List of Ships Seen December 2022

ALGOMA STRONGFIELD
ALGOMA GUARDIAN
FEDERAL HUDSON
SCOT BREMEN
FEDERAL SETO
ALGOMA EQUINOX

Seaway Traffic (FEDERAL HUDSON, SCOT BREMEN, FEDERAL SETO, ALGOMA EQUINOX)

Mix of sun and cloud... With the closing of the Seaway season, decided to take one last trip to the river in hopes of capturing some color off the hull of a few vessels.

Early in the morning, the AIS map indicated that there were three vessels crossing Lake Ontario, due to arrive in Iroquois by the afternoon. The "surprise ship" of the day was the FEDERAL HUDSON, suddenly appearing in the channel, heading downbound after loading at Johnstown.



FEDERAL HUDSON (built 2000)

The stern

The bow

Heading out of the lock

Big red ship navigating the channel

Ice on the lock wall

SCOT BREMEN (built 2003)

Had previously seen one of the SCOT tankers in the fall, but the glare made it impossible to get a good look at the vessel. Two of these tankers each took a single trip through the Seaway in 2022.

Wanted to get up close to take a look at the unusual exhaust system on either side of the superstructure.

The approach

Re-named in 2015, previous name: WAPPEN VON BREMEN

A look at the unusual stern

Smoke from the exhaust

FEDERAL SETO (built 2004)

Lots of mud on the anchor

Departing the lock

Crewmen outside on the bridge wing

Out on the open water

ALGOMA EQUINOX (built 2013)

It's possible that the ALGOMA EQUINOX has crossed my path more times than any other vessel in 2022. Have seen this one at least nine times this season...

Filling the lock

The bow

The superstructure

The "smokestack" with a man door

Sailing away

A couple ships I've never seen - Plus a FedNav ship that I had only seen once from a distance...
Plus a vessel I'd previously seen just once, along with a final ship that's become quite familiar...

ALGOMA STRONGFIELD

Figured the accumulated snowfall would prevent me from getting too close to the river...
Luckily, the snow had compressed enough to check out the 2017-built ALGOMA STRONGFIELD.

Very calm and glassy... Almost no wind, and barely below zero. Wearing a fall jacket on the dawn of winter.

This time last year, there were dozens of people at the Iroquois Lock. Today, the place was deserted, save for delivery vans and workers clearing snow from the sides of the lock.

Saw the ship's exhaust from above the treeline, so I knew she was getting close...

Here she comes!

The bow

The stern

The superstructure

The bridge

With impeccable efficiency, the vessel eased into the lock, quicker than I've ever seen a SeawayMax vessel perform the feat.

Hats off to the hands at the helm who made the job look easy!

2022 Seaway Photo Yearbook...

The Unofficial 2022 Seaway Photo Yearbook

Front cover:
ALGOMA CONVEYOR

Ships of the St. Lawrence River

Putting the finishing touches on this year's album...
An exhaustive collection of Seaway ships from the 2022 season.

Over 70 bound pages, featuring full-color original photographs of approximately 80 domestic and foreign vessels.

Blue-hulled ALGOMA CONVEYOR gracing on the front cover, with FEDERAL CARIBOU majestically sailing away on the back.









Some of the inside pages:

CSL ASSINIBOINE, TUNDRA, PEYTON LYNN C

IRDYA, JANIS, ALGOMA HARVESTER, FEDERAL LEDA, CCGS GRIFFON

ALGOMA COMPASS, CANADIAN EMPRESS, ALGOMA INTREPID

OCEAN NAVIGATOR, FEDERAL MAYUMI, ALGOMA COMPASS, CAPE

Back cover:
FEDERAL CARIBOU

List of Ships Seen November 2022

CSL-ST LAURENT
ALGOMA STRONGFIELD
SARAH DESGAGNES
MANITOULIN
ALGONORTH
FEDERAL KUSHIRO
MAMRY
BBC KWIATKOWSKI
CSL WELLAND
BRANT
ALGOMA TRANSPORT
JESSICA B
EIDER
ALGOSEA
ALGOMA EQUINOX
WHITEFISH BAY
RT HON PAUL J. MARTIN
GAIA DESGAGNES
ALGOSCOTIA
LEO A. MCARTHUR & JOHN J. CARRICK
SEAWAY GUARDIAN
SPRUCEGLEN
ISABELLE G
ALGOMA SAULT
ALGOMA GUARDIAN
EVERLAST & NORMAN MCLEOD
SARAH DESGAGNES
WILF SEYMOUR ALOUETTE SPIRIT
FEDERAL NAKAGAWA
OAKGLEN
CCGS ILE SAINT OURS
CSL ASSINIBOINE
FEDERAL CARIBOU
ALGOMA DISCOVERY
BBC SONG
CCGS GABARUS BAY
ATLANTIC HURON
FULDABORG

Seaway Traffic (CCGS GABARUS BAY, CCGS ILE SAINT OURS, ATLANTIC HURON, CSL WELLAND, ALGOMA SAULT, CSL WELLAND, ALGOMA EQUINOX, FULDABORG)

(FEDERAL MONTREAL was unloading cargo at Johnstown)

Soon after hitting the water, caught a glimpse of a Coast Guard ship that I'd never seen before...


CCGS GABARUS BAY

Brand new vessel CCGS GABARUS BAY
downbound on her delivery trip to Saint John's, Newfoundland.

Read somewhere that GABARUS BAY was a "rescue lifeboat".




CCGS ILE SAINT OURS

Following closely astern was the more familiar vessel CCGS ILE SAINT OURS.

The ILE SAINT OURS was working the navigational aids, and seemed to head towards Ault Island. Couldn't tell if she was doing work there or just waiting at the anchorage before proceeding downriver.



ATLANTIC HURON
Destined for the salt dock at Morrisburg, managed to catch a glimpse of ATLANTIC HURON.
Saw the bow.... Then she disappeared from view.

High water levels combined with low wind enabled the downbound ship to dock without

A few hours later, I heard a salute...
Possibly CSL WELLAND blowing her horn while passing the salt dock where fleetmate ATLANTIC HURON was unloading.




ALGOMA SAULT
The first ship I'd get to see up close that day was the ALGOMA SAULT.

The 2018-built ALGOMA SAULT returning from Cote St. Catherines, Quebec....
En route to Indiana Harbour, USA. (Anticipated arrival there December 3)

Waves crashing ashore.

Got to see the upbound ALGOMA SAULT meet the downbound CSL WELLAND.

Another SeawayMax Meeting...

CSL WELLAND
Actually saw the CSL WELLAND downbound on my previous trip (Nov 15).
The vessel had returned upriver on November 19th, making another downbound trip today (Nov 29)

The 2014-built CSL WELLAND

The WELLAND sporting her new mural

CSL WELLAND downbound for Montreal.

ALGOMA EQUINOX

The 2013-built ALGOMA EQUINOX

Yet another encounter with the EQUINOX - And a few more neat pictures for my collection. Had just enough lighting to make it work.

The broad side...

Closeup of the bow.

Such a pretty boat - I mean ship!

For the second time that day, got to see a pair of ships meeting...

The upbound ALGOMA EQUINOX meeting the downbound FULDABORG.

The mighty EQUINOX is heading back upriver to the Great Lakes, while the smaller FULDABORG is returning downbound to cross the ocean.



FULDABORG

FULDABORG is downbound

Another encounter with a Wagenborg saltwater cargo ship... Seen many of them so far this year - But hadn't seen this one before.

FULDABORG, destined for Liverpool, United Kingdom.
They also made a stop at Montreal.

With darkness looming, was able to make it to the salt dock in time to catch a glimpse of ATLANTIC HURON before nightfall...

ATLANTIC HURON unloading salt.

Self-unloading boom in action.

Less than 12 hours later, ATLANTIC HURON had finished discharging her cargo and was on her way back upriver returning to the Great Lakes.

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.