GLIN==> Port of Duluth-Superior 2011 Shipping Season gets underway this week

Photo attached:  James R. Barker, first outbound laker from the Port of
Duluth-Superior again this year.    -Photo by Mary T. George      

 

Port of Duluth-Superior:  2011 Shipping Season gets underway 

March 16, 2011                                                        

IMMEDIATE RELEASE


 

Duluth, Minn., USA-Local maritime traffic through the Port of
Duluth-Superior is set to commence tomorrow (March 17) with the
scheduled afternoon departure of the season's first laker, the James R.
Barker. Having spent winter layup at MERC's Superior Midwest Energy
Terminal, the vessel will be loaded with coal headed for Presque Isle,
Mich. This is the third consecutive year that the Barker has been the
first outbound vessel; she departed last year on March 20. 

 

One more entry in the Duluth-Superior record books will be made shortly
after the Soo Locks open on March 25, when the Port's first inbound
laker arrives after having transited those locks. Early indicators point
to the night of March 26 (or early morning March 27) as the official
start to the 2011 Great Lakes commercial navigation season in the Twin
Ports. The Soo Locks, located at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., are the
gateway that allows huge lakers to moving raw materials like iron ore,
coal, limestone, cement and salt between Lake Superior and the other
Great Lakes. 

 

In advance of the locks opening, operators will fit-out five other
lakers that wintered in Duluth-Superior and plan to sail this season,
including:  American Century, American Integrity, John G. Munson, Roger
Blough, and American Spirit. All are currently scheduled to load/depart
between March 23-25. Some final repairs need to be completed on the H.
Lee White prior to sailing in mid-April; three other lakers (American
Victory, Adam E. Cornelius and Edward L. Ryerson) are not scheduled to
sail at this time and will remain at Fraser Shipyards.  

 

A handful of lakers are already "on the move" on Lakes Michigan and
Huron (e.g. Great Lakes Trader, Philip R. Clarke, Joseph L. Block) -
shuttling pellets across those lakes to replenish critically low iron
ore inventories at steel mills.   

 

It's a bit harder to predict the arrival of the Port's first oceangoing
vessel - the first "saltie" to transit the full St. Lawrence Seaway. The
Seaway locks (the Montreal/Lake Ontario section and the Welland Canal)
will reopen for business this season on March 22, but the Port of
Duluth-Superior won't see its first saltie arrive for a few weeks. That
"first ship" to pass beneath the Aerial Lift Bridge will be greeted by
maritime officials with a welcoming ceremony and will also qualify a
winner for the annual "First Ship Contest" sponsored by the Duluth
Seaway Port Authority and                 

Visit Duluth. Last year, the Port's first saltie was the Federal Elbe on
April 7; the previous year it was the Medemborg on April 12. The Port's
earliest recorded arrival of an oceangoing ship was the Indian-flagged
LT Argosy on April 1, 1995.

 

"Overall tonnage for the Port of Duluth-Superior was up 28 percent at
the close of the 2010 navigation season compared to the previous year
when we were hardest hit by the recession," noted Adolph Ojard,
executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. "Led by an 80
percent rebound in iron ore shipments for steelmaking, the Port also saw
strong performances in limestone, coal and wind turbine components,
coupled with a 68 percent surge in grain exports. As long as consumer
confidence continues to improve and this nation's economic recovery can
be sustained, we should see another strong navigation season in 2011 and
continue to build back to more typical season averages over the course
of the next couple of years."  

##

 

NOTE:  All vessel arrival/departure times are estimates and may change
without notice.

For updated times, please consult the Boatwatchers Hotline:
(218)722-6489 or www.duluthboats.com.

 

 

 

Contact: Adele Yorde, PR Manager  

Duluth Seaway Port Authority

(218) 727-8525   ayorde at duluthport.com

 

 

 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/glin-announce/attachments/20110316/cccdc1b2/attachment.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 2023 bytes
Desc: image002.jpg
Url : http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/glin-announce/attachments/20110316/cccdc1b2/attachment.jpe 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 2011 Shipping Season Gets Underway in Duluth-Superior.doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 143360 bytes
Desc: 2011 Shipping Season Gets Underway in Duluth-Superior.doc
Url : http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/glin-announce/attachments/20110316/cccdc1b2/attachment.doc 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: IMG_0134 2009-03-30 James R. Baker 1st out sm.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 280182 bytes
Desc: IMG_0134 2009-03-30 James R. Baker 1st out sm.jpg
Url : http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/glin-announce/attachments/20110316/cccdc1b2/attachment.jpg