KAREN ANDRIE Due; Dredging Work Continues; Letter to Editor of Erie Times-News Critical of Biofuel Shipment

KAREN ANDRIE and barge A-397 are due in Erie tomorrow at 0800.

Phase II of the dredging of the Old Ore Dock continued on Sunday; however, today's work was made easier by temperatures reaching above 50 degrees that melted much of the ice that Lakeshore Towing's crews battled on Saturday. Crews will continue working seven days per week until finished with the dredging work.

A letter to the editor of the Erie Times News in today's newspaper is critical of the fact that there were no environmental studies done on the impact of a potential spill before the shipment of biofuel through the port last month. This is the response I wrote to the paper today:

I’m writing in response to Tom Hintenberger’s letter questioning the shipment of biofuel through the port of Erie. I watched the loading process daily as it occurred, and can say with certainty that every precaution possible was taken to guard against a spill. Local marine contractor Lakeshore Towing was hired to deploy an oil boom around the tanker Clipper Tobago and provide pollution control in the event of a spill.

The Erie Times-News reported on preliminary discussions regarding the shipment of biofuel through the port of Erie on September 4, 2007. More than three months passed before this shipment was loaded, which would have been ample time for anyone who had a problem with the plans to protest. No one did.

Shipping by rail would have been more dangerous for the environment than shipment via water, as railroad derailments resulting in spills are far more common than waterborne oil spills. And as the biofuel was headed for Europe, it would have been necessary to load the cargo aboard a ship eventually. Lake Erie Biofuels should be applauded for choosing to provide the work to the local port, rather than ship the product via rail to a port on the Eastern Seaboard.

Lake Erie Biofuels and similar companies are the future of well-paying industrial jobs in Erie and should be praised, not criticized, for keeping as much work as possible in the hands of local companies.

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DON HENRY stands by as FLATTOP returns barge 401 to the Old Ore Dock on Sunday afternoon.


FLATTOP shifts to the 501.


A few minutes later, FLATTOP and DON HENRY take loaded barge 501 outbound. As there is no visibility over the barge from the pilothouse of FLATTOP, the crew on the tug relies on the lookout on the bow, GPS, and DON HENRY to stay on course..

And below, click to watch a video of today's action. I hope to incorporate video more and more into the Erie Shipping News in the coming year (Right click on it, click "Save Target as" and save to your computer for best viewing):
Large Version (34 MB)
Small Version (16 MB)

Dredging Continues; TOBAGO waits for cargo

Dredging continues at the Old Ore Dock, and Lakeshore Towing is really making progress removing the shoaling that has occured within the slip.

Meanwhile, CLIPPER TOBAGO is expected to begin loading late this week.

A U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender should be arriving soon to replace the summer buoys in the harbor with unlighted winter markers.

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CLIPPER TOBAGO at dock on Wednesday.


Another view.


The "island" created by the offloading of dredged material gets bigger with every load of sediment.


FLATTOP and DON HENRY push Lakeshore Towing's barge 501 through the channel, toward the South Pier.


Tug FLATTOP glistens in the late afternoon sun.


Stern view as the trio approaches the Pier.


Barge 501 holds the dredged material.

Biodiesel Update; TENACIOUS Expected; Lakeshore Towing Remains Busy

CLIPPER TOBAGO remains sitting quietly in port, as loading of her Europe-bound cargo of biodiesel from Lake Erie Biofuels has yet to begin. Loading should commence sometime later this week. Crews will be racing the clock to complete loading and have the TOBAGO out of the St. Lawrence Seaway before it closes at 2359 hours on December 24.

In response to a question I received earlier today, there are plans to deploy a containment boom around the TOBAGO during the loading process. Cargoes of fuel and oil have passed through the port numerous times in the past; however, this is the first time in at least 25 years that there is a cargo of any type of fuel product passing through the port. In the 1960s both Sun and Shell Oil were active in the port of Erie.

Late this morning the CSX local delivered five boxcars to the Mountfort Terminal to load paper products brought in by the W.N. TWOLAN and McALLISTER 132 in early November. Three more boxcars remain on a rail siding near the Bayfront Parkway. More are on the way to load the cargo that has sat at the terminal for over a month.

Tug TENACIOUS should be arriving in Erie later this evening.

Lakeshore Towing (website recently updated) remains busy dredging the Old Ore Dock and completing other projects. Already 1,200 cubic meters of material have been moved to the Confined Disposal Area near the South Pier; twelve trips with barge 501 have deposited this material there. Lakeshore is to remove 5,000 cubic meters of sediment that has built up alongside the dock and prevented ships from docking alongside while loaded. If the weather holds they will remove another 5,000 cubic meters from farther out in the slip. Another barge, built from sections of the former breakwater at Perry's Landing Marina and measuring 40'x30', could be in service as early as this week to help carry the dredged sediment to the disposal site.

Meanwhile, divers from Lakeshore, in conjunction with Marine Services of Erie, continue work on the new breakwaters at Perry's Landing Marina. When completed the breakwaters will catch the seas from the northwest, protecting the docks and boats in the marina.


CLIPPER TOBAGO at dock on Monday afternoon


An O.N. Minerals employee secures the area around the TOBAGO.


Dredged material is pumped into the CDA.


DON HENRY, FLATTOP, and barge 501.


FLATTOP.


Dredged material is pumped into the disposal area. Note how much material is visible.


Dredged material is pumped off of the 501.


Marine Services of Erie's LOW BIDDER at Perry's Landing Marina.


Close up of the new breakwall.

CLIPPER TOBAGO in port

CLIPPER TOBAGO arrived in Erie on Friday night and turned in Presque Isle Bay to dock at the Mountfort Terminal. The vessel will remain there for several days while waiting to begin loading biofuel.


CLIPPER TOBAGO at dock on Saturday.


Another view of the TOBAGO.

Dredging begins in port; Biofuel to be shipped from port; TENACIOUS due to return

Lakeshore Towing began dredging the Old Ore Dock slip on Wednesday. Skilled crews will be working 7 days per week with tugs FLATTOP and DON HENRY and barges 501 and 502. They expect to be hauling two or three loads of dredged material per day to the disposal site near the South Pier.

CLIPPER TOBAGO is due in Erie at 1700 tomorrow, in ballast from Becancour, Quebec. TOBAGO will be loading the first load of biodiesel to be shipped from the port.

Tug TENACIOUS has completed delivery of the WITTE 4003 to Quebec and is currently laying over in Clayton Harbor, New York, in the 1000 Islands of the St. Lawrence River, before proceeding back to Erie. No ETA for her yet.


Dredging operations on Wednesday.