Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Denny wrote:I saw earlier on Marine Traffic I think it was the Algoma Transport will soon be heading to Conneaut which I assume will be to load for Quebec. So if that’s the case, you can count and then chalk up another one to load out of Conneaut this season then. Anybody have the total loads?

With this Spruceglen load that should be 12.

I saw earlier on Marine Traffic I think it was the Algoma Transport will soon be heading to Conneaut which I assume will be to load for Quebec. So if that’s the case, you can count and then chalk up another one to load out of Conneaut this season then. Anybody have the total loads?

Spruceglen is approaching Conneaut for another load of pellets.

It's been a mix too of gearless bulkers and self-unloaders.

Whitefish Bay is currently loading in Conneaut. That will be the 12th load of pellets from Conneaut to Quebec City.

Jon Paul wrote:Maybe we can get them to open the coal dock and really make things interesting garbear, lol

The good old days.

Maybe we can get them to open the coal dock and really make things interesting garbear, lol

Conneaut is looking like the old days with their traffic. The Algoma Guardian is loading for Quebec City. The Gott is there to unload. The Algoma Conveyor is just off Conneaut after unloading in Ashtabula and the Spruceglen is East of Erie heading to Conneaut.

garbear wrote:You're welcome, Jon Paul. By April 27th last yr. Two Harbors had loaded 11 boats for Quebec City. This yr.. none. They had also loaded 3 for Hamilton. none this yr. The only Canadian traffic this yr. was the Michipicoten for the Soo.

I was reminded that Two Harbors has loaded 2 boats for Quebec City.

You're welcome, Jon Paul. By April 27th last yr. Two Harbors had loaded 11 boats for Quebec City. This yr.. none. They had also loaded 3 for Hamilton. none this yr. The only Canadian traffic this yr. was the Michipicoten for the Soo.

garbear wrote:

Jon Paul wrote:Did the pile of ore pellets they are working off of in Conneaut come from Two Harbors?

I don't see them getting ore from any other port.

Thanks garbear. It does seem strange to add an extra 2 steps in getting pellets out to Quebec even if Two Harbors is still the point of origin. Pellets degrade as the are handled more. Unloading them in Conneaut and then reloading them into boats to go out the Seaway seems inefficient. Especially considering they have to be unloaded there and again reloaded for overseas delivery.
Do you think it's possible shipping pellets to Conneaut early in the season was done to alleviate any backlog of loading at Two Harbors when more boats that primarily load there left layup?

Jon Paul wrote:Did the pile of ore pellets they are working off of in Conneaut come from Two Harbors?

I don't see them getting ore from any other port.

Spruceglen is also headed for Conneaut.

Did the pile of ore pellets they are working off of in Conneaut come from Two Harbors?

Looks like the Atlantic Huron is loading in Conneaut and the Algoma Guardian is waiting to load. Usually Two Harbors would have seen some, if not all, of that traffic. That will be the 7th and 8th loads out of Conneaut for Quebec City.

Another laker heading to Conneaut. The Oakglen is on her way to Conneaut. She is East of the port this a.m.

A number of years ago I was engineering a salt transload for my employer. I priced out an unloading pit and conveyor to load an 8000 ton dome. We expected to run about35-45,000 tons per winter thru it. We already had 2 loaders assigned to property, could easily have one there when the dome needed to be loaded. The loader was hands down the cheaper way to go. Very reasonable cost to operate especially if you have other uses for it.

The Algoma Guardian has been stopped in Lake Erie heading for the Welland once again showing a Quebec destination.

pcolachap wrote:Thanks for the video. I am not a Facebook user. I have watched boating loading / unloading in Lorain and at Hallet #5 in Duluth. This method has never struck me as either efficient or safe. Backing up payloaders present some real problems. If the figure of three million tons down the Seaway this year is correct, I'd say a reclaimer on the storage pile and a belt system to the old P&C coal dock might be the way to go. Thanks to all, Mike

That's probably very true. If a long-term contract was in place it might justify that kind of infrastructure in the minds of the bean counters that work on behalf of owners/shareholders. If this is a somewhat temporary move, terminal construction of that sort is not likely to happen; that would represent a considerable amount of overhead. Present-day businesses exist to make profit, not to "make sense"; it's very difficult to do both.

Algoma Guardian is between Conneaut and Erie this morning heading back to Conneaut to load.