Trump administration’s fees on Chinese-built
ships appear to spare Great Lakes vessels
DULUTH — The Trump administration’s new trade rules aimed at penalizing operators of Chinese-built ships and boosting domestic shipbuilding appear to have spared the Great Lakes shipping industry from fees on ships built in China. The new proposal explicitly exempts lakers. The oceangoing vessels that travel on the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes are generally too small to trigger the fees.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced last week that it would charge Chinese ship operators and operators of Chinese-built ships a fee for every U.S. voyage it makes based on the amount of cargo the ship is carrying, backing away from its original proposal that would have put millions in stacking fees on a Chinese-built ship each time it made a port call.
The new set of proposed fees explicitly exempts lakers — ships that move cargo within the Great Lakes — from the fees, but it’s less clear on salties, the oceangoing vessels that traverse the St. Lawrence Seaway from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.
However, since those vessels need to be small enough to fit through the Seaway’s system of locks, salties are unlikely to exceed the proposed action’s floor, where fees would begin, of “55,000 deadweight tons, or an individual bulk capacity of 80,000 deadweight tons.”
“Based on deadweight tonnage, the oceangoing vessels that typically operate in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System are not targeted by the action announced April 17 by the USTR,” Deb DeLuca, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, said in a statement Thursday. “As a result, we don’t expect this particular action to inhibit oceangoing traffic through the Port of Duluth-Superior.”
DeLuca said the changes were an “improvement” over the original proposal. In February, the USTR proposed stacking fees of up to $3 million every time a Chinese-built ship stops at a U.S. port, regardless of what country’s flag it sails under or where the cargo originated or is destined. DeLuca and other shipping officials along the Great Lakes warned such moves would cause job losses and threaten shipping on the Great Lakes.
Chinese-built ships account for about two-thirds of all salties that made port calls last year. Of the 61 port calls by oceangoing vessel cargo ships in the Port of Duluth-Superior last year, 41 were made by ships built in China. The remaining were made in Japan, the Netherlands and Germany.
Canadian shippers also now sail 17 Chinese-built lakers, some of which make regular appearances in the Port of Duluth-Superior.
Duluth News-Tribune
SS Badger will head to Sturgeon Bay for repairs
The SS Badger will be traveling to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, on April 29, for repairs in preparation of the upcoming sailing season which will begin on Friday, May 16.
The 410-foot ship will sail, under its own power, to Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS) where it will undergo a propeller shaft bearing repair. It is expected to depart Ludington, Michigan, between 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and the trip will take approximately 12-hours.
“This trip is being made under our own power instead of under tow because we are so close to our sailing season, we will already have a crew getting the boat ready to sail,” said Badger Chief Engineer Andrew VerVelde. “It takes two to three weeks of ‘fit out’ prior to the season, which involves getting her engines and machinery ready. Since the crew is going to be aboard anyway, we might as well steam her over. It has been done before, but not recently.”
The Badger was built by Christy Corporation in Sturgeon Bay in 1953, located at the same facilities now owned by FBS. Rather than traveling through the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, the vessel will take a northern route to the tip of the Door Peninsula and Washington Island from Lake Michigan into Sturgeon Bay. It will then travel south back to the city of Sturgeon Bay.
VerVelde said the repairs to the propeller shaft bearing requires taking the boat out of the water and removing its 13-foot, 10-inch starboard propeller. This repair is different than the Badger’s routine five-year dry dock inspection which last took place over the winter of 2021-2022.
The Badger is expected to return to Ludington by May 10.
“It is the priority of Lake Michigan Carferry and our parent company, Interlake Maritime Services, to keep the Badger in its best working condition,” said Sara Spore, general manager of Lake Michigan Carferry. “Having these repairs done now will reduce interruptions to our summer sailing season and we are thankful for Interlake’s commitment to assuring the Badger will sail reliably for many years to come.”
The 2025 sailing season begins Friday, May 16. To reserve tickets, visit ssbadger.com or call 800-841-4243 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (ET).
S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry
Obituary: Mark D. Veum – Engineer on Great Lakes, Missisippi River
Mark D. Veum began his sail down the Mississippi into eternity April 20, 2025, from Roseville, MN. Mark is survived by sister Linda Engelken, loving wife, La Veum, and children Thomas and Olivia Veum. He was born April 4, 1973, in St. Paul, MN, to Kathy and Wayne Veum and was a 1999 graduate of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy.
He sailed aboard many Great Lakes vessels, including the Kaye E. Barker (his first boat), Reserve, Oglebay Norton and Maumee, and completed his career as an engineer on the Mississippi River passenger steamer American Queen, out of New Orleans.
Beloved son, brother, husband, proud father, cousin, nephew, teacher, classmate, proud Eagle Scout, proud Maritime Engineer, shipmate, friend, the author has set down his pen and gathered his final duffle for his trip down the river, welcoming aboard loved ones who have gone before.
He penned his adventures, collected books and mementos, taught his son how to drive, and encouraged creativity in his daughter to draw. Mark spent time fishing at area lakes with his dad and children, always being drawn to water.
A private family service date is yet to be determined at King of Kings Lutheran Church, in Roseville, MN. Donations may be made in honor of Mark to any charity or cause of your choice, per Mark’s wishes.
Two groups offer raffles for trips on the Edwin H. Gott
The Lake Superior Marine Museum Association and The Soo Locks Visitors’ Center Association are raffling off a round-trip cruise on the 1,000-footer Edwin H. Gott.
Visit these websites or see fliers in the gallery below.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1052918876872355&set=a.458641912966724
https://www.lsmma.com/
