Seaway Evening Traffic...

6PM
The downbound ALGOMA GUARDIAN remains moored at the upper wall of Eisenhower Lock.

RT HON PAUL J MARTIN is upbound, approaching the Eisenhower Lock.

A good number of vessels expected to transit the system, including the downbound PUNA, and upbound MIENA DESGAGNES.

Tomorrow (Nov 13) downbound vessels are LYULIN, BBC KWIATKOWSKI, OAKGLEN, ALGOMA STRONGFIELD and CSL ST-LAURENT.

FEDERAL NAKAGAWA has also been added to the list of upbound ships...



Status of previously upbound vessels:

VITOSHA has reached the Welland Canal, destined for Thunder Bay.

LEO A. MCARTHUR is halfway across Lake Erie.

ATLANTIC HURON is past the halfway point across Lake Erie.

MAMRY is towards the western end of Lake Erie, destined for Thunder Bay.

ZELANDA DESGAGNES also on Lake Erie, destined for Goderich.

Seaway AM Traffic...

9AM

ALGOMA HANSA is downbound, anchored at Wilson Hill (presumably for crew rest).
ALGOMA GUARDIAN - Previously anchored at Wilson Hill, has since traveled downriver, has been moored outside the Eisenhower Lock for several hours.
WHITEFISH BAY is upbound.

MANITOULIN, previously delayed, currently scheduled to transit the system upbound  after nightfall.
MIENA DESGAGNES making yet another trip upriver in the dark early morning hours.

Seaway Early AM Traffic...

6AM
Saltie RODOPI is making another trip upriver.
CSL's WHITEFISH BAY is also upbound.

In the evening, PUNA and LYULIN are expected downbound.
Saltie LYULIN is currently anchored on Lake Ontario, will be heading downbound ultimately destined for Algeria (anticipated arrival there on November 27).

RT HON PAUL J MARTIN is upbound, expected to transit the Seaway in the evening.

Foreign crane ship BBC KWIATKOWSKI is downbound in the Welland Canal, returning back downriver for Montreal.



OAKGLEN is expected downbound for Sorel, Quebec tomorrow (Nov 13).
ALGOMA STRONGFIELD  currently on Lake Erie also heading downriver for Quebec City.



Previously upbound salties VITOSHA (destined for Port Weller) and FULDABORG (destined for Cleveland) are upbound transiting the Welland Canal. Also in the Welland Canal is JOHN D LEITCH bound for Toledo.

Also headed in the opposite direction away from the Seaway, and currently on (or nearing) the Welland Canal:
ALGOMA INNOVATOR is heading back to Goderich.
ALGOMA TRANSPORT is returning to Thunder Bay.
ATLANTIC HURON is heading back to Windsor

Previously upbound salties MAMRY and GARDNO are on Lake Erie destined for Thunder Bay.
JESSICA B, JOHANNA G and ISOLDA are moored at Hamilton.

ZELANDA DESGAGNES has also travelled upriver and has reached Lake Erie.

ALGONORTH is returning to Nanticoke

ALGOMA GUARDIAN

 

ALGOMA GUARDIAN downbound on the St. Lawrence River

The 1987-built ALGOMA GUARDIAN (formerly OMISALJ, GOVIKEN)

Built in Croatia for Jugolinija (the state-operated shipping line of Yugoslavia).
Sailed with a blue hull for the Croatia Line from 1992-1997.
From 1997-2008 she was the green-hulled GOVIKEN of Viken Shipping, flagged out of Nassau, Bahamas.

Sister ships to ALGOMA GUARDIAN:
ALGOMA DISCOVERY (formerly PETKA)
ALGOMA SPIRIT (formerly MALINSKA) was scrapped in 2021 after a grounding the previous season)



Purchased by Algoma in 2008, this ocean-going bulk carrier is no stranger to the Seaway. At 729 feet in length she (along with her sisterships) were the largest saltwater ships to transit the St. Lawrence System.

Her deck cranes were removed in 2009 - but for a very brief period, she sported yellow "saltie" style deck cranes while completely painted in the Algoma colors.

Road to the River...

Sunrise over the creek...

Silhouette of an Eastern White Pine, a tree with character



Oak leaves must get good mileage on the water...

Another assortment of Oak leaves washed ashore

Weeds stubbornly growing out of the asphalt... A broken chunk of road from Old Highway 2.

Life finds a way...

Common Morganser duck spotted on the return trip
They tend to keep their distance, but managed to sneak up on this one

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 (ALGOMA SAULT, ALGOMA GUARDIAN, EVERLAST & NORMAN MCLEOD, SARAH DESGAGNES, WILF SEYMOUR ALOUETTE SPIRIT)

Once again, the first ship of the day was the "Surprise Ship" of the day.

ALGOMA SAULT downbound

Self unloader - And colored beach rocks.

The ALGOMA SAULT was destined for Johnstown earlier in the day, so I didn't expect to see her this far down the river...

The stern

She must have finished in Johnstown - After unloading a partial load of salt there, the rest was to be delivered downriver at Cote Ste Catherine, Quebec.




The ALGOMA GUARDIAN immediately followed fleetmate ALGOMA SAULT (in approximately as much time as it takes to transit the Locks). Must have followed the ALGOMA SAULT through the Iroquois...

ALGOMA GUARDIAN downbound

Had originally planned to spend the day off the water because of rain-showers.
The rain was going to hold off until around 3pm - And the ALGOMA GUARDIAN, one of my favorite ships was set to transit the system mid-day.
So for the second day in a row, I headed to the river expecting a single ship - But obviously hoping a few more vessels would fill out the day.

Built in Croatia, the ALGOMA GUARDIAN

Have seen ALGOMA GUARDIAN several times - and yet somehow, had never seen her sister (ALGOMA DISCOVERY).

I like the profile of this ship...

ALGOMA GUARDIAN downbound for Baie Comeau, Quebec.

To the anchorage...

The ALGOMA GUARDIAN traveled downriver and appeared to head into the anchorage.
At the same time, there was another vessel appearing on the horizon, traveling upriver.

Was hoping for MANITOULIN... But the most prominent feature on this distant vessel was a tall bridge sticking right up, resembling that of a tugboat EVERLAST & NORMAN MCLEOD

Couldn't stay and watch this tug and barge, because I hoped to watch a few more vessels further upriver.
If I played my cards right, I could see them all.

Perfect timing with downbound tanker SARAH DESGAGNES approaching.

SARAH DESGAGNES approaching

Surprising amount of color on a dull day...

Riding high in the water, traveling light.

Upbound tugboat EVERLAST

EVERLAST managed to catch up quicker than I thought, meeting the DESGAGNES ship.




Continuing upriver, I found WILF SEYMOUR pushing ALOUETTE SPIRIT downbound.

WILF SEYMOUR & ALOUETTE SPIRIT

Bit of deja-vu, as I've encountered this pair at this same spot, at the end of my day, with calm-glassy water...
Last time, it was just at nightfall. Today it was a few hours before sunset - but with dark skies and rain looming, it appeared much later in the day than it actually was.

As much as I enjoy keeping a photo record of vessels I've seen, it's always nice when the scene looks different.
As a result, this snapshot is basically a carbon copy of another one in my collection (Sept 12).

Tugboat WILF SEYMOUR pushing barge ALOUETTE SPIRIT

Tug & barge downbound

Meeting place...

My favorite snapshot from this set, with the two barges passing by each other in the middle of the river, surrounded by islands.



Got to see EVERLAST meet THREE downbound vessels...
(ALGOMA GUARDIAN, SARAH DESGAGNES and finally WILF SEYMOUR).

EVERLAST & NORMAN MCLEOD

She's all lit up. Can even see the lights reflecting on the water.

Beautiful...

Certainly not the prettiest day...
But at least it wasn't too cold - or too hot.
Considering that it's November - And I got to see all the daytime ships on my list (aside for MANITOULIN, unexpectedly delayed).

The first few raindrops while I was waiting for EVERLAST.



Once again, missed out on seeing MANITOULIN. She's been re-scheduled, a day and a half later than originally anticipated (approaching midnight on Nov 12 / early morning of Nov 13)
But got a surprise ship instead, AND got safely off the water before the raindrops started.

Two barges, a bulker, a self-unloader and a tanker.

Consider it another "perfect" day by the river.

Seaway Evening Traffic...

9PM
MIEDWIE is downbound, slowing to enter the Eisenhower Lock.
ZELANDA DESGAGNES has cleared the Eisenhower Lock into the Wiley-Dondero Canal, upbound for Johnstown.
ALGOMA SAULT, also destined for Johnstown, is downbound and has almost finished crossing Lake Ontario.
ALGOTERRA is downbound for Sydney, is approaching the halfway point between Iroquois and Eisenhower.

FULDABORG and HARBOUR PROGRESS will transit upbound in the dark, although it should be daylight when the PROGRESS reaches Prescott-Brockville.


ALGOMA GUARDIAN is on Lake Ontario, downbound for Baie Comeau, Quebec.
MANITOULIN is upbound, and should transit the system mid-day.

SARAH DESGAGNES has just started out on Lake Ontario, downbound for Montreal.

More Magic...

Hoist the colors high!

Winds gusting to nearly 40km.
Water level also fairly high - especially for this time of year.
Seems higher now than it's been all summer.

Majestic Waves...

Possibly my favorite snapshot of the day
Waves crashing and churning, with the sunlight shining through the water offering many shades of blue.

Thousands of Canadian Geese gathering

Goose nest...

Egg hunt...

As the leaves fall off the trees, an "abandoned" Goose nest is uncovered, with FIVE un-hatched eggs.

Cement foundation from the "Lost Villages".

Square foundations of old buildings from the Lost Villages.
One has natural stones arranged in a square shape.
The other has actual poured concrete to make the square edge.

Stone foundation...

On the trip home, the sky impossibly red - with the silhouette of wind turbines.
Have seen many turbine parts transiting the Seaway. Those giant blades are hundreds of feet in length - basically taking up most of the deck space on a ship. Hard to believe several hundred feet of materials are spinning around up there...

Red November...

Seaway Traffic (LEO A. MCARTHUR & JOHN J CARRICK, SEAWAY GUARDIAN, SPRUCEGLEN, ISABELLE G)

Was only expecting to see one ship on the day - SPRUCEGLEN, one of my favorite older ships...
Naturally, fingers crossed that a few more vessels would make it this way.

Based on the lock times, figured I would not see tugboat LEO A MCARTHUR.
Since a tug with a barge travels slower than regular ships, I was able to catch up with the rig.


LEO A. MCARTHUR & JOHN J CARRICK
Heading upriver, and was just able to catch up with the vessel(s)...
If only I had decided to head upriver five minutes sooner...

Engines roaring...

Either way, I'm convinced that LEO A MCARTHUR has the loudest engine on the Seaway...
(second place goes to CCGS GRIFFON)

Watching the waves crash...

Certainly wouldn't want the water to be like this every day - But it can be very meditative and therapeutic.





Around 1PM, spotted SPRUCEGLEN on the horizon.

Ship!

SEAWAY GUARDIAN
The "surprise" vessel of the day.
This vessel was on the list for yesterday, but never showed up.

Rough seas...

Downbound tug & barge.

Was actually checking the status of the upbound SPRUCEGLEN when this tug & barge surprised me.
Almost missed them (the engine was nowhere near as loud as LEO A. MCARTHUR).

Downbound SEAWAY GUARDIAN with an upbound vessel on the horizon...

SPRUCEGLEN

Pretty colors...

Caught SPRUCEGLEN upbound ten days ago (Oct 30).
Somehow, she managed to slip back downriver without me knowing about it...
At least I got to see her return trip in daylight.

The full length

Almost picture perfect...

Observed water being sprayed from the port-side anchor.
Possibly cleaning the anchor and chain?

Checked my photos from last time (when she departed the anchorage), and there it was!

After weighing anchor, cleaning of the anchor and chains would have been in order.
She must have once again found herself anchoring temporarily - Followed by the subsequent washing of the anchor gear.



Can see horizontal lines on the smokestack of SPRUCEGLEN...
Stripes she earned sailing for Misener Transportation.

The stern...

SPRUCEGLEN is the former SELKIRK SETTLER / FEDERAL ST LOUIS / FRASER.
She was the first of three sister ships, KAMINISTIQUA (SASKATCHEWAN PIONEER) being the "newest".

Two sisters remain active, following the retirement of BIRCHGLEN in 2015.
(BIRCHGLEN was the former CANADA MARQUIS / FEDERAL RICHELIEU / MACKENZIE)


Not as pretty as other SPRUCEGLEN images in my collection...
Visibility isn't perfect, but the waves make it interesting.

SPRUCEGLEN sails away...

Will that be all the shipwatching for the day?

Running out of daylight - And realizing that downbound saltie ISABELLE G would not reach me before dark,
I headed upriver to meet her.

ISABELLE G

The anchor - It be shiny!

2004-built ISABELLE G downbound for Port Cartier, Quebec

Nothing like seeing one of these beauties up close.

The mighty superstructure

ISABELLE G sailed as "EIDER" from 2004-2018.
Coincidentally, there is a 2010-built saltwater crane ship named EIDER (of Canadian Forest Navigation) currently in the Seaway System (and was upbound yesterday Nov 9). The vessel currently sailing as EIDER has a blue hull with white deck cranes.

The length of the entire vessel

Trying to capture the flag...
Windy enough - Just couldn't snap a shot of it flying full.

Yet another "perfect" day by the river.