BRAKE, COLE Depart

HERBERT P. BRAKE and Sterling Equipment's new hopper barge, COLE, departed Erie at 1900 on Monday bound for the Welland Canal. The duo was downbound for Oswego, New York, and eventually the Hudson River, on Tuesday.

Donjon Shipbuilding & Repair Hull 124, COLE, is the third of these hopper barges built for Sterling Equipment and delivered by HERBERT P. BRAKE.

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Recently painted HERBERT P. BRAKE pushes COLE downbound into Lock 8 of the Welland Canal on Tuesday.


The duo passes into the lock.


A few minutes later BRAKE pushes COLE downbound north of the lock.


Close up.


HERBERT P. BRAKE.


Side view.


Stern view.


BRAKE and COLE head down the Canal.

BELUGA ENDURANCE Update

BELUGA ENDURANCE was downbound at the Soo Locks this morning. That currently puts the vessel in Erie sometime late Saturday night or early Sunday morning; this time of year, however, delays are quite possible due to ice conditions and availability of pilots, both of which are quite iffy this time of year. I will update tomorrow with a more firm ETA.

BELUGA ENDURANCE is one of a fleet of nearly seventy vessels, most of which follow this same basic design. Most of the fleet's vessels are 453 feet long and 69 feet wide. Each is equipped with two cranes, which is where the vessels vary; some are equipped, as the ENDURANCE is, with two cranes of 120-metric tonnes each, giving them a 240 MT lift capacity.

Others are equipped with cranes with 150 MT capacity each.

BELUGA ENDURANCE is part of the E-240 class of Beluga's fleet. In this class there are nine ships, including BELUGA ENDURANCE's sistership BELUGA ENDEAVOUR, which also has visited the Great Lakes this season. Twelve members of Beluga's fleet have traded onto the Great Lakes this season. A typical trip for the ships is to bring windmill components into the Great Lakes and leave with grain products or heavy lift cargo. Some, such as BELUGA ENDURANCE, leave with both.

BELUGA ENDURANCE was built in 2005 as a cooperation of Volharding Shipyards in The Netherlands and several Chinese shipyards. The vessel has visited the lakes several times since its launch. On this trip it brought windmill components from overseas and delivered them to Duluth, Minnesota before proceeding to Thunder Bay to load wheat prior to proceeding to Erie to load locomotives.

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BELUGA FAMILY is a near-sister to the ENDURANCE. The only difference is that BELUGA FAMILY has two cranes of 150-MT each. FAMILY is shown here while downbound in the Welland Canal at Port Colborne, Ontario on November 7, 2010.


Another view. In this photo FAMILY is shown after having cleared Lock 8 and beginning a downbound transit.


Stern view.

Videos from the Great Lakes: ISLAND SKIPPER in the Welland Canal

In this video, ISLAND SKIPPER is shown while downbound in the Welland Canal on November 13, 2010.

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H. LEE WHITE in Port; DUTCH RUNNER Transits the Welland Canal

H. LEE WHITE arrived in Erie at 1845 hours on Saturday and docked at the Mountfort Terminal. After unloading part of the stone cargo on board there and the rest at the Old Ore Dock, the WHITE departed in ballast for Toledo to load coal.

Sunday morning, DUTCH RUNNER was upbound in the Welland Canal bound for Thunder Bay, Ontario. The vessel is on its first trip to the upper Great Lakes, and after unloading its project cargo at Thunder Bay will proceed to load wheat there for Quebec City.

Other traffic in the Canal on Sunday morning included the J.W. SHELLEY, ALGOSTEEL and FEDERAL MAAS.

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WHITE inbound Erie.


Close up.


Stern view.


Turning to dock.


DUTCH RUNNER upbound in the Welland Canal Bypass on Sunday at 0830 hours.


Another view.


Side view.


Close up of the deck cargo.


Stern view.


Heading under Bridge 11 at Allanburg.


A few minutes later the DUTCH RUNNER is found upbound at Port Robinson, Ontario, a couple of miles up the Canal.


Smile.


DUTCH RUNNER upbound.


Stern view, heading for Port Colborne.


J.W. SHELLEY upbound at Port Colborne at 0715 hours on Sunday. The SHELLEY is bound for Superior, Wisconsin in ballast.


Above Lock 8, ready to begin a transit of Lake Erie.


Stern view.


ALGOSTEEL upbound at Port Robinson. ALGOSTEEL is bound for Indiana Harbor, Indiana with iron ore from Quebec City, Quebec.


Overhead view.


Stern view of the ALGOSTEEL.


FEDERAL MAAS upbound below Lock 3. The MAAS has a cargo of titanium slag from South Africa bound for Ashtabula, Ohio.


Passing under the Skyway Bridge that carries the QEW over the Welland Canal.


Stern view.



I will be uploading video of the WHITE, as well as other video from the Welland Canal, as time permits.

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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Video: JOHN SPENCE and NIAGARA SPIRIT

In this video the tug JOHN SPENCE and barge NIAGARA SPIRIT are shown while upbound in Canada's Welland Canal on April 30, 2010.

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Video: SALARIUM in the Welland Canal

In this video Canada Steamship Lines' SALARIUM is shown while downbound in the Welland Canal with a cargo of coal for Sydney, Nova Scotia on April 30, 2010.

The vessel's name, SALARIUM, is Latin for "payment in salt" and honors a salt contract, the fulfillment of which SALARIUM is generally dedicated.

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Video: Tug PRESQUE ISLE Departing Erie, July 3, 2004

After posting photos of the tug PRESQUE ISLE on Friday, I figured I'd dig this out and post it. On July 3, 2004, the PRESQUE ISLE arrived in Erie and dropped the barge at the Mountfort Terminal before heading to Port Weller Dry Dock for several days of repairs. This video shows the tug separating from the barge and departing for the Welland Canal and Port Weller.

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Historical Photos: DAY PECKINPAUGH

This December 2, 1990 photo by Jim Sprunt shows the former Erie Sand cement carrier DAY PECKINPAUGH upbound in the Welland Canal on its way to Erie for winter layup. Note the Christmas tree on deck.


The PECKINPAUGH is now a floating museum in New York state, a tribute to the history of the New York State Barge Canal.

SONGA PEARL DEPARTS

SONGA PEARL departed Erie this morning at 0945 bound for Montreal, and eventually for Rotterdam, Netherlands. The fifth load of biodiesel shipped through the port departed onboard the PEARL, which was drawing 7.98 meters of water upon departure. The PEARL was due at Long Point at 1045 and at the Welland Canal at 1415 today.

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SONGA PEARL departing the Mountfort Terminal this morning.


Anothre view.


PEARL slowly works away from the dock.


Stern view.


Passing the lighthouse.

FIRST LOAD OF BIODIESEL DEPARTS

CLIPPER TOBAGO cleared Erie at 0200 Thursday with 5,000 metric tons of biodiesel from Lake Erie Biofuels, bound for Europe. At 0030 hours Lakeshore Towing removed the oil boom around the tanker and the vessel was ready to leave the Mountfort Terminal at 0145. The CLIPPER TOBAGO will reach the call-in point at Long Point at 0340 and will reach the Welland Canal at 0610 hours this morning, bound for Montreal before continuing on to Europe with this load of biodiesel.

BOLAND Arrives; DAVIKEN Update

JOHN J. BOLAND arrived in Erie at 1415 this afternoon, loaded lightly with stone from Stoneport. The BOLAND turned in the harbor and docked at the Mountfort Terminal to unload.

DAVIKEN is currently westbound through Lake Ontario and due to enter the Welland Canal later this evening, bound for Erie. Currently the vessel is expected at Lock 8, the southernmost lock of the Canal, at 0645 Monday morning. This means that without any unexpected delays, the vessel should arrive in Erie at 1145 Monday morning.

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JOHN J. BOLAND inbound. Note the small plane above her, which circled the harbor several times while the BOLAND was inbound.


Another view.


The BOLAND enters Erie harbor.


BOLAND turning in Presque Isle Bay.


Heading to the Mountfort Terminal.

TENACIOUS/WITTE 4003 Scheduled to depart Wednesday; DAVIKEN due in Montreal for Erie; Final Voyage of the CALUMET; Erie Shipping News turns One

This morning the tug TENACIOUS shifted from her berth in front of the WITTE 4003 and turned around, securing in the notch of the barge and lashing up to it. The crew of the tug TENACIOUS reports that they are waiting on paperwork and expect to depart sometime on Wednesday.

JAMES A. HANNAH and barge HANNAH 5101 passed on waiting weather in Erie, choosing to press on toward her final destination of the Nicholson Dock in Detroit (Ecorse), Michigan, in ballast from Tracy, Quebec. The duo had spent all day Sunday and much of Monday waiting weather in Port Colborne, Ontario so the crew probably decided it was better to keep going.

Bahamian-registered bulker DAVIKEN is due in Montreal, Quebec at around 0500 on Friday. After unloading for a day, she'll sail for Erie, where she'll arrive sometime on Tuesday, November 27 with cargo from Antwerp, Belgium.

Former Erie visitor CALUMET arrived at Wharf 12 of the Welland Canal in Port Colborne, Ontario, on Monday morning so that employees of her owner, Lower Lakes Towing Company, can remove equipment from the 1929-built vessel before it heads for the scrapper's torch in Port Colborne.

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One year ago today I launched Erie Shipping News. Since that first post, I've added 203 more, along with more photos than I'm willing to count right now. And along the way I've met a lot of great people. I'd like to thank everyone who has made this possible for me: Eric Guerrein and his staff at Lakeshore Towing, Ned Smith and the staff at Erie Shipbuilding, and Rich Pompeani and his staff at Great Lakes Electrical Services, along with every other contributor and viewer of this blog. And lastly, I'd like to thank my family for their constant support and encouragement.

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TENACIOUS secured in the stern of the WITTE 4003.


Bow view of the WITTE 4003 and TENACIOUS


Stern view.


A crane from Erie Shipbuilding lifts one of the chains on the bow of the WITTE 4003 onto the deck of the barge.

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CALUMET, downbound out of Lock 8 of the Welland Canal, passes the JAMES A. HANNAH and barge on Monday.


The classic CALUMET.


Stern view of the CALUMET.


A short distance north of Lock 8 in the Canal, the CALUMET turns around to head back upbound to Wharf 12.


Heading to the layup dock.


Stern view of the CALUMET.


Letting off steam from the winches and machinery and pumping off ballast for the last time.


This is the last dock the CALUMET will ever secure to under her own power.

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Three other vessels in the Welland Canal on Monday have previously called on Erie. The upbound ALGONORTH visited Erie on July 8, 1997, when it docked at the West Slip for a tour by the governors of Great Lakes states. The conference, held in Erie that year, was hosted by then-Governor Tom Ridge and the ALGONORTH was here to show off a prototype ballast water filtering system.

The tugs DONALD C. HANNAH and JAMES A. HANNAH have both waited weather in Erie in the past. The DONALD C. HANNAH was the most recent one, having last visited Erie on December 30 and 31, 2004, when it docked at the Mountfort Terminal.


JAMES A. HANNAH waiting at Wharf 12.


Stern view.


DONALD C. HANNAH pushing a barge upbound at Allenburg, Ontario.


ALGONORTH upbound.