Port Reports – November 28, 2022

Unless where otherwise noted, port and vessel activity from November 27, 2022. Please send future port reports to news@boatnerd.net.

Duluth, MN – Superior, WI – Joshua Hebeisen
It was a great weekend of late-season traffic in the Twin Ports with some uncommon faces making appearances on the Duluth side and a unique visitor slipping in via Superior. This would be sharp-looking saltie Egbert Wagenborg and her fore-mounted pilothouse, sister to identical twin Maxima that garnered much interest on her visit to the lakes earlier this summer. While Maxima had arrived Duluth under the cover of darkness and unfavorable weather, a calm lake and beautiful fall sunset for Egbert’s Saturday evening entrance brought out the boatnerds for some great picture-taking opportunities. Wagenborg’s EasyMax-class vessel would make the turn and proceed to Gavilon to load beet pulp pellets; arriving Superior rather than Duluth will allow her to easily depart port without performing a spin.

Saturday traffic on the Minnesota side began in typical fashion with Mesabi Miner arriving at 02:25 for ore at CN 6 and fleetmate Paul R. Tregurtha departing two hours with a loadout of coal from SMET. This particular batch will be split between St. Clair and Essexville. More salt for the coming winter season was inbound at 18:19 courtesy of CSL’s Baie Comeau, making her first transit of the Duluth Ship Canal in nearly a year before heading to Hallett 8 to unload. The Miner was outbound for Cleveland at 19:06, and American Integrity cleared Superior at 21:44 after 24 hours of loading at BNSF.

Hon. James L. Oberstar departed Duluth six minutes into Sunday morning after a productive multi-day stay in port. First discharging stone at CN-Hallett 5, the classic laker had shifted over to SMET and took on a load of coal destined for… just a short way to the east at Superior’s own Graymont terminal. Hey, whatever pays the bills. Her next destination will be Marquette, where a load of taconite pellets will wrap up a trip to Lake Superior that saw her handle three different cargoes (well, technically four if you count limestone and dolomite separately, but I’m no geologist). Baie Comeau would shift from Hallett 8 to CN 6 at around 05:30 to commence a load of taconite.

A 07:45 sunrise arrival for 70-year-old workhorse Michipicoten would surprisingly be the ex-Elton Hoyt II’s first appearance in the Duluth Ship Canal of the season. She was a mainstay in port just a couple years ago with what were sometimes biweekly runs from CN 6 to the Soo; her typical route now sees her haul these cargoes out from Superior. This particular visit to Minnesota was just for fuel (but greatly appreciated nonetheless), and the vessel soon headed down the harbor for her typical loading grounds under the BNSF conveyors. After less than four hours at the ore dock, the Michip’ was already back on the lake headed for Algoma Steel. Incredible.

Great Republic made her first appearance in nearly a month when she arrived Duluth at 09:25 Sunday morning to unload limestone at CN-Hallett 5, but not before taking a quick drink of fuel at the port terminal. Just a slip away, saltie Merwedegracht would soon cast off in ballast and depart around 14:00 for Trois-Rivières and presumably a trip out the Seaway. Her time in port was spent unloading bagged quartz sand. Fleetmate Floragracht moved from her own berth over to Riverland Ag for grain a few hours later.

An unexpected journey for powerhouse Edwin H. Gott would see her depart Two Harbors late in the evening and arrive beneath the Aerial Lift Bridge at 22:45. She tied up at the port terminal, probably for repairs or service of some kind. Baie Comeau was outbound for Quebec at 23:28 to put a bow on the holiday weekend.

Marquette, MI – Oggdo Bogdo
It was a bustling day at Marquette on Sunday, starting with the arrival of the Clyde S. VanEnkevort/Erie Trader at 08:05 and subsequent departure at 18:48 for Cleveland. Right after the tug/barge was gone, the guest of honor Wilfred Sykes made her appearance at 18:48, her first visit in over 3 years. The fun wouldn’t stop there, though; fellow 50s laker Hon. James L. Oberstar would follow a few hours later at 20:03, coming from Duluth after a shuttle coal run. The two make for an impressive lineup at the ore dock. The fun still won’t end after the two current residents are gone; still to come are the Kaye E. Barker, Lee A. Tregurtha, and Victory/Maumee in the days ahead. Quite the sequence of days for Marquette.

St. Joseph – Benton Harbor, MI – Michael Moran
The Samuel de Champlain/Innovation arrived safely in the harbor Sunday under the watchful eye of the “G” (Great Lakes Towing Company) Tug Massachusetts.

Andrie Marine has been using local agency Great Lakes Search and Recovery (GL SAR) to monitor the shoal. After the most recent survey, they were notified that the recent weather had changed the profile of the shoal in our favor. This makes it safer and easier to get into the harbor, but it is still shallower than it should be and still needs emergent dredge work. The good news is that King Company stands ready to finish mobilizing equipment and to start working as soon as weather allows.

Muskegon, MI – Oggdo Bogdo
Kaye E. Barker was inbound at 08:16 from Calcite with stone for the Mart dock. At 19:09 she headed out for her next ‘M’ port, Marquette, for an ore run. Following her in the next day or so will be her fleet mate Herbert C. Jackson with only her 3rd visit this year.

Manistee, MI – Chris Franckowiak
Manitowoc is due to arrive Manistee shortly after midnight Monday. She will discharge coal at TES – Filer City and should depart around 10 AM. TES – Filer City has at least one more delivery of coal scheduled for this season.

Goderich, ON – Bruce Douglas
Saginaw arrived 12.14 Sunday loading at elevators. Radcliiffe R Latimer arrived 13.43 Sunday loading at Compass Minerals.

Lake Erie Ports – Bill Kloss
Monroe, MI: Interlake’s James R. Barker arrived at 19:10 with coal for DTE.
Toledo, OH: Wilf Seymour/Alouette Spirit departed at 04:53 for Detroit. Still in port are Spruceglen and Federal Nagara.
Kingsville, ON: American Courage arrived at 20:34 and anchored.
Marblehead, OH: Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder arrived at 17:22 and will be loading stone at Holcim.
Sandusky, OH: Cuyahoga loaded coal for Algoma Steel at the Soo, leaving at 05:41. John J. Boland arrived at 10:17 to load at Norfolk Southern.
Cleveland, OH: At the Port docks are Finnborg and Peyton Lynn C.
Conneaut, OH: John D. Leitch arrived at the P&C dock at 09:05.
Buffalo, NY: The Vane Brothers tug and barge New York/Double Skin 509A departed for Detroit.
Nanticoke, OH: Sunday departures were Algonova for Sarnia at 04:56 and Albert/Margaret for Green Bay at 12:31. Algoma Hansa weighed anchor and moved to Imperial Oil. Algosea remains 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.