Upper Peninsula News

A Mackinac Island passenger ferry will be converted to zero-emissions electric power with the help of a $3.06 million award from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Fuel Transformation Program (FTP) Part 2.Star Line, now known as the Mackinac Island Ferry Company (MIFC), will replace two 1988 diesel engines with two brand new electric propulsion motors on a ferry, the Chippewa, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 14,152 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents and 887 metric tons of nitrogen oxides over the boat’s lifetime.

Manitowoc, Wis. shipbuilder Burger Boat Company announced it has delivered a new car/passenger ferry vessel to the Eastern Upper Peninsula Transportation Authority (EUPTA), located in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.The 92-foot U.S.-made steel ferry, Neebish Island III, will operate year-round on the St. Mary’s River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula between Barbeau, Mich., and Neebish Island. The vesselwas designed by Seacraft Design, LLC of Sturgeon Bay, Wis.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District works on unlocking the Great Lakes by providing a much-needed resiliency at the Soo Locks with the construction of the New Lock at the Soo. The New Lock at the Soo will be the same dimensions as the Poe Lock, 1,200 feet long, 110 feet wide and 30 feet deep.Often called the “linchpin” of the Great Lakes navigation system, the Soo Locks are located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan between the upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. The Soo Locks enable bulk carrier vessels to safely bypass the swift-moving St.

Manitowoc, Wis., shipbuilder Burger Boat Company announced it has begun work on a new vehicle and passenger ferry for the Eastern Upper Peninsula Transportation Authority (EUPTA), located in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.Due to launch Summer 2022, the 92-foot steel ferry will operate year-round on the St. Mary’s River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula between Barbeau, Mich., and Neebish Island. The ferry was designed to operate in the harsh winter environment and through the solid ice conditions it will encounter on its route.The ferry is designed by Seacraft Design, LLC of Sturgeon Bay, Wis.

President Donald Trump visited Fincantieri Marinette Marine Thursday following the Wisconsin shipyard’s recent contract award to design and build the U.S. Navy's first-in-class FFG(X) guided-missile frigate.The first U.S. president to visit the Marinette Marine shipyard, Trump toured the facilities where Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) are currently built and met with employees before delivering remarks in which he pledged support to the U.S. shipbuilding industry and congratulated the shipyard for winning the multibillion dollar frigate contract."Not long ago…

A new study commissioned by the U.S. Treasury Department lists modernization of the locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., as one of the 40 American transportation and water “megaprojects” that could bring as much as $1.3 trillion in national economic benefits. The system resiliency that a second Poe-sized lock will provide has an estimated net economic benefit of as much as $1.7 billion, according to the study. The Soo Locks connect Lake Superior to the lower four Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. Lake Superior is home to five iron ore loading ports, as well as the largest coal and grain shipping ports. Without the locks at Sault Ste. Marie, those cargos could not reach steelmakers, utilities and overseas markets. As the study notes, more than 60 percent of the current U.S.

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today the completion of the Captain Jimmie H. Hobaugh Coast Guard Community Center. The Foundation will host a ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening celebration on Monday, July 27 at 1:00 p.m. in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Anne Brengle, Coast Guard Foundation president; RDML June Ryan, commander for Coast Guard District 9 (Cleveland); and CAPT Stephen Teschendorf, captain of the port will share remarks. The grand opening is the culmination of a project that has been under development since 2001 – the Coast Guard Foundation took up the cause three years ago to bring the project to fruition.

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.

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that its Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan community center program is nearing its goal and that the “Buy a Brick” program is a key component of that success. A top priority for the Coast Guard Foundation, the Sault Ste. Marie Community Center will give Coast Guard members and their families in the area an all-inclusive indoor recreation facility that will serve as a safe place for families to enjoy themselves and build a community during the long Michigan Upper Peninsula winters. “Our ‘Buy a Brick’ program is instrumental in reaching our funding goals for the Sault Ste.

The Coast Guard Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to the education and welfare of Coast Guard members and their families, has announced  its plans to build a community center in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. A top priority for the Coast Guard Foundation, the Sault Ste. Marie Community Center will give Coast Guard members and their families in the area an all-inclusive indoor recreation facility that will serve as a safe place for families to enjoy themselves and build a community during the long Michigan Upper Peninsula winters.

Despite a downturn in overall cargo movements through the St. Lawrence Seaway in July (down 12.5% over 2012), new cargos and new vessels signaled continued confidence in the future of the navigation system. Several U.S. ports welcomed a variety of heavy lift cargos destined for projects throughout the region. “Twice during July, McKeil Marine Ltd. has called at the Port of Monroe to deliver heavy-lift industrial components,” said Monroe port director Paul LaMarre. “These project pieces were manufactured by Cherubini Metal Workers Ltd in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and will be installed in the last of four Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) Units at DTE Energy’s Monroe Power Plant.

Port of Green Bay sees increase in petroleum exports. Washington, D.C. (August 18, 2011) – The St. Lawrence Seaway statistics for the month of July indicate steady traffic with cautious optimism as the economy continues to rebound. Year-to-date total cargo shipments through July were 17 million metric tons, up 7.3 percent over the same period in 2010 due primarily to demand for bulk materials used in construction, salt, petroleum products, and Canadian grain. Year-to-date salt…

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, has awarded a dredging contract for Ontonagon Harbor on Lake Superior in the western Upper Peninsula. The $328,350 contract was awarded to Great Lakes Dock & Materials, LLC, of Muskegon, Mich. It calls for dredging 50,000 cubic yards of shoal material, which will be deposited on the lakeshore as beach nourishment. Work is scheduled to begin in early June and wrap up in July.

Congress is considering the possible funding of the construction of a new lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, a half-billion dollar undertaking that would rank as the largest navigation infrastructure project on the Great Lakes in a generation. Construction of a new lock at “the Soo” would bring up to 250 jobs annually to northern Michigan and continue for a decade. Estimated cost of the lock is about $475m. One economist has likened the economic impact of lock construction to opening an automobile plant in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Funding could come either through a massive stimulus bill or appropriations bills that will be considered by Congress as early as January. The new lock has been in the planning stage for two decades, but now is ready to move forward once funding is secured.

Algae-X International is pleased to announce its distribution agreement with Cummins Great Lakes Inc. Cummins Great Lakes Inc. is one of the largest Cummins Engine Distributors in the country with six distribution centers throughout the State of Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. William Maynard, President and CEO of the DePere, WI based company plans to integrate ALGAE-XÒ Fuel Conditioners into the fuel systems for new engine packages, and retro fit the ALGAE-XÒ units into existing engine installations for Power Generation, Transportation, Mining, Construction, Marine, Agriculture, and other applications. Algae-X Technology improves and maintains the quality of diesel fuel, hydraulic oil and other distillate fuels preventing tank sludge and clogged filters.