Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Denny wrote: July 9, 2024, 4:15 pm In response to Badger’s comments, “If you were a shipper then would you want a cargo of iron ore pellets delivered by the Ryerson which could take days to unload or else have it unloaded by a self-unloader which takes only a few hours to unload?” If I was a shipper or customer etc. I suppose I would want a self-unloader since it takes only a few hours then to unload them. Afterall, isn’t there a Maritime saying “Time is money?” However, let us not forget that sometimes even self-unloaders can take a long time to unload depending on any issues they may face in the unloading or loading process. Take for instance if they are having any type of mechanical issues with the unloading process such as with the boom and conveyor belts itself or sticky or frozen cargo such as in the case of the Winter months for loading or unloading if the cargo is stuck and frozen or hard to load or unload at that point. I hope I’m making some sense somehow to you all with my comments on this topic.

guest wrote: July 10, 2024, 5:16 am I wasn't aware that ASC delivered coal to DTE in St Clair or was this a long time ago? No matter what, in the not to distant future that will be a thing of the past
[/quote

Actually the St. Clair power plant has already shut down. The coal dropped off there is for the Belle River Plant which is next door. DTE is currently building a natural gas power plant on the property. Once that is commissioned, Belle River shuts down and days of coal deliveries there are over.

Guest wrote: July 9, 2024, 8:26 am IIRC American Steamship (Rand) 1,000 footers also deliver coal to those plants.


SEVERAL? Only PRT is dedicated to coal.

Guest wrote: July 8, 2024, 9:22 am Well once the mill at the Saulte closes it's blast furnace, then the demand curve continues down.

Then we wait for the closures of DTE's Belle River and Monroe power plants which could be much sooner than people think. That will further depress demand for water borne shipments. What makes those closures particularly bad is it will free up several 1,000 foot vessels which will in turn displace 2 or 3 smaller boats each which run to Chicago and Cleveland. We saw that movie when the footers first came out.

It would be a long shot.

Guest wrote: July 8, 2024, 4:41 pm

Guest wrote: July 8, 2024, 9:22 am Well once the mill at the Saulte closes it's blast furnace, then the demand curve continues down.

Then we wait for the closures of DTE's Belle River and Monroe power plants which could be much sooner than people think. That will further depress demand for water borne shipments. What makes those closures particularly bad is it will free up several 1,000 foot vessels which will in turn displace 2 or 3 smaller boats each which run to Chicago and Cleveland. We saw that movie when the footers first came out.

It would be a long shot.

SEVERAL? Only PRT is dedicated to coal.

Guest wrote: July 8, 2024, 9:22 am Well once the mill at the Saulte closes it's blast furnace, then the demand curve continues down.

Then we wait for the closures of DTE's Belle River and Monroe power plants which could be much sooner than people think. That will further depress demand for water borne shipments. What makes those closures particularly bad is it will free up several 1,000 foot vessels which will in turn displace 2 or 3 smaller boats each which run to Chicago and Cleveland. We saw that movie when the footers first came out.

It would be a long shot.

msppilot wrote: July 7, 2024, 2:43 pm With the fairly recent loss/damage of three vessels, the Roger Blough, the Cuyahoga, and the Michipicoten what are the odds of some vessels in long term layup being fitted out to take their place? My obvious thought would be the Cason J. Callaway but what about the Edward L. Ryerson and even possibly the John Sherwin. I know those are long shots but I'm thinking there must been a need for more capacity.