Interlake buys U.S. Army tug, will bring it to lakes from East Coast
During a radio interview Wednesday with a Ludington radio station, Mark W. Barker, president of the Interlake Steamship Co., said its affiliated company Interlake Logistics Solutions, has purchased the U.S. Army tug MG Winfield Scott (LT 805). Now in Virginia, the tug will be sailed to Ludington this fall
“We have no idea what we will do with it, but it will be rafted alongside the Spartan,” he said. Spartan is the long-idle sister ferry to the Badger, which Interlake also owns.
The 128-foot-long Winfield Scott (LT-805) was built by Moss Point Marine and delivered to the U.S. Army in 1993. She is named for Major General Winfield Scott.
In a 2015 statement, Lt Col Kim Nash, 10th Transportation Battalion Terminal battalion commander, had high praise for the tug. “This boat has the capability and the horsepower to pull an aircraft carrier. It can tow anything in the Army fleet, if given the opportunity,” she said.
Caring for Our Sailors program enters second year
A successful effort called Caring for our Sailors, started last year during the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak, will continue this year.
“It is with great gratitude towards these hard-working men and women that I announce the 2021 SN Caring for our Sailors program,” said teenaged coordinators Brendan Falkowski and Brock Johnson in joint statement online.
“With the project being a huge success last year and an ongoing pandemic, we have decided to run the project once more during our senior year of high school. The goal of this program is to send care packages to the sailors on Great Lakes ships to provide extra support for this challenging season. Even though it might not be much for the sailors, we want to show them that they are appreciated for their sacrifices and work. These men and women spend over a month at a time out at sea, with limited interaction with family and friends at home. The crews on the ships are their families on the water, and they work together as a team to overcome these challenges.”
The two have gained approval from several shipping operators to send out care packages to their vessels and are aiming to provide gifts to almost 800 sailors on over 40 ships. They have also partnered with J.W. Westcott Co. of Detroit and Soo Marine Supply of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., for delivery of the packages to the ships.
The deadline for monetary donations by November 29, 2021.
Read more or donate at this link: https://shipwatcher-news.com/caring-for-our-sailors/?fbclid=IwAR0Xn_yN0KN9qVMEyYFk4xn2v5jtkZwYCHWT0F9YUlNdTOVCZ3P-lacqbd8
Update on Lake Superior outflows and expected conditions
Lake Superior and Lake Michigan-Huron have both continued their seasonal declines in October. As a result of the continued drier than average weather and water supply conditions, water levels on Lake Superior remain slightly below the seasonal long-term average. Weather and water supply conditions were wetter than average in the Lake Michigan-Huron basin in October, and as a result, Lake Michigan-Huron water levels remain above the seasonal long-term average. Lake Superior outflows continue to be set in consideration of water levels upstream and downstream.
The Board expects the total outflow to be 1,890 m3/s (66.7 tcfs) in November, which is as prescribed by Lake Superior Regulation Plan 2012. The gate setting at the Compensating Works will be maintained at the setting equivalent to one half gate open (Gates #7 through #10 partially open 20 cm (7.9 in)). There will be no change to the setting of Gate #1, which supplies a flow of about 15 m3/s to the channel north of the Fishery Remedial Dike.
Weather and water supply conditions were drier than average in the Lake Superior basin and wetter than average in the Lake Michigan-Huron basin in October. As a result, Lake Superior declined 5 cm (2.0 in), while on average the lake declines 3 cm (1.2 in) in October. Lake Michigan-Huron declined 4 cm (1.6 in) last month, while the average historical decline is 7 cm (2.8 in) in October. At the beginning of November, Lake Superior is 6 cm (2.4 in) below the long-term average water level (1918 – 2020) and 29 cm (11.4 in) below the level of a year ago. Lake Michigan-Huron is 42 cm (16.5 in) above average 38 cm (15 in) below the level from last year, and 63 cm (24.8 in) below the record level set in 1986.
Lake Superior and Lake Michigan-Huron water levels typically decline in November. Depending on the weather and water supply conditions during the next month, Lake Superior may rise slightly or decline by as much as 10 cm (4 in) in November. Lake Michigan-Huron water levels could decline by as much as 13 cm (5.1 in).
International Lake Superior Board of Control
Canada’s marine sector onboard to protect workers with mandatory vaccination policies
Canadian marine shipping organizations welcomed new federal mandatory vaccination rules released this week by Transport Canada, and said that marine company policies would be ready to protect the safety and welfare of both their employees and the public.
The Chamber of Marine Commerce, which represents marine industry stakeholders including major Canadian ship operators, shippers, ports, terminals and marine service providers that operate in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence, East Coast and Arctic, had already been working for some time with its partners to develop a model policy that strongly encourages use by members for their own specific operations.
The CMC’s Canadian ship operator members, which operate more than 150 Canadian-flag freighters, tugs and barges, contributed tothe development of the policy. Many of the Chamber’s members and partners, from ship operators to Canadian ports to the St. Lawrence Seaway to pilotage authorities, are federally-regulated and will be impacted by Transport Canada’s new rules. All of CMC’s Canadian ship operator members have already, or will be adopting mandatory vaccination policies for all employees, including onboard crews and shoreside personnel.
Bruce Burrows. President and CEO of the Chamber of Marine Commerce, said: “Marine workers are on the frontlines delivering essential goods for Canada’s economy. They are often working in close quarters and interacting with multiple people at different points and parts of the supply chain. Despite putting in place extensive protective measures during the pandemic, the marine sector experienced a few COVID outbreaks, which in some cases led to hospitalization and, tragically, even the death of one of our seafarers. Mandatory vaccinations are a necessary next step to help protect our employees and to reassure their families and communities that they are working in the safest possible environment.”
Burrows added that he looks forward to working with federal and provincial partners to develop improved ways to deliver booster vaccines to Canadian seafarers. Onboard crews come from all over Canada, are on ships that are continuously operating for weeks/months at a time and need mobile vaccine clinics in ports. Canadian seafarers struggled to get their first and second vaccine shots previously due to bureaucratic roadblocks, and some were forced to get them at U.S. ports.
Chamber of Marine Commerce
Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding celebrates expansion completion
Sturgeon Bay, WI – Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay celebrated the completion of remodeling and expanding buildings at the south end of the shipyard on Tuesday with a dedication and ribbon cutting. The impetus behind the was in conjunction with the $795 million contract that Fincantieri Marinette Marine received from the U.S. Navy to build a first-in-class frigate in April of 2020.
Vice President and General Manager Todd Thayse says the state-of-the-art fabrication buildings will help keep Bay Shipbuilding strong in the maritime industry for many years.
Other speakers at the event were Kurt Wolfgram, Project Executive from Miron Construction, Sturgeon Bay Mayor David Ward, and Mike Galecki, the Program Manager’s Representative – Bath U.S. Navy.
After the ceremonial ribbon-cutting, guests were allowed to take guided tours of the 84,000-square-foot building at the south end of North 3rd Avenue. Campus, and the 68,000-square-foot addition to an existing building off of North 1st Avenue.
You can watch a video from the dedication below.
Toledo museum hosts S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald-themed tours
WHAT: The Fitzgerald Experience
WHEN: Saturday, November 6 – Sunday, November 7, 2021
WHERE: National Museum of the Great Lakes
1701 Front St., Toledo, OH 43605
In recognition of the 46th Anniversary of the loss of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, the National Museum of the Great Lakes (NMGL) is offering a weekend of special tours on November 6 and 7. The Fitzgerald Experience is a guided tour of the Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship, using the lake freighter and its similarities to the Edmund Fitzgerald to discuss the events of November 10, 1975, theories surrounding the vessel’s sinking, and stories about the 29 crew members who were lost.
Although closed for the season beginning November 1, The Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship will reopen one last time this season exclusively to tour guests for the unique experience. Each tour will be limited to a small group of no more than 8 people and lasts approximately 75 minutes. Tickets are $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Due to tour popularity and size limitations, it is strongly recommended that tickets be purchased in advance. Guests can also take advantage of an additional 10-15% discount on museum store purchases. For additional information and to purchase tickets, visit nmgl.org or call 419-214-5000.
ADMISSION: $20.00 (Museum Members), $25.00 (Non Members). Museum and Ship Admission is included in the price.
National Museum of the Great Lakes
Virtual Visitor Center Today: ‘Sailing into Legend – the Most Baffling Shipwreck(s)’
A number of ships have “gone missing” on Lake Superior. The Griffon, Bannockburn, Henry Steinbrenner, and Merchant are only some of the lost fleet still lying in the Big Lake’s dark depths. Among these mysteries are the French Navy minesweepers Inkerman and Cerisoles. Built in Port Arthur, Ontario, the pair departed on November 23, 1918 bound for Montreal, before final delivery to France. Somewhere in Lake Superior they disappeared. Searches failed to find the missing warships. No confirmed human remains were ever recovered and the sparse flotsam gave no clues. Accusations of poor construction, shoddy seamanship and collision followed but real evidence was illusionary. French Navy investigations were equally lacking in answers. Join us November 4 when author Fred Stonehouse will share his research into one of Lake Superior’s greatest unsolved mysteries.
This free program begins today at 12:30 EDT (11:30 CDT) at https://www.gotomeet.me/VirtualVisitorCenter/sailing-into-legend. The Virtual Visitor Center is a cooperative endeavor between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Soo Locks Visitor Center Association and the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association.
OBITUARY: James (Jay) Crissey
James (Jay) Crissey, who was active in the maritime industry at the Port of Chicago and Port of Indiana and throughout the Great Lakes with Total Marine Safety, Parker Sales and Chicago Steamship, passed away October 21.
He was a founding member of the Coast Guard Sea Veterans of America, and very active in the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Chicago. He served on the Klamath WPG/HEC 66 as a 3rd class Machinist Mate and was in the ready lifeboat crew for boardings while serving with Squadron 3, Operation Market Time in Vietnam 1968.
Tributes on his Facebook page included this one, from his friend Bob Lund: “Jay” James Crissey was one of the finest men I’ve ever known. A giant in the Great Lakes marine community, he was a brilliant man with insights on a plethora of subjects in addition to his vast knowledge of all things maritime. He was also diligent, kind, caring and selfless.”
His funeral will be at Lincoln National Cemetery (20953 W. Huff Road, Elwood, IL) at 11:00 on December 10.
