Boatnerd Discussion Forum

I get the feeling she will be scrapped soon. As the company continues to try to improve it's bottom line, the cost of keeping an idle ship is a drain. Plus the last year it ran, it lost a lot of money due to the economic crash, so they will never fit it out again without a contract with guaranteed tonnage and risk losing money like that again.

Guest wrote:I'm curious. The work the Sherwin was due to receive must have been a long time in planning. That being the case, the new engines must have been ordered, and must be located in storage somewhere, unless Interlake canceled that order as well? In the case of the engines being stored somewhere, I tend to believe the conversion work will resume, just being a question of when. They did put her in a spot relatively close to Sturgeon Bay.....

The Sherwin is located in Detour, MI next to the carferry Arthur K Atkinson

They should get her out of superior before she starts to corrode like the sherwin.

I'm curious. The work the Sherwin was due to receive must have been a long time in planning. That being the case, the new engines must have been ordered, and must be located in storage somewhere, unless Interlake canceled that order as well? In the case of the engines being stored somewhere, I tend to believe the conversion work will resume, just being a question of when. They did put her in a spot relatively close to Sturgeon Bay.....

oldseadog wrote:Do you think the John Sherwin will ever sail again?, if not what are they waiting for to scrap her, better market value?.

They were in the process of restoring her to service when the economy came crashing down in the late summer/early fall of 2008. If they were willing to spend the many millions to get her in shape, convert her to a self unloader, and install a new powerplant after nearly 30 years just two and a half years ago, I doubt a couple of years of low cargo levels because of the economy has changed their plans.

She's their insurance policy if future capacity is needed and I doubt she's going anywhere unless the economy improves to where it was in the summer of 2008 and they restart their plans. She's part of their future when the day comes that she's needed and I can't see them scrapping what is potentially a very valuable asset down the road.

Do you think the John Sherwin will ever sail again?, if not what are they waiting for to scrap her, better market value?.

"How long can the Ryerson sit before economics dictate that she be scrapped?"

It's an individual company decision. except for a few storage loads, Interlake has let the John Sherwin sit for 29 years -- and she is still sitting.

The company has shown itself willing to let the Ryerson sit for long periods of time in the past, waiting for the right conditions for her reactivation. Let's hope that's still the case. And yes, the longer a boat sits the more it costs to bring it back out. And I think she is due for a 5-year before she comes back out again and those are expensive.

How long can the Ryerson sit before economics dictate that she be scrapped? Also, as the period of inactivity grows longer, do costs to re-activate also grow. She is a beautiful boat-my favorite. But I worry that one day we will get a sad post about her demise.

Doubtful although if the Canadians retire/ scrap enough of their remaining old bulkers before new replacements arrive from China and then the ore market picks up, it doesn't seem outside the realm of reasonable possibility that she might see use on the Duluth/Superior - Hamilton run again.

Does anyone know if the Ryerson will sail next season?