As the Great Lakes shipping season began, there was a bit of excitement as huge vessels could once again be seen off the Lake Superior shoreline. The Presque Isle, a cargo vessel was anchored near Grand Marais on Wednesday, March 26, stationary for quite awhile raising concerns for those on shore. Noting that the ship hadn’t moved and looking at the giant sheets of ice adrift all around it, people on shore were concerned that the vessel was trapped in the ice—or worse, damaged. However, Rick Burch of the Coast Guard Vessel Traffic System (VTS) in Sault Ste. Marie, said the Presque Isle was not in distress.
Reached by phone at about 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, Burch said the Presque Isle was not stuck in the ice, but there were concerns about the ice conditions and the ice cutters were being sent to escort it across the lake as a precaution.
Three Coast Guard tugs, the Mackinaw, Morro Bay and Katmai Bay were approaching Grand Marais from the west at that time. Burch said the three ice cutters would meet the Presque Isle near Grand Marais and lead it, as well as the Cason J. Callaway and the John Munson, to St. Mary’s River and the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie.
According to the Daily Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping News, the Soo Locks opened for business on Tuesday, March 25, but officials were not expecting to see any boat traffic for several days.
At press time, the Presque Isle and the Cason J. Callaway had progressed past Grand Marais and Grand Portage. The John Munson was still near Two Harbors. Anyone interested in following the progress of Lake Superior vessels can do so on-line at www.marinetraffic.com.
The Daily Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping News reported that the Great Lakes-Seaway system has more ice coverage this year than in more than two decades.
More than 200 million tons of cargo are shipped on the Great Lakes ever year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor. The three main things freighters carry are iron ore, coal and grain. More than 10,000 ships pass through the Soo Locks annually. Passage is free for freighters.
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