Remaining ice has been rough on Great Lakes freighters
March 31, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
BOB VANDEVUSSE | Source: Holland Sentinel
The Soo Locks opened just after midnight last Tuesday morning, and the shipping season is now in full swing on the Great Lakes. The Cason J. Callaway was the first vessel to lock up to Lake Superior, but it had to work hard for the honor. While most of the open waters of the Lakes are easily passable, the bays and connecting waters are clogged with heavy pack ice. The Callaway took 14 hours to work through the lower St. Mary’s River, a trip that normally takes three.
Such rough conditions are hard on equipment and can contribute to mechanical failures and accidents. The Paul R. Tregurtha headed in for repairs at Duluth with a thirty-foot gash in the hull. Above the Soo Locks, the American Mariner lost its rudder and had to be towed back to the Soo by two tugs.
On Friday, the American Republic was stuck in the ice of Lake Michigan, west of the Mackinac Bridge. The Cason J. Callaway was moving through the Straits, bound for Gary, Ind., with a load of taconite for the steel mills there. It attempted to pass close to the Republic, in an effort to break it free, but the shifting ice pushed the two vessels into each other. The Republic was holed in its No. 1 ballast tank and is reporting to a shipyard, likely in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., for repairs. The Callaway sustained less damage and will proceed to Gary to unload before it, too, goes in for repairs.
