PHOTO GALLERY: Hundreds pack Soo Locks Park Friday to watch first freighter
SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – The 2024-2025 shipping season is officially open on the St. Marys River navigational system. The 728-foot-long Joseph L. Block locked through the Poe Lock at 6 p.m. Friday with hundreds of people watching from inside the Soo Locks Park.
The Locks were originally scheduled to open at 12:01 a.m. Monday, March 25, but that
got moved to Friday due to the urging of major steel producers.
Fans of the freighters, called Boatnerds, packed the viewing platform and stood along
the fence to be a part of the special day.
There’s something special about the opening. It’s excitement in the air. It’s really cool,
said Holland resident Jody Forward. Forward has visited the Locks before on several
occasions, but never on the official opening.
It’s like everybody knows each other even though nobody really knows anybody. We
are meeting for the first time in person, not on the internet or on Facebook. It’s just an
excitement in the air. I’m not sure how to explain it. It is an amazing thing to see,
Forward said.
Tomalou Squires made the trip from Paradise to see the first freighter through for the
first time, too.
I was happy that the opening of the Lock was at 6 p.m. this year instead of midnight
because I finally could make it over. The weather is nice. It’s so exciting with all the
people here. I never realized how big of a thing it was. I am hooked now, Squires said.
Sault Ste. Marie resident Diane Lahr-Barclay started loving the boats around two
decades ago. Six o’clock is cool this year, but midnight is fun, also. Looks like the
weekend is going to be nice to sit back and watch the boats go through, Lahr-Barclay
said.
The smaller of two locks, the MacArthur Lock, is expected to open up over the next few
weeks according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Soo Leader
‘Remarkably intact’: 1886 steam barge ‘Milwaukee’ discovered in Lake Michigan
HOLLAND, MI — Explorers from the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association (MSRA) have discovered and identified the remains of the steam barge Milwaukee which sank in 1886, about 40 miles west of Holland, MI.
According to the MSRA, the discovery was made in June 2023 using side scan sonar, marking the 19th shipwreck the group of explorers has found during their decades of work on the Great Lakes.
Members of the MSRA Board of Directors, which included Valerie and Jack van Heest, Craig Rich and Neel Zoss, spent the balance of the summer working to film the wreck so they could confirm its identity, Valerie tells FOX 17.
“It was just an ordinary ship going about its everyday job,” Valerie Van Heest, award-winning author, historian, museum exhibit designer and Director of the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association (MSRA), said. “But, it was at the wrong place on Lake Michigan at the wrong time.”
“The discovery [of the Milwaukee] happened faster than some of our past discoveries,” Valerie said. “It was actually on our second day on Lake Michigan.”
As the group was moving slowly on the lake where they believed the Milwaukee met its fate, a very large object suddenly appeared on the side scan sonar, Valerie said. “It wasn’t clear,” Valerie added. “We couldn’t tell if it was a ship, but it was definitely something big on the bottom surrounded by nothing but sand.
“So, that was the ‘bingo moment’ — we knew we had found it.”
Read more and video video footage at this link: https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/michigan/remarkably-intact-1886-steam-barge-milwaukee-discovered-in-lake-michigan?fbclid=IwAR18_wyX-ipEdFSQmq1GxnVZXx3sMt3r-y2VJWoT8_Ef-9FtOo_Bvpb-ZTg
Successful first voyages EasyMax vessel ‘Amalia’
AFTER DELIVERY IN JANUARY THE M.V. AMALIA – THE LATEST SUSTAINABLE MPP VESSEL IN THE WAGENBORG FLEET – LEFT HER HOME PORT DELFZIJL FOR HER FIRST VOYAGES. UNDER COMMAND OF CAPTAIN JOENAMAR S. BACUETES THE FIRST VOYAGES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY.
The maiden voyage for the m.v. Amalia exists of a 13.500 tonnes of alumina, which was loaded in Brake for the Norwegian port of Mosjoen. After discharging the Easymax vessel set direction to Herøya for again a full load; this time fertilizers destined for Rotterdam.
Greenest multipurpose vessel in her class
The EasyMax ship concept is the latest and greenest type of ship in the Wagenborg fleet. Wagenborg was awarded the Maritime Shipping Award for this ship design in 2017, partly due to its superior fuel efficiency. With a cargo capacity of 13.800 tonnes and a large hold intake of 625.000 cbft, Wagenborg was able to build a relatively large vessel without a major increase in overall dimensions. With an installed power of less than 3.000 kW and an aerodynamic hull shape, the m.v. Amalia has an extremely low fuel consumption resulting in over 60% savings in CO2- emissions compared to her peer group. This makes the EasyMax the greenest multipurpose vessel in her class, which fits perfectly in the sustainability strategy of Wagenborg.
In 2024 a fourth new build Easymax vessel is expected to be delivered to Wagenborg after which a fifth sister vessel will follow in the next year.
See full story at: https://www.wagenborg.com/news/successful-first-voyages-easymax-vessel-amalia
