August 1996 News Archive

Close call in Welland Canal

8-29-1996:
The Ziemia Gnieznienska was upbound Monday (8/26) morning and about to make its way through the opening between the two leaves of Homer bridge (bridge 4) when it developed engine trouble. The ship dropped anchors and came to rest 20 feet from the bridge. Removal of the ship was delayed temporarily while officials checked to make sure the ship’s dragging anchors had not disrupted any submerged cables which pass under the canal in the area. The ship was then assisted by two tug boats to the wall below lock 3 where repairs could be made. Only one other ship was delayed due to the malfunction of Ziemia Gnieznienska’s engines.

Reported by: Launy Paul

Edward L. Ryerson – self-unloader?

8-29:
Rumor: I was recently in Sturgeon Bay, WI, where the local gentry were discussing the possibility that the Ryerson would be converted to a self-unloader and sail again for Inland. It appears that the actual owner of the Ryerson was opposed to converting the ship (for aesthetic reasons?), but she recently passed away and discussions regarding conversion have resurfaced. I cannot tell you how far these discussions have gone, but here’s hoping that the Ryerson will sail again.

Reported by: Vern Sondak

Port Colborne, Ontario News

8-25:
Algoma’s Algoway was Loading stone at warf 12. They were having trouble with the gears of the unloading boom as the boom must be moved so that complete loading of the vessel takes place.At the same time Patersons Cartiadoc was unloading grain at warf 19 Maple Leaf Mills—Port Colborne. It could only unload a partial load beacause the warf can only accomodate full loads from smaller vessels. The mill has been serviced exclusively by the smaller Mantadoc in the past few years and before that P and H’s Beechglen.

Reported by: J. Joseph Van Volkenburg

Barge INTEGRITY docks in Milwaukee

8-25:
The new LaFarge cement barge INTEGRITY, pushed by the tug JACLYN M. arrived today at the new Milwaukee LaFarge cement terminal. The barge, built this year at Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, entered service two weeks ago. Having already passed up through the Soo, the INTEGRITY loaded a cargo for delivery to the new LaFarge Terminal in Milwaukee.Both the barge and the new terminal are to be officially commissioned in ceremonies planned for August 28. The INTEGRITY is the largest cement barge on the lakes, with a carrying capacity in excess of 14,000 tons. She is painted in the light cream color of the Inland Lakes Management Company cement carriers, however she carries a LaFarge logo in black with a green stripe amidships on her hull.

The tug, JACLYN M., is likewise painted in cream. Both vessels have light green trim, including the visors of both of the tug’s regular pilot house as well as its elevated house.

The combination sailed its maiden voyage August 6 when the unit left Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay for Alpena to load cement for Green Bay.

Reported by: Paul G. Wiening

Date Set for Nicolet Tow

8-25:
The Nicolet is scheduled to be towed out of the Hans Hanson dock on Tuesday August 27th bound for Canada and the cutters torch. Last month she was sold to International Marine Salvage of Port Maitland, Ontario. This ship has been in Toledo since the end of 1990 and leaves many a good story to be told.

Reported by: JVincPep

Canadian Navigator to be converted to a self-unloader

8-22:
Port Weller Dry docks has been awarded a contract which calls for the Canadian Navigator to be converted to a self-unloader over the winter (96-97).

Reported by: Launy Paul

Duluth Superior News

8-14:
After a long absence from the Twin Ports, the Fred R. White Jr. is now seemingly a constant caller. The vessel has made several trips Duluth and Superior this summer. The most recent is set for Aug. 15, when the vessel is due to unload stone at the Reiss Inland dock in Duluth before proceeding to Silver Bay to load taconite pellets.Indiana Harbor is scheduled for an unusual shuttle this week. The vessel is due to load coal Aug. 14 at Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior. It’s then scheduled to proceed to Silver Bay to unload at the power plant there before returning to Superior to take on taconite pellets at the BN ore dock.

8-11:
Paul H. Townsend has been in drydock at Fraser Shipyards in Superior for the past week. The vessel appears to be receiving quite a few new shell plates on both sides of the hull amidships. A large area on both sides has been sandblasted free of paint and some sort of large lean-to type structure has been erected over the portion of the hull undergoing work on the port side.(Paul Townsend’s work in Fraser Shipyards apparently is being doing in conjunction with its 5-year inspection.)

8-10/8-11:
The Oglebay Norton tied up at Duluth’s port terminal for about a day to undergo repairs to its bowthruster. It was interesting to watch the work. Crewmen ballasted the stern of the boat so that the bowthruster tunnel was raised completely clear of the water. Then workers entered the tunnel from outside the hull (the tunnel appears to be about 7 or 8 feet in diameter) and made repairs to a faulty hydraulic pump.

It’s interesting to see how much below-the-waterline work is done on 1,000-footers without their entering a drydock. We probably get 1,000-footers here 5 to 10 times a year that need quick repairs to thrusters, rudders or propellers and the work is down by raising the bow or stern through ballasting.

Reported by: N. Schultheiss

Coal fire Posed Danger to Crew, Coast Guard Says

(Whitefish Point) — The Coast Guard says a fire aboard the coal freighter H-M Griffith put the 28-member crew in grave danger. The temperature in the hold yesterday was so hot that the 730-foot ship’s steel bulkheads glowed. Crewmen ended up dumping more than three-thousand tons of burning coal into Lake Superior.A coal fire in a cargo hold is among the most dangerous of ship fires. Once started, coal is virtually impossible to extinguish and can smolder for weeks.Coast Guard Petty Officer Jack Crumbaugh says the crew was in a lot of danger because if the fire had gotten severe, it could have blown up the ship.

The Canadian vessel was headed south toward Sault Ste. Marie when the fire was discovered shortly before noon. It was loaded with nearly 32-thousand tons of coke, a highly carbonized residue used for making steel. Officials believe some of the cargo was loaded in an advanced stage of oxidation, which caused it to spontaneously combust aboard ship.

The problem is fairly common on lengthy ocean voyages but rare for ships making a Great Lakes passage. That’s according to Captain John Pace, vice-president of fleet management for Canada Steamship Lines in Montreal. That company owns the Griffith.

Captain Steve Pauley ordered the crew to flood the tunnel surrounding the cargo hold to help reduce the temperature. The crew then began cooling the burning cargo with water hoses as it was run along conveyor belts normally used to load and unload the ship.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard dispatched the 140-foot cutter Katmai Bay from Sault Ste. Marie and two helicopters from Traverse City in case anyone needed to be rescued.

Instead, the crew decided to dump the 3-thousand-63 short tons, or 6-point-1 (m) million pounds, of burning coke into the lake. No injuries were reported. The ship was inspected last night at the Soo Locks, but Curumbauigh says there was no structural damage and only minor distortions to some of the metal gates that keep the cargo on the conveyor belts.

The ship left the locks bound for Lake Erie shortly after 4 a.m. today (7/31/96). Normally, cargo dumping on any of the Great Lakes is prohibited. But a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality official says dumping the coke would not pollute Lake Superior.

Reported by: alt.great-lakes newsgroup post