Patrice McAllister, USCG Photo

UPDATE: We are saddened to report that the injured crewmember, the boat’s chief engineer, died in a Toronto hospital Wednesday morning.  The man, along with the five other crewmembers, have not yet been identified.

Original: A mariner is in critical condition after suffering severe burns after the 105-foot, US-flagged tugboat, Patrice McAllister, caught fire in the Canadian waters of Lake Ontario Tuesday night.   6 crew were on board and unconfirmed reports indicate the tug was pushing a barge at the time the fire broke out.  The injured person was MEDEVAC’d by a Canadian helicopter crew and taken to a hospital in Belleville, Ontario, and was later transferred to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Buffalo received an alert from an emergency position indicating radio beacon registered to the vessel, which provided them with an exact location about seven miles south of Prince Edward Point, Ontario.

A U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue crew responded aboard an MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter from Air Station Detroit, and Canadian rescue crews launched aboard a C-130 aircraft, Griffin helicopter and the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Cape Hearne, a 47-foot Cape Class motor lifeboat from Kingston, Ontario.

A commercial salvage company has been contracted to tow the vessel to the freight dock in Clayton, N.Y., where U.S. Coast Guard marine inspectors will meet it. There are no reports of pollution.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Ore carriers in lay-up at Bay Shipbuilding. Photo: Fincantieri

The Soo Locks, located in Sault St. Marie, MI, will open Sunday, March 25, traditionally marking the start of major Great Lakes shipping efforts, with seven ore carriers scheduled to depart the Port of Sturgeon Bay this weekend.

The vessels scheduled to leave have been in lay-up and maintenance mode at Bay Shipbuilding, an operating division of Fincantieri Marine Group, since early January. More than 20 ore carriers have cycled their way through repair periods at Bay Shipbuilding this winter, employing more than 600 people in various trades.

Of the seven vessels scheduled to depart, three are 1,000-footers and four are the 700- to 800-foot- class ore carriers.

U.S.-flag Great Lakes operators moved 93.8 million tons of cargo in 2011, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association, an increase of 5.7 percent over 2010. This winter saw carriers spend more than $75 million at Great Lakes shipyards and repair facilities in order to maintain and modernize their vessels for the upcoming season.

Ballast water discharge

The U.S. Coast Guard said Friday that it will publish a long-awaited final rule for standards for living organisms in ships’ ballast water discharged into waters of the United States in the Federal Register scheduled for March 23.

Under the new rule, the Coast Guard established a standard for the allowable concentration of living organisms, i.e. a standard for the acceptable number of living organisms per volume of water, in ballast water discharged from ships in U.S. waters.  The Coast Guard is also amending its regulations for engineering equipment by establishing an approval process for ballast water management systems.

“These new regulations will aid in controlling the introduction and spread of nonindigenous species from ships’ ballast water,” said Jeffrey Lantz, director of the Coast Guard’s Office of Commercial Regulations and Standards. “This final rule establishes a ballast water discharge standard that is protective of the marine environment and is also consistent with the discharge standard adopted by the International Maritime Organization in 2004.”

The Final Rule was reached through the support of findings from reports conducted by the National Academy of Sciences and the EPA Science Advisory Board in 2011, and are the most stringent requirements that vessels can practicably implement and that the Coast Guard can enforce as of now.

Vessels entering the Great Lakes will still be required to fully exchange or flush their ballast tanks with seawater until they are equipped with the approved ballast water treatment systems that meet the discharge standard.  Meanwhile, all inbound foreign vessels are examined in Montreal by a working group of U.S. and Canadian agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, to ensure the ballast tanks are exchanged or flushed as required.

“Once fully implemented, this ballast water discharge standard will significantly reduce the risk of an introduction of aquatic nuisance species into the Great Lakes,” said Rear Adm. Michael N. Parks, commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District in Cleveland.

While some environmental groups contend that the new rule is not as stringent as it could be, the new rule is mostly viewed as a major milestone and provides a good starting for ballast water treatment and discharge.

In a written statement, the Coast Guard said it “fully intends to issue a later rule that will establish a more stringent phase-two discharge standard.”

The final rule will be effective 90 days after publication in the Federal Register on March 23.

Download: Standards for Living Organisms in Ships’ Ballast Water Discharged in U.S. Waters

An artist's rendition of the new Equinox Class vessels. Photo: Algoma Central Corp.

Algoma Central Corp., the largest Canadian shipowner and operator of Canadian-flagged Great Lakes vessels, has announced plans to install fresh water exhaust gas scrubbers on six new vessels that the company says will remove 97% of sulphur oxides emissions generated by vessel engines.

The St. Catharines, Ontario-based company has signed a contract with Wärtsilä Ship Power for the supply of the systems for its Equinox Class vessels, which are currently being built by Chinese shipbuilder Nantong Mingde Heavy Industry Co. Ltd, for a total supply and installation cost of the six scrubber systems is US$12 million.

The two gearless bulk carriers and four self-unloading bulk carriers are designed specifically for Great Lakes service with high efficiency hulls that will require less horsepower to achieve higher speeds than any previous Great Lakes design and thus achieve the lowest fuel consumption and emissions per tonne/kilometre of cargo carried.  The first Equinox Class vessel will arrive in Canada in the first half of 2013.

The Algoma order is the first for Wärtsilä’s new, integrated, fresh water, exhaust gas scrubber design. The scrubbers are designed to clean the exhaust gases of the vessels’ main and auxiliary engines as well as the oil-fired boiler and will meet more stringent environmental regulations taking effect over the next three years.

These scrubber systems will allow shipowners to use lower cost, heavy fuel oils while, at the same time, meet the new Emission Control Area sulphur limits established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and adopted by Canada and the United States for the Great Lakes and coastal waters.  Without scrubber technology, shipowners will be forced to convert vessels to burn more expensive low sulfur diesel.

The Wärtsilä scrubber concept works with fresh water recirculating in a closed-loop system. Sulphur oxides that are washed out of the exhaust are neutralized with caustic soda. A small amount of scrubbing water is continuously extracted and an on board water treatment unit removes other captured contaminants such as particulate matter.

A major advantage of fresh water scrubbers is the possibility to operate in a zero discharge mode which means that there is no effluent (waste product) from the scrubber discharged into the lake water. The treated, clean effluents would be held in a holding tank for discharge at an appropriate location while solid contaminants are disposed of at reception facilities in port.

“These are truly important vessels as they will set new standards for environmentally sustainable shipping on the Great Lakes and for cargo vessels in general. The Wärtsilä integrated scrubber solution removes more than 97 percent of sulphur oxides emissions,” says Juhani Hupli, Vice President, Ship Power Technology at Wärtsilä Ship Power.

“In addition to the environmental initiatives another key focus for Algoma’s fleet renewal process has been to reduce maintenance costs. Wärtsilä’s capability in providing both an integrated marine solution and global service support was a major reason Wärtsilä was selected to provide this comprehensive equipment package.” says Al Vanagas, Senior Vice President Technical, Algoma Central Corporation.

This process meets all the quality and monitoring requirements stipulated by the IMO. Wärtsilä is the first manufacturer to have been awarded a marine scrubber certificate by the classification societies Det Norske Veritas, Germanischer Lloyd, and Bureau Veritas.

More about Wärtsilä’s Fresh Water Scrubbers

Click here to view the embedded video.

The U.S. Flagged self unloading bulk carrier Joseph L Block. Photo: Boatnerd.com

CLEVELAND—More than 1,200 boilermakers, welders, electricians and other skilled craftsmen will be hard at work this winter maintaining and modernizing U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters when they lay up between late December and mid-January.  The major U.S.-flag operators will invest more than $75 million in their 56 vessels so the fleet will be ready to replenish stockpiles of iron ore, coal, cement, salt and limestone when shipping resumes next March.

The work scheduled for this winter is as varied as the cargos the fleet carries.  Eight vessels will be drydocked for the out-of-water survey of the hull the Coast Guard requires every 5 years.  Huge concrete blocks are positioned in precise locations in the dry dock and the vessel gently settles on them as the water is pumped out of the chamber.  Coast Guard inspectors then scour the hull for signs of any unusual wear and if any is found, order the steel replaced.

Although a study has determined that Great Lakes freighters produce 70 percent less emissions than trains and 90 percent less than trucks in moving a ton of cargo, that ratio will only get better with a number of main and auxiliary engine upgrades scheduled for this winter.

The industry’s commitment to reducing the potential that lakers’ ballast might spread a non-indigenous species introduced by an oceangoing vessel is evidenced by a number of vessels being fitted with high ballast water intakes.  Traditionally vessels take on and discharge ballast water through seachests, as many as 18, located close to the bottom of the hull.  High ballast water intakes not only reduce the potential that a fish or other living organism will be drawn in, they lessen the amount of sediment taken up with ballast water.

Other projects include renewal of steel in cargo holds, replacement of conveyor belts in unloading systems, upgrades of communication and navigation equipment, and overhauls of galleys.

The major shipyards on the Lakes are located in Sturgeon Bay and Superior, Wisconsin; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Toledo, Ohio.  Smaller “top-side” repair operations are located in Cleveland, Ohio; Escanaba, Michigan; Buffalo, New York; and several cities in Michigan.  It is estimated that a vessel generates $800,000 in economic activity in the community in which it is wintering.

Sub-freezing temperatures aren’t the only challenge facing Great Lakes shipyards and their craftsmen.  Many vessels lay-up right after the locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, close on January 15, and get underway when the locks reopen on March 25.  That leaves but nine weeks to prepare the vessels for 9-plus months of 24/7 operation.

For a few vessels, the winter lay-up is even shorter.  The JOSEPH L. BLOCK, for example, often loads iron ore in Escanaba, Michigan, for deliverey to Indiana Harbor, Indiana, until the end of January and then opens that trade around March 10.

Worn steel and other materials are recycled as much as possible, but in what might be something of a first, one job is going to help heat homes this winter.  The entire wear deck on a barge is being replaced and the 75,000 board feet of oak lumber that must be removed will then fuel wood-burning furnaces.

When the fleet returns to service next spring, it will welcome a new 740-foot-long self-unloader.  The as-yet unnamed barge is nearing completion at the shipyard in Erie, Pennsylvania.  It will be able to carry nearly 38,000 tons of cargo each trip.  Also joining the fleet will be an integrated tug/barge unit that previously worked the Gulf.

When the economy is strong, the U.S.-flag Lakes fleet will carry more than 115 million tons of cargo per year.  Iron ore for steel production is the largest commodity – 50 million tons.  Roughly half of the country’s steelmaking capacity is located in the Great Lakes basin.  Cargos of coal for power generation and limestone and cement for the construction industry can collectively top 50 million tons.  Other cargos include salt to de-ice wintry roads, sand for industrial production, and cereal grains.

About Lake Carriers’ Association

Lake Carriers’ Association represents 17 American companies that operate 56 U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes and carry the raw materials that drive the nation’s economy: iron ore and fluxstone for the steel industry, aggregate and cement for the construction industry, coal for power generation….  Collectively, these vessels can transport more than 115 million tons of cargo per year when high water offsets lack of adequate dredging.  Those cargos support more than 103,000 jobs with an average wage of $47,000.  More information is available at www.lcaships.com.

Today marks the 36th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, the Great Lakes freighter that sank in a strong gale on eastern Lake Superior resulting in the loss of all 29 of its crew.  Today, the November 10, 1975 sinking remains the Great Lakes regions most famous and mysterious maritime disaster.  To learn more about her story, just listen above to the lyrics in Gordon Lightfoot’s famous song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Another good writeup can be found at failure magazine, HERE.

Do any Great Lakes guys remember her sinking?  We’d like to hear your stories in the comments section below.

Photo taken aboard American Steamship Company's, American Fortitude, by Chief Engineer Bill Heitman.

New Study Looks At The Economic Impacts of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System

CLEVELAND—Cargo hauled on the Great Lakes in U.S.-flag vessels is responsible for more than 103,000 jobs in the United States that pay an average wage of $47,000 finds a comprehensive study released today. The report, a year in the making, further determined the value of economic output tied to those cargos topped $20 billion in 2010. Federal, state and local taxes totaled more than $2.2 billion.

“The value of U.S.-flag Lakes shipping has never before been so well illustrated,” said James H.I. Weakley, President of Lake Carriers’ Association, the trade association that represents U.S.-flag vessel operators on the Lakes. “These facts and figures will help us fight for our fair share of federal dredging dollars, a second Poe-sized lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, renewal and expansion of the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking fleet, and other needs that will determine if those jobs stay and grow, or whither and go.”

The study, titled The Economic Impacts of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, was commissioned by several members of the Great Lakes shipping community, LCA included, in partnership with the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation in Washington, DC, and the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Martin Associates of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, performed the analysis.

U.S.-flag ―lakers‖ haul raw materials: iron ore for steel production, coal for power generation, limestone and cement for the construction industry, as well as salt, sand, grain, and other dry- and liquid bulk cargos. In total, there are about 65 large U.S.-flag self-propelled vessels and tug/barge units. In a boom economy, the U.S.-flag Lakes fleet can haul upwards of 115 million tons of cargo over the course of the shipping season.

Weakley noted that using 2010 as the base year for the study actually reduced the contributions of U.S.-flag shipping. “Like the economy in general, U.S.-flag shipping on the Lakes has yet to fully recover from the recession. In 2010, five of LCA’s vessels never sailed and other vessels sailed less than full seasons. Five ships have remained idle this year. When the fleet is back to full strength, the job count and economic benefits will increase noticeably.”

Since Indiana is the largest steel-making state, it boasts the most jobs tied to U.S.-flag shipping – 39,903. Michigan follows with 23,485, but Ohio is close behind – 23,334. The “Wolverine state” is the capital of the Lakes’ limestone and cement trades; the ―Buckeye State‖ is the second-largest steel producer in the U.S.

Wisconsin jobs tied to U.S.-flag Lakes shipping total 5,589. The ―Badger State‖ is home to three shipyards.

Illinois’ 5,356 jobs reflect the concentration of heavy manufacturing along the southern shore of Lake Michigan.

Minnesota is home to the Mesabi iron range and many of the state’s 4,309 jobs are associated with mining taconite that is shipped in U.S.-flag lakers to steel mills.

With just a very short shoreline on Lake Erie, Pennsylvania has only one port, Erie, on the Great Lakes, but U.S.-flag cargos still generate more than 750 jobs. Western New York gains more than 300 jobs from U.S.-flag Lakes shipping.

The system-wide impacts of Great Lakes shipping in vessels of all flags are equally impressive: 227,000 jobs in the U.S. and Canada; $54 billion in annual personal income, business revenue, and local purchases; and $4.6 billion in federal, state/provincial, and local taxes.

STUDY (PDF): The Economic Impacts of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System

Source: Lake Carriers’ Association

Under the new agreement, both parties have agreed to extend the current contract through – at a minimum – the end of the 2011 Great Lakes shipping season, and the assurance that both sides will be able to reach a successor agreement come 2012.

AMO National President, Tom Bethel, said in a statement posted to the AMO website, “AMO and ASC are now confident and committed to reaching an agreement prior to the beginning of the 2012 operating season – an agreement that ensures the job and benefit security of AMO members and addresses the company’s competitive needs.”

The strike started on August 1 when AMO members working for the Great Lakes operator walked off all ASC vessels, forcing ASC to cease operations.

Pictured: ASC vessel M/V Buffalo courtesy ASC

AMO National President Tom Bethel criticized ASC in a statement posted to AMO’s website.  “This strike is the result of American Steamship’s Company refusal to negotiate in good faith, or even present a proposal that recognizes the professionalism of the AMO officers and stewards and their value to a company that operates very profitably with AMO onboard its ships” he said.

“When asked for a final offer, ASC presented AMO members with a proposal that would cut 14 jobs arbitrarily, give the company the ability to eliminate a total of 56 jobs, and would fail to fund the medical, retirement and training benefits of AMO officers,” Bethel continued.  He even went as far as accusing ASC representatives of boarding ships and offering captains “an escalating series of bribes.”

Meanwhile, ASC President, David W. Foster, fired back in the company’s own statement, saying “ASC made every effort to engage in constructive negotiations with the AMO, but the AMO refused to participate in this process.”

“Our goal has been to reach a fair and equitable agreement with our licensed crew members that allows ASC to become more competitive on the Great Lakes,” Foster added.

We’ll just have to wait and see how negotiations play out, but ASC is already talking about contingency plans for 2012 if it, well, doesn’t.

“If the labor situation continues unresolved, we will work towards being able to operate our full contingent of vessels in 2012 with other qualified crew members” said ASC’s David Foster.

[Pictured: ASC vessel M/V Buffalo courtesy ASC]

One reason the fleet performed so strongly was demand for iron ore necessitated extending the season through the locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan by three days. The January 18 closing allowed U.S.-flag lakers to carry an extra 380,000 tons of iron ore. The three extra days of navigation also allowed 90,000 tons of coal to move on the Lakes.

Not all of the additional tons moved during the extension. Some of the cargos were loaded on January 13 and 14. These cargos would not have moved had the locks closed on January 15. With winter in full swing, the vessels might have been delayed by weather and/or ice and unable to reach the locks by midnight January 15. The extension provided enough leeway that the cargos could be loaded.

(c) Lake Carriers’ Association