GoFundMe for Richard Gray exceeds $65,000 and growing
The GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the family of the late Great Lakes mariner Richard Gray has passed $65,000!
Richard, second mate on the American Steamship Co. 1,000-footer Walter J. McCarthy Jr., died Monday night in a shipboard accident. The vessel was anchored offshore at Gary, IN, at the time and getting ready to come in and unload. His wife Danielle and three children survive. He was a graduate of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy. Richard, who was 35, lived in Traverse City, MI., and was active the International Shipmasters’ Association lodge there.
Visitation will take place on Tuesday January 25 from 6-8 pm at Reynolds Jonkhoff Funeral Home in Traverse City with a rosary recitation at 5:30 pm. A Funeral Mass will take place on Wednesday January 26 at Immaculate Conception Church at 11:00am with visitation from 10-11 am.
Waters between St Ignace and Mackinac Island closed
Sault Ste. Marie, MI – Colder temperatures have fueled the rapid development of ice in the Straits area. With ferry service to Mackinac Island secured for the winter season, per 33 CFR 165.901, the Captain of the Port Sault Ste Marie closed the waters between St Ignace and Mackinac Island, effective 1200 EST January 21. The Coast Guard reminds all recreational ice users to plan their activities carefully, use caution on the ice, and stay away from shipping channels.
Coast Guard to close southern Green Bay for commercial traffic for the season
Green Bay, WI – Commercial vessel traffic will have just a few more days to be on southern Green Bay for the season. The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan Captain of the Port on Friday announced it will close the waters of southern Green Bay to commercial vessel traffic starting on Monday, Jan. 24 at noon local time.
This closure will impact all waters southwest of a line extending between Peshtigo Point and Sherwood Point in the bay of Green Bay, according to a news release.
Steel production up by 4.9% this year
NW Indiana – Great Lakes steel production rose by 9,000 tons last week as output rose nationally, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Steel mills continued to operate at more than 80% capacity, as they did for most of last year, following the latest wave of industry consolidation, imposition of tariffs of 25%, strong demand and generally favorable market conditions.
Locally, steel mills in the Great Lakes region, clustered mainly along the south shore of Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana, made 629,000 tons of metal in the week that ended Jan. 15, up from 620,000 tons the previous week.
Overall, domestic steel mills in the United States made 1.833 million tons of steel last week, up 1.1% from 1.813 million tons the previous week and up 5.6% compared to 1.736 million tons the same time a year prior.
Steel production so far in 2022 totals 3.9 million tons, a 4.9% increase over 3.72 million tons through the same period last year.
U.S. steel mills have run at a capacity utilization rate of 82.7% through Jan. 15, up from 76.6% at the same point in 2021, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Steel capacity utilization, a key metric of the industry’s profitability, was 83.2% last week, up from 76.6% a year earlier and 82.3% a year prior.
Steel production in the southern region, a wide geographic swath that encompasses many mini-mills and rivals the Great Lakes region in output, totaled 742,000 tons last week, up from 735,000 tons the week before, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Volume in the rest of the Midwest ticked up to 209,000 tons, up from 200,000 tons the week prior.
NW Indiana Times
Lay-up reports needed
Now that the end of the shipping season has arrived, 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/
