Container shipping crisis an unmet opportunity on Great Lakes

Toledo, OH – The St. Lawrence Seaway could help save Christmas by bringing decorations, Santa suits, dolls, video games, and scooters to retail outlets in the United States and Canada. The global container shipping crisis that has ships piling up at massive West and East coast ports is presenting an opportunity for Toledo and other Great Lakes ports.

But local and federal officials in both the United States and Canada must change their mindset and act quickly if they hope to impact this year’s holiday season. An executive order from President Biden might be required to jump-start the process.

“It is unconscionable that the most utilized shipping method in the world — the container — is not being utilized on the Great Lakes,” said Paul C LaMarre III, director of the Port of Monroe, whose agency has recently expanded into handling container ships. “We need a buy-in from all parties and need everyone to realize this is a viable opportunity.”

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) said the crisis of delivering needed consumer goods to the heartland from international producers has revealed a lack of leadership.

“The ports are not working on this and they have a very narrow view of their job,” Ms. Kaptur said. “Their vision is locked into the old model of the original Seaway corridor when the global market is moving to multimodal connects of sea-rail-highway for on-off load cargoes.”

“Toledo has those assets,” Ms. Kaptur said. “If leveraged with capabilities across other Great Lakes ports in Canada and the U.S., the system could be much more robust.”

Professor Paul Hong, a global supply chain expert at the University of Toledo, said the time to make the case for Great Lakes ports is now.

Outside coastal ports such as Long Beach/Los Angeles, Savannah, Ga., Charleston, S.C., and Newark/New York, heavily loaded ocean-going container vessels are stacked to the horizon because of worker shortages and other complications in the troubled supply chain.

It means shortages and delays in delivering electronics, holiday decorations, household cleaning materials, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals — not to mention toys for under the Christmas tree.

Shoppers in the Toledo area and throughout the country increasingly face empty shelves. Parents and grandparents in search of Scruff-a-Luvs rescue pets, DC Comics action figures, or TeeTurtle Octopus Plushies might come home empty-handed.

“I could only find two things at one place, and I snatched them up,” said Pam Smith, a Toledoan who started her holiday shopping early in anticipation of the extreme shortages.

The Seaway is touted as “the shortest route to the heartland of North America” and since the Great Lakes region collectively would rank as the fourth-largest economy in the world, this could be a strong link in the supply chain that is not being fully utilized at this crucial juncture.

The Great Lakes boasts a busy bulk shipping trade, but it has very little containerized cargo. Nine years ago, Cleveland recognized the potential and installed a container port, now reported to be making a modest profit after having subsidized a European shipper, Spliethoff Group of Amsterdam, to use the port.

The Port of Monroe is constructing one now, in hopes of starting to unload container ships by 2023. “I absolutely believe that the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence system are a major part of the solution to getting goods to the heartland of America,” Mr. LaMarre said.

David Gutheil, chief commercial officer of the Port of Cleveland, said Cleveland’s success shows there is an opportunity for the Great Lakes ports.

Mr. Gutheil said a container shipping industry existed on the Great Lakes in the 1970s, and since the Port of Cleveland started handling containers about eight years ago, that business has more than doubled in volume.

As the only port on the Great Lakes now handling containers, Cleveland is looking into feeder services in Halifax, N.S., and Montreal where containers could be off-loaded from the huge ocean-going ships and transshipped down the St. Lawrence Seaway via smaller vessels and dispersed throughout the Great Lakes region.

“We’ve proven you can save transit time by moving materials on an all-water route,” he said, adding that after initially using combination bulk cargo/container ships, Cleveland recently added a container-only vessel that handles “anything you can think of” including auto parts, foodstuffs, and manufactured goods on its United States to Europe and return routes.

Read more and view images at this link: https://www.toledoblade.com/local/transportation/2021/10/24/container-shipping-crisis-an-unmet-opportunity-on-great-lakes/stories/20211015111/?fbclid=IwAR3WIP5wbpISn60OV5rTe3pEXntgxFaF9yEguI31NeYLR59awqFOh6J60kk

Whitefish Point Edmund Fitzgerald memorial event will be virtual

The annual Edmund Fitzgerald memorial event, which takes take place every November 10 at Whitefish Point, will be a closed event in 2021. Due to current COVID conditions in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, only Fitzgerald surviving family members, USCG and GLSHS personnel will be attending. The event will be live-streamed

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

Chicago Maritime Museum receives million-dollar endowment

Chicago, IL – The Chicago Maritime Museum has recently received $1,000,000 for a new endowment fund. Announced during the annual “Waterways for All” fundraiser, the endowment will provide an income stream that can be used to fund operations and projects.

The donation was made by Capt. Dave Truitt, who currently serves as chairman of the Maritime Museum. As noted by museum officials, it is the largest gift in the museum’s history and “is the start of sustainable operations funding to allow the museum to focus on providing our patrons and visitors with engaging maritime exhibits and lively educational events.”

The Chicago Maritime Museum, located on the River Level of the Bridgeport Art Center opened in July of 2016. The museum offers visitors a chronological walk through local maritime history including the eras of French fur traders, sail and steam-powered vessels, modern commercial Great Lakes frigates, recreational sailing and the Ralph and Rita Frese Canoe Collection.

Designed by renowned architect and Maritime Museum board member, Dirk Lohan, the 10,000-square-foot museum serves as a window into Chicago’s maritime history. Its newly restored lobby includes interactive storytelling about the importance of the city’s waterways by key founders of Chicago. The museum also plans to create an exhibit of the adventures of Chicago-born Captain Bill Pinkney, the first African-American sailor to solo-circumnavigate the globe via the five great capes.

Association for Great Lakes Maritime History

Video shows Goderich Salt Mine in operation

https://player.vimeo.com/video/601848200?h=95aa1154bf

Freighter Calumet set free after getting stuck in the Saginaw River

Bay City, MI – Maritime traffic hit a snag Thursday night on the Saginaw River after an over 600-foot freighter ran aground in Bay County.

The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit received a report at approximately 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 21 that a bulk cargo freighter had ran aground just north of the Lake State railroad bridge in the Saginaw River in Essexville. According to the Coast Guard, the vessel was identified as the 630 foot-long Calumet.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Adrian Ledesma said that the vessel was dislodged at approximately 7:45 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 22. The Calumet then continued to proceed upriver towards Saginaw shortly after it was set free.

The grounded vessel blocked the main river channel after it ran aground. The Coast Guard had established a safety zone around the freighter to allow for a tug boat to safely dislodge it. No medical or search and rescue concerns stemmed from the incident, according to the Coast Guard.

Ledesma said that an investigation is ongoing at this time. He said that two Coast Guard incident response teams responded to the scene and conducted an initial inspection that took a look at possible pollution and environmental hazards plus any vessel and infrastructure damage.

“Based on the initial observation, we don’t have any reason to believe that there’s any significant damage to waterfront infrastructure or the environment,” he said.

https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2021/10/freighter-set-free-after-getting-stuck-in-the-saginaw-river.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=mlivedotcom_sf&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR2E73vjPWuxf420vwy-lXWPUQdDpI0J-6pUHgC8tkzR4ppde31uXDO1Aqo

Cleveland-Cliffs to move production of DR grade pellet to Minorca

Duluth, MN – Minorca Mine in Virginia will be taking on a new role in the Cleveland-Cliffs strategy. They will start producing the DR grade pellet that is needed to feed the HBI facility in Toledo.

Cliffs invested in Northshore Mining in Silver Bay for this production, but CEO Lourenco Goncalves said on Friday that they are moving it to Minorca. The reason is what he called “unreasonable royalties” for the ore that is used at Northshore.

Goncalves said, “Minorca is a great plant with great equipment. Northshore will now work to help Minorca move to DR grade pellet.”

He also said that Northshore will be idled every now and then, and be their swing operation. Cliffs took control of the Minorca Mine as part of its purchase of ArcelorMittal last year.

WDIO-TV

UPDATE: As of 08:00 Friday, Calumet is free and headed up the Saginaw River passing through Bay City.

Calumet grounds in Saginaw River

Saginaw, MI – The motor vessel Calumet was aground in the Saginaw River just below the Lake State Railway Bridge in Essexville, MI, Thursday evening, according to a U.S. Coast Guard notice to mariners. Calumet was inbound on the Saginaw River, Thursday evening, headed upriver to unload at a Saginaw Area dock. Approaching the Lake State Railway Bridge in Essexville around 7:30pm, Calumet encountered some difficulty, becoming crossways in the shipping channel, with her port side resting against the Dolphin that protects the downriver side of the center swing span of the bridge and her stern out of the channel, toward the east side of the river. U. S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit put out a Notice to Mariners at 9:45 pm, advising that the M/V Calumet was aground in the Saginaw River shipping channel near the Lake State Railway Bridge. U.S Coast Guard Station Saginaw River had assets on scene. The dock off the stern of Calumet is the old Blue Knight Energy Partners fuel dock.

Todd Shorkey

SS Badger to head to drydock next month for inspection, new paint job

Ludington, MI – The SS Badger will soon be on its way to Sturgeon Bay for its inspections in drydock as well as to receive a fresh coat of paint.

The ship will undergo its required inspection that takes place every five years. Along with the inspection, Lake Michigan Carferry General Manager Sara Spore said the ship will come back with fresh look.

“We’re still working on an exact date,” Spore said Wednesday. “In the beginning of November, it will be towed over to drydock for its five-year inspection. The most notable work with will be sand-blasting and repainting it this year. I don’t think it’s happened since it was owned by the railroad.”

Spore said during the repainting will retain the ship’s traditional black and white with red and white stripes. Should something strike the paint, Spore said the operators will be able to determine where it occurred with a different color showing. The paint on it was done in spots, but not the entire ship.

“It’s been quite a while (since it was repainted). There’s spots where this paint doesn’t match that paint. It’ll look nice when it comes out,” Spore said.

Another upgrade coming to the ship is the replacement of the lifeboats with rescue boats. Spore said the company will need to change the davits — or small cranes on board the ship that allow for the boats to be lowered into the water, should the need arise.

She wasn’t sure what would happen with the lifeboats currently on board the SS Badger. In the past, locals have acquired a previously used lifeboat. Spore said one might be converted into a parade float.

The primary work ahead, though, is the inspection of the ship as it’s pulled by a tug from Ludington to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Spore said Interlake Steamship, the parent company to LMC, has a new ship being constructed at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. The 639-foot ship, called the Mark W. Barker, was expected to launch this month.

“A lot of the inspection that happens, people don’t see it,” Spore said. “It’s in the engine room (and other areas). Right now, we’re tentatively scheduled to be there on Nov. 15, but it all depends on where the other boats are. It’ll leave in early November. We’re looking at a date, and we’re working with a towing company.”

The inspection itself is expected to last 10 days, and preparations include removing the ship’s propellers among other items. The repainting of the ship is expected to take a good amount of time, too.

“It’s all going to depend on what they find,” Spore said. “The painting alone is going to depend on how many layers of paint there are. We’re assuming we know, but we don’t really know. There’s a lot of years there.”

The company is looking at upgrading some of the services it provides passengers.

No matter what the company does — whether seen by passengers or not — it has to meet the approval from the U.S. Coast Guard. Away from the ship, LMC plans to do some upgrades to the security of docking areas for the ship — in Ludington and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Spore said. Overall, Spore said the Badger is likely to be away from Ludington for about a month.

Spore said the SS Spartan was surveyed to see what, if anything, could be done with it. “We’ve had engineers looking at the Spartan still assessing the options on that boat,” she said. “We’re still coming to a decision. It’s sat there a long time and with no maintenance. We’re really evaluating the best use for it.”

The Spartan has been tied up alongside its sister vessel, the Badger, and was idled in 1979. At times, it has been used as a training ground for law enforcement and the National Guard. Various other uses for the Spartan have been proposed. Spore said the ship’s future is undetermined.

“There’s always pie-in-the-sky dreams,” she said, “but operating a carferry is very expensive. I don’t know what the future holds for it. We’re evaluating it.”

Ludington Daily News

Expanded maritime container capability now available at Duluth’s Clure Public Marine Terminal

Duluth, MN – Port officials announced Thursday that Duluth’s Clure Public Marine Terminal now has the ability to handle significantly larger volumes of international shipping containers transported by vessel, in an expansion that will augment existing road- and rail-based intermodal container service under the Duluth Cargo Connect banner.

Through recent investments in infrastructure and capabilities to ensure homeland security compliance, Duluth now becomes only the second United States port on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System capable of handling containers by direct water connection and the only such port west of Cleveland, Ohio.

“Our Clure Terminal is a full-service multimodal logistics hub for the Upper Midwest, so it’s only natural that we offer the advantages of maritime container handling to complement our land-based network,” said Deb DeLuca, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. “We’ve been nurturing this potential for a while and we’re excited to see it coming to fruition. Considering the significant congestion and delays occurring at some coastal ports, we provide a fluid alternative for containers to move inland and bypass those coastal bottlenecks.”

As North America’s furthest-inland seaport, Duluth is an attractive, uncongested choice for shippers looking to move containerized cargo to and from America’s heartland. In recent years, that activity included only land-based movement on the region’s highways or four Class I railroads serving the Clure Terminal. This new waterborne container option is available now, exclusively through Duluth Cargo Connect.

“We’re excited about expanding our container services to include a direct maritime connection over our docks, which will give our customers even more opportunity and flexibility in their supply chains,” said Jonathan Lamb, president of Duluth Cargo Connect. “Whether the commodity is raw materials for manufacturing, finished goods, foodstuffs or other retail items, and whether connecting via feeder vessel with steamship-owned containers from a coastal port or direct charter vessel with private shipper-owned containers, we are well equipped to provide shippers with a seamless alternative.”

DeLuca and Lamb cited the many added services Duluth Cargo Connect offers as a significant benefit to shippers. Beyond basic handling and customs clearance, the terminal features Foreign Trade Zone status, capability to stuff/de-stuff containers on-site, heat-treated dunnage certification for export packaging, a truck scale, reefer plugs, robust highway and rail connections and the most environmentally efficient way for containers to connect in and out of the Midwest.

“This idea of containers reaching the Midwest direct by water isn’t new,” said DeLuca. “It’s been part of the Clure Terminal vision since the mid-1960s, but the time is right to bring that vision into a modern focus, and we’re well positioned to do it.”

Duluth Seaway Port Authority

‘The Fitzgerald Experience’ coming to National Museum of the Great Lakes Nov. 6

Toledo, OH – In honor of the 46th anniversary of the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald, National Museum of the Great Lakes is offering a weekend of special tours. “The Fitzgerald Experience” is a guided tour of the Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship, using our lake freighter and its similarities to the Edmund Fitzgerald to discuss the events of November 10, 1975, theories surrounding the vessel’s sinking, and stories about the 29 crew members who were lost.

Tickets are $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Each tour will be limited to 8 people. The tour is approximately 75 minutes long. Times are Nov. 6 at 10 AM and Nov. 7 at 5 PM. Tour purchase includes admission to the National Museum of the Great Lakes. Tickets from www.eventbrite.com/e/the-fitzgerald-experience-2021-tickets-192532167897

 Mandatory vaccination policy adopted for Seaway vendors, suppliers, visitors and contractors

The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation is adopting a mandatory vaccination policy as mandated for the federally regulated marine transportation sector. All vendors, suppliers, visitors and contractors are expected to be fully vaccinated to have access to all our sites and premises starting November 15.

St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation

Help wanted: Great Lakes Pilotage Authority seeks pilot candidates

The Great Lakes Pilotage Authority operates in the interest of safety a marine pilotage service in all Canadian waters in the Provinces of Ontario, Manitoba and in Quebec south of the northern entrance to the St. Lambert Lock. The Great Lakes Pilotage Authority is currently recruiting eligible candidates for the following pilotage districts in order to train them to become licensed marine pilots.

➢ Competition number CO-202101 – Cornwall District (waters of the St. Lawrence River and lakes between St. Lambert Lock, St-Lambert, QC and Snell Lock, Massena, N.Y.).
➢ Competition number D1-202101 – International District no. 1 (waters of the St. Lawrence River between Snell Lock and Cape Vincent, New York, at the entrance to Lake Ontario and includes Kingston, Ontario).
➢ Competition number LO-202101 – Lake Ontario District (waters and the ports of Lake Ontario and the navigable waters within the limits of the Port of Churchill, Manitoba).
➢ Competition number D2-202101 – International District no. 2 (waters of the Welland Canal between Port Weller and Port Colborne, Ontario, Lake Erie and the waters of the connecting channels between Lake Erie and Lake Huron).
➢ Competition number D3-202101 – International District no. 3 (waters of Lake Huron north of latitude 43° 05.5′ N and the waters of Lakes Michigan and Superior, including St. Mary’s River and Georgian Bay).

Apprentices must successfully complete the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority apprentice pilot training program in order to be recommended by the training committee for evaluation by an examination board. An apprentice becomes a licensed pilot following successful evaluation by the Board of examiners.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS
1. Be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada.
2. Hold at a minimum one of the following Canadian certificates of competency:
➢ Master Mariner;
➢ Master, Near Coastal;
➢ Master 3 000 Gross Tonnage, Near Coastal;
➢ Master 500 Gross Tonnage, Near Coastal;
➢ Chief Mate;
➢ Chief Mate, Near Coastal;
➢ Master 3 000 Gross Tonnage, Domestic.

3. Have served at sea in the last five (5) years:
➢ for at least 12 months as ship’s captain while holding one of the above-mentioned certificates; or
➢ for at least 24 months as officer in charge of a navigational watch while holding one of the abovementioned certificates.
4.  Hold a valid Marine Medical Certificate issued by Transport Canada indicating the capacity to carry out pilotage duties.
5. Hold a restricted radio operator’s certificate (ROC-MC) or a valid General radio operator’s certificate (GOC) issued under the Radiocommunication Act.
6. Hold the following training certificates:
➢ Simulated Electronic Navigation, Level II; and
➢Bridge Resource Management.

7. Speak and understand English sufficiently well enough to effectively carry out pilotage duties for District No. 1, Lake Ontario District, District no. 2 and District no. 3.
8. Speak and understand French and English sufficiently well enough to effectively carry out pilotage duties for the Cornwall District.
9. Successfully complete a “Character profile” test.

The Great Lakes Pilotage Authority is committed to building a skilled and diverse workplace reflective of Canadian society. We treat all employees and job applicants fairly and with dignity and respect. The Great Lakes Pilotage Authority uses an individual’s qualifications, skills and achievements as the basis for employment-related decisions, including hiring, promotions, compensation, benefits and conditions of employment. We promote employment equity and encourage applicants to complete the Self-declaration Form if they belong to one of the designated groups (Aboriginal peoples, members of visible minorities, persons with disabilities, women) when they apply. The self-declaration form is available on our website at: http://www.glpa-apgl.com/about/careers/

HOW TO APPLY
Interested individuals should send their application indicating the competition number(s), along with a resume specifying their qualifications and experience, and the supporting documentation for items 1 to 6 above to:

Director of Human Resources
Great Lakes Pilotage Authority
P.O. Box 95
202 Pitt Street
Cornwall, Ontario K6H 5R9
Or by email to: humanresources@glpa-apgl.com

Applications must be received no later than November 12th, 2021. The Great Lakes Pilotage Authority adheres to the Employment Equity Program.

Lake Michigan Carferry’s first year under new owner was ‘smooth sailing,’ operator says

Ludington, MI – The SS Badger backed into its dock Oct. 10 for the last time this season, letting about 300 passengers off into Ludington and ending nearly five months of daily round trips across Lake Michigan.

A stream of water arced from a fire engine’s aerial ladder near the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum as the Badger crossed into Pere Marquette Lake for the final time this year, the Ludington Daily News reports.

Outside The Lake House, a wedding venue near the Badger’s dock, a group watched it come in to the tune of “God Bless the USA.” A bagpiper blared from an upper deck of the ship, not to be drowned out by the patriotic tune.

The Badger’s first sail of the season was on May 20. It crossed the lake to Manitowoc and returned each day since, except for eight days in August following a crew member’s positive test for COVID-19. Minus those eight days, that makes for about 135 round trips this year.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Lake Michigan Carferry was “able to have a pretty good season overall,” said Shelby Soberalski, director of marketing and sales for LMC. Soberalski said that although any transition “takes time,” LMC’s first year under its new owner, Interlake Holding Company, was “smooth sailing.”

“We’re really excited to be with Interlake, and we are really looking forward to a bright future with them,” she said.

The Badger isn’t going anywhere, though. Soberalski said LMC is “really excited” to get planning for the next season underway soon. But, she said, the company couldn’t do it without its passengers.

“We really appreciate all the passengers that sailed with us and keep our legacy alive,” Soberalski said. “Our passengers are amazing. … We’re just so fortunate to have all those repeat people come back, (and even see) a lot of new faces this year.”

The Detroit News

Read the full story here: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/10/17/lake-michigan-carferry-new-owner-ss-badger-smooth-sailing/119057548/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR159UFE_6DQC2xbLquFj8AmySllVgp6gU7mSkoJrEeWUc4VRZbXS75ksVo#Echobox=1634479879

Ferry Chi-Cheemaun heads for Thunder Bay shipyard

Sault Ste. Marie, MI – The Georgian Bay/ Manitoulin Island ferry Chi-Cheemaun was upbound Monday late afternoon for Thunder Bay, ON,, where she will  receive her five-year inspection.

David KLaye

“Bottled Goodbyes” topic of NMGL Oct. 20 lecture

Toledo, OH ­– Join the National Museum of the Great Lakes (NMGL) this Wednesday, October 20, at 7 p.m., for the beginning of their annual fall lecture series featuring “Bottled Goodbyes” – a conversation exploring famous messages that have floated ashore. Presented by Ric Mixter and based on his newest book Bottled Goodbyes – Messages from Shipwreck and Aviation Disasters, the lecture tells tales from the Great Storm of 1913, to the development of the radio (which ultimately led to a decrease in bottled messages).

View the flier at the bottom of this page for details.

“Boo on the Boat” Halloween tradition continues at the National Museum of the Great Lakes

Toledo, OH – Beginning Friday, October 29 through Halloween Day, the National Museum of the Great Lakes (NMGL) invites visitors to trick-or-treat aboard two of Toledo’s most historic haunts – the Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship and the Museum Tug Ohio.

View the flier at the bottom of this page for details.

Mark W. Barker construction update update

Steel production, capacity utilization fall

Great Lakes steel production fell by 11,000 tons last week, while U.S. steel mills dipped under 85% capacity utilization, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

National steel output is more than 20% higher than at the same time last year, when steel mills sunk to just over half-capacity early in the coronavirus pandemic. With strong demand and soaring prices, the mills have been operating at more than 80% capacity this year.

Steel mills in the Great Lakes region, clustered mainly along the south shore of Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana, made 638,000 tons of metal in the week that ended Oct. 9, down from 649,000 tons the previous week.

Overall, domestic steel mills in the United States made 1.858 million tons of steel last week, down 0.7% from 1.872 million tons the previous week, and up 19.9% compared to 1.549 million tons the same time a year prior, when the onset of the coronavirus pandemic shut down auto plants and other factories, greatly depleting the demand for steel.

So far this year, domestic steel mills in the United States have made 73.26 million tons of steel, a 20.2% increase compared to the 60.93 million tons made during the same period in 2020.

U.S. steel mills have run at a capacity utilization rate of 81.2% through Oct. 9, up from 67.1% at the same point in 2020, according to AISI.

Steel capacity utilization nationwide was 84.2% last week, which was up from 70.1% at the same time a year ago and from 84.8% a week prior.

Steel production in the southern region, a wide geographic swath that encompasses many mini-mills and rivals the Great Lakes region in output, totaled 768,000 tons last week, down from 774,000 tons the week before. Volume in the rest of the Midwest dipped to 191,000 tons, down from 196,000 tons the week prior.

NW Indiana Times

Port of Green Bay largely unaffected by supply chain issues

Green Bay, WI – While supply chain issues ravage various industries and aspects of life as the world tries to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders at the Port of Green Bay say they have not seen the same issues due to the type of traffic the westernmost port of Lake Michigan receives.

“Almost all the commodity movement into the Port of Green Bay is bulk material intended for industry use,” Mark Walter, business development manager for Brown County Port & Resource Recovery said. “We do not have any container traffic into Green Bay or even much of the Great Lakes at this point.”

The Port of Green Bay is one of 14 ports along the Fox River that handle more than two million tons of cargo annually. They handle mostly bulk material such as “coal, limestone and salt, bulk liquids like petroleum products, liquid asphalt and tallow, and break-bulk commodities including wood pulp and forest products in addition to oversized cargo like machinery and wind components,” according to the Port’s website.

NBC 26

Great Lakes’ shipping’s ‘untapped potential’: Duluth-Superior port sees opportunity in crisis

Duluth, MN – The Duluth Seaway Port Authority has announced it will begin accepting maritime cargo containers at its Clure Public Marine Terminal for the first time.

Until now, the Port Authority and its multimodal service with Lake Superior Warehousing, Duluth Cargo Connect, could only handle cargo containers moving through the terminal on rail and truck, not off ships.

“Being able to receive containers by ship makes us only the second U.S. Great Lakes port able to do so, and the only one west of Cleveland,” Port Authority Executive Director Deb DeLuca said.

DeLuca said the Port Authority had to meet regulatory requirements, beginning the process in the middle of 2020, while also building out aspects of its facilities, in order to gain the ability to accept cargo containers.

The news this week, exclusive to the News Tribune, comes at a time when cargo containers loaded aboard massive ships are bottlenecked in places around the globe, particularly at ports along the West Coast of the United States.

“There’s untapped potential to use this marine highway in a way that would benefit North America,” DeLuca said, referring to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, which connects Duluth to the rest of the world.

In September, a team of University of Wisconsin-Superior Transportation and Logistics Management students toured the port at Long Beach, California, during an annual multimodal conference.

They saw the backlog of ships up close. Senior Kayleigh Seagraves recalled this week how there were so many vessels that some were circling in deeper water, unable to anchor because of there were so many backed-up ships already at anchorage depth.

On the topic of the port of Duluth-Superior taking in container cargoes, DeLuca said the port “is capable of being a relief valve for supply chain pressure.”

“It could play a strong role in providing North America with a stronger, more diverse and resilient supply chain,” she said.

But the Great Lakes won’t be able to handle the massive “Panamax” containerships, so named for their ability to transit the Panama Canal. Instead, the familiar foreign vessels that transport grains, project cargoes, and windmill components to and from the local port will be the ones involved in carrying any containers in or out of the Twin Ports.

And because the Port Authority couldn’t advertise itself as a maritime cargo container port until this month, it’ll take time to present the Clure terminal as a viable option for movers of container-shipped goods in the Midwest.

“We’re looking into how that will fit into the supply chain,” DeLuca said. “It’s very exciting. We’re efficient, we’re uncongested, and we offer direct access to the Midwest and North American heartland.”

Read the full story here: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/transportation/7223187-Great-Lakes-shippings-untapped-potential-Duluth-Superior-port-sees-opportunity-in-crisis?fbclid=IwAR3mh1o0Sx-DGpAeGo0Qas0kH4e0NbqBVoygfBOB0s_wlO_KU2r5u6uewJk#.YWnPdhn1EYI.facebook

USCG helicopter medevacs crewman from Mchipicoten

Sault Ste. Marie, ON –  Coast Guard helicopter picked up an ailing crew member of the lake freighter Michipicoten, delivering them to Sault Area Hospital shortly before 10 a.m. on Thursday.

The Canadian-flagged Michipicoten was on the water in northern Lake Huron when the Coast guard was called to medivac them from the vessel. The aircrew used a basket to hoist the crew member from the 680-foot freighter to the helicopter was flown out of Air Station Traverse City.

The crew member was taken to Sault Area Hospital for treatment. The crew member’s condition was not disclosed.

Soo Today

2021 Marine Mart Saturday in St. Clair Shores, MI

The 2021 Marine Mart, sponsored by Dossin Great Lakes Museum, will be Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the VFW Post in St. Clair Shores, MI. Buy, sell and trade photos, books, models, artwork and other Great Lakes memorabilia. There will be a special table where photos by the late Jim Hoffman and other items from his collection will be sold to benefit the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. Food will be available. See the ad in the photo gallery for details.

Great Lakes iron ore trade up 38.8 percent in September

Cleveland, OH – Shipments of iron ore from U.S. ports on the Great Lakes totaled 5.4 million tons in September, an increase of 38.8 percent compared to a year ago.  Shipments were a near match to the month’s 5-year average.

Year-to-date the iron ore trade stands at 37.4 million tons, an increase of nearly 32.8 percent compared to the same point in 2020. Through September iron ore loadings were 3.9 percent above their 5-year average for the first three quarters.

Lake Carriers Association

Hollyhock leaves Port Huron for Duluth mission

Port Huron, MI – Visitors to Pine Grove Park might notice a regular fixture missing — but it’s only temporary. This week, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock departed to work the waterways in Duluth, Minnesota, for several weeks while USCGC Adler is undergoing its midlife maintenance period.

“We will visit Duluth, and work buoys around Isle Royale, Ashland Harbor, and Chequamegon Bay,” Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Brickey, the ship’s captain, said in an email. “The transit up the St. Marys River and through the locks is fantastic, and the crew is eager to be working buoys in (Lake) Superior again.”’

Earlier this year, the crew of the Alder, which typically works many of the Lake Superior buoys, took the ship to the Coast Guard yard in Baltimore, Maryland, for an extended midlife maintenance period.

Hollyhock’s trip will take approximately two weeks, Brickey said. In November and December, the ship will return to Port Huron to work its traditional aids in Lake Huron and the St. Clair River.

Times Herald

DTE to retire coal use at Belle River Power Plant in 2028, two years earlier than planned

St. Clair, MI – DTE Energy Co. said Wednesday it will stop burning coal in its Belle River Power Plant in St. Clair County’s China Township in 2028, two years earlier than originally planned, in response to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency policy change.

The move, according to the Detroit-based utility company, means it can accelerate its timeline for achieving 50% reductions in carbon emissions. It now expects to reach that target by 2028 instead of 2030.

“A key part of DTE’s Clean Vision Plan involves the sequential retirement of our coal plants,” DTE Energy CEO Jerry Norcia said in a statement. “By making this important generation decision now, DTE continues to be proactive in improving our reliability, addressing the expanding needs of our customers and accelerating our journey to cleaner energy generation that is affordable for the customers and communities we serve.”

What the move means for the future of the plant itself has not yet been determined. DTE said it is evaluating whether it would be feasible to convert the plant to a cleaner energy source such as natural gas. More information on that assessment will be available in future regulatory filings, the company said.

The Belle River plant, which dates to 1984, employs about 200 people. DTE said it will not lay off anyone in connection with the retirement of coal. It expects some employees who work there will retire in 2028, and others will be given opportunities elsewhere in the company.

“DTE intends to deliver on this commitment through several measures that include collaborating with union leadership, workforce re-skilling and employee redeployments,” the company said in a news release.

“I can say with absolute certainty that all 200 employees that would be impacted by a closure of this plant will have other opportunities within DTE,” Trevor Lauer, president of DTE’s electric company, told The Detroit News.

Lauer said the move to retire coal use at Belle River was prompted by the EPA’s Steam Effluent Limitations Guidelines rule, which has implications for how the company uses water at the plant. To keep in compliance with the guidelines, he said, DTE would have to invest about $55 million, which the company decided did not make sense since coal use there already was scheduled to end in 2030.

“This plant is … an important asset for grid stability. It’s an important asset so we can continue to add more renewables into the mix. And if I have the plant operating, I can do that easier than having the plant not operating,” he said. “So I will retire it off of coal by 2028 at the absolute latest; if I can switch it to a cleaner-burning fuel before then, that’s something we are going to study and try to understand.”

Still, if the plant were to be put back into production with a cleaner fuel, it would require only about 40 employees, so finding employees jobs in other parts of the company still would be necessary, Lauer said.

The Detroit News

Soave to sell Detroit scrap metal business to Cleveland-Cliffs in $775 million deal

Detroit, MI – Steel making giant Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is entering the ferrous scrap business with the purchase of Detroit-based Ferrous Processing and Trading Co. from Detroit-based Soave Enterprises Inc. in a $775 million deal.

The acquisition, announced Monday, marks the Cleveland-based steel manufacturer’s entry into scrap materials. It is expected to clear regulatory approvals in the fourth quarter, according to a news release.

The deal gives one of the largest domestic steel companies in North America control of one the largest processors and distributors of ferrous scrap. As the largest supplier of steel to the automotive industry, Cleveland-Cliffs’ move into scrap would allow it to buy back material directly from clients and cut the middlemen, Lourenco Goncalves, president and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, said in the release.

“The acquisition of FPT will enhance our ability to buy back prime scrap directly from our clients, cutting the middlemen and improving the margin contribution from scrap for both Cleveland-Cliffs and for the manufacturing and service center clients that will be able to sell scrap directly back to us,” Goncalves said.

Ferrous Processing and Trading was founded in 1961 and acquired by Detroit-based Soave Enterprises LLC, the holding company for multiple businesses run by President and CEO Anthony Soave, in 1997.

For the past year, Cleveland-Cliffs has tapped into an unprecedented demand for steel brought on by the unexpectedly speedy reboot of manufacturing plants in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Scrap demand has also soared as a result.

“With all the new flat-rolled (electric-arc furnace) capacity coming online in our market over the next four years, prime scrap will only become more and more scarce,” Goncalves said.

Crain’s Detroit Business

2021 Marine Mart Saturday, Oct. 16 in St. Clair Shores, MI

The 2021 Marine Mart, sponsored by Dossin Great Lakes Museum, will be Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the VFW Post in St. Clair Shores, MI. Buy, sell and trade photos, books, models, artwork and other Great Lakes memorabilia. There will be a special table where photos by the late Jim Hoffman and other items from his collection will be sold to benefit the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. Food will be available. See the ad in the photo gallery for details.

WW2-era Great Lakes freighter’s final port is Canadian scrapyard

Sault Ste. Marie, ON – The freighter Mississagi made its final voyage this week up Lake Huron to a scrapyard in Canada, where she’ll be cut up and recycled after a 78-year career hauling bulk cargo around the Great Lakes.

Boatwatchers converged on the St. Clair River and St. Marys River this week as the Mississagi departed under tow from Sarnia, Ont. on Friday, Oct. 8 and arrived at the Purvis Marine scrapyard in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. on Sunday, Oct. 10.

The Mississagi was among the last ships of its era on the Great Lakes. Launched amid World War II, the 620-foot ship would have been eligible to collect social security checks about 15 years ago were it a person.

“She was a busy boat right up to the end,” said Roger LeLievre, editor and publisher of the annual “Know Your Ships” guide to Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway boat-watching.

“She hauled a lot of salt in her final years, which really does eat away at the innards of those things,” he said.

Read more and view a photo gallery at this link: https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2021/10/ww2-era-great-lakes-freighters-final-port-is-canadian-scrapyard.html

Kingston coal dock undergoes survey in preparation for cruise ships

Kingston, ON – A former industrial dock that is being converted to a temporary deepwater berth for Great Lakes cruise ships has undergone a detailed survey by the federal government.

The Canadian Hydrographic Service, a division of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, conducted the survey of the former coal dock near the former Rockwood Asylum. Attracting Great Lakes cruise ships was a key part of the city’s strategic priorities and Tourism Kingston’s multi-year plan to improve the local tourism sector.

“Kingston’s location where Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River meet, and situated between Toronto and Montreal in the Thousand Islands, makes the city an ideal stop for a Great Lakes cruise,” Megan Knott, executive director of Tourism Kingston, said. “With a safe and welcoming dock capable of hosting these larger ships, we know Kingston will attract new cruises and visitors and become a desirable addition to cruise itineraries.”

The creation of a permanent deepwater dock was one of the initiatives that city council voted to shelve earlier this year because of the ongoing the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey of the dock and the surrounding area generated up-to-date hydrographic data, including water depth next to the dock, that is to be used to prepare the dock to safely accommodate cruise ships

“We are pleased to be able to bring the Kingston Coal Dock back to life as a marine asset,” said Ben Doornekamp, director of H.R. Doornekamp Construction Ltd., the company that owns the dock and is partnering with Tourism Kingston to create the temporary dock.

“Since we have this dock on Kingston’s showcase waterfront, we enthusiastically support Tourism Kingston in welcoming Great Lakes cruise ships to our community and the region. Great Lakes cruising is a terrific means of experiencing the wonders of eastern Ontario with guests from near and far, and will be a tremendous addition to Kingston’s superb tourism offerings.”

Great Lakes cruising is expected to resume in earnest in the spring of 2022.

“Kingston is one of the most rewarding ports of call on any Great Lakes cruise itinerary,” Stephen Burnett, executive director of the Great Lakes Cruise Association, said. “It has all of the elements necessary to deliver a first-class holiday experience and to be the perfect component on any cruise itinerary. The new deepwater mooring wall will be a significant asset for Kingston and a welcome stopping place for the Great Lakes cruise fleet.”

Whig Standard

Algoma Central fleet starts own YouTube channel

View it here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClKzHG-muSohLakgj57pahA

OBITUARY: G.I. “Buck” Longhurst, Great Lakes historian and author

Prolific marine historian and author G.I. “Buck” Longhurst passed away Oct.12 in Sudbury, ON, with his family at his side. Born in Sault Ste. Marie, ON, he sailed for the Yankcanuck and Purvis Marine fleets and retired from Algoma Steel in 2004. He lived in Gore Bay, ON., with his wife, Eldene.

Longhurst had many titles to his credit, including several books exploring the histories of smaller Canadian shipping companies, among them Purvis Marine Ltd., A.B. McLean & Sons, the Abitibi tugs, Yankcanuck Steamship Co, and “The Last Boats On the Turkey Trail,” about vessels that traveled the route from North Channel (above Manitoulin Island) into the St. Marys River, named for the many courses which zigzag through the area’s islands, shoals and ports. His usual co-author was the late E.B. “Skip” Gillham, however he also co-authored a history of Algoma Central with Rod Cunningham. Both were honored by the Marine Historical Society of Detroit as Historian of the Year, Longhurst in 2008 and Gillham in 1994.

He was also a founding member of the The St. Marys River Marine Society in Sault Ste. Marie, ON, and contributed many articles for the newsletters published by the Marine Historical Society of Detroit and the Toronto Marine Historical Society. He was a longtime member of both groups.

Buck’s pride and joy later in years was the William Purvis Marine Centre in Gore Bay, which housed his huge collection of nautical memorabilia gathered during his long career on the Great Lakes.

His love of the ships started when he was young. As a kid, I was always at the dock watching the boats unload,” he said in an interview with the Manitoulin Expositor in 2018. “I watched all day as the boats came through, the boats I’d read about.”

After high school, Longhurst went into the navy until Canada’s defense forces were amalgamated in 1965, then became a letter carrier and supervisor until 1970 when his life changed on meeting Jack Purvis on the waterfront in Sault Ste. Marie, ON.

He started working for Purvis soon after their meeting on the docks, spending years on Mr. Purvis’s small vessel Yankcanuck as a deck hand, crane operator and second engineer, earning his tug master and marine and hoisting engineer credentials as he went. In the museum, he proudly shows off the Yankcanuck’s steering column, wheel and ship’s bell below a photo of the ship as he fondly remembers it.

“I used to see all these old boats out there,” he told the Manitoulin Expositor in a 2018 interview. “With the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, all the little canal boats, the small upper lakes boats, were disappearing. I started taking photos and whenever I got a vacation I’d be at Sarnia or the Welland Canal taking pictures or getting rides on boats and taking more pictures. My hobby turned into an obsession.” As he towed ships to their final resting places in the scrapyard, he’d salvage unwanted name plaques, keys, flags, log books and brass railings to add to his growing personal collection.

He remembers the long-gone days when “supplies were hard to come by and costly. Boats got through where cars and especially trucks could not. … When I look around today I can say, ‘I dredged the marinas at Gore Bay, the Sault, at Spider Bay in Little Current. I put in the helipad at Gros Cap Lighthouse, built the Lafarge docks at Birch Island. In Gore Bay, all the boats in the marina are making use of the work I and others did; it makes the toil and hardship worthwhile. If you helped to shape the face of the area, it’s great to know your work means something.”

At his request, there will be no services.

2021 Marine Mart Saturday, Oct. 16 in St. Clair Shores, MI

The 2021 Marine Mart, sponsored by Dossin Great Lakes Museum, will be Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the VFW Post in St. Clair Shores, MI. Buy, sell and trade photos, books, models, artwork and other Great Lakes memorabilia. There will be a special table where photos by the late Jim Hoffman and other items from his collection will be sold to benefit the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. Food will be available. See the ad in the photo gallery for details.

Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center sees smaller crowds this summer

Duluth, MN – The Maritime Museum Visitor Center in Canal Park is fresh off a summer where visitors were allowed inside again to get a hands-on look at the region’s shipping history. The museum re-opened in July after being closed since the beginning of the pandemic.

Officials there say they saw roughly 20,000 visitors in September and 18,000 in August. Smaller numbers than usual, as many people are still hesitant to come inside during the pandemic. Still, they say visitors are happy to be back.

“We heard a lot of people disappointed that they weren’t able to come in. Lots of people that make annual trips up here just for the visitor center,” said Director Sara Summers-Luedtke.“So we were disappointed that we were not able to have people in at the time but we’re glad now we’re able to accept visitors,” she said.

The museum will stay open through the winter Thursday through Monday, and once the shipping season ends weekends only.

Fox 21

2021 Marine Mart Saturday,  Oct. 16 in St. Clair Shores, MI

The 2021 Marine Mart, sponsored by Dossin Great Lakes Museum, will be Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the VFW Post in St. Clair Shores, MI. Buy, sell and trade photos, books, models, artwork and other Great Lakes memorabilia. There will be a special table where photos by the late Jim Hoffman and other items from his collection will be sold to benefit the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. See the ad in the photo gallery for details.