greatlakesshipwatchers.com

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Source: USCG

DETROIT - The Captain of the Port of Detroit has established a safety zone for the upcoming Red Bull Air Races over the Detroit River.

The Windsor Port Authority and the Canadian Coast Guard will enforce an adjacent safety zone on the Canadian side of the river concurrent with the U.S. Coast Guard’s safety zone.  These zones will be enforced per the following times and conditions:

On Thursday May 29th and Friday May 30th (practice days), from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., no recreational vessels will be allowed to enter the established safety zones.  Aircraft practice will be coordinated to allow for commercial vessel transits only.

On Saturday, May 31st (qualifying race day), from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., no vessel movement will be allowed in the established safety zones.

On Sunday, June 1st (race day), from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., no vessel movement will be allowed in the established safety zones. Read the rest of this entry »

Source: Import Industry News

The Coast Guard has made its proposed rule for dry cargo residue discharges on the Great Lakes publicly available through a notice of proposed rule making in the Federal Register that also announces the availability of the draft environmental impact statement prepared in support of the proposed rule.

The proposed rule would require Great Lakes bulk, dry-cargo carriers to keep records of loading, unloading, and sweepings of dry cargo residues and would encourage carriers to use control measures to reduce the amount of dry cargo residue entering the waters of the Great Lakes. The rule would continue to allow the discharge of non-toxic and non-hazardous bulk dry cargo residues in certain areas of the Great Lakes.

Full story, link to the Notice at Import Industry News >>

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

Northeast Ohio members of the Ohio House, all Democrats, voted against putting a constitutional amendment regarding property rights on the November election ballot. The vote derailed a deal in which the Senate would have approved the Great Lakes Compact.

Read the full story at the Plain Dealer >>

Source: Reuters

TOKYO - Honda Motor Co’s chief executive said on Thursday the Japanese automaker had been asked to pay more by a U.S. steelmaker despite a contract agreed earlier this year, and added he feared other suppliers may follow suit.

Global steel prices have soared on tight demand, with brisk orders for construction machinery, ships and energy-related products in Russia, the Middle East and other emerging markets.

Honda sets product prices with U.S. steelmakers at the start of every year, but one undisclosed supplier recently imposed higher prices, Takeo Fukui said.

…almost all the steel used for North American production comes from non-Japanese makers such as United States Steel Corp., a spokesman said.

Read the full story at Reuters >>

Source: USCG

CLEVELAND - The Great Lakes Ballast Water Working Group (BWWG) has released the 2007 Great Lakes Ballast Water Management Report.

BWWG meets regularly throughout the year to develop, enhance and coordinate bi-national enforcement and compliance efforts to reduce the introduction of aquatic invasive species via ballast water.

Download the report (PDF) here.

BY TIM JONES | Source: Detroit Free Press

NEW BERLIN, Wis. — Piece by piece, a 5,500-mile wall around the Great Lakes is going up. You can’t see it, but construction is progressing nicely, along with an implied neon sign that flashes, “Hands off — it’s our water.”

The legal pilings for a 1,000-mile segment of the wall were sunk Tuesday when Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle finalized his state’s approval of the so-called Great Lakes Compact, a multistate agreement designed to protect and restrict access to nearly 20% of the world’s supply of fresh water, contained in the five Great Lakes.

And after that will come Ohio, where later this week the legislature is expected to make it the sixth state to endorse the water agreement and advance a strong regional warning to chronically dry regions of the South and West that Great Lakes water is staying put.

Excellent, lengthy story at the Detroit Free Press >>

SHELLEY TERRY | Source: Star Beacon

ASHTABULA — A wreath of fresh flowers will be cast into the Ashtabula River Saturday with a prayer at the 59th annual Blessing of the Fleet.

The traditional processional will begin with the 5:30 p.m. Celebration of Mass at Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church, 1514 W. Sixth St.

The Knights of Columbus Honor Color Guard will display the American flag as the U.S. Coast Guard assists in the blessing of the boats.

The Blessing of the Fleet is a long-standing tradition in the Ashtabula Harbor. The prayer service began in the 1930s when a priest at the Mother of Sorrows Church decided to send sailors and shipmasters off for a season of shipping on the Great Lakes with the faith of a safe return. The ceremony also officially opens the boating season on the dock.

Get the full details, times and info at the Star Beacon >>

Source: The Beacon

Lighthouses themselves are the focus of a public outdoor art exhibit that will light up historic downtown Sandusky throughout the summer of 2008. “A Light in the Harbor” will feature 28 lighthouse replicas, each decorated by a local artist. The variety of themes and choices of decorative styles and materials is reminiscent of the diversity of lighthouses of old.

A few of the lighthouses depict water and shoreline scenes, while others highlight local landmarks. One even represents a wine bottle, in a tip of the hat to Lake Erie’s thriving wine industry.

Maps showing the locations of the lighthouses is available at the Lake Erie Shores & Islands Welcome Center on State Route 250 near the Sandusky Mall and at the Merry-Go-Round Museum in downtown Sandusky.  A free down-loadable map is available on-line at www.alightintheharbor.com.  “A Light in the Harbor” memorabilia, including T-shirts, posters and a souvenir booklet, are also available at these locations.

The majority of the lighthouses will be auctioned to the public on September 18 at Castaway Bay Resort in Sandusky.  Several of the lighthouses have been pre-sold to their sponsors.  Advanced bidding will be available on-line at www.alightintheharbor.com.  Proceeds will benefit the Merry-Go-Round Museum, Firelands chapter of the American Red Cross and United Way of Erie County.

Read the full story, interviews and more about the exhibit at The Beacon >>

By Robert C. Burns | Source: Muskegon Chronicle

The Friends Good Will, a replica of an 1810 square topsail sloop once used as a Great Lakes merchant ship is open for free dockside tours 6-8 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

If, after that, you are left with the feeling that sailing really is in your blood, and always has been, the ship sets sail at 8:30 p.m. Tickets for the two-hour sail are available at the dock site for $40.

Afternoon sails lasting 1-1/2 hours are available as well on Saturday. They leave at 1:15 and 5:15 p.m. and tickets are priced at $30.

At 11:15 a.m. Saturday, they’ll hoist the Jolly Roger for a special Pirate Cruise for children 3-12 years old.

The kids will learn how to sword fight, spot and track down the enemy and offer a toast to old Neptune, but must be accompanied by an adult.

… The ship was built in 2004 for the Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven, and has been a regular visitor to Muskegon.

The original was chartered for service by the U.S. government in the War of 1812. It was captured by the British and renamed the Little Belt, but it was later recaptured by the Americans in the Battle of Lake Erie.

Read the full story at the Muskegon Chronicle >>

by  Liam Martin  | Source: Medill Reports

Manufacturing production in the Midwest fell 1.7 percent in April, led by steep drop-offs in the auto sector, according to an index released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Full story at Medill Reports >>

Source: NWI Times

Steel production in the Northwest Indiana/Chicago area, the nation’s second-largest steel producing region, was 512,000 tons during the week ending May 24, down from the 520,000 tons produced the week prior, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Full story, detailed stats at NWI Times >>

See Also: Full Healing Our Waters Press Release - CommonDreams.org News Center

Deb Price | Source: The Detroit News

WASHINGTON — A report released Wednesday by an environmental group warns that unless Congress acts to curb global warming, Great Lakes water levels will drop up to 3 feet; beaches will close more often because of urban and farm pollutants dragged in by fierce storms; and fish and animal populations will decline, damaging tourism and hunting.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition highlighted its concerns in advance of next week’s expected debate in the U.S. Senate on global warming.

“Delay in confronting global warming and the protection of the Great Lakes will only make the problems worse and the solutions more costly,” concluded the report’s authors, which include environmental scientist Don Scavia of the University of Michigan.

Read the full story, study’s predictions at the Detroit News >>

By Jeff Alexander | Source: WBAY.com

The signing of the Great Lakes Compact comes as water levels in Lake Michigan are on the rise.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the lake is up four inches from this time last month, and more than a foot since December when Lake Michigan was only four inches off its all-time record low set back in 1964.

And the good news for boaters, the shipping industry, and property owners along the lake is that the water will keep rising.

The Corps of Engineers says thanks to a record snowfall this winter, water levels are expected to rise another three inches in June.

By August, Lake Michigan could be within about a foot of its long-term normal average — something we haven’t seen in eight years.

Full story, video at WBAY >>

By TOM WANAMAKER | Source: Watertown Daily News

MONTREAL — Determining the salinity level of water in the 16 ballast tanks of a 600-foot oceangoing cargo ship seems like a monumental task. But in reality it’s not unlike, and almost as easy as, checking the engine oil in a Buick.

And because it guards the entrance to the St. Lawrence Seaway, the only water route into or out of the Great Lakes, the St. Lambert Lock in Montreal offers a perfect inspection site.

“We now know from research and science that salt water is a very effective killer of freshwater organisms.”

On May 5, Terry Jordan, a Seaway Development Corp. marine specialist, boarded the cargo ship M/V Federal Kivalina to inspect the ballast water in its 16 tanks. Because the ship was laden with cargo, all pumpable ballast had been removed from the tanks, leaving 2 to 6 inches of residual water and sediment at the bottom of each one. Fully loaded, the ship’s tanks can hold a combined 12,000 cubic meters of ballast water. In either case, the new regulations required a full inspection.

On deck, Mr. Jordan met with the ship’s bosun, Mohammed Sanghri, who is in charge of the deck crew, to perform the inspection.

Mr. Sanghri uncapped a slender tube, called a sounding pipe, protruding from the tank up through the deck. He then inserted a metal weight…

Read this excellent, detailed story at the Watertown Daily News >>

Source: Detroit Free Press

Great Lakes lighthouse historian, photographer and author Wayne Sapulski will be at the Waterford Township Public Library at 7 p.m. Monday, June 2nd to present “Success Stories in Great Lakes Lighthouse Preservation.”

Call 248-618-7694 to register for the free program. The library is at 5168 Civic Center Drive, Waterford, MI. (Click for Map/Directions)

Source: Seaway Channel

Traffic on the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System got off to a rough start as the slowing North American economy and the strong euro took their toll on Seaway tonnage figures through the end of April.

Combined overall tonnage as of April 30, 2008 was down by 14.6 percent compared to last year at the same time.

The only bright spots in the tonnage picture were in iron ore and coal, both of which posted modest gains compared to the April 2007 numbers.

Until industrial production figures in the United States and Canada start to rebound, particularly in the automobile and construction sectors, Seaway traffic is likely to suffer. Additionally, if U.S. dollar remains weak in comparison to the euro for a protracted period of time, Seaway steel import cargos from Europe will be few and far between.

Read the full story, view tonnage chart at the Seaway Channel >>

Fate hangs on pending court-ordered agreements

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

Preservationists, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority and the Army Corps of Engineers are supposed to be drafting agreements that would detail who owns the machinery, who will pay for re-assembly and relocation and who will pay for maintaining any potential exhibit.

A federal judge has told them to try to reach an agreement on how the history of the Huletts can be preserved.

One proposal from Councilman Matt Zone would keep significant parts of one Hulett, like an enormous leg, the operator’s cab and a bucket, for display at an undetermined location.

Read the rest of the newly modified story at the Cleveland Plain Dealer >>

By Mike Nizza | Source: New York Times

The attacks of Sept. 11 transformed ports of entry into points of anxiety, but the job itself didn’t get any easier — just as illegal drugs slipped through loopholes, so did potential security threats. While no attacks have originated at the ports, reminders that they are vulnerable are frequent — from the Sept. 11 Commission’s final report to the uproar over a proposal to allow a Dubai company manage some operations at U.S. ports.

Today’s reminder is from the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress that studied one important part of port security known as the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT). In exchange for lighter — and faster — scrutiny at U.S. ports, the federal incentive program requires companies shipping cargo from overseas to follow a list of security precautions.

Unfortunately, those protocols are not being faithfully followed abroad, opening the door to terrorists, the study concluded.

Read full story, download PDF of GAO report, at the New York Times >>

Source: USCG

CLEVELAND - Rear Adm. John E. Crowley, Jr., Commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District, is pleased to announce the start of the establishment process for the Great Lakes Center of Excellence (COE).

This center, managed by and for the Coast Guard, will be located in Duluth, Minn.
The center’s stated purpose is to support the training needs for new and existing marine inspectors by creating a qualified pool of Great Lakes domestic deep-draft ship inspectors and serve as a repository for U.S Laker inspection policy and guidance for use internally and by industry alike.

This center is an important component in the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety revitalization efforts and demonstrates our commitment to standardize interactions with maritime partners and establish consistency throughout the marine safety field.

The location choice and composition has been the successful culmination of a two month process of soliciting feedback and suggestions from the shipping industry leadership, unions, and stakeholders.

“The marine Center of Excellence will serve as a focal point for the marine safety program and vessel issues unique to the U.S. Laker fleet,” said Crowley. “I am convinced we will be better qualified and have more consistent practices with a COE located in Duluth.”

BY CHRISTINA HALL | Source: Detroit Free Press

Whether novice or veteran, keepers at Grand Traverse Lighthouse have standard tasks they share: raising and lowering the flag, taking admissions, regulating the number of visitors in the lighthouse tower, stocking inventory and running the cash register in the gift shop for sales to guests, such as Gayle and Ray Lyle of Eastpointe.

Opening and closing the museum, greeting and helping visitors, turning on and off lights, cleaning, vacuuming, mowing and building or fixing displays also are part of the job.

The historic white- and green-trimmed lighthouse built in 1858 is one of 10 in Michigan that offer a keeper program.

Map of lighthouse keeper programs | How to Become a Keeper

“It’s always something different. There’s always a challenge. You’re trusted to do what you have to do,” said Pat Trombly, 63, a retired homemaker from Norton Shores.

Employees are there most days with the keepers, who have a checklist of tasks they must sign off on. At night, keepers protect the lighthouse on their own.

“When everybody’s gone, you hear the waves batting, the birds,” Len Thomas said. “You begin to imagine how lonely it could have been.”

Most of the keepers have come from Michigan and a half-dozen other Midwest states and range from college students to retirees, said Georgienne Hammer, program coordinator. Some are single; others couples. Some are groups of relatives or friends. Those who did not know each other before coming to the lighthouse bond while there and often reunite for another week the next year.

Many more interviews and stories at the Detroit Free Press >>