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[quote=guest post_id=250607 time=1665284625]
They were carrying new silica pellets to ironville
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If North Shore in Silver Bay is on hiatus and only shipping off the stockpile where are the new silica pellets made? The Joe Block just loaded in SB and is also headed to Ironville

They were carrying new silica pellets to ironville

I'm trying to figure that out too. Neither boatnerd ais or Marine Traffic showed the Sykes as they entered Toledo. I don't believe it was Torco Dock as usually those are Tilden pellets from Mat and Silver Bay loads go to Ironville

Did they unload at the Ironville Dock in Toledo? They are not listed as unloading at the Torco Dock on the phone recording lineup tape. So, I would assume based off of that they should’ve then unloaded at Ironville Dock then? Also, the Block was headed to Silver Bay to load Sinter Feed I think it is recently as well.

I see the Sykes loaded in Silver Bay and is down bound for Toledo

The throw back to Inland Steel was my first thought but that red is the same color as the big red C that Cliffs used so it may have a dual purpose lol

The Sykes got the red band last season, the Block this year. This is a throwback to the Inland Steel days

After watching the Sykes pass eastbound under the Mackinac Bridge yesterday I noticed that the Cliffs/CML stack now has the red band on the top again, When did the change take place.

It’s also worth noting that trains nearly went on strike last weekend. For this specific trip they may have been hedging their bets and shipped water knowing it would move compared to running the risk of it not moving on rail.

Oh- yeah. Forgot about the last 200 feet. I grew up in Bethlehem, everything was railed in.

[quote=Custom500 post_id=250458 time=1663703608]
I understand that water transport is relatively inexpensive, but wouldn't it cheaper to rail this move? It's a 3 hour trip overland!
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A lot of that would depend on whether there was enough rolling stock available to carry an equivalent amount of cargo along with things like scheduling this load on the rail network, etc. In the end, moving this load by ship was most likely the most flexible method without causing any disruptions on the rail network while also giving the Sykes a backhaul cargo so to speak.

The steel mills, such as Burns Harbor, are not setup for receiving iron ore via rail. The ore docks are on the northside and the railroad tracks are on the southside. You would have to rebuild the layout of the mill for receiving railcars with iron ore on a regular basis.

Railroads charge switching fees, unless the hopper cars are part of a complete unit train, which means a longterm contract.

A self unloader like the Sykes can put the pellets right on the dock where needed in BH unlike trains can.

I understand that water transport is relatively inexpensive, but wouldn't it cheaper to rail this move? It's a 3 hour trip overland!

Thank you for the replies. I had seen it at the MWT dock on AIS and wasn't sure. Its been very interesting to see how Cliffs have been using CML in different trading patterns.

Hello Jon Paul,
After doing a little checking, the Sykes loaded chips from Middletown Cliffs, what we used to know as Armco, for Burns Harbor. Mike

When she got to Toledo she went to the MWT dock and loaded HBI from Cliffs for delivery to Burns Harbor. This was her first load of that product as previously the Herbert C Jackson had made 4 trips on that run since last December.

The Wilfred Sykes left Cleveland on this last trip and then departed for Toledo. Did they backhaul a cargo there?