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Photos: Aerial Photos of damage and freighter - NewsNet5

Related: Vessel specs of the Canadian Progress - Seaway Marine Transport

Source: Morning Journal

Two recreational boats and a pier at Spitzer Marina were damaged when a freighter went “off course” in the Black River early this morning, according to the Ninth Coast Guard District.

The Motor Vessel Canadian Progress, a 730-foot dry bulk carrier, made a late turn while going up river about 2:30 a.m. in the area of Freshwater Drive and Arizona Avenue.

The late turn produced a wake which caused significant damage to the pier, according to the Coast Guard.

Read the full story at the Morning Journal >>

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 >>

ALAN INGRAM | Source: Morning Journal

A plan is brewing that would turn Lorain into a port that could ship and receive goods to and from international destinations.

The project calls for a permanent shipping facility to be built on land just west of the Lofton Henderson Bridge on the Black River, Fallis explained. It would have enough docking space for two 750-foot ocean-going ships to tie up.

Before the permanent facility would be built, however, a temporary one would be set up on the finger piers at the mouth of the Black River. That facility would be used for five years, as officials worked to build up the market, and design and engineer the permanent site, Councilman Mitchell Fallis said.

…Fallis said there wouldn’t be much cost upfront for the temporary location — other than leveling off the land and putting up fencing to protect the products.

The permanent location near the Henderson bridge is ideal for a few reasons, Fallis said. There is not enough room for the ocean-going ships to go under the Henderson Bridge, and that site also has close access to rail and two state routes — SR 57 and SR 611.

Neither the city nor the Port Authority owns the land that’s being proposed for the permanent facility, Fallis said. Some would have to be purchased, while some could be leased from CSX railroad.

Many more details and quotes at the Morning Journal >>

Frank Bentayou | Source: Plain Dealer

The first Cleveland-built tugboat ever to be sold abroad will head to Honduras before fall.

Great Lakes Towing Co. sold the tugboat, built from steel keel to wheelhouse at the company’s West Side Cleveland lakeshore shipyard, to a customer in Central America. It will go into operation in September.

… While building the two tugboats, Great Lakes Towing also has constructed and sold 27 metal barges that buyers have put to use in hauling cargo, as floating docks and, linked together, as temporary bridges.

Ronald Rasmus, the tug company’s president, and his team designed the barges so they can be hauled on trucks and any number of them can be connected as platforms or much larger hauling surfaces. “We’re shipping them all over the country and expect to be exporting the barges, too,” he said.

Details about the new tug, more about Great Lakes Towing and more at the Plain Dealer >>

Alison Dietz | Source: Chronicle-Telegram

Harbors in Lorain and other nearby lake cities will be dredged over the next few months.

The Lorain Harbor disposal facility, built in 1977, covers 58 acres and has been filled to its capacity of 1,850,000 cubic yards of dredged material. The city and Army Corps of Engineers added an extra wall of earth to hold in this season’s haul. “It is a stopgap until we develop another site for dredge material in the future,” said Novak.

Once a new site is found, the current facility will be converted into a mixed-use area with open space as well as waterfront retail, commercial buildings, and residences.

This year’s dredging is expected to be completed in mid-August.

Full story at the Chronicle-Telegram >>

by Tom Peters | Source: Chronicle Herald / Business

The marine container terminal planned for the Strait of Canso could be Ohio’s gateway for both import and export trade, says U.S. congresswoman Marcy Kaptur.

Ms. Kaptur said Wednesday after touring the proposed site, in Melford, that changes brought about by a growing population “and costs of moving everything because of rising petroleum prices” means there will be more ships in the world because that form of transport costs less.

“We are going to have to see a rebirth of our seaway system, and we are working toward that end in our country,” she said, adding that she envisions a Nova Scotia-Ohio connection.

“It is such a natural partnership between the gateway here in Nova Scotia and coming down the seaway to a place like Toledo, which is the crossroads to the Great Lakes with our rail and our over-the-road transport systems.”

More details and quotes at the Chronicle Herald >>

By RICHARD PAYERCHIN | Source: Morning Journal

Sandusky will host its 2008 Festival of Ships starting Thursday when four vessels make a port of call in the city.

The Great Lakes schooners Appledore V, Journey, Mysterious Ways and Royaliste will arrive in time for the holiday weekend, adding to Sandusky’s traditional Stars & Stripes Celebration on July 4 in Washington Park.

One of the ships, the Appledore V will also be making the trip Lorain, according to Port Authority Executive Director Rick Novak. It will be during the Lorain Port Fest July 18 to 20 at the Black River Landing. The public will have the chance to sail on it all three days.

Much more about the ships, tours, schedule and weekend events at the Morning Journal >>

Source: Plain Dealer

Vermilion- Ohio marine archaeologists believe they have finally found the right combination for the record books - a Lake Erie shipwreck worthy of being listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a diver able to commit the time to make it happen.

The 1850 wreck of the Anthony Wayne, a side-wheel steamer, was discovered off Vermilion last summer by diver Tom Kowalczk.

…If the application is accepted, the Anthony Wayne will be the first Lake Erie shipwreck listed on the National Register.

“It’s so unique. You don’t see many side-wheel steamers. This is fresh, this is new,” said Texas A&M grad student Brad Krueger, who is spending five weeks at the Peachman Center, part of the Great Lakes Historical Society.

Read about the painstaking work these grad students are undertaking to measure and diagram the entire wreck at the Plain Dealer >>

ALAN INGRAM | Source: Morning Journal

The president and owner of St. George’s Renewable Energies LLC has a vision to not only put wind turbines throughout the region and in Lake Erie, but also to create 12,000 to 13,000 new first-tier jobs by drawing one of the top three wind turbine manufacturers to Lorain County and specifically Lorain.

Sekulic has asked Lorain Councilman Dennis Flores, D-2, to sponsor legislation that would give his company the ability to put 13 wind turbines off the Lorain shoreline when the time comes. The turbines would all be more than 1,000 yards off shore and would start at the western end of the city and move east, Sekulic said.

“That’s an excellent location,” he said, adding that area along the lake is mostly commercial.

Besides the potential need for many wind turbines, the area can also offer the manufacturers a supplier base, fresh water, shipping ability and a skilled workforce.

Read the rest of the proposed plans, project at the Morning Journal >>

Source: Hudson Hub Times

Discover what life aboard a working Great Lakes freighter was like as you tour this restored 618-foot histories flagship. Explore the 1925-built Mather from stern to stern and see its huge cargo holds, brass and oak pilot house, elegant guest quarters, and four-story engine room. Walk the decks and marvel at the “engineering firsts” that helped transform Northeast Ohio into a great industrial center.

Several special events are planned at the William G. Mather, a Great Lakes freighter turned into a museum, including the following:

• Rock and Boom, July 4, 7 p.m.
  Enjoy fireworks from the deck of the Mather and tour the ship before the show. Food and drinks sold onboard. Fireworks at dark. Cost is $10.
• Great Lakes, Great Wine, Great Fun, July 25, 6:30 p.m.
  Board the William G. Mather and join a wine specialist for a wine-tasting event. Sample Great Lakes wines and other treats, while enjoying a view from the deck of the Mather. This event is for adults 21 and older. Cost is $30 for nonmembers, $28 for members. To make a reservation, call 216-621-2400.
• Air show deck party, Aug. 30 through Sept. 1, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  Experience the excitement of the Cleveland National Air Show first-hand as jets roar overhead. Food and drinks will be sold onboard. Cost is $15 for nonmembers and $12 for members.

The Steamship William G. Mather is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June, July and August, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday in May, September and October.

Tickets are available on site and at the Great Lakes Science Center box office.

Due to its historic nature, the Mather has limited handicapped accessibility.

ALAN INGRAM | Source: Morning Journal

LORAIN — The project to bring a limestone grinding mill to the industrial park on Lorain’s east side is on hold.

”The project is on hold from Carmeuse (Lime & Stone),” Mayor Anthony Krasienko said last night, adding that the city hasn’t received official in writing.

When Carmeuse acquired Oglebay Norton, Carmeuse was examining its needs for facilities, Krasienko said. Until that assessment is made, the project is on hold.

Giardini said the reevaluation has a direct correlation to the slow housing construction market. Crushed limestone is used in many different building materials, including wallboard, paint and the backing on roof shingles, he explained.

Read the full story at the Morning Journal >>

Source: Farm and Dairy

PUT-IN-BAY, Ohio — The Stone Laboratory will host guest lectures through the summer at Gibraltar Island.

All lectures begin at 7:45 p.m. and conclude at 9 p.m.

Each lecture is preceded by a short lecture on current research at 7 p.m.

Members of the public are welcome and can take the Put-in-Bay Water Taxi from the Boardwalk Restaurant Dock at 7:15 p.m. before each lecture.

A short tour of Gibraltar Island will be provided before the lectures.

Lecture dates:

• June 12: Global warming: science or religion, Chris Korleski, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
• June 19: A brief history of Stone Laboratory and update on the current status of Lake Erie, Jeff Reutter, Ohio State University
• June 26: Geology of the Great Lakes: three billion years of spectacular scenery in the making, Charles E. Herdendorf, OSU
• July 3: Hypoxia alters species distributions and interactions: implications for food webs and fisheries, Stu Ludsin, OSU
• July 10: Fisheries Management and Research in Ohio, Ray Petering, Ohio Division of Wildlife
• July 24: Threats, impacts, adaptation, and opportunities for the Great Lakes related to climate change, Brent Sohngen, OSU
• July 31: The university system of Ohio, Eric Fingerhut, Ohio Board of Regents
• Aug. 7: Ships are cool!, James H. I. Weakley, Lake Carriers’ Association
• Sept. 6: Stone Laboratory open house, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Contact the Stone Laboratory office for information at 614-285-1800.

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 >>

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 >>

By Justin R. Kalmes | Source: Toledo Free Press

A specific project in Canada currently in the works could serve as the catalyst for transforming the region into one of the country’s intermodal centers, he said.

The Melford International Terminal Inc. project in Nova Scotia could allow the transfer of cargo containers from mega-container ships to trains, which would then travel Canadian National Railway lines to destinations in Canada and the United States.

The facility, according to a company document, will serve as a transfer point for containers coming from Asia and the Indian sub-continent that are shipped to North America via the Suez Canal. Melford is a privately funded endeavor.

Canadian National already has a terminal in Toledo at a facility known as Lang Yard, but the site is landlocked by Interstate 75 and the Hoffman Road landfill, Hartung said. Despite having an intermodal facility in Detroit, he said, Canadian National could look to Toledo because of the congestion around the Detroit metropolitan area.

Canadian National could use the city as a west terminal to trans-ship goods to ports throughout the Great Lakes, a process known as short-sea shipping, because of the amount of cargo Toledo’s sea port can handle, Hartung said.

But for Canadian National to develop an intermodal facility in Northwest Ohio to meet its needs, Hartung said, the infrastructure needs to exist to maximize the company’s ability to move containers inland throughout the United States. He said Melford Terminal is expected to open in 2011 with the first phase in the development at full capacity by 2015.

Creating the needed infrastructure to entice Canadian National to develop an intermodal terminal in Toledo needs to come through a partnership between government and the private sector, Hartung said.

“We want to have the improvements in place when that first ship comes in,” he said. “We need sites where we can move in and start to develop.”

Such sites do not exist in the area, Martinko said. Having them could be the difference when companies looking to develop an intermodal facility select a site, he said.

“We’re not the only place in the world that has strategic geography,” Martinko said.

Read the full story about this and other intermodal opportunities, at the Toledo Free Press >>

Source: USCG

CLEVELAND - Rear Adm. Peter V. Neffenger will relieve Rear Adm. John E. Crowley, Jr., of command of the Ninth Coast Guard District in a change-of-command ceremony, here, Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 1 p.m.

The ceremony will be held at the Port of Cleveland’s Dock #32.

Crowley assumed command of the Ninth Coast Guard District in April 2006, and will retire after more than 33 years of service.  As District Commander, Crowley was in charge of more than 6,000 active duty, reserve duty, civilian and Auxiliary men and women; whom conducted more than 8,700 search-and-rescue missions, executed more than 25,400 law enforcement boardings, and inspected more than 6,650 vessels. Read the rest of this entry »

Tom Breckenridge | Source: Plain Dealer

Plans for a $300 million port at Melford, Nova Scotia - a port big enough to receive and send megaships filled with container cargo - could mean more water-borne commerce for Northeast Ohio in the years to come, officials hope.

Officials with Melford International Terminal Inc. met Gov. Ted Strickland, port President Adam Wasserman, a top St. Lawrence Seaway official and others last week to pitch their project and its potential for Northeast Ohio.

Read the full story at the Plain Dealer >>

by David Patch | Source: Toledo Blade

A proposed container port on the Nova Scotia coast could hold a key to Toledo’s future as a potential ocean-container distribution center.

Representatives of Melford International Terminal Inc., a Canadian company that has obtained 315 waterfront acres along the Strait of Canso, met last week with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland to outline their proposal for a deepwater container port that is intended to capitalize on North America’s growing trade with Asia, which is resulting in congestion at existing ports on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

While the Melford proposal anticipates that a majority of the freight handled there would make the inland portion of its journey by rail, Terry Johnson, Jr., administrator of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., said the port could become a relay point for smaller container vessels that would transport freight between Nova Scotia and Ohio via the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes.

“There is the potential for waterborne inland distribution,” Mr. Johnson, who accompanied the Melford delegation to Columbus, said. Ohio is “a natural distribution point,” …

Full story, logistics map at the Toledo Blade >>

by Jim Provance | Source: Toledo Blade

“Why not bring and develop an industry cluster based on companies that deal with safe, clean water?” he asked. “It seems to me that we need to bring not only more companies that take advantage of the shipping routes, but also companies that deal with water in general.”

The compact, already approved by four of eight Great Lakes states, is stuck in the Ohio General Assembly. The version ratified in other states matches what was twice overwhelmingly passed in the House, but it is competing with a less restrictive version in the Senate.

Read the full story at the Toledo Blade >>

by Jacob Lammers | Source: Sandusky Register

Unseasonably cold weather delayed at least one major commercial ferry [on Lake Erie] this spring.

Miller Boat Line was supposed to start running March 21, but thick ice around Put-in-Bay has delayed its first run of the spring by a week.

The late start is especially unusual considering the ferryboats were running into January — and two years ago, the ferry boats operated year-round. Miller Boat Line serves Put-in-Bay and Middle Bass Island.

Miller Boat Line’s four ferry boats were locked in about 8-10 inches of ice in the island’s bay last week, but could float free if temperatures warm.

Kelleys Island Ferry Boat Line in Marblehead began operating Wednesday.

Full story, photo at Sandusky Register >>