Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Kind of interesting she's not suppose sail when she has a crane next to her and work being done in the holds, these rumors get worse and worse every yr.

hayhugh2 wrote:"Right now she is out of class." Sorry, but I am not familiar with that expression

"Out of class" would mean that she's not currently in compliance with the requirements of her classification society (in this case, ABS or the American Bureau of Shipping). What was being referred to in the post above was that IF she'd missed the deadline for her 5-year survey then a list of inspections or maintenance work that was supposed to be completed by then would be technically overdue and in that case the Munson would be technically out of compliance with the standards set for a ship classed by ABS.

The Munson's ABS certificate states that she's coming to the end of a one-year extension for her 5-year survey, and that the various parts of that extension expire between the 20th and 31st of March 2013. That indicates that the Munson is not yet overdue. Now perhaps Key Lakes has indeed chosen not to fit her out for 2013, or perhaps because of logistics it's already impossible to get her into the shipyard by the end of March. However even if those things are true, the statement that she has already missed her drydocking (and survey) and is currently out of class seems incorrect.

"Right now she is out of class." Sorry, but I am not familiar with that expression

I would be surprised if the missed drydocking would do anything other than shorten the Munson's upcomming season. I find it hard to believe that the ship will sit out the entire season, but then again anything is possible.

That would sure be odd. Key Lakes/GLF seems like it usually keeps its vessels busy even when other fleets lay up a boat or two due to a soft market. The Munson has a forward-mounted boom and higher cubic capacity than Key Lakes' AAA sisters and that usually means that she stays active even when demand slows down enough to affect Key Lakes and one or two of their AAAs lay up. When Key Lakes has discussed explorations of whether to repower their steamers they've indicated that the Munson would probably be the first candidate in line for that work. I thought there have been plenty of instances where weather or logistics keeps a ship from getting its 5-year on time and the Coast Guard allows for an extension. Is that not the case here? And when the Munson laid up at the Port Terminal a wheeled crane was brought alongside her, presumably to assist with winter work. Has that crane been idle?

Slow business year and she missed her dry docking. Right now she is out of class.

Wow that sure is surprising news. I assume it may be related with the ice in the harbor and at Fraser possibly as to why she may not be sailing in 2013? Can you please explain why she will not be sailing in 2013? Thank You in advance for any information.

The Munson will not sail in 2013.

tugs can surely break 20" inches of ice. they need to back and ram to punch the first track in and it takes several hours but I have done it many times and have broken 36" of ice at Fraser in the spring. I have never seen harbor ice in duluth/superior that tugs cannot handle. wind blown ice that piles up in the lake is the only ice around here that I have seen stop a tug.

St crapo wrote:Thanks so much for the information. 20in thick thats very thick nearly 2 feet. Can any tugs break ice that thick or just the coast gaurd cutters? If the Boland and Blough are both getting dry docked for there 5 year surveys whos going to break the ice around the shipyard? The Elder?

Blough got it's 5 year at Bayship in December, 2011 besides being too big for the drydock at Fraser.

Fraser's #2 drydock has maximum dimensions of 831 x 85 feet. Far too small for the Blough.

Guest wrote:Blough will not be getting drydocked at Fraser. She's too large.

Why, is the Blough's 105 foot width too wide for Frasers dry docks? Fraser can handle a boat 800 feet long can't it?

Sorry for the mistake, The Boland and the Blough are tied up at the shipyard right now. They would both have to be moved out and away from the drydock to let the Munson in. The Boland does need her 5 year survey but it is still under speculation. The Munson will wait until spring thaw so the tugs are able to get in to break the channel.

Blough will not be getting drydocked at Fraser. She's too large.

Thanks so much for the information. 20in thick thats very thick nearly 2 feet. Can any tugs break ice that thick or just the coast gaurd cutters? If the Boland and Blough are both getting dry docked for there 5 year surveys whos going to break the ice around the shipyard? The Elder?

The Munson will still have work done at its present location, there is a crane in place. It just makes it harder for the yard guys to drive back and forth.. and the ice in that channel can get really thick, I havnt drilled it but i would think by now with our temps its 20"+. As for a 'warm up' it would have to be weeks long of warm temps to weaken that ice enough to even try and break it with tugs. They have to break the Blough and Boland out first and move them back before they can bring the Munson in to the dock. She wont be the first out this year, she has to do the 5 year survey and that is in question of how long it takes. Usually 7-15 days.

So I got to thinking a bit and came up with a couple questions. Since the Munson couldnt get into Frasier Shipyard for layup this year. Will she still have work done on her at her presant location that doesnt need to be done at the shipyard? Also how thick is the ice in and around the shipyard and harbor? If there would happen to be a warm up and the ice got thinner would they try to attempt to do ice breaking to get the Munson to the shipyard before the spring break out and all the other boats begin to fit out? And one last question the Munson is usually one of the first boats to fitout and load and is also usually eaither the first boat to lock threw when the locks open or shes one of the first ships on opening day. My question is if she cant get into the shipyard till spring how long will she be in the shipyard and when should she be ready to fitout and start the season? Thanks for any information and im sorry for all the questions.
Dan

there is no shoe on the bottom of the rudder shaft on the Alder and that is one of the concerns of backing in ice. the seals are also a problem and the Alder has had problems with them a couple times. As far as breaking ice the CG will break the channels but will not go into private slips except in an emergency. They always try to assist as much as possible but will not come out at any time of day or night and try to maintain a schedule of ice breaking operations. of course in an emergency they will come out. the shipping companies of course try to use their services as much as possible as it is free.

If there is a problem with the rudder design on the Alder it's news to me. The problem with backing through ice is more likely the seals on the propeller blades that keep failing. It is Coast Guard policy not to break ice if there is commercial assistance available. In other words the Coast Guard doesn't want to take business away from commercial tug companies who do this for a living. The Coast Guard will break ice if commercial assistance is not available or doesn't have a vessel big enough to do the job safely.

GLF is not contracted with Great Lakes Towing, prefering to use the lower cost operators in ports.