Coast Guard begins Operation Taconite

Sault Ste. Marie, MI – U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Sainte Marie commenced Operation Taconite to prevent newly formed ice from hampering commercial shipping across the western Great Lakes.

On Tuesday, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Biscayne Bay was assigned to manage the ice breaking needs of western Lake Superior, specifically the twin ports of Duluth, MN and Superior, WI. Wednesday, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay joins the operation, initially to work the ice in southern Green Bay before making their way to the St Marys River. As ice coverage expands, U.S. Coast Guard officials will assign additional assets.

Operation Taconite is the Coast Guard’s largest domestic icebreaking operation. The operation encompasses Lake Superior, St. Marys River, the Straits of Mackinac, Georgian Bay, and all of Lake Michigan. Various commercial waterways may close after due consideration is given to the protection of the marine environment, the need for cross-channel traffic (e.g. ferries) and the safety of the island residents; who in the course of their daily business use naturally formed ice bridges for transportation to and from the mainland.

The implementation of Operation Taconite places additional movement criteria on commercial ships plying the Western Lakes, St. Marys River, and the Straits of Mackinac. These measures may include restricting tanker transits to daylight in the presence of ice, reducing speeds by 2 miles per hour in specified locations to reduce incidental ice breaking, and requiring additional voice and position reporting points throughout the operation’s area of responsibility.

The Coast Guard recommends all recreational ice users plan their activities carefully, dress appropriately, use caution on the ice, and stay away from shipping channels. Recreational users and island residents should stay tuned to local media resources for the status of regional waterway closures.

USCG

Seaway season winding down

As of Tuesday morning, five days before the closure of the Seaway, there were still 19 ocean-going vessels above the St-Lambert Lock. BBC Edge, BBC Oregon, Chestnut, Federal Alster, Federal Bristol, Federal Dart, Federal Delta, Federal Elbe, Federal Fraser, Federal Katsura, Federal Oshima, Fortunagracht, Harbour Fashion, Helena G, Johanna G, Ludogorets, Mia Desgagnés, Ocean Castle and Paul A. Desgagnés. List compiled by Barry Andersen, Yvan Gingras and René Beauchamp.

Barry Andersen

Federal Elbe paying last visit to lakes?

Waterfront reports indicate the Fednav saltie Federal Elbe is on her last trip. She was loading grain at Sarnia Monday to be discharged in Italy, after which she may be sold. Federal Elbe was built in 2003. It is unknown if she will be scrapped or sold to another operator.

Interlake Steamship, Cleveland Shipmasters’ lodge hold ship trip raffle

Winner of the raffle will get a five-day, round-trip freighter cruise for you and three of your friends a Interlake Steamship Co. vessels. Details are here:

https://www.greatlakesshiptripraffle.com/?fbclid=IwAR0Poo63DdmciQYygdVNr9laaibFMji4Fu7cvZp7eMiKtQNV7E9nJpALRPc

SS Badger nearing return to home port

Ludington, MI – Soon, an icon of Ludington may be making its return.

The 410-foot SS Badger departed, under tow, Pere Marquette Lake heading for dry dock in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in mid-November for its inspection and to receive a fresh coat of paint.

The Badger is across Lake Michigan for its inspection that is scheduled for every five years. In the past few weeks, it’s shared a slot at Fincatieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay with another ship, the Alpena. The Alpena is a 503-foot-long cement carrier that was built in 1942, according to MarineTraffic.com. The Badger launched in 1953.

“We do not fill the dock up,” said Chuck Cart, director of operations with the Lake Michigan Carferry. “It is a very large dock so there is another ship along side of us.”

Cart said during this visit to dry dock, it is the first time since 1992 the ship is having the bottom sandblasted. “The bottom of the ship will be repainted with a special slick paint that should make us faster in the water,” he said. “Also, for the first time since who knows how long, we are blasting the black and stripes on the side and having that all repainted as well.”

Cart said the color scheme will not change the only difference is it will be freshly painted. “We are about three-quarters done,” he said. “We have some stripping to do and a little bit of the bottom yet.”

Cart said there has not been anything that has been a surprise while the ship has been in dry dock. “We have been operating the Badger a long time,” he said. “Nothing that happens is really a surprise if you are paying attention to it.”

The Badger’s stay in dry dock is a bit different than in previous times, Cart said. “A lot of the things we would have normally done at home (and) in-house, we have the opportunity to have the shipyard to do, which opens up our time in Ludington to do other projects,” he said.

Cart said the shipyard crews took the ship’s propellers off of the Badger after the water was drained out. From there, the inspection includes the propeller shafts and sea valves, looking at all of the hull, analyzing each rivet and looking for any new dents, bumps or bruises.

“Crews will take all of the anchor chain out of the ship and inspect the chain as well as the anchors,” he said. “This is pretty much a standard dry dock inspection that everybody gets.”

Cart said people can expect to see the ship back home soon. There is work that still needs to be done once the painting is completed like putting the propellers back in place. Weather, too, may factor into when it can get towed from Wisconsin back to Ludington

Also, because the Badger is in dry dock with the Alpena, both ships need to leave dry dock together. Any work on the Alpena will need to be completed, too.

The plan is to have the Badger towed back to Ludington once the work is complete. “We are hoping for another eight to 10 days,” he said.

Ludington Daily News

The Steamship Grandpa Built: Family holiday
gathering includes stop to see SS Badger in dry dock

Sturgeon Bay, WI – A recent family gathering for the holidays included a tour of the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding dry dock in Sturgeon Bay for the extended family of the late Ray Christianson, who once ran the yard.

Susan Shannon, great-niece of Christianson, served as the Christy Corporation’s president when the SS Badger was constructed, and she wanted her family members to see the historical steamship up close while it’s in dry dock this fall for maintenance work. She gained clearance from Fincantieri staff just before Thanksgiving.

“For our little extended family, it was pretty meaningful,” Shannon said. “We didn’t actually get on the ship. We just walked beside her and got a sense of the scale and felt nostalgic.”

She said it was a “feel-good moment” for her, her cousins and younger family members.

Shannon also said it was great that Carl Christianson, grandson of Ray, could talk to family members about the ferry and the work that went on at the shipyard and dry dock back when they had separate owners.

“Seeing the Badger, to me, was kind of like a busman’s holiday,” said Christianson, who had enjoyed a career in the marine business. “We walked the grounds alongside the Badger; it was a nice tour. It was short, but it was wonderful to see the floating dry dock and the amount of work that they have down there. It’s pretty impressive.”

Read more here: https://doorcountypulse.com/the-steamship-grandpa-built-family-holiday-gathering-includes-stop-to-see-ss-badger-in-dry-dock/?fbclid=IwAR1QAj_Uo_ohMjU4YcNj9fugNVJHVwOKarWPgtw7b7sAL8FqFjsdQpjFzvA

Obituary: Captain Roger G. Desgagnés, 1926-2021

On a windy Saturday afternoon, December 11, 2021, Roger cast off for one last voyage at the age of 95. Originally from Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive, he was the youngest and the last survivor of the late Captain Joseph Desgagnés and Amélia (Bella) Audet.Roger has been a shipowner (Roden D, Champlain, Jean-Talon (ex Franquelin) and an emeritus master on numerous vessel,s navigating mainly on the St. Lawrence River the Gulf and the Great Lakes. His last job was as shore master for Logistec Navigation.

Via Toronto Marine Historical Society

Lay-up reports needed

As the end of the shipping season approaches, please send reports of vessel lay-ups to news@boatnerd.net. This will help us compile our annual lay-up list. Include vessel name, date, port and name of lay-up dock. Click here to view the Lay-Up List: https://www.boatnerd.com/winter-layup-2021-2022/

Ojibway runs aground in Seaway

Update: The Ojbway was moving again in the early afternoon and, after turning around, resumed her downbound voyage.

Monday at around 2 a.m., the bulk carrier Ojibway ran aground just east of Cardinal, ON., in the St. Lawrence Seaway. According to Michael Folsom’s Seaway Ship Watchers Network on Twitter, she is around off Sparrowhawk Point on the U.S. side. Crews are currently assessing the ship and developing a plan to release her, however she is not believed to be hard aground. She was on her way to Port Cartier from Hamilton with grain. There are no injuries or known damage to Ojibway. Information widely circulated on social media recently indicates the vessel will be retired at the end of this season.

Manistee scrap tow delated until spring

According to a social media post from Wayne Elliott, owner of Marine Recycling Corp., the Manistee scrap tow out of Toledo for MRC is now set for April 1, 2022.

Port of Toledo having strong 2021 shipping season

Toledo, OH – 2021 has been a great year for the Port of Toledo, and the good news doesn’t end there.

Joe Cappel is the Vice President of Business Development for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. “In terms of tonnage, we have surpassed the 10 million ton mark. That is something we haven’t done since 2014.”

There was a more than 60% jump in iron ore coming into the port this year. “We anticipated the increase in that tonnage due to a full year of production at Cleveland Cliffs, but we also saw commodities rebounded after the COVID crisis started. ”

Other cargo also saw increases. “Products like aluminum, general cargo and steel coils, we are seeing more of that activity. As tariffs on Canadian products burned off puts us in a good position coming down the home stretch.”

Toledo is the largest land mass port on the Great Lakes, and over 7,000 jobs are connected to it. “The port has a roughly one billion dollar annual economic impact. The seaport is truly an economic driver of this community.”

And the port is building on its on-going success with a number of projects on tap for 2022. Tens of millions in state and federal grants will be reinvested in several major improvement projects. “We’re hiring construction crews, surveyors, engineers, everything it takes to bring mega-projects to fruition.”

View a video here: https://www.13abc.com/2021/12/16/port-toledo-having-strong-2021-shipping-season/?fbclid=IwAR0DrdPhZgBdAE7MzwJngXdboKiiTGwPp2kYZzV4rSjD1U9cbfVnuTlgtM0

Financially ‘afloat?’: Milwaukee Clipper group sets lofty goal for 2022

Muskegon, MI – 2022 will mark the 25th year since the Milwaukee Clipper returned to Muskegon.  Restoration efforts have continued aboard the Great Lakes’ treasure ever since, but due to COVID-plagued years of 2020 and 2021, the group heading-up the project has not able to host fundraisers, which have kept the initiative financially afloat for decades.

To compensate for the back-to-back down years, the Milwaukee Clipper Preservation Group has set a large fundraising goal for the upcoming year.

“2022 will mark the 25th anniversary of the Milwaukee Clipper having returned to Muskegon,” said Pam Babbitt, treasurer of the Milwaukee Clipper Preservation Group. “We plan to celebrate that silver anniversary with several fundraising events.”

The Milwaukee Clipper survives exclusively on donations, of which the group received very few of in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. “No one is paid within our organization,” Babbitt said. “Everything we do is volunteer. If we don’t receive donations, we won’t be able to pay for the supplies needed for the volunteer workers to continue with the restoration of the ship.”

To compensate for the past two down years, the group has set a lofty goal for 2022. “We’d like to raise $100,000 next year,” added Babbitt.

If a cash donation isn’t something people feel comfortable with giving, Babbitt says certain items are needed. “We’re looking for computers, printers, DVD players, gallons of marine paint and cleaning supplies,” Babbitt said. “That’s just naming a few.”

While the group’s fundraisers will dominate the new year, an ongoing discussion with the City of Muskegon about relocating the Clipper closer to downtown will intensify.

“We have three locations we’re looking at,” Babbitt said, when asked about the possible relocation of the ship. “The Clipper is 361-feet long so wherever it goes, a big dock will need to exist to accommodate it, along with a parking lot.”

While Babbitt wouldn’t disclose two of the Clipper’s possible future homes, she did reveal the group’s primary location. “We’d love to at Mart Dock,” Babbitt said. “That’s where other ships are docked, offering higher visibility and making that area a one-stop shop destination for people wanting to tour the ships.”

Donations are currently being accepted. “This means a great deal to our organization,” Babbitt said. The Milwaukee Clipper has closed for the season and will reopen again next spring.

If you’re interested in making a donation, head to the Milwaukee Clipper’s website, or you can mail a check to: S.S. Milwaukee Clipper, P.O. Box 1370, Muskegon, MI, 49443.

Lay-up reports needed

As the end of the shipping season approaches, please send reports of vessel lay-ups to news@boatnerd.net. This will help us compile our annual lay-up list. Include vessel name, date, port and name of lay-up dock. Click here to view the Lay-Up List: https://www.boatnerd.com/winter-layup-2021-2022/

Staggering wave heights expected on Lake Superior

Sault Ste. Marie – A deepening low pressure system that has prompted wind warnings all around Lake Superior will show us all that Lake Superior acts more like an ocean than an inland lake. Wave heights are forecast to reach as high as 25 feet or 7.6 meters at the peak of the storm Thursday night.

To put that into perspective, 23 to 26 foot waves sank the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975. The highest wave ever recorded was a height of 29 feet (8.8 meters) on October 24, 2017 on Lake Superior just north of Marquette, Michigan.

Most storms over the oceans of the world can produce average wave heights of 30 feet. Hurricane Sandy – the largest hurricane on record, battered the North American east coast in October 2012, produced peak wave heights of 42 feet.

Gale warnings are now in place for Whitefish Bay while a storm warning is in effect for eastern Lake Superior. Waves heights of 22 feet (7 meters) are forecast for Thursday afternoon, subsiding to 16-foot waves Thursday evening.

Gale force winds are classified by exceeding 45 to 90 km/h and this storm is packing those types of gusts for most of the day Thursday.

As of Wednesday evening, more than seven freighters were en-route on Lake Superior according to marinetraffic.com

Damaging winds will affect shoreline areas of Western Lake Superior with winds from the southeast then switching to the eastern shoreline with winds shifting to westerly Thursday afternoon.  Environment Canada as well as the U.S. based National Weather Service warn of shoreline flooding in areas as well as wind and storm warnings along with marine warnings in place for Wednesday night to Thursday evening.

Soo Today

Marilyn Bell I is now Canada’s first truly zero emission, lithium-ion electric ferry

Toronto, ON  – The Marilyn Bell I ferry, which connects passengers, vehicles and supplies to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, is now the first electric ferry service in Canada to be powered by a zero-emission, lithium-ion power and propulsion system containing no diesel components.

PortsToronto, owners and operators of Billy Bishop Airport, Tuesday celebrated the return to service of the Marilyn Bell I following its conversion to 100 percent electric power. In operation since 2010, and upgraded to bio-diesel fuel in 2018, the vessel’s diesel generators and engines were removed in 2021 to make way for a new electric power and propulsion system and a suite of lithium-ion batteries fueled by 100 per cent Bullfrog Power renewable electricity.

Powered entirely by electricity from clean wind and solar sources provided by Bullfrog Power, the retrofitted Marilyn Bell I has eliminated greenhouse gas emissions from the ferry operation, reducing the airport’s direct emissions by approximately 530 tonnes per year. In addition to operating more efficiently and eliminating related air emissions, the retrofitted vessel builds on the airport’s award-winning Noise Management Program, as it will operate far more quietly, dramatically reducing related noise in the surrounding community.

Port of Toronto

New buoy will help monitor water quality in the Detroit River

Detroit, MI – The Great Lakes Water Authority and several other partners are now monitoring the water quality of the Detroit River through a new buoy.

The buoy is equipped with a camera that provides 20-second clips every 10 minutes and can serve as an early warning for changing water quality. It was deployed on the Canadian side of the river and monitors oxygen reduction potential, conductivity, temperature, pH levels, total algae and more.

Due to climate change and the warming of the Great Lakes, Michigan is experiencing more harmful algae blooms every year and increasing rain, which results in increased runoff and sewer discharge.

There is not a cause for concern about algae blooms in the Detroit River currently, but the GLWA wanted to proactively monitor the river and gather data.

The GLWA is working with LimnoTech and the University of Windsor on the project.

WXYZ

US Brig Niagara to return to Erie

Erie, PA ­– For the first time in years, the US Brig Niagara has been out of the water, sitting in Cleveland for some much-needed repairs. But after two months away, Erie’s beloved tall ship is returning home.

After a long journey west on Lake Erie, the US Brig Niagara was pulled out of the water at the Great Lakes Shipyard in Cleveland. The boat was long overdue for maintenance and repairs. “A lot of it was assessing what’s going on with the ship, assessing the hull, removing some of the pieces that need to be removed, putting new planks in, and getting her ready to sail again,” said Brig Niagara Captain Chris Cusson.

Niagara had previously not been out of the water in about five years. The crew was anxious to see what the ship looked like below the surface. “When a ship gets hauled out, it’s very nerve-wracking because we don’t know what we’re going to find. We don’t know what the bottom’s going to look like,” said Capt. Billy Sabatini, Executive Director and Captain of the Flagship Niagara League.

Some surprises were in store for crews after Niagara did get on land. They knew work was needed on the ship’s hull, but because Brig Niagara did not sail in 2020 or 2021, additional repairs were needed for the 33-year-old ship.

“Having the ship sit for two years throughout the pandemic really did not do the ship any favors, so it was good to get the ship here and get all those things taken care of, so we’re ready to go,” said Sabatini. Now, the Brig Niagara is ready to go for Tall Ships Festival 2022.

“To put Erie on the map at the center of sail training and at the center of tall ships in the country for that one weekend is truly a magical and wonderful thing,” said Sabatini. Until then, crews are ready to take the ship out on Lake Erie and dock her at the Erie Bayfront for the winter.

“Getting tied up and having that big sigh after two months of hard work, then we’ll leave the ship tied up just in time to visit family for the holidays,” said Cusson.

View video report at this link: https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/45440499/us-brig-niagara-to-return-to-erie

Michigan teens deliver care packages to Great Lakes freighter crews

Two teenagers from mid-Michigan have delivered care packages to sailors on Great Lakes freighters again this season. Brendan Falkowski and Brock Johnson are both seniors in high school.

Last fall, the two started the SN Caring for our Sailors program, with a mission of putting together care packages for sailors on Great Lakes freighters. The project turned out to be a huge success. Care packages were sent to 29 ships and reached 565 sailors. The project was meant as a COVID relief project. They decided to do the project once again in their senior year due to the ongoing pandemic. This time it was expanded, with a goal of sending packages to 772 sailors on 41 ships.

The two received $1,380 in contributions from individual donors and Thrivent grants to pay for the items in the packages.

The boxes were filled with individual bags for each sailor, with a few snacks and treats to help boost morale onboard the ships. Delivery of the boxes could not have been done without the assistance of the J.W. Westcott Co. of Detroit, MI, and Soo Marine Supply of Sault Ste. Marie, MI. J.W. Westcott Co. delivered 24 boxes to passing ships bia the mailboat J.W. Westcott II, while Soo Marine Supply delivered 11 boxes to ships transiting the St. Marys River on their supply boat Ojibway. The remaining 6 boxes were sent through the mail.

“The Great Lakes region is filled with so many wonderful people, we are just happy to give back to the sailors.” said Brck Johnson. The project received an overwhelmingly positive response from those receiving the packages. “It means a lot to be able to give back to our community and the sailors that ply the inland seas,” Falkowski, director of the project, added.  “They sacrifice so much to be out there transporting our essential cargoes to keep our economy moving. Many are away from their homes and families during the holiday season so these care packages are a way for us to show them how much their work is appreciated and that there are some people on shore looking out for them.”

Falkowski is from Bath, MI, and plans to attend the University of Michigan’s Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering program following high school. Johnson is a student in Northview, MI, and plans to go into business and law after college. The duo were introduced over email, and their friendship has grown over a passion for Great Lakes ships

MacArthur Lock closed for the season

Sault Ste. Marie, MI – The MacArthur Lock closed for the season at 7 a.m. Wednesday. During the winter, various maintenance projects will be performed.

Seaway monthly traffic results released

View an image of the report below.

New double-ended ferry launched for Lake Erie

Designed by TAI Engineers, LLC and built in Houma, La. by Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors, LLC (TMC), the new ferry Carmen Lee is expected to enter service in early 2022 for a partnership between the Lorain Port Authority (LPA) and Kelleys Island Ferry Boat Line in Ohio. It can hold 149 passengers and 36 trucks and automobiles, providing service between Marblehead, Ohio and Kelleys Island, Ohio.

Similar to an existing Kelleys Island Ferry Boat Line ferry Shirley Irene already serving the route, the 168- by 45-foot Carmen Lee is specifically designed to operate on lakes, bays and sounds. The main deck is high-strength AH 36 steel to withstand tire loadings from up to 36 cars or equipment trucks in four lanes. The quad azimuthing drive ferry is equipped with four Caterpillar C18 propulsion engines 470 BHP at 1,800 RM, each driving Schottel SRP 150FP Z-drives using Twin Disc HPTO hydraulic clutches. This allows precision maneuvering in challenging Lake Erie approaches during harsh weather and provides propulsion redundancy, TAI said. The vessel has two Onan 40 kW marine gensets.

Carmen Lee has been built to conform (but not certified) to American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) standards and is inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard. It has a steel hull and deckhouse design and is compliant with USCG 46 CFR Subchapter T regulations.

TAI noted it was selected in a competitive procurement by LPA in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to provide naval architecture and marine engineering services for the design and specification of this ferry. TAI also provided professional support for the competitive procurement of a shipyard to build the  vessel.

“TAI Engineers and S&B Infrastructure are proud to utilize our marine engineering expertise to help improve transportation, mobility and accessibility for the Lorain Port Authority and Kelleys Island Ferry Boat Line,” said Danny Rios, President of S&B Infrastructure. “TAI’s marine capabilities, especially in passenger and automobile ferries, nicely complement S&B’s transportation and highway design capabilities.”

‘Viable entity’ interested in purchasing MS Norgoma

Sault Ste. Marie, ON – There may be a renewed interest in the MS Norgoma. City staff won’t say who is interested or what the vessel’s future purpose may be, but a “viable entity” has been looking at the potential to acquire the former museum ship.

Tom Vair, deputy commissioner of community development and enterprise services, said he can’t say more about the matter until January when city council is expected to receive a report on the matter. Vair said the party interested in the Norgoma is not local.

While the City of Sault Ste. Marie hasn’t been actively advertising the vessel for sale, Vair said the marine community is a tight one and word of mouth can go a long way. “People in the marine community know each other and word spreads,” he said.

The Norgoma remains docked, costing taxpayers $40 per day in docking fees. City council turned down a budget request earlier this week to pay the $325,000 in decommissioning fees to get rid of it. To date, docking fees have cost about $39,000.

The city thought it had an Owen Sound, Ont.,-based purchaser for the vessel, but that deal was nixed in November 2020 after Tobermory Real Estate Investors completed a feasibility study showing the relocation of the Norgoma could not be moved to Owen Sound without causing “significant and unacceptable disruption to the existing dockage arrangements” in that community.

Earlier that year, city council had approved the sale of the Norgoma to TREI at a cost of $2,500. That sale had several conditions, including making sure the ship could withstand the tow to Tobermory, and making sure it would have a home once it got there.

Vair said that based on that experience, the city now better understands the process required by Transport Canada to get permits and insurance to move the ship. “There was no issue with moving it, but it was a process and now we understand how to do that and we can assist with that process,” Vair said.

Any costs associated with moving the vessel would be borne by the purchaser.

The City of Sault Ste. Marie had acquired the Norgoma in 1975 and conveyed it to the St. Mary’s River Marine Heritage Centre in 1981 to allow the centre to continue to operate it as a museum ship and tourist attraction.

For many years, the Norgoma, which served as a ship museum in the city’s downtown waterfront, struggled to survive. Council pulled the plug on the Norgoma in 2019, arguing the St. Mary’s River Marine Heritage Centre breached its contact. The vessel was reconveyed to the city later that year and attempts have been made to sell it.

Sault Star

Tug W.N. Twolan headed for Canada’s East Coast

Toronto, ON – A veteran tug that has been laid up at Toronto for several years has found a new owner and a new lease on life. The W.N. Twolan has recently undergone a refit for new owner Halls Bay Marine Services Ltd., Springdale, Newfoundland. The tug was built by Geo, T. Davie & Sons, Lauzon, QC, in 1962. She was a familiar sight on the upper lakes in the 1990s pushing the barge McAllister 132 carrying paper products out of Thunder Bay.

Fire-gutted St. Clair towed from Toledo to Port Colborne for scrap

Toledo, OH – On Tuesday, the McKeil Marine tug Molly M 1 took the fire-damaged former American Steamship Co. self-unloader St. Clair from Toledo headed for the Marine Recycling Corp. scrapyard at Port Colborne, ON, where the vessel will be cut up.

St. Clair was launched July 24, 1975 at Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, WI. When hull # 714 slid down the ways, she was the largest vessel ever to be side launched, built at a cost of $24.3 million. The 770-foot-long vessel was built primarily to deliver western low sulfur coal from Superior, WI, to Detroit Edison’s Belle River power plant near St. Clair, MI.

On Sunday, Feb. 16, 2019, a devastating fire swept through St. Clair while she was docked in Toledo, OH, for winter layup. The fire burned the length of the ship along the unloading belts and also destroyed the superstructure. No one was injured but the vessel was declared a total loss.

Ojibway retirement? Reports circulate on social media

Social media reports Tuesday indicate the 1952-built, straight-deck bulk carrier Ojibway will be retired at the end of the season. There has been no official announcement by owner Rand Logistics, however crewmembers report they have been informed of the decision. The vessel, which was repowered in 2005, is operated by Lower Lakes Towing Co., and has been active in the grain trade. She will make one more trip to Hamilton, then back to Port Cartier and then lay up in Sarnia until further notice.

Wintry weather on upper lakes sends vessels to anchor

With gale and storm force winds blowing on all the upper lakes, a number of vessels went to anchor to wait out the weather.

Lake Michigan:  Bradshaw Mckee / St Marys Conquest had departed Charlevoix Sunday 20:15 and proceeded to Suttons Bay to anchor. With a westerly gale blowing most vessels were hugging the lee of the western shore Monday.

Lake Huron:  Kaye E Barker, Defiance / Ashtabula for Buffington, Sam Laud for Calcite and Calumet for Meldrum Bay were all anchored along the shore north of St Ignace. Algoma Harvester for Quebec City and Walter J McCarthy for Duluth Superior were anchored in the lower St Marys River north of DeTour. The tug Michigan and tanker barge Great Lakes for Green Bay were in the Sarnia anchorage.

Lake Superior: James R Barker for Two Harbors was anchored off of Bay Mills. Mesabi Miner for Duluth Superior was anchored in Goulais Bay. A number of vessels were taking the northshore route.

USCG Neah Bay saves woman from Detroit River

Detroit, MI – U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Neah Bay, normally homeported in Cleveland but moored at the Renaissance Center on the Detroit River Monday, came to rescue when crewmembers heard a faint cry for help from between the ship and the pier.
Crew spotted a woman who had fallen into the 41-degree water and immediately got a life ring to aher and got her out. Some crew gave first aid for minor injuries and hypothermia while others guided EMS and PD to the pier for safe transport to hospital.

Big celebration of LNG bunkering at Port of Quebec

Last Friday, Énergir (the main distributor of natural gas in Quebec), carried out the 100th liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship bunkering at the Port of Quebec. These 100 bunkers made it possible to supply five Desgagnés ships with LNG.

LNG export facilities receive natural gas by pipeline and liquefy the gas for transport on special ocean-going LNG ships or tankers. Most LNG is transported by tankers called LNG carriers in large, onboard, super-cooled (cryogenic) tanks. LNG is also transported in smaller International Organization for Standardization (ISO)-compliant containers that can be placed on ships and on trucks. At import terminals, LNG is offloaded from ships and is stored in cryogenic storage tanks before it is returned to its gaseous state or regasified. After regasification, the natural gas is transported by natural gas pipelines to natural gas-fired power plants, industrial facilities, and residential and commercial customers.

Port of Quebec