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by Bob VandeVusse | Source: Holland Sentinel

[At the Straits of Mackinac,] we saw a parade of freighters and caught a glimpse of the Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw tied up at St. Ignace, preparing for winter buoy work.

We did get a report that the Calumet arrived in Holland with a load of stone for the Verplank dock Saturday morning, but if you live near Lake Mac, you already knew that. With foggy conditions on most of the lake, it sounded its horn for five seconds every minute. No sleeping in this weekend.

We will likely see the Calumet a couple of more times this week, as they were scheduled to return to Port Inland, on the northern shore of Lake Michigan, to bring another load of stone for Verplank’s. That will probably arrive on Monday. Then it will head to Chicago, to the KCBX trans-loading facility, to pick up a load of coal and return to the James De Young Power Plant. After that, we can probably count our season’s remaining loads on our fingers, maybe using only one hand.

Read Bob’s full report at the Holland Sentinel >>

Jim Carroll | Source: GoErie.com

The Port of Erie might soon lose its water route to the Atlantic Ocean.

Canadian lock workers are threatening a strike that could shut down the St. Lawrence Seaway, the inland waterway that connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic.

“It could affect us a bit,” said Tod Eagleton, dock operations supervisor for Erie Sand & Gravel, which serves as the stevedore for the Port of Erie.

Most affected could be Erie’s biodiesel producer.

… Lake Erie Biofuels hopes to send at least two more shipments of its biodiesel fuel to Europe before the Great Lakes shipping season ends in December. A strike on the St. Lawrence Seaway would complicate that.

Peterson said a shutdown of the St. Lawrence Seaway would not halt the company’s overseas shipments, but it would change how it gets there and what they’d have to charge.

… the company expects to ship its biodiesel to Europe in tankers filled with anywhere from 1.5 million gallons to 3 million gallons.

… Of the 34 vessels that have arrived in Erie this season, seven have been international ships, Eagleton said.

Those consisted of six tankers and one cargo ship delivering 775 tons of equipment bound for a mill in New Castle.

Limestone is the biggest volume cargo that comes into Erie, and Ray Schreckengost, executive director of the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority, said a shutdown of the Seaway would not impact that type of Great Lakes cargo.

Salt shipments from upstate New York might be affected, but salt has already been stockpiled at the local docks, he said.

Other companies affected, alternative routes and comments on Erie Terminal at GoErie.com >>

by Jeff Kart | Source: Bay City Times (photos)

A plastic pipe is spewing black water onto a man-made island in Saginaw Bay.

The stinky stuff is coming from a dredging barge in the distance that’s sucking up silt and pumping the contents into the Saginaw Bay Confined Disposal Facility.

When the Corps finished constructing the island in October 1978, it was designed to last about 10 years, and hold 10 million cubic yards of dredged material from the Lower Saginaw River and Bay, said Ken Drum, an engineering technician for the Corps in Detroit.

With modifications made since then, the CDF now has about 800,000 cubic yards, or eight years, of capacity left, said Angie Mundell, project manager for the Corps in Detroit.

Duerod said she thinks the Corps is about two years away from facing a “crucial need” to address the island’s capacity. That could mean raising the dikes or, less likely, looking for space for a new dredging disposal site, she said.

Last fall, MCM Marine Inc. of Sault Ste. Marie began dredging about two miles of the bay channel under a $1.3 million contract.

The company expects to pipe more than 300,000 cubic yards of dredgings to Channel Island before the work is finished in October, said Ferguson, construction representative from the Corps’ Detroit office.

“It’s like a super vacuum cleaner,” he said of the hydraulic dredging being done by MCM.

The dredgings - about 80 percent water and 20 percent sediment - take years before they turn from black gunk to what looks like fresh beach sand.

But “wash your hands,” Ferguson cautions after a visitor scoops up a bit of the dried dredgings.

Read the full story, see photos at the Bay City Times >>

by Bob VandeVusse | Source: Holland Sentinel

After two and a half weeks of inactivity, we finally had a freighter on Lake Macatawa on Thursday, as the Wilfred Sykes delivered coal to the James DeYoung power plant. It arrived shortly after midnight and departed after 8 a.m. The departure was a lengthy endeavor, as the captain seemed to avoid using the bow thruster to turn around so as not to damage the dock repairs that are nearing completion at the Verplank dock. This was only our second delivery in the last month.

As the season winds down, we expect to see two more coal deliveries and several more loads of stone. Once the construction is finished on the Verplank dock, we should see the east end of the facility fill up. Brewer’s should see some more activity, as well.

Read more about expected deliveries in Holland at the Holland Sentinel >>

by Bob VandeVusse | Source: Holland Sentinel

There is a federally maintained shipping channel that runs the length of Lake Macatawa, from just west of the entrance near Big Red, almost all the way to the River Avenue bridge. It is roughly 150 feet wide and 20 feet deep.

As part of that channel there is a widened area, or turning basin, where vessels of up to 700 feet in length can turn around.

Read the complete explanation, location and more at the Holland Sentinel >>

Source: Thunder Bay’s Source

A weak shipping season for the Port of Thunder Bay could become even worse next month.

Workers with the St. Lawrence Seaway have voted to give the Canadian Auto Workers union that represents them a strike mandate, with a potential walkout coming as early as Oct. 10.

Local port authority CEO Tim Heney said Thunder Bay could be among the hardest hit centres if the strike goes ahead.

“Thunder Bay is the largest export port on the seaway,” he said. “That means most of our cargo goes all the way through the Welland Canal - [a labour disruption] would certainly have a dramatic impact on us if it lasted any length of time.”

Read the full story at Thunder Bay’s Source >>

by Elizabeth Dunbar | Source: Forbes

ST. PAUL - The state pollution control agency approved strict standards for ships that discharge ballast water into Lake Superior, hoping they will cut down on the spread of harmful invasive species.

Unlike federal proposals pending in Congress, the new permit process will cover both oceangoing vessels and ships that stay within the Great Lakes.

…. by 2016, ships will be required to treat their ballast water before dumping it into Minnesota waters.

Details of interim and longer-range management, enforcement at Forbes >>

by Tom Meersman | Source: Star Tribune

Weary of waiting for federal action, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is scheduled to vote on a precedent-setting rule today that will prohibit ships from dumping untreated ballast water into Duluth-Superior harbor and other state waters.

State officials say they have to act because Duluth receives far more ballast water than any other Great Lakes port, making it more at risk from invasive species.

The state’s proposal would require all large ships to begin treating their ballast water before dumping it, beginning in 2016. Possible treatment includes filtering through extremely fine screens or sand; using chemicals such as chlorine or ozone; or applying methods such as ultraviolet radiation or heat.

New ships would have to have the treatment technology working by 2012.

Ship owners and trade associations agree that invasive species are a problem, but object to Minnesota’s plan.

Read the full story at the Star Tribune >>

Source: Trading Markets

A strike by St. Lawrence Seaway employees would result in a loss of east coast shipping capacity at a time when western Canadian producers can least afford it, according to an industry source.

“It’s a prime time for western Canadian producers to market their grain and oilseed crops and to sell those commodities onto the world market at a good value,” Rick Steinke, Director of logistics, for the Canadian Wheat Board, said.

Grain and oilseeds from western Canada are generally railed to port facilities at Thunder Bay, Ontario. From there the grain and oilseeds are generally transferred from Thunder Bay terminals to east coast transfer elevators located at the mouth of the St. Lawrence Seaway system by laker vessels. Some smaller ocean going vessels can also load at Thunder Bay terminals.

“Our understanding is that if the strike by the St. Lawrence workers goes ahead, it will be very difficult to move grain through the St. Lawrence Seaway without the seaway management corporation employees,” Steinke said. “We need them to operate the locks and allow for the flow of products.”

Read the full story at Trading Markets >>

By ERIC ENGLISH | Source: The Bay City Times

Consumers Energy is spending $22 million to install a huge new seawall and freighter dock at its Karn-Weadock generating complex at the mouth of the Saginaw River.

The steel wall will replace an existing half-mile-long seawall that is showing its age, according to Gary Davis, project construction engineer for Consumers.

… “Some of that wall has been there for 60 years,” Davis said. “It’s experiencing localized failures due to erosion and the weight of the coal on the dock.”

The new seawall will be made of thicker steel and be driven deeper into the bedrock below the Saginaw River. The work will create 25 to 30 construction jobs.

The project is not specifically tied to Consumers Energy’s proposed plans to build a new $2.3 billion coal-fired power plant at the facility,

More details of the project at the Bay City Times >>

by Richard Palmer | Source: The Crooked Lake Review Blog

During the mid-19th century, Oswego was a major port on the Great Lakes. More than 100 schooners were owned here and the harbor was a beehive of activity. There were also several shipyards.

Such stirring scenes as a half-dozen ships sailing into the harbor have long since vanished. But this heritage is being reborn in the form of the Oswego Maritime Foundation’s pride and joy, the “OMF Ontario,” which is to proudly sails out of the harbor into Lake Ontario as in days of old.

Excellent detailed article on the history of this great port at Crooked Lake Review Blog >>

Brian Mulherin | Source: Ludington Daily News

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers didn’t waste any time ordering a survey of Ludington’s harbor after a 630-foot freighter was stuck for 40 minutes or more Saturday.

The ship, which reported a draft of 24.3 feet to Coast Guard Station Ludington, became lodged on bottom as it entered the harbor from the west-northwest.

… Ludington’s harbor is dredged once every three years and normally down to 30 feet, but last year the dredging only went to 28 feet due to federal budget constraints.

… Wednesday’s survey revealed the shoal is a little larger and a little higher off bottom, with depths as shallow as 22.5 feet recorded in an area that spans 150 feet from west to east.

How the survey was done, previous observations and more at the Ludington Daily News >>

Source: Lake Carriers Association

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 4.4 million net tons in August. While the total represents an increase of 12 per cent compared to a year ago, shipments in August of 2007 were sluggish, said the Lake Carriers’ Association.

“The five-year average is the better barometer,” said the Association, “and in that regard, this August was off the pace by nearly 100,000 tons.”

Although water levels have risen, the dredging crisis continued to limit the amount of stone vessels could deliver to customers. Read the rest of this entry »

By Russell Lissau | Source: Daily Herald

A federal judge has thrown out Waukegan’s lawsuit against a handful of local businesses over pollution in the city’s harbor.

U.S. District Court Judge Matthew F. Kennelly dismissed the city’s claims against the National Gypsum Co., Bombardier Motor Corp. of America, LaFarge North America, LaFarge Building Materials, St. Mary’s Cement, Larsen Marine Services, the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway and the Waukegan Port District.

“This is good news for our company and for the other industries located on the harbor,” National Gypsum CEO Thomas C. Nelson said in a news release.

Mayor Richard Hyde said the city will appeal the ruling.

Read the full story at the Daily Herald >>

Source: USCG

CLEVELAND - HMCS Charlottetown, a 442-foot Canadian frigate, will arrive at Dock 32 behind the museum ship William G. Mather at 10 a.m., Sept. 10.

HMCS Charlottetown recently completed a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea as part of Canada’s continuing contributions to the campaign against terrorism known as Operation Enduring Freedom. The frigate helped to deter threats to maritime security - illegal migration, smuggling, and piracy - that harm legitimate commerce in the Gulf region. While deployed, she boarded three vessels with known ties to terrorists, intercepting 2000 cases of alcohol and six metric tons of narcotics. The ship also rendered assistance to three vessels in distress, saving the lives of 23 mariners.

The Coast Guard Cutter Alder, a 225-foot buoytender homeported in Duluth, Minn., will escort the Charlottetown into port. Both ships will be open to the public from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 11. Read the rest of this entry »

By Nathan McDonald | Source: The Palladium-Times

Sediment deposits that have accumulated along the bottom of Lake Ontario since it was last dredged in 2004 will be removed beginning Monday.

New York state Sen. Chuck Schumer announced Friday that the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) will start the dredging process at the Port of Oswego Authority to remove the excess sediment which has dangerously constricted access to waterways used by ships to deliver cargo.

…The port of Oswego is the only deep-water port on the U.S. side of Lake Ontario and maintaining correct channel depths is critical to its continued operations as such.

Read the full story at the Palladium-Times >>

Bob VandeVusse | Source: The Holland Sentinel

Delays have continued to plague coal deliveries in Holland for the past week. The expected load on the Manistee was canceled.

It has been reported that Lower Lakes Towing has signed a major transportation contract for ore pellets with Essar Steel Algoma, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. That means that their vessels Manitowoc, Manistee, Maumee and Calumet may be unavailable for coal and stone loads. That could create a hardship for docks in small harbors like Holland, as those vessels in the 600-foot range are ideal for harbors like ours.

The coal delivery on the Wilfred Sykes has been delayed, as well. It is now expected to load today and arrive early Monday morning.

Read the full article at the Holland Sentinel >>

Source: Sandusky Register

… new research on the effects of global warming on Lake Erie, to be discussed in a paper being prepared for submission to the Journal of Great Lakes Research, suggests that Lake Erie’s water level could fall as much as 1.2 feet by 2050.

That has important implications on the area’s economy, because it would hurt Great Lakes shipping, Wuebbles said.

“One inch could cause a very huge impact,” he said.

Jim Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers Association in Cleveland, said he is not an expert on global warming, but his organization has calculated the effect of shallower water, whether it’s caused by global warming, lack of dredging or another reason.

When one of the 1,000-foot vessels with U.S. flags in the Lake Carriers Association lose one inch of water, it means the ship can carry 8,000 tons less cargo, Weakley said. That’s enough coal to provide three hours of electricity for Greater Detroit. That one-inch loss means the U.S.-flagged Great Lakes fleet — 63 ships total, including the 13 1,000-footers — would carry 400,000 fewer tons a year.

One “laker,” as the freighters are called, can carry as much cargo as 2,800 trucks, Weakley’s group says.

Full story on many levels of impact, lively comments at the Sandusky Register >>

Source: Oswego County Today

The Port of Oswego Authority continues to thrive with new business activity, as international trade shipments continue to arrive on a regular basis, according to Jonathan Daniels, executive director at the port.

In what many would consider a weak economy, the port continues to buck that trend with record-setting results.

…Of the four U.S. Great Lakes ports that … received Pacesetter awards, the Port of Oswego had the largest increase over the past year - bringing in 182,000 tons of cargo, representing a staggering 220 percent increase in international tonnage.

…In addition to cement, asphalt, fuel oil, soy beans and windmill components, imports of aluminum ingots destined for Novelis, fertilizers and other materials crucial to local industry are distributed from local port docks each year.

Photos, cargoes and future plans for the Port all discussed at the Oswego County Today >>

Source: The Beacon, Column

Last week I began writing about a trip my brother, Tom Allen, took on the lake freighter Herbert C Jackson July 2-10. His friend, Charlie Ontko, had invited Tom to go on a working trip on this boat. They left from Toledo, loaded with coal, went across the western end of Lake Erie, up Detroit River, Lake St Clair, St Clair River and most of the length of Lake Huron.

… On July 5 the Herbert C Jackson was traveling “light ballast” (no freight) as she made her way out the St Mary’s River, through Whitefish Bay and thence onto mighty Lake Superior. Destination: Duluth, Minnesota, at the extreme western end of the lake.

The weather was good, sunny and fine. However, the water temperature of Superior was only 48 degrees so that kept things cool. The guys wore jackets or sweatshirts most of the time.

On Saturday night, just as darkness was coming down, they passed the Keweenaw Peninsula jutting out from the Michigan shore. Tom called home and said they were close enough to see lights from vehicles on shore.

…At Superior they loaded coal for Marquette, Michigan. They didn’t get off the boat at all because they were waiting for officials to check their identification papers. Soon they were underway again, back out the river and heading toward where they would round the Keewenaw Peninsula and then “short-cut” down to Marquette.

At Marquette they unloaded the coal, moved to another dock and loaded iron ore pellets. Tom told us later that the loading and unloading procedures are fascinating. The boat carries ballast water and while loading and unloading the boat is kept level fore and aft. Sometimes loading is slowed while ballast water is pumped out. The crew can actually load freight faster than they can pump water out!

… In the Detroit River, the mail boat came out to meet them. Called by the sailors, “mail in a pail”, a pail is let down and mail and other items are transported to or from the freighter in a closed bucket. Also, another sailor came aboard at this time, leaving the smaller boat and climbing up a ladder on the side of the big boat. Since the Herbert C Jackson was so heavily loaded and low in the water, the new man coming aboard did not have far to climb. Again, all this happened while the two boats were underway and, again, is “routine”.

Lots more to read of Tom’s 8 days on the Herbert C Jackson at The Beacon >>