Navigation Maritime Bulgare (Navibulgar) of Varna, Bulgaria, has added another new vessel to its Laker-class fleet of vessels. The Hemus (IMO 1068891), built in 2026 at the Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding Co., China, is the 13th of 15 vessels of the Kom series which began in 2021 as part of the fleet’s renewal program.

Hemus. [Navbulgar]

Two more vessels also built at the Jiangsu New Yangzi shipyard are expected to join the Hemus and the other vessels for the Navibulgar fleet sometime in 2026. The two other new vessels are the Sredna Gora (IMO 1068906) and Stara Planina (IMO TBD).

Denny Dushane

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. — personnel held a change of command ceremony Tuesday at the Lake Superior State University Arts Center inSault Ste. Marie, MI. Capt. William C. Albright relieved Capt. James R. Bendle as the commanding officer of Sector Northern Great Lakes.

Following the change of command, Bendle held a retirement ceremony after more than 20 years of service in the Coast Guard. He enlisted in 1997 at Coast Guard Station Atlantic City, New Jersey, and earned his commission through Officer Candidate School in 2002. Throughout his career, he served in several leadership roles, including command positions at Coast Guard Station Grand Isle, Louisiana, and Sector Maryland-National Capital Region, along with assignments in training, enforcement and personnel management.

Albright will assume duties as the incoming sector commander, bringing extensive experience in marine safety, prevention and waterways management. A native of Valdez, Alaska, and graduate of the California Maritime Academy, Albright has served in multiple leadership positions across the Coast Guard. His previous assignments include Commanding Officer of Marine Safety Unit Huntington, West Virginia, and Deputy Chief of the Polar Coordination Office at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Sector Northern Great Lakes oversees a vast maritime region encompassing 1,850 miles of shoreline and 560 miles of U.S. and Canadian border waters, including directing operations for Marine Safety Unit Duluth, two aids to navigation teams, and nine Coast Guard stations. The sector also supports the St. Marys River Vessel Traffic Service and assists coordination of Operation Taconite, the country’s largest domestic icebreaking operation.

The change of command ceremony marks a transfer of total responsibility and authority from one individual to another. It is a time-honored tradition, conducted before the assembled crew, as well as honored guests and dignitaries, to formally demonstrate the continuity of the authority within a command.

USCG Press Release

Some groups that do research and collect data on the Great Lakes face existential threats as the federal budgeting process for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gets underway. A proposed budget request from President Donald Trump would zero out programs that scientists say are the foundation of weather observations, water quality, maritime safety and recreation on the Great Lakes. The president wants to cut NOAA’s budget by $1.3 billion, or one-third of current funding levels to better match priorities related to halting climate research.

“The investment that we make pays off in terms of safer water, public safety, public health, as well as economic activity,” said Gregory Dick, director of the Cooperative Institute Lakes Research (CIGLR), a partnership between the University of Michigan and NOAA. Researchers at CIGLR work closely with NOAA to conduct work on lake water levels, ice dynamics and harmful algal blooms on Lake Erie. Data is used by state managers, fishermen, boaters and the regional shipping industry. “That’s the kind of data that you want at your fingertips,” Dick said. “That’s what’s at risk with cuts like the ones we’re talking about.”

Beyond this data, Dick is worried about long-term research on how climate change is affecting the Great Lakes. Water levels are fluctuating and Dick said understanding those dynamics is important for future planning around development and the economy.

Another at-risk program is the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS), a regional network collecting data on wave heights, water temperatures, ice, wind and more. The network makes real-time data available to the public, and it’s often used by boaters, fishermen and people who recreate on the lakes. “If you want to visit a beach, if you want to take your dog and let it run in the lake, it’s really important to know beforehand if there’s a bloom there or dangerous surf conditions,” said Jennifer Boehme, CEO of GLOS.

In a memo released with the budget proposal, the White House stated that “President Trump is committed to eliminating funding for the globalist climate agenda while unleashing American energy production.” The proposed NOAA budget will cut climate research and save taxpayer money, according to the memo.

NOAA programs in the Great Lakes are already adapting to cuts from the previous year. The Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (which houses CIGLR), for example, lost about 40% of its staff last year after rounds of layoffs and early retirements, according to Dick.

GLOS is also in a more vulnerable position this year, Boehme said. The program is up for a contract renewal with NOAA, which happens every five years. And the system hasn’t received all of its appropriated funds from last year. “Each lapse makes the next one worse, and rebuilding isn’t just a matter of writing another check. The relationships and the seasonal schedules that make the network function can take years to reconstruct,” she said. Still, the president’s budget is more a signal of priorities than binding, said Alex Eastman, the Great Lakes program manager at the Northeast-Midwest Institute, a nonprofit policy research group. Appropriations are ultimately decided by Congress, which is in the middle of that process. This year, the House Appropriations Committee has passed a bill that would fund NOAA at levels similar to last year, largely ignoring the president’s budget proposal. But the bill is $300 million short of last year’s funding. The Senate hasn’t passed their version of the appropriations bill yet.

Congress funded these Great Lakes programs last year after the president proposed similar cuts, likely because they know the value they provide for the region and country, Eastman said. “I do think that the more that Congress pushes back, I think the more the executive branch and the president will see that they’re not gaining anything by continuing to try to impose draconian cuts,” he said.

Reaad the orginal report here.

DULUTH, MN. – The Duluth Seaway Port Authority and its terminal operations on Rice’s Point once again ranked among the top-tier environmental performers in North America, according to the recently released Green Marine 2025 Performance Report.

BBC Genoa arrives at Duluth MN. [Duluth Seaway Port Authority]

Green Marine is recognized as the maritime industry’s leading voluntary environmental certification initiative. The annual report evaluates participants across nine categories: air emissions/greenhouse gases, aquatic ecosystems, community impacts, community relations, dry bulk handling and storage, environmental leadership, spill prevention and stormwater management, underwater noise, and waste management. The 2025 certification cycle builds on recent program updates with strengthened criteria, including a mandatory Aquatic Ecosystems indicator for ports and more ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets. All scores are independently reviewed by accredited third‑party verifiers.

“Each year, the Green Marine standards become more rigorous by design, and that helps participants strive to continually improve,” said Jeff Udd, director of government and environmental affairs, Duluth Seaway Port Authority. “It’s a system that encourages going beyond regulatory compliance.”

The Duluth Seaway Port Authority has participated in Green Marine since the program’s inception in 2007. Ongoing sustainability efforts at the Clure Public Marine Terminal include energy efficiency upgrades, phased adoption of zero-emission vehicles and equipment, increased use of renewable energy and regular progress monitoring.

Green Marine participation builds on the modal efficiency advantages already achieved by waterborne cargo transport. A thousand-foot Great Lakes freighter carries the cargo equivalent of 2,340 trucks or 564 railcars in a single trip, with substantially lower carbon intensity per ton-mile than any land-based mode. Maritime commerce on the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway System provides shippers with nearly $4 billion USD in annual cost savings compared to the next least costly transportation alternative.

“The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway System is public infrastructure federally maintained by the U.S. and Canada, with enough capacity to handle double the current vessel volume,” said Kevin Beardsley, executive director, Duluth Seaway Port Authority. “When freight routes maximize the waterborne leg of the journey, they tap into the region’s most cost-efficient, lowest-emissions transportation corridor. North America already built it. The opportunity is in using it to maximum advantage.”

For more information on sustainable shipping and port operations, visit

Transport Desgagnés chartered the Dutch cargo ship Aragonborg two days ago to replace the vessels stuck in the Persian Gulf. Since June 10th, its port of registration has been Quebec City, and it has been in Trois-Rivières since June 7th. This ship has transited the St. Lawrence Seaway on several occasions since entering service in 2010.

René Beauchamp

Aragonborg. René Beauchamp

TOLEDO, OH – Join us August 15–16 at the National Museum of the Great Lakes, Toledo, Ohio, for the inaugural Great Lakes Mariner Meet-Up, a weekend dedicated to reconnecting the people who know life on the water best.

From department meet-ups aboard our historic vessels to after-hours gatherings, storytelling sessions, and shared meals, this special weekend is all about celebrating the friendships, memories, and experiences that shaped Great Lakes maritime culture.

Whether you sailed for decades or spent just one season aboard, we’d love to welcome you.

National Museum of the Great Lakes

ERIE, PA – The U.S. Brig Niagara departed Maine at daybreak this past Saturday, embarking on a 2,000-nautical-mile journey to its Erie homeport following a year-long, $6.9 million restoration at Bristol Marine’s Sample’s Shipyard in Boothbay Harbor. The vessel is scheduled to arrive at the Erie Maritime Museum for a homecoming celebration July 2-5, timed to coincide with Independence Day weekend and Pennsylvania’s America 250 festivities.

The historic flagship is traveling the North Atlantic Ocean and the St. Lawrence Seaway under motor power during the multi-week transit. Officials chose to motor rather than sail to allow more time for critical repairs and systems updates at the shipyard. The ship’s sails and traditional 19th-century rigging will be assembled dockside in Erie after the July 4 celebrations, allowing community members and visitors to watch the complex process.

“The departure from Maine represents a monumental milestone in the preservation of the Commonwealth’s flagship,” said Andrea Lowery, executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. “We thank the shipwrights and craftspeople at Bristol Marine for their work, and we are thrilled to have a mariner of Captain Bailey’s caliber guiding her home.”

Interim Captain Richard Bailey is commanding the vessel for its homecoming voyage. Bailey brings more than 45 years of tall-ship command experience to the role, including 16 years as master of the HMS Rose, which he helped convert into the first Coast Guard-inspected sailing school vessel in the United States. Commission officials noted the interim captain has no relation to former Captain Greg Bailey.

The U.S. Brig Niagara is a historically accurate reconstruction of the vessel commanded by Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the ship serves as a sailing school, goodwill ambassador and symbol of the state’s maritime heritage. The restoration was designed to ensure the vessel remains structurally sound for decades to come.

PennLive
Read more and view videos here.

U.S. Brig Niagara set sail on June 6, 2026, from Maine after a yearlong, $6.9 million restoration. [Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission]

The Polish Steamship Co. (Polsteam) of Szczecin, Poland, has added another new vessel to its Laker-class series of ships. Polsteam Ros (IMO 1027201) is the 11th vessel built as part of the Polsteam fleet renewal program in China which began in 2024 with the Polsteam Dabie as the first of the series. Polsteam Ros is 199.99 meters or 656 feet in length and 23.700 meters in width or 78 feet wide. The ship gets its name from a lake in Poland.

Polsteam Ros.

Denny Dushane

ALGOMA WI – As of Tuesday afternoon, the view looking out at Lake Michigan from Algoma is a bit different. “For everybody in the city, it’s quite the iconic feature. It just sits east of the whole city of Algoma here,” said Algoma City Administrator Matt Murphy. Murphy is talking about the red lighthouse on the Lake Michigan waterfront. It has sat in the same place in Algoma since 1932 is now taking a trip to Sturgeon Bay.

“There’s probably going to be a lot of people that are going to come into town, I assume in the next three or four months, and say, ‘Oh my God, where did your pierhead light go?'” said Murphy.

Thankfully, the lighthouse won’t be gone forever. “It will get a facelift up in Sturgeon Bay, and when everything is ready for it, it will be floated back down south here to the city of Algoma and put right back into place where it sits today,” said Murphy.

That facelift includes a new paint job that will cost a little over $19,000. With the lighthouse gone, temporary markers will be in place to help guide boaters. The lighthouse was moved so the Army Corps of Engineers and Roen Salvage Co. can renovate the North Pier. Although that project will take two years, Murphy said the lighthouse could return as soon as the far end of the pier is finished.

Watching the lighthouse be lifted and taken away was a new experience for many. “I have never seen anything like this before. I think it’s a pretty cool experience to see it. I was just in awe of the work that they put in to get it to that point and get it on the barge and get it over to Sturgeon Bay and paint it,” said Tanner Karman. Karman, a police officer, was one of a few dozen people who came out Tuesday to watch the spectacle.

He joked, “4 p.m., I got a report that the lighthouse was going to be stolen, so I had to come and check it out, just to make sure that everything was legit and good.”

Watch a Fox 11 report here.

Roen Salvage Co.’s tug Stephan Asher, with Roen’s biggest spud barge,180 ft Derrick 33 with their biggest crane, a 230-ton Lampson 4100 Millennium. [Rosann Hollinger]

McKeil Marine’s Hinch Spirit arrived at Morska Stocznia Remontowa “Gryfia” S.A. Dock No. 5 in Szczecin, Poland, on May 28 for maintenance, inspections, and a fresh coat of paint. Gryfia Shipyard is one of Poland’s leading ship repair facilities, handling a wide range of vessel maintenance, dry dockings, and refit projects.

Fleetmate Wicky Spirit underwent scheduled winter drydocking at Gryfia from October 2023 to March 2024. Additionally, the McKeil Spirit was there in late 2023.

Hinch Spirit drydocked in Poland. [Matt Billard]