Researchers discover site of 1893 schooner wreck in Lake Michigan in just 50 feet of water

By Forrest Brown, CNN

Published 7:40 PM EDT, Thu July 25, 2024

More than a century after sinking, the Margaret A. Muir was found in about 50 feet of water in Lake Michigan in May 2024. Shown here is a rare internal view of the her unusual stepped sternpost construction.

More than a century after sinking, the Margaret A. Muir was found in about 50 feet of water in Lake Michigan in May 2024. Shown here is a rare internal view of the her unusual stepped sternpost construction. Tamara Thomsen, State Historical Society of Wisconsin

The November 1975 shipwreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is probably the most famous one of the Great Lakes, thanks to Gordon Lightfoot’s hit ballad. But a new discovery is putting another ship – the Margaret A. Muir – on the map.

An intrepid team of maritime historians working with the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association recently located the schooner that was lost to a fierce gale on the morning of Saturday, September 30, 1893.

The Muir – a 130-foot, three-masted ship built in 1872 – was found under about 50 feet (15 meters) of Lake Michigan water off Algoma, Wisconsin, according to a WUAA news release.

It sank only a few miles off the entrance to Algoma Harbor, according to the release. It went undetected for more than a century despite hundreds of boats passing over it each fishing season.

Maritime historian Brendon Baillod, who found the ship on May 12, 2024, along with teammates Robert Jaeck and Kevin Cullen, said it’s a significant archaeological discovery.

“One of the things that’s important about this wreck is that it’s opened up – we call it ‘filet of schooner’ – where the deck came off and then the sides opened up. And we can see the architectural construction details of how a 19th-century Great Lakes wooden vessel, a schooner, was built,” he told CNN Travel.

“This is almost like somebody architecturally dismantled it to show you exactly how it was built,” he said. In addition, all its deck gear remains, including two giant anchors and hand pumps.

This is not too unusual in the Great Lakes, whose cold, fresh waters often provide an environment for preservation, according to the University of Buffalo.

Altogether, these commercially vital waters are estimated to hold the remains more than 6,000 ships going back to the 17th century, creating a mysterious and fascinating lore of which the Muir is a part.

Fighting for their lives

Like other working ships of the late 1800s, the Margaret A. Muir was part of the booming maritime trade economy of the Great Lakes, which had access to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway.

In the icy depths of Lake Superior, one shipwreck mystery is solved — but another remains

“This was … the engine that fueled the Industrial Revolution in America. All the raw goods – the copper, the iron ore, the lumber that built our cities came out of the Great Lakes via this huge freshwater freeway,” Baillod said.

The Muir “was intended primarily for the Great Lakes grain trade, although it carried many diverse cargoes, frequenting all five Great Lakes over her 21-year career,” according to the release.

On that calamitous day when the Muir’s labors ended, Capt. David Clow reported the schooner, carrying a load of salt, had cleared the Straits of Mackinac and was making its way to the Wisconsin coast. According to the release, a 50-mile-per-hour gale struck at about 5 a.m.

The ship was holding up to the sudden storm well until about 7:30 a.m. when the waves increased dramatically, with some breaking over its decks.  The vessel was nearing Algoma (back then called Ahnapee) when Clow discovered several feet of water in the hold.

Reports said he “immediately ordered the crew to abandon ship.  No sooner than the order was given, the ship lurched violently and plunged for the bottom, taking Captain Clow’s faithful dog and ship’s mascot with it,” according to the WUAA release.

Fortunately for the crew of six, they were able to make their way through 15-foot seas to the safety of shore. Townspeople spirited the freezing and soaked crew to a hotel and gave them dry clothes.

The loss of his faithful pooch was tough for Clow, though. He was reported as saying that “I would rather lose any sum of money than to have the brute perish as he did.”

Making the news of the day

The loss of the Muir was covered by major Great Lakes newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune, Detroit Free Press and the Plain Dealer of Cleveland.

In a roundup of “Marine Notes” on October 4, 1893, the Tribune reported the survivors had arrived in Chicago, and “had lost everything except what they had on.”

It also quoted Clow as saying, “I have quit sailing for the water seems to have no liking for me.” It’s understandable that he felt the lakes had turned on him. In the previous sailing season, the Tribune wrote that Clow had run the schooner A.P. Nichols on rocks at an entrance to famed Green Bay.

Demonstrating how treacherous this line of work could be, the Free Press reported the gale that took down the Muir claimed other ships as well, resulting “in a long list of wrecks being added to the remarkably heavy marine losses of the present season.”

The Muir re-emerges

The Margaret A. Muir eventually became just another name, another footnote in the vast sea of Great Lakes shipwreck history. It might have remained that way if not for the efforts of Baillod and his team.

Baillod grew up on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and his fascination with a couple of wooden hulks in Lake Superior near his house sparked a lifelong interest in the maritime history of the Great Lakes.

About 30 years ago, Baillod began compiling a database of Wisconsin’s missing vessels, he said. The Muir stood out to him as one that had a good possibility of being found.  He graded the ships on factors such as accurate accounts from survivors of where a ship went down.

“The Margaret Muir was in the top 10 because I had a very good account from her captain, and I also had really good accounts from the local newspapers because her masts were breaking the surface after she sank and she was a hazard to navigation,” Baillod said.  “She was sort of in the way of the harbor mouth a few miles out. So I had a strong inkling that I could find her.”

In 2023, Baillod approached the WUAA about undertaking a search for the Muir. A year later, it all came together.

Baillod and his team struck gold at the very end of the very first day of looking.

It was “around 4 o’clock. And as we’re pulling up the sonar, the darn wreck crawls across the screen, we caught her in the last 30 seconds that we could have.

“We were very excited to find her because we had done all this research, like I had done genealogies of the captain and of the builders and the owner and I had traced her entire career,” he said. “So it was really exciting to actually find the physical remains of the vessel itself on the bottom.”

Within weeks, thousands of high-resolution images of the site were made, the release said.

The WUAA is now working to nominate the site for the National Register of Historic Places. If it’s accepted to the register, it would join the schooner Trinidad, which the team located in deep water off Algoma in June 2023.

“The reason we look for these wrecks is we want to share them with the communities of Wisconsin because these are some of the last tangible hooks that these communities have to their maritime history,” Baillod said.

SS Badger Bans 2017-2021 Chrysler Pacifica Plug‑In Hybrids

Due to battery fire risk and safety recall, 2017-2021 Chrysler Pacifica Plug‑In Hybrids (PHEVs) are no longer permitted on the SS Badger until the service recall is completed. To check if your vehicle is affected, please visit Mopar recalls and enter your VIN.

If you were planning to sail with one of the affected vehicles, please send proof of the recall repair to info@ssbadger.com with your reservation information and we will make a note in your reservation. Otherwise, you can bring proof with you to the dock.

Failure to do so will result in denying your vehicle passage on the SS Badger.

Lake Michigan Carferry takes the safety of our passengers, crew members and vessel seriously.

On July 18th, 2024,  Stellantis, makers of the 2017-2021 Chrysler Pacifica Plug‑In Hybrids (PHEVs), issued a recall due to the risk of battery fire. Stellantis has advised owners not to recharge their vehicles or park near other vehicles or structures until the recall repairs are completed. Customers have reported smoke inhalation while the vehicles were turned off; some occurred while recharging. It has been determined the safety risks were linked to an abnormality in individual cells of the model’s high-voltage battery pack.

Lake Michigan Carferry

Andrie Inc. Bought by Rand Logistics

Editor’s note: What follows is the text of a letter from the CEO of Andrie Inc. to employees.

ILM Employees

We are excited to announce that Andrie has been acquired by Rand Logistics and will be joining the Rand platform of maritime focused companies. Rand operates a fleet of vessels, including self-unloading bulk carriers and tug/barge units and serves a diverse customer base, including steel, aggregates, and agri-food industries.

As Andrie embarks on this new chapter, I want to assure you that ILM will retain the identity, values, and culture that have made ILM successful. ILM will continue to operate as a standalone business unit, with the same leadership and management team currently in place. We will continue to uphold our mission to empower our employees to service our customers in a safe, cost-effective, and environmentally sound manner.

At the same time, we will embrace the opportunities and challenges that come with being part of a larger organization. We will strive to learn from our new colleagues, share our best practices, and collaborate on solutions. We will continue to strive to exceed the expectations of our employees, customers, partners and stakeholders by delivering safe, high-quality, and reliable services.

Sven Christensen
President

H. Lee White Has Possible Loading Issues at Marquette

Don’t Write Off Michipicoten Just Yet

New Lock project on schedule, if funding keeps flowing

The New Lock project in Sault Michigan will be completed and open to shipping in 2030 as long as U.S. federal government funding keeps flowing in a timely manner to the crucial megaproject.

Officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District’s New Lock at the Soo project brought stakeholders and the media up to date on the project in a webinar held Tuesday. The U.S. government approved the New Lock project in America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.

The New Lock at the Soo project is being built in three phases:

• Phase 1 – upstream approach channel deepening to accommodate larger ships passing through the new lock (2018-2021)
• Phase 2 – construction of new upstream approach walls and related infrastructure (2021-2024)
• Phase 3 – Construction of the new lock (2023-2028)

Phase 2 is 95 per cent complete. Phase 3 — construction of the New Lock — got underway in July 2022 and crews are busily working as project officials continue to rely on U.S. government funding to complete the project.

Construction work in 2024 has focused on dewatering the construction site, electrical work, constructing a new bridge to a new power plant, demolition of the old Sabin Lock, filling up the old Davis Lock chamber and excavating bedrock in order to start pouring concrete for the new lock’s walls this fall, officials said Tuesday.

The site’s MacArthur Lock is still operational and can accommodate smaller vessels but only the Poe Lock is able to accommodate the 1,000-foot-long ships that transport millions of tons of iron ore from mines in Minnesota and northern Michigan to steel mills along the Great Lakes.

Crews are actively trying to keep the Poe Lock running while the new lock is being constructed.

“The Poe Lock is currently operating on borrowed time. It’s a 55-year-old lock with a 50-year lifespan and it’s the Achilles Heel of our nation’s supply chain of iron ore,” said Mollie Mahoney, New Lock project manager, at Tuesday’s webinar.

“It’s estimated that within a two-to-six-week unscheduled outage of the Poe Lock, 75 per cent of our nation’s high-strength steel production would cease. That would shut down automobile, appliance and heavy equipment manufacturing across our entire nation. A six-month unscheduled outage would result in 11 million jobs lost and a $1.1 trillion economic impact,” Mahoney said.

Maintenance work on the Poe Lock will continue into 2025, including replacement of some of its components, officials said.

The New Lock at the Soo is being built where the Sabin Lock once was and will be the same size as the Poe Lock (1,200 feet long, 110 feet wide and 32 feet deep).

The New Lock project has been funded in the amount of $1.967 billion (USD) to date.

Officials say that despite the entire New Lock project having been approved there are several rounds of waiting on bundles of government funding to be okayed by Congress in order for the project to be done by 2030.

“The next step really is to continue to work through the budgeting process which is an appropriations process in Congress,” said Kevin McDaniels, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District deputy engineer.

“Both the House and the Senate have committees that work on those and there’s also a President’s budget. The President submits a budget, makes its way over to Congress, both the House and the Senate will do an appropriations bill and eventually go to conference to seek resolutions of those. Really at this stage of the game there’s no more authorization needed, it’s just going through competing with all the other priority projects across the country,” McDaniels said.

While $1.967 billion has been approved so far, McDaniels estimated the final price tag for the New Lock will be around $3 billion (USD).

“Estimates are good at one specific point in time but we do think that if we were to find additional (Congressional) funding our current cost estimate would probably be a little bit under the $3 billion mark. At this point in time we’re looking at, if we stay on track, probably in the $2.9 billion range,” McDaniels told SooToday.

The existing Poe Lock will continue to operate alongside the new lock long-term after the New Lock opens, McDaniels said.

Soo Today

Register now for 411-mile Great Lakes relay swim on ill-fated Edmund Fitzgerald route

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – Registration is now open for a relay swim event that will mark the 50th anniversary of the tragic shipwreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Open water swimmers are invited to participate in the Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim on July 26, 2025.

The 17-stage, 411-mile relay swim begins in Lake Superior, where the shipwreck lies, and ends in Detroit, the ship’s intended destination. The event will be the subject of a documentary film.

Seventeen teams of 4 relay swimmers each will symbolically complete the ship’s intended route and cargo delivery. Iron ore pellets – which come from the same dock in Superior, Wis., where the ship took on its last load – will be passed between the participants and delivered to dignitaries in Detroit.

The event is organized by Jim Dreyer, who is known for swimming across all five Great Lakes.

“The Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim presents epic, once-in-a-lifetime experiences for up to 68 swimmers to be part of history, play a role in a documentary film, and swim where no one has ever swum before and may never swim again,” Dreyer said.

The swim is tentatively planned to begin at the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck site, starting with a memorial ceremony. It will conclude at Belle Isle in Detroit where dignitaries will receive the iron ore pellets. The bell at the Mariners’ Church of Detroit will then ring 29 times – once for each man who died aboard the ship – just as it did 50 years before.

Participants will swim the St. Marys River, the entire length of the St. Clair River, and across the open waters of Whitefish Bay, Lake Huron between Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas, the mouth of Saginaw Bay, and Lake St. Clair.

Swimmers will raise funds for the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) to preserve the Whitefish Point Light Station.

“The Edmund Fitzgerald has come to represent, in many ways, shipwrecks in general on the Great Lakes, and the Whitefish Point Light is the most important beacon for all vessels entering or leaving Lake Superior,” said Bruce Lynn, GLSHS executive director. “Preserving the legacy of the 29 men who lost their lives in this historic maritime tragedy and helping to preserve a lighthouse that safeguards mariners along Lake Superior’s ‘Shipwreck Coast,’ are causes the swimmers can really rally around while they are themselves making history.”

The 729-foot Edmund Fitzgerald was bound for Detroit carrying over 26,000 long tons of iron ore when the ship went down in a violent Lake Superior storm on Nov. 10, 1975. All 29 crew members died in the wreck. The ship lies in Canadian waters, 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point.

M Live

Potash Leads the Way as Marine Shipping in 2024 Maintains Consistency

As the 2024 marine shipping season on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway progresses, statistics show that movements of potash (an agricultural fertilizer) remain up for 2024 when compared to the same period (i.e. March to June) last year. Specifically, potash traffic was up 281,000 tonnes, for a total of approximately 506,000 tonnes moved to date.

Key members of the Chamber of Marine Commerce (CMC) include Fertilizer Canada and several of its members. Fertilizer Canada represents producers, manufacturers, wholesale and retail distributors of nitrogen, phosphate, potash and sulphur fertilizers, which collectively play an essential role in Canada’s economy, contributing over $42 billion annually and employing 100,400 workers throughout the supply chain.

As the foundation of Canada’s agri-food sector, the association and its members are playing a key role in driving the economy and supporting food security.

“Canada is the world’s largest producer and exporter of potash, representing 38 per cent of global production. We export 95 per cent of our potash to over 75 countries,” says Karen Proud, President and CEO, Fertilizer Canada. “Farmers rely on Canadian fertilizer to grow healthy, hearty crops, and our industry relies on Canada’s supply chains to get our products to farmers worldwide. In recent years, Canada has increased potash production to offset the decreased output from Russia and Belarus due to sanctions and restrictions, and supply chain partners in the St. Lawrence Seaway play an important role in getting our products to international markets. Reliability in Canada’s supply chains is paramount to ensuring that farmers receive the fertilizers they need in a timely manner.”

“Looking at the volumes of vital materials moving across the continent, and all the benefits that result, we see how marine shipping and its partners move what matters to maintain a strong economy, job market, and quality of life,” noted Bruce Burrows, President and CEO of the Chamber of Marine Commerce.

“With respect to marine shipping specifically, almost 360,000 jobs and more than $66 Billion in economic activity are supported by our industry annually, and our members and partner associations make similar and substantial contributions. We are about to enter the busiest time of the marine shipping season, and CMC members across the supply chain are standing together to deliver for businesses and customers at home and all over the world – living up to our responsibility to deliver as consistently as ever, and expecting our partners in government and elsewhere to support us in doing so.”

Chamber of Marine Commerce

Victory Cruise Lines returning to the lakes in 2025 with Victory l and Victory ll

NEW ALBANY, IN – It’s a victory lap for cruise industry veteran John Waggoner, who’s bringing two ships back to Great Lakes itineraries in 2025 with ports including Toronto and Montreal.

Waggoner, who founded American Queen Voyages (AQV), bought Ocean Voyager and Ocean Navigator from auction in early 2024 after the ships were put up for sale in the wake of AQV’s bankruptcy proceedings. AQV had acquired Victory Cruise Lines in 2019.

AQV sold Ocean Navigator and Ocean Voyager in June 2023. And then everything came to a halt in February 2024 when Hornblower announced bankruptcy proceedings for AQV and the immediate end of its cruises.

The two vessels will revert back to their Victory Cruise Lines names Victory I and Victory II.

Victory Cruise Lines is focused on all-inclusive, small ship cruising. Reservations for the 2025 inaugural season are now open.

Comprised of the 190-guest Victory I and Victory II, these ships were purpose-built in Jacksonville, FL, to cruise on all five Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and the French-Canadian Maritimes.

The size and maneuverability of these ships are perfectly suited for coastal cruising in this region, says Waggoner. Cruising connoisseurs can celebrate the christening celebrations of Victory I in Toronto on April 27 and Victory II at Chicago’s Navy Pier on May 12.

“As long-time enthusiasts of maritime adventures, my wife Claudette and I are thrilled for the team to open reservations of the inaugural season and we prepare to sail these magnificent waters,” says Waggoner, Victory Cruise Lines Chairman and founder. “Our cruise experience will offer many special touches, including being the only cruise line to dock at Chicago’s Navy Pier, and most of all, our ships will be a home away from home exploring all five Great Lakes.”

Victory Cruise Lines will mark the inaugural season with a special New England & Canada 2025 Reunion Cruise Portland to Toronto departing April 16, 2025.

Hosted by the Waggoners, the 10-night cruise through the St. Lawrence Seaway and Canadian Maritimes will reunite friends from past voyages featuring notable guest entertainers, Phil Westbrook, and Greg and Lindy Pendzick.

Waggoner notes that Victory Cruise Lines is the only coastal cruising product on the Great Lakes that docks at Navy Pier in Chicago.

Victory Cruise Lines will offer 36 voyages on the Great Lakes in a single season, and the most coastal cruises in a single season that hit all 5 Great Lakes in one cruise, 33 voyages. Details at https://www.greatlakescruises.com/victory-cruise-lines.html.

Travelweek

Bill Shepler, co-founder of Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry, dies at 92

MACKINAW CITY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) — Bill Shepler, the co-founder of Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry, has died at the age of 92.

Bill’s son Chris Shepler, who is the company’s current president, said there’s been an outpouring of public support from friends and customers across the country.

Chirs said his father was still walking around and making his own breakfast three weeks before his passing.

“He never asked anyone to do something that he wasn’t willing to do right beside you,” Chris said. “So, if you were to take an overall picture of my father, I think that’s what stands out to me, other than being the most awesome dad.”

The entrance to Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry in Mackinaw City, Mich., is pictured in this July 19, 2024, photo. (UpNorthLive News)

“He’s probably wondering why the hell I’m not at work right now and why I wasn’t at work yesterday during his passing, but that would be my father. ‘Don’t worry about me, I’m fine, go do what you got to do,'” Chris said.

Chris said the family is still working on memorial plans.

A ‘time capsule’ shipwreck off Algoma in Lake Michigan is named a national historic place

The Trinidad, which sank in 1881, is considered important because it’s one of the very few wrecks in Wisconsin waters that’s remained intact
Christopher Clough

Green Bay Press-Gazette

ALGOMA – One of the most intact, and therefore most important, shipwrecks in Wisconsin waters now has joined the National Register of Historic Places.

The wreck of the 157-year-old, 140-foot-long cargo schooner Trinidad was named to the national register July 3, the Wisconsin Historical Society announced this week, after the historical society added her to the Wisconsin Register of Historic Places on Feb. 23. Her remains lie about 9.5 miles off the Algoma shore, partially embedded about 270 feet below the surface of Lake Michigan.

The Trinidad isn’t the oldest or biggest shipwreck in the Great Lakes, but Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association president Brendon Baillod, who with fellow underwater archeologist Robert Jaeck found and identified the ship in July of 2023 after a two-year search, said it’s a very important wreck because it’s so intact after 143 years underwater, unlike most other wrecks that break up during or after sinking.

As well as the hull remaining intact, among the artifacts still on the wreck are the crew’s possessions, the dishes and other artifacts in the deck house, the bow, stern and stern deck, anchors, wheel, bell, other deck machinery and the rigging, which used wire instead of rope and thus survive instead of rotting away.

“It’s one of the most intact shipwrecks ever found in Wisconsin waters,” Baillod said in a September interview with the Advocate about discovering the Trinidad. “It’s a very significant find. … It’s like a time capsule.”

The Trinidad was built at Grand Island, New York, in 1867. It represented a class of vessels called “canal schooners” or “canallers” that was unique to the Great Lakes because they were designed to transit the locks of the Welland Canal in Ontario, bypassing Niagara Falls while carrying the maximum amount of cargo through the locks with only inches to spare.

Like other canallers, she would carry coal from eastern ports – Oswego, New York, in her case – to Milwaukee and Chicago, then return to New York with grain, a lucrative commodity at the time. But in an article for the Shipwreck World website about the discovery of the wreck, Baillod wrote that the Trinidad’s owners apparently didn’t spend much to maintain the ship, and by 1879, she was no longer fit to haul grain.
The Trinidad was bringing coal from Port Huron, Michigan, to Milwaukee when on May 10, 1881, she began leaking more than usual after passing Sturgeon Bay and sank early in the morning of May 11, so quickly that the crew had no time to gather possessions. Capt. John Higgins and the entire eight-man crew survived after an eight-hour row through Lake Michigan waves in a small yawl to the Ahnapee (now Algoma) shore, but a Newfoundland that served as the ship’s mascot was unable to escape.

According to Baillod on both the Shipwreck World and Wisconsin Shipwrecks websites, Higgins told reporters the ship might have sunk because of ice damage, but Baillod wrote, “The insurance records indicate that Trinidad did not receive any of the regular maintenance that a wooden ship requires and the vessel was essentially sailed into the bottom of the lake.”

Baillod and Jaeck didn’t immediately publicize their finding of the Trinidad but instead reported it to the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Maritime Archeology program so it could be documented and positively identified before shipwreck hunters and divers could disturb the location. After confirming the identity, they announced the discovery in September 2023 but didn’t disclose the exact location until the wreck was named to the state historic register to make sure it was protected.

State and federal laws protect this shipwreck. Divers may not remove artifacts or structure when visiting this site. Removing, defacing, displacing or destroying artifacts or sites is a crime.

The Trinidad is now the fifth vessel in the waters off either Door or Kewaunee counties named since 2023 to both the state and national registers of historic places.

The Emeline and Peoria, off the Baileys Harbor shore, and the lumber schooners Boaz and Sunshine, both in North Bay off Lake Michigan, joined the state register in 2023 and subsequently the national register within a few months. The wreck of the Pride, a 71-foot-long, two-masted schooner that was caught in a tornado and sank off Egg Harbor in 1898 before being towed to its final rest in Sturgeon Bay, was listed with the state register May 24.

For more information on the Trinidad, visit  wisconsinhistory.org  or  https://wisconsinshipwrecks.org/

Navigating a Greener Future: Algoma Central Corporation is Successful in Five Grant Funding Applications from Transport Canada’s Green Shipping Corridor Program (GSCP)

July 16, 2024

As Canada increasingly focuses on sustainable practices, the maritime sector continues to be a pivotal player in reducing carbon emissions. While marine transportation is already the most eco-friendly mode of moving goods, innovative technologies emerge as possibilities for greater improvements. Algoma is actively exploring these advancements to identify their long-term viability and feasibility for a greener future on the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway.

The Green Shipping Corridor Program (GSCP) is an integral partner in this movement, offering critical funding to projects that will drive the establishment of a green shipping corridor and the decarbonization of marine activities along the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway, and Canada’s East and West Coasts.

What does the program aim to achieve?

One of the primary objectives of the GSCP is to eliminate the obstacles that hinder the adoption of emission-reducing equipment and infrastructure. The program addresses these barriers by providing financial support for projects that:

Build capacity among Canadian vessel owner/operators with respect to their ability to identify, plan and implement next generation low carbon and zero-emission ship technology and marine fuels into their vessel operations

Remove barriers to the adoption of emission reducing equipment and infrastructure

Incentivize industry-led partnerships and investments to accelerate the adoption of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-reduction technologies and infrastructure

De-risk investments to increase the technology-readiness level of low carbon and zero-emission ship technology and marine fuels for the domestic vessel fleet

Visit: https://tc.canada.ca/en/programs/green-shipping-corridor-program to learn more about the program.

GSCP Grant Funding – De-Risking Investments in Low Carbon Technologies

Investing in low carbon and zero-emission ship technologies can be a high-stakes venture due to the significant capital required, the multi-generational assets, the unique nature of our ships and waterways, and the nascent stage of many new technologies. At Algoma, we believe research must come first. This is not to stall innovation but to ensure we get it right. Short sea shipping on the Great Lakes is unique which means the sector will require tailored solutions. The GSCP is helping Algoma research potential solutions by providing grant funding under the Clean Vessel Demonstration Stream for the following studies:

Biofuel Feasibility Study

Wind Assisted Propulsion System Feasibility Study

Shore Power Feasibility Study

Next Generation Bulk Carrier Design

Container shipping study – Articulated Tug-Barge unit

We would like to thank Transport Canada and the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport of Canada for implementing this program and providing support to the Canadian marine sector. Thank you also to Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Vance Badawey for announcing the successful grant recipients on behalf of Transport Canada and the Minister’s office and MP Chris Bittle of St. Catharines for your continued support.

As an industry, we need to find the right solutions, set a course, and see it through, together. The collective adoption of carbon reducing technologies will ensure adequate supply, cost competitiveness, and will strengthen the overall benefits of the sector.  With the support of the GSCP, the marine industry has been provided with an opportunity to drive the right innovation and implement successful and long-term advancements.

To learn more about Algoma’s environmental initiatives, progress, challenges, and the studies listed above, read our latest Sustainability Report here.    https://www.algonet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2023-Sustainability-Report_Algoma_web-1.pdf

Port of Cleveland receives $5M state grant to repair,
upgrade lakefront iron ore conveyor system

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Port of Cleveland announced Monday that it has been awarded $5 million from the state of Ohio to help upgrade a critically important tunnel and conveyor system at its Cleveland Bulk Terminal dock on Whiskey Island.

The terminal, located west of Wendy Park and east of the Westerly Wastewater Treatment Plant, receives mountains of taconite iron ore pellets from big lake carriers and enables the material to be transferred to smaller vessels able to navigate the Cuyahoga River.

Taconite is mined in the Mesabi Iron Range in Minnesota before shipment through the Great Lakes. The tunnel system is part of the transfer process onshore in Cleveland.

Pellets move connected conveyer belts and a tunnel before they’re loaded onto river carriers for transport to the Cleveland Cliffs steel plant upriver in the industrial Flats south of downtown.

The full cost of the repairs to the tunnel and conveyor system aren’t known yet, said Port spokesperson Nancy Lesic. The Port acquired the iron ore terminal in 1997 and has invested millions of dollars in its lakefront bulkhead and material handling equipment.

The Port said Monday that the original section of the terminal’s conveyor system was relocated from Lorain in 2003. It includes a concrete tunnel under massive dunes of taconite stored on the dock.

The tunnel and conveyor system were extended in 2021, expanding the Port’s capacity and allowing for taconite pellets to be blended. The original section of the conveyor system is near the end of its life and needs to be rehabilitated, the Port said.

Repairs and reconstruction will take place during at least two six-week periods from January to mid-February in 2025 and 2026, when the Soo Locks connecting Lakes Superior and Huron are shut down, the Port said.

Cleveland.com

Historic Lake Superior lighthouse sold at auction 5 years ago is available once again

SUPERIOR, WI – A historic Lake Superior lighthouse that a Californian won at auction five years ago with dreams of converting it into a quiet getaway — and possibly even a vacation rental — is now being offered for free to a government agency or nonprofit that agrees to maintain it.

The 56-foot-tall structure stands sentry at the tip of Wisconsin Point in Superior, Wis. It was built in 1913 to help guide ships into the Duluth-Superior harbor.

It’s been off the market since 2019, when Steven Broudy, who at the time was an executive for a tech company in San Francisco, agreed to buy the lighthouse, sight unseen, after winning it at auction for $159,000.

“The thing about a lighthouse that always appealed to me is, on the one hand, there’s something about staring out at a body of water that’s really calming and soothing,” he told MPR News. “And then on the other hand, I don’t know, it feels like it’s a fortress of solitude.”

But earlier this month, the U.S. General Services Administration issued a Notice of Availability for the Superior Harbor South Breakwater Light and asked for letters of interest from groups or agencies interested in maintaining the lighthouse for “educational, park, recreational, cultural, or historic preservation purposes.”

After submitting the winning bid for the historic structure, Broudy reached an impasse with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said Kris Mendez, a realty specialist for the GSA.

The Army Corps owns the third-of-a-mile long breakwater that extends out to the lighthouse. Mendez said it has long served as an unofficial playground for local teenagers.

Mendez said that Broudy wanted to control access to the lighthouse “to a point that the Corps wasn’t entirely comfortable with. And essentially, they just couldn’t reach a compromise.” Broudy also said he wanted the ability to lease the breakwater to make safety improvements to make it more accessible, but he wasn’t allowed to by the government.

Now that several years have passed, Mendez said the GSA felt it was a good time to offer up the lighthouse again, “to see if other parties might be interested.”

But before it’s offered up to the general public, it first must be made available to government agencies or educational nonprofits, under the terms of a law passed in 2000 called the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. That law mandates that government agencies and nonprofit groups get a first shot at acquiring lighthouses — free of charge — that the U.S. Coast Guard no longer needs.

“Lighthouses have a pretty active community of fans and supporters,” Mendez explained. The law allows eligible groups — often with expertise in historic preservation and the ability to marshal volunteers — to take ownership of a lighthouse and preserve it.

Last year, a St. Paul-based historic preservation nonprofit, Rethos, was awarded a nearby lighthouse in Duluth in the city’s Canal Park tourism district.

The 43-foot-tall structure, built three years before the lighthouse at the end of Wisconsin Point, stands at the tip of the north breakwater at the entrance to Duluth’s shipping canal. Rethos plans to offer tours.

The National Park Service will vet applications from would-be caretakes of the Superior, Wis. lighthouse and decide if any group has the financial wherewithal to maintain the lighthouse.

“The idea is you’re going to preserve this light forever,” said Mendez. “Because anyone who’s familiar with the Great Lakes knows that the weather can be pretty harsh. It’s like the old joke about a boat being a hole in the water you throw money into, a lighthouse can be pretty similar due to the rough weather and everything out there.”

Jim Paine, the mayor of Superior, said the lighthouse is known as “something of a hot potato.” “It’s hard to get to, very hard to maintain. So this would be a pretty big expense. I think it would be cool if somebody could open it and operate it in some way, but even getting folks out there would be tricky,” said Paine.

Letters of interest will be accepted through Aug. 5, 2024. If no group comes forward, or none is selected, then the lighthouse could again be offered for sale. But buyers beware: The U.S. Coast Guard will still need access to the lighthouse to maintain the navigational aids still housed there.

That consists of a green light that flashes every five seconds from May 1 to Oct. 20, and a three-second-long fog signal that’s blasted every 30 seconds.

Minnesota Public Radio

Source of St. Marys River pollution unknown

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI –  Coast Guard Sector Northern Great Lakes is responding to a pollution incident in the St. Marys River near downtown Sault Ste. Marie along with the Sault Ste. Marie Fire Department and Army Corps of Engineers.

At approx. 5 p.m. on Monday, July 15, Sector Northern Great Lakes received a report of an oily sheen drifting down the St. Marys River. Coast Guard Pollution Responders investigated the scene and discovered an oil sheen near the Coast Guard base as well as around the Museum Ship Valley Camp and the George Kemp Marina. Pollution Responders determined that the pollution consisted of approximately 10 gallons of an unknown oily product.

The Coast Guard is leading the response to the oil spill in close collaboration with the Sault Ste. Marie Fire Department and the Army Corps of Engineers. GFL Environmental has been hired to conduct the cleanup. A floating boom was placed in the water to contain the oil in the affected areas and absorbent materials are being used to recover as much product as possible. The source of the pollution is currently unknown and is under investigation by the Coast Guard.

Cleveland-Cliffs announces acquisition of Stelco

CLEVELAND, OH – Cleveland-Cliffs continues to expand its presence in the North American steel industry with Monday’s announcement it would acquire Canadian steelmaker Stelco.

The acquisition increases Cliffs’ steelmaking footprint and doubles its exposure to the flat-rolled spot market, with cost advantages in raw materials, energy, health care, and currency.

Stelco has two operational sites, both in the province of Ontario, including Lake Erie Works, the newest and lowest-cost integrated steelmaking facility in North America. Stelco ships approximately 2.6 million net tons of flat-rolled steel annually.

Upon closing of the transaction, Stelco is expected to continue operations as a wholly owned subsidiary, preserving the name and legacy of the business.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024, subject to approval by Stelco shareholders, receipt of regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

WLUC

New tug Minnesota christened by Great Lakes Towing Co.

Thursday was a landmark day for The Great Lakes Towing Co. as we christened our newest tug, Minnesota, and celebrated 125 years of business. We were honored to have Natalie Ronayne, Chief Development Officer for the Cleveland Metroparks, as the sponsor for Minnesota. Our fireboat Chief, previously known as Anthony J. Celebrezze, made a special appearance.

The Great Lakes Towing Company / Great Lakes Shipyard

Dredging clears the way for commercial and recreational vessels

Dredging operations are underway in Manistee Harbor. The project, funded for $581,000 will improve ship navigation through the channel, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Detroit District said in a press release last month.

The project has been contracted to King Company of Holland. King Company previously dredged Manistee Harbor in 2022 under a similar contract.

USACE was previously scheduled to maintenance dredge the harbor later in the summer, but quick coordination between staff and the contractor enabled the project to be prioritized with a June start date, USACOE officials said in the release.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources limits certain activities – including dredging – until after June 15 to protect fish spawning and habitat, as part of a policy popularly known as a “fish window.”

The project will remove shoaling, which is the deposit of sediment in open waterways that reduces the depth of the water. It is a dangerous effect because it limits the navigation channel, causing a problem because of limited water depths. When channels and harbors are properly maintained, navigation in both directions is improved because the water depth is more uniform and allows safe passage, according to

In a report from the USACOE, dredging operations not only help maintain navigable channels, but can also be done to allow for the passage of larger vessels. “Ships access the berthing areas of these harbors through navigation channels. For the prevailing drafts of commercial vessels the required depth of navigation channel varies from about 10 to 15 m (approximately 32 — 50 feet) Dredging is required to provide and maintain these depths.”

A seemingly insignificant loss of four to six feet of channel depth would result in increased transportation costs between $44,000 and $101,000 annually. If a harbor were to close to commercial vessel traffic, commodities would have to be transported by rail and truck, according to the project fact sheet provided by the Army Corps of Engineers, as previously reported in the Daily News.

While Manistee Harbor does not see vessels requiring these depths, the Army Corps of Engineers reported that on April 23, a commercial vessel attempted to enter Manistee Harbor drafting 19 feet (about 5.7 meters) but were halted due to conditions. Surveys found the harbor was unable to be passed at that draft, according to the release provided by the USACE. A notice to vessel traffic was issued that same day and continues to coordinate closely with the U.S. Coast Guard to maintain safe passage in the area.

Once a large-scale dredging project is conducted, the USACOE said routine maintenance is needed to keep sedimentation and other navigational hazards under control.

About 33,000 cubic years of sediment are estimated to be removed from the harbor, according to the contract. Funding for the project is allocated from the Fiscal Year 2022 President’s Budget (PBUD).

Dredged material will be placed along the shoreline 3,000 feet south of the southern breakwater and extend for about 2,000 feet. Some placement will occur at a 4-foot depth nearshore where the dredged material cannot be placed on the shore without disrupting the natural aesthetics of the beach or prevents public users and boats from safely traversing the area.

The project is scheduled to conclude on or before July 31.

Further South in Muskegon, a similar project was completed this spring. About 133,000 cubic yards of sediment was removed from the navigation channel in Muskegon Harbor. According to the USACOE, the Muskegon project marked the start of the 2024 Detroit District dredging season on the Western Michigan shoreline of Lake Michigan to maintain Great Lakes navigation for commercial shipping to harbors along Western Michigan.

“This early dredging project was an important effort to keep harbors free from winter shoaling and keep commercial business flowing efficiently without delay,” said Liz Newell Wilkinson, Grand Haven Resident Office resident engineer.

Spring shoaling – shifting sand and stone sediment due to wave action – caused two ship groundings in the area during the past two years, the Muskegon project press release noted. King Co. was contracted for this project as well, at a cost of $800,000, the USAEOC noted.T he project was expected to finish in late June.

Last fall, a similar project was conducted in Ludington. The Army Corps of Engineers and contractor Sault Ste Marie-based MCM Marine cleared sediment in Ludington Harbor, along the Lake Michigan shoreline. During that time period, thousands of feet of pipe moved sediment from the upstream limit of the dredging, which was near the Badger’s dock all the way south across Pere Marquette Lake to the placement area near Buttersville Campground, said Public Affairs Specialist Brandon Hubbard of the USACE Detroit District, in a previous article in the Ludington Daily News.

For this project, the contractor used hydraulic dredging pipes which eliminated the cost of transporting sediment with barges. This project addressed two goals — improving navigation and replenishing sand

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, maintains a navigation system of 81 harbors and channels joining Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, St. Clair and Erie.

Shoreline Media

Ship emergency on Lake Superior is latest safety mishap for Great Lakes freighter operator

The Michipicoten, now in Fraser Shipyards after cracking and taking on water, is just the most recent incident for Rand Logistics ships.

By Mike Hughlett Star Tribune JULY 11, 2024 — 7:03AM

Lake Superior was calm, and the Michipicoten was plying deep waters June 8 when the ship’s crew heard a loud bang.

The 698-foot freighter suddenly began taking on water near Isle Royale. The Michipicoten issued a mayday, and the U.S. Coast Guard rushed to the scene, evacuating half the ship’s 22 crew members. The vessel limped to Thunder Bay, Ontario, where inspectors found the culprit: a 13-foot crack in its hull.

“It’s really unusual to basically be out in the middle of the lake and start taking on water,” said Thom Holden, a Great Lakes shipwreck and shipping historian in Superior, Wis.

Indeed, the Michipicoten incident is a rarity on the Great Lakes: a full-blown emergency on a commercial freighter. But it was the latest of several mishaps in recent years on ships that Rand Logistics, one of the largest Great Lakes carriers, operates.

The Michipicoten’s journey

The Michipicoten’s hull cracked and the ship took on water on Lake Superior near Isle Royale. Other ships operated by the same company have had their own issues in recent years.

Jim Foster , Star Tribune  Source: U.S. Coast Guard

One Rand ship caught fire in Lake Erie in May 2023 and then burned again while docked in Ashtabula, Ohio, in March.

Two weeks later, another Rand vessel hit a navigational aid near Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., shutting down traffic in a vital shipping artery for 40 hours. Yet another Rand ship grounded near Detroit in November.

The U.S. Coast Guard deemed two other groundings by Rand ships in the past two years as “serious marine incidents.” And last summer, a Rand-owned ship leaked 1,500 gallons of diesel fuel into Lake Michigan after a hull breach in a fuel tank.

“That is a lot of incidents in a short time,” said Roger LeLievre, president of the Marine Historical Society of Detroit and publisher of “Know Your Ships,” an annual Great Lakes shipping guide.

“Rand Logistics has had an exceptionally bad first part of the year, and they have been having issues for a couple of years now,” he said

Still, the Coast Guard hasn’t found any “deeper safety concerns” with Rand’s fleet.

“There is nothing conclusive that shows a broader safety or maintenance issue for Rand or its subsidiaries,” said Lt. Phillip Gurtler, a spokesman for the Coast Guard’s Great Lakes district in Cleveland.

Rand, based in suburban Buffalo, N.Y., defended its safety record in a statement: “The safety of our employees, proper maintenance of our vessels and commitment to the environment are our top priorities at Rand Logistics.”

“We regularly conduct safety training programs for our employees and since 2020 have invested over $230 million in the maintenance and improvement of our vessels, which are highly regulated. … We adhere to all industry safety and operating standards.”

The distress call

The outcome of the Michipicoten incident could have been much worse.

The 72-year-old vessel set out from Two Harbors with a load of iron ore, destined for Algoma Steel’s big mill in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The Canadian-flagged Michipicoten was 38 miles southwest of Isle Royale when around 6:15 a.m., it began taking on water — a lot of it.

The crew reported that 300 tons of water rushed in every 30 minutes, said Lt. Joe Snyder, a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

The loud bang led the crew to initially speculate that the vessel had hit something, Snyder said, even though the Michipicoten was in water that was hundreds of feet deep.

The ship, listing to one side, issued a distress call. The Coast Guard responded with a helicopter and a boat. A National Park Service boat also came to the Michipicoten’s aid, as did the Edwin H. Gott, a big commercial ship in the vicinity.

A seafarer aboard the Michipicoten, Kent Knechtel, described “a day of pure terror” with crew members not knowing if they “would see another day.”

The crew hoped the ship’s pumps — working furiously to redistribute water — would not fail, according to Knechtel, whose wife posted his story to a Facebook page, Ship Junkies — Lakes, Locks & Rivers.

“We were very lucky the weather was on our side for a change,” Knechtel’s message said. When the hull cracked, the wind was blowing at 23 mph, waves were 1 foot high, and visibility was good, according to the Coast Guard.

“The quick response of the officers and the crew, that is a part of this story,” Holden said. “They did a remarkable job in saving themselves.”

In Thunder Bay, divers discovered a 13-foot stress fracture, ¼ to 1 inch wide running lengthwise mostly on the ship’s front bottom, Snyder said.

The Coast Guard is investigating the incident, as is Transport Canada, which regulates Canadian ships.

Other Rand ship accidents

Rand’s ships ferry bulk cargo like iron ore, limestone and coal. Many are familiar to boat watchers in Duluth-Superior.

The company operates at least 20 vessels. The ships are parceled out under a Canadian-flag fleet subsidiary Lower Lakes Towing runs, and two subsidiaries that operate U.S.-flag ships, Grand River Navigation and American Steamship.

Incidents in recent years involve ships from Lower Lakes and Grand River.The 81-year-old Cuyahoga caught fire on the Canadian side of Lake Erie in May 2023. The fire struck the engine room, and the ship lost propulsion. The Canadian Coast Guard, responding to a mayday call, evacuated eight of its 20 crew members. There were no injuries.

The Cuyahoga returned to service. It was fitting out for the 2024 shipping season at an Ashtabula dock — with both crew members and contractors aboard — when a huge fire erupted, said Ashtabula Fire Marshal Steve Chase.

The unintentional blaze caused about $30 million in damage, a fire department report said.

“We believe we dodged a much greater impact by sheer luck of timing,” Chase said.

The fire started right after lunch break, just before contract workers were to return to the ship’s ballast tanks.

“If it would have happened 10 to 20 minutes later, in all likelihood, there would have been fatalities,” Chase said. “It would have been extremely difficult to get to them before being overcome by smoke.”

The Tecumseh, another Canadian-flagged Rand ship, had an engine room fire in December 2019. The ship was motoring down the Detroit River near Windsor, Ontario, when a fuel hose assembly failed and sprayed oil on an engine, igniting the blaze, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada concluded.

Before the fire, the Tecumseh’s engines had “leaks” and “failures” in their fuel hoses, the safety board found. The board concluded that the ship had “no guidance” for the testing, inspection or maintenance schedules of its fuel hose assemblies. The board also found several other shortcomings with the vessel and its fire safety systems.

There were no injuries, and the company scrapped the badly damaged Tecumseh a few years after the fire.

Rand’s financial troubles

Established in 2004, Rand Logistics filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2018. A sinking Canadian currency had left Rand in a bind: Most of its debt was calculated in U.S. dollars, while 60% of its operating profits at the time were in Canadian dollars.

To complicate matters, the company sank $29 million into capital projects in 2019, primarily for substantial steel work on three ships. Deferring maintenance and repair on the vessels precipitated the costly project, according to a bankruptcy court filing.

A private equity group, American Industrial Partners (AIP), bought Rand out of bankruptcy and then sold a minority stake in the ship operator to another private equity outfit, Oaktree Capital Management. AIP exited its stake in Rand in February 2023.

This spring, Oaktree agreed to spin off most of its transportation infrastructure business — which includes Rand — to a new private equity firm led by two former Oaktree executives.

They will inherit a fleet that, according to Coast Guard records, has had several problems in recent years beyond fires and a hull failure.

In March, the American Mariner hit a concrete-and-steel navigational marker in the St. Mary’s River system after the ship’s steering failed. The St. Mary’s, which connects Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes, closed for 40 hours, delaying 29 ships.

In November, the American Courage ran aground for about 12 hours in the St. Clair River near Detroit, its second grounding in 18 months. In December 2022, the American Courage’s bow thruster, which provides sideways movement, failed while the ship plied the Cuyahoga River through Cleveland. The vessel hit a boardwalk. The bow thruster had failed before the incident as well.

The John J. Boland ran aground in April 2023, causing $1 million in damages. Nine months earlier, the integrated tug-barge Olive M. Moore/Menominee grounded, causing $300,000 in damages. The Coast Guard appeared to deem both “serious marine incidents” because of the costs.

As for the Michipicoten, it patched up in Thunder Bay and then sailed to Superior, Wis. There, it is undergoing further repairs in drydock at Fraser Shipyards.

Meanwhile, the Lakes shipping community is speculating on what ultimately caused the most serious marine incident on Lake Superior in many years.

“There has to be something that started that crack on the Michipicoten,” ship historian Holden said, “and once it started, it went like the dickens.”

Article, pictures & video Can be found at:  https://www.startribune.com/michipicoten-lake-superior-incident-rand-logistics-issues-coast-guard/600379928/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0XICrW8CWnZVaWUf96M1n5zmN7vde5_4L9s-QaMnhqLMbVusvGoMSi3EI_aem_0Wzb0EegWy-GF0q3uopSQA

Above average rainfall raises water levels

June, rainfall across the Great Lakes basin was above average. The wetter June brought an end to the drought conditions in the Lake Superior basin that had existed for about a year.

Monthly mean water levels for June remained above their long-term average levels on Lakes Michigan-Huron, St. Clair and Erie, while Lakes Superior and Ontario were slightly below their long-term average June levels.

Check out the most recent 6-month forecast of Great Lakes Water Levels on our new website at the following link: https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/Water-Information/Water-Management/Great-Lakes-and-Harbors/Water-Level-Forecasts/#six-month-water-level-forecasts

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District