Boatnerd News – March 27, 2023

Midnight madness at Soo Locks as hundreds watch first freighter

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – Parking on Portage Avenue was hard to come by Friday night as people made their way into the Soo Locks Park to watch the first freighter officially open the 2023 shipping season in Sault Ste Marie.

A few hundred people packed the viewing platform at midnight to photograph, video, and talk about the 1004′ x 105′ Edwin H. Gott slowly working its way into the Poe Lock from the east end of the Soo Locks.

It had been tied up there since Thursday afternoon after arriving from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

Nineteen-year-old Camden Olson made the trip from Spooner, Wisconsin, for the first time to watch the opening of the Soo Locks.

“I met some friends who loved freighters a few years ago, and over the course, over the years, I got more and more into it, and now I am here. This is my second time here to the Locks but the first time for opening night,” Olson said.

“The Locks are pretty important to the American economy. If we don’t have the Locks, we don’t have iron ore heading to the steel plants,” Olson added.

Olson, along with his boatnerd friends, were just a few of the dedicated boat lovers in the crowd.

“I think it is pretty amazing that this many people are this dedicated to come out here and see this boat come through late at night to open the shipping season,” said Olson.

Soo Today

 

Top Hat Ceremony opens 2023 shipping season

THUNDER BAY – The MV Harvest’s arrival marked the beginning of the 2023 shipping season for the Port of Thunder Bay on Sunday.

“It’s a sign of spring for us, and at this time of year, once the first ship comes in, this is the furthest inland port in Canada, so you know, we see the commerce starting up again,” said Tim Heney, CEO, Thunder Bay Port Authority.

“It’s a pretty exciting time for us and everyone’s optimistic. It’s a, you know, great day, beautiful weather, perfect”

The Harvest Spirit crossed Thunder Bay’s breakwall at 0500 hours, a day after passing through the Soo Locks and tied up at Superior Elevator and departed Sunday Night for Windsor with a 14,200-tonne load of canola.

Captain of the Harvest Spirit, Adam Hagen said that being the vessel that opens Thunder Bay shipping season was quite an honour.

“We know that the Thunder Bay is one of our main ports of call, this is my first time captaining in the first ship of the year and you know anything to promote the industry as I I feel that things are on the up with the with the shipping industry,” he said.

“With the price of fuel and a lot of the environmental implications that are coming lately, definitely shipping anything by water is many, many times more environmentally friendly and efficient than by rail and certainly by truck.”

The 2012-built Harvest Spirit is a bulker in the McKeil Marine fleet. McKeil is a marine service operator with over 50 vessels, a sailing and shore-based crew of about 350 and offices in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Harvest Spirit is a regular site in the Port of Thunder Bay, having made 21 trips for grain during the 2022 season. The vessel was second-to-last out of port before its winter closure in mid January.

In a traditional Top Hat Ceremony on Sunday, Captain Hagen and Chief Engineer Gavin Pink received welcoming remarks and tokens of appreciation for opening the navigation season from the Port of Thunder Bay, the City of Thunder Bay and the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce.

“The top hat is an old tradition that they give to the first captain of the year that’s in it and as as you’ll see from in the inside here there’s a lot of old captains that have signed on here and some of them I recognize the gentleman that I’ve had the pleasure of working with and working for over the years,” said Captain Hagen.

“So, to be it’s a bit of a club I guess and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

TB News Watch

New developments ahead for Great Lakes ports as 2023 shipping season kicks off

Great Lakes ports are gearing up for the start of this year’s shipping season, which is bringing new developments at ports in Duluth-Superior and Milwaukee. The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway opened to the first vessels of the season Wednesday, and the Soo locks at Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan open on Saturday.

For the first time in years, container shipping service returned to the nation’s furthest inland port in 2022. With the expansion of service, the Port of Duluth-Superior became the only U.S. port besides Cleveland, Ohio, capable of handling maritime container shipments on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System.

Now, the port is partnering with Amsterdam-based Spliethoff, which is one of the largest shipping lines in the Netherlands. Spliethoff will provide monthly container shipping service to the port for the first time in decades, according to the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. Port officials say they’ll be capable of carrying raw materials, finished goods, and machinery. Goods will be shipped back and forth to Europe.

“That’s a big win from a supply-chain perspective for the region,” said Deb DeLuca, the port authority’s executive director.

Shipping customers have been seeking other options for container shipping in the face of inadequate rail service and congestion at coastal ports. DeLuca said a global shortage of containers due to supply chain constraints in recent years appears to be easing. The port authority is also planning an $8.5 million expansion of its warehouse space with the addition of 55,000 square feet to support materials moving through its terminal.

In Milwaukee, construction of the roughly $35 million DeLong Agricultural Maritime Export Facility is ongoing. Jackie Q. Carter, director of Port Milwaukee, said that will introduce new cargo in the form of dried distillers grains — a byproduct from beer and ethanol production that is used in livestock feed.

“We’re hoping in the next few weeks that construction will wrap up,” Carter said. “Of course, you got to go through and make sure everything is sound and ready to go, but we think we’ll probably see some activity as early as May.”

Carter said the final parts of rail construction and inspection are ongoing right now. She said they anticipate the facility will increase tonnage moving through the port by about 400,000 metric tons. The port handled about 2.3 million metric tons last year, which was down about 5 percent from its five-year average.

Read the full article here: https://www.wpr.org/new-developments-ahead-great-lakes-ports-2023-shipping-season-kicks

WPR

 

Joseph L. Block opens Duluth season

DULUTH, MN – The first ship to arrive at Duluth this 2023-24 season was the Joseph L Block, coming in light on Sunday heading to the CN dock to load iron ore. Last season they visited Duluth 16 times.

View a video at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-1boWxNhJs

Paul Scinocca

 

Two lighthouses receive funds to focus on critical preservation initiatives

Two historic lighthouses will have long-term preservation efforts assisted with the help of $106,000 in Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program (MLAP) grants from the State Historic Preservation Office.

The lighthouses receiving grants are the Rock of Ages Lighthouse and the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, both located in the U.P. On average, every $1 invested in land conservation leads to $4 in economic benefits for families, small businesses, and local communities, according to a news release.

“The historic lighthouses lining our freshwater shoreline—the longest in the world—are part of the splendor of Pure Michigan,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “I am proud that we are making an investment today to preserve these structures, reminding us of our past and encouraging us to move towards the light.”

Read the full article here: Soo Leader article