Whitefish Bay News

The U.S. Coast Guard received a report of a generator fire aboard a 1,013 foot bulk carrier freighter in Lake Superior, at 4:20 a.m. Monday.The master of motor vessel Paul R. Tregurtha reported the fire extinguished at 5:30 a.m. and stated that there were no injuries or pollution, and all 23 crewmembers are accounted for.The ship is carrying 68,200 tons of coal, 124,000 gallons of fuel and 88,000 gallons of caustic soda.The Coast Guard said it is dispatching resources to monitor the situation and to conduct a marine casualty investigation into the cause of the incident.The Paul R. Tregurtha is anchored near Point Iroquois, in Whitefish Bay.

Lightering operations were completed Tuesday, as the U.S. Coast Guard continues to monitor and respond to the motor vessel Roger Blough, Tuesday, after the vessel ran aground May 27 on Gros Cap Reef in Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior. The cargo on board the Roger Blough was successfully offloaded onto two vessels, the Philip R. Clarke and Arthur M. Anderson. Each of the receiving vessels have departed the Waiska Bay anchorage to deliver the iron ore to its intended destination. A detailed damage assessment of the Blough will be conducted once favorable weather conditions are met.

The U.S. Coast Guard continues to monitor and respond to the motor vessel Roger Blough after the vessel ran aground May 27 on Gros Cap Reef in Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior. Lightering operations continue while the vessel is anchored in Waiska Bay to transfer its cargo to the Philip R. Clarke and Arthur M. Anderson. The Arthur M. Anderson joined the cargo transfer efforts Saturday. A detailed damage assessment will be conducted once the iron ore is completely off-loaded from the Blough.

The U.S. Coast Guard continues to monitor and respond as the motor vessel Roger Blough is safely anchored in Waiska Bay, Saturday afternoon, after the vessel ran aground May 27 on Gros Cap Reef in Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior. The vessel made way under its own power to Waiska Bay where it will be further evaluated for repairs and it’s remaining cargo transferred to other vessels. Lightering operations ended early Saturday morning and the vessel was refloated at 10:45 a.m. The Philip R. Clarke arrived on scene with the Blough Thursday afternoon, and lightering operations started Friday at 5:45 a.m. Plans continue to progress to lighter the Blough’s iron ore and conduct detailed damage assessments through the combined efforts of Canadian partners, company representatives and the U.S.

The U.S. Coast Guard continues to monitor and respond as lightering operations begin on the motor vessel Roger Blough, Friday, after the vessel ran aground May 27 on Gros Cap Reef in Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior. The Philip R. Clarke arrived on scene with the Blough Thursday afternoon, and lightering operations started Friday at 5:45 a.m. The safety perimeter has been increased from 500 yards to 750 yards. Plans continue to progress to safely free the Blough from Gros Cap Reef through the combined efforts of Canadian partners, company representatives and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The U.S. Coast Guard continues to monitor and respond to the motor vessel Roger Blough, Wednesday, after the vessel ran aground Friday afternoon on Gros Cap Reef in Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior. Plans continue to progress to safely free the Blough from Gros Cap Reef through the combined efforts of Canadian partners, company representatives and the U.S. Coast Guard. DonJon-Smit salvage divers have completed their underwater survey of the Blough's hull and the salvage plan is being revised to reflect on-scene conditions. Lightering operations are scheduled to begin by Friday, June 3, with the motor vessel Philip R. Clarke identified as the receiving vessel.

Salvage divers from DonJon-Smit plan to begin an underwater survey of the hull of 833-foot U.S. cargo vessel Roger Blough, which ran aground Friday afternoon on Gros Cap Reef in Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior. The divers aim to identify any damage the freighter may have sustained during the grounding. The U.S. Coast Guard said it continues to monitor and respond to the motor vessel, along with Canadian partners and company representatives. A preventative booming was put in place, though the Coast Guard believes there is minimal chance of a fuel spill.

The U.S. Coast Guard informs it is continuing to monitor and respond to the 833-foot U.S. cargo vessel Roger Blough, which ran aground Friday afternoon on Gros Cap Reef in Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior. The chance of a fuel spill is minimal and flooding on the vessel is stable, the Coast Guard said. The Roger Blough crew is said to be in good condition with no reported injuries. Plans to free the grounded freighter continue to progress through the combined efforts of Canadian partners, company representatives and the U.S. Coast Guard.

U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters (lakers) moved 6.7 million tons of dry-bulk cargo on the Great Lakes in April, a decrease of nearly 6 percent when compared to the month’s 5-year average. Another brutal winter again spawned heavy ice formations Lakeswide that slowed the vessels that were put into service and delayed others’ sail date. With five of the six U.S. iron ore loading ports on Lake Superior, it follows that the iron ore trade was most affected by the ice fields. Shipments totaled 3.4 million tons, a decrease of 10 percent compared to the month’s 5-year average.

Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway totaled 4.3 million tons in April, nearly 15 percent below the month’s long-term average, the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) reported. The heavy ice blanketing the Lakes not only slowed the vessels that were in service, it delayed many vessels from sailing. Several U.S.-flag vessel operators held back ships rather than sit in ice because the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards do not have enough icebreakers to adequately cover the system. “April was again proof positive that we need more icebreaking resources,” said James H.I. Weakley, president of LCA, the trade association representing U.S.-flag vessel operators on the Great Lakes.

With the vast ice fields of December 2013 a distant but still troubling memory, U.S.-flag cargo movement on the Great Lakes this past December rebounded significantly. Shipments totaled 9.6 million tons, an increase of nearly 35 percent compared to a year ago. Every commodity – iron ore, coal, limestone, cement, salt, sand and grain, registered increases ranging from 10 to 209 percent. “The increases recorded this past December dramatically illustrate just how badly the early onset of ice in December 2013 slowed Great Lakes shipping,” said James H.I.

The second of Canada Steamship Lines' (CSL) two newbuild Trillium Class Great Lakes bulk carriers, CSL St-Laurent, was delivered on November 26, 2014 and set sail on her maiden voyage on December 13. She departed at 20:00 CST from Yangfan shipyard on Zhoushan Island, China, en route to Canada where she is set to operate throughout the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. The vessel is commanded by Captain Kevin Crouse and Chief Engineer Paul Beaudet, and is expected to take approximately 50-60 days to complete her voyage. CSL St-Laurent marks the successful completion of CSL's audacious newbuild program, which began with the delivery in December 2012 of the award-winning Trillium Class self-unloading Laker, Baie St. Paul.

Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) advised that the St. Lawrence Seaway has now opened for its 2014 season at St. Lambert by accepting the first vessel of the year, the MT Charlotte Theresa, destination Lake Ontario, followed by several Canadian ships. ISS Canada’s General Manager (Eastern Canada) Jason Skorksi, said the season has and will be a challenging one due to heavy ice and pack ice still affecting sea lanes. The seaway is currently processing upbound traffic in the Montreal/MLO section – one way traffic only. Double Pilotage is required, and initially there will be daylight navigation only. Escorts are required for crossing the lakes, Lac St. Louis and Lake St. Francis. The icebreaker HMCCGC Martha L Black is currently working Montreal/MLO sector.

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.

The last of Canada Steamship Lines’ (CSL) four newbuild Trillium Class self-unloading Lakers, the 'Baie Comeau', set sail June 30, on her maiden voyage from Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China, en route to Montreal, Quebec, for service on the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway. Commanding the Baie Comeau as she crosses the Pacific Ocean and transits through the Panama Canal is Captain Andriy Bondarenko, with Chief Engineer Francis Cotton. She is expected to take approximately 50-60 days to complete her voyage.

Three icebreaking cutters worked together to keep traffic moving through the St. Mary’s River. The  U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, a 240-foot icebreaker homeported in Cheboygan, Mich., along with Coast Guard Cutter Alder, a 225-foot buoy tender with ice-breaking capabilities homeported in Duluth, Minn., and the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Samuel Risley assisted vessels in the ice-bound river. The Mackinaw, CCGS Samuel Risley along with the Coast Guard Cutter Alder, freed the motor vessel Manitowoc from an ice plug in the vicinity of Whitefish Bay.