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Adam Wright | Source: The Chronicle-Telegram

 LORAIN, OHIO — Mayor John Romoser wants to turn over operations of the city’s port to a Northwest Ohio-based company focused on bringing international trade to the area.

Romoser has been in talks with the company, Midwest Terminals of Toledo International, for about a week to determine whether they could work together to return Lorain to a port city….

Johnson called the goods that would be shipped “general cargo,” which could include raw goods such as limestone, iron ore and bundles of lumber.

Companies will be interested because it’s cheaper to ship directly from Lorain to Europe compared with taking goods by truck or train to New York City or Baltimore and shipping from there, he said.

Full story at The Chronicle-Telegram >>

By Will Swarts | Source: SmartMoney

Investors got bent out of shape and sent shares of U.S. Steeldown 7% after the company missed third-quarter profit estimates and warned of disappointing results in the current period.

The world’s fifth-largest steelmaker, based in Pittsburgh, earned $2.27 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, short of Wall Street’s average $2.63-a-share estimate. The results included a one-time charge of 23 cents per share related to the acquisition of Lone Star Technologies.

Full details at SmartMoney >>

By RYAN J. STANTON | Source: Bay City Times

 Picture this scenario: Visitors to Bay City spend a Saturday afternoon learning about the area’s storied ship-building history at a new Maritime Heritage Center.

After they spend a few dollars downtown, they hop on a boat and cruise down the Saginaw River to the site of the USS Edson, a floating naval ship museum moored at Independence Park.

Sources close to the efforts to bring both attractions to town say that could be a reality in the near future.  Read the full story at the Bay City Times >>

By TODD SPANGLER | Source: Detroit Free Press

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Candice Miller denounced today President George W. Bush’s threat to veto legislation that would authorize construction of an Asian carp barrier on the Chicago River and many other Great Lakes projects, saying she will work with fellow Republicans in the House to override it if he vetoes the measure.

Bush has until Saturday to sign into law or veto the Water Resources Development Act.

But the president has complained in the past that the legislation includes too many spending projects. Last week, he reiterated his threat to veto the bill. Read the full story at the Detroit Free Press >>

Source: Houston Chronicle

 ST. PAUL — Gov. Tim Pawlenty is soliciting advice from top federal diplomats about the standing of an India-based company planning to build a steel plant in northeastern Minnesota.

Pawlenty asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a letter Monday to help determine if Essar Global Ltd. is violating U.S. law with its apparent oil dealings in Iran. The letter was also addressed to the U.S. ambassador to India, David Mulford.

Pawlenty said he won’t lend state backing to the project if Essar is violating the Iran Sanctions Act…

Full story at the Houston Chronicle >>

by Mike Simonson | Source: 91.3 KUWS / BusinessNorth.com

The worst invasive species in the Great Lakes isn’t some organism from Europe. It’s people, according to scientists gathering in Duluth this week.

“These are the areas that have really suffered the greatest amount because of habitat loss and destruction through man’s activities: logging, mining, shipping—whatever you choose.”

Full story at BusinessNorth.com >>

Source: The Saginaw News

Divers were to return today to the Saginaw River for the third time in as many days since a Saginaw man reported a 45-year-old acquaintance had fallen into the water from the Center Street Bridge, Saginaw Detective Sgt. Mark Lively said.

Police today will likely release the 20-year-old Saginaw man from jail they arrested Sunday for homicide and/or involuntary manslaughter, Lively said.

The investigation into the 7:15 a.m. Sunday incident continues.

Dean Cousino | Source: The Monroe News

Debra Miller said it’s never too early to teach youngsters about Michigan history and the good things happening in the Great Lakes region.

Her creativity and commitment to Michigan history are why she was picked as one of three recipients of the 2007 Odyssey Award from the Michigan Historical Center Foundation. The award goes annually to educators who excel at teaching state history.

Ms. Miller takes a hands-on approach to teaching her fourth-grade students. [She] incorporate[s] Michigan history into their language arts, science, social studies and math courses.

Recently, 24 students and seven parents rode with Ms. Miller on a flat-bottom boat along the Detroit River to see lighthouses and shipping channels.

Also in November, students will research and design models of lighthouses as part of a lesson on shipping and the Great Lakes.

Many more hands-on lessons, field trips and stories of Ms. Miller’s classes at The Monroe News >>

Source: Reuters UK

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The largest freshwater marine protected area in the world is being set up off the northern shores of Lake Superior, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Thursday.

The national marine conservation area will encompass more than 10,000 sq. km (3,900 sq. miles) of Lake Superior, the biggest of the Great Lakes, including lake bed, islands and north shorelands.

The area — about the size of Lebanon — stretches to the east of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and down to the Canada-U.S. border, north of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The area seeks to balance environmental protection with preserving the livelihood of local residents who work in marine industries such as commercial and sport fishing and shipping.

Source: WLFI.com News Channel 18

GARY, Ind. (AP) - A coalition of northwestern Indiana environmentalists and businesses are urging state lawmakers to approve a multistate Great Lakes agreement that would ban most diversions of water from the lakes to water-hungry states.

State groups and supporters of the Great Lakes Compact expect to have legislation for the Indiana General Assembly to consider next spring.

With few exceptions, the proposed agreement would ban new and increased water diversions from the Great Lakes unless approved by the governors of the eight Great Lakes states and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

Full story at WLFI.com >>

See Also: Search called off for man in Saginaw River; Victim was pushed from bridge during fight - ABC12.com

by BARRIE BARBER Source: The Saginaw News

Divers searched the cold, murky waters of the Saginaw River to recover the body of a man a witness told police fell into the waterway from the Center Street bridge Sunday.

A dozen members of the Saginaw County Sheriff’s Department dive team clad in red and black suits took turns searching the 10- to 12-foot deep dark water around the bridge for hours, said Lt. David Sommers, commander of the Sheriff’s Department Marine Division.

The U.S. Coast Guard sent a helicopter and a 25-foot boat to the recovery effort Read the rest of this entry »

By Larry Oakes | Source: Star Tribune

DULUTH — The news this week that an India-based steelmaker has plans to build a $1.6 billion steel mill in Nashwauk, Minn., where ore was last mined 22 years ago, has people in the downsized town barely able to contain their hopes.

Officials of Essar Global Ltd. told Gov. Tim Pawlenty during his trade trip to India on Thursday that the firm had closed on its acquisition of Minnesota Steel Industries and will proceed with plans to revive a taconite mine in Nashwauk and build Minnesota’s first fully integrated ore-to-steel mill.

The project, which could start early next year, is expected to require 2,000 construction workers and result in a mine and plant with 700 full-time workers. The plan is to produce 1.5 million tons of steel starting in 2009 and eventually increase production to 2.5 million tons per year.

Full story at the Star Tribune >>

by Tina Lam | Source: Detroit Free Press

A new international study, which has tapped scientists and consultants from the United States and Canada, aims to determine whether human activity has caused a major drop in Great Lakes water levels as a 2005 private Canadian study suggested.

That study, by W.F. Baird & Associates of Toronto, said the St. Clair River has continuously eroded, making it deeper, especially in a 2-mile stretch above and below the Blue Water Bridge connecting Port Huron and Sarnia… Full story at Detroit Free Press >>

Props

The Making A Great Lake Superior conference will be held at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center Oct. 29 -31. The conference will bring together for the first time researchers, government officials, educators and the public to present and exchange information on the critical issues facing the Lake Superior ecosystem with an emphasis on climate change.

Sessions will include the impact of climate change on the lake, invasive species, low water levels, contaminated areas around the lake, toxic pollutants and new pollution concerns. More than 300 people from throughout the Lake Superior basin are expected to attend.

Speakers will include Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson, EPA Regional Administrator Mary Gade, Arctic explorer Will Steger, former EPA Assistant Administrator Tracy Mehan and John Austin of the Brookings Institution, as well as other experts on Lake Superior and the Great Lakes. In addition, Lake Superior mayors and tribal leaders will participate in a panel discussion about critical issues facing the lake.

The conference agenda is available at http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/superior2007

The meeting will also be available on the Internet as a Web cast and by telephone. A live Web cast can be accessed at http://registration.mshow.com/ecs. To listen by telephone, dial 877-446-8439 toll-free and give the operator the ID code. ID codes for each day are available on the conference Web site.

Source: Fergus Falls Daily Journal

An all-star cast gives an electrifying performance revisiting the final voyage of the Great Lakes freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald in “Gales of November, performing at 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 1 a A Center for the Arts in Fergus Falls, MN. (Click for Google Map)

A perfect blend of voices from Prudence Johnson, Ruth MacKenzie and Claudia Schmidt; narration from the beloved storyteller and actor Kevin Kling; and haunting music from musicians Peter Ostroushko, Dan Chouinard, Jeff Willkomm and Eric Peltoniemi make the show an unforgettable experience.

Advance tickets are $18 for adults and $5 for students.

by Bill Wangemann | Source: Sheboygan Press

Some of the most highly respected men in the social structure of our early history were ship captains…. Usually the captain of a ship was a man who had started out as a deck hand and worked his way up through the ranks until such time as he could obtain his coveted master’s papers.

The area in and around Sheboygan’s harbor, such as Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky and Georgia Avenues was home to many sailors and ship captains. It was not uncommon for families to have generations earn a living on the Great Lakes.

Here in Sheboygan, one of the earliest and almost legendary families was the Groh family…. Full story at the Sheboygan Press >>

by Sarah Bissonette | Source: parrysound.com

BYNG INLET - A Port Hope man died Sunday morning after the tugboat he was on capsized off the shore of Byng Inlet.

Around 8 a.m. Sunday, Donald Orange, 65, of Port Hope, along with Bryan Hogg, 58, of Thornhill, Ronald Orange, 62, and Shawn Orange, 23, both of Penetanguishene, started to drive the 45-foot tugboat to Midland from where is was moored near the Sawmill Lodge.

About four miles out, the tugboat started to take on water and eventually capsized after being struck by a wave that put the nose under water, said Britt and area fire chief Larry Olds.

All four men were wearing lifejackets and swam for the aluminium boat they were towing, police reported. By the time Donald Orange was pulled into the boat he had no vital signs, said Mr. Olds. Read the rest of this entry »

Source: Associated Press

ALGOMA, Wis. (AP) — The wooden schooner Daniel Lyons, which has rested at the bottom of Lake Michigan for nearly 130 years, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Wisconsin now has 28 shipwrecks listed on the National Register, more than any other state… Full story at the AP >>

About the Daniel Lyons, from the Maritime Trails site:

The three-masted, 173 feet long schooner Daniel Lyons was built at Oswego, New York in 1873. She was carrying a cargo of grain from Chicago bound for New York on October 18, 1878 when the schooner Kate Gillett collided with and sliced halfway through the Lyons‘ starboard side. She quickly sank to the bottom of Lake Michigan. No lives were lost, as the crew of the sinking Lyons were rescued by the crew of the Gillett.

Photo (and dive info)  at Maritime Trails >>

STURGEON BAY, Wis. — The Coast Guard cutter Mobile Bay moored here, Monday, at approximately 9 p.m., after an 18-day transit from Portsmouth, Va.The cutter and crew was away from its homeport from May 21 to Sept. 24, 2007 for a drydock evolution.

The Mobile Bay received a new paint job, a check of all submerged fittings, greywater system modifications, and capstan and anchor windlass modifications.

Mobile Bay made four major port of calls to Boston, Halifax, N.S., Masena, N.Y., and Montreal on her trip to and from Sturgeon Bay.

Source: CBC News

Shipping companies say the dropping water levels in some of the Great Lakes is hurting them financially.

Wayne Smith, vice-president of Seaway Maritime Transport in St. Catharines, Ont., said his 33 freighters have had to lighten their loads by 10 per cent because they are in risk of scraping the bottom of the increasingly shallow Great Lakes.

“It certainly is significant,” said Smith. “As you can imagine in a competitive world today, 10 per cent on your productivity is quite a serious impact.” Read the rest of this entry »