Help Wanted: Isle Royale ferry seeks engineers, Oiler, deckhand

2025 “Know Your Ships” available now

Help Wanted: Isle Royale ferry seeks engineers, deckhand

2025 “Know Your Ships” available now

Gales warnings on Lake Superior send vessels to anchor

Help Wanted: Isle Royale ferry seeks engineers, deckhand

2025 “Know Your Ships” available now

Great Lakes are starting to rise but forecast to stay low into summer

The Great Lakes water levels have started their seasonal rise as the snow has melted and spring rains begin.

The typical Great Lakes water cycle has water levels going down through fall and winter on limited moisture in the cold air. The water levels typically bottom out in early March and then begin to rise. The water levels rise to a high water mark sometime in late summer, usually July or August.

The melting of the snow over northern Michigan and some heavier precipitation in March have combined to start the water level rise on the Great Lakes.

Read the whole story and view charts at https://www.mlive.com/weather/2025/04/great-lakes-are-starting-to-rise-but-forecasted-to-stay-low-into-summer.html

Icebreaking to begin near Bruce Mines, ON

The Canadian Coast Guard advises residents of Bruce Mines, ON, that the USCGC Neah Bay will carry out icebreaking operations in the area on or around April 16, 2025. The purpose of this operation is to break up the ice to allow commercial vessels safe and efficient movement. It is recommended that all traffic on the ice, including pedestrians, fishers, snowmobilers, and all-terrain vehicle operators, leave the ice during icebreaking operations. The ice may move, creating a real danger for anyone on it. Additionally, plan activities carefully and use extreme caution after operations are complete as the ice will remain unstable even once the icebreaker has left the area.

The date and assets are subject to change with no notice, as activities could begin before or after that period, depending on operational requirements or weather conditions.

Canadian Coast Guard

Toronto launches new fireboat to boost waterfront safety

TORONTO, ON – Toronto Fire Services has taken a significant step toward modernizing its marine emergency response capabilities with the introduction of a new fireboat. This cutting-edge vessel will replace the aging William Thornton, a 1982 former Canadian Coast Guard ship that has served as the city’s secondary fireboat.

Though the William Thornton has been reliable in providing medical response and assisting distressed vessels, it faced operational limitations. Its large wake required slow speeds within Toronto Harbour, and its limited firefighting capabilities—primarily a portable fire pump—could not keep pace with the growing demands of Toronto’s bustling waterfront.

After extensive research and planning, TFS selected the Firestorm-55, built by MetalCraft Marine in Kingston, Ontario. This 55-foot, aluminum-hulled vessel offers a blend of speed, maneuverability, and powerful firefighting systems.

The Firestorm-55 will operate alongside the William Lyon Mackenzie, TFS’s iconic primary fireboat, which has been in service since 1964. The Mackenzie underwent major refurbishments in 2004 to extend its operational life, including new propulsion and pump engines, generators, and a rebuilt wheelhouse.

While the Mackenzie remains Toronto’s primary marine response vessel, the Firestorm-55 enhances the city’s capacity to respond to growing marine emergencies and protect one of Canada’s busiest waterfronts.

Harbor dredging uncertain with Federal spending cuts

rand Haven, MI – Harbor dredging efforts along the Lake Michigan shoreline are uncertain right now with federal spending cuts. Congresswoman Hillary Scholten of Grand Rapids says this is as ports are increasingly busy. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducts dredging operations every few years in Grand Haven, Holland, Muskegon, South Haven, and St. Joseph.

 Listen to the story here: https://wghn.com/2025/04/11/harbor-dredging-uncertain-with-federal-spending-cuts/

 Anxiety increases over possibility that Duluth EPA Great Lakes lab could close

 DULUTH ‐ Anxieties are mounting that a water pollution laboratory buttressing Lake Superior’s North Shore is slated to be closed, potentially terminating work for dozens of scientists and shuttering an economic engine for northern Minnesota.

So far, no closure to the Environmental Protection Agency laboratory has been announced.

But on Tuesday, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin asking a series of questions about rumored cuts and offering a blunt warning.

“Firing career scientists and shutting down a lab that leads the nation in freshwater toxicology research would have huge impacts on Minnesota and all Americans,” wrote Klobuchar and Smith.

Molly Vaseliou, a spokeswoman for the EPA, provided the Star Tribune with a statement that the agency is taking “exciting steps” toward “organizational improvements.”

The agency did not comment if any job cuts were coming to the lab.

Last month, the New York Times reported that officials with the EPA introduced a plan to cut more than 1,000 jobs across the federal agency’s research arm as part of a cost-cutting campaign.

Anxiety has mounted in Duluth since. People protested outside the facility, worried that water quality and other environmental effects would be affected with a closure or cutback.

The Duluth laboratory first opened in 1967 as the National Water Quality Laboratory before being subsumed by EPA in 1970.

Scientists use water from nearby Lake Superior to test effects of chemicals such as PFAS on freshwater ecosystems, and also the effects of invasive species and pollution.

In total, according to the facility’s website, more than 170 people are employed at the field office, producing more than $15 million in revenue through salaries and contracts for the region.

A 2018 University of Minnesota Duluth study found the lab’s economic impact to the region then was $24 million annually, considering employee spending.

Closure of a lab that employs highly and specifically trained scientists who may not find similar work locally could force the workers to move, said Monica Haynes, director of UMD’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

Those jobs are there to fulfill a mission set by Congress in the Clean Water Act of 1972, said research biologist David Bolgrien, who retired from the Duluth EPA lab in 2022. Along with freshwater quality research, the Duluth lab helps states ensure swimmable, fishable, drinkable water. If that work is not done, it would be hard for states to meet federal criteria, he said.

Minnesota Star Tribune

Help Wanted: Isle Royale ferry seeks engineers, deckhand

2025 “Know Your Ships” available now

BNSF Allouez Taconite Facility in Superior Lays Off 31 Workers

 SUPERIOR, Wis. – Half of the employees at the BNSF Allouez Taconite Facility were laid off effective Saturday, according to the Transportation Communication Union.

Union spokespeople said Friday 31 out of 62 employees will be laid off at the Superior facility. The BNSF facility loads taconite pellets aboard lake freighters for shipment to steel mills on lower Lake Michigan.

Northern News Now reached out to BNSF about the layoffs. They released the following statement:

“As a business tied to the industrial and consumer economies, we must always adapt our resources to meet demand. To ensure our long-term success, it is necessary to make workforce decisions that respond to a complex and ever-changing freight environment.

“While these decisions are never easy, we must position ourselves to continue providing the industry-leading service our customers expect. We will continue to reevaluate our needs at this location to ensure we remain aligned with evolving market conditions and operational priorities.”

On March 20, Cleveland-Cliffs announced plans to lay off approximately 600 workers at two taconite mines on the Iron Range. The layoffs are the result of the steel manufacturer’s plans to temporarily close its Minorca Mine in Virginia and also temporarily idle part of Hibbing Taconite Co. in Minnesota.

Northern News Now

Harbor Dredging Uncertain With Federal Spending Cuts

Grand Haven, MI – Harbor dredging efforts along the Lake Michigan shoreline are uncertain right now with federal spending cuts. Congresswoman Hillary Scholten of Grand Rapids says this is as ports are increasingly busy. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducts dredging operations every few years in Grand Haven, Holland, Muskegon, South Haven, and St. Joseph.

 Listen to the story here: https://wghn.com/2025/04/11/harbor-dredging-uncertain-with-federal-spending-cuts/

Anxiety increases over possibility that Duluth EPA Great Lakes lab could close

 DULUTH ‐ Anxieties are mounting that a water pollution laboratory buttressing Lake Superior’s North Shore is slated to be closed, potentially terminating work for dozens of scientists and shuttering an economic engine for northern Minnesota.

So far, no closure to the Environmental Protection Agency laboratory has been announced.

But on Tuesday, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin asking a series of questions about rumored cuts and offering a blunt warning.

“Firing career scientists and shutting down a lab that leads the nation in freshwater toxicology research would have huge impacts on Minnesota and all Americans,” wrote Klobuchar and Smith.

Molly Vaseliou, a spokeswoman for the EPA, provided the Star Tribune with a statement that the agency is taking “exciting steps” toward “organizational improvements.”

The agency did not comment if any job cuts were coming to the lab.

Last month, the New York Times reported that officials with the EPA introduced a plan to cut more than 1,000 jobs across the federal agency’s research arm as part of a cost-cutting campaign.

Anxiety has mounted in Duluth since. People protested outside the facility, worried that water quality and other environmental effects would be affected with a closure or cutback.

The Duluth laboratory first opened in 1967 as the National Water Quality Laboratory before being subsumed by EPA in 1970.

Scientists use water from nearby Lake Superior to test effects of chemicals such as PFAS on freshwater ecosystems, and also the effects of invasive species and pollution.

In total, according to the facility’s website, more than 170 people are employed at the field office, producing more than $15 million in revenue through salaries and contracts for the region.

A 2018 University of Minnesota Duluth study found the lab’s economic impact to the region then was $24 million annually, considering employee spending.

Closure of a lab that employs highly and specifically trained scientists who may not find similar work locally could force the workers to move, said Monica Haynes, director of UMD’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

Those jobs are there to fulfill a mission set by Congress in the Clean Water Act of 1972, said research biologist David Bolgrien, who retired from the Duluth EPA lab in 2022. Along with freshwater quality research, the Duluth lab helps states ensure swimmable, fishable, drinkable water. If that work is not done, it would be hard for states to meet federal criteria, he said.

Minnesota Star Tribune

Help Wanted: Isle Royale ferry seeks engineers, deckhand

2025 “Know Your Ships” available now

New “Know Your Ships” book launch party Saturday in Algonac

The official book release event for the popular Great Lakes shipwatching field guide “Know Your Ships” 2025 will be Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Algonac-Clay Historical Society Maritime Museum, 1117 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI.

Joining Editor/Publisher Roger LeLievre and KYS crew member Matt Miner will be special guest Andrea Guerriero (DRE Designs Great Lakes Marine Products) from Sault Ste. Marie, ON. Previously announced guest Ship to Shore Chef Catherine Schmuck will no longer be able to attend.

A $5 donation at the door includes admission to the museum and earns buyers $5 off on their total purchases.

This marks Know Your Ships’ 66^th year of publication.

Know Your Ships

Help Wanted: Isle Royale ferry seeks engineers, deckhand

2025 “Know Your Ships” available now

New “Know Your Ships” book launch party Saturday in Algonac

The official book release event for the popular Great Lakes shipwatching field guide “Know Your Ships” 2025 will be Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Algonac-Clay Historical Society Maritime Museum, 1117 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI.

Joining Editor/Publisher Roger LeLievre and KYS crew member Matt Miner will be special guest Andrea Guerriero (DRE Designs Great Lakes Marine Products) from Sault Ste. Marie, ON. Previously announced guest Ship to Shore Chef Catherine Schmuck will no longer be able to attend.

A $5 donation at the door includes admission to the museum and earns buyers $5 off on their total purchases.

This marks Know Your Ships’ 66^th year of publication.

Know Your Ships

Help Wanted: Isle Royale ferry seeks engineers, deckhand

2025 “Know Your Ships” available now

CSL Niagara hits lock wall, sustains gash in bow

Early on Wednesday morning, CSL Niagara had an allision (hitting a stationary object) with the lower end of the approach wall below the Beauharnois Lock in the St. Lawrence Seaway and sustained damage to her port bow.

She was traveling in ballast for Superior, WI, when the incident happened. She was de-ballasted to get the damaged area out of the water, and shifted back to the end of the wall to enable vessels to go around her. Divers were sent to the scene. There were no reported injuries and no reason has been given for the allison.

Update:
By evening she was underway eastbound for Montreal.

Janey Anderson

Great Lakes Maritime Academy hosts open
ship event for community this Saturday

 GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, MI – All aboard! The community is invited to the Great Lakes Maritime Academy’s ‘open ship’ event this Saturday.

 Once a year the academy opens their training ship, State of Michigan, to the community for self-guided tours. This is the opportunity to interact with current maritime cadets.

 Tours will begin at 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 12.

 WPBN/WGTU

 View a video report here: https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/great-lakes-maritime-academy-hosts-open-ship-event-for-community-this-saturday-traverse-city-grand-traverse-county?fbclid=IwY2xjawJjwwlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHoMmGjH0WmV_4PrNG6COCliCUEpVScXMZ7oBoDrA2fzTe8BcCNictkTnoT7M_aem_wbWdqROcN88YahsRH2KKGg

New “Know Your Ships” book launch party Saturday in Algonac

The official book release event for the popular Great Lakes shipwatching field guide “Know Your Ships” 2025 will be Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Algonac-Clay Historical Society Maritime Museum, 1117 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI.

Joining Editor/Publisher Roger LeLievre and KYS crew member Matt Miner will be special guest Andrea Guerriero (DRE Designs Great Lakes Marine Products) from Sault Ste. Marie, ON. Previously announced guest Ship to Shore Chef Catherine Schmuck will no longer be able to attend.

A $5 donation at the door includes admission to the museum and earns buyers $5 off on their total purchases.

This marks Know Your Ships’ 66^th year of publication.

Know Your Ships

Help Wanted: Isle Royale ferry seeks engineers, deckhand

2025 “Know Your Ships” available now

Polsteam’s latest new vessel headed to Cleveland

Polsteam Okra, the newest vessel in the Polish-flagged Polsteam fleet, is headed for Cleveland on her maiden voyage into the Great Lakes. She departed Trois-Rivieres, QC, Tuesday morning.

She is one of twelve 37,000 DWT Great Lakes bulkers vessels Polsteam is building, appropriately named after lakes in Poland, to strengthen the company’s position within the Great Lakes and Seaway system. Eight will have conventional propulsion units and four will have low-emission methanol propulsion.

Thunder Bay City Council votes to scrap historic tugboat

THUNDER BAY, ON – Any hopes to see a century-old tugboat in Thunder Bay preserved have sunk after Thunder Bay City council voted to scrap the James Whalen Monday.

The Transportation Museum of Thunder Bay has been advocating to preserve the Whalen. David Muir, vice chairman and director of site and operations at the museum, made a deputation to council pitching the idea of keeping just the top part of the boat– but to no avail.

“I’m upset by it because we’ve invested so much time trying to make this work,” said Muir.

After the historic tugboat sank in 2022, the City awarded a nearly $800,000 contract to lift it out of the Kamanistiqua river. Council previously voted last Fall to preserve parts of the tug, and recycle the rest. It changed course after receiving higher-than-expected bids on the tender for preservation and recycling.

Muir said preserving the top deck would add an extra $120,000 to the cost, but that the museum would eventually pay back the difference to the City.

“We can make it a land-based attraction that the public tourists, of which we had 6000 last year, visit and the various schools in Thunder Bay and region can actually get the feel of being on the Whalen,” said Muir.

Current River Ward Councillor Andrew Foulds said many are unhappy the historic boat won’t be preserved.

“I think it’s very easy to point fingers and blame. I just think it’s sad and unfortunate,” said Foulds.

Foulds said he put forward a resolution to save and display up to $20,000 of provisional items recognizing the story of the Whalen, but it was defeated.

“There’s the enormous cost to recycling it and there’s not really that many options,” said Foulds.

Dealing with the fate of the tugboat has been a frustration for council, he said.

“I appreciate the situation and I know there is a lot of documenting and pictures being taken and you know, we’re going to do the best that we can in protecting some of that legacy,” Foulds said.

The cost to recycle the boat is approximately $580,000.

CBC

Efforts underway to preserve Coast Guard
Lookout #4 on St. Marys River

SAULT STE. MARIE. MI – There’s an effort underway in Chippewa County to preserve a piece of maritime history along the St. Marys River.

The turn of the 20th century was a busy time on the St. Marys. Shipping traffic was getting heavy, so lookout stations were built to help those ships safely navigate the river,

“A lookout station was just a building on a tower that was manned, and they were connected to the Corps of Engineers Soo Locks by telephone cable and when the boats went by, they would report that passage to the locks so they would have some idea of the traffic that was coming through. Part of the time too, they would use that service to relay instructions from the ship owner to the captain. So the captain might come out and put his megaphone to his ear and the ship owner might have contacted the people at the lookout station, and he’d yell ‘go to Duluth,’” explained Great Lakes Photographer/Marine Historian Roger LeLievre said.

But newer, more modern ways of communicating slowly made these stations obsolete.

“Most of these Coast Guard lookout stations were either destroyed intentionally by fire by the Coast Guard,” explained LeLievre.

Today, just one of these lookout stations remains: Lookout #4. And time certainly caught up with this more than century-old guardian of the St. Marys.

“To a lot of the islanders and to the people in Barbeau, it’s an icon of vacation; when they see the lookout, they know they’re on vacation. It tugged at our heartstrings to see a historical site, we didn’t want it to end up like all the others, which were either burned or demolished,” said Mary Schallip.

A group called Shipmates of Lookout #4 is now raising money to preserve Lookout #4 and continue telling its story.

“What I think is unique about Lookout #4 is it’s not just the last lookout standing out of 7 lookouts, but this is a collaborative effort between the Coast Guard and the Neebish Island Historical Society and Bruce Township, Neebish Island is in Soo Township so it’s really four different areas all for the same cause which I think is really unique,” said Lori Miller who lives on Neebish Island.

“The lookout station for Neebish Island is like an icon; places have their lighthouses are their icon and you see it on postcards and all that kind of promotional stuff. For Neebish Island, it’s this Coast Guard Lookout station.

The Lookout #4 Steering Committee’s next meeting is at 12:30 p.m. on April 19 at the Bruce Township History Library.

TV 9&10

View the news report video here: https://www.9and10news.com/2025/04/07/special-report-saving-lookout-4/

Great Lakes Iron Ore Trade Decreases in March 2025

CLEVELAND – Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes were below one million tons in March, a decrease of 39.1 percent compared to 2024. Loadings were also below the month’s 5-year average by 19.4 percent. 

Year-to-date, the iron ore trade stands at nearly three million tons, a decrease of 31.9 percent compared to a year ago. Iron ore shipments are 15.2 percent below their 5-year average for the first three months of the year.

Since 1880, Lake Carriers’ has represented the U.S.-flag Great Lakes fleet, which today can move more than 90 million tons of cargos annually that are the foundation of American industry, infrastructure, and power: iron ore, stone, coal, cement, and other dry bulk materials such as grain, salt, and sand.  More information is available at www.lcaships.com.

See Charts below in gallery

New “Know Your Ships” book launch party Saturday in Algonac

The official book release event for the popular Great Lakes shipwatching field guide “Know Your Ships” 2025 will be Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Algonac-Clay Historical Society Maritime Museum, 1117 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI.

Joining Editor/Publisher Roger LeLievre and KYS crew member Matt Miner will be special guest Andrea Guerriero (DRE Designs Great Lakes Marine Products) from Sault Ste. Marie, ON. Previously announced guest Ship to Shore Chef Catherine Schmuck will no longer be able to attend.

A $5 donation at the door includes admission to the museum and earns buyers $5 off on their total purchases.

This marks Know Your Ships’ 66^th year of publication.

Know Your Ships

Help Wanted: Isle Royale ferry seeks engineers, deckhand

2025 “Know Your Ships” available now

New “Know Your Ships” book launch party Saturday in Algonac

The official book release event for the popular Great Lakes shipwatching field guide “Know Your Ships” 2025 will be Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Algonac-Clay Historical Society Maritime Museum, 1117 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI.

Joining Editor/Publisher Roger LeLievre and KYS crew member Matt Miner will be special guest Andrea Guerriero (DRE Designs Great Lakes Marine Products) from Sault Ste. Marie, ON. Previously announced guest Ship to Shore Chef Catherine Schmuck will no longer be able to attend.

A $5 donation at the door includes admission to the museum and earns buyers $5 off on their total purchases.

This marks Know Your Ships’ 66^th year of publication.

Know Your Ships

Victory Cruise Lines Returning to Great Lakes This Summer

 Victory Cruise Lines is relaunching this month with Great Lakes and Canada cruises. American Queen Voyages’ founder John Waggoner is reviving the brand with two 190-passenger ships, Victory I and Victory II.

 The vessels, which were purpose-built to sail the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway and French-Canadian Maritimes, were previously owned by American Queen Voyages before it shut down last year (Waggoner was no longer involved with the company at the time). American Queen Voyages acquired Victory Cruise Lines in 2019.

 Both ships have been refurbished, and will sail popular and lesser-visited ports within North America. Many of Victory’s customers want to “wrap (themselves) in the American or Canadian flag,” according to founder and chairman Waggoner.

 “I think what we find is that a lot of our guests have traveled all over the world, and now they are looking for something that’s at home,” he told USA TODAY.

 Waggoner and his wife Claudette, who co-owns the company, will host Victory’s first cruise of the year. The 10-night cruise aboard Victory I will sail from Portland, Maine to Toronto, Canada on April 16 ahead of the ship’s christening. Victory II will be christened in Chicago on May 12.

 Victory will sail itineraries ranging from nine to 14 nights in 2025. Those include All 5 Great Lakes cruises, which visit Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior, sailing from either Chicago or Milwaukee to Toronto (or departing from Toronto).

 The 5 Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway itinerary will sail between Chicago and Montreal, while the Great Lakes & Thunder Bay cruise round-trip from Chicago includes two great lakes – Michigan and Superior – and an overnight stay in Michigan’s Mackinac Island, among other sailings.

 Stops will include Detroit and Marquette in Michigan; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Port Colborne, Ontario – giving guests access to Niagara Falls – and more. Victory will also be the only cruise line to dock at Chicago’s Navy Pier.

 The company offers a variety of excursions along the way, from a visit to the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and the Museum Ship Valley Camp, where guests can learn about the area’s history, to a behind-the-scenes tour of Lambeau Field where the Green Bay Packers play.

 “And then you hit Cleveland, where you dock right (near) the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Waggoner added. “And then Detroit, where you get to go to the Henry Ford Museum of (American) Innovation.”

 The ships will also host a LakeLorian program in partnership with the National Museum of the Great Lakes, offering lectures from historians and naturalists. Other onboard features include three dining concepts, a sun deck and a salon and spa.

 Available cruises currently start at $4,999 per person, according to Victory’s website. The fares include a pre-night hotel stay, transfers from the hotel to the ship, food and drinks onboard, a tour in each port, Wi-Fi and more.

 “What I hope (guests) take away is the grandeur and the beauty of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway,” Waggoner said.
USA Today

Help Wanted: Isle Royale ferry seeks engineers, deckhand

2025 “Know Your Ships” available now