Neebish Island ferry canceling trips in March
Sault Ste. Marie, MI – Due to weather concerns, the Eastern Upper Peninsula Transportation Authority (EUPTA) has announced a shutdown of Neebish Island ferry trips for the next several weeks.
Following the authority’s announcement on March 1, ferry rides for Neebish Island were due to shut down on Friday, March 4. The decision was made due to ice conditions. The shutdown will continue for the foreseeable future until weather conditions improve and could last until the end of March.
Icebreaking operations around Neebish Island focusing on ferry and shipping routes began on March 7 in preparation of the 2022 Great Lakes shipping season.
During Thursday’s Chippewa County Board of Commissioners meeting, commissioner Erik Baron said the docks continue to be inactive. “The ferry was shut down due to ice buildup on the docks, this is a problem the EUPTA needs to address immediately,” said Baron. “They should have the proper equipment and capabilities for de-icing the ferry docks. This recent closure has nothing to do with ice in the channel. People are stranded on the island moving into spring break-up, the ice flow is going to get even worse, which could extend that shutdown.”
The United States Coast Guard is keeping two emergency airboats in proximity in case there is an emergency which requires transport from the island.
More information about the Neebish Island ferry can be found at www.eupta.net/ferry-system.
Sault News
Scrapping progressing on St. Clair
Workers are progressing quickly on scrapping the fire-damaged St. Clair at Port Colborne, ON. The stacks, pilothouse area and self-unloading boom have now been removed.
2021 final Seaway saltie statistics
The 2021 shipping season has long since concluded, and with the startup of the 2022 season just around the corner, here is a recap from the 2021 season with the final statistics at the Eisenhower Lock at Massena, N.Y.
During the 2021 shipping season, the Eisenhower Lock saw 218 salties made 457 westbound transits. These numbers reflect a drop from the 2020 season total.
For instance, the 218 vessels that transited the Eisenhower Lock during the 2021 season was down 40 vessels from the 2020 shipping season and down 15 vessels from the 5-year average from 2016 to 2020. Also, the 457 westbound transits were down 63 transits from the 2020 season.
The 457 westbound transits were also down 24 overall transits from the 5-year average period from 2016 to 2020. During August, there were 34 westbound transits. That number was down 28 transits from the 2020 shipping season during the same month. Also, in October 2021, there were 44 westbound transits at the Eisenhower Lock. That number was down 26 transits from the same month in 2020.
During June 2021 there were 54 westbound transits at the Eisenhower Lock. That number was up 10 transits from the same month in 2020. Also, in November 2021, there were 41 westbound transits. While that number was down 12 transits from the same month in 2020, the 41 transits in December 2021 were also the highest total during the month’s 5-year average from 2016 to 2020.
There were also 35 new visitors to the Seaway 2021. That number was down 12 vessels from the 2020 season.
Of the 35 new visitors to the Seaway in 2021, there were seven vessels built in 2021: Bogdan, Federal Franklin, Federal Fraser, Federal Freedom, Federal Frontier, Kom and the tanker Tarsus.
Also, there were three salties, all of which were built in 1994, that were the oldest vessels that transited in 2021. They were Aujaq, Qamutik and Sinaa.
Here are the final statistics for westbound transits made by saltwater vessels at the Eisenhower Lock during the 2021 shipping season.
March/April: 58
May: 59
June: 54
July: 49
August: 34
September: 51
October: 44
November: 68
December: 41
The St. Lawrence Seaway opened on March 22, 2021, and it’s expected to open once again on that same date.
Denny Dushane
2022 edition of “Know Your Ships” ready for new shipping season
The new shipping season is at hand, and so is the release of the 2022 edition of Know Your Ships, the popular annual field guide to boats and boatwatching on the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway.
This year’s 200-page book includes information on U.S., Canadian and international-flag cargo vessels, tugs, excursion boats and barges in regular Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway service, including owner and port of registry, year and shipyard where built, length, beam, depth, cargo capacity and former names, plus type of engine, horsepower and more.
In the Spotlight section, you can read stories about the 50th anniversary of the Stewart J. Cort, check out some of the unique cargos carried on the lakes in 2021, get to know the ship-to-shore chef Catherine Schmuck and more.
Standard and spiral bindings are available. Order at this link: www.knowyourships.com
