Great Lakes.
McKeil said he’s also planning to use Theodore Too to advocate for employment in Canada’s marine and shipbuilding industries.
Port reports are compiled from volunteer reader observations and AIS transmissions. Please send information about vessel arrivals and departures from your port to news@boatnerd.net by 9 p.m. (Eastern) nightly for them to be included in the next day’s news. Please include name of vessel, arrival time, day and dock it went to (if known). We welcome new reporters. If your port is not included, we would welcome your contributions. We are particularly looking for reporters for the St. Marys River, Southern Lake Michigan ports, Detroit, Toledo and the Hamilton/Toronto area.
Duluth-Superior – Scott Bjorklund Duluth Entry: Stewart J. Cort arrived at 23:14 (CST) Monday night to load iron ore pellets at BNSF. Dirk S. VanEnkevort and Michigan Trader arrived at 00:23 Tuesday morning to load iron ore pellets at CN#6. James R. Barker arrived from anchor at 13:12 to load coal at SMET. Federal Dart departed at 15:15 with petroleum coke. Dirk S. VanEnkevort and her barge departed at 15:57 with iron ore pellets for Indiana Harbor. Drawsko departed at 19:55 with wheat. As of Tuesday night, no vessels were on the Duluth side. American Century is expected late Tuesday night to fuel then shift over to BNSF. James R. Barker is estimated to depart early Wednesday morning with coal. CSL Tadoussac is expected Wednesday morning to also fuel then shift to load at BNSF. Joseph L. Block is expected late Wednesday morning to unload limestone at Graymont. Finally, Edgar B. Speer is expected early evening to most likely take a delay at Port Terminal. Superior Entry: G3 Marquis departed at 21:12 (CST) Monday night with iron ore pellets for Quebec City. Michipicoten arrived at 21:19 then departed at 01:24 Tuesday morning with iron ore pellets for Algoma Steel. Stewart J. Cort departed at 17:36 with iron ore pellets for Burns Harbor. Finally, Tim S. Dool arrived at 18:07 to load iron ore pellets for Hamilton. As of Tuesday night, James R. Barker was loading at SMET, and Tim S. Dool was loading at BNSF on the Superior side. Tim S. Dool is estimated to depart Wednesday morning with iron ore pellets. American Century may depart late Wednesday night with iron ore pellets.
Two Harbors-Silver Bay – Gary A Putney
Walter J. McCarthy Jr. departed Two Harbors on 6/7 at 20:52 for Indiana Harbor. American Mariner arrived Two Harbors on 6/7 at 21:33 after being anchored out. The American Mariner departed at 06:49 for the Soo. Northshore Mining in Silver Bay saw the Mesabi Miner arrive on 6/8 at 13:05. Due Two Harbors on 6/9 is the American Spirit.
Milwaukee, WI MKE Marine Reports
After delivering cement to the Kinnickinnic River terminal, Prentiss Brown/St. Marys Challenger cleared for Charlevoix at 21:03 Monday (06/07). At 22:35, Juno cleared for Thunder Bay. Tug William C. Selvick is expected from Ludington early Tuesday evening
Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Compass was at the salt dock Tuesday night.
Lake Erie Ports for Tuesday – Bill Kloss Sandusky: Saginaw departed for the Soo at 02:50. Cleveland: Calumet arrived at 05:19 and anchored in Lake Erie. She came in to unload at Cliffs stone dock at 06:15. G tug Pennsylvania went out to assist Federal Yoshino into the Port, dock 24W, at 06:20. New York/DS509A departed for Detroit at 13:36.Petite Forte/ St. Marys Cement and Wagenborg’s Sinaa are due in Wednesday morning. Fairport Harbor: Defiance/Ashtabula arrived early Wednesday morning. Ashtabula: Ocean Castle departed for Duluth at 08:41. Conneaut: Indiana Harbor arrived at the P&C dock at 04:45 Nanticoke: Algocanada departed for Sarnia Algoma Hansa is at Imperial Oil.Presque Isle arrived late Monday night for Stelco, unloaded and left for Two Harbors at 13:23. Whitefish Bay arrived at Stelco at 01:00. Robert S. Pierson arrived at 20:46.
Buffalo, NY – Brian Wroblewski
The 740-foot self-unloader Algoma Intrepid arrived with salt from Goderich for the Gateway Metroport Main Dock on June 8th at 9AM. She came straight in and began unloading onto the bulk salt apron at the North end of the Lackawanna Canal. Later that morning the tug Cheraw got to work with her barges of stone and the derrick boat. They came out of the canal past the Intrepid, got set up in the Outer Harbor Southern Channel, and then spent the day running back and forth to the West Breakwater just outside the North Entrance. After the day’s job was done the Cheraw returned to Gateway Metroport and secured at the extreme South end of the Main Dock. Around 4PM the Intrepid was done discharging salt and backed out for the Outer Harbor. She winded off the CRH cement terminal and departed via the South Entrance, bound for Goderich to load more salt.
New Captain Henry Jackman arrives at the Panama Canal
6/8 – Captain Henry Jackman (IMO 9619294), built in 2021 at the Jiangsu Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding Co. shipyard in China, arrived at the Pacific anchorage of the Panama Canal on June 6 just before 8 A.M. It is expected that the Jackman will depart sometime on June 7 and then make a full transit of the Panama Canal.
Launched on Christmas Day, December 25, 2020, the Captain Henry Jackman was delivered to the Algoma Central Corporation on April 5, 2021. From there, the vessel departed April 29, 2020 to begin its delivery voyage to Canada. Captain Henry Jackman is the 11th vessel in the Equinox Class series of vessels which Algoma started in 2013 with the arrival of Algoma Equinox in late 2013. Since then, four gearless bulkers were built from 2013-2015 with an additional five self-unloading bulk carriers also built from 2017-2020. Included with the self-unloaders were three 740-foot long Seaway-Max aft-mounted self-unloading vessels built in China and two forward-mounted 650-foot long self-unloading bulk carriers built in Croatia.
Captain Henry Jackman is registered in Tuvalu and has a foreign crew aboard. Once the vessel arrives in Canada a Canadian crew will take over operations. The ship will then change registration Canada. The ship is expected to begin service and trading for Algoma sometime in June or early July.
Denny Dushane
Fednav adds Federal Frontier to its laker fleet
6/8 – Federal Frontier (IMO 9866768), built in 2021 at the Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Shipyard in Oshima, Japan, will be the fourth vessel recently added to the Fednav laker fleet. This new vessel is part of a new series of laker class ships being built at Oshima, and is part of the new F-series, with each ship using F for its second name following the Federal prefix.
Federal Frontier joins three additional vessels, Federal Franklin IMO 9866732, Federal Fraser IMO 9866744 and Federal Freedom IMO 9866756. These new vessels are all 199.98 meters in length and 23.76 meters in width and are all 34,492 SWDT. They are lso Ice Class 1C and each will have four deck cranes. The new vessels will be registered in the Marshall Islands with Majuro as their Port of Registry.
Since 2015, Fednav has added five new series of vessels from the Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Shipyard in Japan. Beginning in 2015, the B-series with six vessels built at Oshima in Japan joined the Fednav Laker fleet. In 2016, the C-series with another six vessels were added to the Fednav fleet. In 2018, three more vessels were built at Oshima, Japan and added to the Fednav Laker fleet. Those three vessels made up the D-series. Then in 2019, Fednav added two more new vessels,, the Federal Montreal and Federal St Laurent to its laker fleet.
The new F series vessels are expected to enter service for Fednav in 2021, and a few of them most likely will make inland voyages soon.
British man apprehended in Port Huron after swimming across St. Clair River
6/6 – Port Huron, MI – A British man who swam across the St. Clair River was apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Thursday, June 4. Shortly after 6 p.m., first responders responded to a subject believed to be distressed in the area of the Blue Water Bridge, Port Huron Police Sgt. James Gilbert.
When first responders located the man, he said he didn’t want assistance, Gilbert said. He then swam to the U.S. shore. Lt. Nick Godwin said the man was picked up in the area of Pine Grove Park in Port Huron. Gilbert said the 47-year-old man was a resident of London, England, and wanted to come to the U.S. to obtain a work visa.
The man was given medical clearance from a local hospital and apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who deported him to Canada, Gilbert said. Port Huron Fire Department, the U.S. Coast Guard and the St. Clair County Sheriff Marine Division also responded to the incident.
Cleveland, OH – Shipments of iron ore from U.S. Great Lakes ports totaled 5.5 million tons in May, an increase of 11.4 percent compared to a year ago, but 1.9 percent below the month’s 5-year average.
Year-to-date the iron ore trade stands at nearly 15 million tons, an increase of 13.6 percent compared to the same point in 2020. Iron ore shipments were also 5.4 percent above their 5-year average for five months of the year.
Lake Carriers’ Association
Historic Edna G Tugboat to turn 125 this summer
Two Harbors, MN – The Edna G tug is a staple for the Two Harbors community. In her day she helped iron ore boats make their way into Agate Bay Harbor. “The history of Iron ore shipping in Minnesota is written in every dent and every crease in the tugs hull,” said volunteer Tom Koehler.
The boat was utilized during WWI and was officially retired in December 1980. The Friends of Edna G group are honoring the tugboat’s 125-year history this August with a weekend-long celebration. “We felt that after 125 years she deserved a birthday party,” said Kathy Glenn, member of the Friends of Edna group. “She had one at her 100th but she deserves another birthday party.”
The Edna G celebration will take place in Two Harbors on August 28-29. It will include a pancake breakfast, art and essay contests, and musical guests.
To the Friends of Edna G, their little tugboat made Two Harbors what it is, but also America. “Without her taking the boats in and out with the ore on it, the steel wouldn’t have been made machinery, skyscrapers, railroads, bridges,” said Glenn.
WHERE: Paul Van Hoven Park, 2 Waterfront Drive, Two Harbors, MN
WHEN: Saturday, August 28, 10 am to 6 pm and Sunday, August 29, 10 am to 5 pm
For lodging information and other things to do while are on the North Shore, check-out the Lake County Chamber of Commerce.
Work begins on massive mural that will shine a national spotlight on Toledo
Toledo, OH –The first paint went up on Wednesday for a giant mural that will adorn the side of dozens of silos in downtown Toledo. After decades as a giant blank canvas along the banks of the Maumee River, the ADM silos are being transformed into community art.
“We’ve always been a city dedicated to the arts,” says Nicole LeBoutillier, who has been part of the Glass City River Wall project from the start. “This just takes it to a whole new level. The mural is being painted on 28 silos and involves about 170,00 square feet of space. It will be the largest mural in the country when we are done. I wake up every day happy to be part of this project. Watching it finally come to life is emotional.”
The project started after Nicole, Brandy Wimberly, and some other friends took a boat ride down the river in 2019. The idea from that summer day truly began to take shape Wednesday as the first paint went on to the silos.
Christina Kasper is the Project Manager, and says it rewarding to see something so many have worked on begin to take shape. “This project has literally shifted the axis of my being,” she says. “I will never be the same after doing this project. All of the people who have been part of this have helped create a beautiful tapestry for this community.”
The mural will have a beautiful blue background. It will feature sunflowers that are native to this area, as well as Native American portraits to honor our region’s first farmers. “I think I ordered about 5,000 gallons of paint,” says Zak Warmann, owner of Detroit Sign Painters a company working with artist Gabe Gault to bring the design to life. “Have you ever ordered that much before? I don’t think anybody has.”
So just how do you go about creating a mural on 28 silos? It’s similar to the paint by numbers concept, just on a much larger scale.
“We break the drawing down into one by one-inch segments and blow it up into 10 by10 sections on the wall,” says Warmann. “The hard part is that there is no stepping back to look at your work. You have to trust your skill. At the end of the day, you have to drive by to see what you painted.”
Warmann adds that the cement coating paint being used on the project should last for decades. “You likely won’t even see any fading for 15 years or so,” he says. “And it will be many years after that before you see any deterioration. It will outlast me, that’s for sure.”
The project has a price tag of about $750,000 and crews expect to be working on the mural through August. It will be finished just in time for the Solheim Cup, an event that will draw people from all over the world to Toledo.
Gabe Gault is from Los Angeles and will be here working on the project this summer. There are also four local artists who will be working alongside him. And it’s not just a pretty mural, there will also be an educational component to it for local students.
Vessels with Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway connections reported as a Casualty or Sold for Demolition taken from June 2021 issue of Marine News –Journal of the World Ship Society.
Casualties: None reported Demolitions: CAPE ALAVA (5004099; United States of America) (Comet-80, African Comet-80). First Seaway transit 1976) – 11,580 / 1962 – general cargo ship. By government of the United States of America (Dept. of Transportation Maritime Administration) (MARAD), United States of America, to Steel Coast, United States. Arrived Brownsville, TX. 5.12.2020, commenced demolition 7.12.2020
SAL (7902233; St Kitts & Nevis) (Salarium-20 – 1st seaway transit- 2009, Nanticoke-09 First Seaway transit 1980); 21,870 / 1980 – bulk carrier self-discharging laker. By Star Matrix Ltd (Green Ocean Ship management Pvt Ltd) Hong Kong, China, to Solyu Gemi Geri Donusum Sti, Turkey and arrived Aliaga 5.12.2020 – commenced demolition 7.12.2020
Report prepared by Barry Andersen and René Beauchamp
WWII submarine USS COD heading to Erie for repairs
Erie, PA – For the first time since 1963, the World War II Submarine USS COD is being dry docked for repairs. The submarine will make its way from Cleveland to Donjon Shipbuilding for repairs this month.
The general manager of Donjon said the USS Cod should arrive in Erie on June 14th after about an eight-hour trek from Cleveland’s North Coast Harbor.
The submarine’s steel is starting to deteriorate, causing pitting — a type of corrosion from exposure to salt and fresh water. Donjon expects to work on the steel, make minor repairs and add a couple coats of fresh paint.
In 1986, the submarine was deemed a floating museum and a national historic land mark, providing a rare opportunity for Donjon… something all the workers are looking forward to working on.
“This is a extremely rare opportunity for us, there’s not many WWII subs, and certainly not many WWII subs here on the Great Lakes. So this is a one off opportunity and we jumped at that opportunity to be able to help repair and make some improvements to this museum and keep it going to be able to share some of our naval heritage,” said Rick Hammer, general manager, Donjon Shipbuilding.
IMAGE: Cod during her last drydocking in Lorain, Ohio, in 1963.
