Tour Boat grounds at the Soo

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – The Soo Locks tour boat LeVoyageur grounded above the locks on Monday afternoon after the water in the area dropped a foot in a short time. Passengers were safely taken aboard fleetmate Nokomis, with the local tugs Adenac III and Tammy on scene to help free the tour boat. LeVoyageur safely returned to her dock in the afternoon and divers were sent down to inspect the hull. She was back in service Tuesday morning.

Study identifies Waukegan coal plant as potential flooding, contamination risk

LAKE MICHIGAN – Community concerns of Lake Michigan contamination from a Waukegan power plant’s recently shuttered coal-fired units heightened last week after an environmental study identified the facility as a potential flood risk, citing rising lake levels due to climate change.

The report, released by Chicago’s Environmental Law and Policy Center, comes months after state legislation that would have required the removal of pollutants near the lake’s shorelines stalled in the House, but environmental advocates say they are not giving up on complete removal.

“The study shows that there are neighborhoods, facilities and communities that are going to be drastically affected by water encroaching onto industrial sites,” said Kiana Courtney, center staff attorney and co-author of the report. “It’s important that we are prepared, that there are nature-based solutions to manage when this happens, and that any potential contaminants won’t get carried into communities.”

The study’s scope includes four states, extending north to Two Rivers in Wisconsin, down to Gary, Indiana, and around to South Haven in Michigan. The report covers six locations in Illinois, including multiple Waukegan sites and Zion’s retired nuclear plant.

The Environmental Law and Policy Center examined potential flooding based on four water levels, from 584 feet to 589 feet. Over the last four decades or so, the highest lake level came in 2020 when it reached 582 feet.

The lake hasn’t reached 584 feet for about 1,500 years, but predictions of Great Lakes levels come with uncertainty, said Robin Mattheus, a coastal geologist with the Illinois State Geological Survey.

Read the full article at this link: https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20220620/study-identifies-waukegan-coal-plant-as-potential-flooding-contamination-risk

Daily Herald

Ore trade lags on Great Lakes

DULUTH, MN – While shipping leaders were thankful of a diverse flow of cargoes buoying May’s shipping totals, there was no denying iron ore shipments remained off pace.

Shipments of iron ore from U.S. Great Lakes ports totaled 4.4 million tons in May — a decrease of 20.4% compared to the same month a year ago, and 21.9% below the month’s five-year average, according to the Ohio-based Lake Carriers’ Association last week.

It was better than April’s 40% gap, and officials seized upon the industry closing the gap. “It was good to see that early season deficit diminish,” said Deb DeLuca, Duluth Seaway Port Authority executive director. “But it continues to be a slower-than-normal start to the shipping season.”

So far this season, the iron ore trade stands at 9.9 million tons, a decrease of 33.9% compared to the same point in 2021, and 31.4% below the five-year average.

DeLuca praised gains made in areas like container cargoes and cement. “We’re hopeful that global supply chains normalize, which would also help normalize Duluth-Superior tonnage totals,” DeLuca said. “But these continue to be unusual times.”

Containerized cargoes moving through the Clure Public Marine Terminal on Rice’s Point in Duluth, and the season’s first inbound cement shipment helped Duluth’s total tonnage top 5.7 million short tons in May — a 31.8% increase over a “very slow April,” a Port Authority news release said last week.

Kidney beans made headlines in May, with 4,500 tons leaving in containers for Europe. It marked the port’s reentry into the maritime container business. “Greater cargo diversity and more multimodal shipping options make our port and our region more vibrant,” DeLuca said. “It’s a team effort to create these kinds of solutions for helping regional producers and manufacturers compete in the global marketplace, and we’re excited to see those efforts coming to fruition.”

South of the Clure, at Duluth’s Ash Grove/CRH terminal, some 22,046 tons of cement arrived in May to be used in infrastructure projects throughout the Twin Ports and beyond. The shipment moved total cement tonnage within 11.7% of the five-season average.

Despite trailing five-year averages, iron ore made the biggest gains in May, with 1.9 million tons transiting the port. The total eclipsed the April 2022 figure by more than 30%, but the season-to-date total still lags the five-season average by almost 24%.

Coal and petcoke also moved briskly in May, topping 773,000 tons for the month and 1.4 million tons season-to-date. The total ranks within 7.6% of the five-season average.

All told, 75 ships arrived in the Twin Ports in May 2022, outpacing the May 2021 total by two ships.

A bigger picture of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system also came into view last week, when the Chamber of Marine Commerce issued a report on pandemic recovery. The report estimated 149 million metric tons of cargo movement in 2021, a figure reaching 94% of its pre-pandemic 2019 level, and 7% better than pandemic-stricken 2020. “This report paints a clear picture that the bi-national Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System supported the economic recovery and growth of many of our key industries in both Canada and the U.S.,” said Bruce Burrows, president and CEO of the Chamber of Marine Commerce, based in Ottawa.

With inflation rising to historic levels, Burrows noted the bi-national waterway operates without delay, and ought to be considered an even greater solution to transportation and supply chain problems. “It’s more important than ever that we focus our attention and investment on this unique inland marine highway,” he said.

Duluth News Tribune

MacArthur Lock now open after seasonal maintenance, extended repair

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – The Soo Locks’ MacArthur Lock opened to marine traffic June 19, after completing a critical repair that took longer than expected.

The MacArthur lock was set to reopen in late April but replacing the almost 79-year-old tainter valve machinery, original to the lock built in 1943, caused the closure’s 59-day extension.

“The tainter valve machinery replacement contract was a very large task,” Soo Locks Construction Chief Nicholas Pettit said. “The original machinery had to be cut into pieces and removed by crane out through a small access tunnel. The new machinery had to be fabricated in sections, lowered by crane in through the small tunnel and installed inside of the lock.”

The installation took longer than scheduled, but this critical replacement means the MacArthur Lock will continue operating long into the future, according to Pettit.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Cruising the Great Lakes: Day Two

We’re cruising the Great Lakes on the Viking Octantis, which visits Milwaukee every couple of weeks this summer as part of its ongoing journey around the inland seas.

Day 2: Mackinac Island

We’re at anchor today off Mackinac Island. This morning, I awoke to find us passing a couple solitary lighthouses and then entering the Straits and passing beneath the impressive five-mile long Mackinac Bridge, which took three years to build.

I regret that I missed Beaver Island – where much of Miles Harvey’s fabulous book, “The King of Confidence: A Tale of Utopian Dreamers, Frontier Schemers, True Believers, False Prophets, and the Murder of an American Monarch,” is set – while sleeping. I’d have loved even a peek at it in passing.

Mackinac Island feels a bit like a mix of Door County and Key West, with fudge shops and a vast array of sweatshirts for sale.

But there is also some interesting architecture and history and because no cars are allowed (though, interestingly, lots of houses have driveways and some even garages) you can still find men pushing carts around the streets sweeping up horse dung.

Read the full article at this link: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/great-lakes-cruise-viking-octantis?fbclid=IwAR3n2dccqIVWmmGGl9N8oUVn5u4mHDss6PBQRYEo5eOnn2njqeuJOuCykgA

OnMilwaukee

——

Have a good week!

– Jack

MacArthur Lock rewatered Saturday

UPDATE: The MacArthur Lock was back in service Sunday morning.
SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – The MacArthur Lock, which has been out of service while crews continued winter repairs which included replacing the tainter valve machinery, was rewatered on Saturday. The lock has yet to be placed back in service, but when it is it will be a relief for shippers and tour boat operators since there have been many long delays this season with only the Poe Lock operational.

Read more about tainter valves here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tainter_gate

Roger LeLievre

Carrying Canada Games torch to Niagara a ‘thrilling experience’ for crew of CSL St-Laurent

When Anita Lambe’s athletic career came to an end she persevered and steered her ship in another direction.

The Captain of Canadian Steamship Lines St-Laurent led her vessel to Port Colborne Friday night and arrived with the Roly McLenahan Canada Games Torch, the first time the iconic symbol of the sporting event has been carried on water. It was about a 48-hour trip from Montreal with her crew of 19 men and women.

In 1993, Capt. Lambe was selected to compete in the Games as a basketball player but that was cut short before she saw any action. “Unfortunately, my knee had other plans,” she said in an interview Friday ahead of the ceremony at Lock 8 in Port Colborne, the first of 12 stops the torch will make in Niagara before the sporting celebration starts Aug. 6. 

The 44-year-old said it’s “absolutely bittersweet” to be able to play this role in the torch relay after being sidelined years ago. “I learned from such a young age, because of sport, the importance of teamwork, commitment, and accountability,” she said, adding she took what she gained as an athlete on her course to become a seafarer. Before becoming a captain, she was a massage therapist and also worked as a fundraiser for children’s charities. She joined CSL as a first-year cadet on Pineglen in 2006 and became Captain in 2018. CSL Welland was the first ship she commanded.

Lambe said the torch was initially planned to travel with the CSL Welland, but a scheduling conflict resulted in her vessel carrying it, joined by 2022 Canada Games mascot Shelly the Turtle.

She said it’s been a “thrilling experience” for the entire crew. “We got lucky that we’ve been able to take part,” she said.

Over the next seven weekends, the Canada Games Torch will travel to every corner of the region, visiting each of Niagara’s twelve local municipalities, before completing its last leg in St. Catharines. More than 150 community members from Niagara will carry the torch through the region over the coming weeks. By the time the torch arrives at the Meridian Centre for the opening ceremony on Aug. 6 to officially commence the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games, the torch will have traveled through 21 communities in both Ontario and Quebec — covering approximately 1,200 kms by foot, bike, horse, and boat.

“The celebration of the disembarkment ceremony is an important event as we continue to inch closer to the opening ceremonies of the Canada Summer Games,” said Jim Bradley, Chair of the Niagara Region in a news release. “I congratulate each of the local torchbearers who have been selected to carry the Roly McLenahan Torch throughout our local communities — I want to thank all of the presenting sponsors for the torch relay as their contribution is making this exciting event a reality.”

Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steele honoured his city was able to host the kick-off event for the torch relay in Niagara. “The Welland Canal and shipping industry are integral to the history and success of not only our community but our country, and so it is fitting that the torch has arrived onboard CSL St. Laurent here at Lock 8 Gateway Park,” he said.

Next weekend, the torch will be carried in Thorold on Saturday and in Niagara Falls on Sunday.

The Star

Obituary: Robert John Ranusch Jr.

Robert John Ranusch Jr. of Clinton Township, Michigan, died June 12, 2022 at age 59. Bob loved the outdoors, whether it was through his passion of watching and researching freighters, enjoying his time with family and friends or being an avid fan of the Detroit Lions. For years he worked on the Detroit River mail boat J. W. Westcott II.

He often visited the Soo Locks and other freighter-watching locations and always had a smile on his face, The day before he passed away, he attended the Great Lakes Marine Mart at Port Huron where he visited with many of his friends.

Read the full obituary at this link: https://guestbook.wujekcalcaterra.com/obituaries/Robert-Ranusch-2/

———

Happy Father’s Day!

– Jack

Great Lakes shipping forecast cautiously optimistic

As on the inland waterways, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, essential workers on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway kept on working. They navigated their way through new restrictions and precautions, dealt with a drought and are now hoping for a brighter 2022 season.

“It’s amazing how each navigation season has its own character and its own characteristics that evolve through the year,” said Craig H. Middlebrook, administrator of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, which administers the U.S. side of the binational Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System. 

“The last two years of the pandemic were very, very interesting,” he said. “With all the turmoil in the world and in transportation and particularly maritime transportation in the world, one of the hallmarks of Great Lakes transportation was its consistency.”

The seaway is a continuous navigable deep water system of waterways crossing from as far east as the Atlantic Ocean to as far west as Duluth, Minn., via the Great Lakes and area rivers. It was built by the United States and Canada and opened in 1959.

More than 237,000 jobs and $35 billion in economic activity in the United States and Canada are annually supported by movement of various cargoes on the seaway system. More than 35 million metric tons of cargo move along it each year, according to U.S. Department of Transportation figures.

A ship transiting the seaway system’s 15 locks from Montreal to Lake Erie crosses the international border 27 times, and the U.S. Department of Transportation and Transport Canada work closely together to ensure that journeys are as safe and seamless as possible.

Read the full article at this link: https://www.waterwaysjournal.net/2022/06/17/great-lakes-shipping-forecast-cautiously-optimistic/

The WaterWays Journal

Great Lakes water sensors to help quickly identify oil spills

CHIPPEWA COUNTY, MI – After last week’s oil spill in the St. Mary’s River, Lake Superior State University will put numerous oil pollution monitors around the Great Lakes.

The sensors allow the school to quickly identify and react to spills.

Staff with the university say they were planning on deploying the sensors sometime soon anyway, but the recent spill moved the timeline forward.

With a rapid response grant and help from an Ann Arbor based tech company, the school was able to send one out just days after the spill.

“This is just I think providing more attention to the issue and maybe a bit more urgency to make sure that we have a system in place that can help detect, respond and recover that oil in a much faster way,” said Ashley Moerke, director of the Center for Freshwater Research and Education.

Moerke says LSSU plans on putting more of the sensors in the Great Lakes and St. Mary’s River in the coming months.

UpNorthLive

Great Lakes levels are down, but it may be too soon to celebrate

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – Great Lakes water levels are declining from their record-level highs two years ago.

And while that will be a welcome change for communities and property owners who have been trying to keep up with erosion affecting their shorelines, some experts are advising caution before folks get swept up in a wave of relief.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers data from this month indicates the height of Lake Michigan and Huron hit 577.5 feet at the start of last week — more than two feet shallower than the levels recorded in June 2020, and more than five feet less than the eight-month peak of 582.2 feet.

Those levels were so high that, even after extremely dry conditions last year, reaching drought levels in some parts of the Great Lakes basin, the waters in Lake Michigan and Huron were still well above their 100-year average. Even now, as the lakes continue their decline, coastal Michigan communities are unlikely to see a return to pre-2017 conditions yet this summer.

“Even with the driest conditions, we show the level remaining above long-term average, so at least for the next six months, it’s very unlikely that levels would dip below average,” said Keith Kompoltowicz, the Great Lakes Watershed Hydrology chief for the Army Corps.

Combined, all these factors have a number of implications for those living on or visiting the Lake Michigan waterfront, and few of them are purely hopeful. Coastlines and marinas are still likely facing another summer with waves rising above the ideal height — all it would take would be another series of sustained wet seasons for lake levels to surpass the crest seen two summers ago.

Meanwhile, the shift from 2020 to now already suggests a possible trend toward more severe fluctuations in lake conditions, cycling between high and low points on a much more condensed timescale than seen before in historical records.

Read the full article at this link: https://www.record-eagle.com/news/local_news/great-lakes-levels-are-down-but-it-may-be-too-soon-to-celebrate/article_bc589df2-ec20-11ec-bc15-13b0e81443d3.html

Traverse City Record Eagle

Great Lakes-Seaway cargo rose 7% in 2021

Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway ships carried an estimated 149 million metric tons of cargo to and from domestic ports, and to overseas markets during the 2021 shipping season — an increase of 7% over pandemic-stricken 2020, a new report from the Chamber of Marine Commerce shows.

“This report paints a clear picture that the bi-national Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System supported the economic recovery and growth of many of our key industries in both Canada and the U.S. The navigation system delivered critical raw materials and products without any of the delay or disruption seen in other global markets,” said Bruce R. Burrows, President and CEO of the Chamber of Marine Commerce. “In today’s high-inflation business environment, it’s more important than ever that we focus our attention and investment on this unique inland marine highway as part of the solution to many of our national transportation and supply chain problems.”

The 2021 Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System Tonnage Activity report, which annually collects and analyzes Canadian-flag, U.S.-flag and foreign-flag tonnage for the bi-national navigation system, provides an overview of the key cargo commodities and their underlying economic and business drivers.

The findings of the report show overall, cargo shipments on the binational navigation system totaled 149 million metric tons, up 7% over 2020. The results demonstrate significant progress in the system’s post-pandemic recovery — with total cargo reaching 94% of its pre-pandemic 2019 level.

Iron ore continues to be the most traded commodity on the system, accounting for roughly a third of total cargo tonnage on the GLSLS. Canadian and U.S. ships carried iron ore from Minnesota and/or Quebec mines to support the resurgence of steel manufacturing in both countries, while pellets were also carried to Quebec ports for export overseas.

Across the region, materials such as stone, cement and steel were in hot demand for housing and commercial/infrastructure-related construction projects in both Canada and the U.S.

Canadian-flag ships carried 63.2 million metric tons of cargo, a slight decrease of 1.3% compared to 2020. This was still a strong performance, however, with total cargo carried reaching 98% of the five-year average. While commodities like general cargo, stone, steel, cement and overall dry bulk posted increases – these were offset by a 10% decrease in grain shipments following a much smaller Prairie harvest. Petroleum shipments also fell by 5.7% (after a 6.6% decline in 2020) due to continuing work-from-home trends and travel restrictions in 2021.

U.S.-flag ships carried a total of 74.2 million metric tons (81.8 million net tons) – up 16.8% over 2020. Total cargo tonnage bounced back to 99% of its five-year average. Iron ore and coal shipments were up 12.4% and 43% respectively, recovering significantly from pandemic lows.

Foreign-flag ships transported 11.6 million metric tons of cargo through the St. Lawrence Seaway to and from overseas destinations — matching 2020’s performance. Ocean-going vessels played an important role in importing specialty steel from Europe, other project cargo and exporting grain to overseas destinations.

Maritime Professional 

CSL makes history by carrying the Canada Games Torch on board CSL St-Laurent

In a historic first for Canada Steamship Lines, the Canada Games and Great Lakes shipping, the Canada Games Torch embarked on board the biodiesel-fuelled bulk carrier, CSL St-Laurent during a ceremony last evening at St-Lambert Lock near Montreal.

As part of the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games Torch Relay, the traditional Roly McLenahan torch is being carried on board CSL St-Laurent along the St-Lawrence Seaway all the way to Port Colborne, where it will disembark to continue its voyage on land toward the opening of the Canada Games, taking place in the Niagara region from August 6th to the 21st.

“The Canada Games reinforce traits such as resilience, determination and tenacity in our young athletes, which are also qualities our seafarers share,” said Louis Martel, President and CEO, The CSL Group. “Shipping at CSL is effectively like a team sport, where each member – on water and on land – contributes to the operation of these huge machines in a safe, efficient and eco-responsible way.”

At the helm of CSL St-Laurent is Captain Anita Lambe, an all-around athlete and basketball player, who was selected to participate in the 1993 Canada Games. “Playing sports has always been a big part of my life, and it’s what drove me to join an industry that is all about being a team player – and marine shipping is exactly that,” remarked Captain Lambe. “It is truly an honour for me and my crew to be navigating the first-ever torch-bearing vessel.”

Earlier this year, CSL unveiled a colossal mural to capture the spirit of the Canada Games on CSL Welland, CSL St-Laurent’s sister ship. Created by four of Canada’s top young artists, the mural reflects the broad mix of people, cultures, backgrounds and abilities in amateur sport today. CSL St-Laurent is also adorned with a beautiful mural depicting a colourful Canada Goose in flight.

Both sister ships, along with six other vessels in CSL’s Great Lakes fleet are running on pure B100 biofuel, made entirely from waste plant material.  The success of using biofuel on CSL ships has demonstrated the viability and practicality of this green alternative in supporting the decarbonization of marine transportation.

“Congratulations to the Niagara 2022 Host Society and their partner Canada Steamship Lines for their beautiful and unique vision for the 2022 Canada Games Torch Relay,” said Kelly-Ann Paul, President and CEO of the Canada Games Council. “Having the torch journey along the waterways towards Niagara is certainly a first in Canada Games history, and one that will spark greatness and astounding momentum towards the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games in August.”

“For the next two days, we invite coastal communities along the St-Lawrence River to follow the historic journey of CSL St-Laurent from Montreal to the Niagara region,” added Mr. Martel. “We also encourage everyone to look out for CSL Welland on which The Runners and the legacy of the Niagara 2022 Canada Games will live on for years to come.”

CSL thanks the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, whose collaboration and support has been essential in making it possible for the Canada Games Torch to be carried along our waterways.

Canada Steamship Lines

New ‘Great Lakes Fest’ features day-long celebration, registration for antique boats and marine vendors open

TOLEDO, OH – The National Museum of the Great Lakes, in partnership with Ramsey Brothers Restorations, is planning a day-long celebration of Great Lakes History on Saturday, August 6 with the introduction of Great Lakes Fest. The new event, which the museum intends to host annually, will feature antique boats, classic cars, water and boating demonstrations, a marine mart, food trucks and kids activities.

“We wanted to celebrate Great Lakes history in a way that all ages and all interest levels could connect with,” shares the museum’s executive director Chris Gillcrist. “In addition to all of the normal activities the museum and our vessels have to offer, over the course of the day visitors can do anything from explore a selection of classic and antique boats and cars, to shop at our Marine Mart for nautical items to take home.”

The National Museum of the Great Lakes is working with Ramsey Brothers Restorations to collect a curated selection of historical vessels to showcase as well as selecting a sampling of antique Jeeps and automobiles to help connect the dots between Great Lakes history across the region and locally. Families, boatnerds, history lovers and more can come down, grab a bite to eat from a local food truck, take a scavenger hunt onboard the museum vessels, or cool down with a drink in their hand while visiting the sites on the museum grounds.

Admission to Great Lakes Fest is free to NMGL Members and children under 5. Non-member admission is included with the price of a Museum Combo pass. For a growing list of participating boats and vendors as well as a schedule of events, or to express interest in joining the antique boat show or marine mart, visit nmgl.org/great-lakes-fest.

To view the important details regarding this event, see the image gallery below.

National Museum of the Great Lakes

Lakes limestone trade up 5.5 percent in May 

Cleveland, OH – Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.9 million tons in May, an increase of 5.5 percent compared to a year ago.  May’s loadings were also above the month’s 5-year average by 3 percent.

Loadings from U.S. quarries totaled 3 million tons, an increase of 5.2 percent compared to 2021.  Shipments from Canadian quarries totaled 855,108 tons, an increase of 6.7 percent.

Year-to-date the Lakes limestone trade stands at nearly 5.9 million tons, a decrease of 4.4 percent compared to a year ago.  Loadings from Michigan and Ohio quarries total 4.7 million tons, a decrease of 3.6 percent.  Shipments from Ontario quarries total 1.2 million tons, a decrease of 7.3 percent.

Lake Carriers’ Association

William Worden named Historian of the Year by Marine Historical Society of Detroit

Detroit, MI ­ ­– Great Lakes marine historian and author William M. Worden was honored recently as Great Lakes Marine Historian of the Year for 2022 by the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. The award is voted on by previous Historian of the Year winners.

Bill was born to a Great Lakes family that included a captain, two mates, a 19th century shipbuilder at Mount Clemens, a stevedoring executive and a U.S. Coast Guard officer. He is considered an expert on Great Lakes passenger vessels, and in 2020 was chosen to receive the 2020 C. Patrick Labadie Award for the preservation of Great Lakes history by the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History.

A native Detroiter, Worden served from 1977 to 2006 as Director of the Historic Designation Advisory Board of the City of Detroit, which operates the city’s program of designation of historic districts and landmarks. He has also served as a consultant in the fields of historic preservation and maritime history.

He first published an article on Great Lakes subjects in Inland Seas at the age of 14. He has published work in Steamboat Bill, Telescope, Inland Seas, Detroit Marine Historian, Paddle Wheels (Great Britain) and Dampferzeiting (Switzerland). He served as a director of the Steamship Historical Society of America during two separate periods and was Editor-in-Chief of Steamboat Bill from 1996-2006.

He sailed part of a summer on the Erie Queen in 1962. He also He sailed part of a summer on the Walter A. Sterling in 1966. He worked on a number of Gaelic tugs, including the original Tipperary and the second tug, Donegal. He was part of the crew that abandoned the sinking tug Killarney, which foundered on Lake Erie on September 12, 1974.

Bill was co-chair of the committee that raised the money for the purchase by Dossin Great Lakes Museum of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Co. collection that included the Gothic Room from City of Detroit III. He was a long-time secretary of the Michigan Historic Preservation Network and served a term as chairman. He chaired the Network’s first UP conference, which was devoted to Maritime History.

He attended Ohio University, spent a semester in Copenhagen, and graduated from The Ohio State University with a major in Art History; he continued at Ohio State for graduate study. He is an alumnus of the London (England) Summer School of the Victorian Society and the Architectural Conservation Summer School at West Dean College, near Chichester, England.

In 1975-76, he was administrative coordinator of the Detroit/Urban Conservation project, a city-wide survey of historic resources. He also operated his own pipe organ business, with emphasis on the restoration of historic instruments.  In 1978, he restored Detroit’s oldest organ, and he has partially restored Michigan’s largest 19th century organ.

Active in the history of steam navigation, he served as president of the Steamer Columbia Foundation, which acquired one of the Bob-Lo Boats, the National Historic Landmark steamer Columbia, in hopes of active operation as a living museum. He has served as a board member of the Steamship Historical Society of America and is former editor-in-chief of its journal Steamboat Bill as well as columnist on maritime preservation; he was named an honorary life member of the society by the board of directors. He is a life member of the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (Great Britain), and a member of the Marine Historical Society of Detroit, the Great Lakes Historical Society, the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History, the Virginia V Foundation (Seattle), and the Internationales Bodensee-Schiffarts Museum (Lake Constance) as well as other maritime history organizations. He volunteers with animal shelters and is a member of the board and Vice-President of the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.

Mr. Worden is also a past Chairman of the Board of the Michigan Historic Preservation Network, the statewide preservation organization, having been Secretary from 1988-1995. He is an Advisor Emeritus of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, having served on that board from 1978 to 1987. From 1981-85, Mr. Worden was Corporate Secretary of Maintenance Central for Seniors, a non-profit which budgeted over $3 million annually for free home repairs for senior citizens. He has served as board member for the Detroit Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, Detroit Landmarks, Inc., Cass Community Methodist Church, and is past chairman of the Parish Council of St. Joseph Church, Detroit, where he directed interior restoration in celebration of the centennial of the parish church. He also served as Director of Music at St. Joseph from 1997 to 2006, maintaining a distinguished program of choral and orchestral music dating back almost a century and a half.

Mr. Worden directed the $600,000 renovation of Detroit’s Most Holy Trinity R.C. Church, a National Register property with a long-standing reputation for social service programs. That parish’s “Sharin’ O’ the Green” Committee for 1986, co-chaired by Gov. James Blanchard and Thomas Monaghan, honored him with its “Samaritan of the Year” award.  A charter member of Partners for Sacred Places, Mr. Worden remains active as advisor to a number of churches of various denominations on renovation and maintenance issues and is a former member of the Architectural Review Committee of the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit. He has received recognition from the Detroit Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (Career Civil Servant of the Year, 1985) and has received two Testimonial Resolutions from the Detroit City Council.  He was inducted as an honorary affiliate member of the Detroit chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1995 and was honored by the chapter again in 2003 for his contribution to the AIA Guide to Detroit Architecture, published by Wayne State University Press. In 2020, he was awarded the C. Patrick Labadie Lifetime Achievement award for maritime history for the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History.

Mr. Worden is married to Barbara W. Worden; the couple are slowly restoring a large Edwardian house in Detroit’s historic Indian Village. He is a past president of the Indian Village Association, a pioneering neighborhood association dating from 1937.

Great Lakes cruise ship scheduled to arrive in Green Bay on Thursday

GREEN BAY, WI – After years in the making, it’s a sight that may be coming to Northeast Wisconsin for the very first time.

The cruise ship called the Ocean Navigator was recently spotted in ports around the Great Lakes, and anticipation is growing at the Port Green Bay for a scheduled arrival on Thursday.

“It’s really exciting. We’ve been working on this for six-plus years. Between COVID and sales of the cruise ships, and things like that. So, it’s really nice that it’s finally here,” said Sue Broberg, C & M Presents Owner. Broberg books tour groups for a living, and says bringing cruise ships to Green Bay is a good fit.

“We’re on the water. We’re on the big Fox River, out into the bay of Green Bay, and out into Lake Michigan. So, it’s about time that they stopped bypassing us and stop to see what we have to offer here in Green Bay,” she said.

The nearly 290-foot Ocean Navigator is on its way. It has been making stops at various ports of call, like Michigan’s Marquette, and Houghton too. Broberg says the ship offers first-class accommodations, and when the 108 passengers dock in downtown Green Bay, they will visit local sights including the Neville Public Museum, and of course, Lambeau Field.

“There’s a buzz about cruise ships, and I think it’s something unique that is happening in the Green Bay community,” said Cameron Teske, Discover Green Bay vice president of visitor experiences.

Teske says there is demand for Great Lakes cruises, and says his group will track the tourism numbers. “We always look back at an event like this, and measure where did they go? Who spent what? And where were they all coming from? So we do it when we have actual data not all these projections,” he said.

The Ocean Navigator is expected to arrive before 7 a.m. Thursday. Teske says he will be here to greet the ship. “When the community’s excited, the passengers, the visitors, they feel that excitement, and they feel that welcoming, and that’s when everyone has an even better time,” he said.

In addition to Thursday’s stop, the ship is scheduled to make another overnight visit to the Port of Green Bay, on June 30.

Fox 11 – Green Bay

Algoma Steel oil spill poses public health challenges along St. Mary’s River

SAULT STE. MARIE, ON – An oil spill that started at Algoma Steel’s wastewater treatment plant on the St. Mary’s River on Thursday poses a public health challenge, said the acting medical officer of health for Algoma Public Health.

“When there’s a chemical released into the water that may have health effects it’s a lot more difficult to control because you can’t do some of the usual measures that we would do, such as a boil water advisory,” said acting medical officer of health Dr. John Tuinema. “If you were to boil the water when there’s a chemical in there, it doesn’t get rid of the chemical.”

Tuinema said the municipality of Echo Bay has been most affected by the oil spill.

Public health has advised residents not to drink the local well water. They’ve also been advised not to swim in the river or consume any local fish. But Tuinema added most people who live near the river get their drinking water from sources not affected by the spill.

Ministry of the Environment spokesperson Gary Wheeler told CBC News last week that the oil was an industrial lubricant called 460 gear oil. Wheeler confirmed Algoma Steel deployed contractors to contain the spill with absorbent booms on the river.

The U.S. Coast Guard also sent vessels in the area and used drones to assess the extent of the spill downstream.

CBC

Iron Ore trade down 20.4 percent in May

CLEVELAND, OH – Shipments of iron ore from U.S. Great Lakes ports totaled 4.4 million tons in May, a decrease of 20.4 percent compared to a year ago and 21.9 percent below the month’s 5-year average.

Year-to-date the iron ore trade stands at 9.9 million tons, a decrease of 33.9 percent compared to the same point in 2021. Iron ore shipments were also 31.4 percent below their 5-year average for five months of the year.

Lake Carriers’ Association 

Hansen-Mueller Company purchases Duluth’s Elevator A

DULUTH, MN – The Hansen-Mueller Company recently finalized acquisition of General Mills Elevator A in Duluth, Minnesota, completing a deal that will bring the grain-handling facility back into active service.

Owned previously by General Mills and inactive since 2015, Elevator A becomes the second Hansen-Mueller-owned grain complex in the Twin Ports, joining the Daisy Elevator and Elevator M complex in Superior, Wisconsin.

Elevator A anchors the northern end of Rice’s Point in Duluth. It stands 185 feet above the harbor, with a 3.5 million-bushel storage capacity. Consolidated Elevator Company built the structure with ceramic tile, brick and concrete in 1908, replacing the original wooden elevator constructed on the site in 1894. General Mills purchased the elevator from Consolidated in 1943, modernizing it in the 1970s and operating it until 2015. The site includes a 1,900-foot dock, with a slip depth of 28 feet, and on-dock rail service from BNSF Railway.

Nebraska-based Hansen-Mueller plans to bring the facility back into operation in time for the 2022 harvest season. The facility will import and export primarily small grains grown in the United States and Canada to domestic and foreign destinations. “The facility fits our portfolio very well and will complement our import and export program, as well as our interior grain assets and processing plants,” said Paul Johnson, Hansen-Mueller vice president and chief operating officer. “We are excited to grow our business in the Port of Duluth-Superior, and bring new business onto the St. Lawrence Seaway.”

The reactivation of Duluth’s Elevator A is expected to add at least eight new jobs on the working waterfront, in addition to generating added revenues and increasing grain tonnage through the Port of Duluth-Superior.

“Elevator A is a valuable asset in our port, with its grain-handling capacity, excellent road and rail connections, plus a long, solid, Seaway-depth dock for ships, and we’re excited for its potential,” said Kate Ferguson, Duluth Seaway Port Authority director of trade and business development. “We’ve been looking for the right match to put that asset back into active use, and Hansen-Mueller proved to be that match. It was a process working together with Hansen-Mueller, General Mills and BNSF, which owns the land on which the elevator is built, and we’re appreciative of everyone’s efforts that brought us to this exciting announcement for Hansen-Mueller, the Port of Duluth-Superior and the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.”

Duluth Seaway Port Authority

Kingston museum vying for Keewatin sees massive board upheaval

While a Kingston museum still hopes to land the SS Keewatin, its board of directors seems to have splintered in two.

One former board member of the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston told MidlandToday that the Keewatin pursuit was one of the issues that led to the recent split that saw six board members tender their resignations. “The reason was a difference of opinion about the future direction of the museum,” said former board member John Summers, who serves an adjunct professor of Museum Studies at Faculty at the University of Toronto as well as Hamilton’s manager of Heritage Resource Management where he directs the operation of eight civic museums. When asked if the Keewatin played a factor in that regard, Summers replied: “Yes, but only insofar as it was part of an overall approach to the future direction of the museum.”

Earlier this year, the museum had 14 board members, a number that has since shrunk to eight. Museum board chair Chris West declined to address the resignations by six board members, but rather said getting the Keewatin remains something the museum is actively pursuing.

“I have no comments to make on board turnover,” West said. “The Marine Museum board continues to operate with purpose and integrity, and if the right conditions prevail, we look forward to receiving the SS Keewatin into the museum’s collections.

“The ship was accorded a Category B Canadian Cultural Property designation last fall, conditional on it residing in the Dry Dock at the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston,” West said.

“The Museum and (owner) Skyline (Investments) are still engaged in the time-consuming process of securing an agreed upon valuation of the ship from the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board. When a final decision will be rendered is difficult to say.”

Read the full article at this link: https://www.midlandtoday.ca/local-news/kingston-museum-vying-for-keewatin-sees-massive-board-upheaval-5452015?fbclid=IwAR0qcu9S0V-cIoSAxUhxIKAzpSZkNVsalw9naoPwGU-IHK-fXtq7oUp6bZU 

Midland Today

Sail behind the scenes at the National Museum of the Great Lakes

Explore the pipes and gears of early 20th-century engine rooms, climb below deck into crew cabins, and hear stories from Toledo’s maritime past in a new tour series of the National Museum of the Great Lakes’ historic ships. For a limited number of Saturdays beginning June 18, the museum will host its Hard Hat Tours, which will take visitors into the previously unseen areas of its exhibition vessels.

“This is an idea that we’ve had for forever,” said Ellen Kennedy, education and visitor experience director at the museum. “The museum ship, the vast majority of it is open to the public, but there are some spaces that are not safe for everyday access by everyday visitors.”

The behind-the-scenes tours will provide visitors the opportunity to delve into parts of the ships that are less well-restored. Donning hard hats and gloves, the visitors will travel down steep metal staircases and through areas with low headroom to see spaces that are otherwise only accessed by staff and volunteers.

Many of the all-volunteer guides have real maritime experience, having worked on freighters or as part of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Jack Hugo, one of the museum’s tour guides, worked on tugboats for five years with the Great Lakes Towing Company — he even took two trips aboard the Ohio, which is currently on display at the museum. He looks forward to sharing more of his expertise as part of the new tour series. “I like to show people the whole entire ship,” Mr. Hugo said. “A lot of people don’t realize what it takes to make these things go.”

Compared to the typical 90-minute tours of the museum vessels, which focus mainly on Toledo’s general history as a port city, these tours will dive deeper into the technical elements of the ships. The concept behind these tours is not a new one. Ms. Kennedy said that the museum offered a similar insider viewing experience as a benefit for raffle winners about four years ago, and as a result, they “had hard hats at the ready.”

For the tour, visitors will step onboard all three of the museum’s ships — the cargo ship Col. James M. Schoonmaker, the tugboat Ohio, and the St. Marys Challenger pilothouse.

The 617-foot Schoonmaker launched in 1911 as the largest freighter operating in the Great Lakes region, named the “Queen of the Lakes” and breaking records for amounts of cargo carried. Hard Hat Tour visitors can view the bow thrusters and propellers at the ship’s lowest points, step inside the smokestack, and peer into a dark and cavernous cargo hold.

On the Ohio, the tour will include the tug’s engine room and the below-deck crew cabins. First built as a fireboat in 1903 for the city of Milwaukee, the Ohio famously was the only commercial vessel to be christened with a bottle of beer instead of champagne.

This tour series also marks the debut of the museum’s most recent nautical acquisition. After arriving on the museum property in December, 2021, the pilothouse of the St. Marys Challenger will be included on the tour in its mid-renovation condition.

Containing the steamship’s original steering wheel and navigation equipment, the detached pilothouse will also remain an active restoration site throughout the summer as museum volunteers make it ship-shape. “Depending on what tour people take, they’re going to see different stages of the restoration,” Ms. Kennedy said.

After the launch in June, tours are scheduled for July 16 and Aug. 20. A total of four tours will be offered per Saturday and each tour will last two hours and will comprise eight people per tour.

Tickets for the Hard Hat Tours are $35 for National Museum of the Great Lakes members and $50 for all others and include museum admission.

Pre registration is required at https://nmgl.org/event/2022_hardhattours_jun18/.   For more information call 419214-5000 ext. 0. 

Toledo Blade

Boatnerd survey results

Recently, Boatnerd ran a survey asking what users would like to see on the site. Within the week-plus time the survey was open, we received 1,102 responses.

Main takeaways:
• 38.7% of respondents were from Michigan, the highest of any state/province.

• 51.7% of respondents said they primarily use the site for current events/news.

• More than half of respondents did not express significant interest in attending gatherings. That said, respondents were most interested in the Engineer’s Day gathering. Respondents were most interested in a hypothetical Valley Camp gathering at the Soo.

• More than half of respondents showed significant interest in museum ship attractions.

• Respondents were most interested in a YouTube channel as a new/increased content offering, followed by books/publications.

See the details in the image gallery.

Rail & sail father & son photography team

Born and raised in Duluth, photographer David Schauer recalls, “My childhood home was in the upper Endion neighborhood where I could see Lake Superior and watch boats coming and going from Duluth and Superior. That, plus hearing train horns at night, influenced my desire to photograph shipping and railroads.”

Through the family’s picture window, he would watch the ships on the Lake and started to be able to recognize them and to remember their names.  His first photograph of a boat was made in April 1978, as the tug Edna G docked in Two Harbors with the Arthur M. Anderson behind it.

Schauer and his family now live in the Smithville neighborhood in western Duluth. He and his wife Laura and have three teenage children; twin daughters Tessa and Greta and son Gus. Their daughters are graduating from Denfeld High School this year and Gus is a sophomore. Schauer’s son Gus is starting to follow his father’s passion for photography. “One of my great joys of photography is having my son Gus join me in capturing images and teaching him what I have learned over the years. I’m very proud of his work and his ability to understand the art of photography.“

He explained, “I first began photography in the late 1970s after being encouraged by my parents and friends. I became more interested after taking photography classes in high school and at UMD. I have been a serious amateur photographer since the early 1980s.”

Schauer said, “I first began shooting with my mother’s Kodak 110 instamatic and quickly graduated to borrowing my dad’s Nikkormat (Nikon) 35mm camera. I have stuck with Nikon since those early days and now employ a D850 digital model. As for a favorite lens, it has to be my 28-300mm zoom. I find the versatility of that lens is hard to beat. I’m also an FAA certified drone pilot and use a DJI Mavic 3 for aerial images. Along with his camera equipment, he totes along a tripod and flash unit for low light situations and extra charged batteries on his photo “safaris.” He also uses a radio to monitor marine, railroad and aviation frequencies.

He has had numerous images printed in magazines and books. He has also authored seven books on railroads. Some of his work was featured in a gallery exhibit at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum last year. Schauer enjoys photographing ships and trains in the same frame when possible. He has found several sites where railroads are in close proximity to docking facilities.

“For both ships and railroads I find photographing around the Twin Ports offers a wealth of vistas and activity,” Schauer said. “It is a great place if you like the combination of rail and sail. I greatly enjoy photography during what is called ‘blue hour’ before sunrise and after sunset. The color change in the sky can be dramatic during that time.”

He added, “I try to capture images that are creative or different versus standard angles. The drone has helped quite a bit in that regard. Photographing during blue hour and in changing weather conditions can produce distinctive images.” While his primary focus is on railroad and marine photography as his photo watermark suggests, he also enjoys general landscape/cityscape images and industrial subjects.

“Being a native of Duluth I love to showcase the beauty of the area, and Destination Duluth is a premier social media venue to help accomplish that. I’m honored when one of my images is selected for viewing and it is rewarding reading all of the positive comments, Schauer noted.  Since becoming a Destination Duluth contributing photographer in January of 2017, David has become one of the top three photographers, with a mind-boggling 6.5 million views of his photos on Destination Duluth.

“There are a number of current photographers in the area that produce stunning work that I follow, many of them contributing to Destination Duluth,” he said. “When I was young and just starting, photographers such as David Plowden, Richard Steinheimer and Philip Hastings were among many that inspired me to look beyond the common ‘point and shoot’ mentality of photography.”

David’s images have been published in Lake Superior Magazine, Fans of Know Your Ships, North Star Port, Lake Superior Marine Museum Association’s Nor’Easter, Lake Superior Railroad Museum’s The Junction, Trains Magazine, Railfan & Railroad Magazine, plus numerous books.

Destination Duluth

Lake Pilots Association welcomes new boat to the water

It took a few days, but the first new boat in several years for the Lake Pilots Association is in the water.

The Huron Pride made its way from Somerset, Massachusetts, arriving in Port Huron on Tuesday by flatbed truck. “We’ve got two of them in the water right now — the Huron Spirit, and the newer one, the Huron Belle. This one’s replacing the Huron Maid, which it’s in our Detroit operations,” said Capt. Dan Gallagher, the association’s president.

“This is faster,” he said. “It’s a little bit smaller than the other ones. But … it’s more fuel-efficient. It won’t take the rough, rough weather like the other ones. It’ll make the transits a little faster. It’ll save wear and tear on our bigger boat. The bigger ones are quite expensive.”

The boat goes 37 knots, Gallagher said, which is about 42 miles an hour. The Lake Pilots Association was established in 1960 following the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and provides pilotage services for ships in regional water systems, including the St. Clair River.

The latest boat — an all-aluminum, roughly 40-foot deep-V with a foam collar, according to its general design — is also just the latest brought in for the organization from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding. Gallagher said, “This the third boat they’ve built for us since ’77.” Peter Duclos, president of the shipbuilder, recalled taking on the family business arriving in Port Huron on Thursday. “This is like the fourth of this class. We’ve been building this particular class since the mid-2000s. It was really designed and conceived exactly as they’re using it — as a complement to the bigger 50-footers,” Duclos said. “It’s faster, burns half the fuel, but it is not a super rough-weather boat. It’s very capable for what it is. … But all those other times, 50, 60, 70% of the time, you burn in half the fuel, you get there faster, so that’s really the intent of this design.”

With arrival of the crew from Gladding-Hearn, they kept busy getting equipment in place before the boat was lowered into the Black River. “Height is an issue. Thirteen feet, six (inches) is the maximum road height,” Duclos said. “Radar, all the antennas (were) laid out. It’s basically a big job of putting the mast on.”

The group said the new boat came at a cost of over $1 million. “They’re not cheap,” Gallagher said. But they said it will last the association 40 years. “You’ve got to maintain it. There’s going to be things that are going to wear out, but the basic boat is still going to be there — no-frills,” Duclos said.

Gallagher said the last boat that arrived new came at the end of 2016. They said it was a summertime boat, citing the rougher water off-season. As of Thursday, Gallagher said they’re typically busy with six trips out a day, though it could depend on traffic on the water. “This is our transportation to and from the ships. It’s like everybody else, they commute by cars,” he said. “This is our ride to the ship to go to work every day.”

Times Herald

New agreement brings rail service back to Thorold Multimodal Hub

THOROLD, ON – Bioveld Canada and HOPA Ports have signed an industrial switch agreement with Canadian rail services provider, GIO Railways Corporation, to enable the use of existing CN Rail infrastructure at the Thorold Multimodal Hub to transload cargo. A switching agreement allows a short line operator (GIO Rail) to use the track owned by CN to provide first- and last-mile delivery and transload services.

New rail capabilities will help attract a range of industrial users who are looking to move goods through Southern Ontario, or into the Northeastern United States.

“Integrating and expanding the rail service offering to our tenants and customers has always been part of HOPA’s vision for the Thorold Multimodal Hub,” said Jeremy Dunn. “The fact that we have rail connecting indoor and outdoor transloading space and rail car storage right beside the Welland Canal are all part of what makes the Hub so unique.” This agreement will improve connections and modal choice for customers, and expand trade flows through the Thorold Hub.

The Thorold Multimodal Hub is a 200+ acre multimodal industrial complex in Niagara, adjacent to the Welland Canal. Unique to Niagara, it features marine, rail and highway access, as well as over 500,000 square feet of indoor warehouse and outdoor storage space, which can be configured to a wide variety of industrial, cargo handling and ancillary operations.

“With GIO Rail on board, we can operationalize rail lines that have not been used in more than two decades,” said Justus Veldman, Managing Partner of Bioveld Canada, a BMI company that owns the site and brings expertise in the productive repurposing of industrial brownfields.

In the near term, rail users will have access to the site’s transload, integrated warehousing, and railcar storage capacity. Looking ahead, the site will include marine-rail connections, a reactivated gantry crane and rail scale as part of a tailored supply chain solution. “Our approach is to work with users to reactivate these assets in a customized way that meets the needs of contemporary users,” said Veldman. The partners see potential value for users in sectors such as forest products, liquid bulk, plastics and metals, critical raw materials for the manufacturing and construction Industry.

Based in Welland, ON, GIO Rail has extensive experience operating industrial switching operations and short line railways throughout Ontario. In partnership with CN Rail, GIO has been a rail operator and service provider in the Niagara Region since 1997. “We are thrilled to expand our footprint into Thorold in partnership with CN Rail, and to see these lines revived,” said Neil Johnson, Vice President, GIO Railways Corporation.

“Room to grow and complete multimodal connections are value we are providing to users of the Thorold Multimodal Hub,” said HOPA’s Jeremy Dunn, while the addition of new supply chain options will provide modal choice and helping to alleviate pressure on regional highways.

The development is welcomed by Thorold’s civic and business leaders. “Yet again the Thorold Multimodal Hub is showcasing how partnerships and collaboration are yielding results,” said Thorold Mayor, Terry Ugulini. “It is through transload operational capacity, integrated warehousing and railcar storage capabilities that sustainable supply chain can be achieved.  This rail infrastructure will support the new creative industrial industries that call the Thorold Multimodal Hub home and will assist in the attraction of new investment.  On behalf of Thorold City Council and our Economic Development team we welcome this announcement and look forward to the prosperity it will bring to the Niagara Region.”

HOPA ports

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Oil ‘non-recoverable’ in St. Marys River spill, says Coast Guard

SAULT STE. MARIE – Oil spilled from an Ontario steel mill into the waterway connecting Lake Superior and Lake Huron is “not recoverable,” said the U.S. Coast Guard.

The estimated 5,300 gallons of gear oil spilled at the Algoma Steel mill in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, on Thursday, June 9, will persist in the water until it biodegrades, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday, during its second day of spill response in the St. Marys River.

“It’s not a product that will evaporate, but it should naturally weather over the next few days and dissipate,” said Lt. Tyler Carlsgaard, with the U.S. Coast Guard in Sault Ste. Marie. Carlsgaard said response efforts are focused on the north end of Sugar Island, located on the eastern end of Sault Ste. Marie.

Canadian environmental authorities said they are overseeing the cleanup of oil spilled at the steel facility, which is in early stages. Officials at the Ontario environment ministry said they were unsure of the volume of oil that spilled into the river, but most remained on the ground at the company. “Some of the oil entered Algoma Steel’s wastewater treatment plant where it was then discharged to the river,” said Gary Wheeler from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

Canadian officials are still trying to clean up the oil spill.

Wheeler confirmed the company hired clean up contractors and placed absorbent booms on the river to contain the spill. Those workers are still actively responding to the oil spill, he said. “The ministry is requiring that Algoma Steel assess the extent of the spill and prepare clean-up and monitoring plans to address and assess any short and long-term impacts to the river,” Wheeler said.

Ashley Moerke, Lake Superior State University professor and director at the new Center for Freshwater Research and Education along the St. Marys River shoreline in Sault Ste. Marie, said researchers there are keeping a close watch on the situation. They set up an experimental petrochemical detection system along the northern shore of Sugar Island on Friday morning, she said, but as of mid-day had not yet found signs of oil washing up on U.S. land.

Meanwhile, area residents who get their drinking water directly from the river are under a water advisory issued by health officials on both sides of the international border. Algoma Public Health in Canada issued an advisory in effect until further notice, as did the Chippewa County Health Department.

Those with water intake downstream from the steel mill or those with near-shore water wells are at possible risk of contamination from this spill, the agencies said. 

Municipal water systems for the both cities remain unaffected by the oil spill.

However, both American and Canadian health officials advised residents not to swim, kayak or fish on the river, nor drink, bathe, or shower with the river’s water. Pet and livestock access to the water should also be restricted, authorities said.

MLive

Canada looks to charter research vessel as it awaits $1B replacement ship

The Canadian Coast Guard is looking to charter a research ship for up to five years while it waits for a new $1-billion offshore oceanographic science vessel to be built under the national shipbuilding program.

The coast guard says it’s being prudent.

“Having a backup plan in case another pandemic hits or something else I think is always good sound management. So that’s why we’ve put that insurance policy into place,” assistant commissioner Gary Ivany said in an interview after an event in Sambro, N.S.

Ottawa has issued a request for information to industry to charter an “interim science vessel” on the East Coast for 2023 to 2026, with an option for two more years. The coast guard intended to keep the offshore science ship CCGS Hudson in service until its replacement was ready. But a catastrophic motor failure last fall forced it to abandon that plan. The 59-year-old Hudson was officially retired earlier this year.

Construction of a new offshore oceanographic science vessel for the East Coast has started at the Seaspan shipyard in Vancouver. It is currently estimated to cost $995 million. Delivery is now expected in 2025.

“Steel-cutting is underway. Work is progressing well. Long lead items have been purchased. So we’re very confident in the timelines as they stand today,” Ivany said.

Seaspan declined to provide an estimated delivery date for the offshore oceanographic science ship.

Spokesperson Adam D’Agostino says the company has been impacted by COVID-19, but has been able to keep its shipyard open and operational. ”We are continuing working closely with the coast guard and the navy to mitigate the impact of COVID on our programs and vessel delivery schedules,” D’Agostino said.

Caution is justified, says Timothy Choi, a shipbuilding expert at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

Choi says shipbuilding around the world has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and delayed supply chains. “Even the Chinese with their incredibly massive amounts of human resources, they’re delaying their naval shipbuilding, which is unprecedented in terms of their construction rates. So nobody’s immune to this. And the fact that the coast guard is putting out this interim proposal at this point tells us that they are well aware of that,” Choi said.

The next issue is availability. Last year, the coast guard bought an Irving-owned light icebreaker working in Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea. “Asking for an interim replacement that’s actually somewhere around the world that’s very important. Now, whether that vessel actually exists is a different question,” Choi said. “That’s the whole point of this request for information. They want to see what the industry knows about availability.”

Even if the new ship from Seaspan meets this latest delivery date, it will take time to get the ship into service.

The timeline to replace CCGS Hudson has been a moving target since it was included in the National Shipbuilding Strategy announced by the Harper government 15 years ago. It was originally expected to cost $109 million with delivery in 2017. Since then the price has risen nearly tenfold and delivery has been moved to 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

With the Hudson now permanently tied up at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is looking elsewhere for platforms to conduct science on the East Coast this year.

This spring, it paid $5.1 million to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts to use its research vessel, Atlantis, to carry out ocean climate monitoring surveys off Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Another charter is expected to be awarded soon to carry out planned surveys in the fall.

In recent years, DFO and the coast guard have been forced to increasingly rely on charters as the Hudson required more refits, repairs and maintenance to stay afloat.

The coast guard says it intends to use some of its other vessels for DFO science work.

CBC

Great Lakes ice coverage declines as the climate warms

The last bits of winter snow and ice in the Great Lakes melted in late May, according to a NOAA-GLSEA (Great Lakes Surface Environmental Analysis) tracker that uses satellite data to produce real-time daily estimates of Great Lakes ice coverage.

Before it melted, scientists collected samples of ice, snow and frosty lake water in a coordinated scientific event called Winter Grab, a research effort to assess the winter conditions of the Great Lakes and Lake St. Clair. More than a dozen teams of scientists from the U.S. and Canada participated in the inaugural event, which took place during a single week in February. The shared results will provide the first systematic baseline of winter conditions on the Great Lakes, giving important clues about how climate is affecting lake ecosystems as a whole.

Using precise scientific instruments as well as ordinary tools like ice picks, slotted spoons and plastic jugs, decentralized teams across all five lakes drilled their way through the ice to collect water samples, measure underwater light levels and gather plankton and other microorganisms. The data will help them better understand ice properties, water chemistry and lake biology, as well as help them determine how the lakes are influenced by the changing climate.

Winter Grab was organized by University of Minnesota Duluth associate professor Ted Ozersky, who also organized the Great Lakes Winter Network (GLWiN), a research collaboration between multiple organizations. “Over the last few years, lake scientists increasingly recognized that we know very little about what lakes do in the winter,” Ozersky says. “Part of the motivation for Winter Grab is to fill this big information gap. The other motivation is climate change.”

Michigan native Emily Elconin photographed two teams that participated in the effort, joining them on Lake Erie and Lake Huron. Here’s a look at the how scientists are advancing our understanding of the impacts of climate change on the Great Lakes:

Read the full article at this link: https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2022/06/09/1103479447/great-lakes-ice-coverage-declines-as-the-climate-warms

NPR

Marine Mart in Port Huron to resume in June

 PORT HURON, MI – A long-standing tradition, sidelined by COVID, will make a return this year in a new location. The Summer Marine Mart, formerly the St. Clair Marine Mart, will be held Saturday, June 11, at the American Legion Post #8, 1026 Sixth St., in Port Huron, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The Mart features nautical items, artifacts, photos, books, artwork, models, postcards and more. See the poster in the image gallery below for more information.

Second printing of 2022 Know Your Ships now available 

For the second year in a row, Know Your Ships has had to do a second printing of the standard-bound edition. Replacing the Stewart J. Cort for the cover of the second printing is the Roger Blough. In the announcement post, author Roger LeLievre stated, “She is 50 years old this year, and since her future is uncertain, we felt she deserved the honor. Note the second printing is for the standard-bound book only… we have plenty of the spiral-bound book with the Cort on the cover and those will continue to be available.”

You can order a copy at http://www.knowyourships.com/catalog.html 

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