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Source: WKBW

The USS Freedom, the Navy’s newest next-generation warship, will be arriving in Buffalo’s inner harbor at 12pm today.

The ship runs on massive waterjets, making it extremely fast and agile compared to other ships.

The USS Freedom will be on display at the Buffalo Naval Park through Monday. The crew will be attending the Monday Night Football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns.

BY NAOMI POWELL | Source: Hamilton Spectator

U.S. Steel Canada is temporarily laying off 175 employees at its Hamilton plant as it extends the shutdown of its blast furnace.

And ArcelorMittal Dofasco will halt all steelmaking for two weeks at Christmas.

… Laid-off workers at U.S. Steel Canada will not be called back until the Hamilton blast furnace — the heart of the plant’s steelmaking operations — is brought back to life following a shutdown that started late last month, said Rolf Gerstenberger, president of the United Steelworkers union at the plant.

… More than 5,000 hourly and salaried employees at the former Dofasco will be required to take vacation or unpaid leave during the 14-day shutdown, to begin Dec. 22.

Only essential staff will stay at the plant, which operates two blast furnaces and one electric arc furnace. The company plans to resume production at a reduced rate in January.

Read the full story at the Hamilton Spectator >>

by Peter Passi | Source: Duluth News Tribune

This shipping season is shaping up as a record year for coal flowing out of the Twin Ports.

Midwest Energy Resources Co., operator of the largest coal terminal on the Great Lakes, loaded 17.9 million tons of coal onto lakers at its facility in Superior during the first 10 months of 2008. That’s 9.1 percent more coal than Midwest put on the water during the same period last year.

Midwest President Fred Shusterich expects the facility to top 23 million tons in coal shipments this season, blowing by its previous record of 21.8 million tons, set in 2006.

… “I hate to see taconite shipments taking a beating because of the slowdown in the steel industry, but the truth is, it should help us stay active,” said Shusterich, explaining that when there’s less competition for vessels, it’s easier for Midwest to move coal to market.

Read the full story at the Duluth News Tribune >>

Related: ArcelorMittal-Dofasco and Essar Steel Algoma expected to streamline - The Barrie Examiner

By KEVIN NEVERS | Source: Chesterton Tribune

Less than three weeks after U.S. Steel Company (USS) posted its most profitable quarter in history—with a net revenue of $919 million—it has announced the layoff of 500 represented employees at its U.S. facilities or around 3 percent of the company’s total represented domestic workforce of 16,000.

Another 177 represented employees are being laid off at the company’s Canadian facilities.

Jerry Littles, president of United Steelworkers Local 1014, told the Chesterton Tribune  today that 58 members have been laid off at Gary Works.

… Littles said that the layoffs have affected members at the “hot-mill side” at Gary Works. “A lot of them have been paid off for the rest of the week and most are out already.” He added that those laid off have less than three years of service—many of them have less than one year of service—and are therefore not yet covered by job security provisions in the contract.

Nevertheless, those provisions are not inviolable and may be voided in the event of “catastrophic events,” and Littles observed that the economic meltdown is certainly beginning to look like a catastrophe.  “We do not have any orders to speak of from the auto industry. We’re hurting. It’s a trickle-down effect. They’re our biggest sector, the auto industry.

“The company has made a commitment to bring the members back to work when the industry comes around but right now we have no clue when that will be,” Littles said. “We don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Read the full story at the Chesterton Tribune >>

by Peter Passi | Source: Duluth News Tribune

Together, Northshore and United have an annual capacity of 11.5 million tons. Both had been running full tilt until this month. In fact, Northshore invested about $40 million to bring a long-idle furnace back on line in March, boosting the facility’s capacity by about 800,000 tons and creating 30 new jobs.

The latest change of gears has been jarring to say the least, according to Rebrovich.

“We’ve seen plenty of ups and downs before, but we’ve never seen things go to hell in this short a period of time,” he said.

…Cliffs’ largest single pellet buyer, Arcelor Mittal, recently announced plans to cut its production by up to 15 percent in light of reduced demand for its steel.

Read the full story at the Duluth News Tribune >>

CLEVELAND, OH - (October 28) - The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday that December 1, 2008 is the new compliance date for implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) for owners and operators of facilities located within the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Zones of Buffalo, New York; Duluth, Minnesota; Detroit and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; and Lake Michigan.

In accordance with the requirements of the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) and the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act (SAFE Port Act), the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) serve as an identification card for all personnel requiring unescorted access to secure areas of MTSA regulated and facilities.

To obtain a TWIC, an individual must successfully pass a security threat assessment conducted by Transportation Security Administration.

The original October 31, 2008 compliance date for these facilities was extended due to a power outage at a Transportation Security Administration facility that has delayed the activation of some TWICs. Read the rest of this entry »

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Source: WNWO NBC 24

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, plans in 2009 to award contracts for a dozen maintenance dredging projects for rivers and harbors in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. “The fiscal year 2009 dredging program represents a significant reduction from our efforts in fiscal year 2008.

Here are the Corps’ planned 2009 dredging projects for the Upper Great Lakes:

• Detroit River, Mich.                             200,000 cubic yards
• Duluth, Minn.-Superior, Wis.            120,000 cubic yards
• Grand Haven, Mich. (outer harbor) 50,000 cubic yards
• Grand Haven, Mich. (inner harbor) 30,000 cubic yards
• Green Bay, Wis.                                 160,000 cubic yards
• Holland, Mich. (outer harbor)          35,000 cubic yards
• Ludington, Mich.                                40,000 cubic yards
• Monroe, Mich.                                     70,000 cubic yards
• Ontonagon, Mich.                              45,000 cubic yards
• Rouge River, Mich.                            80,000 cubic yards
• Saginaw, Mich.                                  300,000 cubic yards
• St. Joseph, Mich. (outer harbor)     45,000 cubic yards

Read the full story at WNWO NBC26 >>

BY MIKE HOEFT | Source: Green Bay Press Gazette PHOTO GALLERY

MARINETTE — A training exercise Tuesday in the Menominee River should better prepare first responders for an oil spill, officials said.

The pollution response training included classroom work last week and oil boom deployment Tuesday at Marinette Marine docks. A floating boom consists of linked inflatable chambers with a weighted bottom that can corral oil. Skimmers remove the oil from inside the containment area. Crews towed a boom into the river, anchored it, and then towed a secondary boom into the river.

“We feel that with the amount of ships that come in and out of the river that we should be prepared,” said Jerry Plansky, Marinette Fire Department’s assistant chief. About 10 fire department staff members joined the training.

Training, coordinated by the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment in Sturgeon Bay, also involved the Marinette Marine Corp.

Read the full story at the Green Bay Press-Gazette >>

By DEE DePASS | Source: Star Tribune

Cliffs is idling two of its three pellet furnaces at Northshore Mining in Silver Bay and one of two pellet furnaces at United Taconite in Forbes. Operations at Hibbing Taconite will not be affected.

The three furnaces shutting down normally produce 300,000 combined tons of taconite pellets each month.

The news came just after the world’s largest steel producer, ArcelorMittal, said it expects to slow production at its Minorca mine in Virginia and U.S. Steel Corp. said it expects to see demand soften in North America and Europe.

Read the full story at the Star Tribune >>

Naomi Powell | Source: Hamilton Spectator

Scrap dealers worldwide face the same stomach-churning situation: the tangled mountains of bars, beams and car parts they bought before the economic meltdown are now worth a fraction of what they cost. And customers who signed contracts in better times are either defaulting on the deals or insisting prices be slashed.

Since the summer, scrap prices have fallen a stunning 65 per cent to about $177 US a ton.

“I have taken a bad hit, everybody has taken a bad hit,” said Boparai, director of Hamilton’s Scrapmen. “I can sell, but there’s no point in selling the way the market is right now and everybody is defaulting on deals.”

Boparai is still buying scrap in hopes the market will pick up in a year. But he’s had to lay off 15 of the 30 employees in his Hamilton operation.

Read the full story at the Hamilton Spectator >>

by Nathan Phelps | Source: Green Bay Press Gazette

Despite an uncertain economy, traffic through the Port of Green Bay and on the Great Lakes is slightly outpacing year-to-date figures from 2007.

Through September, Green Bay’s port handled 1.48 million tons of cargo, up 2 percent from the same time in 2007, when the figure was 1.46 million, according to monthly numbers published by the port.

Salt, which is up 202 percent over the same time last year, and foreign imports have helped bolster figures.

“We’re hopeful we’ll get in all of our salt needs, and if we do, we’ll have more than last year,” Port Manager Dean Haen said. “The winter used up everything we had. That’s the big difference here in the port.” Read the rest of this entry »

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by Bob VandeVusse | Source: Holland Sentinel

There are plenty of signs of winter’s impending arrival in the area. Two of them occurred along the waterfront this week. Last Wednesday morning, a second cargo of road salt arrived at the Verplank dock. This time the Algoway did the honors. The 650-foot vessel owned by Algoma Central Marine was built in 1972 at Collingwood, Ontario.

Another sign is the early arrival of “the gales of November.” We were expecting at least two vessels in port this weekend, but the weather forecast changed that quickly. If you are reading this on Sunday morning, the near shore forecast is for gale warnings and the open water forecast on southern Lake Michigan is a storm warning. That means winds are forecast in excess of fifty knots. Waves are predicted in the twelve to sixteen foot range.

With the forecast being what it is, most vessels headed for shelter. When things settle down we should see some activity. We expect the Calumet in with the season’s final coal delivery mid-week. A load of stone schedule for delivery to Brewer’s this weekend is expected, as well, but vessel and time are unknown yet. Verplank’s dock is expecting two more shipments of stone, as well, but they might not arrive for another week or so.

Traffic on the lakes is slowing dramatically as orders for steel have come to a near standstill as a result of the economic crisis. Coming this late in the season, we could see a number of vessels head for layup early this year.

By TOM MEERSMAN | Source: Star Tribune

Driven by concerns about a deadly fish virus that is spreading in the Great Lakes, a Minnesota environmental group has gone to court to appeal the state’s precedent-setting plans to keep commercial ships from dumping untreated ballast water into state waters.

The new rule and permit system approved last month by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will take full effect by 2016, but environmentalists say they are not strict enough or fast enough.

“Frankly, the PCA didn’t ask the shipping industry to do anything out of the ordinary until 2016, and even then, the treatment requirements are so minimal Lake Superior will remain at unacceptable risk,” said Henry VanOffelen, natural resources scientist for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.

Read the full story at the Star Tribune >>

By Christina Rohn | Source: Charlevoix Courier

CHARLEVOIX — St. Marys Cement Plant in Charlevoix announced Thursday that it would be laying off about 80 percent of its hourly workforce by Dec. 1.

The plant currently employs 100 hourly and 27 salary workers.

Steve Gallagher, vice president of human resources for St. Marys Cement Group, said their corporation anticipates the lay-off will last for one month.

“This is a temporary lay-off,” he said. “We anticipate in early January we’ll start bringing people back — we’ll be bringing back most if not all.”

Read the full story, quotes & specifics at the Charlevoix Courier >>

Source: North Bay Nugget

The situation for Essar Steel Algoma is very serious, “and very volatile,” said Mike DaPrat, president of United Steelworkers Local 2251, following a recent meeting with plant management.

“The best advice I could give (2251 members) was don’t make any major financial commitments in the near future,” said DaPrat, referring to his speech to members at a special membership meeting.

He said there is still no way to say if or when layoffs will occur and the union is “discussing alternatives,” with Essar Steel Algoma.

Essar cut production at the local plant recently after a sudden drop in steel demand precipitated by global economic turmoil that started with a meltdown in the U. S. financial sector.

The union’s stance remains that if layoffs are necessary, Essar needs to stop allowing overtime and cease using outside contractors, a practice DaPrat said “increased exponentially” since the restructuring of the former Algoma Steel Inc.

… Meanwhile, the current slowdown didn’t stop Local 2251 executives from updating members on a long list of ongoing issues with the local has with Essar, including the results of an audit of 2007 profit-sharing, and what DaPrat called a continuing hiring freeze,” which he said has thinned the unionized workforce, increased the accident rate and increased the number of outside contractors in the plant.

DaPrat also outlined problems he said the union has with the company’s new electronic payroll system that is “cheating” members out of pay and preventing them from getting the compensation they are entitled to for statutory holidays.

Read the full lengthy article, many more quotes & specifics at the North Bay Nugget >>

UPDATE — 5:21 PM E - The Cason J Callaway continues to lead the USS Freedom through the St. Marys River, toward Whitefish Bay. The Callaway has reached Call-In Point 3, with the USS Freedom several minutes behind.

CIP 3 is located just west of Cedar Point and Round Island on the U.S. side of the River. It is at this point that vessels also make an approximately 30° turn toward the northwest, at buoy #26, toward Whitefish Bay.

An online nautical chart of the area can be viewed at the NOAA Charting website here.

Our coverage of the USS Freedom’s trip through the Sault concludes at this time. The Freedom is due in Duluth tomorrow (Sunday) and we will post an article about viewing opportunities in Duluth shortly. Thank you for joining us today! ##

Read the rest of this entry »

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UPDATE - 4:01 PM Eastern - USS Freedom has departed the Carbide Dock.

Read the rest of this entry »

Source: UPI

The U.S. Coast Guard’s counter-terrorism unit conducted a boarding exercise Friday on Lake Erie to test emergency response capabilities.

The Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team conducted the boarding exercise aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock. Officials tested the MSRT’s response capabilities and ability to handle a potential emergency threat in the Great Lakes, the Coast Guard reported.

MSRT, the Coast Guard’s only counter-terrorism unit with advance interdiction capabilities, is part of the U.S. Deployable Operations Group. Official say the exercise did not have live weapon firing but included simulated munitions.

“The Coast Guard strives to ensure the safety and security of the American public and its personnel across a wide spectrum of diverse missions in unique environments,” Rear Adm. Peter Neffenger, commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District, said in a statement.

“The role of this exercise is to assure the Great Lakes community that we are always ready to provide security for the critical infrastructure of the Great Lakes and its ports, waterways and coastal areas.”

Must-See: Photo Gallery of Enchanter visit

By BOB GROSS | Source: Times-Herald

The MV Enchanter, a heavy-lift ship registered in Belgium, arrived at the Seaway Terminal — owned by Acheson — at about 7 a.m., he said.

The ship carried two large electrical transformers from Holland across the Atlantic and up the St. Lawrence Seaway to Port Huron.

The phase-shifting transformers will be transported to ITC Transmission Company’s Bunce Creek Station in Marysville, where they will be installed in May, said Steve Molter, a senior engineering technician for ITC.

“We’re updating the entire transmission system in Michigan,” Molter said. “This helps the reliability of the electrical grid here in Michigan.”

The transformers weigh 300 and 120 tons respectively, Maxwell said.

They were custom-built for ITC by Smit Transformers in Nijmegen, Holland.

… Jerry Van Wormer, who manages the Seaway Terminal and has been at the facility for 49 years, said lake freighters are larger than the MV Enchanter but none have cranes as massive.

The ship’s cranes can lift 350 tons, Maxwell said.

“This is the only deepwater port between here and Detroit,” Van Wormer said.

Read the full story, wide-view “movie” photo at the Times Herald >>

Visit Photo gallery of Enchanter here!

By Frank Dobrovnik | Source: Sault Star

Two weeks after announcing production cutbacks in the wake of a dramatically slowing global economy, Essar Steel Algoma has dropped the other shoe: a notice went up Thursday in human resources and internal bulletin boards informing all employees “there is potential at some point in the future for temporary layoffs,” spokesperson Brenda Stenta confirmed Friday.

No actual layoffs have been announced as of Friday for the workforce of approximately 3,500. Notice is required under the Employment Standards Act before actual layoffs take effect.

The company is “doing everything we can to keep people working,” Stenta said. For example, internal employees have replaced all outside contractors ….

Read the full story, including quotes, shutdowns and other details at the Sault Star >>