Katmai Bay News

The St. Marys River has reopened to vessel traffic after a U.S.-flagged Great Lakes freighter struck a channel light in the waterway.At approximately 1 a.m. on Thursday, the 730-foot bulk carrier American Mariner suffered a marine casualty and went bow-first into the Munuscong Junction Light, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The incident occurred in Munuscong Lake, which is a section of the St. Marys River in Michigan state.The American Steamship Company-owned vessel is operated by Grand River Navigation under a bareboat charter.

A portion of the St. Marys River has been closed to vessel traffic after a U.S.-flagged Great Lakes freighter struck a channel light in the waterway.At approximately 1 a.m., the 730-foot bulk carrier American Mariner suffered a marine casualty and struck the Munuscong Junction Light with its bow, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The incident occurred in Munuscong Lake, which is a section of the St. Marys River in Michigan state.The American Steamship Company-owned vessel is currently operated by Grand River Navigation under a bareboat charter.

The U.S. Coast Guard said its In-Service Vessel Sustainment (ISVS) Program has passed the halfway point in its effort to upgrade the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems on the service’s 140-foot bay-class icebreaking tugs.The HVAC upgrade on Coast Guard Cutter Katmai Bay was completed on June 1—20 days ahead of schedule—in Cheboygan, Mich., near the tug’s homeport of Sault Sainte Marie, Mich.Meanwhile, Coast Guard Cutter Morro Bay arrived at Coast Guard Yard…

Passengers were removed from a Mackinac Island ferry that suffered mechanical issues and went adrift in the Straits of Mackinac on Tuesday.The Star Line winter service ferry Huron had 144 passengers and four crewmembers on board when it lost steering at about 6 p.m. while on its way from Mackinac Island to St. Ignace, Mich., the U.S. Coast Guard said.Unable to deploy its anchor due to a possible mechanical or weather-related issue, the 1950s-built vessel drifted slowly in open water toward St.

Great Lakes Shipyard, a division of The Great Lakes Towing Company, has recently been awarded government contracts amounting to more than $1.9 million.The contracts, which could be valued at nearly $2.5 million if all options are exercised, include haul out, maintenance, and repair work of the following vessels: U.S. Coast Guard: Cutter KATMAI BAY; and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Detroit District Floating Plant (Tug DEMOLEN and Crane Barge VELER); and Buffalo District Barge BC6214.Great Lakes Shipyard is a regular provider of maintenance and repair services to the federal government…

United States Coast Guard Cutter Katmai Bay (WTGB-101), homeported in Sault Sainte Marie, Mich., arrived at Great Lakes Shipyard for a drydock, inspection, maintenance and repair contract.The contract includes hull, propulsion and steering system inspections, as well as steel repairs, hull cleaning and painting. The 140-foot Bay-class icebreaking tug was hauled out on Friday, September 3 using the Shipyard’s new 900-ton Marine Travelift.The USCGC Katmai Bay serves throughout the entire Great Lakes system.

U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste Marie on Wednesday commenced Operation Taconite, an icebreaking mission launched in response to expanded ice growth in the commercial ports of western Lake Superior, Green Bay and the lower St. Marys River. Before ice impeded commercial navigation, several icebreakers were assigned to each region. Recently, Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw was dispatched to assist two vessels into the Port of Green Bay. Coast Guard Cutter Alder was assigned to manage the ice breaking needs of western Lake Superior, specifically the twin ports of Duluth, Minn., and Superior, Wisc.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Katmai Bay (WTGB-101), homeported in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, arrived at Great Lakes Shipyard, Cleveland, Ohio, for drydocking, inspection, maintenance and repairs on July 8, 2015. The contract is for a scope of work that includes hull, propulsion and steering system inspections, as well as steel repairs, hull cleaning and painting. The 140-foot Bay-class Icebreaking Tug was hauled out on Monday, July 13 using the Shipyard’s 770-ton Marine Travelift – the largest on the Great Lakes.

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) crews concluded the nation’s largest domestic ice operation known as Taconite, Thursday, after more than five months of icebreaking operations in the Northern Great Lakes. Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, plans and runs Operation Taconite, which includes all of Lakes Superior and Michigan, the northern half of Lake Huron, the St. Marys River and the Straits of Mackinac. During the 160 days of the operation, nine U.S. Coast Guard and three Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers spent more than 5…

Coast Guard Cutters Morro Bay and Katmai Bay, homeported in Cleveland and Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., conducted ice breaking operations in Marquette, Mich., Sunday. The harbor breakout operations commenced following a difficult and lengthy escort that started in Duluth, Minn., and utilized satellite imagery to find openings in the ice. The crews’ efforts helped keep local mining operations open by allowing the commercial carriers Mesabi Miner and Kaye E. Barker to offload badly-needed coal to the power plant that is the sole supplier of electricity to the mines.

The Coast Guard Cutter Morro Bay, a 140-foot icebreaking tug homeported in Cleveland but currently moored in Duluth, is scheduled to undergo an in-water repair Sunday and Monday. The Morro Bay suffered a rudder casualty while conducting icebreaking operations in Thunder Bay, Ontario, March 27, and was towed to Duluth by the Coast Guard Cutters Alder and Katmai Bay. Divers and Coast Guard naval engineers examined the Morro Bay and discovered that icebreaking operations exacerbated an unknown, preexisting problem with several bolts that fasten the cutter's rudder to the rudder post.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers are continuing to create pathways for commercial shippers throughout the Great Lakes region including the St. Lawrence Seaway, which connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. The St. Lawrence Seaway officially opened to shipping Monday, while the Welland Canal, which connects lakes Ontario and Erie, opened Friday. Although the Soo Locks officially opened for the season March 25, no commercial ships have passed through…

An early and intense winter season has meant an increased demand for ice-breaking operations for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) 9th District's icebreaking fleet, but that didn't stop the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Katmai Bay, homeported in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., from conducting important training earlier this week. Across the district, icebreaking crews logged nearly four times the five-year average of operational ice-breaking hours during the first quarter of 2014. But despite a record season for icebreaking hours by cutter crews…

The Great Lakes Towing Company says it has been extremely busy providing icebreaking assistance, and Great Lakes Shipyard has started repairs and maintenance on Interlake Steamship vessels, with more vessels contracted to follow. Recently, the 140-foot USCG Bay-class Icebreaking Tug Katmai Bay (WTGB 101) was dead in the icy waters and required towing assistance to its homeport dock, and the towing company's tug Missouri was dispatched to break ice and assist it back to its dock. The Missouri is also homeported in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan to assist vessels through the U.S.

The Great Lakes Towing Company came to the aid of the United States Coast Guard Monday night in the St. Marys River just two miles east of the U.S. Coast Guard Station, Sector Sault Ste Marie, Michigan. The 140-foot Bay-class Icebreaking Tug Katmai Bay (WTGB 101) was dead in the icy waters and required towing assistance to its homeport dock. Around 10:45pm Monday night, The Towing Company Tug Missouri was dispatched to break ice and assist the USCGC Katmai Bay back to its dock two hours later. The Tug Missouri is also homeported in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan to assist vessels through the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers locks and to provide emergency rescue assistance and icebreaking when needed. The locks connect Lake Superior to Lake Huron.

A woman took command of a U.S. military service academy for the first time in history when Rear Adm. Sandra Stosz took over as the superintendant of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., Friday, June 3. “We are extremely proud to be the first service with a woman at the helm of our academy,” said U.S. Coast Guard commandant, Adm. Robert J. Papp. Stosz takes over as the school continues to see an increase in minority admissions, growing from 12 percent in 2008 to 24 percent in 2010.

The U.S. Coast Guard commenced Operation Taconite this afternoon in response to colder temperatures and the resultant ice growth in the western Great Lakes region. Operation Taconite is the Coast Guard’s largest domestic icebreaking operation, encompassing Lake Superior, St. Mary’s River, the Straits of Mackinac, and northern Lake Huron. As a result of the operation, certain waterways may close once due consideration is given to the protection of the marine environment, waterway improvements, aids to navigation, the need for cross-channel traffic (e.g. ferries), the availability of icebreakers, and the safety of the island residents, who in the course of their daily business use naturally formed ice bridges for transportation to and from the mainland.

With ice forming at a rate that suggests the first “normal” winter shipping season in several years, Coast Guard officials have icebreakers working in disparate locations this week, according to a report on www.sooeveningnews.com. For now, two Bay-Class tugs, Katmai Bay and Biscayne Bay are working the ice in largely unfamiliar waters at Thunder Bay, Ont. and at Serpent Harbor, Ont. located at the northern end of Georgian Bay. Biscayne Bay, based at St. Ignace, has been working at Duluth-Superior then nearby Thunder Bay while the Duluth-based tender-breaker USCGC Alder was off about her buoy tending duties. (Source: www.sooeveningnews.com)

Fairbanks Morse Engine, an EnPro Industries company, will install low load upgrade kits on the LSD - 41/49 class of U.S. Navy ships following a $4 million federal spending plan secured by Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin. The decision to upgrade the engines is based on a successful proof-of-concept trial of low load upgrade kits on the U.S.S. Oak Hill (LSD-51) for its Fairbanks Morse Opposed Piston (OP) engines that provide ship electrical service. Bay (WTGB 107). The upgrade kit extends the service life of the engines, while at the same time reducing emissions and lowering lube oil and fuel consumption rates. This technology will result in substantial cost savings and increased reliability for the U.S. Navy.