The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Shipping season begins for port
The shipping season has begun for the port of Lorain.
Area photographer Ed Bansek-captured photographs of the tug Clyde S. VanEnkevort and barge Erie Trader as they passed by Lorain’s iconic Charles Berry Bascule Bridge on March 24. The arrival marked the opening the 2017 shipping season at the Port of Lorain.
A total of 978,733 tons of material passed through the port of Lorain in 2015, the most recent year figures available. The numbers were published by the Navigation Data Center of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Lorain ranks 144th among 150 American ports listed in those figures. It also was the lowest among Ohio cities shipping materials in and out via water.
It appears Lorain’s tonnage could be declining due to the steel mills not taking in any iron ore, said Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Rocky River-based Lake Carriers’ Association.
“The limestone and gypsum the last couple years have not been exactly gangbusters,” Nekvasil added, referring to two materials shipped in for construction.
As a trade organization, the Lake Carriers’ Association generally does not analyze market conditions affecting the shipping industry, he said.
Apart from the obvious conditions in Lorain, he declined to comment on other factors.
Lorain Port Authority Executive Director Tom Brown agreed the total amount of materials would increase if the steel mills began producing and needed more iron ore.
Now, the goal is to spread the word about available land, docks and shipping capacity in Lorain, Brown said.
Lorain still has at least three companies using lake and river shipping of materials for construction, he said. They are: Jonick Dock & Terminal; AMCOR; and Terminal Ready-Mix Inc., according to the Lorain Port Authority and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Lorain is not the only port struggling on the Great Lakes, Brown said.
However, if Lorain’s shipping amounts drop too much, there is a chance the city will become a lower priority for dredging, he said.
Lorain is considered a deep draft commercial harbor with depths ranging from 29 feet in the entrance channel to 17 feet in the Black River turning basins, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees dredging.
About 200,000 cubic yards of material is scooped up from the Black River bottom every three years, according to the Corps. Lorain last was dredged in 2016 and is on a cycle for future dredging every two to three years, depending on availability of funding, according to the Corps.
Without the dredging, the Port of Lorain will not be deep enough for freighters, Brown said.
In 2016, U.S.-flagged Great Lakes freighters moved 83.3 million tons of cargo, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association.
Iron ore remained the top cargo at 44.1 million tons. Limestone for construction and steel production totaled 21.2 million tons; coal, largely used for power generation, was at 13 million tons in 2016, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association.
“Other cargos included cement, salt, sand and grain,” the shipping trade agency said.
Lorain’s maritime history has been documented, but may be overlooked in modern times. Shipbuilding
began in Lorain in 1820, according to the Lorain historical timeline published by the Lorain Public Library System.
In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire created demand for Amherst Quarries Stone shipped on Lake Erie from the Oak Point Pier.
In 1874, the first shipment of coal arrived in the city, “off-loaded onto wheelbarrows,” according to the Library System’s historical timeline.
As for the start of this year’s shipping season in Lorain, the tug Clyde S. VanEnkevort and barge Erie Trader on March 24 carried 32,000 tons of stone loaded at Marblehead, Bansek said. He posted more photographs at the March 24-30 news photo gallery at online resource BoatNerd. com.
A March 22 port report noted the tug and barge left Erie, Pa., headed for Marblehead on their first trip since being renamed.
The pair are the former Ken Boothe Sr. and Lakes Contender, according to the Port Report at BoatNerd.com.
The vessels are mated and have a total length of more than 875 feet. The Erie Trader is 78 feet across, according to specifications for the former Ken Boothe Sr. and Lakes Contender, published at BoatNerd.com.