Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Sand products Buffalo had a load of sand with high clay content and shipped it out to be washed and processed.

I did a little search on those accidents & read the Coast Guard reports that are available on line. The descriptions of the events involved in those two incidents are absolutely chilling.

Does anyone know what became of the Laken Shipping's barge Cleveland Flats (Inland 2401)? It is not currently registered in the US.


A little more history on the barge Cleveland Rocks (Kellstone I):

Oct 1, 1994 the barge Kellstone I and tug Frank Palladino Jr. strike a pleasure craft that was anchored for fishing, causing two fatalities. US Coast Guard lists lack of visibility as a primary cause of the accident. (tug did not have an elevated pilot house at the time and the barge was in ballast).

Tug James Palladino acquired in 1999 and after being re-engined, took over as the primary tug pushing the Kellstone I. The pair ran aground just off Kelley's Island in November 2000 on their third trip together.

In March 2004 Kellstone sells the quarry on Kelley's Island to LaFarge, and sells 3 tugs (James Palladino, Frank Palladino Jr. and Benjamin Ridgway) and the two barges (Kellstone I and Inland 2401) to Laken Shipping Corp for approximately $12 million. There is later a lawsuit over the condition of one of the tug's engines.

About a month later, in April 2004 Seaway Marine Transport purchases 25% of Laken Shipping thru a US subsidiary SMT (US), Inc. They also take over management of the vessels. At some point the smallest tug, Benjamin Ridgway is sold off.

On September 3, 2007 three fisherman were drowned and parts of their fishing boat was found in the space between the tug Cleveland and the barge Cleveland Rocks. It was never conclusively determined if the tug/barge caused the accident or if they ran over an already wrecked or swamped boat. The tug's captain or mate was operating at the time from the lower pilot house.

In 2008 LaFarge closes the quarry on Kelley's Island. It appears that Laken Shipping places all the vessels up for sale at this point.

A little background on James Pallidino

http://clevelandmob.com/warofwaste.html

I wonder if Jimmy Hoffa got any rides on a boat?

Thanks for the info. I never really understood the interrelationship of Sand Products, their marine interests, Kellstone, and the ownership of the tugs & barges involved. Things are a little more clear now. I write for a local marine historical society called Lower Lakes and I needed info to describe this new (to Buffalo) tug-barge unit for my vessel update in our newsletter. Thanks a lot!

I didn't realise the Cleveland was the former James Palladino either.
I guess the Cleveland may be replaced with another tug called the Bradshaw McKee if they convert the barge to the Bludworth system. It also looks like the tug Frank Palladino was sold off lakes as the Sandusky, and then renamed Stone Service down in LA.

While searching for more info I found this interesting site with a short history on the barge Cleveland Rocks, it's about 1/2 way down the page:

http://www.marcon.com/library/sales_reports/2011sales.pdf

Forgot to add:

Port City Marine Services is also currently chartering and operating the tug Cleveland.

Sand Products is a privately owned corporation so public information can be hard to come by. This is what I have pieced together, mostly from internet sources:

Brevort is a MDEQ- permitted sand dune mining location owned by Sand Products Corp, which is a privately-owned corporation based in the Detroit area. They supply sand throughout the Great Lakes and own docks in several ports, including Cleveland. The McKee family have long been major owners of Sand Products. Sand Products has (or had) the following subsidiaries:

[i]
Wisconsin and Michigan Steamship Co.[/i] - most recently owned the David Z, Earl Z. and Wolverine from Aug 2006 thru Feb. 2008. Chartered all three to Grand River Navigation, and eventually sold the outright.

[i]Lake Service Shipping Co.[/i] - Owners of the McKee Sons barge, which is chartered to Grand River Navigation.

[i]Port City Tug Inc.[/i] - Owners of the tugs Prentiss Brown, Bradshaw McKee, and the barge Cleveland Rocks.

[i]Port City Marine Services [/i] - Operates the above along with the barge St. Marys Conquest.

[i]Port City Steamship Services[/i] - Operates the steamship St. Marys Challenger.

[i]West Michigan Dock & Market Corp.[/i] - Operates a large dock and warehousing operation in Muskegon (AKA Mart Dock).


As for the sand load, the Cleveland/Cleveland Rocsks did stop in Detroit briefly, but probably only for fuel. I wonder if it might have been a partial load, with the remainder being loaded in Brevort. Or perhaps they are blending sand. Brevort isn't normally set up to unload but there is space along the dock wall where they could unload into trucks and or a portable conveyor. The only reason I could see them doing that is to blend two different sands together.

Here are a couple of articles on the Sand Products tugs:

[url]http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/07/sand_products_purchases_new_tu.html[/url]

[url]http://professionalmariner.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=420C4D38DC9C4E3A903315CDDC65AD72&nm=Archives&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=8E5F938990C54AFDA5B296133A48EAEB[/url]


And this link has nice detailed shots of the loader at Brevort. I don't know how to link directly to the photo, so use the map to zoom in on Brevort:

[url]http://superiorwatersheds.org/shorelineviewer2011/[/url]

The tug-barge Cleveland-Cleveland Rocks loaded some sand here at Buffalo and I just noticed his destination seems to have been Brevort, MI. Oddly, this is the same place the Manistee just brought Buffalo a load of sand from. Obviously, they are two different types of sand, but what does Brevort do with incoming sand? Google maps shows a large area inland from the dock that looks like a sand mine/storage yard with a conveyor running out to a pier with a boat loader? What does this operation do, who owns it, and how would the barge unload there?

-B in B