greatlakesshipwatchers.com

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

Source: ReliablePlant.com

New mine development in Canada and the U.S. has risen rapidly in the last few years as worldwide demand for coal, iron ore, copper, molybdenum, potash and uranium has led to a record number of mine projects under development, currently peaking at more than 220 coal, metals and minerals mines in various stages of planning, engineering and/or construction. These mines represent more than $113 billion in total investment value.

These new mines are highlighted on Industrial Info’s new Canada & U.S. Mining Industry Wall Map. This first-edition map features details of more than 930 operational mines and 220 mines under development in the U.S. and Canada.

Data the map includes, preview and more information at ReliablePlant.com >>

Source: Hamilton Spectator

What came in and out of the Port of Hamilton the week of Aug. 24 to 30, 2008

• Estimated total tonnage: 368,258
• Total ships in and out: 17
• Domestic: 15
• International: 2
• Percentage of imports: 80.9
• Percentage of exports: 19.1

Incoming: A total of 11 vessels arrived with bulk raw materials (coal and ore) used in production at steel mills ArcelorMittal Dofasco and U.S. Steel Canada and one overseas vessel arrived with steel.

Outgoing: Two vessels exported petroleum products and one exported grain.

Highlights for the week: The Federal Power arrived with a cargo of steel from Bremen, Germany. Following the Hamilton discharge, the vessel was destined for Cleveland, Ohio, to discharge the remaining cargo.

The M/V Whistler loaded steel coil to be exported to Spain and the UK.

by Carol Martin | Source: SooToday.com

Essar Steel Algoma Inc. has been dredging this month at Saw Mill Point on the upper St. Marys River.

The company is building a new deep water dock at that location because there’s currently insufficient draft at the Essar slip for most lake freighters to carry to capacity.

…”The dredging contractor, Purvis Marine, has acquired new, state-of-the-art dredging equipment that provides for less sediment disturbance and features global positioning system (GPS) devices on the hoist. allowing for very accurate, targeted dredging,” says Stenta.

…They are disposing of the dredged material in an approved landfill located on Essar property.

Essar Steel Algoma asked to dredge 89,000 cubic metres of sediment from its slip on the upper St. Marys River because of dropping water levels, rising shipping and receiving demands and expected production increases, Aasen said.

Read the full story, more about the St. Marys River at SooToday.com >>

By Duane Ramsey | Source: Toledo Free Press

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, UT and Midwest Terminals Inc. and Melford entered into the strategic collaboration agreement in support of the development of a marine container trans-shipment terminal in the Port of Toledo.

The agreement does not guarantee Toledo will be the site of the container-shipping terminal on the Great Lakes, but the port remains in consideration for the facility as plans continue for Melford’s international terminal on the Strait of Canso in Nova Scotia.

“Toledo is one of several strategic ports for a container-shipping terminal and intermodal logistics park,” said Melford CEO Bob Stevens.

Read the full story, more quotes at the Toledo Free Press >>

James Rowen | Source: The Political Environment

Pretty quiet on the Murphy Oil expansion front in Superior; sources say the much-rumored $6 billion expansion to expand refining seven-fold at the Murphy Oil facility is on the back burner because tar sand extraction in Canada, the source of refinery’s crude stock, is still too expensive to bring a decent return to investors.

Sure, oil is still a hefty $120 a barrel, and was over $140 earlier this year, but it costs $1 a barrel to recover oil in Saudi Arabia and $75-$90-per-barrel in northern Alberta province, a CNN analyst points out.

Read the full piece at the Political Environment >>

ELAINE DELLA-MATTIA | Source: Daily Commercial News

Essar Algoma Steel’s co-generation plant is running behind production schedule, keeping many of the required tradesmen at the sprawling plant to complete that project.

When completed, the plant will use its own waste to produce energy.

As well, Essar has expanded its maintenance and piping project as part of an internal capital works program.

“Essar’s program of maintenance and its plan to increase its steelmaking capacity has also required extra manpower,” Thomas said. “They’re doing lots of work upgrading and they’ll require a few years of manpower.”

… Trade shortages are being experienced throughout the country, especially with an aging workforce and a declining number of people entering trade professions.

Read the full story, more work opportunities at the Daily Commercial News >>

Chris Thompson | Source: The Windsor Star

Unmanned U.S. Customs drone planes could be flying the skies over the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair if a project on the western border due to begin in weeks is successful.

The confirmation came Friday from Michael Kostelnik, the assistant commissioner of the Office of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Air and Marine, during the dedication of a new customs air and marine base at Selfridge Air National Guard base north of Detroit.

“[A]t the end of the day, flying late at night, over the Great Lakes, a system like this would be of tremendous benefit working with small boat traffic, augmenting the U.S. Coast Guard,” said Kostelnik.

“It helps to add security, it adds tremendous humanitarian support, they can do a lot of things that the manned things just cannot do.”

The new customs unit began operations on June 23, patrolling 1,850 kilometres along the border between northern Michigan and Lake Erie.

Read about the timing, proposals and program at The Windsor Star >>

See Also: MPCA: Lake Superior is not a washcloth for contaminated ship holds - MinnPost.com

By SHAWN JEFFORDS | Source: Sarnia Observer

The practice of freighters dumping waste cargo on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes is causing lasting harm and has to stop, environmentalists and local politicians say.

Mark Mattson, president of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, said cargo sweeping is so widespread that a “highway” of debris now litters the bottom of Lake Ontario.

Some deposits are coal and iron ore, which in turn contain mercury. Shipping companies must take responsibility for the waste they create, he said.

Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said the coalition should be encouraged.

“Why we allow the Great Lakes to be treated like a toilet bowl I don’t know,” he said.

“I can’t imagine that we would not be in support of banning this. It’s illegal to do in Canada and I think it should be illegal in the States as well.”

Much more to this story at the Sarnia Observer >>

by Bill Bradley | Source: NorthernLife.ca

Climate change and water levels in Lake Huron are being discussed at a number of public meetings around Georgian Bay, starting next Saturday in Little Current.

The meetings are being held by the International Upper Great Lakes Study (IUGLS) in communities all around the Georgian Bay region of Lake Huron from August 9 to 12.

Closest to Greater Sudbury is the meeting being held at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall on Vankoughnet Street East in Little Current on Saturday, August 9 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

On the same day will be a meeting at the Stockey Centre, 2 Bay Street in Parry Sound from 3 to 5 p.m.

Read the full story at NorthernLife.ca >>

by Tom Breckenridge | Source: The Plain Dealer

The import of foreign steel has hit a 15-year low at Cleveland’s port.

At the same time, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority is handling unprecedented levels of steel barged from Canada.

And ArcelorMittal is about to double the modest amount of steel it sends to foreign markets through the Cleveland port.

… ArcelorMittal will send 64,000 tons of steel coil through the port to Brazil and Europe, by year’s end.

… Steel and iron traffic on the St. Lawrence Seaway was down 48 percent through May, officials said.

Offsetting Cleveland’s loss in foreign-steel tonnage is new business by barge. An Ontario steel mill has sent 48,000 tons so far by water, rather than rail and truck.

Activity is also up at the Cleveland Bulk Terminal, which handles iron ore for the busy ArcelorMittal plant. Shipments are at 960,000 tons after six months, an increase of 11 percent.

Read the full story at The Plain Dealer >>

Source: The Hamilton Spectator

What came in and out of the Port of Hamilton last week: July 13-19

• Estimated total tonnage: 309,054
• Total ships in and out: 17
• Domestic: 17
• International: 0
• Percentage of imports: 70
• Percentage of exports: 30

Incoming: Nine ships arrived with bulk raw materials (coal and ore) used in production at steel mills ArcelorMittal Dofasco and U.S. Steel Canada. Five vessels handled petroleum products, three handled aggregate and one vessel handled steel.

Outgoing: 0

Highlights for the week: The port receives a wide variety of aggregates and dry bulk commodities including gypsum, stone and sand. Pier 23 is home to Lakeshore Sand, which processes foundry and glass making sand, casting and water filtration sand, and bunker sand supplied to nearly 40 area golf courses.

The primary operators in the domestic laker fleet on the Great Lakes are Canada Steamship Lines and Seaway Marine Transport, which serve steel mills ArcelorMittal Dofasco and U.S. Steel Canada and carry a variety of other bulk cargo through the system and to and from Hamilton. The port averages more than 500 domestic vessel calls each year.

by Ken Brown | Source: Toronto Sun (includes video)

The western end of Toronto Island is home to the 200-year-old Gibralter Point lighthouse, and Ted English is a member of the Durnan family, which has a long history with the island and its lighthouse.

Completed in 1808, it’s the oldest working lighthouse on the Great Lakes and the second oldest in Canada.

The third keeper of the Gibralter Point lighthouse was English’s great-great-grandfather James Durnan.

“It’s much more than a lighthouse,” said English, a former Toronto Island resident himself. “It’s a keystone of the whole family”

Read this special family’s history, and the 200th anniversary of the light at the Toronto Sun >>

Source: Joint Task Force Canada

HALIFAX, N.S. – Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Glace Bay, Summerside and Shawinigan will visit Cleveland, Ohio, from July 3 to 6, 2008. The Canadian Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDVs) will stop in Cleveland as part of a training deployment in the Great Lakes.

The primary role of the MCDVs is coastal surveillance and patrol. Their tasks also include general naval operations, training and exercises, search and rescue, support to law enforcement, natural resource protection and fisheries patrols. Read the rest of this entry »

By JENNIFER PRITCHETT | Source: Kingston Whig-Standard

Lafarge’s cement plant in Bath will become one of the first factories in the world to grow its own crops to burn as fuel.

Yesterday, the cement giant announced its plans to partner with Performance Plants Inc., a Kingston-based biotechnology firm, the University of Guelph and Queen’s University to develop an “energy farm” to grow grasses, inedible corn and trees at the Bath site. Substances will be harvested and converted into pellets to be used as fuel for the plant’s cement kiln.

Lafarge plans to replace about 10 per cent of its current coal use with biomass fuels starting in the fall of 2009.

The company hopes that switching to biofuels will enable the plant to decrease its use of fossil fuels by 30%.

Read the details, benefits and much more at the Kingston Whig-Standard >>

BY DAN BELLEROSE | Source: The Sault Star

The name of the outgoing chief executive officer of the largest Canadian-flag ship owner on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence will continue to be prominent on the seaway.

A 730-foot, dry bulk freighter with 32,000-tonnes of cargo carrying capacity was rededicated last week in honour of Sault Ste. Marie native Tim Dool, president and chief executive officer of Algoma Central Corp. for seven years, at his retirement.

… “In the process of leading Algoma Central Corp. to the proud position it holds today, Tim Dool has provided leadership, support and encouragement to all of Algoma’s valued employees,” stated Greg Wight, company president and CEO, in a release.

Under Dool’s tenure, revenue increased 51%, capital assets grew by 23% and net earnings increased 60%.

Read the full story at the Sault Star >>

Source: The Canadian Press

Steelmaker ArcelorMittal SA (NYSE:MT) has acquired Bakermet, an Ottawa-based company that buys and recycles scrap metal, for an undisclosed sum.

The Luxembourg-based industry giant, which also owns Hamilton-based Dofasco, said access to Bakermet’s plant near Ottawa will secure upstream self-sufficiency in shredded metal for ArcelorMittal’s Contrecoeur mill in Quebec.

Read the full story at The Canadian Press >>

Craig Offman | Source: National Post

For more than a century, the Great Lakes region was a boisterous, self-sufficient and pungent powerhouse. Raw materials such as coal, iron and ore were shipped across a network of railways, canals and shipping lines to flourishing steel mills and bustling automotive plants. But cyclical downturns, expensive production costs and inferior product eroded its successes.

As more Ontario cities face the long, hard future of Rust Belt attrition, more ideas are bound to emerge. In fact, dozens of cities across the Great Lakes Region are struggling to come up with innovative solutions.

The most ambitious plan so far may be the one contained in a recent think-tank report that proposes a bold vision for the entire area: a bi-national economic union stretching through a swath of Canadian and American Rust Belt cities, a combined economy that would fuel a clean-technology revolution.

Other proposals abound, but most rely on quick-fix staples such as casinos and other conventional tourist traps.

Interesting proposals to a common problem at the National Post >>

by Chip Martin | Source: London Free Press

Joe Preston, Conservative MP for Elgin-Middlesex-London, is annoyed at the situation.

“This is stupid for us not to have ships coming in,” he says, bluntly. “This is a commercial harbour, an industrial harbour . . . we’ve let it slip. It doesn’t make sense.”

Preston says he’s disappointed talks have been going on for so long and Transport Canada won’t dredge the harbour.

“That dredging needs to happen, regardless of the talks,” he insists.

Very good story with many quotes, interviews and perspectives at the London Free Press >>

See Also: ASI emissions discussed at Queen’s Park today - SooToday.com

Source: SooToday.com

OTTAWA – Algoma Steel’s decision to hold community open houses as it proceeds with portable baghouses for blast furnaces is a step in the right direction, Sault MP Tony Martin said today.

“It remains to be seen if the portable baghouses meet the standards to reduce emissions. I am cautiously optimistic but the community must decide what is adequate, assisted by the best science and environmental regulations who will judge whether these measures will make our air healthy to breathe and safe for the workers,” Martin said.

“From day one on this file I have been responding to the concerns of those citizens and workers. There are people here who know the cancer rates and will help the public monitor the pollution levels and air quality.”

Read the full story at SooToday.com >>

By Craig Smith | Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Big Brother won’t be breathing down the necks of charter fishing boat captains on Lake Erie.

Customs and Border Protection officials have backed off plans to require background checks for Great Lakes fishermen and divers entering Canadian waters. Anglers and divers who dock in Canada, however, will be subject to identification checks.

“We’re very, very pleased that they took another look at it and realized there was no threat to homeland security,” said Rick Unger, a retired police officer and president of the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association.

Catch the full story at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review >>