CLEVELAND, Ohio –The Cleveland Harbor West Pierhead Light, located just beyond the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, is back up for grabs. The U.S. General Services Administration said Thursday that it’s offering the lighthouse at no cost to eligible organizations in accordance with the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.

The GSA has been trying to unload the historic structure, which is only accessible by boat, for several years but without any apparent success.

In 2021, it made a similar pitch to entities willing to preserve and maintain the lighthouse, including government agencies, nonprofits and educational organizations, saying at the time that it would be put to auction if a suitable taker didn’t come forth.

The GSA wound up holding that auction in 2023, during which the lighthouse was sold to jewelry designer Heather Moore and Classic Auto Group owner Jim Brown for $425,000.The sale did not go through, however, although it is unclear why.

The lighthouse was built in 1910 and provides exceptional views of the city skyline. The lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. Applications for ownership will be sent to the National Park Service, which may recommend an eligible recipient, according to the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. If such a transaction does not occur, there will be another attempt to sell the property.

Cleveland.com

The summer ferry schedule of service to Mackinac Island was scheduled to begin April 21 (expanded from limited service from St. Ignace only in winter), however ice conditions have altered that plan.

Arnold Transit Co. has posted: “Due to serious current ice conditions in the Straits of Mackinac and around the Ferry Docks that continue to impact ferry service, Arnold Transit Co. will be continuing the April 13- April 20 Winter Service Schedule until the ice conditions allow for safe passage out of Mackinaw City.”

They will use the slower older boats only.

Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry has posted: “We continue to closely monitor the adverse ice conditions in the harbors at Mackinaw City and St. Ignace, as well as ice movement on Lakes Huron and Michigan. Safety remains our top priority for both our guests and our crew. We have cleared enough ice near our launch to place Wyandot in the water, with ice bubblers positioned around the hull to prevent damage. When conditions allow, the Wyandot will complete required sea trials to ensure she meets all safety standards and is ready for service. Once she departs the launch cradle after successfully completing her requisite sea trials, the same process will begin for Capt. Shepler.

“While our regular season is to begin April 21, the ongoing ice conditions outside of our control will delay the start of service this year. At this time, we do not have a confirmed opening date, as operations are dependent on the pace of ice melt and safe water conditions.”

MightyMac.org and Facebook

GARY, IN – Hundreds of new jobs are coming to Gary, Indiana. U.S. Steel said it’s planning to restart the Gary Tin Mill at the company’s facility by early next year. CEO David Burritt said more and more customers want a dependable supply of American tin they can rely on in the long term.

“Restarting the Gary Tin Mill positions us to serve that demand, support domestic manufacturing, and strengthen critical U.S. supply chains—including those that help support American farmers and food producers—provided trade is fair and enforced,” Burritt said in a statement. The reopening of the Gary Tin Mill is expected to create 225 jobs. U.S. Steel said the facility should be fully operational early next year.

U.S. Steel is looking to restart tin mill production as the Trump administration’s Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper force companies to reevaluate their sourcing strategies for certain metals. Domestic companies such as Steel Dynamics and Nucor are expecting to see a surge in first quarter earnings from renewed demand for U.S. supplies.

U.S. Steel said the planned restart requires “sustained customer interest” in securing long-term domestic tin mill supplies, and it believes it can increase production to meet that demand when market conditions “allow for fair competition.”

CBS News. See a video here.

ERIE, PA – The office of the Erie County Coroner is investigating a workplace death on a ship moored at Donjon Shipbuilding and Repair along the East Bayfront Parkway in Erie. According to Coroner Lyell Cook, the incident happened at 4:52 a.m. Saturday on board American Integrity, a massive Great Lakes freighter that has wintered at Donjon for maintenance and repairs. Coroner Cook said according to a preliminary investigation it appears that a worker, identified as 44-year-old Alfredo Arias from Alabama, fell a distance of 35 to 40 feet into one of the vessel’s forward holds.

Measuring 1,000 feet in length, American Integrity is one of the largest bulk cargo freighters on the Great Lakes, with multiple holds for ore or other cargo.

A deputy county coroner pronounced Arias dead at the scene of the incident on Saturday morning. Coroner Cook said Arias suffered multiple blunt force trauma in the fall. “An autopsy is scheduled for Monday,” Coroner Cook said, adding, “toxicology tests will be part of the death investigation as well.” Erie Police Department detectives were notified of the fatality at Donjon, but according to officials will not be part of the investigation, unless there is any indication of foul play.

Erie News Now

Viktor Kaczkowski of Brockville, Ontario, has been voted Historian of the Year for 2026 by the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. He is the primary author of the MHSD’s award-winning 2024 book Ahoy & Farewell III, published to mark the 80th anniversary of the society. The book was honored by the Historical Society of Michigan in 2025.

The award is presented annually, with the recipient determined by the vote of previous Historian of the Year awardees.

Viktor has had a lifelong interest in ships and the St. Lawrence Seaway since arriving in Canada on the ocean liner Empress Of England in 1967. Settling first in Iroquois and then in Midland, ON, he spent many happy hours at the water’s edge watching and documenting the ships he saw. He studied geography at the University of Guelph, where he completed his B.A., and then at York University in Toronto, where he completed his M.A., with the development of Canadian Great Lakes shipping the subject of his thesis.

He spent many years in public service at the legislatures of Ontario and Saskatchewan before ultimately retiring as a parliamentary clerk. Since then, he has worked for the Lost Villages Historical Society and Museum, dedicated to the story of the villages lost due to the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway. He also worked for more than a decade at the Brockville Museum as Community Engagement Officer.

In 2004, he co-authored the Canadian Encyclopedia entry about the St. Lawrence Seaway with shipping expert Dr. Gordon C. Shaw. He also appeared in and assisted with the research the St. Lawrence Seaway episode of the A&E series Modern Marvels. He has given numerous talks about Great Lakes shipping and the Seaway to the Toronto Marine Historical Society, the Lost Villages Historical Society and on various Great Lakes cruises. He also founded the Brockville-based Seaway Ship Enthusiasts marine history group, which ran from 2010-2020. Aside from Ahoy and Farewell III, he has written and hosted the cable television program Seaway Secrets, which explores the history of the Seaway region.

Traveling the world on cruise ships is one of his great joys, with almost 40 cruises, six continents and 90 countries tallied up so far. His other interests include industrial archaeology, civil aviation, art history and modern architecture. He currently lives close to the St. Lawrence River in Brockville, ON.

LUDINGTON, MI – A $450,000 capital campaign is fully funded to restore the keeper’s dwelling at Big Sable Point Lighthouse on the Lake Michigan shoreline at Ludington State Park near Ludington, Mich. It took just four months to raise the funds. Work is scheduled for 2027, the lighthouse’s 160th anniversary. In December, Lakeshore Keepers, the nonprofit that manages the light, launched a $450,000 campaign to restore the exterior of the keeper’s dwelling. The goal was to complete fundraising by June 2028 and begin work in 2029. Lakeshore Keepers announced last Monday that the project is fully funded and the work will be scheduled for 2027 – two years earlier than expected and aligning with the light’s

160th anniversary.

“We are immensely grateful for the tremendous support this campaign has received during the four months it was promoted to the public,” said Jack Greve, executive director of Lakeshore Keepers. “Due to this overwhelming generosity, we are two years ahead of schedule.”

The project plans include removing decades-old layers of exterior paint and “organic growth” that has formed between the paint and brick, restoring historic masonry, and repainting with white masonry paint. Removing layers of paint will require a chemical process to avoid further degrading the brick beneath. The work will prevent the building from holding moisture.

The 112-foot tower and original keepers’ dwelling were built in 1867, using Milwaukee “Cream City” brick. In the early 1900s, the tower was encased in metal due to the poor condition of the bricks. The keepers’ dwelling, which was expanded between 1908 and 1914, was first painted in 1942. Today, the paint is cracked and peeling, revealing a layer of green, moss-like growth underneath.

This is Lakeshore Keepers’ largest preservation effort in its 38-year history. Originally named Big Sable Point Lighthouse Keepers Association, the organization formed in 1987 to rescue this light. Operating as Lakeshore Keepers, the group now manages five lighthouses from Whitehall to Manistee.

Lakeshore Keepers is reviewing bids for repairs to the chimney and the north porch foundation wall of the keeper’s quarters. Those projects will be completed this year while the remainder of the restoration is scheduled for 2027.

Big Sable Point Lighthouse will be open for 2026 tours and tower climbs starting May 4.

M Live

According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House is proposing the largest upgrade in decades to the country’s fleet of noncombat ships. Government agencies are requesting funds in the 2027 fiscal year budget for cargo ships, vehicle carriers, cutters and a research vessel. That includes the National Park Service.

The NPS has pitched a new ferry to replace the aging Ranger III that crosses Lake Superior between Houghton, Michigan, and Isle Royale National Park. The Ranger III was built in 1958 and is the largest piece of moving equipment owned and operated by the National Park Service, and the largest passenger ferry serving the island park.

This isn’t the first time the NPS has requested a new vessel, but funding for it has never survived the budget process. The WSJ reports there is now strong bipartisan support in Congress to upgrade the country’s aging non-military fleet.

“This is the first time I’ve seen a substantial nonwarship procurement in one big budget,” said Brent Sadler, a maritime specialist at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Sadler said the requests are the largest he has seen for noncombat vessels since the Vietnam War.

The funding requests in the proposed budget released last week must be approved by Congress. Some maritime industry executives are hopeful that strong bipartisan support for shipbuilding in recent years will overcome spending concerns.

Most of the requested vessels would expand the number of noncombat ships the U.S. can turn to in wartime to carry ammunition, cargo and vehicles and to refuel and rearm warships at sea. Others, such as an Antarctic research vessel for the National Science Foundation, could serve geopolitical goals as global tensions intensify around frozen waterways.

Jerry Hendrix, who leads the Office of Management and Budget’s shipbuilding office, said the overall goal of the requests is to send a demand signal to U.S. shipyards that orders are on their way and that yards should modernize and expand facilities. “This was part of a broader strategy to add capacity and competition,” he said.

The Navy is requesting a 46% increase over last year’s shipbuilding budget to $65.8 billion. The request includes funding for 18 combat vessels and 16 noncombat ships such as firefighting boats, a hospital ship and specialized ships to carry fuel, equipment, vehicles and supplies.

Other government departments that requested shipbuilding funds include the U.S. Coast Guard, which requested three vessels for inland waterways, and the U.S. Army, which requested two new landing craft. The National Park Service said it needs a ferry for services between Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale National Park. The route is currently s

The Transportation Department’s Maritime Administration also requested $168 million to more than double funding for a program that pays stipends to private companies that operate U.S.-flagged tankers. The payments cover the extra cost of employing American crew and, in return, companies commit to making their ships available to the government during wars or national emergencies.

Noncombat ships are the unglamorous workhorses of military deployments. Maritime industry specialists say the ships have long been overlooked as administrations prefer to spend on more exciting vessels such as submarines and battleships. According to a Navy report last year, the average age of vessels in the Navy’s Military Sealift Command—a roughly 140-vessel fleet of government and commercially owned logistics support ships—is 40 years old.

Wall Street Journal

The Welland Canal is closed to traffic in both directions at Port Colborne, ON, until further notice as a result of BBC Tokyo hitting Bridge 21 at approximately noon Thursday. The Clarence Street Bridge (Bridge 21) has been in the up position since the saltwater vessel made contact with the east side tower heading downbound in Port Colborne.

As a precaution, the bridge has been closed to both vehicle and pedestrian traffic. There are no reported injuries or environmental impacts at this time. Seaway crews are on site assessing the situation, and updates will be shared as more information becomes available. The bridge will remain closed on Friday, April 17 to allow for necessary repairs.

Watch a video of the incident here.

Janey Anderson, Amy Daggett and Ship Junkies