Shots on Ships: Health Department to receive recognition for crew vaccinations
Sault Ste. Marie, MI – A successful vaccination program for Great Lakes sailors will result in a token of appreciation to the Chippewa County Health Department on June 25.
The U.S.-flag Great Lakes fleet began the process of readying their vessels for the shipping season on March 24 amid the pandemic. As COVID-19 cases were surging and vaccines began to roll out, many Great Lakes sailors did not have an opportunity to receive the vaccine in their home state before they needed to report for their essential work.
Since many vessels pass through the Soo Locks on an average day as they transport vital raw materials from ports on Lake Superior to the lower lakes, this centralized location became a mass vaccination site for mariners. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Chippewa County Health Department agreed to a Lake Carriers’ Association plea for help after a short discussion.
“My role facilitated the initial planning and coordination which started at the first call from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” said Lana Steinhaus, deputy health officer for the Chippewa County Health Department. “I also had the privilege of going aboard a freighter to assist with the necessary vaccination paperwork. There were three main agencies involved in the planning: Lake Carriers’ Association, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Chippewa County Health Department.”
Steinhaus said there was a two-day timespan from the initial Army Corps inquiry on whether crew member vaccination would even be possible to the first vaccine given. A conference call took place on a Tuesday with all parties and by Thursday, health department staff had provided vaccines to the first ship.
Beginning on April 6, the Army Corps and the health department began the process of executing a COVID-19 vaccination program called “Shots on Ships” for Great Lakes sailors.
The Shots on Ships program required an individual from the Lake Carriers’ Association to contact the health department and Army Corps when crew member ships were requesting vaccination. The Lake Carriers’ Association would ensure the requesting ship’s crew members registered online so health department staff had the pertinent information, and the Lake Carriers’ Association notified the Army Corps which ships would need special accommodation for the vaccines.
From there, the Army Corps would then notify the health department when the requesting ship was in the Locks and direct staff where to meet with the ship.
“Sometimes staff would board the ships at West Pier and other times in the locks as the ship was going through,” said Steinhaus. “Once Chippewa County Health Department staff boarded, after being provided a lifejacket and hard hat by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the vaccine administration was no different other than the location where staff were vaccinating.”
Vaccine administration still occurs and will be expanding shortly to include Canadian and other foreign vessels. Steinhaus explained the Chippewa County Health Department only recently received State of Michigan permission to vaccinate non-U.S. vessels.
Prior to this, the Chippewa County Health Department has never participated in such a program. Steinhaus described this program as “extremely unique” and has now seen similar programs appearing around other waterways. The health department members directly involved in the Shots on Ships program are Charity Zimmerman, Cindy Ockenfels, Alison Krasprzak, Margaret Smith, Steve Carey, Jill Schaefer, Tonya Joss and Steinhaus.
“We are thankful beyond words for the efforts of the Chippewa County Health Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” said Jim Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers’ Association. “Without the Shots on Ships Program, many U.S. Great Lakes sailors would not have had an opportunity to be immunized against the COVID-19 virus. Protecting our sailors and the ports they visit remains a top priority. We remain forever in debt to the men and women of the health department and the Soo Locks Army Corps.”
To date, over 300 vaccines on 25 different vessels have been administered through the Shots on Ships program.
The token of appreciation will be presented by the Lake Carriers’ Association to the Chippewa County Health Department at 10 a.m. on June 25. According to a press release, this is a token to memorialize a historic event of kindness and compassion.
Soo News
Iron ore shipments up 7% year-over-year on Great Lakes
Northwest Indiana – Shipment of iron ore — a key raw material that feeds the blazing blast furnaces at Northwest Indiana’s lakefront steel mills — have risen more than 7% year-over-year to 1.4 million tons thus far this shipping season.
Overall international cargo shipped through the St. Lawrence Seaway to Great Lakes ports like the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor have dipped slightly by 0.59% to 8.15 million metric tons through the end of May.
“Generally, we are seeing increasing efficiencies in the Great Lakes Seaway System, with vessels remaining in the system longer and stopping at multiple ports to load and discharge cargo,” Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation Deputy Administrator Craig Middlebrook said. “Many of our Great Lakes ports are handling a more diversified mix of cargo, reflective of what is happening in the economy, and particularly notable for commodities utilized by the manufacturing sector.”
National steel output is up 8.7% so far this year and more than 46% over the same time last year, after steel mills sunk to just over half capacity early in the coronavirus pandemic around this time in 2020.
Shipments of asphalt rose 192% to 63,000 metric tons, gypsum 59% to 221,000 metric tons, and coal 0.06% to 466,000 metric tons year-over-year. Grain shipments have fallen 4.05% to 2.4 million metric tons.
The Chamber of Marine Commerce reports general cargo shipments were up 37% as compared to 2020 and 23% as compared to the five-year average, driven partly by imports of steel from Europe. It attributed increases in cargo volumes of steel, iron ore and construction materials to a resurgence in manufacturing and building.
“Prices and demand for raw materials are surging around the globe as well as in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region as the pace of economic recovery has taken everyone by surprise,” said Bruce Burrows, president and CEO of the Chamber of Marine Commerce. “Our marine highway is delivering products and materials to support everything from infrastructure and building projects, to automotive and consumer goods manufacturing.”
Passing from the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence Seaway, international ships transport more than 160 million metric tons of cargo on the Great Lakes each year. The trade is estimated to generate $35 billion in economic activity, supporting more than 237,000 jobs.
NW Indiana Times
Superyacht Scout transits Welland Canal
Scout, a 209-foot-long superyacht built in 2019 by Dutch shipbuilder Hakvoort Shipyards, recently transited the Welland Canal. The linked video shows her enroute to Buffalo, N.Y. She was built at a cost of $85 million USD, and costs between $5-8 million USD annually to run. She was designed to the theme of the 1950s movie “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.”
Bill Salton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxPAXmCfhgk&t=3s
Read more about the Scout here: https://www.elitetraveler.com/cars-jets-and-yachts/yachts/spectacular-superyacht-scout-making-waves
USS COD continues to receive repairs at Donjon
Erie, PA –The USS COD is getting touched up after its arrival from Cleveland to Erie’s Donjon Shipbuilding and Repair. The COD is the only World War II fleet submarine that is still intact. “We’re spending the time now to go through the vessels and see what needs to be repaired and what work needs to be performed. It’s quite unusual that normally we come in with a full spike and kinda know what we’re getting into,” said Rick Hammer, General Manager of Donjon Shipbuilding and Repair.
View an interview at this link: https://www.yourerie.com/news/local-news/uss-cod-continues-to-receive-repairs-at-donjon-shipbuilding-and-repair/?fbclid=IwAR1SBsOEXkkYe2oZ3gIqUmvC70xhESZMhcuVT7UpKuJ7ZdhEReKSsQcbEYA
