High winds cancel Viking Octantis cruise ship’s first visit to U.P. town
HOUGHTON, MI – The largest cruise ship on the Great Lakes was expected to make its first stop in the Keweenaw Peninsula on Wednesday but safety concerns due to high winds have canceled the visit, officials announced Tuesday afternoon.
The 665-foot Viking Octantis was expected to anchor outside of Dollar Bay in Portage Lake and then take passengers ashore using tender boats, according to a news release from the Keweenaw Convention & Visitors Bureau. Officials are concerned about passengers’ safety while on the tenders. “It’s a bit disappointing, but safety is the top priority,” Brad Barnett, executive director of the visitors bureau, said in a statement. “I know the community was excited to see the Octantis in the Keweenaw Waterway, but we’ll have to wait a few more weeks until their next planned visit.”
The ship, which accommodates 378 passengers, has six more visits to Houghton planned this year with the next one on June 29.
Next, the ship will traverse the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie. After that, there’s a stop at Mackinac Island. The route is part of the eight-day Undiscovered Great Lakes cruise, which begins in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and ends in Milwaukee.
The ship has itineraries throughout the Great Lakes with ports of call in Canada and the United States this spring, summer and fall. Next year, the Octantis will be joined by its identical sister ship, the Viking Polaris.
MLive
Chefs, cooks serve important roles aboard Great Lakes ships
The Great Lakes are filled with a variety of vessel traffic, ranging from Great Lakes and ocean freighters, tugboats, barges, American and Canadian coast guard boats, and passenger cruise ships.
Many of those boats and ships are in operation for weeks and months at a time — even, for some, year-round. That means the crew and passengers need to have access to nutritious, creative, and healthy meals and snacks.
With months and weeks on the lakes, food is a major and important aspect not to be skimped upon.
Imagine you are the chef, cook, or lead steward on a Great Lakes freighter, and are preparing for the upcoming shipping season. A major in-port fire engulfs the boat’s stern and upper decks, which includes the galley and dining area. That is what Dick LaLonde experienced in 2015 with the then-73-year-old S.S. Alpena.
To read more about the chefs and cooks on the Great Lake ships, click this link: https://www.thealpenanews.com/news/local-news/2022/05/chefs-cooks-serve-important-roles-aboard-great-lakes-ships/?fbclid=IwAR1j9YGbUkUkfC0NHI_asqFMSDJIVJ5ImWMDuF7L0YvfntRUpULjmccPE88
The Alpena News
The Navy might have a garage sale for the Littoral Combat Ships they just built but don’t want
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday has suggested that the Navy dispose of the Littoral Combat Ships. “We should consider offering these ships to other countries that would be able to use them effectively,” Gilday told lawmakers on Thursday.
Gilday’s suggestion came in response to questions from Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), who had asked if the Navy could find other uses for the nine Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ships that are slated for decommission next fiscal year. Moran noted that one of those ships, the USS Wichita, was just commissioned in January 2019, and it recently practiced interdicting drug smugglers with the Dominican Republic’s navy.
Most of the remaining Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ships were built on the Great Lakes in Marinette, WI.
“There are countries in South America, as an example – as you pointed out – that would be able to use these ships, that have small crews,” Gilday told Moran. “And so, instead of just considering scrapping as the single option, I think that there are others that we can look at, sir.” It was not clear from Gilday’s comments whether he advocated selling the Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ships or giving them away for free, but at this point, the Navy is one step away from hauling the nine ships out to the curb, hoping that someone will take them overnight.
The Navy expects to save about $3.6 billion in upgrades, repairs and retrofits, by mothballing a total of 24 ships including the nine Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ships, which are among the newest vessels in the Navy. All have been commissioned since 2012 and the USS St. Louis isn’t even two years old yet. And that’s to say nothing of the fact that the Navy expects to spend more than $60 billion over the lifespan of the Littoral Combat Ship program, only to turn around and begin decommissioning the vessels once they’re in service.
But these ships have been hobbled by a design flaw that limits their speed. The coup de grâce for the Freedom-variants came when the Navy determined that they were not suited for anti-submarine warfare.
The Navy’s plans to decommission the nine Littoral Combat along with 15 other vessels have drawn sharp rebukes from lawmakers and navalists, who argued the Navy cannot afford to get smaller.
During Thursday’s Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing, Gilday said the Navy is focusing on the quality rather than the quantity of its ships. “We need a capable, lethal, ready Navy more than we need a larger Navy that’s less capable, less lethal, and less ready,” Gilday said.
Task & Purpose
Sights and sounds on the St. Marys River: Great Lakes freighters cross paths
SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – Freighters on the Great Lakes vary in size and shape.
In today’s Sights and Sounds, photojournalist Jim LeHocky shows us the 1,000 foot by 104 foot “American Century” crossing paths with the much smaller 500 foot by 72 foot “Harvest Spirit” on the St. Mary’s River in Sault Ste. Marie.
Click on this link to view the drone video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5Xp3VYwJls
9&10 News
Marine Mart in Port Huron to resume in June
PORT HURON, MI – A long-standing tradition, sidelined by COVID, will make a return this year in a new location. The Summer Marine Mart, formerly the St. Clair Marine Mart, will be held Saturday, June 11, at the American Legion Post #8, 1026 Sixth St., in Port Huron, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The Mart features nautical items, artifacts, photos, books, artwork, models, postcards and more. See the poster in the image gallery below for more information.
