Great Lakes iron ore trade down 4.7 percent in January
Cleveland, OH – Iron ore shipments on the Great Lakes totaled 2.5 million tons in January, a decrease of 4.7 percent compared to 2021. Loadings were above the month’s 5-year average by 17.6 percent.
Lake Carriers’ Association
On first mission to Great Lakes, NOAA ship will sonar map Lake Erie
Cleveland, OH – What’s underneath Lake Erie? The answer isn’t a total mystery to Great Lakes mariners, but parts of lakebed off Ohio and Pennsylvania haven’t been surveyed since the 1940s and nautical charts that commercial ships rely on are long overdue for an update.
Because of that, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is sending one of its four deep-water hydrographic survey ships, the Thomas Jefferson, into the Great Lakes for several months this year to sonar-map the lakebed under heavily trafficked areas.
The mission marks the Jefferson’s first visit to the Great Lakes, and the first visit from a NOAA survey ship since Lake Huron was mapped off Alpena in the early 1990s.
The 2022 mission is part of a stepped-up effort to map the Great Lakes in recent years and will also involve surveying parts of the Detroit River and Lake Michigan off Wisconsin.
“It’s been a long time,” said Matthew Jaskoski, commanding officer of the Thomas Jefferson, which is embarking for the St. Lawrence Seaway in April following a drydock refit in its homeport of Norfolk and some ocean mapping off Virginia.
Read more at this MLive link: https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2022/02/on-first-mission-to-great-lakes-noaa-ship-will-sonar-map-lake-erie.html
EGLE to offer $9 million in grants to ‘repower’ marine vessels
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) will allocate $9 million in grants to push clean energy on the state’s bodies of water.
The money for the department’s Fuel Transformation Program (FTP) will come from the state’s $64.8 million portion of the national settlement with Volkswagen over the German automaker’s violation of the federal Clean Air Act. Volkswagen’s installation of emission testing defeat devices on its vehicles resulted in two settlement decrees.
“This is a great opportunity to reduce emissions from rail and marine sources to help improve air quality in neighboring communities and protect the environment. While cars get the most attention, other transportation sectors are also integral to Michigan’s transition to zero emission or cleaner fuels as called out in the draft MI Healthy Climate Plan,” Elizabeth Browne, director of the Materials Management Division at EGLE, said in a statement.
According to the EGLE news release, applicants awarded the FTP grants will receive from $100,000 to $5 million to replace or “repower freight switchers and marine vessels with clean engines” and “install shore power.” Among the watercraft eligible for repowering or replacement are ferry boats and tugs. Applications also will be accepted for “installation of shore-side power for vessels that operate within the Great Lakes.”
FTP funds will cover between 25% and 75% of the respective repowering project, and the technology used. Replacement or repowering with zero emission technologies such as electric and hydrogen fuel cells qualify for the highest funding percentages. Lower funding percentages may be granted to repowering and replacement by alternative fuel and diesel.
“We don’t have a specific number of replacements or repowers expected but have made a very rough estimate of the emission reductions we hope to realize with the funding,” Debra Swartz, EGLE environmental quality specialist, told The Center Square.
The FTP programs were developed to reduce oxides of nitrogen emissions as well as to promote the adoption of zero emission and alternative fuel engines in accordance with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s climate change mitigation goals.
The application process begins Wednesday, Feb. 23, and closes Sept. 23, 2022.
Coast Guard to hold mass ice rescue exercise on Little Traverse Bay today
Petoskey, MI – Coast Guard units and area partners will conduct a full-scale ice mass rescue exercise at the Petoskey Municipal Marina and on the waters of Little Traverse Bay beginning at noon on Saturday, February 26.
The exercise, named Operation 45 North, will include on-ice rescue operations in Petoskey’s marina by about a dozen area ice rescue teams, as well as helicopter hoisting exercises with an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter based at Air Station Traverse City. Surface and aviation units of the Coast Guard will be joined by local firefighters, city police, sheriff’s departments, Emmet County EMS, Michigan State Police, and many more.
“Exercises like Operation 45 North are crucial in strengthening relationships among local, state, tribal and federal first responders,” said Capt. Anthony Jones, commander of Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, which oversees all of Lake Superior and the northern portions of lakes Michigan and Huron. “The training and techniques shared are vital in ensuring that first responders are ready and able to respond.”
USCG
Video highlights the 2021 shipping season in the Duluth, Superior, and Two Harbors area
The video contains 45 lake carriers in total. While it’s a long video, it’s broken into chapters so you can easily find the ships you want to view. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLTrdVa_qC4
