Algowood

Operating under the management of Seaway Marine Transport (partnership of Algoma Central and Upper Lakes Group), the Algowood’s cargoes included coal/coke, aggregate, slag, iron ore/oxides, salt, fertilizers, grain products, gypsum, quartzite, or sand. Algowood opened the 1999 navigation season for Thunder Bay Terminals on April 9 by loading 26,401 metric tons of coal for Dofasco Inc., Hamilton, ON.

On June 1, 2000 at 11:30 p.m., Algowood encountered serious structural problems while loading stone at Bruce Mines, ON. The hull buckled and split just forward of midship due to improper loading. Since she was moored at the time, she settled on the harbor bottom with 15 feet of her hull remaining above water. The vessel’s master immediately activated the Algoma Ship Management Emergency Response Plan. There were no injuries to the crew and no risk of pollution (though all precautions were taken including the deploying of a containment boom). With the assistance of Purvis Marine, the Algowood was lightered and temporary repairs were made. Algowood departed Bruce Mines on July 10, 2000 with the assistance of McKeil Marine tugs Carrol C 1 (lead tug) and Bonnie B. III (trail tug). They took the Algowood through to Thorold, ON where the smaller tugs Progress, Seahound, and Vac took over, taking the disabled vessel through the Welland Canal locks to Port Weller Dry Docks where the permanent repairs were completed. The repair costs were estimated at $5 million. These repairs included replacing 30 feet of damaged hull with a new 40-foot section, that increased her length to the new St. Lawrence Seaway maximum vessel length of 740 feet.

On April 15, 2002, Algowood again ran into trouble when she grounded in the St. Marys River in heavy fog. She was downbound below the Soo Locks traveling from Duluth with coal for Nanticoke, ON. The vessel grounded on the edge of the shipping channel off Mission Point, in an area lined by piles of heavy rocks. The stern of the Algowood blocked the shipping channel and the St. Marys River was closed to commercial traffic. The follow morning flooding had been brought under control and the Algowood was moved by tugs to the Carbide Dock in Sault Ste. Marie, MI. Fleetmate Algosoo arrived on April 18 and the Algowood offloaded the cargo of coal into the Algosoo. That evening the Algowood departed the dock, turned in the river and headed for the Soo Locks. She crossed Lake Superior to Thunder Bay where repairs were made at Pascol Engineering’s dry dock. Work consisted of replacing a 70 foot by 8 foot section of hull. The Algowood was holed in the number 1 port side tank. The vessel also received large dents at the port side number 5 tank. On May 10 the Algowood was pulled from the dry dock, almost a month after the grounding took place.