Vessels in Whitefish Bay waiting to come down, 10 a.m. Sunday. [Boatnerd AIS]
UPDATE 10 a.m. SUNDAY: The work continues near Sault Ste Marie to get all vessels moving through the ice, which has been an issue in recent days. With temps not warming up, the ice is being broken and then re-freezing, and ships are only able to move so far before they are stopped again, thus affecting the traffic behind them. The first order of the day, by the looks of it, is to get the area both above and below the Rock Cut ready so the Indiana Harbor can continue downbound from the 9 Mile Anchorage area. Once they are moving, then the Hon. James L Oberstar can pull away from the lock wall below the Poe where they are currently moored. That will then mean the Burns Harbor can begin to make their way toward the lock if they are not beset in the ice at Isle Parisienne, where a gaggle of vessels has now converged.
The next order of business may be to get the CSL Niagara and Rt Hon Paul J Martin moving upbound through the Johnson’s Point area behind Neebish Island which has caused some problems for the last few ships going through. Those ships were thousand footers and the track was not wide enough for them and they kept getting stuck at the turns. When the two CSL vessels get moving they won’t have as much difficulty because they both have a beam (width) of about 25% less than a footer so the track should be OK for them.
In general the vessels delays are as follows:
Up above the lock in Whitefish Bay at Isle Parisienne and beyond are the Burns Harbor, Edwin H Gott, John G Munson, Paul R Tregurtha, Evans Spirit, Kathy McKeil, Dirk S VanEnkevort/Michigan Trader, James R Barker and Presque Isle with the CSL Welland quickly approaching Whitefish Point. Behind them is the USCGC Spar on the way from Duluth to assist. At the locks, below the Poe Lock tied up on the wall is the Hon. James L Oberstar.
In the St Marys River at the 9 Mile Anchorage is the Indiana Harbor, then down farther down the St Marys River between Lime Island and Johnson’s Point is the CSL Niagara and Rt Honorable Paul J Martin.
Further down at De Tour is the Joyce L VanEnkevort/Erie Trader (yep they have the Erie Trader barge this run and not their own Great Lakes Trader barge) and the American Mariner. Then, down on Lake Huron tucked away near shore,are the Wilfred Sykes, Algoma Equinox and Algoma Niagara with the Algoma Discovery headed up Lake Huron arriving at De Tour around noon.
All in all there are 18 vessels in this area trying to get through, and the CSL Welland and Algoma Discovery will make it 20. They will get through soon with the help of both the Canadian and US Coast Guard (the USCGC Spar arriving today will help for sure) and some warmer temps in the forecast that will assist in the melting of the ice… It’s only 14F at the moment but will be up to 41F this afternoon and all week and next the temps are warmer so it won’t be long before things are moving around here and the ice and snow are melting. Everywhere else on the lakes is operating with next to no ice or no ice at all. We have not had ice issues like this here in many years.
Mesabi Miner entering the Rock Cut Friday evening. [Cozy Corners]
UPDATE 9 p.m. SATURDAY: Canadian and U.S. icebreakers were able to free the Mesabi Miner from the ice below the Rock Cut. She is now below Lime Island headed to Cleveland at 6.5 kn. Nothing else is moving in the river tonight and traffic is unlikely to resume before morning.
UPDATE 5 p.m. SATURDAY: Mesabi Miner is beset in ice at the Moon Island turn below the Rock Cut in the St. Marys River. CCGS Vincent Massey was beaking ice ahead of her. Downbound Indiana Harbor is stopped in the Nine Mile Anchorage and cannot proceed until the Miner is moving. Hon. James L. Oberstar is being held at the lower Poe Lock pier. Nothing else is moving in the river.
UPDATE 10 a.m. SATURDAY: Traffic is still at a standstill in Sault Ste Marie. Unfortunately the hard work of the Coast Guard is only lasting so long and the cold temps are re-freezing the ice. The warmer temps of the day melt the ice but also turn it into heavy slush and chunks, and that’s not good either.
Saturday morning there’s six vessels up in Whitefish Bay at Isle Parisienne – Hon. James L. Oberstar, Burns Harbor, Edwin H Gott, John G Munson, Evans Spirit and Kathy McKeil. CCGS Vincent Massey is escorting Oberstar down to the locks. Just above Whitefish Point the Dirk S VanEnkevort/Michigan Trader are coming down so they will hunker down after the Kathy McKeil to wait their turn.
Mesabi Miner stopped in the ice. [Chief Steward Sissy Payment]
The Indiana Harbor managed to lock through last night however they have been held at the wall below the Poe Lock because the Mesabi Miner got stuck in the ice just below the Rock Cut last night so not traffic can go through there until she is freed. The USCGC Mackinaw has gone to free the Miner so hopefully she’ll be on her way again soon.
UPDATE 9 p.m. FRIDAY: Mesabi Miner was headed into the Neebish Rock Cut and will be the first downbounder through that channel. USCG Biscayne Bay, Neah Bay and Mackinaw spent the day clearing a track for her. Upbound traffaffic also resumed, as the Stewart J. Cort finally made it through the east Neebish Channel past the always-troublesome Stribling Poing turn. She was followed by Captain Henry Jackman and Joseph L. Block. CSL Niagara, Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin and American Mariner were still stopped above DeTour awaiting their turns, with Algoma Niagara stopped below DeTour. Above the locks, CCGS Vincent Massey was leading the Indiana Harbor downbound, with the Hon. James L. Oberstar, Burns Harbor, Edwin H. Gott and John G. Munson waiting to follow.
DRE Designs
ORIGINAL REPORT: CLEVELAND – A little over a day and half since the Soo Locks opened, providing access to Lake Superior and critical raw materials like iron ore, the U.S.-flagged Great Lakes commercial fleet is at a standstill in the St. Marys River and Whitefish Bay.
As of 9 a.m. Friday, AIS shows the downbound Mesabi Miner stopped in the Nine Mile Point anchorage, with USCG Neah Bay assisting and the Mackinaw also in the vicinity. Indiana Harbor, Hon. James L. Oberstar and Burns Harbor were stopped above the Soo Locks, with Edwin H. Gott and John G. Munson still west of Whitefish Point and CCGS Vincent Massey also in that area. Stewart J. Cort is spending her second day trying to make it through the ice in the Neebish Island upbound channel, with USCG Biscayne Bay nearby. Captain Henry Jackman and Joseph L. Block are stopped in Mud Lake and CSL Niagara is expected to join them soon.
Mesabi Miner moving through ice above the Soo Locks on Thursday. [Jim Lehocky]
With the Mackinaw, the only heavy domestic U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker, unable to lock up to Whitefish Bay (due to an engineering casualty), where ice conditions are in excess of two feet in spots covered by three feet of snow, U.S.-flagged Lakers remain locked in ice. A capable icebreaker from Canada was deployed to the area but departed to care for a couple of Canadian ships going to Thunder Bay, ON. Meanwhile the system remains essentially closed with U.S. vessels trapped in the lower St. Marys River and Whitefish Bay.
No ship has passed downbound from Duluth at this point and no cargo has been delivered to the steel mills on the southern lakes.
“The Lake Carriers’ Association has pleaded with Congress to get another heavy U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker on the Great Lakes, but unfortunately funds have been slow to come. I don’t understand the Canadian Coast Guard taking care of a few vessels bound for a port that has commercial icebreaking assistance available and abandoning critical shared waterways like the St. Marys River and Whitefish Bay. Now the system is shut down,” stated Jim Weakley, President of the Lake Carriers’ Association.
The early opening of the St. Lawarnce Seaway and Welland Canal, simply put greater demand on a mission that is not adequately resourced. Prioritization of Canadian vessels and Canadian ports comes at the expense of American Lakers and American ports.
While the southern Great Lakes are mostly ice-free, conditions to the north are extremely difficult requiring a heavy icebreaker in multiple locations. U.S. manufacturing like steel production continues to feel the pain of an inadequate U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking fleet. As witnessed over the past day, depending on the Canadians to move U.S. cargo is not a reasonable expectation and definitely not in the best interest of the U.S. economy. Both Coast Guards claim to take a “one mission” approach to Great Lakes icebreaking but there is an old saying on the Great Lakes, “A Canadian icebreaker is for Canadians and an American icebreaker is a shared resource.”
Lake Carriers’ Association
