Presque Isle News

Researchers from NOAA, the state of Michigan, and Ocean Exploration Trust discovered an intact shipwreck resting hundreds of feet below the surface of Lake Huron. Located within NOAA's Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the shipwreck has been identified as the sailing ship Ironton. Well preserved by the cold freshwater of the Great Lakes for over a century, the 191-ft. Ironton rests upright with its three masts still standing."Using this cutting-edge technology, we have not only located a pristine shipwreck lost for over a century…

It's that time of year.The US Coast Guard announced it has commenced icebreaking operations in response to expanded ice growth in the commercial ports of western Lake Superior.Operation Taconite, launched by Coast Guard Sector Sault Sainte Marie on Wednesday, is one of two icebreaking operations that support the Great Lakes. It encompasses Lake Superior, St. Marys River, Straits of Mackinac, Georgian Bay, Green Bay, northern Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan.The authority for Coast Guard domestic icebreaking was created in 1936, by Executive Order 7521 signed by President Franklin D.

Great lakes limestone shipments totaled just 1,254,226 net tons in April, a decrease of 23 percent compared to a year ago as the coldest April in more than two decades put a chill on the trade. According to the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA), loadings trailed the month’s five-year average by even more – 33.3 percent.Loadings at U.S. ports totaled 1.1 million tons, a decrease of 19 percent, while shipments from Canadian quarries totaled 177,000 tons, a decrease of nearly 41 percent…

Shipments from U.S. ports dipped 4 percent, but loadings out of Canadian quarries rose 12.5 percent. Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 27.1 million tons in 2014, a decrease of 1.8 percent from 2013 and a drop of 2.1 percent compared to the trade’s long-term average. The decline Lakeswide largely reflects the significant delays in resuming shipments in the spring. Heavy ice formations covered the Lakes and loadings in April were down nearly 50 percent. Even in May shipments lagged the previous year by 8 percent. U.S.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that two U.S. Areas of Concern, Deer Lake in the Lake Superior basin and White Lake in the Lake Michigan basin, have been removed from the binational list of toxic hotspots that were targeted for cleanup in the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. After decades during which only one U.S. Area of Concern was delisted, federal agencies have accelerated cleanup actions during the past five years by using Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) informs that Administrator Gina McCarthy has released a new Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Action Plan that lays out steps that federal agencies will take during the next five years to protect water quality, control invasive species and restore habitat in the largest surface fresh water system in the world. McCarthy, who chairs the federal Great Lakes Interagency Task Force, released the plan at a meeting of Great Lakes Mayors in Chicago. “The new Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan lays out the steps we need to take to get us closer to the day when all Great Lakes fish will be safe to eat, all beaches will be safe for swimmers and harmful algal blooms will not threaten our drinking water supplies,” said McCarthy.

NOAA today released a final rule and environmental impact statement expanding the boundaries of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron from 448 square miles to 4,300 square miles. The new boundaries now include the waters of Lake Huron adjacent to Michigan’s Alcona, Alpena and Presque Isle counties to the Canadian border. The expansion is based on several years of research by NOAA and its many scientific partners, and now protects an additional 100 known and suspected historic shipwreck sites. The expansion of the sanctuary was driven by strong public support. During the process to review the sanctuary’s management plan in 2006, several local government and non-governmental organizations passed resolutions or submitted written letters of support for boundary expansion.

The Bayfront Maritime Center (BMC) in Erie, Pa. has procured an upgrade to their existing BCG navigation simulator. Expanding their training system which consists of an instructor station and a one student position with single screen visual, ARPA radar emulator, Virtual Steering Stand and Electronic Chart Display, BMC is adding two additional student training positions. Each of the two new stations will support our PCBME ARPA radar and a Virtual Steering Stand for own ship control. The new stations will be integrated with the instructor station which is also being updated.

The Port of Erie is located on the southeast shore of Lake Erie in a natural bay formed and sheltered by Presque Isle peninsula. Its harbor entrance channel is narrow and 29 feet deep. Dredging is a constant concern. In fact, dredging of harbors around the Great Lakes has been a hot button issue for the maritime industry. Funding is provided by the Harbor Maintenance Tax which is a user fee collected by the federal government to ensure the adequate maintenance and operations of waterway infrastructure by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. On Tuesday, March 4, the Corps released their FY14 budget. It included an additional $25 million for Great Lakes harbors - $13.8 million of which will be dedicated to dredging.

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.5 million tons in September, an increase of 6.2% compared to a year ago. The September total was, however, 4.9% below August’s tally. Shipments from U.S. ports totaled 3 million tons, an increase of 8.1% compared to a year ago. Loadings at Canadian quarries – 467,000 tons – dipped by the equivalent of one cargo in a 767-foot-long laker. Year-to-date the Lakes limestone trade stands at 19.9 million tons, a decrease of 2.9% compared to a year ago, and 6% below the long-term average for the first three quarters. U.S.

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.6 million tons in August, an increase of 3.7% compared to July, and 12.8% better than a year ago. Shipments from U.S. ports totaled 3.15 million tons, an increase of 18.1% compared to a year ago. Loadings at Canadian quarries slipped by nearly 13%, falling to 485,000 tons. Year-to-date the Lakes limestone trade stands at 16.5 million tons, a decrease of 4.6% compared to a year ago, and 7% below the long-term average for the January-August timeframe. U.S. ports: Calcite, Mich.; Cedarville, Mich.; Drummond Island, Mich.; Kellys Island, Ohio; Marblehead, Ohio; Port Inland, Mich. and Presque Isle, Mich. Kellys Island ceased shipping in fall 2009. Canadian ports: Bruce Mines, Manitoulin Island and Smelter Bay (all Ontario).

The 2013 Erie Tall Ship's Parade of Sails (with tall ship tours) is being held for the 4 days starting Sept. 5, 2013 in Presque Isle Bay, Pa., with some 60,000 visitors in attendance. This year's festival marks the 200th anniversary of the building of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's fleet in Erie and his victory at the Battle of Lake Erie off of Put-In-Bay, Ohio, Sept. 10, 1813. Pictured is the US Coast Guard Cutter Morro Bay, a 140-foot ice-breaking tug homeported in Cleveland, as she follows the sailing training vessel Sorlandet, a 211-foot full-rigged ship from Kristiansand, Norway.

Heavy ice cover on the lakes that stretched well into April slowed resumption of the limestone trade. Shipments totaled only 1.8 million tons, a decrease of 28% compared to a year ago. Loadings are 21% off the month’s five-year average. Shipments from U.S. ports totaled 1.6 million tons, a decrease of 24% compared to a year ago. Loadings at Canadian quarries totaled 247,670 tons, a decrease of nearly 50% from last year. Year-to-date the Lakes limestone trade stands at 2.1 million tons, a decrease of 22% compared to a year ago, and 12% below the five-year average for the January-April timeframe. U.S. ports: Calcite, Mich.; Cedarville, Mich.; Drummond Island, Mich.; Kellys Island, Ohio; Marblehead, Ohio; Port Inland, Mich.and Presque Isle, Mich. Kellys Island ceased shipping in fall 2009.

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 27,145,219 tons in 2012, a decrease of 3.6 percent compared to 2011. The trade was 7 percent below its 5-year average. Shipments from U.S. ports fell 2.4 percent when compared to 2011, and slightly more – 4.1 percent – when compared to their 5-year average. Loadings at Canadian quarries decreased 9 percent compared to 2011, and slipped almost 19 percent compared to their 5-year average. Falling water levels and the dredging crisis took a toll in 2012. By year’s end, a vessel that has carried as much as 35,457 tons in a single trip averaged only 29,796 tons on the three stone loads it moved in December. The cargos were loaded at a quarry on Lake Huron and that body of water has fallen to a new record low. U.S.

One of the most famous sea battles in U.S. naval history took place in September 1813, not upon the sea, but on the waters of Lake Erie, between what is now Ohio and Ontario, Canada. In the War of 1812 against Great Britain, the Battle of Lake Erie was a crucial and decisive victory for America and itsNavy, and the flotilla led by 27-year old Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. That battle was recently commemorated with events on Lake Erie. And next year—the 200th anniversary—will be even bigger.

Another Good Month for Lakes Limestone; Up 16 Percent in May. Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3,355,389 net tons in May, an increase of 30 percent compared to April and 15.6 percent better than a year ago. However, shipments were down 9.3 percent compared to the month’s 5-year average. The strongest gains came at U.S. ports. Loadings rose by 380,000 tons, or 16.2 percent. Shipments from Canadian quarries increased by 73,000 tons, or 13.2 percent. Year-to-date the Lakes limestone trade stands at 6.1 million net tons…

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.8 million net tons in August, an increase of 4 percent over July, and an increase of 14 percent compared to a year ago. Shipments were also just about even with August’s 5-year average. Shipments from U.S. quarries increased 22 percent compared to a year ago and slightly bettered the month’s 5-year average. Loadings at Canadian quarries were off roughly 15 percent compared to both a year ago and August’s 5-year average. Through August the limestone trade stands at 16.1 million tons…

Sony and Intel’s Project Shiphunt team of young explorers, scientists and historians has returned to shore with news of its underwater discovery: shipwrecks of the schooner M.F. Merrick and the steel freighter Etruria, in deep water off of Presque Isle in Lake Huron. The project was completed with “much thanks to pings, processing and 3D,” according to one marine archaeologist. Current Media, the Peabody-and Emmy Award-winning independent television and online network founded in 2005, will air their adventure as the hour-long special, “Project Shiphunt,” on August 30th at 10 p.m. ET.

As part of the ongoing construction process, on December 22, 2010, Donjon Shipbuilding and Repair, floated the 135-foot-long, 10,500-horsepower tugboat Ken Boothe Sr. in Presque Isle Bay. The vessel was moved from Donjon Shipbuilding’s 1250-foot graving dock to a wet berth within the facility where final construction and outfitting of the vessel will be completed in mid-February 2011. The vessel is named for Mr. Kenneth Boothe, Sr., former President of Donjon Shipbuilding and Repair…

Fifteen talented Erie area high school students in the Minority College Experience / Women in Science and Engineering (MCE/WISE) program through Penn State Erie, participated in the Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies' (BCMS) first expedition of the Shipwreck Science Program on June 12, 2009. BCMS is an eleven year old non-profit community based organization in Erie, Pennsylvania that uses hands-on projects including sailing, boatbuilding, navigation and environmental science to teach and reinforce traditional subjects.