Seaway Traffic (BLAIR MCKEIL, SEDNA DESGAGNES, ALGOMA STRONGFIELD)

 

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More ruins of the "Atlantis of Ontario".
Cement structures alongside the remnants of the old railway, partially submerged.

Lake St. Lawrence

Seaway Traffic (MIA DESGAGNES)

 

Seaway Traffic (CSL WELLAND, FEDERAL CARIBOU, ILE SAINT OURS, ALGOMA DISCOVERY, BBC SONG, GAIA DESGAGNES)

Halfway through the month - and I hadn't seen the same ship twice.
While it's neat to see a vessel making a return trip, it's more exciting to see something you've never seen before.

Saw a couple of familiar vessels today - plus a handful of "new" ones.


CSL WELLAND
First ship of the day...

Closer than I've ever been to the WELLAND to see the big colorful mural painted on her...
During daylight hours, anyway...

Can even see the NIAGARA 2022 logo.
One of the runners is a skeleton?

There's something about the square, boxy stern...
Practical, no doubt. But lacking the intriguing curves and contours of last century's lakers...

Upbound FEDERAL CARIBOU meets the downbound CSL WELLAND.

Watching the ships about to meet, I heard a noise coming from behind...

The Canadian Coast Guard Ship ILE SAINT OURS

ILE SAINT OURS downbound closely behind the WELLAND.

This little boat generated surprisingly big waves!

Three vessels in the frame - although you can barely see the tiny Coast Guard vessel.

The 2016-built FEDERAL CARIBOU upbound for Picton

The vessel appears to be traveling light.
Several crew could be seen along the railing, enjoying the relatively nice mid-November morning.

FEDERAL CARIBOU upbound

ALGOMA DISCOVERY
(formerly MALINSKA, DAVIKEN)

My first encounter with THE 1987-BUILT ALGOMA DISCOVERY, sistership to ALGOMA GUARDIAN.

The DISCOVERY has a yellow foremast (while the GUARDIAN sports a white foremast).

Also, the stack markings on the DISCOVERY didn't seem as faded...
The exhaust system looked rustier, however...

Passing my location, the ALGOMA DISCOVERY blew her horn...
No other boats on the water - And no people around for miles...

BBC SONG
Next up, was a little crane ship carrying a big load.

The 2017-built BBC SONG of Madeira, Portugal.
Transiting the St. Lawrence Seaway from China via the Panama Canal

BBC SONG upbound for Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
Anticipated Arrival Nov 17, 2022 - Just two days after seeing her here.

First BBC vessel that I've seen to have deck cranes that aren't yellow...
Carrying big black tanks of some sort.

This little ship caused displaced a surprising amount of water as she passed by...

GAIA DESGAGNES

The tanker weaves her way through the islands.

Instead of water being pulled away as the ship passes, GAIA DESGAGNES seemed to push water up on the bank as she motored by... Unsure if it has anything to do with her "inverted" or "negative stem angle" to her bow.

A beautiful vessel

A perfect way to end the day...?

Just happened to spot CCGS ILE SAINT OURS on her return trip upriver, presumably to the Prescott Coast Guard Base.

The "trifecta" of daily ships - One each from CSL, FedNav and Algoma.
Plus, a crane ship, a tanker - and a Cost Guard vessel.

Another "perfect" day at the river.

Seaway Evening Traffic...

 
6PM

MANITOULIN was expected to transit the system today during daylight, but has been delayed.
ALGOMA GUARDIAN anchored at Wilson Hill.
THUNDER BAY has left Johnstown, heading downbound.


CSL ST-LAURENT is in the St. Clair River, downbound for Lake Erie and destined for Montreal.
ALGOMA DISCOVERY is on Lake Superior, downbound and destined for Baie Comeau.
FIVELBORG is on Lake Superior, destined for Montreal.

Seaway Traffic (EIDER, ALGOSEA, ALGOMA EQUINOX, WHITEFISH BAY, RT HON PAUL J MARTIN, GAIA DESGAGNES, ALGOSCOTIA)

MIENA DESGAGNES made another trip upriver to Johnstown in the dark early morning hours.


After stopping by the water a couple days in a row, I was eager to get back on the river itself.

Once again, felt I was leaving a bit late...
But was right where I needed to be to catch an upbound saltwater ship...


EIDER
Blue vessel, with smokestack of the CanForNav group.

2010-built EIDER en route to Detroit, Michigan

Needed to research this vessel...
She has CanForNav stack markings - Except the ship has a blue hull instead of the typical green.
The deck cranes are also white (as opposed to yellow).

EIDER with white cranes

Reminded me of REDHEAD or LUDOGORETS.

View of the stern

Diving into the sea of (seemingly infinite) saltwater vessels, discovered that she is a CanForNav ship.
One of two vessels flagged out of Antigua (the other being REDHEAD).

MOST of the green-hulled CanForNav vessels are flagged out of Cyprus.
(Note that CAPE, CHESTNUT, PUNA, SUNDA, WHISTLER, WIDGEON are flagged out of Liberia)

https://www.canfornav.com/fleet/


As for the blue-hulled LUDOGORETS, turns out she's a NAVI-BULGAR vessel.
She appears blue in color (as opposed to black paint like most of her fleetmates) and has white deck cranes (as opposed to the yellow).

https://www.navbul.com/en/fleet/



ALGOSEA

Vessel on the horizon...

Once again, managed to catch a ship that I thought had already gone by...
Spotted a vessel at anchor in the distance that could only be the ALGOSEA.

Within minutes of spotting the ship, there was a big puff of smoke from the exhaust.
Just as I suspected, she was fired up and ready to leave the anchorage.

As ALGOSEA approaches, the hull looks almost black...

It's dark navy blue color that seems to vary based on the sunlight.

1998-built ALGOSEA upbound for Sarnia, Ontario.

Took 35-40 minutes for ALGOSEA to arrive from the anchorage...
It would normally take around 20 minutes.
(ALGOSEA may have been waiting for the downbound WHITEFISH BAY to clear the locks...)




The ALGOMA EQUINOX, right on time...

The EQUINOX on the horozin

It's possible that I've seen the ALGOMA EQUINOX more times than any other vessel this season...
Must to do a final count at the end of the year.

ALGOMA EQUINOX upbound for Hamilton.
Will cross Lake Ontario, arriving in Hamilton.
Anticipated time of arrival is tomorrow afternoon (Nov 10).

Equinox Class meets Trillium Class...

The upbound ALGOMA EQUINOX meets the downbound WHITEFISH BAY.
Both vessels were built in 2013.

Each company's build has it's own look, giving distinct character.


WHITEFISH BAY hasn't been a stranger this year either.

2013-built WHITEFISH BAY downbound for Montreal.

Have encountered this ship a good handful of times this season...

WHITEFISH BAY downbound

Seen her more times than her "Bay Class" sisters, anyway.

WHITEFISH BAY downbound

From a "new" CSL self-unloader to an "old" CSL self-unloader...
Less than two hours after her fleetmate quietly slipped away, could hear the engine of RT HON PAUL J MARTIN for miles away as she approached.

The 1973-built vessel (formerly known as H.M. GRIFFITH from Collingwood Shipyards) was lengthened in 1999-2000.

The stern

1973 built RT HON PAUL J. MARTIN (former H.M. GRIFFITH)

An entirely new hull was attached to the existing stern at Port Weller.
The ship returned to service in 2000 and was re-christed RT HON PAUL J MARTIN. She was the second CSL vessel to have the procedure (after near-sistership J.W. MCGIFFIN became CSL NIAGARA in 1999)




GAIA DESGAGNES
My second encounter with this vessel.

2018-built GAIA DESGAGNES downbound for Sept-Iles, Quebec.

Just happened to catch her on her previous trip upriver...
Here she is downbound laden with cargo.

GAIA DESGAGNES downbound

GAIA DESGAGNES downbound

Always amazed at the brilliant white deck of a tanker...
Must be incredibly difficult to keep it that clean...




On the return trip, met ALGOSCOTIA downbound.

2004-built ALGOSCOTIA downbound for Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Had planned to head further upriver to try and intercept the vessel before dark,
but she made it downriver 20 minutes before dark. Timing worked out great.


First time encountering the ALGOSCOTIA.
She appeared very black in color at first, due to the angle of the sun.
Even the crane and apparatus on the deck looked to be painted black.

ALGOSCOTIA downbound

Noticed that ALGOSCOTIA doesn't have the Algoma logo on her bow (the red circle with the bear).
Have seen pictures with the emblem - Seeming to indicate the hull has been painted.

ALGOSCOTIA was out of action for several weeks during the months of June and July 2022.
The vessel had to dock suddenly after experiencing a problem with her rudder.


Finally, the vessel turns slightly to reveal a yellow crane and foremast.

ALGOSCOTIA with pretty colors just before sunset

Certainly looks darker than ALGOSEA and ALGOMA HANSA - Although the deep-blue ALGOSEA looked pretty dark this morning...


Three tankers, two self-unloaders and a saltie.
That's six ships in daylight hours.

Another "perfect" day at the river.