Mississagi makes last port at Sault Ste Marie, ON

Sault Ste. Marie, MI – The retired laker Mississagi headed up the St. Marys River under tow Sunday afternoon bound for the scrap dock at Purvis Marine on the Canadian side above the locks. Boatwatchers watched form Mission Point and at the West Pier as the sad procession passed by. The Purvis tug Anglian Lady was on the bow, with W.I. Scott Purvis on the stern.

She was most recently at Sarnia, ON, where she was stripped of any usable equipment. Mississagi was owned by Lower Lakes Towing Co., a division of Rand Logistics. She began her career in 1943 when was launched at Great Lakes Engineering Works in Ecorse, Michigan, as the Hill Annex. Before its first trip, Hill Annex was rechristened George A. Sloan by U.S. Steel Co.

The Sloan was transferred over to the Michigan Limestone-owned Bradley Transportation Co. in 1966 and converted to a self-unloader. Had that not happened, the vessel would likely have met its demise in the 1980s.

In 2001, the Sloan and two fleetmates were sold to Lower Lakes Towing.  The Sloan was reflagged Canadian and renamed Mississagi. This name change honored the Mississagi Strait, which is the body of water separating Cockburn Island and Manitoulin Island in Northern Lake Huron. Meldrum Bay, situated on the west end of Manitoulin Island, is home to a quarry where the Mississagi loaded many cargoes during her career.

Her final trip saw her load wheat at Thunder Bay, ON, for Hamilton, ON, in early January 2021, after which she was laid up at Hamilton for the winter. She headed to Sarnia, ON, under her own power early in the 2021 to be stripped and retired.

Know Your Ships

2021 Marine Mart will be Saturday,  Oct. 16 in St. Clair Shores, MI

The 2021 Marine Mart, sponsored by Dossin Great Lakes Museum, will be Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the VFW Post in St. Clair Shores, MI. Buy, sell and trade photos, books, models, artwork and other Great Lakes memorabilia. There will be a special table where photos by the late Jim Hoffman and other items from his collection will be sold to benefit the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. See the ad in the photo gallery for details.

NOAA, state leaders celebrate designation of Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary

Manitowoc, WI – It’s finally official. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced its plans to designate a large area off the coast of Wisconsin a Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Recently – following a 45-day-review period in Congress – that designation was finalized, and was celebrated at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc.

The Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary (WSCNMS) will be co-managed by the state and NOAA. According to NOAA, the 962-square mile area was nominated for sanctuary consideration by a coalition of organizationsand will now protect 36 shipwrecks and related maritime heritage resources that are considered to be “historically significant.”

Of the three dozen wrecks, a release sent by the office of Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers says 21 are on the National Register of Historic Places. Evers adds that archival research suggests there may be as many as 60 other shipwrecks which have yet to be discovered. In addition, he says many of the shipwrecks are intact, and have been preserved by the cold freshwater of Lake Michigan.

The sanctuary area covers a stretch of shoreline that includes all of Manitowoc and Sheboygan Counties, as well as part of Ozaukee County.

WBAY

Interlake Steamship Co. conducts ship visits

Twice a year, management including our president, vice presidents and directors overseeing operations, marketing, engineering and personnel visit the boats to meet with our mariners.

The face-to-face interactions are vital and a long-standing part of our company’s commitment to the hardworking women and men who power our Interlake Steamship fleet. We update our crew members on what is happening with the company, the industry and the impacts of the day, and most importantly, listen to understand the challenges they face aboard.

“It’s invaluable to continue to reconnect with our mariners in person, aboard the vessels and throughout the Interlake Steamship fleet,” says Interlake President Mark W. Barker. “We had great discussions regarding our outlook for the end of the 2021 season and 2022, and ways we can all work together to move forward and continually improve.”

Interlake Steamship Co. (See photos in gallery)

Mississagi scrap tow heads for Sault Ste. Marie, OM

Sarnia, ON – Tug Anglian Lady departed Sarnia Friday about 1 p.m. with the retired laker Mississagi in tow. The local tug Pride assisted on the stern. They were bound for the Purvis Marine scrap dock in Sault Ste. Marie, ON. AIS Friday evening showed them making 6 mph up the lake

Marc Dease (See photos in gallery)

Lakes limestone trade up 10.4 percent in September

Cleveland, OH – Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.7 million tons in September, an increase of 10.4 percent compared to a year ago.  Limestone cargos were above the month’s 5-year average by 5.2 percent.

Loadings from U.S. quarries totaled 3 million tons, an increase of  12.2 percent from 2020.  Shipments from Canadian quarries totaled 684,234 tons, an increase of 8.3 percent.

Year-to-date the limestone trade stands at 21 million tons, an increase of 9.1 percent compared to a year ago.  Loadings from Michigan and Ohio quarries total 16.5 million tons, an increase of 7.5 percent.  Shipments from Ontario quarries total 4.6 million tons, an increase 15.5 percent.

Lake Carriers’ Association

New electric ferries slated for Kingston are on their way to Picton

Picton, ON – Two brand new electric ferries meant to be used in the Kingston region will be passing by their final destinations over the next week, but still have a ways to go before they are fully operational.

The Wolfe Islander IV was scheduled to arrive in Picton Friday, while the Amherst Islander II is meant to arrive next week, but that all depends on seaway inspections, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) says. Both ships were built in Romania by Dutch company Damen Shipyards, and departed for the Kingston region Sept. 27.

The current Wolfe Island ferry has been on the water since 1973, and can hold about 55 vehicles. It will be replaced by a much larger, zero-emission, electric ferry able to accommodate just over 80 cars and nearly 400 passengers.

As for the new Amherst Island ferry, it is also an electric, zero-emission vessel that will hold 300 passengers and 42 cars. According to a recent blog post from Damen Shipyards, both vessels “have twin diesel generators installed to allow hybrid and full diesel propulsion for maximum redundancy.”

The MTO says the two vessels will tentatively pass through Kingston Wednesday as they make their way to the Picton Terminals where they will be stored until they are ready to service the Kingston region next year.

The company that built the ships says although the ferries are ready to go, the four corresponding docks are currently being kitted up with a unique charging system that will be completed by 2022. “This will enable them to recharge their batteries while loading and unloading between the short crossings to and from the islands,” the company’s blog post said.

During their stay at the Picton Terminals, the two new ferries will make their way out onto the water for crew training before being brought to Kingston in 2022.

Damen Shipyards estimates that each year, one million passengers and 500,000 vehicles travel on the Wolfe Island ferry and 270,000 passengers and 130,000 vehicles travel on Amherst Island ferry.

Read more at this Global News link: https://globalnews.ca/news/8246956/electric-ferries-kingston-picton-terminals/

Mississagi scrap tow to leave Sarnia Friday morning

Sarnia, ON – Tug Anglian Lady from Sault Ste. Marie, ON, arrived at Sarnia Thursday to tow Mississagi from the North Slip in Point Edward to Sault Ste. Marie for scrapping. The tow was expected to leave Friday morning.

Marc Dease

Injured Federal Elbe crew member expected to recover

Port Colborne, ON – The crew member who was injured while being lowered from the Federal Elbe in Port Colborne when the rope parted on the boom has had surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.

Ships use their landing boom to swing crew members ashore when the vessel is moving in order to handle the mooring lines on tie up walls. They then climb back onboard using a ladder once the ship has stopped and been secured.

Janey Anderson

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Tug heads for Sarnia for Mississagi scrap tow

Sault Ste. Marie, ON – The Purvis Marine tug Anglian Lady departed her Sault Ste. Marie, ON, dock Wednesday late afternoon headed for Sarnia. She will return with retired laker Mississagi, bound for the Purvis scrap dock above the locks on the Canadian side.

Thunder Bay grain elevator sets a new record

Thunder Bay, ON – A Thunder Bay grain terminal has established a record for the largest amount of grain loaded onto a single vessel in the history of the port. The new mark was reached Sunday at the G3 Canada elevator on the Mission River, breaking a record set just this summer at another terminal.

Elevator workers put 31,143 metric tons of grain into the holds of the Algoma Central Corporation’s newest bulk carrier, Captain Henry Jackman. In July, the same vessel was loaded with 31,100 metric tons of grain at the nearby Superior elevator.

Carlo Lombardo, general manager of G3 Thunder Bay, says the company has made significant investments in the terminal in the past year, including a recently-completed dredging operation.

He said that without those investments it wouldn’t have been possible to set the record.

“The agriculture industry is an essential service. Since the onset of this pandemic, our guys have never stopped. They realize that it’s absolutely critical for the grain flow to continue from Western Canada through the port of Thunder Bay to domestic and international markets,” Lombardo said.

“At the end of the day, they’re just happy to be part of that network. And this milestone is just the icing on the cake for us.”

Lombardo said it’s particularly rewarding to set a record after working an “unbelievably difficult” 18 months through the pandemic.  He also acknowledged that there’s a friendly competition among Thunder Bay’s terminal operators for achievements such as this.

“There’s a little bit of a rivalry going on. It’s a lot of fun.”

TBNewswatch. View photos at this link: https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/a-thunder-bay-grain-elevator-sets-a-new-record-6-photos-4482791

NACC Capri and Algosea will head to Portugal for drydocking

NACC Capri and Algosea will transit the Atlantic to Lisnave Shipyard in Setabul, Portugal for drydocking soon. They will leave the last week of October (tentatively Oct. 25). Algosea will sail from Sarnia and NACC Capri from Bath or Port Daniel. Estimated schedule is 11 days to transit and 14 days in drydock.

Rene Beauchamp – Seaway News

                                                            Crew member falls from Fednav vessel

A crewman from the Fednav vessel Federal Elbe was being lowered by a line from the Federal Elbe in the Welland Canal when he fell to the canal wall Wednesday. He was airlifted to an out-of-region hospital. No further information is available.

Nathan Attard

Corps’ Virtual Visitor Center series will continue through April

Detroit, MI – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District Park Rangers are continuing their popular Virtual Visitor Center series with monthly programs planned through April 2022.

“We created the Virtual Visitor Center in May 2020 when our facilities closed due to COVID-19 so we could continue our mission to inform, educate and hopefully entertain the public,” said Chief Park Ranger at the Soo Locks, Michelle Briggs. “These programs helped us reach people who may not be able to visit our sites in person and proved so popular that we have continued offering them.”

Briggs notes this year Detroit District Park Ranger workloads increased when Visitor Centers reopened to the public causing them to reassess the previous schedule. “In order to keep up with our daily work and provide high quality educational programing we are offering programs the first Thursday of each month at12:30 p.m. EST during our off season, October-April.”

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District

Propeller installed on Mark W. Barker

The controllable pitch propeller has been installed on our 639-foot Great Lakes freighter being built at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. The massive four-blade propeller has a diameter of 18 feet and can make 120 revolutions per minute (RPM). Made of nickel, aluminum and bronze, the propeller weighs 13.4 tons.

Interlake Steamship Co

Scrap tow nears for veteran Mississagi

Sarnia, ON – The tug Pride was employed Tuesday to paint yellow towing stripes on the bow of Mississagi, laid up at Sarnia, ON. A tow to Sault Ste. Marie, ON, and the Purvis Marine scrapyard could happen as early as this weekend. The stripes allow the tug crew to see if the tow is taking on water or developing a list.

Mike Cunningham

Lake Superior below the seasonal long-term average first time since April 2014

Thunder Bay, ON – Lake Superior and Lake Michigan-Huron have both continued their seasonal declines in September. As a result of the drier than average conditions, water levels on Lake Superior have gone below the seasonal long-term average for the first time since April 2014. Lake Michigan-Huron water levels have declined significantly from the record-high levels observed in recent years, but 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 2,030 m3/s (74.5 tcfs) in October, 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). 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.

Lake Superior News

Great Lakes museum donations top $200K at gala

Toledo, OH – Despite sluggish early ticket sales for its primary fund-raising raffle, the National Museum of the Great Lakes raised over $200,000 for a second straight year during its annual H2Oh! gala and related events.

A museum statement announcing the fund drive’s outcome didn’t say how many tickets ended up being sold for its Luck of the Lakes raffle, for which two grand prizes were offered: an 11-day Great Ljakes cruise or admission to next year’s scheduled christening of a new lake freighter as a guest of the Interlake Steamship Co.

But the last two years’ fund-raising proceeds both exceeded the pre-pandemic results of $170,000 in 2019 and $167,000 the year before. Besides the raffle, admissions to the Sept. 25 gala dinner held in the atrium at ProMedica’s Steam Plant headquarters benefitted the museum, as did a silent auction that raised $20,000.

The holder of the first winning Luck of the Lakes ticket chose the cruise, while the ship-christening event and related tours was awarded as second prize. A third-prize winner received a day trip visit to the J.W. Westcott mailboat in Detroit.

Toledo Blade

Great Lakes see impact of climate change: Higher highs, lower lows

More intense storms, fueled by climate change, are battering shorelines and cities throughout the Great Lakes, pulling the land right out from under some homes.

“Cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, they all have to adapt to this,” said Melissa Scanlan, director of the Center for Water Policy at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

Milwaukee sits on Lake Michigan, which has swung from record-low water levels in 2013 to record highs the past few years.

“The highs are getting higher and the lows are getting lower,” Scanlan said. “I’m most concerned about flooding and sewage contaminating the drinking water supply for millions of people.”

Sewage can get dumped into Lake Michigan when intense storms overwhelm Milwaukee’s stormwater systems. The area’s sewerage district is replacing concrete channels built in the 1960s with more natural creeks to try to prevent future flooding.

Marquette, Michigan, spent $3 million to rebuild a shattered stretch of road 300 feet away from its increasingly unpredictable neighbor, Lake Superior.

“Lake erosion really got the best of it,” said Dennis Stachewicz, who is planning director for the city. “Ultimately it failed because nature caught up with us.”

But with access to so much fresh water and without the hurricanes and wildfires ravaging other parts of the country, the Great Lakes region is still considered somewhat of a climate haven.

With the right solutions, Stachewicz said, they hope to weather the storm. “Change is occurring and we probably need to be prepared for it,” he said.

CBS News

Luck of the Lakes raffle winners announced

Toledo, OH – On Saturday, September 25 the National Museum of the Great Lakes held its H2Oh! Gala, signifying the tail-end of its single largest fundraiser of the year. For the second year in a row, the group raised over $200,000 to support Great Lakes history.

At the gala, winners of the Luck of the Lakes raffle were drawn. The grand prize winner selected the 11-day Great Lakes cruise from Victory Cruise Lines. The runner-up won the Cleveland getaway with an exclusive invitation to participate in the christening and receive a behind-the-scenes tour of the M/V Mark W. Barker. The third prize winner received a day trip experience on the J.W. Westcott.

And the winners are…
GRAND PRIZE WINNER: Brad Topovski
RUNNER UP: Nick Kirby
THIRD PRIZE: Cary Cooper

National Museum of the Great Lakes

Lake Michigan steel plant spill not a hazard, say officials

Portage, IN – Environmental officials say high iron levels in a steel plant wastewater spill into a Lake Michigan waterway does not pose a risk to the public.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) says surface water testing near the U.S. Steel Midwest Plant wastewater outfall, which released a rust-colored discharge this weekend. “do not indicate any health risks for people who may come into direct contact with the water.”

An orangish plume in the Burns Waterway was initially spotted on Sunday, Sept. 26 and prompted beach closures this week at Indiana Dunes National Park and other Lake Michigan public shorelines around the Portage, Ind. facility. U.S. Steel spokeswoman Amanda Malkowski said Monday that the waterway discoloration was due to high iron levels, which regulators confirmed on Wednesday.

Read the full story at this M Live link: https://www.mlive.com/news/2021/09/iron-in-lake-michigan-wastewater-spill-not-a-hazard-say-officials.html?utm_campaign=aanews_sf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0j20Bt_i0ZzDyqJ5MqG_O0du3G8CwWjCaJGGkavnOpbpagb_VJiwDsfco

Montreal’s Ocean Group expands operations in Vancouver area

Montreal, QC – Ocean Group has announced the acquisition of Samson Tugboats Inc., a Vancouver-based company specializing in harbor towing in the Vancouver area since 2011.

In March 2020, Ocean Group announced that it had been awarded several major contracts in British Columbia, including one for harbor towing services in the Port of Vancouver, with three state-of-the-art tugs. After more than a year of operations, the company now has four tugs on site to serve its clients. With the acquisition of Samson Tugboats and its two tugs, Ocean Group will now have six harbor tugs in the region, additionally being able to count on the business relationships previously established by the management of Samson Tugboats.

“We share Canadian values of respect and integrity with Samson Tugboats and we intend to focus on the continuity of our activities, in a sustainable development perspective. The two harbor tugs will become part of Ocean Group’s fleet and will meet the needs of our clientele in the Vancouver area. This acquisition is in line with our desire to have high quality standards for our clients,” said Jacques Tanguay, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Group.

Ocean Group

U.S. Navy is both decommissioning and building more of this failed ship

You may be confused by this headline but so are we. USS Freedom (LCS 1), the Great Lakes-built lead ship of the Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship, recognized little more than a decade of naval service during a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Base San Diego this week. It was “envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant” but most naval experts agree the program was an expensive failure.

Depite the monumental failure of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) platform – which naval experts have called “A Beautiful Disaster” – the US Navy is constructing 10 more LCS ships right now and have an additional one of the failed platform on order.

Because of the many failures in the program, USS Freedom has served mostly as a test and training ship. According to the US Navy the decommissioning of LCS 1 “supports department-wide business process reform initiatives to free up time, resources, and manpower in support of increased lethality” but most experts cite the true problems as huge cost overruns, mechanical problems, and changing geopolitical trends made this relatively new ship obsolete.

“I just wanted to point out the fact that, you know, we’ve had class after class after class of ship procurement and construction that has essentially failed. And it’s failed us in providing national defense, presence, deterrence overseas,” Congresswoman Luria said during a Congressional hearing in February 2020. “And it’s failed the sailors who are working on those ships. They’re the ones who are doing the right thing, but we’re giving them platforms that can’t do the job, that are not fully developed, that are not mature in design before we start building them.”

Of the four original Feedom Class LCS ships the USS Independence has never deployed and served as a test platform, Freedom recently deployed to U.S. Southern Command. Fort Worth and Coronado have each deployed once, but both experienced technical issues that forced expensive repairs during their deployments. In May, Admiral Gilday, Chief Of Naval Operations, said it would cost approximately $2.5 billion to upgrade the first four hulls of the Freedom Class LCS to prepare them for combat. So instead, he is decommissioning them.

What is most shocking about this story is not the utter failure of the LCS platform, nor it’s immense costs. Most shocking is the fact the Navy is still building more. In 2019 the U.S. Navy announced it awarded contracts for another three Littoral Combat Ships, bringing the total number of vessels ordered so far to over 30. Austal received two of the awards while Lockheed Martin received the third.

Two LCS ships were commissioned this year, USS Oakland in April 2021 and the USS Mobile in May 2021. The USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, built by Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Marinette, WI, was also scheduled to be commissioned this year but a problem with the propulsion system was discovered. The Navy did not provide a timeline for when she is expected to be commissioned or go into service. The USS Marinette, also built by Fincantieri Marinette Marine, was launched in 2020 but still has not been commissioned.

According to the US Naval Register of ships, the following 10 LCS ships are still under construction:

LCS LCS 21 MINNEAPOLIS-SAINT PAUL
LCS LCS 23 COOPERSTOWN
LCS LCS 25 MARINETTE
LCS LCS 27 NANTUCKET
LCS LCS 29 BELOIT
LCS LCS 30 CANBERRA
LCS LCS 31 CLEVELAND
LCS LCS 32 SANTA BARBARA
LCS LCS 34 AUGUSTA
LCS LCS 36 KINGSVILLE

In addition, the USS Navy has one more LCS on order that has been authorized but is not yet under construction, the LCS Pierre.

Read more at this link: https://gcaptain.com/us-navy-decomissioning-failed-lcs/?subscriber=true&goal=0_f50174ef03-9123658f5a-139892145&mc_cid=9123658f5a&mc_eid=53b9773ccd&fbclid=IwAR0Z6LtbQB0I1pj-wyU8jSwndJ864B9GW6Kav8w4pnjxTMhCo5sDTbMA7Mg

Great Lakes Shipyard awarded $1.9 million in government contracts

Cleveland, OH – Great Lakes Shipyard, a division of The Great Lakes Towing Company, Cleveland, OH, USA, announced that it has recently been awarded government contracts amounting to more than $1.9 million. The contracts include haul out, maintenance, and repair work of the following vessels:

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter KATMAI BAY; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -Detroit District Floating Plant (Tug DEMOLEN and Crane Barge VELER); U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -Buffalo District Barge BC6214.

The contracts could be valued at nearly $2.5 million if all options are exercised. Great Lakes Shipyard is a regular provider of maintenance and repair services to the federal government, particularly the USCG and USACE Great Lakes vessel fleets.  The vessels are “repeat customers” and were at Great Lakes Shipyard for their last routine drydockings back in 2016.

“These are some of our favorite projects to have in the shipyard.  We have great working relationships with the Coast Guard and the Army Corps, and the contracts help keep our crews busy with steady work,” says Dan Keith, Project Manager.

The shipyard will utilize its new 900-ton Marine Travelift to haul out the vessels and barges and perform the work simultaneously.  For a short period, all four (4) vessels will be on drydock in the yard at the same time.  Most of the work will be completed before the end of November.

Great Lakes Shipyard

The 2021 Gales of November traditional conference cancelled

Duluth, MN – Due to the increasing numbers of COVID infections and hospitalizations in our region, the board of the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association has opted to cancel its in-person Gales of November. The board is exploring other options, including virtual presentations, for Nov. 12 & 13. Please stay tuned for updates coming shortly.

Lake Superior Marine Museum Association

Soo Locks Visitor Center to close temporarily for roof repairs

Sault Ste. Marie, MI – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is temporarily closing the Soo Locks Visitor Center from Oct. 4, 2021 to Oct. 8, 2021. The Visitor Center will temporarily close to protect the safety of visitors and contractors while repairs are made to the roof and ceiling of the facility.

“The park, observation platform and bathrooms will remain open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily,” said Chief Park Ranger Michelle Briggs. The Visitor Center will reopen to the public and updates to the boat schedule hotline will resume at 9 a.m. Oct. 9, 2021.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District

U.S. Navy decommissions Great Lakes-built USS Freedom after 13 years of service

San Diego, CA – USS Freedom (LCS 1), the lead ship of the Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship, was recognized more than a decade of naval service during a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Base San Diego on Sept.29

Due to public health safety and restrictions of large public events related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the ceremony was a private event celebrated alongside ship plankowners and former crew members.

During the ceremony guest speaker, retired Rear Adm. Donald Gabrielson, former commander of U.S. Naval Forces, Southern Command/Commander, U.S. Fourth Fleet and commanding officer of Freedom’s commissioning crew, wished the current crew fair winds and following seas as they bid farewell to their ship.

“I have never in my life seen or served alongside a more capable, dedicated, devoted, talented, and inspiring group of people than the Sailors I served alongside with LCS and what I have watched in every day since.” said Gabrielson. “As we acknowledge this bittersweet moment, I hope well all remember that this ship was a vehicle to learn and innovate by doing and to make real progress in a short amount of time, and that doesn’t happen with other ship concepts.”

Freedom’s commanding officer, Capt. Larry Repass, reflected on the service of his crew and those who came before. “As we bid farewell to Freedom, her crew consists of superb, highly trained, deeply committed Sailors who are dedicated to mission accomplishment, defense of the nation, and defense of our families,” said Repass. “In them, the spirit of Freedom lives on.”

Freedom maintained a crew of nine officers and 41 enlisted Sailors. The ship was built in Marinette, Wisconsin, by Fincantieri Marinette Marine and commissioned Nov. 8, 2008, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

After the decommissioning of Freedom, 21 LCS remain in service to the fleet.

Naval Post

Fall Lighthouse Festival October 1-3 in Door County

Sturgeon Bay, WI – The 2021 Door County Fall Lighthouse Festival is this weekend. Many of the tour excursions provide exclusive access to lighthouses not typically open to the public, including Chambers Island, Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse, Sherwood Point and the Plum Island Range Lights. Some tours are already sold out, but tickets remain available for the Saturday Plum Island trip, Saturday morning Rock Island tour, and Saturday & Sunday Kayak Lighthouse Tours.

Visit www.dcmm.org for tour details and additional information. For questions, please email info@dcmm.org or call (920) 743-5958.Maritime Speaker Series Returns!

Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society, Inc.

Door County museum Maritime Speaker Series returns

Sturgeon Bay, WI ­– The first presentation of the 2021-2022 Maritime Speaker Series will be held on Thursday, October 7 at 7pm, featuring Barb Chisholm discussing the 150th anniversary of the Peshtigo Fire. ​​​​​​​

On the evening of Oct. 8, 1871, the worst recorded forest fire in North American history raged throughout Northeast Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, destroying millions of dollars of property, timberland, and taking between 1,200 and 2,400 lives. ​​​​​​​

Barb Chisholm, great granddaughter of fire-survivor Emmerence (Gaspard) Englebert, ​​​​will take on the character of her great grandmother to tell the tale of her forebears’ survival, and give an overview of the fire that enveloped both sides of the Bay, and how it influenced the area and its people. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Each Fall, Winter and Spring, the Door County Maritime Museum hosts experts and interesting characters from around the country for the Maritime Speaker Series (presented in partnership with series sponsor Door County Medical Center). ​​​​​​​

The Door County Medical Center Maritime Speaker Series programs are held the first Thursday of each month, October through May, beginning at 7pm, on the second floor of the Museum in Sturgeon Bay, as well as online.

There is no cost to attend; we suggest donation of a non-perishable food item, or if watching online, we ask you to donate to your local food pantry.

Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society, Inc.

Great Lakes shipyards are bustling

Around the Great Lakes region, shipyards are busy. The need for vessels, maintenance and retrofits, and necessary infrastructure improvements, have led to a hike in activity for some shipbuilders.

But disparities in activity between shipbuilders in the region are not the difference between very little business in the sector and lots of it. Some shipyards in the region stayed busy with work throughout the pandemic and its sometimes cumbersome restrictions, others less so. Now, industry pros say, things are picking up.

Rick Hammer, general manager for Erie, Pa.-based Donjon Shipbuilding & Repair, said he’s seen a noticeable increase in business recently.

“We have noticed an uptick,” Hammer said. “I don’t know if I’d link it to the lifting of the pandemic restrictions, but this year we have certainly got more RFQs.”

Still, is it possible that the pandemic and the needs it created has in some ways helped to lift all boats, so to speak, in shipbuilding?

Maybe, in part. Supply chain logistics, capabilities, and ownership are more relevant than ever, because of the pandemic-wrought travel restrictions that made shipping even more important. Now, there’s a new urgency to successfully deliver goods—almost like a wartime situation. That mindset doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon; governments and the public have been mobilized against the perceived threat of COVID and expectations for delivering goods are changing. It’s possible that it means steady business, long-term, for shipbuilding.

Pandemic Progress
Don Jon Shipbuilding & Repair’s employees expected a rather brackish business pace when the COVID pandemic hit, but were surprised by how well things worked out.

“We were anticipating a rather slow year, but we had a very successful year,” Hammer said. “Most of the work done during the start of the pandemic was based on plans and budgets from the previous year. I think the fact that commerce must continue and is needed to keep America running factored into the activity.”

The trains, trucks and ships still have to deliver on time during war or pandemic, no doubt. Still, it’s not as if shipyards were immune to suffering some ill effects of the pandemic. The lockdowns did create problems resulting in delays in materials and labor, but it didn’t truly impede business, according to Hammer.

“Throughout the whole process we were able to remain open and operating, because as part of the marine transport industry, the shipyard was deemed to be critical infrastructure with essential workers,” he said.

The unprecedented restrictions of the pandemic were especially damaging to industries that depend upon foot traffic, and many didn’t survive. Things are very different from that scenario in shipbuilding. It could be too soon to tell, but the overall effect of the pandemic on shipbuilding might be to have buoyed the sector, adding new projects and new relevance. Certainly, shipping is more prominent these days.

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding kept on task during the pandemic. The company was able to keep its entire workforce employed during the past 18 months, said Todd Thayse, vice-president and general manager for Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding.

“In addition to our continued and uninterrupted support of the Great Lakes fleet, we delivered two new construction vessels in 2020, [and] are on schedule to deliver a 5,400-cubic-meter LNG bunker barge in 2021,” Thayse said. “In 2022, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding will be delivering the Mark Barker, the first U.S.-flagged self-unloading vessel for Great Lakes service built since the 1980s.”

The new ship being built specifically for the Great Lakes is part of a company legacy of shipbuilding in the region. Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding has been upgrading and building ships for the Great Lakes for generations.

“The Michigan Trader, as well as the Mark Barker, represent a significant lineage of our company. We built many of the Great Lakes bulk carriers in the 1970s and ‘80s, and have been maintaining these vessels since. We delivered the car ferry Madonna to Washington Island Ferry Line last summer, which is the largest ferry in their fleet,” Thayse said.

With Fincantieri Marine Group member Marinette Marine Corporation recently awarded a $38 million contract for design and construction of a Constellation-class frigate, the shipbuilder is improving its infrastructure to meet the challenge of the project. Fincantieri currently is investing $300 million in its Wisconsin shipyards.

“Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding is expanding by adding new buildings for steel storage, to house our new blast and prime line operations, for additional plate and structural shape processing, as well as a new module construct building,” Thayse said. “All of these new facilities will be operational in 2021.”

U.S.-flagged Great Lakes fleet operators helped push some of the activity in the past year, investing $87 million over the 2020-2021 winter season in their vessels in shipyards and facilities across the region. In the past year, Fincantieri Bay shipbuilding also has seen some other growing lines of business.

“We have seen a significant increase in opportunities this year, across multiple market segments including LNG Bunkering, wind farm support vessels, dredges, ferries and various government programs,” Thayse said.

Offshore Wind
Projected growth in offshore wind development has figured into some shipbuilders’ business, but not all. The growth in offshore wind projects is not fueling a lot of activity in the region’s shipyards, some say.

“Offshore wind has been discussed on the lakes for many years,” Hammer adds. “It seems to ebb and flow with the politics at the time. We personally have yet to see it come to fruition.”

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, being a larger group, may be in a better spot to snag some of the shipbuilding work in offshore wind. Part of the current demand for vessels in the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry is for barges used in feedering systems, and for purpose-built ships such as crew transfer vessels.

The large company finds the growing new market to be a promising one.

“We have worked on several projects that will become purpose-built ships and barges to support the offshore wind market,” Thayse said. “We have been working in this market for several years now, supporting our customers in the development of vessels to work in this new market, and we are expecting this market to remain viable for the near future.”

Government Funding
Other government-backed business could bode well for the sector, too. President Biden has proposed spending $17 billion on inland waterways, coastal ports, ferries, and land ports of entry. But so far, Great Lakes shipyards aren’t seeing much of a boost from the announcement.

“We have yet to see opportunities as a direct result of the infrastructure bill,” Thayse said. “However, we have already seen an increase in opportunities for ferry vessels. We are expecting to see continued opportunities in these market areas as these projects are funded.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration has released a report, which states that collectively, U.S. private shipyards amount to $42 billion in gross domestic product. It’s a fact that gives a better sense of the sector’s wide economic impact.

“We were unaware of the magnitude of the impact, but have been well aware of the importance of the U.S. shipbuilding industry both to our local communities and the overall economy,” Thayse said. “We see firsthand the impact shipbuilding brings to our local community as we are the largest local employer in a town that has been building and maintaining ships for over 100 years.”

MarineLog https://www.marinelog.com/shipyards/great-lakes-shipyards-are-bustling/