Ice Stalls Downbound St. Marys Traffic
10:30 a.m. UPDATE: The American Spirit is now on the move thanks to he help of the USCG Biscayne Bay. The Gott and the Pierson are warming up their engines to follow.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Heavy ice Monday night below the Neebish Rock Cut in the vicinity of Winter Point brought the downbound American Spirit to a halt and she went to anchor for the night. Behind her was Edwin H. Gott and Robert S. Pierson, which also had to anchor. Coast Guard Cutter Biscayne Bay was on scene at 9:30 am. Tuesday working to free the Spirit.
With the locks set to close at midnight Wednesday, traffic has slowed to a trickle. James R. Barker was at Whitefish Point Tuesday morning while the tug Sharon M 1 and her barge were upbound for Algoma Steel.
Further afield, the Herbert C. Jackson was being assisted in the St. Clair River off Algonac Tuesday morning.
St. Marys River Reopens to Downbound Traffic;
Workers Search Monday for Harvest Spirit Anchor
Efforts were underway Monday to recover an anchor from the Harvest Spirit, which grounded just after 5 p.m. Sunday after experiencing a power failure, running aground on sandy bottom on the Neebish Island side of the St. Marys River above the Rock Cut/Neebish Island ferry landing.
The swift current eventually swung the Harvest Spirit’s stern around until the vessel was heading back upstream, in the process freeing the ship. Just after 9 p.m., the Purvis Marine tug Wilfred M. Cohen arrived on scene to assist turning the Harvest Spirit about so she was headed back down river and she headed to Mud Lake under her own power to anchor.
Monday’s work involved the Army Corps tug Cheraw, crane barge Harvey and the survey vessel Bufe, which worked through the afternoon in the area where the Harvest Spirit had grounded. It is unknown if the anchor was recovered. Harvest Spirit upped anchor and continued her trip to Windsor in the late afternoon and the river was opened back up to down bound traffic. American Spirit and Edwin H. Gott, stopped above the locks, got underway as soon as clearance was given.
The locks are slated to close for the season Wednesday at midnight.
Cleveland-Cliffs eyeing all-cash bid
for U.S. Steel, source says
Cleveland-Cliffs is partnering with peer Nucor to prepare a potential all-cash bid for U.S. Steel, with an offer in the high $30s per share, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Cliffs is aiming to purchase all of U.S. Steel and then sell its Big River Steel mill to Nucor if the deal is completed, the person added on condition of anonymity because the details have not been made public.
Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves reiterated in a wide-ranging press conference on Monday in Butler, Pennsylvania that he wanted to bid again for U.S. Steel after making a rejected offer in 2023 and had a plan, but declined to elaborate on details.
“I’m happy that I’m in a position to make an offer that will execute on the wishes of the board and the management,” Goncalves said. “They sell, they go away. We take over. We do good. America will be better, America will be stronger,” he added.
U.S. Steel shares closed at $36.34 on Monday. Nucor did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Cliffs’ potential bid, first reported by CNBC, appeared aimed at ratcheting up pressure on Japan’s Nippon Steel, whose imperiled $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel was blocked by President Joe Biden in a Jan. 7 executive order that cited unspecified national security concerns.
Nippon Steel declined to comment. U.S. Steel did not respond to a request for comment.
Enforcement of Biden’s order, which gave the parties 30 days to unwind the transaction, was postponed until June after the companies sued the U.S. president, alleging he violated the constitution by depriving them of due process when he blocked the deal.
Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel also sued Goncalves and Cliffs, alleging “illegal and coordinated actions” aimed at scuttling the deal in order to “monopolize the domestic steel markets.”
Cliffs described the lawsuit as “baseless.”
Reuters
Come on board the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter
Mackinaw during Operation Taconite
It’s the first time this crew has been in the Twin Ports. Seaman Justin Lawson is from Florida, so ice isn’t something he’s used to. “Duluth is awesome, how it’s set up on the hill. It’s a really nice place,” he told us.
He told us he joined the Coast Guard so he could help people.
Chief Warrant Officer Chris Lobherr is a cold weather person. “I wanted to see Duluth for a long time. It’s been on my list to come see, and I’m really excited to be here.” He’s been on almost every ice breaker the Coast Guard has.
Their Executive Officer, Lt. Kyle Smith, shared that it’s been a few years since they’ve been able to do any ice breaking, due to the weather conditions. “So to get the opportunity to come up here to the Twin Ports, and train our new deck watch officers on ice breaking techniques has been really great for all of us on board,” he said.
He added that it’s rewarding to keep the lakers moving, so they can get their loads like iron ore down to the steel mills.
On Tuesday last week, the Lee A. Tregurtha was sailing in to load up at the CN ore docks. So the Mackinaw helped clear the path for her, with the help of the tug Missouri.
Their leader, Commander Jeannie Greene, is pumped up to be here. “We love that we can drive the ship right up to these massive loaders. We love that we get to be really close to some legendary ships like the Tregurtha, that we just got to interact with.”
WDIO
Friends of the Fitz Group Aims to Honor
Vessel’s Last Port of Call
SUPERIOR, Wis. — 2025 marks 50 years since the Edmund Fitzgerald sank on Lake Superior, and a group in Superior, Wisconsin is hoping to place a historical marker to honor the ship. On New Year’s Day, Superior Mayor Jim Paine proclaimed 2025 as “Year of the Fitz,” marking five decades since the sinking of the renowned freighter.
And this year a group called Friends of the Fitz is working to raise money for a Wisconsin Historical Society marker to honor the loss of the Fitzgerald and its crew. The marker would be installed on Barkers Island, as Superior was the last port of call for the Fitzgerald.
An event was held Saturday at the Superior Public Library, where people learned how to support fundraising efforts.
“There are so many memorials out there and ways that other communities have remembered their real part in the Edmund Fitzgerald’s history and Superior is no different,” said Superior City Councilor Jenny Van Sickle with Friends of the Fitz. “So the Friends of the Fitz are raising money in order to purchase and install our own official marker here in Superior.”
The Friends of the Fitz need to raise $7,000 for the historical marker, and for 90 days following the event, donations made in support of the marker will be matched.
Donate at https://www.douglashistory.org/memberships-sponsorships/edmundfitz/
