November 1996 News Archive

M/V Utviken aground in Seaway

11/28/1996:
The M/V Utviken (Bahamian-registry 17,191-gt, 30,052-dwt bulk carrier built in 1987, operated by Viken Shipping) sailing from Richards Bay, South Africa, to Detroit with titanium slag, ran aground in the St. Lawrence Seaway, near Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada, on 26 Nov. The ship suffered electrial problems in her steering console, which is believed to have caused the grounding. The M/V Utviken is hard aground with damage to her port side forward and amidships. The forepeak tank and the No. 1 double-bottom tank flooded.

Reported by: Steve Schultz

Welland Canal Closed

11/28:
The canal was closed around 1300 today after a road accident between lock 1 and lock 2 sent a vehicle into the water. Fire and police are there and at the moment no further information is available. I will update this when I can.

Reported by: Roger Tottman

Two ships collide in the Welland Canal

11/27:
On Monday two ships collided in the Welland canal below lock 1. The Mallard up bound apparently bounce off the wall and into the path of the Canadian Enterprise. It was a sideswipe rather than a head on collision. The Enterprise was repair at Port Weller DD. The repairs to the gangway and ballast vent pipes took six hours. The Mallard proceeded to Port Colborne to be repaired there.

Reported by: Roger Tottman

Reserve Delivers Coal to Marquette

11/27:
Oglebay Norton’s RESERVE made her first ever delivery of coal to Marquette on November 25. She then loaded taconite for Toledo which she has done many times before. Before this trip, coal had been delivered to Marquette this season by Interlake vessels. Before this season, ASC delivered most of the coal in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

Reported by: Rod Burdick

Twin Ports Report

11/27:
Two reminders of winter’s proximity are now clearly in evidence in the Twin Ports.Ice has formed across the harbor in depths ranging from 4 to 10 inches, according to the Coast Guard, and from 6 to 8 inches, according to estimates from some vessel masters. No vessels have needed icebreaking assistance, although the Sundew reportedly has been at work in the channels.

With the end of the season looming, grain traffic remains brisk, especially among salties. Maria SJ, Peter Strolfok and Rixta Oldendorf are all arriving, departing or loading today. The clearest sign that the end of the season is nearing, however, was evident Nov. 23 when Kinsman Independent and Maria SJ were busy loading on a Saturday at the General Mills and Cargill grain elevators, respectively.

Reported by: Marine Historical Society of Detroit

Reports come from the Society’s monthly publication the Detroit Marine Historian

More on Duluth’s Lift Bridge Shutdown

11/27:
Duluth’s Aerial Lift Bridge is back in service Nov. 26 on a limited basis, the bridge will open for outbound deep-draft vessels. Inbound light are requested to use Superior entry. Yesterday the bridge operators requested the master of Paul R. Tregurtha give a 60- to 90-minute advance notice of departure so they could clear the bridge of repair workers before lifting for the vessel.

Reported by: Marine Historical Society of Detroit

Reports come from the Society’s monthly publication the Detroit Marine Historian

More on the Viking I

11/26:
There was much more of a story behind the move from Port Stanley to Erie then originally reported. According to a story in the Erie Daily Times, Captian Gerry Matherne sailed the vessel in the middle of the night from Port Stanley, Ont. to Erie on his own volition because of threats of violence made to him and at least one other crew member. Viking I was to be used for a ferry service between Port Stanley and Cleveland but the investor group behind the venture, apparently underestimated the cost of renovating the 71-year old vessel and fell behind on payments to previous owner Contessa Cruise Lines, for whom Matherne worked. It was apparently under the pretense of repossessing the vessel that Matherne took command and sailed her from Port Stanley, claiming that a telephone caller has threatened bodily harm to him if he tried to take back the ferry. Matherne had previously called Raymond Schreckengost, executive director of the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority, to seek permission to berth the ferry there. Upon arriving in Erie, the U.S. Coast Gurad cited Matherne and Contessa with numerous violations, including lack of radar and a gyrocompass, lack of a pilot licensed for the Great Lakes and failure to notify the Coast Guard of Viking I’s arrival in Erie.

Reported by: Robert D. Kennedy

First cut at Interlake’s lay-up ports

11/25:

J R Barker          Duluth/Superior area
Mesabi Miner        Duluth/Superior area
Paul R. Tregurtha   Duluth/Superior area
Stinson             Duluth/Superior area
Beeghly             River Rouge
Jackson             River Rouge
Hoyt                Fraser
Kaye Barker         River Rouge
Lee Tregurtha       Fraser

*First cut is subject to change

Reported by: Lake Carriers Association

Duluth’s famed Aerial Lift Bridge Shutdown

11/25:
Engineers and operators of Duluth’s famed Aerial Lift Bridge decided Nov. 22 to idle the bridge’s lift span for several days until they repair a cracked steel rod in the lift mechanism.The shutdown has forced vessels to enter and leave port through the Superior Entry, about six miles from the Duluth ship canal. For most vessels, this means a slow journey down the harbor’s “front channel” instead of making the relatively quick turn for the Duluth entry.

The bridge was being inspected in preparation for work scheduled to be done over this winter. The discovery of the cracked rod prompted the shutdown to avoid the possibility, however slight, that the bridge might become disabled in either the “up” or “down” position. The lift bridge is the only means of access to Duluth’s Park Point area for the hundreds of people who live there.

The bridge was expected to be reactivated in several days after temporary repairs are made. The bridge will operate on a limited basis for the rest of the shipping season, when it will be idled and long-term repairs made to the rod and other areas.

Reported by: Marine Historical Society of Detroit

Reports come from the Society’s monthly publication the Detroit Marine Historian

Grampa Woo Breaking Up

11/21:
The stranded excursion boat Grampa Woo appears to be breaking up off Passage Island. Meanwhile, its owner plans to be back in business next spring with a different.A salvage crew boarded the 110-foot Grampa Woo on Nov. 20. They removed a small quantity of fuel and other potential pollutants that were left aboard the boat when it blew aground on Passage Island late last month. Electronic gear aboard the boat was too badly damaged to be salvaged. Kollars also reported the vessel’s bow has moved and that parts of the vessel are scattered about the area.

The same day, Kollars purchased another vessel of similar size. He plans to bring the vessel into the lakes next spring and resume his excursion business along Lake Superior’s North Shore.

Reported by: Marine Historical Society of Detroit

Reports come from the Society’s monthly publication the Detroit Marine Historian

Saltie aground in Duluth Harbor

11/19:
The saltie Seadaniel was blown aground in Duluth harbor Nov. 17 but tugs from Great Lakes Towing Co. were able to free the vessel with little difficulty later that day.The empty vessel had anchored in the harbor’s anchorage area Nov. 15. A sudden shift in the wind and strong gusts from the south west freed the Seadaniel’s anchor and blew the vessel across the harbor and into a mud bank of Minnesota Point, which protects the harbor from Lake Superior.

Tugs Vermont and Minnesota were summoned to free the saltie. After a couple hours of work, they were able to maneuver the ship to a berth at Duluth’s port terminal. The ship suffered no apparent damage.

Seadaniel’s encounter with the mud bank came exactly 11 years after the saltie Socrates was blown aground on the lake side of Minnesota Point. That ship was aground for about a week while as many as seven tugs and dredging equipment worked to free it.

Reported by: Marine Historical Society of Detroit

Reports come from the Society’s monthly publication th e Detroit Marine Historian

U.S.-Flag Float Surges In October

11/19:
Aided by good sailing conditions, U.S.-Flag carriers moved 13.2 million net tons of cargo on the Great Lakes in October, an increase of 1 million tons compared to the same period last year. The increase has nothing to do with the number of ships in service; vessel utilization rates were essentially unchanged. The difference was the weather; October 1995 was characterized by high winds and storms which forced the fleet to go to anchor an inordinate number of times.The U.S.-Flag ore float totaled 6.4 million tons in October, an increase of 7.8 percent. Stone cargos totaled 3.2 million tons, an increase of 14.3 percent. Coal loadings were up by 100,000 tons.

Reported by: Lake Carriers Association

Visit the LCA’s home page for Complete details

St. Lawrence Seaway on Course for Another Strong Shipping Season

11/19:
Cargo volumes passing through the St. Lawrence Seaway during the 1996 shipping season as of October 31 are currently running at 38,635,000 tonnes. The combined cargo for the period is as follows:

Some notable increases are in the movements of iron ore, coal, other bulk (stone, salt, sugar, coke,etc.) and general cargo (value-added, steel products, imported steel slabs, etc.). Iron ore and coal traffic have increased substantially thanks to the healthy economy in North America. Bulk cargo is up because of important movements of salt and sugar, and general cargo has risen due to the vigour of the steel industry.

Reported by: The St. Lawrence Seaway Authority

Myron C. Taylor Aground CORRECTION

11/14:
The Myron C. Taylor did not run aground as reported on 11/12. She arrived at lay-up safe and sound. The ship did go to anchor in the harbor to wait out the weather.

Correction by: Lake Carriers Association

Myron C. Taylor Calls it a Season

11/13:
The Myron C. Taylor went into winter layup on Tuesday November 11,1996. She is laid-up in Sturgeon Bay

Reported by: Industry Source

Grampa Woo Doomed

11/13:
Owners, insurance officials and the Coast Guard generally agree the 110-foot excursion boat Grampa Woo is doomed. Now it’s just a matter of determining where and when to dispose of the boat.The Grampa Woo remains stranded at Passage Island in Lake Superior. A Coast Guard photo published in the Nov. 13 Duluth News-Tribune shows the vessel’s decks awash.

Owner Dana Kollars and his insurance company agree the $1 million boat is a total loss. Kollars has indicated he wants to pull the vessel offf the rocks and allow it to sink in about 100 feet of water.

The National Park Service, however, is not ready to agree to that plan. NPS officials want to make sure pollutants are removed from the vessel before it is sunk. They also are unsure whether the Grampa Woo should be allowed to sink in the park and say it might be better to tow the vessel to shore for scrapping, if possible.Efforts to remove the boat from Passage Island are unlikely to occur this fall.

Reported by: Marine Historical Society of Detroit

Reports come from the Society’s monthly publication the Detroit Marine Historian

David Z. Norton in tailings trade

11/13:
David Z. Norton made three straight trips to Escanaba on November 3, 7, and 10. She loaded taconite tailings for Alpena’s Lafarge Cement Plant. Oglebay Norton has normally used the smaller, venerable Joseph H. Frantz for this trip since only about 10,000 tons are moved a trip.

Reported by: Rod Burdick

Closing of the 1996 Navigation Season

11/12:
MONTREAL-LAKE ONTARIO SECTION
Mariners are reminded that the clearance date for the 1996 navigation season is 2400 hours,December 20, 1996.For the Montreal-Lake Ontario Section, vessel demand, weather and ice conditions will dictate the final closing date. It will be announced no later than December 15 whether or not, based upon operating conditions, vessels will be subject to operational surcharges after December 20.

WELLAND CANAL
Vessels will be accepted to transit the Welland Canal upbound at CIP15 and downbound at CIP16 up to 0800 hours December 24, 1996. The Welland Canal may be kept open beyond this date depending on vessel demand and weather conditions. However, vessel transits after 0800 hours December 24, 1996, will be allowed subject to Agents/Owners signing a written agreement with the Authority.

Mariners are reminded that there is always a possibility that severe climatic conditions may occur during the closing period. Should this happen, there is a chance that the above-noted dates, for the Montreal-Lake Ontario Section or the Welland Canal, may not be met.

The Seaway entities will monitor weather conditions and demand, and the final closing dates for both sections will be confirmed when better information is available.

SAULT STE. MARIE LOCKS AND CANAL
1.Canada
The Canadian Sault Ste. Marie Canal is closed to navigation.
2.United States
The official closing date for the Sault Ste. Marie Locks (U.S.A.) is 2400 hours January 15, 1997.

PORTS EAST OF MONTREAL
Vessel owners and operators are advised that there are a number of ports east of the Seaway (St.Lambert Lock) on the St. Lawrence River that remain open to navigation during the winter months.

Reported by: The St. Lawrence Seaway Authority

Duluth/Superior News

11/11:
On Nov. 9-10, J.A.W. Iglehart made its first call in the Twin Ports since the labor dispute began to unload at the LaFarge terminals in Superior and Duluth. Alpena has made several trips here since replacement crews were hired. There have been no incidents at either of the terminals.Atlantic Hickory and Sarah Spencer have made a couple of unusual calls in Duluth over the past few days. The tug/barge combo has unloaded at Cargill B2 and at General Mills. This could possibly be the first calls ever for the vessels at those elevators.

Reported by: Marine Historical Society of Detroit

Reports come from the Society’s monthly publication the Detroit Marine Historian

Personnel Changes At Canada Steamship Lines Continue

11/09:
After loosing several key executives over the past few weeks Canada Steamship Lines has announced the appointment of Gerry Carter to the position of Vice President Administration. Carter, having served many years with the company will have responsibility for labour relations, accounting, information systems, and human resources.Canada Steamship Lines is the world’s largest owner/operator of continuos belt self unloadingvessels. Their head office is in Montreal, Canada.

Reported by: Ocean Wide

Busy day for the Harvest States grain Terminal

11/08:
Superior’s Harvest States grain terminal is playing host Nov. 8 to rare “full house.” Both loading berths and the layby berth are occupied today, an event that has occurred only one other time this season. Paterson’s Cartierdoc is loading at HSC 1 while Upper Lakes’ Canadian Provider is loading at the Gallery, which is a long, spindly legged conveyor system extending from the main elevator. Sitting in the layby spot ahead of the ULS boat is saltie Nikolay Novikov. The terminal sits alongside the I-535 bridge between Superior and Duluth, giving motorists a good view of all boats, but particularly the berth occupied today by Cartierdoc.

Reported by: Marine Historical Society of Detroit

Reports come from the Society’s monthly publication the Detroit Marine Historian

Grampa Woo Remains Stranded

11/07:
The fate of the 110-foot excursion boat Grampa Woo remains uncertain November 6 as the vessel remains stranded at Passage Island off Isle Royale.Winds and 6-foot waves prevented Dana Kollars, the boat’s owner, from boarding it Nov. 5 to salvage equipment. He returned to Thunder Bay with the tug Glenada. There’s no word on when another attempt might be made to board the boat.

Reported by: Marine Historical Society of Detroit

Reports come from the Society’s monthly publication the Detroit Marine Historian

Captain Promoted at Algoma Central Marine

11/06:
Peter Schultz, captain of ALGOVILLE who this year split his time between ALGOLAKE and ALGOCAPE, has been promoted to Marine Superintendent Deck Operations.

Reported by: Jim Zeirke

Great Lakes Fleets Respond Quickly To New Ruffe Threat

11/05:
Cleveland–U.S.- and Canadian-flag Great Lakes vessel operators have instituted new measures to slow the spread of the European Ruffe, a nuisance fish introduced to the Great Lakes by ocean-going vessels in the 1980s. Beginning today, all U.S. and Canadian lakers loading and discharging cargo at terminals in Alpena, Michigan, will take extraordinary steps to limit the chances that Ruffe discovered in that harbor will be transported to other locations on the Great Lakes.Three Ruffe were discovered in Alpena harbor in 1995. However, recent sweepings of the area by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service indicate that a reproducing population now inhabits Thunder Bay and the Thunder Bay River. The concern is that vessels taking on ballast water in Alpena can transport these Ruffe to subsequent ports of call.

Reported by: Lake Carriers Association

Visit the LCA’s home page for complete details

Grampa Woo Update

11/05:
Insurance and salvage officials may decide Nov. 5 whether to try salvaging the stranded excursion boat Grampa Woo or to scuttle it.The 110-foot vessel was swept from its moorings in Grand Portage, Minn., last week by a storm. Two men were rescued from the boat before it smashed against a cliff at Passage Island off the northern tip of Isle Royale.

Capt. Dana Kollars, Grampa Woo’s owner, and insurance officials boarded the boat Nov. 4 to assess the damage. They reported the vessel is stranded on a rocky bottom. The port side of the hull is badly damaged, and holes as big as 6 feet have let in enough water to reduce buoyancy to a minimum. Photographs of the vessel show it’s hard against the base of a cliff that appears to be about 100 feet tall. It’s stranded on the opposite side of the point which is the site of Passage Island Light.

Kollars and others plan to return to the vessel Nov. 5 to remove electronic equipment from the pilothouse and to salvage other gear. They’ll also try to pump out about 300 gallons of fuel that remains on board. At that point, they may decide whether to try saving the vessel or to pull it free and allow it to sink.

Reported by: Duluth Shipping News

Calcite II First to Lay-Up

11/04:
Calcite II is scheduled to be the first boat to go into winter layup in the Twin Ports. The vessel is due to unload at the Hallett 5 on Nov. 4 stone dock in Duluth before going into Fraser Shipyards.

Reported by: Marine Historical Society of Detroit

Woo may Remain Until Spring

11/04:
The last word on the Grampa Woo, the 110-foot excursion vessel aground at Passage Island, is that it may remain stranded there until spring. Seas were too rough Nov. 2 to attempt salvage operations. Seas have calmed considerably since then, but there’s been no word on whether an attempt to retrieve the vessel will be made. People who have flown over the site report the vessel’s hull appears to be badly damaged and water is surging in and out of broken windows.

Reported by: Al Jackman

Delays on the Upper Lakes

11/04:
Heavy weather on Lake Superior caused delays in Marquette. FRED R. WHITE JR. and PHILIP R. CLARKE were at the LS & I ore dock all day Friday, November 1. They were both loaded and waited until Saturday morning to depart. If the weather delays weren’t enough, the Union Pacific ore dock in Escanaba was broken down on Sunday, November 3. ST. CLAIR and DAVID Z. NORTON were waiting to load. The NORTON was waiting to load tailings for Alpena — a trip normally handled by JOSEPH H. FRANTZ.

Reported by: Rod Burdick

Walter J. McCarthy Aids in Rescue

11/01/1996:
The 110-foot excursion boat Grampa Woo is aground on Passage Island off the northern tip of Isle Royale after breaking free from its moorings in Grand Portage, Minn., on Oct. 30.Meanwhile, the two men who were aboard the vessel when it went adrift are alive thanks to a combination of good luck and good seamanship and bravery by the crews of the Walter J. McCarthy, the Canadian tug Glenada and the Canadian Coast Guard boat Westfort. The vessels braved winds up to 70 mph and seas to 15 feet to save the two men from their ice-covered boat.

The adventure began about 9 a.m. Oct. 30. The tour boat was tied to a mooring buoy in Grand Portage harbor when 50 mph winds pulled the buoy loose from its 4,000-pound anchor and blew the boat into Lake Superior with Capt. Dana Kollars and his first mate aboard. The Grampa Woo was powerless to save itself because its propellers and rudders had been removed for repairs. Eight-foot waves in the harbor prevented small boats there from getting a line aboard the tour boat.

About 11 a.m., Kollars contacted the 1,000-foot Walter J. McCarthy, which was sailing the North Shore route to avoid 20-foot waves on the open lake. The coal-laden McCarthy was the last vessel to leave Duluth before a major storm blew across Lake Superior and brought vessel traffic to a halt. The McCarthy was likely the only vessel off the North Shore that morning – an amazing bit of good luck for the Grampa Woo’s crew.

The McCarthy’s master, Capt. Lawrence Smyth, declined a request to tow the Grampa Woo into Grand Portage – an impossibility given the McCarthy’s size. Instead, Smyth offered to tow the Grampa Woo to Thunder Bay, about 40 miles away. The McCarthy spent three hours and made two passes before putting a line aboard the tour boat about 2 p.m. Oct. 30.

“You don’t turn tight circles in a 1,000-footer, and you don’t just stop it. I was worried they’d get blown into us and then pulled under and I’d end up killing the people I was trying to rescue,” Smyth told the Duluth News-Tribune. “Our crew was running around on icy decks, in what was 8 foot seas and building…That boat (the Grampa Woo) was rocking like a bucking horse.”

A Coast Guard official in Duluth called the McCarthy’s work “amazing seamanship” under the weather conditions that existed.

The McCarthy towed the tour boat for four hours until reaching the entrance to Thunder Bay. But in the open waters of the bay, the vessels encountered winds to 70 mph and waves of 15 feet and higher. The tow line parted and the Grampa Woo was adrift again.

Meanwhile, the tug Glenada and the 38-foot buoytender Westfort had been hovering in the lee of Pie Island in case assistance was needed. When the tow line parted, the vessels went into action. Because of heavy ice buildup and the imminent threat of capsizing, the Westfort had to turn back. The Glenada continued on through dropping temperatures and snow squalls to approach the tour boat.

Unable to get a line on the tour boat, Capt. Gary Dawson of the Glenada decided to save the two men. He put his tug alongside the Grampa Woo about 7 p.m. and the two men, wearing survival suits, somehow managed to leap aboard the tug despite the high seas. The men were saved minutes before a Coast Guard helicopter was to be dispatched from Traverse City to rescue them.

“With it pitching like that and with the waves and the ice on the decks, I don’t know how anyone could stand up on the deck to jump,” Smyth said. “I thought it was bad for us. I can’t imagine what they were going through.”

The Glenada and Westfort sought shelter in the lee of Thunder Cape and the “Sleeping Giant” formation. The vessels were still in shelter late on Oct. 31.

A Coast Guard helicopter spotted the Grampa Woo about 2:30 p.m. Oct. 31, aground on Passage Island. The vessel was intact but being battered against 30-foot cliffs.

Reported by: Duluth News Tribune