• Saturday-What'sUP April 11 - 04:57 pm

Now that shipping season has opened up again, I was hoping someone would come through with photos of the first vessels into the Marquette Harbor. Rod Burdick has done so for us today, with the arrival of the Tug Joyce L. VanEnkevort/Barge Great Lakes Trader opening the Upper Harbor for the 2009-2010 shipping season and loading taconite. Then in the next photo, he shows us the first coal boat of the season, the 1000 foot Motor Vessel James R. Barker. According to Rod, this shipping season looks to be a slower one, due to the economy, so we may not be seeing these freighters sailing as often as we're used to, on Lake Superior this summer.

I wonder if those ships have computer access for the mates? If they do..."Hi folks"...Nice pics!

Morning all...and Donna, they do have internet service. I have a good friend sailing on the Great Lakes and he recently added me to his Facebook account. Makes the time underway much more pleasant I am sure.

No iron ore was shipped from Duluth during the month of March, a real unusual feat.Shipping and jobs aboard freighters will be at a low this year because of the economy.(BOATNERD)

this year's fitout rate against last year's fitout rate and discovered that, so far, there are 56 lakers and/or tug/barge units running as of April 4. As of April 4 of last year, there were 110 in operation. So far, 2009 is running at roughly 50% of 2008. A likely indication of what the 2009 shipping season might be like. This info was derived from the layup/fitout lists for 2009 and 2008 on the boatnerd website. (BOATNERD)

The economy is definitely affecting most of us.

It sure is a nice sign to see those boats!!!!

The "Great Lakes Trader" also made an appearance on March 26th in a picture the Heil Harri took of vessels in Little Bay de Noc off Escanaba. The Trader is the boat out in the bay, backing out from the ore terminal.

Coal boats will be a thing of the past when the Government closes all coal mines so we can go green........FJL

Not sure about you FJL, but I'm getting sick of the word "green", even though it's always been my favorite color. It's good to see at least some of the GL boats on the move this shipping year.

FJL: I don't anticipate all of the coal mines will be closed when considering what is happening in Wyoming (expansion of coal mining operations).

I love those big boats :)
We see a few going by here on Lake Michigan, and they come in close to shore when its windy, but they seem cooler up there in the UP, especially going through the Houghton Canal, or coming out of the entry into Portage Lake.

its pretty hard to go green when the economy is where its at.
I think the trick is like with everything..live in moderation and use common sense, although those two characteriestics haven't been present in this country for quite some time.

I don't think coal boats will be going away any time soon. About fifty percent of the electricity in the United States is generated in coal-fired plants. Only about eight percent comes from renewable sources. We're nowhere close to being able to power the nation using only "green" sources of energy, and any administration who will try to end the use of coal will have to explain why the United States suddenly has a power grid less reliable than the one in Benin, Africa. When the greenies don't have electricity to run their latte machines, I'll bet suddenly coal won't look all that bad.

David has the right idea. Live in moderation and use common sense.

Has the Great Lakes ever seen the likes of Pirates back in the day's?

FJL; Our current administration is promoting the use of coal to ease our foreign energy dependency. When I sailed on the lakers from the mid 80's till '91 coal was not a real common cargo but it is making a come-back.