Viking Octantis stops in Port Colborne during inaugural voyage on Great Lakes
Port Colborne, ON – With a science lab, a fleet of military-pro Zodiacs and two six-guest submarines and hangar on board, the Viking Octantis stopped in Port Colborne Sunday during its inaugural voyage in the Great Lakes.
It is the first of two new purpose-built expedition ships from the cruise ship company Viking.
It is the first of among 66 cruise ship stops in the city this season as the vessels make their return to the lakes after being away for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joining the 378-passenger Viking ship will be vessels familiar to residents along the Welland Canal — Pearl Mist, Ocean Voyager and Ocean Navigator (formerly Victory I and II, respectively), and Hamburg (formerly C. Columbus).
Two ships from Ponant, Le Bellot and Le Dumont d’Urville, which carry 180 passengers each, will make their way to the lakes. In 2019, their sister ship Le Champlain docked in Port Colborne.
The 160-passenger Ocean Explorer, through Vantage Cruises, will make its way up the East Coast of North America from Boston, Mass., to travel the lakes.
Port Colborne is looking to entice passengers from the ships to stay in the city when they dock along West Street, for which there is a plan to build a waterfront centre.
City council recently approved the hiring of J.P. Thomson Architects to design it. It will go on lands once home to the public works yard along the Welland Canal.
Niagara Falls Review
City seeks proposals to raise James Whalen out of Kam River
Thunder Bay, ON – The City of Thunder Bay is seeking proposals from local companies to raise the historic James Whalen tugboat out of the Kam River, where it sank from its moorings at the Kam River Heritage Park early Sunday morning.
The sinking – the second incident in which the boat has taken on water while berthed at the park in little over a year – prompted Mayor Bill Mauro to request a report on the situation at Monday’s city council meeting.
“It is unfortunately necessary, we have to say that this is the second time we’ve had this issue with this particular tug in this particular park,” he said Monday. “Obviously we can’t let this happen again.”
The report shows the city had not yet reinstalled a submersible pump added after the 2021 incident for the spring season, attributing that to consistent cold temperatures.
The pump was removed before winter freeze-up to avoid damage, and was to be installed “as soon as possible” in the spring.
The parks department had tried to install the pump once earlier this year, but found the sump in the tug was still frozen, said parks and open spaces manager Cory Halvorsen in the report.
Warming temperatures and rain appear to have resulted in a quick thaw and the James Whalen taking on a significant amount of water sometime Saturday night or early Sunday morning, the report concluded. The tug was observed upright as late as Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m.
Its sinking isn’t expected to pose any environmental risk, as the boat was previously emptied of engine components, the report stated, though floating booms were installed as a precaution. The city has contacted Transport Canada and the Coast Guard to inform them of the incident.
The city is now soliciting proposals to lift the tug out of the Kaministiquia River from local companies, Halvorsen reported. The plan is for the boat to be moved to storage on dry land where it can be assessed for damage.
If it’s still in adequate condition, several city councillors expressed support Monday for a plan to move the tug to the Lakehead Transportation Museum Society site at Pool 6, south of Prince Arthur’s Landing.
It’s an outcome the society has welcomed, holding meetings this year with the city’s waterfront development committee to discuss arrangements.
Mauro suggested that would be a win-win for the society and the city.
“When I see people in the community that are willing to do work that benefits the city and are basically asking for next to nothing, I think it’s incumbent on me and on any of us to try to facilitate that,” he said.
Society president Charlie Brown has expressed optimism the sinking won’t necessarily have caused further damage to the ship, which he said would have required an overhaul for display in any case.
Coun. Aldo Ruberto said he plans to bring a resolution forward over the summer to propose an agreement with the LTMS.
TB Newswatch
An update on The Sullivans
Buffalo, NY – The dewatering plan developed by T&T Marine Salvage was approved by the Unified Command on site after review and feedback by the USCG Salvage Engineering Response Team (SERT), headquartered in Washington, D.C.
BIDCO Marine Group is supporting T&T crews during dewatering operations, and Miller Environmental Group will continue to replace absorbent boom and sweep around the ship to control oil sheen as well as assist with any pollution control efforts during dewatering.
Dewatering operations utilize 22 industrial pumps including electric pumps, gasoline powered pumps and hydraulic pumps. Back-up pumps are on standby should a primary pump fail.
Crews are being deliberate in their efforts and monitoring the ship stability as water is pumped from the three designated areas of the ship Sections A (bow), Section B (engine, mid-ship), and Section C (stern).
Dewatering is going as planned and the ship list to starboard has been reduced significantly and approaching zero degrees.
Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park
Boatnerd seeking help from volunteers familiar with WordPress
We are in need of someone who has experience with website design and maintenance of our WordPress-based website. Our present volunteer staff does not have the expertise to keep up with it. If you are interested, please email Boatnerd board president Nathan Leindecker to talk about the opportunities.
Nathan Leindecker
nleindecker@gmail.com
