Port Reports – April 1, 2023

Port and vessel activity from March 31, 2023, unless stated otherwise. Please send future port reports to news@boatnerd.net.

Duluth, MN – Superior, WI – Scott Bjorklund
Duluth Entry
Baie Comeau arrived early Wednesday morning at 00:29 (Central) to unload salt at Envirotech-Hallett #8 from Windsor, ON. John J. Boland arrived soon after at 00:54 to load petroleum coke at SMET. John J. Boland departed at 12:39 for Holcim at Alpena. A mostly quiet day resulted in a two-fer lift Wednesday night. James R. Barker departed first at 20:15 with iron ore pellets while Baie Comeau departed empty just behind them at 20:20; after Barker departed CN, Laura L. VanEnkevort was finally able to shift over to load iron ore pellets. Laura L. VanEnkevort departed Thursday morning at 10:30 with iron ore pellets for Cleveland.

As of Thursday night, only Federal Dart was in port on the Duluth side. Friday we expected CSL Tadoussac early afternoon to load at CN followed by CSL Niagara later on, also due at CN. Finally, depending on weather, Algoma Transport may arrive in the evening to load petroleum coke at SMET.

Superior Entry
American Integrity departed at 04:10 Thursday morning with iron ore pellets for Conneaut, Ohio. American Century then took their turn, arriving at 04:39 to load at BNSF#5. As of Thursday night, American Spirit was still wintering at Elevator M, Burns Harbor was waiting at Lakehead Pipeline, American Century was loading at BNSF, Dirk S. VanEnkevort was anchored outside waiting with Oakglen and Baie Comeau. American Century is expected to depart early Friday, and Dirk S. VanEnkevort should arrive to load next. Depending on weather, Dirk should leave Friday afternoon or later; Burns Harbor should be loading after Dirk departs.

Two Harbors, MN – Gary Putney
Defiance/Ashtabula departed Two Harbors 3/30 for Conneaut at 14:06 with tug Missouri assist. Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin arrived Two Harbors at South of #2 at 14:35 that afternoon.

Marquette, MI – Anonymous
It was an Interlake kind of day on Thursday, with three of their classic lakers represented in the activities. First, the always classy Kaye E. Barker arrived at 06:57 after being held up near the Soo due to high winds the previous day. She joined the Herbert C. Jackson for a few hours before the latter departed for Detroit at 11:08. The Barker would not be lonely for too long however; the Lee A. Tregurtha slowed down to let the Jackson pass before gliding over to the other side of the ore dock. After the pair are done, the next arrivals will be the Clyde S. VanEnkevort/Erie Trader and the Sam Laud. The Laud especially is a somewhat rare sight.

Kaye E. Barker departed at 15:23 Friday for Dearborn, leaving fleet mate Lee A. Tregurtha at the dock. The Barker loaded in under 10 hours while the Tregurtha has been stationary for well over 24 hours, so it is possible the veteran ship is exercising caution before heading out. Due to unpleasant conditions, numerous vessels have taken cover near the shorelines, including the Sam Laud and Clyde S. VanEnkevort/Erie Trader, both of which are due at Marquette when the weather subsides.

Southern Lake Michigan Ports – Andrew Meyer
Gary, IN: A quick turnaround for the Great Republic was the summary of Thursday’s traffic for Gary Harbor. She arrived around 0900 and was out the piers only 5 hours later.
Indiana Harbor, IN: Mark W. Barker arrived just after midnight Thursday and was out of dodge by lunchtime. Mesabi Miner arrived just after lunch Friday. She’d be joined late evening by baby brother Mark Barker. The Miner is expected to depart for Two Harbors overnight- a load perhaps slightly unusual for her but nothing uncommon.
Burns Harbor, IN: Arrival #1 for old #1 happened at the ungodly hour of 0630 on Thursday. Stewie should be turned around before dawn for Superior.

Calcite, MI – Port Dolomite, MI – Andrew Meyer
Wilfred Sykes spent most of Thursday night/Friday morning at Port Dolomite before departing for Calcite to top off her holds. As Friday turned over to Saturday, she was still in Calcite after spending over 9 hours at the dock. Could be early season kinks, could be weather, who knows. Either way, it’s an unusual pattern for the Sykes, the sorts of which end up being Lake Superior visits.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Innovator arrived 21.51 Thursday. FIRST vessel for Goderich to host for NEW season. Algoma Compass arrived 22.17 Thursday and is anchored beyond breakwalls to load salt next. Algoma Innovator was FIRST last season as well. Goderich hosted 224 vessels last season and 232 previous season.

Lake Erie Ports – Bill Kloss
March 30
Monroe, MI: New York/Double Skin 509A is still in port.
Toledo, OH: Algoma Conveyor is loading grain. Hon. James L. Oberstar departed for Buffington, IN.
Cleveland, OH: Departing were Joseph L. Block for Two Harbors and Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder for Marblehead. Petite Forte/St. Marys Cement is unloading at Holcim.
Buffalo, NY: Departing for Bath, OH was NACC Alicudi and arriving was Radcliffe R. Latimer.
Nanticoke, ON: Algoterra departed for Montreal, PQ and Algocanada left for Green Bay, WI. Algonova is at Imperial Oil.

March 31
Toledo, OH: Departing was Algoma Conveyor and arriving was John D. Leitch.
Marblehead, OH: Taking a break from the Cleveland shuttles, Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder is loading stone at the Holcim dock.
Cleveland, OH: Joyce L. VanEnkevort/Great Lakes Trader arrived with 34,000 tons of Tilden pellets for the Bulk Terminal. Once empty, the tug and barge left for Superior, WI. Next up was fan favorite Arthur M. Anderson with 23,000 tons of UTAC pellets for the Bulk Terminal. The Bulk Terminal is expected to be very busy over the next few months.
Nanticoke, ON: Algonova went to anchor while Paul A. Desganes arrived to load at Imperial Oil.

Buffalo, NY – Brian Wroblewski
Nova Algoma’s NACC ALICUDI arrived with her first ever cargo of cement for Buffalo at 9AM on the 29th. The VERMONT met her at the North Entrance, helped them wind the boat, and towed the ship up to the Holcim terminal stern first. The ALICUDI is the same design as their NACC CAPRI and was recently fitted with the stern unloading pipe manifold off of her sister while wintering in Toronto. The CAPRI is now trading over seas while the ALICUDI has been assigned to the Great Lakes. This new/used stern pipe allows her to unload in Buffalo, Cleveland, and Oswego.

The RADCLIFFE R LATIMER arrived off Lackawanna around 6AM on the 30th. She came in the South Entrance, winded off the CRH cement terminal and backed in to load coal at the bulk apron of the Gateway Metroport Main Dock. The ALICUDI was all set at Holcim by 12Noon and got under way with the VERMONT checking her stern on the way out. They dropped their tow line at the Watson Basin and the cement freighter headed out for the lake on her own.

While we do not currently have daily summaries for the following ports, their respective port authority websites post schedules of vessel traffic that are featured below. Each schedule is a miniature webpage within a box. Scroll with your cursor in the box (or slide your finger within the box on a mobile device) to move through the schedule as you would a normal webpage. To move up or down the actual Port Reports page itself, make sure your cursor/finger is outside of the box.

Green Bay, WI – Port of Green Bay
Click on vessel image for voyage info.

Hamilton, ON – Hamilton–Oshawa Port Authority
Scroll past AIS map for arrival/departure schedule.