List of Ships Seen December 2021

FEDERAL MONTREAL
AMY LYN D
ATLANTIC HURON
NACC QUEBEC
PAUL A DESGAGNES
RT HON PAUL J MARTIN
SUNDA
CUYAHOGA
VS SALOME
IVER BRIGHT
WHITEFISH BAY
ALGOMA GUARDIAN
G3 MARQUIS
MIA DESGAGNES
BBC OREGON
CAPTAIN HENRY JACKMAN
ALGONORTH

Seaway Traffic... (BBC OREGON, CAPT. HENRY JACKMAN, ALGONORTH)

Heading back towards the sea is the
heavy-lifting crane ship BBC OREGON.

Just a couple days before the St. Lawrence Seaway closes for the 2021 season.

The BBC OREGON, en route to Montreal, presumably to load cargo before crossing the ocean.

Haven't seen an anchor setup quite like this one...

Another great day to catch a close-up look at some of these awesome machines...

Have spotted some interesting anchors over the past week or so.

Downbound vessel meets an upbound pleasurecraft.

The unusually spectacular December day was even nice enough to find a group of people in a motorboat cruising up the river.

It's the Jackman!

Not even five minutes later, the CAPTAIN HENRY JACKMAN appeared around the corner.

An absolutely spectacular sight. Gotta stop and remind myself that it's technically winter and not fall...

Thankfully a fellow boatwatcher stopped to chat with me before the vessel arrived - I would not have been at this spot to capture what's become one of my favorite shots of the season.

After her first season on the Seaway, let's bring her home.

Can't get enough of this beautiful, brand new ship!

Her debut on the Seaway was June of 2021, and she still bears a hull of shiny blue paint.




















Fleetmate ALGONORTH upbound after navigating past Cat Island Shoal.





















Have been treated to a very calm and peaceful river this past week...

Unlike a couple of weeks ago when the river was raging with wicked wind and huge waves.



















Temporary spar buoys have replaced the familiar summer buoys that we all know and love...

In the background is that big pile of road salt at Universal Terminals. Trucks were hauling out loads this afternoon.

With safe anchorage, ALGONORTH settles in for the night.

Should have anticipated that ALGONORTH would anchor at Wilson Hill. It's not uncommon for this vessel to stop here for crew rest.

Just wanted to get a snapshot of those cool white stripes on the bow...

Anticipating this Algoma Tanker will receive a blue hull the next time she gets painted.

Seaway Traffic (WHITEFISH BAY, ALGOMA GUARDIAN, G3 MARQUIS, MIA DESGAGNES)

WHITEFISH BAY with a nice touch of sea smoke.

Busy day for commercial traffic on the St. Lawrence River. Managed to catch four vessels transiting the Seaway.

Some interesting snapshots for my collection... Decided to start with my favorite image of each vessel.

ALGOMA GUARDIAN on a calm winter day.

Have only seen the ALGOMA GUARDIAN a couple of times. It's a really unique vessel with an interesting history...

Downbound on the St. Lawrence River, destined for a stop in Montreal before she heads off to Brazil.

G3 MARQUIS has many Seaway transits under her belt
as 2021 season comes to a close.

My first closeup encounter with the G3 MARQUIS. Seen her from a distance, a couple miles from the channel.

Today however, was testing out a new pair of binoculars while waiting for the vessel to arrive... Was thrilled to spot the cabin through the trees as she met the downbound ALGOMA GUARDIAN.

Love the look of tanker MIA DESGAGNES.

Possibly the most interesting looking ship of the day was the small tanker MIA DESGAGNES.

Small when viewed from a distance, there's all kinds of neat equipment on the deck of the ship.

Not to be confused with DAMIA DESGAGNES, MIA DESGAGNES has only transited the Seaway a couple times this year.

Still not cold enough to leave for the winter...

Actively swimming away, still managed to get a half-decent snapshot of a Common Merganser.

The ice on the branches is a nice touch.

There Be Anchorage... (PAUL MARTIN, WICKY SPIRIT, SUNDA)

Just happened to choose Ault Island as a vantage point to catch the upbound Canada Steamship Lines vessel RT. HON. PAUL J. MARTIN (aka H.M. GRIFFITH).

Shortly after arriving at the water, I could hear the faint sound of engines that I presumed could only belong to the 1973-built carrier (which has since been lengthened and re-named in 2000).











Much to my surprise, the vessel slowed to a crawl...

Eventually she started drifting backwards, then I heard the awesome clanking of the anchor chain as the ship pulled into what one Islander referred to as "their parking spot".















Could have sworn that I saw another vessel on the horizon upriver...

After seeming to disappear behind the trees, another ship emerged - The WICKY SPIRIT had just finished navigating around Goose Neck Island Shoal, and was now heading towards me (and the anchored PAUL MARTIN).












WICKY SPIRIT downbound on the St. Lawrence River.






















The tiny McKeil ship is dwarfed by the "SeawayMax" CSL vessel.





















Standing on the shore, something seemed to be moving towards me. At first I thought it was just a stick drifting, but it was definitely alive.

Could not tell if it was the fins of a fish, a bird or a beaver... I snapped several shots before it disappeared. Looking at the photos afterwards, it appears the creature was a Mink.













Further upriver, another majestic view from Mariatown. The visibility was actually quite good, even being able to see the Iroquois Lock vessel "traffic light" outside the entrance to the lock itself.

Note to self, vessels between this spot and the Iroquois Locks will disappear from sight as the channel zig-zags behind the next point upriver.















Expecting to see one more downbound vessel, headed upriver until I encountered the green-hulled SUNDA just a few kilometers from the Iroquois Locks.

The Old Highway 2 runs along Lakeshore Drive, sometimes making a brief appearance on land before disappearing beneath the water. This small patch of Old Highway 2 becomes a popular resting place for waterfowl.











Good visibility but relatively poor lighting, most of the snapshots did not reveal the cool-looking green paint on this vessel.

Seen a number of these Liberian-flagged vessels transiting the Seaway.

Owned by NAVARONE MARINE ENTERPRISE, most of the ships have cool-sounding names, consisting of a single word.

A better look at the green paint from Duncan Park.

Went to Upper Canada Village (just west of Ault Island) in the hopes of catching the ALGOMA INNOVATOR (destined for Gooderich). No such luck, as the vessel was delayed, and wouldn't be there until dark.




The port side anchor of the SUNDA was hanging from its' chain as she pulled right in behind the PAUL MARTIN before dropping her anchor. A rare treat to see two ships being anchored off the Island...
































































I half expected the upbound ALGOMA HANSA to also take up temporary residence here... The HANSA has been known to frequently stop at this location for crew rest. Checking the tracker after I got home, the ALGOMA HANSA (destined for Nanticoke) would continue upriver to transit the Iroquois Locks, followed by the PAUL MARTIN (destined for Superior).

Twelve hours later, it appears as if all three vessels (HANSA, PAUL MARTIN and the INNOVATOR) had cleared the Seaway System to the Gulf St. Lawrence, and entering Lake Ontario. The OAKGLEN (destined for Toronto) was trailing behind, passing through Brockville.

River Therapy... (CAPT. HENRY JACKMAN, IVER AMBITION)

What a difference a day makes... Yesterday, this spot was frigid and cold. Today, it was calm and welcoming.

Another contrast was that yesterday I was there to see the oldest vessel in operation...

Today, I was there to check out one of the newest Seaway vessels from 2021...

The blue-hulled CAPTAIN HENRY JACKMAN was nowhere to be seen, but I saw a little red ship disappear around the corner...







Caught up with the red-hulled IVER AMBITION just downriver from the Iroquois Locks.



















Tanker IVER AMBITION is about to enter the Iroquois Locks, while the straight-deck bulk carrier CAPTAIN HENRY JACKMAN is on the way out.

The CAPTAIN HENRY JACKMAN downbound, passing Iroquois Beach.

A great, underrated little spot. Gotta do some more exploring around here.
















Plaque at Iroquois Beach showing the old waterfront before the flooding of the Seaway. The entrance to the old canal (now a marina) is easily visible from the beach.
















The waterfowl are more afraid of humans on foot than the 740 foot vessel approaching.
















A spectacular sight, on an unusually calm St. Lawrence River.

One of the longest vessel names takes up quite a bit of space on the hull.

The bridge seems to stick out unusually far on the straight-deck ALGOMA ships... (First noticed this feature on the ALGOMA STRONGFIELD)

Possibly an optical illusion as the bridge is more visible due to the fact that the ship doesn't have the self-unloading aparatus.

Also noticed what appeared to be a reel of shiny cable above the stern anchor.
Likely the windlass for pulling the anchor chain.

"The Greek scientist Archimedes was the inventor of the windlass."
-Wikipedia

Cuyahoga

A Seaway ship that pre-dates the Seaway itself...

At 620 feet long, the 1943-built CUYAHOGA would have been a fair sized ship in her day - And would have been too large to transit the canals before the Seaway was completed in 1959.

White no stranger to this section of river, she's only been this way a couple times in 2021.

CUYAHOGA passes Mariatown, nearing the Iroquois Locks

The CUYAHOGA, destined for Clarkson (a neighborhood in Mississauga) on the shore of Lake Ontario, expected to arrive within a day.

















After sitting idle from 1990-1995, she got a new lease on life after being acquired by Lower Lakes Towing.

She's been sailing under their colors for the past quarter century.



















A classic look that's slowly going the way of the dinosaur..




















Following the ship upriver, I encountered  the downbound oil/chemical tanker VS SALOME.

A rather infrequent visitor to the Seaway, the VS SALOME is a fleetmate to the more familiar CHANTACO.


















The upbound CUYAHOGA meets the downbound VS SALOME below the Iroquois Locks. The small tanker was apparently en route to the port of New Orleans.

From her position in this snapshot, the VS SALOME was expected to arrive at her destination in ten days.














With a relatively thin strip of grey hull visible, it appears as if CUYAHOGA is loaded with cargo.


















Back in 1943 when she was launched, I can't imagine that the builders would have anticipated that she'd last well into the next century.


















CUYAHOGA is one of just a handful of remaining ships to have the forward pilothouse.

A few others that come to mind are fleetmate OJIBWAY, along with Algoma Central's JACK D. LEITCH (aka CANADIAN CENTURY).














Looking at the stern section as seen from Iroquois Locks.





















Trying to look at the entire ship as it transit the Iroquois Locks. The view is cluttered with apparatus pertaining to the Locks.

This has got to be the fastest transit of the Iroquois Lock that I've ever seen...

At only 60 feet wide (as compared to newer vessels of 78 feet), she seemed to effortlessly glide in and out of the locks faster than I've ever seen a ship pass through.
















Closeup of the wheelouse with portholes on the deck below.





















Something that used to be the norm is slowly becoming a rarity.

Big, tall smokestacks would have been a common sight on the river at the time of the Seaway's creation...

She's truly a relic from another time.