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Duluth, MN – Superior, WI – Joshua Hebeisen
Paul R. Tregurtha, reigning Queen of the Lakes, departed Duluth at 02:02 Friday, June 24 with another 68,000 tons of coal for Michigan power plants. The only other vessel traffic of the day was the saltie Elbeborg, proceeding outbound with a cargo of beet pulp pellets from Gavilon at 17:29.
On Saturday, an early-morning fog over the Duluth Entry cleared just before 08:00, making way for the inbound Ocean Navigator to arrive with her passengers. This is the Navigator’s second visit to the Twin Ports this season and the third visit by a cruise ship overall. She would tie up at Berth 8 of the port terminal before departing for her next stop, Thunder Bay, at 18:51. American Century arrived Duluth at 13:19 for SMET and coal, while Frontenac departed Superior for Nanticoke at 17:28. The classic Canadian laker had previously arrived at 03:49 to load 27,000 tons of Hibtac pellets at BNSF Dock 5. Around 20:00, Burns Harbor shifted from the Enbridge dock to BNSF after taking a delay for repairs.
Sunday saw a changing of the guard at SMET, starting as the American Century finished her load and cast off with 68,000 tons of coal in the early-morning hours. Inbound saltie Federal Delta, due at the dock to load petroleum coke, arrived Duluth at 02:54 as the Century made her way through the harbor towards the Aerial Lift Bridge and Lake Superior. The 1,000-footer would eventually depart for St. Clair and Monroe at 03:32. Fleetmate Burns Harbor spent the day at BNSF Dock 5 in Superior loading taconite pellets, with Manitoulin and Indiana Harbor anchoring off the Superior piers at 09:00 and 15:00, respectively, in anticipation of their own turns at the dock. Hon. James L. Oberstar was inbound Duluth at 20:17 with limestone and dolomite from Stoneport and Meldrum Bay; she is currently discharging the split cargo at CN-Hallett Dock 5. With G-tug Arkansas in tow, tugboat William C. Gaynor cleared the piers at 21:28 en route to Lake Erie. The Gaynor had brought the tug Kentucky to the Twin Ports earlier in the week as a replacement for the Arkansas, which will be undergoing repairs and inspection in Cleveland before assignment to a new port.
Footers Edgar B. Speer (port terminal, Berth 2) and Presque Isle (Fraser Shipyards) are still receiving mechanical attention in port.
Two Harbors, MN – Silver Bay, MN – Gary Putney
American Integrity arrived Two Harbors on 6/23 at 00:53. She departed on 15:23 for Gary Works. The Walter J. McCarthy Jr. arrived Two Harbors on 6/25 at 04:00. She departed on 6/25 at 16:00 for Conneaut. Edwin H. Gott arrived Two Harbors at 20:27. Due Two Harbors on 6/26 is an infrequent visitor, the Saginaw.
Marquette, MI – Joshua Hebeisen
Lee A. Tregurtha was inbound the upper harbor at 22:51 Friday for the south side of the LS&I dock, departing for Dearborn at 05:36 the next morning. The north side would be occupied shortly after 08:00 by the 1,004-foot American Spirit. As part of the complicated process required to load a footer at the aging gravity dock, the Spirit cast off at 02:00 Sunday morning and tied up with her port side against the dock to ensure an even load. She bid farewell at 11:02 when she left fully loaded for Cleveland.
St. Marys River – Roger LeLievre
After arriving at the West Pier of the Soo Locks six days ago, the Mesabi Miner crew have completed their engine repairs and were underway Sunday downbound trip to St. Clair, MI.
Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
Sunday morning, Federal Montreal was still at the Federal Marine Terminals dock, outer harbor. She arrived Thursday morning with eleven brewing tanks lashed to her deck. The tanks were made by Ziemann Holvrieka of Ludwigsburg, Germany, and shipped through the Port of Antwerp. Federal Mayumi was at anchor northeast of the harbor entrance waiting for her fleetmate to clear the slip. She brings steel from IJmuiden. Whitefish Bay visited briefly Saturday afternoon and dropped about 3,000 metric tons of deicing salt at the open dock, outer harbor, before heading to Morton’s Calumet River wharf. Ocean Voyager arrived from Mackinac Island at 05:33 Sunday and proceeded to the Pier Wisconsin Cruise Dock. At the north end of Jones Island, tug John Marshall was loading two barges with scrubber stone for the We Energies Oak Creek power complex. She has been shuttling between Milwaukee and Oak Creek since Tuesday.
Southern Lake Michigan Ports – Joshua Hebeisen
Calumet Harbor, IL: Finishing the trip back up the Calumet River they began more than two hours ago, tug/barge Caroline McKee/Commander departed at 02:57 Friday for Charlevoix to load yet more cement for South Chicago. At noon, Algoma Innovator shifted from Iroquois Landing to Compass Minerals, where she remains as of Sunday night. Samuel de Champlain/Innovation were inbound later Friday afternoon at 14:28 with cement for the Holcim South Chicago Cement Terminal. The pair would depart for Benton Harbor to deliver the remainder of their cement cargo at 19:19 Saturday. Two minutes after midnight on Sunday morning, Whitefish Bay was inbound the river for a trip to Morton Salt. Fraserborg arrived at 06:07 for Iroquois, with Spartan/Spartan II behind her two hours later for the KCBX Terminals Co. loading wharf. Whitefish Bay would eventually depart for Duluth-Superior at 12:58. Caroline McKee/Commander were back for another trip to St. Marys at 20:08.
Indiana Harbor, IN: Baie Comeau departed at 01:47 for Sept-Iles on June 24, with Manitowoc arriving the following day at 09:01 to take her place at Dock 7H. Joseph L. Block was a 20:11 arrival for the former Mittal West (now Cleveland-Cliffs) dock, where she remains as of Sunday night. June 26 saw Undaunted/Pere Marquette 41 arrive at 02:24 for the old Inland Steel berth, Manitowoc depart at 02:58 for Alpena, and James R. Barker return to unload ore at 7H around noon. Undaunted departed with her barge at 14:57 to continue the pair’s busy schedule, this time a trip to Burns Harbor just east around the coast.
Gary, IN: Undaunted/Pere Marquette 41 kicked off what would be a busy weekend for the pair on Lake Michigan’s southern coast when they departed for Burns Harbor at 02:15 Friday morning. Taking the pair’s spot along the eastern side of the slip were Ashtabula/Defiance, arriving at 11:10 on Saturday before departing for Brevort just before midnight.
Burns Harbor, IN: After making the short trip over from Indiana Harbor, Undaunted/Pere Marquette 41 arrived at 03:09 Friday for the north end of the Cleveland-Cliffs dock before departing with slag for St. Joseph-Benton Harbor at 10:12. Joseph L. Block would also tie up at Cleveland-Cliffs upon her arrival at 20:29, and Federal Mayumi departed from FMT Burns Harbor just over an hour later en route to Milwaukee. Saturday saw Spartan/Spartan II arrive for what appeared to be either Tanco Terminals or Frick Services at 07:35; the Block departed for Indiana Harbor at 18:06. Spartan guided Spartan II outbound for South Chicago at 03:01 Sunday, Wilfred Sykes was inbound for Cleveland-Cliffs at 12:50, and Undaunted/Pere Maruqette were back again for the northern end of the dock at 16:32.
St. Joseph-Benton Harbor, MI: Rieth-Riley Construction received another load of slag from Interlake Logistics Solutions’ Undaunted/Pere Marquette 41 when the tug/barge combo arrived at 16:14 Friday night. They would depart the St. Joseph River for Holland at 01:44 the following morning. Sunday saw Samuel de Champlain/Innovation arrive with cement for the Holcim terminal at 00:58 before heading outbound for Alpena at 11:22.
Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Algoma Conveyor arrived 02.46 Sunday loaded at Compass Minerals, cleared 14.28 Sunday upbound for Green Bay WI with salt.
Detroit, MI – Windsor, ON – Joshua Hebeisen
Dirk S. VanEnkevort/Michigan Trader kicked off the first official week of summer in the Motor City when they arrived at 04:25 on Monday, June 20 for the Warner Petroleum Mistersky Fuel Dock. The pair was outbound for Marquette at 11:23; in the meantime, Ocean Voyager tied up at the public dock and terminal around 07:55 on the next leg of her passenger’s tour of the Great Lakes region. The cruise ship departed upbound for Little Current at 17:58, while Florence Spirit was downbound for Toledo around 22:00 after fueling at Sterling Fuels Limited in Windsor. The latter had previously been tied up at ADM.
Just minutes after midnight Tuesday morning, Manitowoc arrived to fuel up at Mistersky on her way to Manistee. Grand River Navigation’s versatile self-unloader continued her voyage around 02:30, allowing the upbound Paul R. Tregurtha to stop for fuel after delivering coal to Monroe. The 1,013.5-foot Queen of the Lakes would depart at 06:59 for Duluth-Superior. American Integrity was next at Mistersky an hour later, Sam Laud arrived for various berths along Zug Island at 08:26, Lee A. Tregurtha sailed up the River Rouge for Dearborn at 08:41, and classic fleetmate Herbert C. Jackson was inbound for fuel at 11:30 as the Integrity made her way upbound for Superior. More Mistersky musical chairs would take place when the Jackson departed for Belle River at 14:01, clearing the way for John J. Boland to refuel on her way for stone in Meldrum Bay. The Boland departed for Lake St. Clair and beyond at 16:46. Sam Laud departed at 17:51 for Toledo, Iver Bright arrived for Mistersky at 18:02, and the Tregurtha – Lee A. – headed downbound for Sandusky at 22:54.
On Wednesday, Iver Bright cast off for her usual home base of Sarnia at 07:24. Sam Laud was inbound for Mistersky at 09:53 before departing for Algoma Steel (Soo) at 13:08; John G. Munson arrived for Motor City Materials at 10:26 and headed back up the Detroit River eight hours later. American Courage was in port from 17:07 to 19:02 fueling at Mistersky in preparation for the trip to Stoneport. The western end of Zug Island saw the arrival of McKeil Marine’s Harvest Spirit at 19:31.
Lee A. Tregurtha was back in town early Thursday morning, stopping at DTE’s EES Coke Battery just after midnight after a trip to Sandusky. At 01:40, H. Lee White arrived from Toledo for Mistersky before departing en route to Port Inland at 04:13. Hon. James L. Oberstar, loaded with taconite pellets from Marquette’s Cleveland-Cliffs Tilden Mine, meandered up the River Rouge around 07:00 to deliver her cargo to the Dearborn Works. Upon completion, the laker shifted to Mistersky at 20:00 before heading back upbound to load stone for the Twin Ports. CSL Tadoussac made port at 10:07 for St. Marys on the Rouge, meeting the outbound Lee A. Tregurtha as the WWII veteran departed empty for Marquette. Prentiss Brown/St. Marys Challenger arrived for Mistersky at 22:57 and fueled overnight.
Just four minutes after midnight on Friday morning, Harvest Spirit was outbound the Detroit River and downbound for Hamilton with a load of coke for ArcelorMittal Dofasco. Prentiss Brown/St. Marys Challenger continued upbound at 01:29 for the usual refill of cement in Charlevoix. Later in the morning, American Mariner arrived at 07:55 for Mistersky, and fellow Bay Shipbuilding alum Algoma Buffalo followed her inbound at 09:34 to unload at Motor City Materials on the River Rouge. The Mariner would depart for Calcite at 11:33 and the Buffalo for Cleveland at 17:37. Calumet was the next Mistersky customer at 11:52 and would later shift to Morton on the Rouge to load salt for Green Bay. She was passed by the outbound CSL Tadoussac as the classic Canadian laker – one of the last in operation – shifted across the Detroit River for Miller Aggregates Southwest in Windsor. She departed port for good at 23:00, headed for Fairport Harbor. Victory/Maumee went to Mistersky upon arrival at 22:25.
The coming of the weekend brought a busy Robert S. Pierson into port at 00:30 Saturday morning, heading for Miller Aggregates Southwest and shifting down to CoCo Aggregates to continue unloading before the sun had even risen on the Canadian side of the river. Fleetmates Victory/Maumee and Calumet headed upbound for the Soo and Green Bay in the meantime; Dirk S. VanEnkevort/Michigan Trader stopped at Mistersky around 07:00 before departing for a Lake Superior port two hours later. An eventful stop in port continued for the Pierson when she shifted over to Detroit and the western side of Zug Island at 10:00. Following a quiet afternoon, G.L. Ostrander/Integrity arrived with cement products to discharge at Holcim around 19:20.
In yet more shifting, the Robert S. Pierson sailed across the Canadian border on Sunday once again to top off at Sterling Fuels. She would depart for the Soo at 13:07, with the Ostrander and her barge headed downbound for Toledo at the same time. Back in port for Dearborn was Lee A. Tregurtha, arriving at 19:14 with ore from Marquette. Joyce L. VanEnkevort/Great Lakes Trader are on their way to load ore at Superior’s BNSF Dock 5 after stopping at Mistersky from 20:46 to 23:25.
Lake Erie Ports (June 25, 2022) – Bill Kloss
Toledo, OH: Departures were Dirk S. VanEnkevort/Michigan Trader for Detroit, Evans Spirit for Sarnia, Algoma Transport for Hamilton and Federal Biscay for Montreal.
Marblehead, OH: Cuyahoga loaded for another trip to Kingsville.
Kingsville, ON: Cuyahoga arrived at 05:32, unloaded at Southwestern Sales and departed for Sandusky at 09:45.
Sandusky, OH: Cuyahoga arrived at 13:23.
Cleveland, OH: Algoma Buffalo arrived at 01:53, loaded salt at Cargill. She departed at 18:52. New York/Double Skin 509A departed for Detroit at 07:34 and Petite Forte/St. Marys Cement arrived 14 minutes later and went up the Cuyahoga River to deliver Cement to the Jefferson St. terminal. McKeil Spirit arrived to unload at Lehigh Cement at 19:21.
Fairport Harbor, OH: CSL Tadoussac arrived late Saturday night.
Nanticoke, ON: CSL Niagara arrived at Stelco at 03:31.
Lake Erie Ports (June 24, 2022) – Bill Kloss
Toledo, OH: Arrivals were Victory/Maumee, Federal Rideau, Spruceglen, Evans Spirit and Dirk S. VanEnkevort/Michigan Trader. Departures were CSL Niagara, American Mariner, Spruceglen Victory/Maumee and Wilf Seymour/ Alouette Spirit.
Marblehead, OH: Cuyahoga loaded and left for KIngsville at 09:08. She returned from Kingsville at 16:38.
Kingsville, ON: Cuyahoga arrived at 12:45, unloaded at Southwestern Sales and left at 13:09 for a return to Marblehead
Sandusky, OH: Saginaw departed at 05:43 with coal for Algoma Steel in the Soo.
Cleveland, OH: Fraserborg left late Thursday night for Chicago.
Fairport Harbor, OH: Calumet departed at 02:20 with salt for Detroit.
Nanticoke, ON: Algonorth arrived at 06:36 to load at Imperial Oil.
Buffalo, NY – Brian Wroblewski
The saltwater ship Federal Caribou was towed out of Gateway Metroport in Lackawanna on the muggy & hazy evening of June 25th after completing a 6 day unload of about 20k Super Sacks of raw cane sugar from Brazil at Sucros Sourcing’s refinery there. The Vermont took her out of the Lackawanna Canal stern first, dropped the line in the Outer Harbor Southern Channel, came around to her Port side & helped her wind. The Caribou then departed via the South Entrance by herself for Duluth around 20:00. While they were on the way out, Ryba Marine’s Kathy Lynn scooted by with an empty dump scow & headed North for the Buffalo River.