Posted May 4, 200817 yr http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080504/NEWS11/805040338/-1/NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article published May 4, 2008 City could benefit if shipping project sails in Nova Scotia Inland distribution points possible By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER A proposed container port on the Nova Scotia coast could hold a key to Toledo's future as a potential ocean-container distribution center. Representatives of Melford International Terminal Inc., a Canadian company that has obtained 315 waterfront acres along the Strait of Canso, met last week with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland to outline their proposal for a deepwater container port that is intended to capitalize on North America's growing trade with Asia, which is resulting in congestion at existing ports on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
May 4, 200817 yr Given the rapid grwoth of container freight, this could have a significant impact on rail & sea traffic at Toledo. Conceivably, it could also have an impact on the Port of Cleveland as well and the possible movement of the Port to the E. 55th street area. BTW: TO give you an idea of how big of a deal container shipping has become, take a look at these two photos. The first is the sea-to-rail container yard at the Port of Los Angeles and the second is a pretty typical container ship. Some of these vessels are among the largest ships afloat.
May 5, 200817 yr Looking over the websites of this superport it looks pretty impressive. The best thing is that this is a 2 way street of container shipping. Companies could use this superport as a stockpile for what needs to be shipped in the winter to get through the winter months. I'm sure local companies would pay far cheaper taxes for maintaining those inventories in Canada. The rustbelt being the manufacturer that it is should readily be able to take advantage of dropping shipping charges from not paying multiple truck drivers in tandem with the devaluation of the dollar. This region also has historically grown fastest when there was shipping on the great lakes to the coast from the opening of the Ohio and Erie canal to the St. Lawrence Seaway. By decreasing the cost of shipping to Europe, it opens up the options for more companies in the area that never would've considered sending product to Europe-say Ohio wineries, breweries, and many more manufacturers.
May 5, 200817 yr An excellent idea whose time has come. One question, how much acreage would be required for this facility and whereabouts in Toledo would such a facility be likely; the current port at the mouth of the river or somewhere else upriver? This proposal, along with the one for Cleveland just intrigues the hell out of me.
May 6, 200817 yr A significant problem in Toledo will be where to site a rail intermodal yard to transfer shipping containers to and from the container ships (which will be considerably smaller than the ocean-going variety). There are very few sites in Toledo near the waterfront that can accomodate a large intermodal rail yard. There is, however, a site near Delta in Western Luca County where the Canadian National Railroad enters Ohio from Michigan (the old Detroit-Toledo & Ironton RR). I'm told that it is a very rural site where an intermodal yard could be built from the ground up. The problem then would creating a trucking move to get containers from the yard to the harbor. Plenty of challenges, but that's part of what makes this project so interesting. My family is from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and I know the area well where the Canadian rail-port facility will be (Port Hawksberry) on the Strait of Canso, which is one of the deepest salt-water channels in North America. It is rail-served and usually ice-free during most of the winter. From Wikipedia: The strait is extremely deep (200+ feet) with two major communities at Port Hawkesbury on the eastern side facing Mulgrave on the western side, both ports. The strait is crossed by the Canso Causeway for vehicular and rail traffic, opened in 1955, although large ships may pass through the Canso Canal. Some photos of the area: The satellite map shows Cape Breton Island....and the Strait runs between the island and the Nova Scotia mainland.
May 6, 200817 yr Checking out the map there looks to be an impressive unused bar jutting out from western Sandusky with rail road tracks on it. That to me looks like a nice ready made container port. .
May 6, 200817 yr That won't excite Toledo very much, though. And unless Sandusky can muster the same pro-maritime constituency that Toledo (or Cleveland) has, Sandusky will have a tough time competing for federal funds (ie: Army Corps of Engineers) that would ultimately come into play for readying or expanding a port facility. That's especially the case between Sandusky and Toledo which fall within the same congressional district. There may be a decent container terminal at the mouth of the Maumee River, on the east side of it, where a W&LE/NS yard is located. I see from Google Earth that there is a Confined Disposal Facility for dredgings just beyond this rail yard that could be used for container port. That's the same thing that Cleveland will be doing for construction its relocated port. The site is also accessible to CSX's former Toledo Terminal line. Another option is a couple of abandoned but smallish PRR yards, one on either side of the Maumee just northeast of downtown. Both are part of the same abandoned rail line that was once the PRR's Red Arrow line to Detroit. They may be too small however. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 6, 200817 yr I think all or part of that PRR line was removed a year ago, along with a bridge removal over a major street linking downtown & East Toledo.
May 6, 200817 yr I thought it was removed in the 1980s. Obviously I'm suggesting it be restored, but part of it may not be possible especially the section across the river from downtown where new development may block its restoration. That's why I think the CDF at the river's mouth may be the better location. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 7, 200817 yr Checking out the map there looks to be an impressive unused bar jutting out from western Sandusky with rail road tracks on it. That to me looks like a nice ready made container port. That would be the coal docks. The Ohio 9th is dominated by Toledo politicians, so I think it's pretty obvious that Toledo will be better at mustering up the federal funds Unfortunately this seems to typically be the case for Sandusky/Erie County........
May 19, 200817 yr http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080519/NEWS11/805190329/-1/NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article published May 19, 2008 Port of Toledo considers 'short-sea' trips By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER The Port of Toledo ships out grain and ships in iron ore, but it is not, and never has been, anything more than a bit player in the containerized shipping industry that dominates the U.S. and world economies. Nor has any other Great Lakes port except Toronto. But ever-growing demand for container shipping, resulting in bigger ships and port congestion, could breathe new life into Great Lakes ports like Toledo, with what is now being called ''short-sea'' shipping.
May 20, 200817 yr This is undoubtedly related to the Nova Scota shipping project as this land purchase sets up a bigger port area.... http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080520/NEWS11/805200358/-1/NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article published May 20, 2008 Hartung: Refinery site will spur jobs Port authority buys 181 acres to develop By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER On land where 2,000 Gulf Oil refinery workers once toiled, the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority envisions hundreds of jobs, if not thousands, in an expanded Port of Toledo and other transportation-related businesses. That was the vision to which James Hartung, the port authority's president, and other dignitaries pointed during a news conference yesterday as they announced the agency's $3.4 million purchase of 181 acres on the former refinery site from Chevron Corp.
May 23, 200817 yr Experts urge action on intermodal By Justin R. Kalmes Toledo Free Press Managing Editor [email protected] Local experts say now is the time for Northwest Ohio to capitalize on its geographic location through the creation of intermodal centers that could lead to thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars in economic development. By creating a district to spur creation of intermodal centers, Toledo and its surrounding areas can take advantage of marketplace conditions in the transportation and logistics industries to shape Northwest Ohio's economic future. http://www.toledofreepress.com/?id=7875
June 2, 200817 yr GUEST OPINION Intermodal reporting ‘distorted' By Carleton S. Finkbeiner Toledo Mayor If only economic development were as easy as some make it sound. Just sign a piece of paper that falsely has been alleged to be languishing on my desk for two years, and thousands of jobs will come our way. Whether misperceptions are from a lack of information or from willful disregard of facts, there has been a great deal of distortion in reporting on “the intermodal” as some like to call it. http://www.toledofreepress.com/?id=7917
June 9, 200817 yr http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080609/NEWS11/806090338/-1/NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article published June 9, 2008 Finkbeiner forms panel to study intermodal hub Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner has announced the makeup of his 10-person committee to study where an intermodal transportation hub could best be located in Toledo and how it could be financed. The chairman will be James Tuschman, an attorney, member of the Ohio Board of Regents, and a former University of Toledo trustee.
July 1, 200816 yr http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080701/NEWS16/807010355/-1/NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article published July 1, 2008 Kaptur, others will tour Nova Scotia site that may become link for Toledo freight shipments U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) will lead a nine-person Toledo delegation to Nova Scotia to tour the site of a proposed deepwater container terminal that could become a link for international freight shipments to and from Toledo. Aides to Miss Kaptur said the trip, starting today, will be a follow-up to discussions she, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, and representatives of the Melford International Terminal project held in Columbus in April.
August 19, 200816 yr http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080819/NEWS11/808190391/-1/NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article published August 19, 2008 Nova Scotia reps in Toledo to discuss study, partnership By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER Representatives of a proposed deepwater container port in Nova Scotia are expected to sign a "strategic collaboration agreement" with Toledo port officials when they meet with local leaders and visit Toledo's port facilities today and tomorrow. The agreement will represent a commitment toward joint studies of cargo shipments that could potentially flow through Toledo as a feeder port to or from the proposed port in Melford, N.S., whose harbor is deep enough to handle the largest container ships now being designed, and whose development would allow cargo to bypass East Coast port and rail congestion.
August 19, 200816 yr Canadians tour Cleveland port as potential link Posted by podonnel August 19, 2008 09:54AM CLEVELAND -- Canadian businessmen toured Cleveland's port Monday and came away impressed with its potential to link with a proposed $400 million deep-water port in Melford, Nova Scotia. http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/08/canadians_tour_cleveland_port.html
August 21, 200816 yr http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080821/NEWS11/808210381/-1/NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article published August 21, 2008 Toledo port impresses Canadian developers By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER Paul Martin and Bob Stevens didn't need to visit Toledo to hear about its proximity - within a day's truck drive - to a huge portion of North American industry and consumers. They already had been briefed about the city's transportation assets. What impressed the president and chief executive officer of Melford International Terminal Inc. most during their day-plus visit that ended yesterday was the extent of waterfront land where local officials aim to develop a feeder terminal for their proposed project in Nova Scotia.
November 16, 200816 yr $5M grant to speed Toledo dock project Aid will improve access to former refinery site http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081114/NEWS16/811140361 Redevelopment plans for a former refinery site along the Maumee River in East Toledo got a $5 million boost yesterday from the state - money that will be supplemented by $2.4 million from the private sector. The Ohio Department of Development grant to Lucas County will provide improved rail, truck, and ship access to a 181-acre property straddling Front Street that the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority bought in May.
March 29, 201114 yr Canadian government sets strategy for Atlantic Gateway trade corridor Yesterday, Canadian government officials announced the Atlantic Gateway and Trade Corridor Strategy, which along with certain transportation project investments, is designed to optimize the region’s trade potential. The Atlantic Gateway is an integrated rail, air, marine and road transportation network between North American markets and trade markets in Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia via the Suez Canal. The gateway features deepwater ports, intermodal facilities, Class I rail infrastructure throughout North America, air cargo facilities, secure border crossings and three main truck corridors, government officials said in a prepared statement. The government plans to provide an additional $2.5 million to market the Atlantic Gateway to increase international trade through the region. Now, more than $200 million from a Gateways and Border Crossings Fund will be committed to support the region's trade-related transportation system, government officials said. Read more at: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article/Canadian-government-sets-strategy-for-Atlantic-Gateway-trade-corridor--26124
June 26, 201113 yr Cargo increases in 2011 for U.S. Great Lakes freighters: Sunday's Numbers Published: Sunday, June 26, 2011, 9:01 AM By Rich Exner, The Plain Dealer 5 percent: The increase in cargo handled by U.S. Great Lakes freighters during the first five months of the year (pdf) over the January-through-May period a year ago, the Rocky River-based Lake Carriers' Association reports. However, this year's total is down 3.3 percent from the five-year average for 2006-10. 6.1 percent: The increase in iron ore cargo for the steel industry this year, accounting for 57 percent of all shipments. 10.3 percent: The increase in coal cargo for power generation and steel production, accounting for 21 percent of all shipments. READ MORE AND SEE LINKS AT: http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2011/06/cargo_inceases_in_2011_for_us.html "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 31, 201113 yr Report shows Great Lakes shipping economic impact by Associated Press | Oct 18, 2011 4:15 PM ET TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Cargo shipping in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River navigation system supports 227,000 jobs and pumps billions into the U.S. and Canadian economies, says an industry-funded report released Tuesday. The study describes marine shipping's relation to a variety of industries in the region, including steelmaking, farming, construction and power generation. It says shipping over water saves about $3.6 billion a year in comparison to overland transport costs. More than 160 million metric tons of cargo moves each year on the waterway, which extends 2,300 miles from the Atlantic to the western Lake Superior port of Duluth, Minn. "This report bears out what we've long known — that the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway is crucial to the U.S. economy," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. He described water shipping as "the single most fuel-efficient and cost-effective way to haul goods from one place to another." Read more at: http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/news/report-shows-great-lakes-shipping-economic-impact/6316991/
October 1, 201212 yr 10/1/2012 12:30:00 PM Cleveland port unveils new rail loop On Friday, the Port of Cleveland held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new rail loop. Slightly more than a mile long, the loop connects the two sides of the port's rail system for the first time, allowing cargo to move via either CSX Transportation or Norfolk Southern Railway, port officials said in a prepared statement. The loop doubles the port's rail capacity and provides more shippers opportunities to use the facility to transport larger volumes to more markets, they said. "We needed to reinvent the way the port connects shippers to railroads," said Will Friedman, the port's chief executive officer. "With our rail expansion, we have the opportunity to provide improved and lower-cost services to shippers, expand our geographic reach, grow our customer base and spur job creation." Read more at: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=32758
December 11, 201212 yr Port of Cleveland readies to welcome the new generation of Great Lakes freighters By Robert L. Smith, The Plain Dealer on December 10, 2012 at 3:30 PM, updated December 10, 2012 at 5:52 PM The Federal Satsuki will squeeze through the Welland Canal sometime today and steam into the choppy waters of Lake Erie, angling toward Cleveland. She's expected to reach the Port of Cleveland Tuesday night, bearing specialty steel from northern Europe and something more. The imposing red ship brings tidings of a new era of maritime commerce on the Great Lakes. Montreal's Fednav Group, the busiest international shipper on the St. Lawrence Seaway, commissioned the $25 million freighter and eight others like her to meet what it expects to be a rising tide of exports from Ohio and the industrial Midwest. Read more at: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/12/port_of_cleveland_welcomes_the.html#incart_river_default
October 21, 201311 yr Port lays plans to embark on 'holy grail' quest -- namely, container service to Europe Group is expected to annouce deal that would allow liner service to Dutch site By JAY MILLER 4:30 am, October 20, 2013 Regular container cargo service from the Port of Cleveland to Northern Europe could begin by spring. The board of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority will hear this week about a plan for the quasi-public agency to sponsor biweekly or monthly runs, called liner service, between Cleveland and a Dutch port. Northeast Ohio importing and exporting companies that currently ship their products in standard-size containers must ship goods by truck to a coastal port and put their products on a ship there. The Port Authority believes it can offer shippers a service that can be faster and competitively priced. READ MORE AT: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20131020/SUB1/310209980/0/FRONTPAGE "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 21, 201311 yr ^Color me skeptical. The lakes freeze 3 months out of the year and the Saint Lawrence isn't deep enough for larger ocean going vessels.
October 21, 201311 yr ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lawrence_Seaway looks like you can get to the Atlantic from the great lakes.
October 21, 201311 yr ^Yes, of course you can get to the Atlantic, but most transatlantic shipping is done on larger ships than are capable of making it up the Saint Lawrence. So either you have to move cargo from a smaller ship to a larger one, or ship cargo across the atlantic on a smaller vessel which is less efficient. Either way I'm guessing it would be just as cheap to transfer the cargo from a ship to a train on the coast. When you factor in that you'd have to make alternative arrangments for 3 months out of the year, it makes me skeptical of plans to ship cargo across the lakes.
October 21, 201311 yr There are also smaller container ships that can fit through the locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Welland Canal. These shipping lanes place Cleveland closer to many European ports compared to most major East Coast ports, and it would make Cleveland a cheaper and more attractive port -- even with the smaller ships. Check out: http://www.marad.dot.gov/documents/NCNV_Report-Part_1.pdf "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 23, 201311 yr Port of Cleveland @portofcleveland 8m Marc Krantz, Chairman of the Board kicking off the press conference about the Liner Service. http://ow.ly/i/3vuR7 #PortCLE Port of Cleveland @portofcleveland 6m Will Friedman: "This service gives us direct, non-stop service to Europe." #PortCLE thefundneo @thefundneo 6m @NGattozzi and others at @portofcleveland news conf. 18k jobs, $1.8b impact. Now direct container service to Europe. Port of Cleveland @portofcleveland 13s Mayor Frank Jackson: "This will allow us to position our city and region for prosperity and economic growth for the future." #PortCLE Port of Cleveland @portofcleveland 29s Betty Sutton: "This service is transformational." #PortCLE http://ow.ly/i/3vvzI Port of Cleveland @portofcleveland 5m Representatives from Tremco & InterChez Corp voicing support for Cleveland-Europe Express. #PortCLE @GCPartnership Port of Cleveland @portofcleveland 1m John Baker of the International Longshoremen's Association: "This will create jobs for our members and throughout the region" #PortCLE "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 24, 201311 yr Here's some more interesting info than the fluff-n-stuff PR I posted above from the presser..... Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority announces plans for freight service between Cleveland, Northern Europe By JAY MILLER 1:34 pm, October 23, 2013 A plan to bring a new international freight service to the Port of Cleveland is being warmly received by several key players in the local import/export community. “The ability to utilize local container shipping option for both import and export shipments to Europe is very important to us,” said Ralph Skrobacs, director of logistics for Tremco Inc., at a news conference today, Oct. 23. “Having direct service from Cleveland to and from Europe should reduce our transportation costs and our carbon footprint.” At the news conference, officials of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority announced plans for scheduled freight service between Cleveland and Northern Europe. Port Authority president Will Friedman said the agency is negotiating with Spielthoff Group, a Dutch shipping concern, to bring monthly or biweekly cargo service to Cleveland. READ MORE AT: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20131023/FREE/131029905 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 24, 201311 yr time out...does this mean cleveland will get some big cranes on the lakefront to load/unload the containers? That would certainly make the port look like its a real port and not a dumping ground
October 24, 201311 yr time out...does this mean cleveland will get some big cranes on the lakefront to load/unload the containers? That would certainly make the port look like its a real port and not a dumping ground That's the plan, man. Actually, small feeder ships like those that can fit through the seaway come equipped with their own cranes..... As a Cleveland guy first and a railroad guy second, I can't emphasize how important this container service is. Rail is cheap transport, but water is even cheaper. A shipper can save up to $1,000 per container in shipping costs if an all-water route to an inland port is available. So if you move a container port 500 miles inland from the East Coast, that's a big deal! The smaller size of the container ships is a drawback, but it's not a deal killer -- especially for larger shippers who can use the whole ship. Great Lakes container ships can carry up to 500 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) containers. The biggest ocean-going ships can carry up to 15,000 and even larger ones are planned. There are other Great Lakes ports trying to develop their infrastructure and marketing capacity first to handle container feeder ships. Geographically, Toledo is probably the ideal place to do this since it the farthest west and south you can go into the heart of America without having to add more time and expense to go around Michigan to get to Chicago. But if Cleveland can grab this business first and keep it, then the additional 100 miles of water route to Toledo doesn't mean that much. Here's an interesting presentation on the various issues involved with global container shipping, including a discussion of Great Lakes short-sea shipping at the end.... http://www.gfai.org/files/event44_269_MON_Vickerman_Transp_Part2.pdf "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 24, 201311 yr just wondering if the cleveland - europe shipping will have an affect on the nova scotia plans mentioned up-thread?
December 13, 20177 yr [surprised we don't have a thread focused on the Port of Cleveland. We have one on the Port Authority but this isn't about the agency, its about the port itself.] This is good: Army Corps drops appeal over 2015 dredging of Cleveland Harbor "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dropped its challenge to a federal judge's ruling that the agency abused its discretion when it refused to dredge the six-mile Cleveland Harbor and Cuyahoga River shipping channel in 2015...." http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2017/12/army_corps_drops_appeal_over_2.html
December 13, 20177 yr Port of Cleveland stuff is posted in the port authority thread. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 15, 20187 yr Toledo port sees increase in cargo tonnage Nearly 16 percent jump in 2017 David Patch | BLADE STAFF WRITER Published on Jan. 15, 2018 http://www.toledoblade.com/image/2017/01/16/600x600/CTY-ship11p.JPG Rebounding iron ore traffic led a nearly 16 percent increase in cargo tonnage through the Port of Toledo during 2017, and a port official said this year’s expected groundbreaking for a new iron smelter near the port should boost that cargo further in future years. Robust aluminum shipments gave the port’s general and miscellaneous cargo sector the second highest percentage increase in the year-over-year statistics posted last week by the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. Iron ore shipments across CSX Transportation’s Lakefront Dock totalled 3,417,862 tons during 2017, more than double the 1,629,927 tons through that facility the year before. That accounted for more than 35 percent of all cargo across the local docks last year by weight. The total cargo of 9,619,723 tons marked a 15.88 percent increase over 2016, but was still more than 2 million tons shy of the port’s recent peak in 2014, when iron-ore traffic was even higher and coal business also was stronger than it was last year. http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2018/01/15/Toledo-port-sees-increase-in-cargo-tonnage.html
August 14, 20186 yr Coast Guard warns to steer clear of freighters on Cuyahoga River https://fox8.com/2018/08/13/coast-guard-warns-to-steer-clear-of-freighters-on-cuyahoga-river/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 11, 20186 yr Cool story..... J.W. Westcott is the only boat with a U.S. ZIP code, serving freighters on the Great Lakes By Laura Johnston, cleveland.com [email protected] DETROIT, Michigan – The J.W. Westcott is the only boat with its own ZIP code. The 45-foot steel boat works 24 hours a day, delivering mail, packages and sometimes pizza to the giant lakers that chug daily through the Detroit River, headed anywhere on the Great Lakes. “Oh Lord, it’s crazy this time of year,” said the general manager, Captain Sam Buchanan. “We deliver Amazon. We’re delivering all kinds of stuff to every ship that goes by our station, pretty much.” The Westcott has been an official marine U.S. Post Office since 1895. The company was founded in 1874, when it used a rowboat to deliver messages to passing ships through its “mail-in-the-pail” technique. MORE: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2018/12/jw-westcott-is-the-only-boat-with-a-us-zip-code-serving-freighters-on-the-great-lakes.html AND Marine industry expects worker shortage. So what are the jobs like? https://www.cleveland.com/news/2018/12/marine-industry-expects-worker-shortage-so-what-are-the-jobs-like.html Edited December 11, 20186 yr by KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 7, 20196 yr St Lawrence Seaway 2019 season will open in late March - the Welland Canal section on March 22 and the lower Ontario-Montreal section March 26. http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/en/pdf/navigation/notice20190221.pdf Remember: It's the Year of the Snake
April 17, 20196 yr I didn't know where else to ask this so here goes: with the known instability of the Irishtown Bend hillside on the Cuyahoga river and its potential threat to bulk shipping up the river, particularly to Arcelor-Mittal's blast furnaces, could iron ore be railed to the furnaces from Whiskey Island? If so, what route would be required? To my knowledge there is no rail row through the valley to the mills, so could it be done via other routes or would the mills have to shut down? I bet @KJP knows the answer to this and thanks in advance!
April 17, 20196 yr Mittal and Norfolk Southern looked at this in 2003 when the stability of the hillside became a known issue. The answer was a difficult one considering all of the rail infrastructure that's been lost. So NS, which has the only rail access to the Whiskey Island ore dock, found that it would have to run a train backwards out of Whiskey Island across the Cuyahoga River lift bridge, then forwards across the river again, heading west on its busy Chicago Line to near the airport where it would make a left turn on a "wye" track to go along the north edge of Rockport Yard (just north of I-480), then turn NW on its Cloggsville Subdivision tracks to a place called Knob where it would turn east to go down the hill alongside the Big Creek into the Cuyahoga River valley and finally into NS's Campbell Yard. There Mittal's plant railroad, called The Crow (Cleveland Works Railway), would distribute the ore cars to Mittal's blast furnace. A drayage (short) trip such as this would be a very expensive railroad operation considering that NS would have to pay a train crew a day's pay. And shipping by rail is normally more expensive than shipping by water, especially when you have to pay the transfer charges from ship to train at Whiskey Island. NS found that it would lose money from the operation and told Mittal. When Mittal asked how much NS would have to charge to make money, the unknown amount wasn't attractive. Both sides said "thanks but no thanks." So if the hillside goes, Mittal goes (or at least its old blast furnace). Edited April 17, 20196 yr by KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 17, 20196 yr Wow, with what I did know about the rails and infrastructure in the valley I suspected it would be quite a maneuver but that's incredible.
April 17, 20196 yr 2 hours ago, KJP said: Mittal and Norfolk Southern looked at this in 2003 when the stability of the hillside became a known issue. The answer was a difficult one considering all of the rail infrastructure that's been lost. So NS, which has the only rail access to the Whiskey Island ore dock, found that it would have to run a train backwards out of Whiskey Island across the Cuyahoga River lift bridge, then forwards across the river again, heading west on its busy Chicago Line to near the airport where it would make a left turn on a "wye" track to go along the north edge of Rockport Yard (just north of I-480), then turn NW on its Cloggsville Subdivision tracks to a place called Knob where it would turn east to go down the hill alongside the Big Creek into the Cuyahoga River valley and finally into NS's Campbell Yard. There Mittal's plant railroad, called The Crow (Cleveland Works Railway), would distribute the ore cars to Mittal's blast furnace. A drayage (short) trip such as this would be a very expensive railroad operation considering that NS would have to pay a train crew a day's pay. And shipping by rail is normally more expensive than shipping by water, especially when you have to pay the transfer charges from ship to train at Whiskey Island. NS found that it would lose money from the operation and told Mittal. When Mittal asked how much NS would have to charge to make money, the unknown amount wasn't attractive. Both sides said "thanks but no thanks." So if the hillside goes, Mittal goes (or at least its old blast furnace). This is awesomeness. KJP -- you are Too Legit To Quit.
May 1, 20196 yr "Visitors coming into the Port of Cleveland will be expected to pay an additional passenger fee of $12.50 for the next five to six years to help refurbish a new federally-mandated customs facility. In spite of this inconvenience, the rest of the Port holds adequate facilities for cruise ships, including a 700-foot-long berth that can accommodate two ships at the same time." https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2019/04/cleveland-disembarking-downtown/ My wife and I were on one of these cruises last summer and debarked onto the pier northwest of the stadium into a area marked off by portable fences, which fell down a couple of times. We were processed through Customs and Immigration in a converted 40-foot container. Very basic, but it worked. City Hall (with its weird approach to PR) has said nothing that I know of regarding a permanent facility. Remember: It's the Year of the Snake
August 29, 20195 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 6, 20204 yr Victory Cruise Lines has announced its 2021 Great Lakes season; from late April to early October, they plan 32 port visits to Cleveland. Next year they are offering two extra cost local tour options, one of movie sites for $79 (the Christmas House, I guess, and what else?). The second tour is Amish Country in Geauga County for $129. All this presumably contingent on curing the virus. All those shore excursions in buses sound risky. https://www.victorycruiselines.com/cruises/great-lakes-masterpiece/ Remember: It's the Year of the Snake
Create an account or sign in to comment