Boatnerd Discussion Forum

garbear wrote:

cpfan wrote:Port of Hamilton page shows here due at 17:45 today with ore from Port Cartier.

Probably Clarkson next because Duluth Shipping News shows her in Duluth next Monday with cement.

Next port will be Superior WI to load more ore for Hamilton, not Clarkson.

She was given a six month extension to sail from july so end of year extension is done

cpfan wrote:Port of Hamilton page shows here due at 17:45 today with ore from Port Cartier.

Probably Clarkson next because Duluth Shipping News shows her in Duluth next Monday with cement.

Port of Hamilton page shows here due at 17:45 today with ore from Port Cartier.

Saw her upbound at Eisenhower this evening and wondered what her destination was since she wasn't empty. Iron ore for Hamilton? And any ideas if she'll be going back to Clarkson for cement, or hopefully more grain down the Seaway?

Also, where is her bell located? The light wasn't the best, but I couldn't spot it on top or just behind her pilothouse.

Hoping she gets another years reprieve thanks to another strong grain season and catching up with last year's harvest (And stories of another tough winter ahead and Equinox vessels that appear behind schedule). Will that be possible without a 5 year survey?

I believe that she's currently running on a 1 year extension, so I assume she'd likely need investment that Algoma would hate to put into a vessel that they sadly didn't even expect to still own at this time.

Hoping she again beats the odds.

TWilush wrote:Clarkson

Due Duluth August 11th at 12:00 to discharge cement.

Clarkson

The Montrealis appears to be on track to arrive in Hamilton later this evening. Anyone know where they are headed from here?

Destination now reads Baie Comeau, so I guess plans have changed. She'll probably backhaul ore to Hamilton after unloading the grain.

tugboat 1947 wrote:On her way to Thunder Bay 12-14 hrs. eta midnight + depending on how long it takes to clean out if she didn't do it dockside

3long 2short

Probably did everything dockside, except hose out the hold.

Current schedule is grain from Thunder Bay to Trois-Rivieres, followed by cement from Clarkson to Duluth. Could change but that is the schedule as of now.

On her way to Thunder Bay 12-14 hrs. eta midnight + depending on how long it takes to clean out if she didn't do it dockside

3long 2short

Denny wrote:I think she may have departed Duluth this morning and is now on her way heading up to Thunder Bay to load next. Hope this helps.

Departed Duluth at 06:35 according to Duluth Shipping News.

I have noticed that her ais is turned off while in port and sometimes while underway. Don't know why surely not necessary while moored just us boatnerds are so curious I guess. I lie tracking them the hardwayit's a better test

3long 2short

Denny wrote:I think she may have departed Duluth this morning and is now on her way heading up to Thunder Bay to load next. Hope this helps.

Duluth Shipping News says she departed 06:35 today.

I think she may have departed Duluth this morning and is now on her way heading up to Thunder Bay to load next. Hope this helps.

Is there anything known what/where the next trip will be after the grain load out of Thunder Bay?

The decision about how much cement to load at Clarkson depends on a couple of things. Firstly, does Holcim want to ship full loads to Duluth, or retain some of this inventory at Clarkson for sales to the local market. When demand is high, choices have to be made to manage inventory and serve as many customers as possible. Second, the dock at Clarkson is used for both in-bound and out-bound cargoes, using a reversible belt between the dock and the plant. If the cement boat has loaded say 15,000 tonnes and the stone boat arrives, the cement boat will be sent on its way to Duluth and the stone boat will start to unload. The stone boat has priority due to higher demurrage/hour costs and it typically takes 8 hours to unload the stone boat.
The Duluth crew does prefer that the cement be loaded in as few holds as possible. With 18,000 tonne loads, which is the typical maximum load, they will usually use 5 holds. The Montrealais and Quebecois were apparently strong enough that 4 holds could sometimes be used if the load was less than 18,000 tonnes.
Also need to remember that the water depth on the loading side of the dock decreases towards shore, hence loading the stern hatches can lead to draft issues at the bow with full loads.
The cement loading dock is not well protected from westerly winds, and if loading is interrupted because the ship has to pull away from the dock in higher winds, they may decide to proceed to Duluth and not come back in for more product.

If you want to figure out loading/unloading times for ACR vessels, rather than rely on unreliable ETA/ETDs use the Algoma vessel passage arrival and departure times from her last visit and calculate the time. Unless there are major delays it should be relatively consistent.

There are years of records available and are a very valuable resource.

[quote="Guest"]Correction noted on the Montrealis's purpose for being in the twin ports, but the question still stands of how long will this take - or when would be a likely window for departure? (Nothing on Duluthboats.com yet.)[/quote

Duluth Shipping News has it departing on Friday between 1200-1500. With them loading grain in Thunder Bay they'll be at the dock longer for cargo hold cleanup.