Boatnerd News – November 15, 2022

Grain, dry bulk and petroleum products lead a strong month of shipping on the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway system

Shipping across the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway system topped 4.2 million tons in October, led by strong gains in grain as well as potash, salt and other dry bulk cargos. Overall grain shipments reached 1.5 million tons, a reflection of the strong late harvest in various regions of the Great Lakes.

“It’s great to see these positive numbers for the late harvesting of grain in the U.S. and Canada,” said Bruce Burrows, President & CEO of the Chamber of Marine Commerce. “The promising trend for grain continues to show the important role the Seaway plays in exporting goods from the Great Lakes to the rest of the world.”

Burrows added, “There has also been a significant increase in the number of vessel transits, another demonstration of the vitality of waterborne transportation throughout the region.”

Overall shipping on the seaway system through October was 27.6 million tons, which represents a steady improvement over the past few months.

Meanwhile, dry bulk shipments remain strong with potash up 190% over last year, salt up 22.3% and petcoke running 18% ahead of 2021 year-to-date totals. Shipments of petroleum products have also been robust, showing a 37% increase over 2021.

An example of the compelling results this month are the numbers from the Port of Toledo, with year-to-date cargo shipments topping 9.5 million tons at the end of October, a 5.5% increase over the same period in 2021. “Grain, iron ore, coal and general cargo are all exceeding last year’s pace,” said Joseph Cappel, VP of Business Development for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. “It’s great to see a parade of lakers and ocean vessels sailing up the Maumee River through downtown Toledo this time of year to load grain at The Andersons and ADM. We also have a lot of activity at the mouth of the river where iron ore, aluminum, steel, coal, and bulk products are handled at CSX and Midwest Terminals.”

More than 3.1 million short tons of maritime cargo transited the Port of Duluth-Superior in October 2022, lifting season-to-date tonnage past 23.4 million. Inbound general cargo shipments are tracking toward their highest tonnage total in almost 40 years, providing a high-value economic boost on the working waterfront.

Led by shipments of wind energy cargo and massive industrial pieces, general cargo tonnage neared 24,000 tons for the month of October and 96,000 tons for the season. The last time Duluth-Superior topped 90,000 tons of general cargo in a single season was 1991 (98,645).

“It’s been a very strong year for general cargo shipments, which feature outsized economic value per ton in comparison to bulk cargo, and also help support development of industry and greener energy sources.” said Deb DeLuca, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.

Chamber of Marine Commerce

 

Port Of Oswego Makes $3.5 Million In Dock Upgrades

OSWEGO, NY – Anyone in the city of Oswego over the last year and a half has seen cranes, trucks and local construction workers heading for the port.

In the last 18 months, the port has invested over $3.5 million in dock upgrades and that number will double by the end of next year, said William Scriber, executive director, CEO, Port of Oswego Authority (POA).

“We are committed to making the port an efficient and modern facility which will support our existing and future customers,” Scriber said. “By investing in these enhancements, we are better able to meet the needs of customers like Novelis and Anderson Grain, and perhaps new clients like Micron.”

At times this season, the port has had two ships at dock engaged in loading and unloading products like grain, aluminum, potash, and wind turbine parts. The improvements under way to the port’s east dock, will expand the number of vessels that can dock there at one time, and enable two ships and a barge to tie up simultaneously.

“We are planning for a short sea container shipping service, and we are in the final stages of a grant application for a multi-million-dollar rail and warehouse upgrade that will include shore power and green energy,” Scriber said. “Clearly,  our investments to the port of over  $21 million in the last several years are gaining notice in the Great Lakes with a number of new customers looking to come to Oswego, which means jobs for our local economy.”

The Port of Oswego’s strategic location at the crossroads of the Northeastern North American shipping market, puts them less than 350 miles from 60 million people. As one of the most productive ports in the Great Lakes, the port supports 209 local jobs, $26.7 million in economic activity, and $13.8 million in personal income and local consumption expenditures.

Oswego County Today

 

Detroit church remembers sailors lost on the Great Lakes

DETROIT – Bells tolled at Mariners’ Church of Detroit on Sunday in memory of sailors who have lost their lives at sea on the Great Lakes.

The annual Great Lakes Memorial service was held at the historic church, which sits along the Detroit River in downtown Detroit.

An estimated 30,000 deaths and roughly 6,000 shipwrecks have occurred on Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario. Thursday was the 47th anniversary of possibly the most notable wreck: the Nov. 10, 1975, sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald.

Mariners’ Church previously held a memorial service focused on the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald but has expanded to include all sailors lost at sea. Also honored this year were military personnel who lost their lives, said the Rev. Francis J. Bateman, deacon at Mariners’ Church.

“This is an evolution, an expansion of that service and we decided to add the military to it as well,” Bateman said. “People who lost their lives in defense of our freedom.”

Rear Admiral Gerard Achenbach of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy; Coast Guard Auxiliary and Chaplain James Faile; U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers; U.S. Navy League; and members of Yacht and Boating clubs.

Members of the International Shipmasters’ Association tolled the bell.

In 1976, a year after the Edmund Fitzgerald was lost, a memorial service was held at Mariners’ Church and included the ringing of the church’s “Brotherhood” bell 29 times, one for each crewman aboard the freighter.

The freighter was carrying a load of iron ore pellets to a Detroit steel mill when it plunged to the bottom of Lake Superior during a storm, 17 miles from Whitefish Point in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

To protect the wreck site, in 2006 the Canadian government extended the perimeter around the Edmund Fitzgerald to 500 meters. Divers without a permit face a hefty fine. It was an effort that took 30 years, said Ken Morse, a trustee at Mariners’ Church.

“It is protected waters now,” he said. “So divers can’t just go down there and do things.”

The Great Lakes Memorial Service every November closes out the shipping season, Bateman said. The church opens the shipping season in the spring with a Blessing of the Fleet service.

“The Great Lakes represent a rich bounty for the entire country, and especially for those of us fortunate enough to live by their shores,” said the Rev. Jeffrey Hubbard, pastor of Mariners’ Church of Detroit. “But they can become treacherous and unpredictable.”

“Six thousand shipwrecks, and more we aren’t even aware of yet, and the 30,000 lives lost in them are all the proof we need of that,” Hubbard said. “That’s why we take the time each year to reflect on those lives and to pray that there will be no more wrecks and no more deaths on the lakes in the future.”

Mariners’ Church was founded in 1842 as a place of prayer and reflection for sailors. It now is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Detroit News

 

‘Christmas Tree Ship’ sets return to Toledo

The National Museum of the Great Lakes has begun taking both reservations and donation requests for Christmas trees to be delivered to the waterfront museum by tugboat in early December.

Trees delivered during the museum’s Christmas Tree Ship event Dec. 3 cost $55 and may be purchased for oneself, a family in need, or both. Orders may be placed through the nmgl.org website or by calling 419-214-5000.

The event commemorates the 1912 voyage to Chicago by the schooner Rouse Simmons to deliver Christmas trees for needy families. Toledo’s tree-delivering tugboat is scheduled to arrive at the museum’s dock at 1 p.m. on Dec. 3, and will be streamed on Facebook Live starting at 12:45 p.m.

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Toledo Blade

 

World Ship Society report of casualties, demolitions

Vessels with a Great Lakes / Seaway connection reported as a casualty or sold for demolition. Taken from November 2022 issue of Marine News – Journal of the World Ship Society.

Casualties: Sail training ship DANMARK collided with U.S. Navy’s Freedom-class littoral combat ship MINNEAPOLIS-SAINT PAUL (LCS-21) on 11 September during Maryland Fleet Week at Baltimore

TERRY FOX (8127799; Canada) – 4,169 / 1983 – coast guard – 1st seaway transit 2018 – Canadian Coast Guard vessel had a fire in generator room on 16.08.2022 while anchored in Batty Bay off Somerset Island, Canada.  She was taken to St. John’s Newfoundland for repairs but damage is heavy.

Sold for Demolition: CYNTHIA NICOLE (5083394; United States of America) (CYNTHIA MORAN-04 – 1st seaway transit 1963 – 239 / 1957 – tug – by undisclosed interests, to unknown shipbreakers USA for break-up – commenced 1.00.2022

New Construction: Construction of CONSTELLATION (FFG-62), the lead ship of the navy’s latest class of warship, began 31 August at Finncantieri Marinette Marine’s shipyard at Marinette, Wisconsin

VIKING POLARIS (98683209; Nor) was launched from Vard Tulcea Sa, Tulcea – launch date 24.07.2021, with a delivery date 27.09.2022 – completed  by Vard Soviknes) – managed by Viking Ocean Cruises Ltd. (destined to enter the Great Lakes in 2023)

   Report prepared by Barry Andersen and René Beauchamp

 

National Museum of the Great Lakes flyers

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