Sunday Soo Update. Sam Laud will be the last commercial boat down for the season. USCG Biscayne Bay will join them in the Poe Lock. At 12:10 p.m. the Laud was dropping lines at Algoma and will follow the Indiana Harbor. Arthur M. Anderson got underway from the Nine Mile anchorage area about 10 a.m., using a track freshly groomed by USCG Katmai Bay and USCG Bristol Bay. Dirk S. VanEnkevort/Michigan Trader were downbound at Mission Point just after noon.
Shipping season ends with a busy day on the river
Sault Ste. Marie, MI – The last full day of the shipping season was a busy one, with lots of traffic and icebreaker activity on a sunny but frigid Saturday.
Vessels that passed through the locks late Friday/early Saturday were held above Nine Mile Point until daylight. Those were Walter J. McCarthy Jr., Anglian Lady/barge Ironmaster with assist tug Wilfred M. Cohen, Harvest Spirit, Robert S. Pierson and John G. Munson. After USCG Bristol Bay ran some tracks around the vessels, they were allowed to convoy through the Rock Cut with USCG Mackinaw in the lead, followed by USCG Bristol Bay.
At the same time, American Century and Sam Laud passed upbound through the East Neebish Channel. Thanks to cutter assistance, the vessels experienced little difficulty in getting to the Soo.
After the Sam Laud locked up in the late afternoon headed for Algoma Steel to unload, Manitoulin locked down, as did CCGS Samuel Risley, which went ahead of her down the river. Arthur M. Anderson locked down next. Due to difficult ice conditions reported by the Manitoulin further down the river, Soo Traffic directed the Anderson to stop in the Nine Mile anchorage until morning, when cutter assistance will be available.
American Century was the last upbound passage for the season, however she had difficulty entering the lock due to ice on the lower lock wall, some of which the Anderson was able to remove on her way out of the lock. Her troubles were not over however, as she became beset in ice just west of the upper approaches. At 11:45 p.m. she and the downbound Dirk S. VanEnkevort/barge Michigan Trader, which was just west of her, decided to call a halt to their efforts to move until Sunday morning, when USCG Biscayne Bay can lend a hand.
As midnight and the official end of the season arrived, Indiana Harbor had yet to pass Whitefish Point, but the locks will be kept open to accommodate her, as well as Sam Laud returning downbound and the USCG Biscayne Bay, which is headed for St. Ignace.
Lay-up reports needed
As the end of the shipping season approaches, please send reports of vessel lay-ups to news@boatnerd.net. This will help us compile our annual lay-up list. Include vessel name, date, port and name of lay-up dock. Click here to view the Lay-Up List: https://boatnerd3.jasonbowlerdesign.com/winter-layup-2021-2022/
