St. Marys River spring icebreaking operations start Monday

 Sault Ste. Marie, MI –  Monday March 7, 2022 the Coast Guard starts breaking ice in the lower St Marys River in preparation for the 2022 Great Lakes commercial shipping season.

Initially the icebreaking activity will focus on the lower St Marys River, south of Munuscong (Mud) Lake and the Middle Neebish Channel north and east of Neebish Island. As the week progresses, the Coast Guard will extend this icebreaking activity into the southern half of the West Neebish Channel, working from Mud Lake Junction Light north to Moon Island. The Coast Guard will not disturb the ice south of West Neebish Channel Light 45, above the Ferry crossing, or the ice north of Moon Island, below the Ferry crossing.

In the coming weeks, as the March 25th scheduled opening of the Sault Locks approaches, icebreaking activities will encompass all navigable waters of the St Marys River. Recreational users of the ice should plan their activities carefully, use caution near the ice and stay away from charted navigation areas.

USCG

Vessel found at bottom of Lake Superior after 130 years

Whitefish Point, MI –  The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society says the Atlanta was found 35 miles off Deer Park, Michigan, in 650 feet of water in Lake Superior.

In partnership with GLSHS, Marine Sonic Technology mapped more than 2,500 miles of Lake Superior during the summer of 2021 using Side Scan Sonar — Marine Sonic Technology.

The Atlanta sank on May 4, 1891. It was upbound with a load of coal in tow with the steamer Wilhelm when both vessels got caught in a northwest gale. The towline snapped, and the sail-less Atlanta was at the mercy of the lake. Crew took to the lifeboat and, after several hours, eventually came within sight of the Crisp Point Life-Saving Station. Unfortunately, while attempting to land their lifeboat near the station, it overturned, and only two crewmembers made it to the beach.

According to GLSHS, the Atlanta is a well-preserved shipwreck due to its time in the ice-cold Lake Superior waters.

“It is rare that we find a shipwreck that so clearly announces what it is and the name-board of the Atlanta really stands out,” said Bruce Lynn, executive director of the GLSHS. “It is truly ornate, and still beautiful after 130 years on the bottom of Lake Superior.”

“No one has to ask where the Atlanta is anymore,” said Director of Marine Operations for GLSHS, Derryl Ertel.

The survivors reported that all three masts broke off in the storm. Video from a Remote Operated Vehicle found that all three masts broke off flush with the deck and can’t be found.

ABC 

The St. Lawrence River icebreaking operation has begun

Trois-Rivières, QC – An encouraging sign that we are getting closer to the shipping season, the Canadian Coast Guard begins Monday its spring icebreaking activities between Saint-Pierre-les-Becquets and Sorel. It is for this reason that the organization warns the inhabitants of the shores of the St. Lawrence River and the people who frequent them. It is strongly recommended that hikers and snowmobilers not stay on the ice if they see a hovercraft because the movement of the ice can represent a real danger.

Own an entire Michigan island: ‘Frying Pan Island’ hits market for $580K

Frying Pan Island, MI – Here’s a rare opportunity for you to own an entire island. Michigan’s “Frying Pan Island” has hit the market for $580,000. The island is located just off the coast of DeTour Village in Lake Huron in the eastern Upper Peninsula about two miles upstream from the mouth of St. Mary’s River.

The island itself is 3.42 acres, but according to the current owner, the purchase comes with 68 acres of bottomland ownership.

“Normally you don’t own the bottomlands when you buy a waterfront house. You own to the high water mark. In this case, the bottomlands come with it,” Cindy Anderson with Lake Homes Realty told MLive. “So, if someone wanted to build a marina there, they have more than ample space and they don’t have to ask the state of Michigan for permission.”

There used to be a lighthouse on the island which now stands in Sault Ste. Marie. The island is pretty much just filled with trees and a beach. “The beach is beautiful. It’s nice and sandy. There’s a little bit of rock, but it’s really nice,” added Anderson.

“Frying Pan Island is said to have gotten its name from Captain William Thorn, who reportedly was the first person to take a ship up the St. Marys River and into Lake Superior. According to LightHouseFriends.com, Captain Thorn went ashore and found a frying pan there and gave the island its name.

The island is basically an empty canvas for its next owner. “One of the current owners is a civil engineer, so he has pretty good knowledge of land. He says you could build a cottage or some cottages on there in a cluster development. You could also Airbnb it or I could even see a little camp on the island. With it only being a half a mile off the coast, if you did want to run electricity, it’s feasible with a cable. Water and sewer could also be on the island.”

M Live. View the listing here: https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Off-of-Ontario-St_Detour-Village_MI_49725_M99049-42080

Cleveland Tall Ships Festival returning this summer

Cleveland, OH – Ahoy there! Tall ships will return to Lake Erie’s waterfront this summer, when the Cleveland Tall Ships Festival takes place July 7-10.

Tickets to the four-day event are now on sale at tallshipscle.com, ranging in price from $17 for a one-day pass to $300 for a VIP fast pass. Weekend passes are also available.

The festival, presented with Tall Ships America, offers an opportunity to step aboard historic tall ships for tours, ask captains questions, shop a marketplace and more, according to a press release. Plus, stick around for a firework show and performances by Tom Mason and the Blue Buccaneers.

Though tickets can get attendees into the festival, there are also free viewing options from Wendy Park and Voinovich Park, for those who just want to get a glance of the impressive fleet.

Michigan research boat gets new Great Lakes mission with invasive species grant

Alpena, MI – A retired, 50-foot state research vessel will sail into a new mission as an educational tool in Alpena, where future visitors can learn about aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes and effects on fisheries.

Michigan officials this week announced $3.6 million in grants to dozens of organizations across the state for programs to limit the spread of invasive species already here, prevent new ones from establishing, and strengthen the state’s detection should that happen, along with awareness projects.

More than 30 projects received funding in this year’s grant cycle and when combined with $541,500 in local matching dollars, will result in more than $4.1 million in efforts to combat invasive species in 2022.

Officials said the second-largest grant went to a unique proposal unlike any before: a nonprofit art, science, and history museum in Alpena received a $386,500 grant to transform the retired R/V Chinook – an old state fishery research ship – into an interactive science and history classroom.

Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan offers rotating art exhibits, historical displays, science demonstrations, a planetarium, and exhibits about the wildlife and fish of the region. Its next big project is called the Great Lakes Fisheries Heritage Exhibit and the old research ship will become a centerpiece of the permanent installation.

Grant money will pay for a new museum building to be built around the Chinook, which was previously donated to the museum and craned into position and settled onto boat cradles at the facility in Alpena in 2020.

The new, two-building exhibit will feature two major boat displays, both the Chinook and the historic wooden fishing tugboat the Katherine V. Visitors will be able to walk around and closely inspect the boats, plus learn about the history of fighting invasive species in Lake Huron.

“It will be an immersive, interactive exhibit that is really going to educate on what individuals, what visitors can do to help combat invasive species,” said Christine Witulski, the museum’s executive director.

The Chinook was a state commercial fishing enforcement boat from 1947 to 1968, when it was converted into an Alpena-based research vessel to monitor invasive species and related impacts on the fishery, such as invasive sea lamprey’s harm to the lake trout population.

“It’s going to be serving as a public platform to educate and bring awareness of invasive species and what can be done to keep our Great Lakes healthy.”

Building construction is expected to begin this summer, followed by the creation and installation of educational displays. The building around the Katherine V is already completed, but educational and interpretive exhibits will be completed through the new state grant.

Read more at this MLive link: https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2022/03/michigan-research-boat-gets-new-great-lakes-mission-with-invasive-species-grant.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=aanews_sf&fbclid=IwAR3bGXz1wxwrJ3YjOCAvlKPp5KpUyTIr00WfDLo933Jwy2wLHlt6UBQHs_c

Virtual Program: Winter at the Soo Locks: There is No Down Time

Event by Lake Superior Marine Museum Association, Soo Locks Visitors Center Association and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, Thursday, March 3, 12:30 p.m.

The ships may stop moving, but that doesn’t mean it’s quiet at the Soo Locks. During the 10-week pause in shipping, the facility is a hive of activity with all hands on deck, tackling critical maintenance projects on one of America’s busiest navigation locks. Chief Park Ranger Michelle Briggs will take the audience behind the scenes to learn more about the work of these crews in brutal winter weather to ensure the locks continue to operate at peak efficiency and open in time for the annual start of the navigation season on March 25.

Join the program here: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=263890149255470&set=gm.341009707952914

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Boatnerd Admins.

Canada bans Russian ships from St. Lawrence Seaway

News out of Canada will impact traffic on the St. Lawrence Seaway. On March 1, Transport Canada said that it will soon ban Russian ships and fishing vessels from entering Canadian ports and internal waters, including the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway.

This was confirmed in an announcement from Canada’s Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly and Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard Joyce Murray.

According to the Canadian leaders, these actions are a part of ongoing coordination efforts among G7 partners following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Canada also recently banned Russian aircraft to enter Canadian airspace on February 27.

The leaders said this ban aims to “hold Russian leadership accountable for its escalating aggression.”

“Russia must be held accountable for its aggression in Ukraine. Canada will continue to do what is necessary to respond,” Minister of Transport Alghabra said in a press release. “Today, we are taking steps to close Canadian ports and internal waters to Russian-owned or registered ships. The Government of Canada condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and we will continue to take action to stand with Ukraine.”

This ban on Russian ships and fishing vessels is expected to take effect later this week through the Special Economic Measures Act.

WWTI

U.S. Steel to invest $60 million in pig iron production at Gary Works steel mill

NW Indiana – Not every region steel mill is being disinvested in. U.S. Steel plans to pump capital into its flagship mill, Gary Works.

The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker, one of the largest employers in and industrial pillars of Northwest Indiana that originally founded Gary as a mill town more than a century ago, plans to invest $60 million in pig iron production at the Gary Works mill at 1 N. Broadway in downtown Gary.

U.S. Steel plans to insource pig iron capabilities at the steel mill that stretches across seven miles of Lake Michigan lakeshore in an advancement of its metallics strategy, which has been to diversify steel production between traditional blast furnaces and smaller, more nimble electric arc furnaces. Gary Works will be able to produce up to 500,000 tons a pig iron a year after the investment.

Pig iron is a crucial raw material needed for the electric arc furnaces U.S. Steel has been investing in at its southern mini-mills as it seeks to diversify beyond the integrated steelmaking that long has been its bread and butter.

The operation will supply about 50% of the ore needs at Big River Steel in Arkansas. It also will contribute $50 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and deliver a 30% internal rate of return.

The pig iron production should start in the first half of next year. U.S. Steel started the permitting process and expects to soon start construction on the project. It plans to self-fund pig iron production instead of contracting it to manage costs more efficiently at Big River Steel and make Gary Works’ blast furnaces more efficient without reducing their raw steel output.

NW Indiana Times

Ice jams build pressure for Coast Guard to expand Great Lakes ice cutting fleet

Detroit, MI – Justin Westmiller has memorized the recipe for flooding disaster in St. Clair County’s shoreline communities: a cold spell, above-average water levels and a strong north wind. Those are the three ingredients required to create an ice jam so stubborn it will cause the St. Clair River to flood.

“As that ice is coming down the river, it literally will pack itself in until it goes all the way to the bottom and creates an ice dam,” said Westmiller, St. Clair County emergency management director and former member of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Westmiller and the industry group representing U.S.-flag vessel operators on the Great Lakes agree that the U.S. Coast Guard needs to expand its fleet of Great Lakes ice cutters to ease flooding and help commercial vessels navigate frozen waterways.

“Right now, we have an immediate need, and that immediate need is to have another heavy icebreaker,” said Eric Peace, Lake Carriers’ Association vice president based in Ohio.

The U.S. Coast Guard has one heavy icebreaker on the Great Lakes — the Mackinaw, a 240-foot vessel that has the capacity to break through heavy ice that usually is stationed in the Straits of Mackinac between Lakes Michigan and Huron. It also has six smaller, 140-foot cutters stationed around the Great Lakes, all built between 1979 and 1988, and two buoy tenders that have some icebreaking capacity.

Icebreakers are often laid up for maintenance, said Brian Smicklas, U.S. Coast Guard Ninth District ice supervisor. “Breaking ice, it’s as hard as you can possibly imagine,” Smicklas said. “If you want to put a vessel through a stress test, take it out to break some ice.”

That’s one reason the Lake Carriers’ Association is pushing Congress to appropriate enough money to the U.S. Coast Guard to buy a new heavy icebreaker, which is estimated to cost about $350 million, Peace said.

The Mackinaw “hasn’t been available,” Peace said. “We definitely need to have some sort of, I would call it backup. We just need to have another one here because the fact is one’s just not capable of covering the distance you have in the Great Lakes.”

The Mackinaw has twice been in for maintenance this winter, Smicklas said.

The heavy icebreaker wasn’t available in early January when St. Clair County’s shoreline flooded, Westmiller said. One of the Canadian Coast Guard’s cutters was the only ship available to respond, he said.

“I’m not blaming the partnership we have with the Coast Guard,” he said. “It’s their resource availability that they inherently struggle with.”

The Build Back Better plan, which has not passed through the U.S. Senate, includes $350 million for a new Great Lakes icebreaker. Funding for a new icebreaker is still pending, Smicklas said.

Peace, from the Lake Carriers’ Association, said the industry also wants the U.S. Government Accountability Office to evaluate U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking operations and use the information to determine the appropriate size of the Great Lakes fleet.

The Coast Guard does not render assistance where commercial icebreaking providers are available, Smicklas said, except on a case-by-case basis if no commercial providers are available and icebreaking isn’t too risky.

Detroit News

Port of Green Bay hosts First Ship Contest

Are you ready to welcome ships back to the Port of Green Bay? Discover Green Bay is teaming up with the Port for the annual First Ship Contest. Check out the prizes and enter your guess here: www.greenbay.com/firstshipcontest

Port board pays for pilothouse display at National Museum of the Great Lakes

Toledo, OH – The National Museum of the Great Lakes will receive aid totaling $150,000 from the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority for the museum’s new pilothouse attraction, following action by the port’s board of directors Thursday.

The board approved a grant of $25,000 and a loan of $125,000 to reimburse the museum’s construction of a concrete foundation on which to display a historic Great Lakes freighter pilothouse.

The pilothouse belonged to the St. Mary’s Challenger, a lake freighter that has been repurposed as a barge. The structure was acquired in 2015 amid competition from other entities that wanted it, said Kate Fineske, spokesman for the museum, located next to the Glass City Metropark on Front Street in East Toledo.

The St. Mary’s Challenger was a “fleet mate” to Col. James M. Schoonmaker, the museum’s floating lake freighter exhibit.

Ms. Fineske said the pilothouse was removed because the St. Mary’s Challenger was taken out of service as a steamship. When it sailed its last as a steam-driven ship in 2013 it was the oldest vessel on the Great Lakes.

Originally, the pilothouse was planned to be part of the second floor of the museum. The plan now is to make it part of the exterior grounds with an enclosed connection to the main building so it can be used year-round, she said.

“The end goal is to be able to connect to it from the interior of the museum so people can have a pilothouse experience all year long,” Ms. Fineske said.

Ms. Fineske said the Challenger pilothouse will be more accessible than the pilothouse in the Schoonmaker, and it will be more contemporary, unlike the Schoonmaker, which was restored to an older condition.

She noted that while the pilothouse was being floated from the storage space to its display place at the museum on Dec. 30 that was provided by Midwest Terminals it passed the hull of the former St. Mary’s Challenger in use on the Maumee as a barge.

Christened the S.S. William P. Snyder, the vessel that would become the Challenger was the first of six vessels built for Shenango Furnace Co. in the early 20th century; the Schoonmaker became that fleet’s flagship in 1911.

Read the Toledo Blade story here: https://www.toledoblade.com/local/city/2022/02/24/port-board-pays-for-pilothouse-display-at-national-museum-of-the-great-lakes/stories/20220224102?fbclid=IwAR2i94F6mp4NqVM94qnOxvQjf5ppkOuzCRhCrIK-kj_nwY_TydzvdHI_Klc

2.2 million tonness of cargo moved through Toronto’s port in 2021

If you’ve ever taken a stroll along Toronto’s waterfront, maybe had a night out at Rebel nightclub (or one of its predecessors) or a visit to Sugar Beach, you’ve undoubtedly come across the massive lake freighters that move cargo in and out of Canada’s largest urban centre.

Shipping takes many forms, with cargo aircraft, freight trains, and trucks transporting goods around the region, but when it comes to moving heavy masses of raw materials, large freight vessels that can transit the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes locks systems are still the most cost-effective solution out there.

Imported materials including cement, steel, sugar and salt moving into Toronto ports surpassed 2.2 million metric tonnes for the fifth consecutive year in 2021, with 190 cargo vessels in the city last year. The total of 2,295,815 metric tonnes delivered marks a four per cent increase from 2020.

But just what do 2.2 million tonnes of cargo look like in relatable terms? It turns out it’s a pretty difficult weight to quantify with even the largest of artificial objects, as even the single-tallest freestanding structure in the western hemisphere is merely a fraction of this weight. You’d need to break down 18.65 CN Towers worth of material to reach that colossal volume of material shipped.

If you’re still struggling to visualize just how vast this quantity is, here’s another comparison. If you collected all of the approximately 1.1 million cars in Toronto as of 2014, you’d still be about 232,000 cars short of the weight of cargo that flowed through the city’s ports last year.

So how did this incredible mass of materials break down? A considerable contribution came from cement cargo and steel imports, which soared to 19 and 18-year highs, respectively, with more than 734,000 metric tonnes of cement and 185,000 metric tonnes of steel supplying the wave of construction transforming the city.

Whether it was all the pandemic home-baking projects or our reliance on calories as a source of comfort, sugar imports from Central and South America were way up, 572,683 metric tonnes of the sweet stuff keeping the city’s food and beverage industries supplied through hard times.

Countering all that sweetness, 583,425 metric tonnes of salt also arrived at city ports last year.

There were a few big 2021 deliveries that you may have already heard about, with three bridge spans arriving from Nova Scotia to connect the new Villiers Island with the city’s road network.

And that’s not all that’s arriving in Toronto, with Geoffrey Wilson, CEO of PortsToronto, stating that “while the Port of Toronto will continue to play an essential role in our national supply chain in 2022, it will also play an important role supporting Toronto’s tourism sector as we anticipate hosting a record 37 cruise ships in 2022, including a number of new cruise ships designed for expedition cruising on the Great Lakes.”

Blog TO

Neebish Island residents warned service may stop due to ice

Neebish Island, MI – We have no current plans to shut down but the crossing continues to get worse and we may need to get to the point of shutting down. Our goal is to continue to run, but mother nature will dictate and we cannot risk damaging the vessel. Please make arrangements to store extra supplies, i.e. propane, groceries, medications, and any other needs if a prolonged shutdown is necessary. Stage vehicles on the mainland if so needed. We will continue to monitor and communicate any changes.

The Eastern Upper Peninsula Transportation Authority

Canadian owner puts Duluth’s Great Lakes Fleet up for sale

Duluth, MN – In an earnings call last month, Canadian National Railway shared a desire to sell off its Twin Ports-based Great Lakes Fleet of ore carriers.

The move comes as the freight rail company reviews its non-rail business, including a trucking firm, TransX. “We are in negotiations regarding the divestiture of the Great Lakes vessel (sic),” said Jean-Jacques Ruest, CN president, chief executive officer and director, during an earnings call with shareholders Jan. 25.

The Great Lakes Fleet of lake freighters features nine ore boats, including three 1,000-footers. Its base of operations is located in offices at the CN ore docks in Duluth, near 34th Avenue West. The vessels are itinerant, often visiting the local ore dock for loading, but only occasionally making a long-term visit. For instance, there are no members of the fleet wintering in Duluth this offseason.

A potential vessel sale process is progressing with some active bidders,” said Helen Quirke, senior vice president and chief strategy officer, in a transcript of the call. “But any transaction needs to be at a favorable value to us. Therefore, we are willing to continue to operate the vessels should a deal not be concluded at a favorable value to us.”

Quirke further explained that while the fleet of ore boats helps earnings, it dilutes the company’s operations. “Great Lakes Fleet is a heritage brand in our port, with decades of history,” she said. “It’s an important part of the past, present, and hopefully the future of our region’s maritime industry.”

The Great Lakes Fleet is operated under the locally based company, Key Lakes Inc., a workaround that allows the Canadian owner to apply its assets on the Great Lakes, between U.S. ports — from Minnesota ore mines to the country’s blast furnaces and steel mills on the lower Great Lakes. The Jones Act prohibits foreign ships from delivering cargoes between American ports.

The Great Lakes Fleet is home to the popular Arthur M. Anderson, the last vessel to communicate with the Edmund Fitzgerald prior to its infamous sinking in 1975. Other vessels in the fleet include 1,000-footers Edgar B. Speer, Edwin H. Gott and Presque Isle, along with the John G. Munson, Cason J. Callaway, Philip R. Clarke and Great Republic.

A final vessel in the fleet, the Roger Blough, was badly damaged by fire in February 2021 during its winter layup in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. CN did not illuminate the current status of Roger Blough. At the time of the fire, the Sturgeon Bay Fire Department reported an estimated $20 million in damages to the $100 million laker.

The Port Authority’s DeLuca noted the potential jobs at stake. “The local jobs and commerce connected with Great Lakes Fleet being home-ported in Duluth are meaningful,” DeLuca said. “So, we certainly want to see a good local outcome for the fleet and its employees.”

Read the story here: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/canadian-owner-puts-duluths-great-lakes-fleet-up-for-sale?fbclid=IwAR3Zam_8gqMV5puSNEDIckyRBdSQfwj-z02hN2Ge6FREX_FgEtdueIO2DT0

Cleveland to be port of call for new Viking ‘Great Lakes Collection’ cruise starting in 2023

Cleveland, OH – Starting next summer, travelers on Viking’s “Great Lakes Collection” luxury cruise will get to experience the city of Cleveland as one of its ports of call. The 15-day tour from Toronto, Canada, to Duluth, Minnesota will allow travelers to sail on all five of the Great Lakes. Stops will include Niagara Falls, Cleveland, Detroit, Mackinac Island, and Sault Sainte Marie.

During the day-long stop in Cleveland, travelers will have an opportunity to experience:
“Cleveland Highlights” – A scenic drive through Cleveland before delving into music history at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
“Arts & Parks” – A visit to the Cultural Gardens and the Cleveland Museum of Art.
“Taste of Cleveland” – Sampling the city’s diversity at the West Side Market.
“Cleveland’s Waterfront” – A tour of the Great Lakes Science Center and the historic Great Lakes bulk freighter William G. Mather.
Cuyahoga Valley hike
Cuyahoga River by kayak
Cuyahoga Valley by bike

Passengers for the Great Lakes Collection will sail aboard the Viking Polaris, which is due to join the company’s fleet later this year. Like its sister ship Viking Octantis, 378 guests will be able to be hosted in 189 luxurious staterooms.

Viking first announced the addition of Great Lakes destination cruises in January of 2020, just prior to the pandemic. “The Great Lakes are a phenomenal destination in the world, and they are currently underserved [by cruise lines],” said Viking chairman Torsten Hagen at the time of the announcement.

The company now offers six different cruising options for the Great Lakes and Canada. However, a Great Lakes Collection trip on Viking Polaris will cost you some bucks. Prices for the 15-day cruise start at just under $14,000. One of Viking’s eight-day Great Lakes trips will cost you about $6,000.

The first Great Lakes Collection trip is due to set sail on June 10, 2023. Click here for more information. https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/cruise-destinations/great-lakes-canada/great-lakes-collection/pricing.html?return=true

Lorain, Lordstown could become sites for new naval submarine dry dock, equipment depot

Cleveland, OH – Thousands of jobs may soon be coming to two Northeast Ohio communities as part of a plan to address a shortage of naval shipyards across the nation.

Bartlett Maritime Corporation is seeking to build a submarine dry dock for the U.S. Navy in Lorain and a naval equipment depot in Lordstown. According to The Bartlett Maritime Plan™, 2,000-3,000 new jobs would be created in Lorain, with an additional 500-1,000 in Lordstown.

The project is being led by Bartlett Maritime Corporation CEO and former Navy captain Edward Bartlett, who served as a submariner and also a submarine design engineer. He founded the company in 2019 as a response to a shortage of dry docks and shipyards in the Navy.

Last month, Bartlett told 3News’ NBC sister station 21 WFMJ that Lordstown would become “the Navy’s centralized equipment depot for the nuclear powered fleet aircraft carriers and submarines.” The proposed American Naval Shipyard in Lorain would bring the total number of certified naval dry docks to 20.

Bartlett believes Ohio is the ideal place for the facilities to be built due to the state’s available industrial revenue bond program, which would fund the multi-billion dollar cost via a 3-way public-private partnership.

Response to the proposal has been enthusiastic. On Monday, Lorain City Council passed a resolution in support of the dry dock. Last month, the Metal Trades Department (MTD) of the AFL-CIO, which has represented the vast majority of shipyard skilled trades personnel in the United States since 1908, signed a cooperation agreement with Bartlett Maritime Corporation.

“The Metal Trades Department and its affiliated international unions are proud to join Bartlett Maritime in its efforts to become the next public-private U.S. Navy maintenance and repair shipyard,” said MTD President James Hart. “We look forward to this partnership and the impact it will have on creating and sustaining good, unionized jobs in Ohio.”

The proposal is currently being reviewed by the United States Navy. Phase 1 of the plan calls for a six-month research, planning, and concept demonstration. It could be completed by the end of the summer.

Bartlett told 3News that the hope is for ceremonial groundbreaking for both facilities to take place in October, with heavy construction to start at both locations in the early spring of 2023.

WKYC

Boatnerd Soo Gathering returns June 23-24

Boatnerd is delighted to announce the return of our annual boat watching events in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers annual Engineer’s Day (Friday, June 24) open house at the Soo Locks, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

• Boatnerd Picnic at Sherman Park, Thursday, June 23*
• Optional: Three-hour Soo Locks Freighter Chasing Cruise aboard the tour boat LeVoyageur  (ticket prices and information TBA) at 6 p.m. Friday, June 24
• Boat watching at Sherman Park and at Mission Point Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
• Lots of friendly Boatnerds

*The Boatnerd  Picnic will be Thursday, June 23, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at Sherman Park, just west of the locks. Bring a dish to pass. Burgers, hot dogs, buns and condiments will be provided by Boatnerd. Free.) Save the date and think early about your travel plans and lodging. The event will be held rain or shine, but lets hope for sunshine!

Great Lakes iron ore trade down 4.7 percent in January

Cleveland, OH – Iron ore shipments on the Great Lakes totaled 2.5 million tons in January, a decrease of 4.7 percent compared to 2021.  Loadings were above the month’s 5-year average by 17.6 percent.

Lake Carriers’ Association

On first mission to Great Lakes, NOAA ship will sonar map Lake Erie

Cleveland, OH – What’s underneath Lake Erie? The answer isn’t a total mystery to Great Lakes mariners, but parts of lakebed off Ohio and Pennsylvania haven’t been surveyed since the 1940s and nautical charts that commercial ships rely on are long overdue for an update.

Because of that, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is sending one of its four deep-water hydrographic survey ships, the Thomas Jefferson, into the Great Lakes for several months this year to sonar-map the lakebed under heavily trafficked areas.

The mission marks the Jefferson’s first visit to the Great Lakes, and the first visit from a NOAA survey ship since Lake Huron was mapped off Alpena in the early 1990s.

The 2022 mission is part of a stepped-up effort to map the Great Lakes in recent years and will also involve surveying parts of the Detroit River and Lake Michigan off Wisconsin.

“It’s been a long time,” said Matthew Jaskoski, commanding officer of the Thomas Jefferson, which is embarking for the St. Lawrence Seaway in April following a drydock refit in its homeport of Norfolk and some ocean mapping off Virginia.

Read more at this MLive link: https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2022/02/on-first-mission-to-great-lakes-noaa-ship-will-sonar-map-lake-erie.html

EGLE to offer $9 million in grants to ‘repower’ marine vessels

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) will allocate $9 million in grants to push clean energy on the state’s bodies of water.

The money for the department’s Fuel Transformation Program (FTP) will come from the state’s $64.8 million portion of the national settlement with Volkswagen over the German automaker’s violation of the federal Clean Air Act. Volkswagen’s installation of emission testing defeat devices on its vehicles resulted in two settlement decrees.

“This is a great opportunity to reduce emissions from rail and marine sources to help improve air quality in neighboring communities and protect the environment. While cars get the most attention, other transportation sectors are also integral to Michigan’s transition to zero emission or cleaner fuels as called out in the draft MI Healthy Climate Plan,” Elizabeth Browne, director of the Materials Management Division at EGLE, said in a statement.

According to the EGLE news release, applicants awarded the FTP grants will receive from $100,000 to $5 million to replace or “repower freight switchers and marine vessels with clean engines” and “install shore power.” Among the watercraft eligible for repowering or replacement are ferry boats and tugs. Applications also will be accepted for “installation of shore-side power for vessels that operate within the Great Lakes.”

FTP funds will cover between 25% and 75% of the respective repowering project, and the technology used. Replacement or repowering with zero emission technologies such as electric and hydrogen fuel cells qualify for the highest funding percentages. Lower funding percentages may be granted to repowering and replacement by alternative fuel and diesel.

“We don’t have a specific number of replacements or repowers expected but have made a very rough estimate of the emission reductions we hope to realize with the funding,” Debra Swartz, EGLE environmental quality specialist, told The Center Square.

The FTP programs were developed to reduce oxides of nitrogen emissions as well as to promote the adoption of zero emission and alternative fuel engines in accordance with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s climate change mitigation goals.

The application process begins Wednesday, Feb. 23, and closes Sept. 23, 2022.

Coast Guard to hold mass ice rescue exercise on Little Traverse Bay today

Petoskey, MI – Coast Guard units and area partners will conduct a full-scale ice mass rescue exercise at the Petoskey Municipal Marina and on the waters of Little Traverse Bay beginning at noon on Saturday, February 26.

The exercise, named Operation 45 North, will include on-ice rescue operations in Petoskey’s marina by about a dozen area ice rescue teams, as well as helicopter hoisting exercises with an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter based at Air Station Traverse City. Surface and aviation units of the Coast Guard will be joined by local firefighters, city police, sheriff’s departments, Emmet County EMS, Michigan State Police, and many more.

“Exercises like Operation 45 North are crucial in strengthening relationships among local, state, tribal and federal first responders,” said Capt. Anthony Jones, commander of Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, which oversees all of Lake Superior and the northern portions of lakes Michigan and Huron. “The training and techniques shared are vital in ensuring that first responders are ready and able to respond.”

USCG

Video highlights the 2021 shipping season in the Duluth, Superior, and Two Harbors area

The video contains 45 lake carriers in total. While it’s a long video, it’s broken into chapters so you can easily find the ships you want to view. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLTrdVa_qC4

Cleveland-Cliffs to indefinitely idle Blast Furnace No. 4 at Indiana Harbor

Indiana Harbor, IN – Cleveland-Cliffs plans to indefinitely idle Blast Furnace No. 4 at the Indiana Harbor steel mill, the second blast furnace in East Chicago to be taken offline in the last three years in a major blow to and further erosion of integrated steelmaking in the Calumet Region.

The Cleveland-based steelmaker said no jobs will be lost as workers will be transferred to other positions at the sprawling mill along the Lake Michigan lakefront. The dwindling amount of steelmaking capacity along the Lake Michigan lakefront will, however, have long-term effects on employment opportunities at the Region’s steel mills. Indiana Harbor had still operated five blast furnaces a little over a decade ago.

Cleveland-Cliffs announced it would raise steel prices as it took the steelmaking capacity offline, reducing the overall supply on the market at a time of strong demand. It plans to increase the price of carbon hot rolled, cold rolled and coated steel products by at least $50 per ton.

The flat-rolled steelmaker plans to idle Indiana Harbor Blast Furnace No. 4 because of operational improvements that include adding hot-briquetted iron to the blast furnaces and maximizing the use of scrap in basic oxygen furnaces.

All the employees will be transferred to other positions at Cleveland Cliffs Indiana Harbor Works, which combines the former LTV and Inland steel mills that were consolidated under previous ownership. The company said it currently has more available job openings at Indiana Harbor in East Chicago than it had workers at the blast furnace, which forged raw materials into iron, the precursor for the steel that goes into cars, appliances and buildings nationwide.

Cleveland-Cliffs expects the closure will reduce its carbon emissions as integrated steelmaking is a carbon-intensive process that involves burning coke, a form of coal that’s been stripped of impurities.

“Our strategy of increasing productivity at our ironmaking and steelmaking facilities through the use of both in-house produced HBI and additional scrap has allowed us to reduce coke rate and consequently reduce CO2 emissions, as well as to stretch hot metal utilization and still be able to produce similar amounts of crude steel with fewer blast furnaces,” Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said. “Said another way, by concentrating the operation and maximizing productivity at IH No. 7 we are improving our carbon footprint and, at the same time, lowering our cost structure for the same level of steel production and shipments. Most importantly, as we have enough job openings on site for all impacted employees, we are now able to fill several available job openings at Indiana Harbor Works with the current workforce of IH No. 4.”

Cleveland-Cliffs said normal operations will continue at the Indiana Harbor steel mill and the Riverdale Works mill it supplies just across the state line. Indiana Harbor Works still has two steel shops, the hot strip mill and finishing facilities.

Once the largest steelmaker complex in the world, the mill in East Chicago is down to just a single blast furnace. Indiana Harbor Blast Furnace #7 will now supply all operations at the steel mill in East Chicago and Riverdale Works in Riverdale, Illinois.

Read more here: https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/cleveland-cliffs-to-indefinitely-idle-indiana-harbor-blast-furnace-4-in-blow-to-nwi-steel/article_d01e0f35-1c67-5d40-8072-a71d708e8599.html?utm_source=nwitimes.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletter-templates%2Fbreaking&utm_medium=PostUp&utm_content=93ce67453a2cc791fc40aefd0dc66bea7d28609f&fbclid=IwAR0n13It6cwnnmjo0nLOrQJo7nKeaUotIbr3kxeMHM6qjhbzk8thGtZBjT4

CEO: ‘The future is bright for Cleveland-Cliffs’ as steelmaker works to limit volatility

Cleveland-Cliffs looks forward to a bright future after posting record profits last year.

The steelmaker is projecting another strong year as automotive demand picks back up, it locks down more long-term contracts and shifts focus to bigger, more stable customers.

“The future, and specifically, 2022, is clearly bright for Cleveland-Cliffs,” CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in a conference call for investors. “Underlying demand remains strong, infrastructure-related spending has started, particularly regarding electrical steels. And the chip shortage affecting the automotive has begun to ease, leading to meaningful pent-up demand for cars and trucks.”

The Cleveland-based steelmaker, which has a large presence in Northwest Indiana, expects to benefit from the auto industry’s rebound from the global semiconductor shortage.

“That should benefit Cleveland-Cliffs a lot more than any other steel company in the United States,” Goncalves said in the conference call. “Let’s make this abundantly clear to our investors. There is no other steel company, integrated or mini-mill, in the U.S. or more broadly in North America capable of supplying all the specs and all the tonnage we supply the American automotive industry. Cleveland-Cliffs already has all the equipment and technological capabilities that other companies are only now spending several billions of dollars to try to replicate by building new melt shops and new galvanizing lines.”

Read more at this link: https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/ceo-the-future-is-bright-for-cleveland-cliffs-as-steelworker-works-to-limit-volatility/article_3990124e-d99d-5868-b635-93f0e020cb25.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_The_Times_of_Northwest_Indiana&fbclid=IwAR2DGnbYau0cYla9igRmvd-eBzs6EGWC1jEi7x5oSBFLmpDiJcAFBSGdJF0

New owner of M.S. Norgoma has no definite plans for ship

Port Colborne, ON – Jeff Dwor, the new owner of the M.S. Norgoma (which at one time plied the waters of Manitoulin Island as a ferry), has no definite plans as to what he is going to do with the ship at this time.

“I like its lines, this vessel could be converted into something else,” said Mr. Dwor, who lives in Port Colborne, after having purchased the ship from the City of Sault Ste. Marie. “The ship is not too big, but not too small either. It is about 185-188 feet in length and 38 foot wide. It is a substantial vessel.”

“It is in good enough shape with ample space. I was thinking of turning the ship into living quarters for now, but I’m open to any kind of idea,” said Mr. Dwor. “I really don’t know yet what I am going to do with the ship. But I am open and flexible to any ideas.”

“One thing about it, I can’t move anything on the lakes until May,” quipped Mr. Dwor.

Earlier this month, Mr. Dwor, a retired ship salvager, purchased the Norgoma for $2,500 from Sault Ste. Marie. City council approved the sale of the 188-foot former package freighter/passenger ferry/museum ship. Tom Vair, the city’s deputy chief administrative officer for community development and enterprise services told Soo Today.com Mr. Dwor has sold his business (Dwor Metal Co. Ltd. of Port Colborne) but is looking at the M.S. Norgoma as a personal project and renovating her for private use. Recently, Mr. Dwor came forward with interest in acquiring the vessel. He flew to Sault Ste. Marie, toured the vessel and expressed interest in purchasing it.

Mr. Vair told The Expositor “council approved the sale of the ship to Mr. Dwor. “The agreement was reached January 31 and concludes in May, so there is a bit of finalization to be done. Part of the decision by council was so the marina by the Roberta Bondar Park marina can be redone. Council had to force the decision and have the Norgoma moved, and currently it is parked at the docks at Algoma-Steel and the town has been paying $40 a day in docking fees (since 2019).”

The city had planned to sell the Norgoma to The Sweet Shop in Tobermory but that deal fell through when the potential owner couldn’t find a berth in the municipal marina there.

Mr. Vair told The Expositor that since then, city staff has been looking for a new location for the Norgoma while also obtaining estimates to decommission the vessel.  A recent updated budget revealed decommissioning the vessel would have cost between $275,000-$325,000.

Mr. Dwor will take possession of the Norgoma some time in May. “If someone has a great idea for the ship that I can explore, bring it to me and I will listen. I’m not opposed to anything. Maybe people on Manitoulin could find things that it could be used for.”

MS Norgoma was a Canadian package freighter and passenger ferry that could also transport automobiles on a limited basis. Originally constructed as steam-powered ship in 1950, SS Norgoma primarily sailed the route from her home port of Owen Sound to Sault Ste. Marie, providing a five-day round trip, once a week, serving isolated communities along the North Shore. After conversion to a motor ship, Norgoma was transferred to the Manitoulin Island ferry route between Tobermory and South Baymouth along with her sister ship SS Norisle, replacing the smaller ferry, MS Normac on that route.

Norgoma, owned by Owen Sound Transportion Company Limited, was built at the Collingwood shipyards in 1950. She replaced the SS Manitoulin, which was retired in 1949.

Norgoma travelled mainly on the North Channel route until 1963. Improvements to Ontario’s highways, such as the Trans-Canada Highway (Georgian Bay route) completed in 1962, brought about stiff competition for the company. In that year, a 60-kilometre road was constructed into Killarney from Highway 6, the first port of call for the steamer. At the time, increased traffic on the Manitoulin Island-Tobermory route demanded a greater automobile capacity than her sister ships SS Norisle and MS Normac could handle.

In 1974, both Norgoma and Norisle were replaced by the much larger and more modern MS Chi-Cheemaun which could accommodate more vehicles than both sister ships put together. Norgoma was berthed as a museum ship in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. In 1981 the ship was transferred to a charity, the St. Mary’s River Marine Heritage Centre. The Norisle was purchased at the same time. By Assiginack Township and is still berthed at the Manitowaning Marina.

Manitoulin Expositor

U.S. Coast Guard rescues missing person on ice

Sault Ste. Marie, MI ⎯ Members of U.S. Coast Guard Station Sault Sainte Marie and Air Station Traverse City rescued a missing ice fisherman on Lake Superior Feb. 20, 2022. Chippewa County reported the missing individual as a 63-year-old male on a snowmobile towing an ice shanty who was last seen approximately one and a half miles off the shore of Lake Superior in Emerson, MI.

U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie launched an Ice-Rescue Team from Station Sault Ste. Marie and the Coast Guard Ninth District launched an MH-60 helicopter from Air Station Traverse City. The crew of the MH-60 immediately located a heat source approximately two miles south of the missing person’s last known position.

The Ice-Rescue Team proceeded to the identified location and found the missing person. The person was taken back to a staging area for evaluation by awaiting Emergency Medical Service personnel. No injuries were reported.

USCG

Collingwood museum launches new exhibit on shipbuilding industry

Collingwood, ON – Collingwood Museum has launched a new exhibit in honor of the inter-generational tradition of Collingwood’s ship-building industry. “Launch Day” focuses specifically on Collingwood’s most photographed and cherished event – the side launch.

The exhibit explores the history of shipbuilding in Collingwood, a century-long tradition that saw more than 200 steel ships plunge sideways into the harbour. Collingwood’s shipyard was one of the last to perform the traditional side launch in Canada. With a small and shallow harbor, side launching was a dramatic solution to this spatial challenge.

Visitors to the new exhibit will experience what it was like to watch, along with thousands of spectators, as five-story-high steel vessels crashed into the water below. They will also learn about the stages of the launch and the unique stories behind some of Collingwood’s most notable ships.

The potential and realized dangers of shipbuilding are also explored through a small section of rope connected to one of the Collingwood Shipyards’ most devastating days, the launch of Tadoussac on May 29, 1969.

From shipbuilding tools and ship models to a stunning silk dress, this new exhibit has something of interest for everyone!

Advanced bookings are recommended by calling museum staff at 705-445-4811 Ext. 7211. Please note that Proof of Vaccination is required for indoor participation. Collingwood Trails maps will be available for those wishing to explore the Promenade Trail alongside the rectangular launching basin as well as the Shipbuilders’ Memorial on Heritage Drive.

The Collingwood Museum is located at 45 St. Paul Street. Please consult the Collingwood Museum’s website for up-to-date COVID-19 protocols. https://www.collingwood.ca/culture-recreation-events/heritage-museum/collingwood-museum

U.S.-flag shipping on the Great Lakes up 16.8 percent in 2021

Cleveland, OH – U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters (lakers) moved 81.8 million tons of cargo in 2021, an increase of 16.8 percent compared to 2020.  The 2021 float was less than 1 percent below the fleet’s 5-year average.

Iron ore cargos totaled 41.7 million tons, an increase of 12.4 percent compared to a year earlier.  Shipments of all other commodities increased as well in 2021. Coal cargos were up 42.7 percent to 10.4 million tons.  Limestone and cement shipments increased by 16.7 and nearly 5 percent, respectively.  Salt cargos were up by 34.2 percent.  Shipments of sand were up by 21.6 percent, while grain cargos increased by 16.3 percent.

See chart below.

The mighty St. Lawrence, from a maritime pilot’s bird’s-eye view

Simon LeBrun sails the St. Lawrence River, running cargo between Montreal and Trois-Rivières. His social media posts offer marine enthusiasts and landlubbers alike a window into his world.

View the video here: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2003799619851?fbclid=IwAR2u81-71IQugRmuMOpcZrqOSfxna909AKvvGXwTkPbFxUTmPpvrhYU4KTA

Lake Michigan cyanide spill results in $3M fine for steel mill owner

Burns Harbor, IN – An Indiana steel mill owner will pay a $3 million fine and donate property for land conservation as part of a court settlement following a toxic chemical spill that killed thousands of fish in a Lake Michigan tributary.

On Monday, Feb. 14, Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by two environmental groups in the wake of the 2019 spill, which released thousands of pounds of ammonia and cyanide into the waters around Portage, Ind. The lawsuit was originally filed against ArcelorMittal, which Cleveland-Cliffs acquired in 2020.

This week’s consent decree, filed in U.S. District Court by federal and state officials, includes an agreement from the company to upgrade its facilities to prevent future discharge violations, improve notification procedures, and transfer 127 acres of land for future conservation use.

The settlement must be approved by a judge. It will be open to public comment for 30 days afterward.

Read more at this MLive link: https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2022/02/lake-michigan-cyanide-spill-results-in-3m-fine-for-steel-mill-owner.html

Canada eyes ‘green steel’ as way to catch up on cutting carbon emissions

Ontario’s steel industry is aiming for a dramatic reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions, a move that will help Premier Doug Ford’s government get closer to achieving its climate-change targets.

The three biggest industrial emitters of CO2 in Ontario are all steel plants. Steel production alone accounts for more than 40 per cent of all industrial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the province, more than the refinery, forestry, mining and chemical sectors combined.

But a push is now on — funded in part by nearly $2 billion from provincial and federal taxpayers — to convert Ontario’s steel plants to using lower-carbon sources of energy. The expected reductions in CO2 emissions stand to make this the Ford government’s single biggest initiative on climate change.

The latest step toward what’s being dubbed “green steel” is Ford’s announcement of a $500 million provincial government contribution to ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton, the biggest producer of flat-rolled steel in the country and the single biggest industrial source of CO2 emissions in Ontario.

The plan is to convert Dofasco’s coal-fired blast furnaces to electric-powered systems by 2028.

“Car-makers are investing billions and billions of dollars searching for ways to reduce carbon emissions along their supply chain,” Ford said in a news conference Tuesday. “Well, I have news for all of them. That search starts and ends right here in Hamilton with Dofasco Steel.”

Ford’s announcement comes six months after the federal government announced it’s putting $400 million into the Dofasco plant’s conversion, which means taxpayers are contributing about half of the $1.8 billion cost of the project.

The province and the feds are also backstopping another coal-to-electricity conversion project at Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, number two on Ontario’s list of biggest industrial greenhouse gas emitters.

The projects will reduce the two steel plants’ combined annual CO2 emissions by as much as six megatonnes (MT). Ontario needs to reduce its total annual emissions by about 18 MT from current levels to meet the government’s target for 2030 under the Paris Accord.

“I think it’s a positive development,” said Keith Brooks, programs manager for Environmental Defence, a Toronto-based advocacy group.

“The steel industry is a large emitter, it’s one of the harder-to-decarbonize sectors, and we’re not in a world where we’re trying to phase out steel,” Brooks said in an interview Wednesday.

Premier Doug Ford came to Hamilton’s ArcelorMittal Dofasco plant to announce the provincial government’s $500 million contribution toward the steel-maker’s efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. (CBC)

Despite the potential significance of these emission reductions from the steel industry, Brooks says the Ford government is still a long way from achieving its climate change targets, which are less ambitious than the previous Liberal government’s targets and those now set at the national level.

“We have no policy in place to increase the uptake of electric vehicles. We have no policies to reduce emissions from buildings. We have no policy actually to deal with emissions from industrial facilities,” said Brooks.

Steel production is carbon-intensive because the blast furnaces used in the smelting process are fuelled by coal and coke (metallurgical coal).

Since Ontario’s electricity generating system is more than 90 per cent free of CO2 emissions, converting the steel plants’ coal-fired blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces will substantially reduce the carbon emissions.  “We will fundamentally change the way we make steel,” said Ron Bedard, president and CEO of ArcelorMittal Dofasco.

“We will decommission our coal plants and our blast furnaces. Coal will not be used in our future processes here at Dofasco.”

CBC

Indiana leads nation in steel production after 12.5% jump

Indiana led the nation in steel production last year, maintaining the top spot it has held nationally for more than four decades.

“Indiana was No. 1,” said Ashley Romberg, the digital and online manager of the American Iron and Steel Institute, a Washington D.C.-based trade association that represents the United States of America’s steel industry.

The Hoosier State made 24.3 million tons of steel in 2021, up from 21.6 million tons in 2020. Neighboring Ohio, the home of North America’s largest flat-rolled steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs, ranked No. 2 nationwide in steel production.

Much of the steel production in Indiana occurs at the hulking integrated steel mills that ring Lake Michigan’s South Shore in Northwest Indiana, where Cleveland-Cliffs, U.S. Steel and NLMK Indiana operate mills. Lake and Porter counties account for about half the nation’s blast furnace capacity.

Many major steel distributors move metal in Northwest Indiana, including Republic Steel, Alliance Steel, AAA Supply Corp., Kenwai Steel, TMS International, Ratner Steel Supplies, Crossroads Steel Supply, Adriatic Steel Co., Leeco Steel, Bayshore Metal, Serve Steel, Coltrade Inc., RW Conklin Steel Supply, Steel Cities Steels, Chicago Specialty Steels and Steel Supply Corp.

NW Indiana Times