Soo Locks to open March 25 for 2022 shipping season
Sault Ste. Marie, MI – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, Soo Area Office will open the Poe Lock at 12:01 a.m. March 25, marking the 2022 Great Lakes shipping season start. The operating season is fixed by federal regulation and driven in part by the feasibility of vessels operating in typical Great Lakes ice conditions.
The park and viewing platform will be open from 11:30 p.m. Thursday until 1:30 a.m. Friday to accommodate those who want to watch the first passage. It is too early to tell what vessel will be first to lock through.
The Poe Lock officially closed January 16 to undergo critical repairs and maintenance during the 10 week-long winter shutdown. Maintenance crews performed a variety of critical tasks on the Poe Lock, including hydraulic steel structure inspections, miter gate bottom girder structural repair and seal replacement, miter gate pintle concrete repairs, valve machinery repairs, and dewatering system maintenance.
The annual open house at The Soo Locks Visitor Center takes place on March 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Coffee and cookies will be served. Visitors will also get a sneak peek at the new model of the Soo Locks facility before it is installed in the Soo Locks Plaza. Know Your Ships book editor Roger LeLievre will be on hand to sell and sign the 2022 edition from noon-2 p.m.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District
Sarter Marine Towing joins with Great Lakes Towing at Sturgeon Bay
Sturgeon Bay, WI – Sarter Marine Towing Company Inc. has agreed upon definitive terms for the sale of Sarter to The Great Lakes Towing Company. The agreement includes the Towing Company’s purchase of the tugboats Donald J. Sarter and William C. Selvick, as well as all supporting machinery and equipment and most other shoreside assets. The remaining five tugs in Sarter’s fleet will be chartered to the Towing Company under a long-term bareboat charter arrangement. The Towing Company has retained all employees of Sarter Marine and will supplement the business with administrative and financial support to help support and enhance Sarter’s current book of towing business in the region.
Last fall, the Towing Company stationed two tugs in Sturgeon Bay, including one of its historic “G” tugs and a former Navy YTB. With the Sarter Marine Towing fleet, the Towing Company will continue to provide timely ship assist services to Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS), the domestic fleet of U.S. and Canadian lakers, and visiting foreign flag salties. The combined companies will also continue to provide stout ice breaking assets for ice work in Sturgeon Bay and surrounding waters.
“The Sarter Marine Towing Team is so excited to partner with Great Lakes Towing. They have been a pleasure to work with,” said Julie Sarter, President and Owner of Sarter Marine Towing.
“The acquisition of Sarter Marine significantly enhances the Towing Company’s capabilities in Northern Green Bay and Lake Michigan. We look forward to integrating Sarter’s marine transportation capabilities and reach into the Towing Company’s operation, while continuing to provide superior service to the customers we have been privileged to serve for years,” says Joe Starck, President, The Great Lakes Towing Company. “This is really a win-win outcome for everyone involved!”
The acquisition will close on March 23, 2022.
The Great Lakes Towing Company
Coast Guard spring breakout activities to ramp up on Monday
Monday March 21, the icebreakers Samuel Risley, Mackinaw, Hollyhock and Neah Bay will pass through the Poe Lock then begin establishing tracks leading out to Lake Superior, along charted shipping routes. Mackinaw will remain in Whitefish Bay, the other three vessels travel west to conduct the break out of western Lake Superior. All of this work is being done in preparation for the March 25th opening of the Soo (Poe) Lock; the official start of the 2022 commercial navigation season.
Also on Monday, icebreakers will begin the fracture of ice separating Mackinac Island and St. Ignace, Michigan. At the request of Mackinac Island community leaders, Captain of the Port Sault Sainte Marie will open the waters between St Ignace and Mackinac Island, effective 0800 EST March 21. Breaking up the ice, advances deterioration and enables local ferries to resume service to Mackinac Island.
Finally, Coast Guard cutters Hollyhock and Neah Bay will commence spring break out operations in the Duluth-Superior area Tuesday March 22. Initially, icebreaking operations will occur inside the Duluth and Superior harbors, then expands to other regional waterways, including Thunder Bay, ON.
USCG
Shepler’s Ferry on Mackinac Island sells to billionaire after 77 years
Mackinaw City, MI – Shepler’s Ferry, which has shuttled millions of visitors to storied Mackinac Island since the 1940s, has sold.
Chris Shepler, whose parents raised their children in a blue and white rusted trailer near the end of a dock in Mackinaw City, informed employees, including some who have worked at the 77-year-old company for decades, at 8 a.m. Friday. The deal was scheduled to close immediately after the staff meeting for an undisclosed amount.
“They’re keeping everything the same, including the name. Nothing really is going to change from the guest perspective,” Shepler told the Free Press. “I’m guaranteed three years to work for the company in my current role as president. There are options to stay on, but when I do walk out the door, it’s my job to make it like I was never there. Seamless.”
Shepler, 59, of Harbor Springs said he looks forward to one day seeing his current employees eventually run the company. It’s all part of the sale, keeping the team in place because the new buyer is so impressed with how operations are run.
“I don’t have any kids. My brother has two boys but they’re 12 and 10. It would have been a shame for us to not discuss it and just keep working. Then, all of a sudden, wake up one morning and say, ‘I’m ready to retire and what are we going to do?’ I think that’s a recipe for failure,” he said.
Read the full story here: https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2022/03/18/sheplers-ferry-mackinac-island-sold-hoffman-family-companies/7077585001/?fbclid=IwAR0t9slM_18GRW9iW1aC-wgTMvYh9m6Q8MwCQHV60_kfS4msYJamcEqUpx0
Position update: Nukumi
The new Canada Steamship Lines’ vessel Nukumi transited the Panama Canal Friday. Her ETA for Halifax is March 26 at 02:00.
