First Footer to Scrap

[Geest]

I think the real question is which is the first to head in early or not even come out due to the market conditions and subsequently goes into long-term layup. With Cliffs shutting down Minorca and cutting back on Hibbing, the Cort does indeed have two strikes against it due to its unloading system. She is also under direct charter to Cliffs so if they dont want to pay for her operations they can "send her back" to Interlake for them to either run or idle.

But thats only one part of the puzzle. With coal going away and now the ore production and consumption cuts, Interlake and ASC have at least a boat or 2's worth of cargo they will no longer be able to fill for a season. All of Interlakes footers are equipped with scrubbers that make them more expensive to run, and with less cargo for the smaller vessels the idea to layup one of their footers may start making more sense to stay dynamic and "spread the wealth" around the fleet of what remains. If thats the case it may come down to which ship is next-due for its 5yr inspection.

ASC only has the Spirit with that scrubber system installed, so she is the likely candidate in that fleet as she costs more to run and her capacity is less than the Bayship footers, however she can load stone and out of Marquette which is something the Bayship boats really cannot do which may be her saving grace.

I think CN/GLF would clearly have their eyes on the Presque Isle, but again depending on the next ship up for a 5-year I wouldn't be surprised to see the Speer be on the wall since she has to rely on the shoreside hopper which really limits her to Conneaut, Nanticoke and Gary only when the hopper is being used.

[Larry64]

Any chance Cliffs would try to pick one up “cheep”? Move more of their own product and cut out the middleman? I know they got out of shipping in the mid 80’s, but they didn’t out the mills at the time.

[Guest]

The Blough doesn’t count as it’s now a dead boat destined for the scrap yard, not sailing again. The discussion is about the true 1000 footers of which all are active all or part time in the American fleet.

[Denny]

I’m gonna take a shot at this one boatnerds. While I agree on the Cort being one due to its unique unloading system and some have speculated about the American Spirit, Presque Isle and Walter J. McCarthy Jr. as well. How about this, the Edgar B. Speer maybe? Think about it boatnerds long and hard as the Speer like the Cort has a unique unloading system and because of that, the Speer can only unload in Gary and Conneaut. Also, the Speer from what I understand is NOT owned by GLF but instead chartered as I thought I read and was told here that the Speer is owned by some bank or something and that may be a reason why she never received a regular unloading boom on her like the Gott has now! So, again while I agree about the Cort I also think that the Speer could also be in that conversation. Just my opinions only here.

[Guest]

I think the Blough would probably get sent down the road before any of the footers, then maybe the Presque Isle or maybe the Speer sits in lay up in. After that maybe the American Spirit goes. I think it'll be a while before a footer actually gets cut up though.

[Jared]

I think the list is probably Cort, Presque Isle, and probably the Walter J McCarthy.

[Larr64]

Larry. This is just a hobby for most of us. Any loss of a ship is the loss of a crews' livelihood. Let's not speculate on a future failure of the American Dream. Long live the long ships and their sailors.

Well, my family had a long history on the lakes. Three Great uncles were chief engineers, one was a captain, and my grandfather was a foreman at boat yard. You worked the farm or worked the lakes. Now the farm is houses, and I’m a retired civil servant.

[Guest]

From my observations, footers usually run and not much coal is hauled these days. Those ships will continue to ply the lakes. I doubt a footer is being scrapped anytime soon. When millions are poured into those vessels every winter in anticipation of the busy shipping season, their demise seems unlikely.

[Guest]

While not as specialized as the Cort, I always wondered about the American Spirit (Formerly George A. Stinson). She seems to have had quite a bit of trouble over the years. In my younger days (1970s-1980s) I had heard rumors of it having some issues due to labor troubles at American Ship Building during its construction such as extra piping that led to nowhere or taking unnecessary circuitous routings, etc. I don't know how true these stories were or if they were either fake or embellished during repeated tellings but I do believe that the ship was moved from Lorain to Detroit for commissioning (and further work if my memory is not faulty) to avoid having it getting caught in the yard in response to an upcoming strike deadline. Again, I don't know how true all of this is.

[Guest]

Larry. This is just a hobby for most of us. Any loss of a ship is the loss of a crews' livelihood. Let's not speculate on a future failure of the American Dream. Long live the long ships and their sailors.

[Guest]

Assuming no accidents or fires that prematurely end a boat’s career, then my money is on the Presque Isle. Not sure not does she have one of the smaller capacities, her odd design just doesn’t have any advantages to it.

[Guest]

American Spirit has my vote. Lowest capacity of the ASC footers and seems to be in poor condition.

[Larry64]

So, with the shutdown of coal electric plants, and the change to arc furnace steel, which footer will be the first to scrap? I would think the Cort, she is just too specialized.