Volgaborg Keeps a Thursday Date at the Soo

Volgaborg was pushing southeast from the Keweenaw Peninsula at 03:42 this morning, AIS projecting her arrival at the Soo Locks at 18:04 tonight. On a Thursday board stacked with lakers, a saltwater vessel running the upper chain stands apart. She is the only downbounder on the Soo log still mid-run with a lock appointment left to keep today.

Most of the overnight traffic has already cleared the locks. Algoma Conveyor, Hon. James L. Oberstar, Victory, and American Integrity all went through before dawn, ETAs logged between 00:43 and 03:38. On the upbound side, Fraserborg was tracking from Detour with a 06:15 ETA at the locks; Algoma Mariner was closer in from Nine Mile Point with a 05:35 ETA. By the time Volgaborg reaches the chamber this evening, both should be well north into Superior.

Twenty vessels are on the Soo log this morning. Volgaborg is the one with work still left to do.

Harbor Notes

Kaministiqua and American Spirit were running in loose company down Lake Huron, both last reported at Harbor Beach in the early morning hours. Kaministiqua carries a 09:51 ETA at Port Huron and 14:14 at the Detroit River waypoint; American Spirit runs minutes ahead at 09:29 and 13:54. Same water, same window, two boats on the same line south.

Presque Isle was upbound on the Detroit River this morning, last reported at South East Shoal with an 08:21 ETA at the Dossin Museum waypoint. H. Lee White was downbound on the same reach, last reported at Crib Light with a 06:35 ETA at the same waypoint.

At the Welland Canal, Wyatt M, Spruceglen, and Algosolis all reported inbound at Port Weller, ETAs falling between 00:27 and 05:18 this morning. Three vessels threading the same canal entrance inside five hours is a compact queue. Whether they have already cleared by the time this edition reaches readers, the overnight picture was worth noting.

American Patriot was logged eastbound through the Straits of Mackinac at 03:39 this morning; Caroline McKee and Algoma Compass passed westbound within minutes of each other at 02:44 and 02:32.

The Levels Ledger

NOAA puts Lake Superior at 1.80 feet above Low Water Datum at Sault Ste. Marie; Lake Michigan at 2.11 feet at Chicago; Lake Huron at 2.10 feet at Harbor Beach; Lake Erie at 3.00 feet at Cleveland; Lake Ontario at 3.47 feet at Rochester. Ontario leads the chain by nearly a foot and a half over Superior. Loaded downbounders on the Huron run have workable water, though the spread from the upper lakes to the lower remains the defining constraint on summer drafts.

Weather on the Water

High pressure at 30.00 inches is building into Lake Huron through the end of the work week, the NWS forecast holding light winds and two-foot seas. A cold front is then expected to sweep the area Friday into Saturday. On Lake Superior, a weakening shortwave low at 29.8 inches is pressing toward the western end today with one-foot seas. Lake Michigan and Lake Erie are both sitting at one-foot wave heights under the same high-pressure influence. Lake Ontario is running two-foot seas.

Looking Astern

The Thunder Bay Maritime Festival opens in Alpena on Friday, August 21, running through Sunday the 23rd. Eight tall ship excursions, deck tours, and the Battle of the Paddles river race are on the schedule, with the paddle event kicking off at 5:30 Friday evening. Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which stewards waters holding some of the continent's best-preserved freshwater wrecks, anchors the weekend.

In Superior, Wisconsin, the city council voted Tuesday, August 18, to award Fraser Shipyards a $29,900 contract to repair a hull crack in the whaleback SS Meteor, a defect first discovered in February 2025. Fraser traces its lineage to 1890 and Alexander McDougall's original yard, which means the same line that built the Meteor will now patch her.

Tomorrow's Watch Watch for *Volgaborg* on the morning report Friday, August 21, confirming whether she cleared the Soo after her projected 18:04 passage tonight, and check whether *Kaministiqua* and *American Spirit* show up at the Detroit River waypoint inside their projected 14:14 and 13:54 windows.

Vessel Spotlight: *Volgaborg* was last reported at 03:42 this morning tracking downbound from the Keweenaw Peninsula, AIS projecting her at the Soo Locks at 18:04 tonight. As a saltwater vessel among a roster of lakers, she carries the singular appointment on an otherwise settled Thursday board.