Boatnerd News – February 17, 2023

Great Lakes iron ore trade a near match to January 2022

CLEVELAND — Iron ore shipments on the Great Lakes totaled 2.5 million tons in January, a near match to 2022. Loadings were above the month’s 5-year average by 21.3 percent.

Since 1880, Lake Carriers’ has represented the U.S.-flag Great Lakes fleet, which today can move more than 90 million tons of cargos annually that are the foundation of American industry, infrastructure, and power: iron ore, stone, coal, cement, and other dry bulk materials such as grain, salt, and sand.  More information is available at www.lcaships.com.

Great Lakes Iron Ore Shipments: January 2018-2023 and 5-Year Average (net tons)

Port	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	Average 2018-2022
Duluth, MN	102,563	444,204	166,229	292,543	318,804	418,605	264,869
Superior, WI	463,581	464,504	476,153	661,488	1,080,199	550,995	502,149
Two Harbors, MN	514,295	892,077	420,961	1,015,888	689,076	679,400	706,459
Silver Bay, MN	80,862	32,795	220,792	145,983	75,473	0	92,651
Marquette, MI*	138,146	316,837	272,367	420,526	239,224	396,724	277,420
Cleveland, OH**	204,432	107,904	210,951	50,466	88,956	432,677	132,542
Ashtabula, OH	0	162,056	55,369	28,553	0	0	49,196
Total	1,503,879	2,420,377	1,822,822	2,615,447	2,491,732	2,478,401	2,043,815

*Marquette = Presque Isle in previous reports

**Transhipments within Cleveland Harbor

Includes transshipments to Quebec City for shipment overseas

Information based on data from knowledgeable sources.  However, accuracy cannot be guaranteed.  Lake Carriers’ Association assumes no legal responsibility for the outcome of decisions or commitments made on the basis of this information.  Report represents the views of Lake Carriers’ Association and may not necessarily represent the views of its individual members.

– Lake Carriers’ Association (February 16, 2023)

 

Signs of action on Black River

LORAIN — After 20 years in the Black River, a ferry docked under the Henderson Bridge may be moved.

The Upper Canada, a defunct ferry moored on the city’s east side, has seen little action since it came to Lorain. But earlier this week, a crane was seen working on the ferry.

The U.S. Coast Guard was made aware of the abandoned vessel in early January, said Petty Officer Gregory Shell, public affairs specialist for the Great Lakes Region.

At that time, the boat had started leaking an unknown substance and a boom was placed around it to absorb and contain any contaminants, he said.

The Coast Guard’s policing team has since been checking on the boat to make sure the boom was still in place and the vessel is not a threat to the public and environment, Shell said.

It is unclear if the Coast Guard was behind efforts to start righting the vessel, or if the owner had taken steps to do so as of Wednesday evening.

Mayor Jack Bradley said the city was not involved in the effort. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is not involved, according to its spokesperson. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is aware of the vessel and the Coast Guard’s response to the leak from it last month, according to its spokesperson.

Lorain city Chief of Staff Rick Soto provided some background on the ferry gathered by the Lorain Police Department while he was still on the force.

Its owern, Alan Johnson, bought the boat from Ontario Northland in the early 2000s and brought it to Lorain. The boat’s registration, out of Ontario, was suspended in 2008, according to Transport Canada.

Johnson could not be reached for comment.

According to Soto’s documents, the Lorain Police Department talked to Johnson in 2015 after concerns of kayakers boarding the boat and requiring a rescue response from the Marine Patrol. At that time, Johnson told officers the boat has a hull made for traveresing through ice and that it floats with no leaks. He agreed to post a “no trespassing” sign on the vessel.

At that time, officers contacted the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Unit, which deemed the boat not hazardous to the environment and not in a shipping channel.

“The USCG’s view at the time was that the vessel was grounded on private property and would need to be removed by private salvage,” according to the provided documents.

Built in 1949, the boat began its life as Romeo & Annette in the 1950s as car ferry, according to clippings posted by the Russel Bros. Shipbuilding company, which built the ferry in Owen Sound. It was renamed the Upper Canada in the mid-1960s.

An October 2021 story published by Thousand Islands Life Magazine chronicled the ship’s life before its fate below the Lofton Henderson, including its many changes in routes and ports.

– Chronicle Telegram (February 16, 2023)