Diesel fuel no longer leaking form Manitowoc
MANISTEE, Mich. — U.S. Coast Guard personnel, along with state and local agencies are responding Wednesday to a report of the motor vessel Manitowoc spilling diesel in Lake Michigan, approximately 1.5 nautical miles offshore of Manistee, Michigan.
At approximately 2:50 p.m. the 612’ bulk carrier motor vessel Manitowoc reported a hull breach on its starboard diesel tank. The maximum spill potential is 45,174 gallons of diesel.
At the time of the report, the vessel was at anchor 1.5 nautical miles offshore, northwest of where the Manistee River enters Lake Michigan. A red slick was observed approximately 1.6 miles by 200 yards wide projecting to the northeast from the vessel within a few hours of the report.
The motor vessel Manitowoc has activated their response plan and their diesel spill removal organization is on scene at this time working to contain the spill. The vessel is no longer leaking diesel. Internal diesel transfers lowered the level of diesel in the leaking tank below the hole, which has been plugged.
In response to the diesel spill, a Unified Command has been established to oversee and direct cleanup response efforts. Representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, the responsible party, the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), Manistee County Emergency Management, Benzie County Emergency Management, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Manistee and Benzie County Sheriff’s Offices, and the City of Manistee will be working together in this effort.
There has been no known impact to beaches at this time. However, diesel is a hazardous material and can present significant health hazards, so the public is asked to stay away from areas that have diesel and do not attempt to rescue injured wildlife. The public is asked to call (231) 723-6241 for any confirmed sighting of diesel reaching the shoreline.
There is no known or expected impact to drinking water at this time.
The cause of the diesel spill is still under investigation.
Updates will be provided via the Ninth Coast Guard District’s Twitter page: @USCGGreatLakes
Requests for additional information may be directed to Sector Lake Michigan’s Public Affairs Officer at (414) 405-6436.
U.S. Coast Guard
Ship leaking fuel near Manistee’s shore
MANISTEE — The U.S. Coast Guard responded to a report of the ship Manitowoc leaking diesel Wednesday evening fuel just off shore from the Fifth Avenue Beach in Manistee.
According to a post on Twitter from the USCG Great Lakes, crews from Manistee and Grand Haven are responding to the scene as well as a helicopter from Waukegan, Illinois. The Manitowoc is anchored near Manistee.
The Coast Guard stated that an absorbent boom was deployed to contain the fuel in the area. The damaged fuel tank was partially plugged to slow down the leaking fuel. A commercial salvage company was on its way to the site, the Coast Guard stated on Twitter Wednesday evening.
The Coast Guard asked the public from stay off of the Fifth Avenue Beach in Manistee because the wind conditions at that time were expected to take the spilled fuel to shore.
The Manitowoc is a 630-foot ship that is owned by Traverse City-based Grand River Navigation, a subsidiary of Rand Logistics of Williamsville, New York. It carries grain, iron ore, aggregates, salt and other bulk commodities, according to an information sheet on Rand’s website.
The ship carries coal into Manistee several times each shipping season. It weighed anchor from T.E.S. Manistee at about 12:45 p.m. Wednesday after delivering a load of coal, and passed slowly through the downtown area via the Manistee River and channel at about 1:30 p.m., before heading out to Lake Michigan where the leak was discovered.
After dropping anchor again for safety and precautionary reasons less than 2 miles from the Firth Avenue Beach, the ship sat idle facing south toward the Manistee Lighthouse it had passed only a few hours earlier. Less than two dozen people were on the beach at 7 p.m., laying in the sun and swimming, and unaware of the problems the ship was experiencing.
An Aura of Romance: Local boat watchers follow their favourite vessels
There’s something about the river that draws the eye.
The way the sunlight shimmers against the waters. The way that blue expanse crouches against the horizon. The sound of the waves lapping against the shore. The way the smell of the lake reaches your nostrils when the wind is just right.
And yet, as Windsorites, we sometimes take for granted the majesty of living on the water. And we also sometimes neglect to notice all the different freighters and barges that drift down the Detroit River.
But many do take the time to notice these magnificent vessels.
And many, many more have even formed communities around charting their favourite ships.
One such superfan is Roger LeLievre, the Editor and Publisher of Know Your Ships: Guide to Boats & Boatwatching on the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway, a 63-year-old annual publication. The book provides essential stats on hundreds of freighters, including the owner, year, length, capacity and more. It also shares information on the materials these big boats carry, where they load and unload, all the different canals and waterways they travel down and what the different whistles mean.
“There’s maybe 150 assorted vessels supplemented by saltwater ships that sail down the seaway,” Roger LeLievre explains. “Tugboats. Barges. Tankers. Carriers. We get quite the traffic down the river!”
Roger has been a boat enthusiast all his life. He’s been a figurehead of the community for decades, sharing his knowledge with countless other fans.
“Since 1995, during the early days of the internet, a community sprang up on a website called boatnerd3.jasonbowlerdesign.com/,” Roger states. “After a couple years, people started suggesting meeting up in person. So in 1998, we had our first gathering in Sault Ste. Marie. Over 150 people showed up! But the whole Boat Nerd community is much, much vaster than that.”
Another such member of the community is Mike Chase, the Owner of Windsor Aerial Drone Photography.
“I opened my photography business around three years ago,” Mike recalls. “I quickly branched out into taking photos of ships because I’m adjacent to the river in Amherstburg.”
Many of the photos Mike has taken have been featured in publications across the globe.
It wasn’t long before Mike realized how large and how passionate the boat watching community around Windsor and Essex County truly was. He joined several Facebook groups, including “Fans of the Book Know Your Ships,” “Ship Junkies – Lakes, Locks & Rivers” and “Great Lakes Shipping Channels.” Many of these groups are homes to upwards of 40,000 members.
“I had no idea these ships had such a following!” Mike states. “The water just seems to attract people. It’s so relaxing, sitting back and watching these barges sailing down the river. There’s even apps people use to track their favourite ships. You can get all kinds of information on them, such as where they’re going, how fast they’re travelling and their approximate arrival time.”
One such app, MarineTraffic Ship Tracker, has over millions of users.
“People can’t get enough of these big floating dump trucks!” Roger laughs. “They get so invested in the ships themselves and the people manning them. They find out the names of the crew, the company who owns it, the captain. Sometimes I like to call this NASCAR on the water, just slower.”
Every boat watcher, Roger explains, has their favourite ship. And each boat has its own Facebook page, where users can come together and share statistics and other information.
“Boat Nerds. Boat Geeks. Freighter Fans,” Roger states. “Some of us have been involved in the community for decades. I’ve been watching boats since I was 6 years old, and I’m 68 now!”
As well, the relative decline in the boating industry has led to fewer vessels setting sail in recent years. However, this has only led to boat sightings becoming even more sacred to fans.
“The less ships travel downriver, the more people come out in droves to see them,” Roger notes. “Folks find these freighters fascinating. They want to know where the boats are from, how big they are, who owns it. They want all those questions answered!”
That said, these big ships continue to serve a vital function—shipping materials from Windsor and Essex County to all kinds of distant shores.
“People don’t realize how much ship-traffic impacts the global economy,” Mike explains. “You sometimes see all these different ships from all over the world traveling down the water. They’re transporting things like yachts, wind turbines, fuel, oil, elevators. Even recently, back in February, we transported a 3,000-to-4,000-pound piece of steel that was loaded onto a vessel and sent down to South America.”
And yet, what truly draws the eye towards these freighters is the sheer scale of the vessels.
“There’s always been an aura of romance with ships,” Roger states. “I think people tap into that. But now, for me, the vessels have just become so familiar. It’s like seeing an old friend go by. I can think back and remember all the other times they traveled by.”
That said, an obsession with boats can present unique challenges.
“I’m such a geek that I have a ship-to-shore radio on 24/7,” Roger admits. “And my name is Roger, so it gets a little alarming when I keep hearing ‘Roger that!’ I think, ‘Why are all these people yelling at me?’ It sometimes wakes me up from a dead sleep!”
The boat watching community continues to draw a crowd. Members range from all ages and all backgrounds.
“It’s a great hobby,” Roger explains. “We have people from senior citizens all the way down to young kids. I get a number of messages around Christmas time from people saying, ‘Oh, my nine-year-old grandson or granddaughter can’t get enough of these boats!’”
Cleveland-Cliffs making just as much steel without East Chicago blast furnace
Cleveland-Cliffs is making just as much steel as it did before indefinitely idling Blast Furnace No. 4 at Indiana Harbor West, ending more than a century of ironmaking at the former LTV steel mill in East Chicago.
Cleveland-Cliffs shipped 4.2 million tons of steel during the second quarter, Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in a conference call with investors.
“We matched the record high we set in the second quarter of 2021. At that time back in 2021, we were operating a total of eight blast furnaces,” he said in the conference call. “And now, in 2023, we operate only seven. If you’ll recall, we idled our Indiana Harbor No. 4 blast furnace at 2.1 million ton per year unit in 2022. So with one less major blast furnace in our footprint, we were able to accomplish the same levels of production and shipments.”
Cleveland-Cliffs said the smaller blast furnace footprint greatly reduced its carbon emissions.
“In our case, 32% less in five years, while maintaining the same level of production and the same product mix which is heavy in flat-rolled automotive steels,” he said. “We do not know of any other company, mini-mill or integrated in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia or anywhere else in the world that has achieved similar magnitude of reduction in CO2 emissions in such a short period of time. One of our key competitive advantages is having full control of our main raw material iron ore pellets from our mines in Michigan and Minnesota.”
The Times of Northwest Indiana
Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Lighthouse up for auction
TORCH LAKE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WLUC) – A Keweenaw lighthouse has gone up for auction.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced it is auctioning the Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Lighthouse in Torch Lake Township, Michigan. This is one of a record number of lighthouses being offered in 2023 to government agencies, nonprofits, and the public via auction.
Opened in 1919, the Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Lighthouse is located at the end of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers breakwater in Houghton County, Michigan.
- Marking the southern end of the Portage River, the lighthouse stands 68 feet tall.
- The light contains approximately 1,000 square feet of interior space.
- In 2014, the light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- The property will remain an active aid to navigation.
- The deed will contain historic preservation covenants.
Auction Details:
- The auction will open on Aug. 1, 2023, at 2 p.m. CT.
- Those interested in bidding are required to register in advance and submit a $10,000 registration deposit.
- The starting bid will be $10,000 and bid increments will be $1,000.
- Site inspections will only be offered to registered bidders.
- Those interested in bidding are strongly urged to read the Invitation for Bids here.
The marketing and sales effort is being handled by GSA’s New England Region Real Property Utilization and Disposal Division.
