Fednav to Call Twice on Erie this Season

As Erie Shipping News readers know, Erie is expecting two foreign visitors from the Fednav Group’s fleet this summer. FEDERAL POWER is expected on June 30 to discharge five pieces of general cargo, including two heavy lifts of 212 metric tons each. In August, fleetmate FEDERAL MATANE, or a substitute vessel, is expected to discharge a similar cargo.

These are expected to be the two visits that Fednav’s ships make this year, as Erie will not yet become a regular port of call for the Fednav FALLine team; however, Fednav does call in Erie on inducement.

A little background information on each of the vessels. FEDERAL POWER is one of six Cypriot-flagged sister ships built from 1999 through 2003 at the JiangJiang Shipyard in China. The 469-foot long, 2000-built general cargo ship is capable of carrying a little more than 17,000 tons of cargo on a saltwater draft of 9.7 meters and just over 12,000 metric tons on a Great Lakes draft of 8.0 meters. The POWER is fitted with two cranes of 45 metric tons each, and is capable of carrying 1,098 containers.
The 607-foot long FEDERAL MATANE was built in 2004 in Wenchong Shipyard in China. The vessel is capable of carrying 20,100 metric tons of cargo on a Seaway draft of 8.0 meters and 27,781 metric tons on a Seaway draft of 9.8 meters. The vessel is fitted with three cranes of 30 metric tons each.

FEDERAL POWER is currently in Sorel and is next expected in to Hamilton on the 29th or 30th, and after a day there will head for Erie.

Good Samaritan, Coast Guard, Lakeshore Fire and Rescue Save Four from Lake; BOLAND Photos

As first reported on the Erie Shipping News's Twitter account at 1040 hours Friday, a boater fishing in 70 feet of water off of Elk Creek called Coast Guard Station Erie and reported a 25 foot vessel sinking in a position of 42' 08.817 North, 080' 18.500 West with four persons on board. The four men went into the water when their boat capsized shortly thereafter. The good samaritan managed to pull all of the men out of Lake Erie and headed for Walnut Creek Boat Access, where emergency medical technicians were being sent. The vessel rendezvoused with Lakeshore Fire and Rescue Vessel 509 off of Walnut Creek and transfered the victims to 509 at 1116 hours. Of the four victims, one was showing signs of hypothermia and was taken to shore and quickly transferred to EMS and taken to St. Vincent Medical Center for treatment.

At that time Lakeshore Towing's towboat ENDURANCE and USCG 25573 headed for the swamped vessel. Neither managed to arrive before the boat sank. The vessel is a total loss in about 70 feet of water.

New York State's environmental research vessel ARGO spent last night at Wolverine Marina.

Below are photos of the JOHN J. BOLAND, J.S. St. JOHN and ARGO. Video of the St. JOHN is also below, and I will post the BOLAND video tomorrow.

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J.S. St. JOHN outbound at 1830 hours Thursday with the BOLAND in the background.


Another view.


Stern view.


BOLAND lifts its lifeboat after conducting a fire and boat drill.


1945 hours, turning after unloading.


In the channel.


Outbound.


Close up, departing in ballast for Toledo.


Stern view.


ARGO at Wolverine Marina this morning.

BOLAND in Port; Departs

JOHN J. BOLAND arrived in Erie this morning at 1000 and docked at the Mountfort Terminal to unload stone. The BOLAND unloaded throughout the afternoon and evening before departing at 2000 this evening.

I will post photos and video of the BOLAND, along with the J.S. St. JOHN outbound on its third trip since being repainted, tomorrow.

BOLAND ETA

JOHN J. BOLAND's new ETA for Erie is about 1030 this morning.

MANISTEE Departs, BOLAND, and Others Due

MANISTEE departed Erie at 0500 this morning, bound for Cleveland to load salt for Chicago, Illinois.

JOHN J. BOLAND, laden with stone from Stoneport, Michigan, is due in Erie tomorrow at 0900.

Also due in port tomorrow, with times of arrival to be determined, are motor yacht SCOTT FREE and sailing vessel DENIS SULLIVAN.

MANISTEE Inbound

MANISTEE, laden with salt from Fairport Harbor, is now inbound Erie and will be here in about an hour bound for the Mountfort Terminal. Lakeshore Towing's tug DON HENRY, towing a sailboat, will follow the MANISTEE into the harbor.

Boom Over the Bay Cancelled

Boom Over the Bay, scheduled for the Fourth of July off of Liberty Park in Erie, has been cancelled this year, as Mercyhurst College has stopped providing funding for the event.

The Erie Shipping News's new Facebook fan page can be found here. This page is used to promote the Erie Shipping News on social media.

St. JOHN Update

J.S. St. JOHN's name has been painted on the port bow today and the starboard bow has been painted out.

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St. JOHN at dock with the name painted on the port side.


With the starboard side painted out.

J.S. St. JOHN Update; NEAH BAY Departs; Donjon Shipbuilding Update

J.S. St. JOHN continues to be repainted in Carmeuse Lime and Stone colors at the Old Ore Dock. Today crews were repainting the name, and got as far as J.S. St. before quitting for the day on the starboard side. The name on the port bow has yet to be repainted at all.

NEAH BAY departed this morning at 0900.

Donjon Shipbuilding has made preparations for the new rail line to be installed into the yard. Reportedly the Bayfront Parkway will be closed for two weeks after the 4th of July to allow for the installation.

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St. JOHN at dock this evening.


Another view.


The ABS loadlines on the St. JOHN have yet to be painted over.


Bow view.


In this view you can see that there is no name painted on the port side.


St. JOHN looks sharp in her new color scheme of blue and gray.


Another stern view. If you look closely above the name, you can see her former name, LAKE EDWARD.


The suction pipe the St. JOHN uses to dredge sand.


Pilothouse and stack.


Sailing vessel ANGKOR WAT, registered in the Marshall Islands, at Dobbin's Landing this evening. The 65 gross ton yacht was built in 2007.

Brig NIAGARA Update; NEAH BAY in Port; St. JOHN Update

As a follow up to the Coast Guard's dispatching of a twenty-five foot vessel to the Brig NIAGARA yesterday: apparently a crew member suffered a medical emergency and was found unconscious. The crew member is fine now.

NEAH BAY arrived in port at 1745 and docked at the north face of Dobbin's Landing.

Crews have continued work on the J.S. St. JOHN and have now painted the entire hull and the visor above the pilothouse in gray. There has been no change in stack markings yet.

And finally, FEDERAL POWER is currently in the English Channel making 15.9 knots on its way to the St. Lawrence Seaway.

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NEAH BAY at North Dobbin's Landing shortly after arrival.


Another view.


J.S. St. JOHN's new paint job.


Another view of the almost-completed paint job.

Coast Guard Unit Dispatched to Brig NIAGARA

Coast Guard station Ashtabula has just dispatched a 25-foot unit to the Brig NIAGARA, which is underway in Lake Erie. No word yet on what the nature of the distress of the NIAGARA is.

J.S. St. JOHN Being Repainted; Updated FEDERAL POWER ETA, FEDERAL MATANE Also Due

Lakeshore Towing's tug DON HENRY this morning delivered Lakeshore's barge 502 to the Old Ore Dock, where the barge was used as a staging area to allow crews from Erie Sand & Gravel to repaint the J.S. St. JOHN. St. JOHN is being painted gray, a change from the Erie Sand green that she has worn.

It's not clear yet as to whether this is a new paint job or just a primer for repainting the vessel gray, but if this is the St. JOHN's new paint scheme, it means the end of a long tradition of Erie Sand's green hulls on the Great Lakes.

FEDERAL POWER is currently loading in Antwerp, Belgium and is expected in Erie on June 30.

Meanwhile, FEDERAL MATANE is scheduled to arrive in Bremen, Germany to load on July 15, and after stopping in Hamilton, Ontario will arrive in Erie on August 10. Both dates are subject to change. These are the first Fednav ships to visit Erie since 2007.

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J.S. St. JOHN at dock this afternoon.


Another view.


FEDERAL MATANE in the Welland Canal on November 2, 2008.


BBC RUSSIA in the Welland Canal on August 27, 2005. This is roughly what the FEDERAL POWER looks like.

LAUD Arrives, Departs

SAM LAUD arrived in Erie at 2330 Saturday night with stone from Calcite, Michigan, docking at the Mountfort Terminal to unload. The LAUD unloaded through the night and departed at 0530 bound for Cleveland. The LAUD will load iron ore at the Cleveland Bulk Terminal on Cleveland's lakefront and shuttle the ore to the Mittal Steel plant upriver.

LAUD Due

SAM LAUD, laden with stone, is expected in Erie at 2300 tonight. This is the LAUD's second visit of the season.

Video: CSL ASSINIBOINE in the Welland Canal

CSL ASSINIBOINE is shown in this video while downbound in the Welland Canal on Monday, June 7, 2010. The ASSINIBOINE was in the Canal on a very busy day that saw 20 ships transit in the 24-hour period.

ASSINIBOINE, as the JEAN PARISIEN, spent the winter of 1995-96 in Erie at Metro Machine.

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Video: CANADIAN PROGRESS in the Welland Canal

This video shows CANADIAN PROGRESS in the Welland Canal on May 27, 2010.

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