M/V Michipicoten

[Scott]

This report cannot be good news for the ships owners. Bad patchings, missing parts and what seems like lackluster maintenance overall. Hopefully this isn't indicitive of the current state of the American merchant fleet.

[Guest]

The Michipicoten is tentatively set to return to service this week pending favorable inspections of the repairs that were completed. The dry dock has been filled and she is afloat once again.

[Guest]

The ISM certification (voluntary safety management certificate) is progress as of July 20, 2024.

The damage occurred in the number 4 side tank, starboard-side, where a transverse fracture was found, approximately 160 inches in length.

I've enclosed a screen-capture of some of the findings that are publicly available.

[Mn bob]

I wonder what’s going on with the michipicoton? Her ais has been turned back on with no destination.

[Guest]

Workers are seen in this new video on board are they doing repair work or getting her ready for a scrap tow?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiFU9x9gSKY

[Old Sailor]

Interesting that you were on the Hoyt in 1983. I was Third Mate on her when the Boat Deck aft cracked then the Spar Deck Crack. I her ya about getting agitated by others comments that don't hold water. But have been shot down by wannabe's when I relate a real life tale during my career. Retired a Master for ISS.

[guest]

Yes interlakes is a forward thinking company but privately owned and operated. Public companies have to keep share holders happy or they wouldn't have too many investors. Rand, the last I heard pais a dividend of 3 cents a share. You'd be better off collect empty soda or beer bottles!

[Guest]

First off, I DID sail.45 years on the lakes and 2 deep sea. I worked my way up the ladder. OS,AB,bosun until Masters certificate,Mates license unlimited tonnage.secondly,I did NOT claim fear was going to dictate her demise nor did I intimate that any older ship with aged steel would fall apart with the next load. I respect your right to your opinion as a boat nerd but unless you are connected to the industry in some way your opinion is without real life experience.i worked many vessels and for 4 Great Lakes fleets plus the now defunct Lykes brothers steamship lines. I was on the now MICH when she cracked her deck as the Hoyt when owned by Interlake. It was NOT a minor issue. Masters and mates don’t just work in a comfy pilot house. Much time is spent with the engineering crew constantly monitoring the vessels condition as it works thru the season and communicating with the main office. The report of the michipicoten violations shows sloppy seamanship and disregard for safety however that didn’t cause her hull failure. Her age and long career as a workhorse for 72 yrs caught up with her. Overall economics always dictates a vessels survival or demise but I for one wouldn’t want to sail her again. No one is right or wrong here but I bristle when “experts” tell seasoned sailors they are speaking as if they are clueless. I survived as the American fleet continued to shrink since the 80’s and jobs disappeared at an accelerated rate.im glad to be retired.Its become a very difficult industry. It’s not doom and gloom. It’s economic reality for the future of the US fleet.

[Guest]

Let's all just hope that we'll soon be down to just the Mark W. Barker on the US side and get rid of all of the others before a possible tragedy strikes. Time to torpedo the Jones Act and let foreign fleets and crews with their modern vessels handle the trade between US ports on the Lakes.

This is the dumbest thing I’ve read in a very long time.

It was very much tongue in cheek.

I'm the one that first said that her future will be decided by engineering science and economics, not out of fear that our ships are deathtraps simply because they're old. But I had someone that claims to have sailed that was quite insulted by my suggestion that the engineers rather than fear is going to decide her fate.

We can't have it both ways, folks. The economics don't allow for an wholesale fleet replacement program today. You can't on one hand suggest that virtually the entire fleet is aged out of safe service and then with the next hand act insulted by the alternative option which would be to lift the Jones Act.

Personally I look at what a forward looking fleet like Interlake has done with their classics and believe that when reinvested in properly, these classics are quite viable to go the century mark while remaining safe and efficient vessels. But unlike our retired merchant mariner, I don't sail so perhaps I don't have a full awareness of the rigors that these ships are put through and thus lack the 1st experience that would indicate to me that they're way beyond the lifespan they were designed for and not safe regardless of how much steelwork is done on them.

Personally as a boatnerd and an American, I'm hoping that fleets like Interlake ultimately are proven correct.

[Guest]

Interesting article from the Main Site regarding the M/V Michipicoten and her owners. I see that story was picked up by the Detroit News too (behind a paywall).

Actually rather factual and not a "hit piece". Author kinda leaves it up to the reader to make their own conclusions.

Does anyone have any information on who the owners are now?

[badger]

Apprimenty how much is a drydock cost per day? The shipyard can be patient because if she is repaired they will get the work. But remember what happened in Toledo with the old algocen? But then again life is a gamble

[E J B]

I'm not sure anything is ever "beyond design stage"....... and to be fair I'm not even sure what you mean by that. The U.S. fleet is still getting it done and done safely. I don't have any stats or figures to back this statement up and don't have the time but: I am confident from just about any angle you look at it from--ton for ton transporting by water is one of the safest and cost-effective ways to move large volumes of material in a short time.

[Guest Jon Paul]

If the age of most of the US fleet is way beyond design stage no matter how much steel is renewed, what else is there to do? Cargo still has to move and if our fleets can't do it safely, a change needs to be made.

It's only one fleet having major problems. Interlake have multiple vessels built in the 50's and because they keep up their fleet maintenance and upgrades they are still productive and will be producing revenue into the future.
Cliffs Sykes is older than the Michipicoten and because they primarily haul stone along with some pellets they have over its lifespan made even more trips and ports than Michipicoten (which as Elton Hoyt 2nd sat at the wall for years) but yet it has been well maintained and still running strong.
The doom and gloom attitude of some on here gets a bit tiring.
When my sailing career ended in 1980 the very same opinions were being expressed but yet over 40 yrs later now we still have US fleets getting the job done with the Jones Act still in place.

[Guest]

If the age of most of the US fleet is way beyond design stage no matter how much steel is renewed, what else is there to do? Cargo still has to move and if our fleets can't do it safely, a change needs to be made.

[E J B]

While I was reading that I caught the sweet smell of sarcasm............ kind of aimed at the aging fleet on the U.S. side.......... if I am wrong --i'm sorry and carry on.

[Guest]

Let's all just hope that we'll soon be down to just the Mark W. Barker on the US side and get rid of all of the others before a possible tragedy strikes. Time to torpedo the Jones Act and let foreign fleets and crews with their modern vessels handle the trade between US ports on the Lakes.

Sounds great! Lets do this with yours and your familys job too!

[Guest]

Let's all just hope that we'll soon be down to just the Mark W. Barker on the US side and get rid of all of the others before a possible tragedy strikes. Time to torpedo the Jones Act and let foreign fleets and crews with their modern vessels handle the trade between US ports on the Lakes.

This is the dumbest thing I’ve read in a very long time.

[Guest]

Does the fact that no hull work is going on suggest she's headed to scrap?

It was recommended by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) that "due to the number and nature of operational related findings as per Flag State inspection (see finding 696 for details)", that the Michipicoten undergo an ISM audit prior to return to service; which means she must be fully inspected both internally and externally to eliminate all safety problems. That's why it may look like they're not working on the vessel, there is lots going on in the background that none of use know about and just not related to the ship.

So no, it does not mean that the Michipicoten will be heading for scrap.

It's not a simple matter of replacing plates and damaged structural members, putting the Michipicoten back into service and being done with it. Regulating authorities want to understand what the cause was of the stress fracture. It's like a passenger plane that has lots of take-offs and landings in it's career, so the combined stress is causing failure of a plane's structure ( which has happened in the past).

Lakers, especially those 700 feet and longer are susceptible to "springing", where a vibration is induced (due to wave length and frequency) as a vessel moves through a seaway and can cause stress on the hull girder: http://www.shipstructure.org/pdf/75symp09.pdf

Hydrodynamics. Those dented hull plates you frequently see aren't all from docking the vessel but from water pressure over the bow plates and hull when at speed. The Michipicoten, when at speeds of 13-14 kts. frequently on her short Lake Superior runs and with her age you can better understand the situation she's in. As mentioned, that boat isn't departing under her own power til all is satisfied. She's not necessarily done, time will tell.

[Guest]

Does the fact that no hull work is going on suggest she's headed to scrap?

It was recommended by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) that "due to the number and nature of operational related findings as per Flag State inspection (see finding 696 for details)", that the Michipicoten undergo an ISM audit prior to return to service; which means she must be fully inspected both internally and externally to eliminate all safety problems. That's why it may look like they're not working on the vessel, there is lots going on in the background that none of use know about and just not related to the ship.

So no, it does not mean that the Michipicoten will be heading for scrap.

It's not a simple matter of replacing plates and damaged structural members, putting the Michipicoten back into service and being done with it. Regulating authorities want to understand what the cause was of the stress fracture. It's like a passenger plane that has lots of take-offs and landings in it's career, so the combined stress is causing failure of a plane's structure ( which has happened in the past).

Lakers, especially those 700 feet and longer are susceptible to "springing", where a vibration is induced (due to wave length and frequency) as a vessel moves through a seaway and can cause stress on the hull girder: http://www.shipstructure.org/pdf/75symp09.pdf

[Guest]

Does the fact that no hull work is going on suggest she's headed to scrap?

They are working on her