Veteran cement carrier S.T. Crapo sold for scrapping
According to the Facebook page of Wayne Elliott, owner of International Marine Salvage, the long-inactive steamer S.T. Crapo will be towed from Green Bay to Port Colborne for scrapping some time in September.
Only the second bulk cement carrier built from the keel up, the 402-foot-long S.T. Crapo was built as hull # 256 in 1927 by the Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, MI. The vessel was launched and christened July 7, 1927 for the Huron Transportation Co., division of Huron Portland Cement Co., Detroit, MI., becoming the first carrier launched with her boilers lit and the second self-unloader of her type ever built. The vessel was named in honor of Mr. Stanford Tappan Crapo, co-founder with Mr. J.B. Ford of the Huron Portland Cement Co. in 1907.
For many years, the S.T. Crapo was a perennial season opener for many Great Lakes ports with cargoes of cement products from Alpena, MI.
Throughout her tenure on the lakes, the S.T. Crapo has remained with the same fleet even though there were several parent company, fleet and vessel ownership changes. With the entry into service of the articulated tug/cement barge Jacklyn M (now G.L. Ostrander)/Integrity, the S.T. Crapo was removed from active service on September 4, 1996 and docked at the Lafarge facilities at Green Bay, WI for use as a stationary cement storage barge, which is where she remains.
Know Your Ships
Several shipyards on the Great Lakes receive MARAD grants
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced $19.6 million in grant awards to 24 small shipyards in 19 states through the Small Shipyard Grant Program. The funds will help awardees modernize, increase productivity, and expand local employment opportunities.
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of the American economy, and small shipyards play a critical role in America’s maritime industry, helping us get the goods we depend on every day,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “These grants will help modernize small shipyards in communities across the country, creating and protecting local jobs, strengthening America’s maritime industry, and securing our economic future.”
MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant Program has awarded $282.2 million since 2008 to nearly 300 shipyards in 32 states and territories throughout the U.S.
“These grants will allow small businesses to do what they do best, which is to build essential infrastructure while creating long-term and well-paying jobs for Americans,” said Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips. “Better equipment means increased productivity and more ships and watercraft moving through our small shipyards. Growing this industry further supports and strengthens our domestic maritime industry.”
Below is a complete list of Great Lakes shipyard grant recipients from Fiscal Year 2022:
MICHIGAN:
Moran Iron Works, Inc., of Onaway, MI, will receive $500,561 to support the purchase of a CNC Fabricating System. This project will greatly enhance automation of complex fabrications and drastically reduce time of production.
OHIO:
McGinnis, Inc, of South Point, OH, will receive $770,250 to support the purchase of a 110 Ton Crane to shorten the time it takes to complete major construction, renovation, fabrication, or re-power projects and improve material handling capabilities.
Great Lakes Towing Company of Cleveland, OH, will receive $781,627 to support the purchase package of tooling and equipment to improve the shipyard operations and to foster efficiency, competitive operations and quality ship construction, repair, and maintenance.
WISCONSIN:
Fincantieri Marine Group, LLC – Bay Shipbuilding of Sturgeon Bay, WI, will receive $1,200,000 to support the modernization of their graving dock pumps.
gCaptain
