Vermilion’s ‘Canopus’ freighter pilot house leaves port by land

Vermilion, OH ­– The “Canopus” freighter pilot house has shipped out of the port of Vermilion. The pilot house, formerly a walk-in display at the Inland Seas Maritime Museum, was scheduled to leave Vermilion the morning of June 17. A police escort was delayed, so the nautical artifact left the afternoon of June 18.

Bileve LLC is the landlord for PlasTEAK and PlasDECK, two companies that supply recycled plastic materials for boat builders such as Tiara Yachts, Boston Whaler and Formula. Owners Bill and Eve Gribble are longtime Vermilion boaters and the ship’s pilot house will become a new entrance for the business.

Read more and view photos of the move at this link: https://www.morningjournal.com/news/lorain-county/vermilions-canopus-freighter-pilot-house-ready-to-leave-port-by-land/article_095c38d6-cfa6-11eb-a1ab-bb856058756a.html?fbclid=IwAR3p7E3mR7nFXeclrsCvMmoQDF0MpNQPDmok-vyKKjmdnYi4H8ua5uOmryE

Former Straits ferry Straits Express damaged near the Dominican Republic

 The Straits Express vessel from HMS Ferries Puerto Rico, which was part of the fleet of ships that serve the islands, had an accident on the high seas, near the Dominican Republic, and never arrived for the date on which the Maritime Transportation Authority (ATM) was getting ready to receive it, confirmed the agency itself.

Sources from El Nuevo Día revealed that on June 9, a strong wave in the Atlantic Ocean lifted the ship and when it fell back to the surface its hull broke, causing water to enter the interior of the boat.

However, the executive director of the ATM, Jorge Droz , stated that he does not know the details of the accident, since the only statements he has received from the private company is that the ship “suffered damage.”

According to Marine Traffic, the ship left the port of Turks and Caicos Islands, in the Bahamas, but made an emergency stop at Puerto Bahia in Santo Domingo, where it is docked.

Straits Express would be one of the four vessels that HMS Ferries promised to bring to Puerto Rico to expand shipping between Vieques and Culebra with the big island. “There were four cargo and passenger ships: three cargo and passengers, and one passenger. This was the passenger that was on the way. I already received Lady Eve, about 10 or 15 days ago, and this was another of the boats that was on the way, ”said Droz.

The official assured that the damages, if any, confirmed by the Coast Guard in Straits Express will be the responsibility of HMS Ferries, so the ATM does not have the duty to pay for any repairs, according to the contract signed through a Public Private Alliance (APP).

elnuevodia.com

Algoma Spirit sold for scrap

Sold to be demolished in Turkey is the laker Algoma Spirit, inactive in Montreal since January 4. It will go on its own after a flag change and probably a name change as well.

Bruno Boissonneault, René Beauchamp

US Coast Guard cutter Alder leaving Twin Ports; Spar will replace

Duluth, MN – The announcement Friday amounted to a swap of assets — with the Alder heading for a year of maintenance and then permanent residency in San Francisco, while USCG cutter Spar will be bound for Duluth in spring 2022.

The United States Coast Guard cutter Alder will depart Duluth and sail under the Aerial Lift Bridge for the last time in July, the Coast Guard announced Friday.

After spending over 16 years homeported in the Twin Ports, Alder and its crew will move to Baltimore for a year of maintenance, before the vessel ultimately resides in its new homeport of San Francisco. Another 225-foot buoy tender, Spar, will replace the Alder in Duluth in spring 2022.

Upon arriving in Duluth, Spar will assume Alder’s current area of responsibility on the Great Lakes, and continue the missions of maintaining aids to navigation, domestic icebreaking, search-and-rescue and law enforcement, the Coast Guard news release said.

“Alder has been an ally to shipping interests in Lake Superior for almost 17 years, and we’ve been grateful to have her stationed in our port,” Duluth Seaway Port Authority Executive Director Deb DeLuca said in a statement reacting to the news. “These cutters and their crews are critical to maintaining the safe and efficient flow of commercial shipping on the Great Lakes. … They are truly key assets. We salute and thank Alder and her crew, and we look forward to the arrival of Spar from Alaska.”

Upon leaving next month, the Alder will transit across the Great Lakes, through the St. Lawrence Seaway, and south along the East Coast to the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, the Coast Guard news release said.

Spar, originally homeported in Kodiak, Alaska, was commissioned in August 2001. Spar maintained aids to navigation along the Aleutian Islands and the Bering Sea until fall 2020, when it departed for the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore for maintenance.

Throughout the Coast Guard, the 225-foot Juniper class buoy tenders are undergoing midlife maintenance updates, the Coast Guard said, during which critical ship systems are evaluated and extensive repairs are made. The ships are expected to continue to service aids to navigation for many years to come.

During the gap between the Alder’s departure and Spar’s arrival, it’s unclear how icebreaking will be conducted in the Twin Ports this fall and winter. The cutter Mackinaw, out of Cheboygan, Michigan, is the only heavy icebreaking asset on the Great Lakes and has made occasional stops in Duluth.

Cutter Hollyhock is assigned to Port Huron, Michigan, and could also be an option, along with possible Canadian assets. The Coast Guard office in Duluth did not respond in time for this report. Alder first arrived in the port of Duluth-Superior on Oct. 17, 2004, replacing the Sundew, which was decommissioned in May 2004.

Superior Telegram

https://www.superiortelegram.com/business/transportation/7079072-US-Coast-Guard-Cutter-Alder-leaving-Twin-Ports-for-Bay-Area?fbclid=IwAR16D-Jp8hwVNYnqfZ-jJ8vkOgLVZLb-jCR53W1cCVBvAVdJFcSrovc-YfM

Captain Henry Jackman arrives at Montreal

Montreal, QC – Algoma’s new Captain Henry Jackman arrived at Montreal on Friday.

Rene Beauchamp

Coast Guard plans to close Grand Marais station

Grand Marais, MN – The U.S. Coast Guard plans to close its seasonal station in Grand Marais by next year and will rely instead on its Duluth station more than 100 miles away for severe water emergencies. The plan is part of a wider consolidation of “redundant” Coast Guard stations that was made public last week in the federal register.

“Many stations were established at a time when boats lacked engines and were powered by oars and paddles,” the plan’s summary said. “With modern boat operating speeds and improved direction-finding technology, many calls for Coast Guard assistance can be responded to by multiple units significantly faster than when these boat stations were first established.”

Lt. Paul Rhynard, the Coast Guard’s public information officer for the Great Lakes Region, said that the station in Grand Marais is staffed only in the warmer months by just four people and a boat, all from the larger “parent unit” in Duluth, and has responded to “less than one” emergency per year over the last decade.

“They’re sort of camping out there for a summer and getting about one call a year, it just made sense to bring them back down to the parent unit in Duluth,” Rhynard said. But the plan worried Grand Marais City Council members.

In a June 9 meeting, the council and Mayor Jay Arrowsmith-DeCoux collectively decided to submit comments expressing their concerns. The public may submit comments on the plan through Aug. 3. “Your boats might be fast but not fast enough,” council member Kelly Swearingen said.

Ryhnard wouldn’t say how long it would take for a boat from Duluth to reach the Grand Marais area as a number of factors — weather and size of boat — can change those figures. But he said other agencies in the area could still provide more immediate help on the water, and the area will continue to be served by the Coast Guard’s aircraft based in Traverse City, Michigan.

Chief Deputy Will Sandstrom said the Coast Guard’s departure will mean the agency will need more training and possibly more equipment. “We’re certainly going to have to amp up the training for the big lake … (The search-and-rescue unit) train more on all the inland lakes and they do some training out on Lake Superior, but would have to get our training more up to speed with the big water,” Sandstrom said in an interview with the News Tribune.

It may also mean a bigger boat. He said they currently use “basically a fishing boat” and would look into getting “a vessel to handle the waves.” But he noted that U.S. Border Patrol now has a larger vessel stationed there that is comparable to what the Coast Guard used. “We could team up with them for resources if we know we’re responding to a big emergency,” Sandstrom said.

Sandstrom said the sheriff’s office might respond to six calls per year on Lake Superior, but most are reports of a boat that drifted from shore or an odd object in the water that might look like a person or overturned boat.

He said the last “actual full-blown emergency” on the lake was in 2014 when two men drowned near Bluefin Bay resort. That event was in December, when the Grand Marais station wasn’t staffed for the season, but 11 agencies responded, including a U.S. Coast Guard boat crew and Canadian Coast Guard plane dropping flares to help searchers see at night.

Grand Marais’ Coast Guard station, called Station (Small) North Superior, was established in 1928 and has been staffed on a seasonal basis since 1988. It sits on Artist Point near the walkway to the Grand Marais Lighthouse. According to the Coast Guard’s website, it’s responsible for the area of the lake from Taconite Harbor to the border with Canada, including Isle Royale.

Duluth News Tribune

Great Lakes’ water levels aren’t doing what they are supposed to – rise in summer

The Great Lakes are in a period of the year when their water levels usually rise. But all of the Great Lakes are not rising or just barely rising. This is a continued sign that for the current time, the Great Lakes water levels are receding quickly from the record high levels over the past few years.

Instead of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron rising this spring and so far this early summer, the lakes have actually gone down 2.52 inches. This means Lakes Michigan and Huron are actually 13.20 inches lower than a normal year’s spring rise

Read more at this link: https://www.mlive.com/weather/2021/06/great-lakes-water-levels-arent-doing-what-they-are-supposed-to-rise-in-summer.html

USS Cod submarine departs Cleveland for first time in 58 years

Cleveland, OH – For the first time in 58 years, the USS Cod submarine has departed Cleveland under tow across Lake Erie for scheduled maintenance.

At 11 a.m. Sunday, the Port Huron, MI,-based tug Manitou arrived at the USS Cod, hooked up to the 312-foot long submarine and began an 18-hour tow to Erie, PA for a drydock maintenance period. She was assisted by the Toledo-based tug John Francis. During its service, the USS Cod sank more than 12 enemy ships and was awarded seven battle stars before it officially arrived in Cleveland in July 1959.

As soon as the USS Cod was in the open channel, the submarine followed Navy traditions, including a signal from the recently restored horn to announce departure and firing a deck gun salute to the city of Cleveland.

“When we take in the lines securing Cod to the pier, the flag will be taken down at our stern and flown from the submarine’s battle gaff, or flag pole, located on the mast,” said Cod’s president Paul Farace. “All Navy ships do this when they get underway… hopefully we will not be held in place by nearly 60 years of silt accumulation at our pier.”

Normally, the USS Cod holds summer tours, but that will be put on hold for the next six to eight weeks as the maintenance is conducted.

“We hate to leave our fans and supporters for even a day, much less six weeks in our busy season, but the 78-year-old sub needs some new steel at her water line and a new high-tech hull coating system furnished in partnership by another Cleveland institution, Sherwin-Williams Paint Company,” Farace said.

The hull preservation and restoration work will take place in Erie, Pennsylvania at the Donjon Shipbuilding Company and is estimated to cost around $1 million. A signification portion of the funds is being provided by the National Park Service’s Save America’s Treasures Program, however, most of the funds will come from the USS Cod’s endowment which has been saved over the decades from tour fees and donations from citizens, veterans and corporations.

Read more and view a video at this link: https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/uss-cod-submarine-departs-cleveland-for-first-time-in-58-years

First containers leave Hamilton Port for Montreal and overseas

Hamilton, ON – Almost 300 containers were loaded onto the M/V Sedna Desgagnés at the Port of Hamilton June 12, as part of a new short sea shipping service launched by Hamilton Container Terminal (HCT) in  collaboration with Groupé Desgagnés. Bound for the Port of Montreal, this new container service was developed by HCT, in partnership with the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA Ports), Desgagnes, Federal Marine Terminals and the Port of Montreal.

“A Great Lakes container service has been a goal for our organization since we set up shop in Hamilton six years ago,” said HCT President Amandeep Kaloti. “We are thrilled to see this initiative come to life with the help of our partners at HOPA, Desgagnés and FMT.”

‘Short Sea Shipping’ refers to city-to-city container shipments using the Great Lakes as a marine-highway alternative to road-based transportation. This marine alternative has a number of advantages, chiefly a 500 per cent lower carbon footprint, along with the ability to by-pass congested southern Ontario highways. Every day, more than 10,000 trucks move goods between the GTHA and Montreal. This service proves the potential to accommodate some of that traffic on a greener, less-congested water route. Upon arrival at the Port of Montreal, most of the containers will be transloaded onto oceangoing vessels, destined for overseas markets in Europe, India and the Middle East.

The service feeds Canadian export markets for products such as steel, agricultural products and lumber. HCT also sees significant opportunity in ‘flexibags,’ a fillable insert that allows the transport of liquid commodities by container, potentially enabling exports of Canadian goods like edible oils and Ontario wine.

“As we put the pandemic behind us and begin to focus on growing our economy and trade, this service could not be starting at a better time,” said Ian Hamilton, President & CEO of HOPA Ports. “There is an appetite to consider new solutions that help us build back smarter, greener, and more efficiently. Short sea shipping on the Great Lakes has been talked about for a long time, but a number of factors have aligned now to make it work.”

This shipment is the first of what is expected to be an increasingly frequent service for container movements on the Great Lakes. This trip will be followed by other Hamilton-Montreal voyages later this year, building up to 20+ sailings in 2022. By opting to move freight originating in the GTHA through our waterways, HCT’s customers will be choosing a cost-effective, efficient and more sustainable solution than truck travel to get their goods to distant markets.

Work progressing on new Mark W. Barker at Bayship

Photos from Thursday show the aligning the final two upper and lower modules of the stern on the 639-foot-long Mark W. Barker being built at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, WI. This is the last structural module of the aft end of the ship. The accommodation and stack will be next. The name and home port have also been welded on the stern.

The Interlake Steamship Co.

‘Fingers crossed’: Here’s an update on the Erie arrival of the U.S.S. Cod

Erie, PA – Caretakers of a World War II submarine are holding their breath this weekend as their treasured relic prepares for a maintenance stop in Erie on Monday — its first voyage in nearly 60 years.

“Our stress levels are rather high,” said Paul Farace, president of the U.S.S. Cod Submarine Memorial. “Prayers are being said. Fingers are being crossed.”

The U.S.S. Cod, which is docked at Cleveland’s North Coast Harbor, and functions as a floating museum, is slated to depart Sunday via tow around 9 a.m., and arrive for drydocking at Erie’s Donjon Shipbuilding and Repair around 4 a.m. Monday.

There, workers will install a new underwater hull coating that will remedy the vessel’s pitting, a type of corrosion caused by years of saltwater and freshwater exposure.

While repairs are necessary for the Cod’s longevity, the 102-mile trip to Erie could prove hazardous for the aged vessel, Farace said. The repairs will mark the first drydocking of the Cod since 1963 in Lorain, Ohio.

Read more and view photos at this link: https://www.goerie.com/story/news/local/2021/06/11/uss-cod-lettie-g-howard-when-they-arrive-erie-wwii-submarine-tallship-tall-ship/7651182002/?fbclid=IwAR2pdXsjKU7I3PS60kad7bR3HgnEO7QV8VUM153EBuNeYUXY9fa511e-nAU

To report news please use this link: http://boatnerd.com/upload/

Year-round shipping could be coming to the Twin Ports

6/11 – Duluth, MN – The sound of the lift bridge welcoming a ship to port is common in the Twin Ports during the warmer months. Now, the University of Wisconsin Superior is studying whether it could happen year-round.

Deb Deluca, the Duluth Seaway Port Authority director, said this study would influence how they plan for the future. “We look to the outcomes as important in terms of our planning into the future because the results could have implications for business development, infrastructure investment, and for policy decisions,” said DeLuca.

The study will look at decreasing ice on the lakes due to climate change and the construction of a new lock in the Soo Locks. UWS Professor of Transportation and Logistics Richard Stewart said these changes could mean a longer shipping season.

“We may in the next 20-30 years be able to operate our ships not 10 months of the year but 11 or 12 months out of the year, especially because we won’t have the restriction of the Poe lock,” said Stewart. The study is also looking at the impacts of a year-round season, including more ships on the water.

Stewart said planning now is vital for the future. “Our highways are crowded. Railroads are crowded. We have the ability to move far, far more cargo on this Great Lakes marine highway system without being crowded,” said Stewart.

According to DeLuca, a future with year-round shipping could also mean smooth sailing for the local economy.

“This information will help us understand if we can move to a year-round system which would then grow cargo through the port, grow tonnage through the port, provide opportunities for alternative supply chain solutions which just makes our region more competitive,” said DeLuca. The shipping season currently runs from March through January. The study is expected to take several years.

CBS3 Duluth

Farewell to Nova Scotia: Theodore Too tugboat replica leaves for new Ontario home

6/11 – Halifax, NS – Theodore Too, the beloved TV tugboat, left Halifax Thursday morning, bound for a new Ontario home. The 20-metre replica of the children’s TV character was sold earlier this year to a new owner who intends to use the smiling vessel to promote the marine industry and responsible marine stewardship.

Theodore Too left Halifax, its home for the past 21 years, at 9 a.m. AT., surrounded by a flotilla of other boats. The tugboat’s new home will be the Port of Hamilton. Upon arrival, its engine will be converted to biodiesel — a symbol of the vessel’s future as a “sustainability champion,” according to new owner Blair McKeil.

McKeil said in a news release he’s arranged for the advocacy group Swim Drink Fish to use Theodore Too in educating Canadians about water conservation and restoration of the Great Lakes.

McKeil said he’s also planning to use Theodore Too to advocate for employment in Canada’s marine and shipbuilding industries.

CBC

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