LisaIL wrote:I was reading the Layup schedule and see that the AMA is not listed for Layup in either the location or the date. Are those dates because of actual work being done to the ships or is that because the ship is still actively transporting loads, so it is a short visit and not an actual layup?
I don't think the good folks responsible for keeping the layup list up to date make any entries until the vessel has actually laid up for the winter. Think of the layup list as more of a log of what has happened than a forecast or schedule. The shipping industry can be pretty dynamic and unpredictable; it can be difficult to make predictions when things so often change at the last moment due to factors like weather and ice conditions or traffic congestion at a particular port or a change in the business needs of a shipping company's clients. Even scheduled winter layup ports can change at the last minute, as was the case with the
American Mariner; she was supposed to layup at Duluth but weather delayed her last cargo carrying trip of the season and she wouldn't have been able to make it back up through the Soo Locks before they closed. Instead her company found a spot for her to winter in Toledo. The Anderson did lay up for the winter at Sturgeon Bay on 18 Jan, and now the data for her is on the Boatnerd layup list.
Or perhaps, maybe someone can explain to me what actually happens when a ship goes into layup. I'm thinking a layup is when a ship is taken out of action for repairs and maintenance and won't be back out until a particular date. Am I correct?
You are. Given the seasonal nature of most Great Lakes shipping activity (although there are a few different trades that often continue through most or all of the winter), almost every laker goes into 2-4 month layup from December or January through March or April. The most efficient and productive vessels usually have shorter winter layups unless something major is being done (like the new engines being installed on the Edwin H. Gott and Michipicoten this winter). If demand for cargo is weak, some of the less efficient/productive ships might have longer 'winter' layups.
And what is the clarification between long term and permanent? I'm thinking since 1979, sounds a little more permanent than long term.
This can be kind of a grey area. "Permanent" is probably used for a situation where it's clear the owner has retired the vessel but hasn't yet made a deal to dispose of it. "Long-term" is better suited to a situation where a ship's owner has no use for a vessel at present but doesn't seem to have any intention of getting rid of it - for example, the Interlake Steamship Co. has been holding onto the
John Sherwin since it last operated in 1981; it's a nice large vessel that only sailed for 23 years before laying up so it's in decent condition, and someday it might prove useful to them again. Again this terminology difference might be fraught with grey areas and apparent inconsistencies that would only sort themselves out if we examined the unique and particular circumstances surrounding each vessel that's been in layup for a number of years.
Also if there is no information listed, are they out sailing or is it because this site just doesn't know what the ship is doing?
It could be either - the end of the shipping season can be a hectic time and it sometimes takes a few days for things to sort out and for a vessel's actual layup port to be confirmed. There are definitely a few ships still sailing though.
Algomarine and possibly a few ULS ships (
Canadian Progress and/or some of her other fleetmates) are carrying road salt cargoes from Goderich, ON to ports around the middle Great Lakes (theoretically ships can go anywhere below the Soo Locks and above the Welland Canal all winter long).
Joseph L. Block,
Wilfred Sykes, and possibly
Joyce L. Van Enkevort/Great Lakes Trader are running taconite pellets from Escanaba, MI to steel mills on southern Lake Michigan. Many tankers (especially in the Algoma fleet) operate on and off all winter on the lakes as demand warrants and weather/ice conditions allow.
[quote="LisaIL"]I was reading the Layup schedule and see that the AMA is not listed for Layup in either the location or the date. Are those dates because of actual work being done to the ships or is that because the ship is still actively transporting loads, so it is a short visit and not an actual layup?[/quote]
I don't think the good folks responsible for keeping the layup list up to date make any entries until the vessel has actually laid up for the winter. Think of the layup list as more of a log of what has happened than a forecast or schedule. The shipping industry can be pretty dynamic and unpredictable; it can be difficult to make predictions when things so often change at the last moment due to factors like weather and ice conditions or traffic congestion at a particular port or a change in the business needs of a shipping company's clients. Even scheduled winter layup ports can change at the last minute, as was the case with the [i]American Mariner[/i]; she was supposed to layup at Duluth but weather delayed her last cargo carrying trip of the season and she wouldn't have been able to make it back up through the Soo Locks before they closed. Instead her company found a spot for her to winter in Toledo. The Anderson did lay up for the winter at Sturgeon Bay on 18 Jan, and now the data for her is on the Boatnerd layup list.
[quote]Or perhaps, maybe someone can explain to me what actually happens when a ship goes into layup. I'm thinking a layup is when a ship is taken out of action for repairs and maintenance and won't be back out until a particular date. Am I correct? [/quote]
You are. Given the seasonal nature of most Great Lakes shipping activity (although there are a few different trades that often continue through most or all of the winter), almost every laker goes into 2-4 month layup from December or January through March or April. The most efficient and productive vessels usually have shorter winter layups unless something major is being done (like the new engines being installed on the Edwin H. Gott and Michipicoten this winter). If demand for cargo is weak, some of the less efficient/productive ships might have longer 'winter' layups.
[quote]And what is the clarification between long term and permanent? I'm thinking since 1979, sounds a little more permanent than long term. [/quote]
This can be kind of a grey area. "Permanent" is probably used for a situation where it's clear the owner has retired the vessel but hasn't yet made a deal to dispose of it. "Long-term" is better suited to a situation where a ship's owner has no use for a vessel at present but doesn't seem to have any intention of getting rid of it - for example, the Interlake Steamship Co. has been holding onto the [i]John Sherwin[/i] since it last operated in 1981; it's a nice large vessel that only sailed for 23 years before laying up so it's in decent condition, and someday it might prove useful to them again. Again this terminology difference might be fraught with grey areas and apparent inconsistencies that would only sort themselves out if we examined the unique and particular circumstances surrounding each vessel that's been in layup for a number of years.
[quote]Also if there is no information listed, are they out sailing or is it because this site just doesn't know what the ship is doing?[/quote]
It could be either - the end of the shipping season can be a hectic time and it sometimes takes a few days for things to sort out and for a vessel's actual layup port to be confirmed. There are definitely a few ships still sailing though. [i]Algomarine[/i] and possibly a few ULS ships ([i]Canadian Progress[/i] and/or some of her other fleetmates) are carrying road salt cargoes from Goderich, ON to ports around the middle Great Lakes (theoretically ships can go anywhere below the Soo Locks and above the Welland Canal all winter long). [i]Joseph L. Block[/i], [i]Wilfred Sykes[/i], and possibly [i]Joyce L. Van Enkevort/Great Lakes Trader[/i] are running taconite pellets from Escanaba, MI to steel mills on southern Lake Michigan. Many tankers (especially in the Algoma fleet) operate on and off all winter on the lakes as demand warrants and weather/ice conditions allow.