Port Reports – November 26, 2022

Unless where otherwise noted, port and vessel activity from November 25, 2022. Please send future port reports to news@boatnerd.net.

Duluth, MN – Superior, WI – Joshua Hebeisen
In a real head-scratcher, Joseph L. Block departed Duluth from the CN 6 shiploader at 02:34 and went to anchor off the piers, later getting underway for Two Harbors and another loading session there at 06:15. Most unusual. She presumably took on two different grades of taconite pellets that necessitated a visit to both CN facilities. With the Block leaving the dock, Mark W. Barker pulled out from her berth east of CN 6 and scooted over to the shiploader, where her own load of iron ore commenced in the wee morning hours.

Taconite would also be flying off the conveyors over in Superior following the 09:24 arrival of CSL Laurentien. The Canadian veteran would soon be left to her lonesome on the Wisconsin side of the harbor as American Century cast off from SMET, crossed state lines, and left via the Duluth Ship Canal at 10:13. Usually good for a load of 68,000 tons of coal, the Century is spicing things up this time around with some petroleum coke mixed in. The Baby Barker got underway from CN 6 midafternoon and departed under a beautiful blue fall sky; the sun would already be casting its final rays just 45 minutes later as fleetmate Paul R. Tregurtha came in for coal.

Finishing up her load in the evening darkness, a Hamilton-bound Laurentien cleared the Superior piers nearly 12 hours on the dot since her morning arrival. American Integrity came lumbering through about 30 minutes later after sailing up and down the length of Minnesota Point to entertain herself while patiently waiting for her own turn at BNSF. The last traffic of the day would be just after 23:05 back in Duluth as Hon. James L. Oberstar brought a limestone/dolomite split load under the bridge. She headed to Hallett 5 to unload her cargo.

Colorful Spliethoff fleetmates Floragracht and Merwedegracht are still docked at Berth 1 and Berth 2 of the port terminal, respectively. Flora is due next at Riverland Ag to load grain, while Merwede continues offloading bagged quartz sand from Turkey.

Milwaukee, WI – MKE Marine Reports
After unloading steel at Federal Marine Terminals, Federal Champlain moved to the COFCO elevator early Friday morning. The Champlain is a Handysize Laker built in Oshima Japan. She entered service in 2016 and is 656 feet long with a 78-foot beam. Limited to Seaway draft (8.08 meters), she will load about 850,000 bushels of soybeans (roughly 22 metric tons) at COFCO.

Federal Champlain is only the second ship to visit COFCO this year. In early May, Canada Steamship’s CSL Laurentian took a load of soybeans from COFCO to a transfer elevator at Baie Comeau. The Laurentian is Seawaymax (740 by 78 feet) and can carry about 29,000 metric tons of soybeans. Baie Comeau is past the Seaway locks so ocean vessels at the transfer elevator can load to maximum draft instead of seaway depth.

Grand Haven, MI – Oggdo Bogdo
It was a great day for classics on Friday, starting with the departure of the John G. Munson at 11:33, headed to Port Dolomite next after unloading trap rock. Arriving that night at 21:03 was the steamer Wilfred Sykes, coming from Indiana Harbor. Not bad.

Lake Erie Ports – Bill Kloss
Monroe, MI: Leonard M/Huron Spirit is at the Port dock. Arrivals were Undaunted/Pere Marquette 41 at 12:36 to the Port and Manitowoc to DTE at 13:34. Manitowoc departed for Toledo at 19:26.
Toledo, OH: Departures were Manitoulin for Sault Ste. Marie, ON and American Mariner for Bruce Mines, ON. Arrivals were Spruceglen, Victory/Maumee and Manitowoc.
Marblehead, OH: Calumet departed with stone for Cleveland.
Cleveland, OH: Spliethoff-Doornekamp container ship Peyton Lynn C arrived at 12:48 and berthed at dock 22E at the Port. Calumet arrived at 15:47 with stone for Osborne.
Nanticoke, OH: Algosea and Albert/Margaret arrived mid morning and anchored, Algonorth Algoterra are at Imperial Oil while Algoma Hansa and Algonova remain anchored.

While we do not currently have daily write-ups for the following ports, their respective port authority websites post schedules of vessel traffic that are embedded below. Each schedule takes the form of a miniature webpage within a box – scroll with your cursor within 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.