Port and vessel activity from February 16, 2023, unless stated otherwise. Please send future port reports to news@boatnerd.net.
St. Marys River – Joshua Hebeisen
USCGC Mobile Bay bid farewell to her berth at U.S. Coast Guard Station Sault Ste. Marie early Thursday morning, departing port at 09:47 to conduct another icebreaking run down the river. Following about two hours behind was Algocanada; the tanker left Purvis Marine just before noon after discharging petroleum products at the dock. She is currently destined for Nanticoke, ON, to take on another load of fuel. Mobile Bay took a rest at Lime Island after the tanker passed, and remained there as of Thursday night.
Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
Algonova arrived at 07:24 Monday with petroleum products from the Imperial Oil Refinery in Sarnia. After discharging her cargo at the city’s Liquid Cargo Pier, she departed for Cheboygan Monday evening. With a winter storm in the forecast, Algoma Innovator arrived at 07:10 Thursday with deicing salt from Compass Minerals, Goderich. She backed into south slip one on the outer harbor to drop her cargo on the open dock. This is the fifth salt delivery of 2023 from the Compass Minerals mine.
Note: After the E.M. Ford sank in south slip one in 1979, the following notice was placed in the United States Coast Pilot, a manual used by mariners in unfamiliar ports. “Vessels moored in the outer harbor may be subject to severe surging when there are strong NNE to ENE winds.” Winds at the port Thursday afternoon were from the NNE (22°) at 32 knots (37 mph).
Cheboygan, MI – Joshua Hebeisen
Surprise! USCGC Mackinaw, apparently anchored nearby in the lake, finally reappeared on AIS just after midnight on Thursday. She had been off the grid since last weekend. After returning to her cozy berth, the cutter would be passed by tanker Algonova, backing out of port at 09:12. Algonova spent a day unloading at the U.S. Oil dock and is now headed back for Nanticoke, ON.
Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Innovator cleared 21.48 Wednesday upbound for Milwaukee with salt. Algoma Conveyor arrived 03:56 Thursday, loading at Compass Minerals. Conveyor’s third appearance here for February.
Port Huron, MI – Sarnia, ON – Joshua Hebeisen
The Imperial Oil Refinery played host to two Algoma tankers early Thursday morning, with Algoterra and Algosea arriving from the anchorage in short succession at 01:29 and 02:36, respectively. Both went to the lower dock. CCGC Griffon was inbound beneath the Blue Water Bridge at 06:53 and tied up at the Government Dock following a few busy days out in the lake. She had been aiding in the Coast Guard’s search for the missing object since Monday and made a quick stop at Goderich, ON, on the way home. The search efforts for the object —shot down by the U.S. military on Sunday — have officially been called off by the government due to a low probability of success. While no debris was recovered last week, the object is not believed to be a threat to national security. Iver Bright remains at Suncor awaiting future action.
Algoma Innovator backs into the outer harbor slip with salt in Milwaukee, WI. MKE Marine Reports image, February 16