Onego Otra Afloat at Sorel, Divers Still to Speak

The Onego Otra is afloat again.

Three tugboats refloated the cargo ship Sunday morning after she had been pinned on the St. Lawrence riverbed since June 30, when a rudder failure shortly after she left Montreal drove her aground between Île St-Ours and Contrecoeur. Two tugs escorted her downriver to Sorel, where divers will inspect the hull. No damage assessment has been released.

This Gazette noted the stranding on July 20, when she had already been on the bottom three weeks with no timeline for a fix. The story then was a ship stuck fast and traffic threading around her. The story now is a ship that spent 28 days on the riverbed and came off with no reported injuries. Whether she moves again this season depends on what the divers see at Sorel.

Harbor Notes

Florence Spirit arrived at Norfolk Southern in Sandusky to load coal, filling the berth the Kaye E. Barker worked through Monday, and departed for Saguenay once loaded.

Tuesday's Cleveland report lists Victory I at Dock 28W, Samuel deChamplain/Innovation arriving with cement for Amrize, and Herbert C. Jackson in port with limestone. American Courage remains on the shuttles.

In Toledo on Tuesday, Wilf Seymour/Alouette Spirit came into Midwest Terminals and Manitowoc tied up at Torco, joining Blair McKeil and Algoma Mariner already berthed at Midwest Terminals.

At the Iroquois Lock: the vessel Verila struck the downstream ship arrestor arm Sunday, damaging the winch that raises it and stopping all traffic. An update in the Monday, July 27 record notes traffic resumed around 4 p.m. that day; the source of that clearance confirmation is unattributed in the available reports.

The Levels Ledger

Lake Ontario leads at 3.50 feet above Low Water Datum at Rochester. Lake Erie follows at 2.88 feet at Cleveland, Lake Michigan at 2.52 feet at Chicago, Lake Huron at 2.26 feet at Harbor Beach, and Lake Superior at 1.73 feet at the Soo. The Erie reading gives downbound loaders a workable draft margin. Superior's 1.73 feet is the tightest number on the board; loaders there have the least room to push a full draft.

Weather on the Water

A cold front is sweeping east across Lake Erie and Lake Ontario through this morning. Central and southern Lake Michigan can expect northerly gusts near 30 knots with waves to 4 feet as a 29.50-inch low migrates toward the lower lakes. Erie, Huron, and Superior are sitting at 1-foot wave heights. High pressure builds into the western lakes by Wednesday, and Lake Superior is under a ridge that holds through Thursday morning.

Looking Astern

The history file today belongs to Capt. Steve Hughes of Duluth, who grew up in Marquette watching ore boats work the docks while his father, a Northern Michigan University geography professor, named the vessels from the shore. Hughes spent three decades on the lakes, eventually taking the wheel of the Paul R. Tregurtha, the longest vessel operating on the Great Lakes. He retires in December. "The distinction is more symbolic than operational," he said. A man who spent a career moving iron, happy to let the boat take the attention.

Tomorrow's Watch Watch for a statement from Transport Canada or the Canadian Coast Guard on the diver inspection of the Onego Otra at Sorel; a clean hull report would open the door to her next St. Lawrence passage.