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A fond farewell to a Seaway/Great Lakes heavyweight
The Atlantic Huron makes her final voyage

   CLAYTON, NY – An iron lady of the St. Lawrence Seaway, a familiar site along the waterway, has completed her final voyage to close out more than 40 years of service.
   The Atlantic Huron, owned by Canadian Steamship Lines, now rests at Sheet Harbor, Nova Scotia, where it arrived on Jan. 5. Work has commenced to dismantle and recycle the bulk carrier.
   For its final assignment in December, Atlantic Huron picked up iron ore in Superior, Wisconsin, for delivery to an export terminal in Quebec City, where it arrived Dec. 31.
   Delivered in 1984 at Collingwood Shipyards in Ontario as Prairie Harvest, the 736-foot vessel was one of the last straight-deck bulk carriers built in Canada and the first of the Caribbean Class, designed for both Great Lakes and ocean service. Converted to a self-unloader in 1989 and renamed Atlantic Huron, (for the ocean and the Great Lake) she went on to carry grain, ore, coal, salt and other bulk cargoes throughout the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway and beyond.
   CSL issued a statement on the vessel’s service shortly after she arrived at Sheet Harbor:
   “For the crews who sailed with her, Atlantic Huron was more than a vessel. She was a workplace, a home, and a constant companion through long watches, rough weather, and quiet nights on the lakes. Generations of seafarers learned their trade on her decks and engines, shared meals in her galley, and formed friendships that last a lifetime. We give our final salute to a ship that gave everything she had, right to the end.”
   One of the crew members on board Atlantic Huron this season was Brockville, Ontario, native Catherine Schmuck — aka the “Ship to Shore” chef. She has worked on scores of ships that travel the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System and has written two cookbooks based on her experiences. She also has an e-magazine, “The Galley Girl’s Diary,” that is published weekly when she is aboard a vessel and bi-weekly when she’s at home in Mont Tremblant, Quebec.
   Schmuck completed her fourth assignment this year aboard Atlantic Huron.
   “It was a privilege to be there for its last trip,” Schmuck said in a phone interview on Monday, a couple of days after taking a 24-hour train ride from Nova Scotia to Montreal. “Each ship has its own character. There are things I like about them and look forward to seeing again.”
   According to John U. Bacon, author of “The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” Great Lakes freighters can easily have a lifespan of 50 years, outlasting saltwater freighters due to less corrosive freshwater.
   Atlantic Huron’s final voyage was a constant topic of conversation in the ship’s dining area, Schmuck said.
   “Some of the guys have sailed together for years,” she said. “They were sad about being broken up — with everyone going to a different ship. It was a big topic of conversation every day.”
   Like other ships on the Seaway system, Atlantic Huron faced January delays caused by ice. The 2025 commercial navigation season in the Montreal-Lake Ontario section of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway officially closed on Monday, the latest of any season since the navigational waterway opened in 1959.
   “It’s expected this time of year,” Schmuck said. “Winter sailing is all about delays.”
   Atlantic Huron was delayed for a few days above Montreal due to ice at locks and in the area. An issue on shore caused a delay of about 24 hours in Quebec City while unloading, and a delay of about 36 hours was experienced when the ship was forced to take shelter in a cove at Cape Breton Island. The vessel then went up and around Cape Breton and down the coast to Halifax/Sheet Harbor.
   As the ship’s chef, Schmuck had to do some juggling when faced with delays.
   In the first few days of January, Atlantic Huron made a detour. “We left the Seaway and made our way to this area (location pin) to anchor for 36 hours to wait out bad weather,” chef Catherine Schmuck said. “Then we left and went around the tip of Cape Breton, then down the coast to Halifax to pick up a pilot, then back up a short distance top Sheet Harbor. Illustration by C. Schmuck
   The challenge for me personally was yes, we wanted to make sure we had enough food,” Schmuck said. “But we also wanted to make sure we didn’t have too much food.”
   Because Atlantic Huron was being scrapped, no food was left behind and wasted, Schmuck said.
   Christmas was spent docked at a wharf in Port Weller, Ontario, on the Welland Canal, which connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
   “Some of the crew who usually take December off to spend Christmas at home arranged to stay on board this year to accompany the Huron on her last trip,” Schmuck said. “It was perfect because there was no rocking or rolling, and everybody had a chance to come in and eat without having to rush in and out. It was quite nice. I did a prime rib, of course with lots of appetizers, desserts and cookies.”
   Even though there was some nostalgia on the final trip, Schmuck said the general sense was that Atlantic Huron had run her course.
   “It’s like when you have a pet, when you know it’s time,” she said. “It was time for the final sailing. It wasn’t like, ‘She can still go!’”
   But the chef did experience some sad moments, especially when she departed the ship for the final time at Sheet Harbor. Much of the crew had departed at stops along the way, including nine who departed at Quebec City.
   “We were just five for a few days,” Schmuck said. “On Tuesday night, we went down the ship’s ladder, and we couldn’t believe that the name had already been painted over. The CSL painted on the side was also gone.”
   Any thoughts of taking a final photo of the ship, highlighting its name, evaporated.
   “That was the moment of wow, OK. That’s it. It’s over.”

[Watertown Daily Times – Chris Brock]

Coast Guard closes Pipe Island Passage in St. Marys River

   SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – In accordance with 33 CFR 162.117, Vessel Traffic Service St.
Marys River is scheduled to close the Pipe Island Passage, east of Pipe Island Shoal and north of
Pipe Island Twins from Watson Reef Light to Sweets Point, on Jan. 22, 2026 at 10 a.m.
   The Pipe Island Course will become a two-way route.
   The Coast Guard would like to remind all recreational ice users to plan their activity carefully,
use caution on the ice, and stay away from shipping channels. Further inquiries can be made by phone to Vessel Traffic Service St. Marys River at 906-635-3299 or via email at SOOTFC@USCG.MIL.