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Strategic plan targets invasive species
The Superior Daily Telegram (11/17)
Douglas County’s Land Conservation Committee is forwarding a plan to the county board that takes aim at invasive species.
Mich. Clean Marina Program: Public-private partners work together to improve water quality
Grand Rapids Environmental News Examiner (11/9)
Partners from the public and private sector in Michigan are working together in a voluntary program to improve the quality of the Great Lakes.
Researchers seek funding for wind test site in Lake Michigan
Grand Rapids Environmental News Examiner (11/7)
In a recent article in The Muskegon Chronicle, it was reported that researchers at Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC) cited a lack of year-around data (on wind platform testing) needed by prospective development companies.
COMMENTARY: Senate needs to pass clean energy act to help Michigan
The Grand Rapids Press (10/26)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was absolutely correct with his recent proclamation about the current condition of the Great Lakes State: "The State of Michigan," Reid declared from the Senate Floor, with a copy Time Magazine in his hand, "is in trouble."
First Nation women 'walk the environmental talk'
WeNews (10/23)
Tomorrow's global day of climate activism aims for media and political attention. First Nation women have another way. Since 2003, they've walked the shoreline of a Great Lake or major river, meditating on the needs of an unborn generation.
City making big push for water school
The Business Journal (10/23)
The push is on to convince the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that the best location for its new School of Freshwater Sciences is near the university’s existing Great Lakes Water Institute on East Greenfield Avenue.
What's going on in your neighborhood this month? Meet other people and learn together at recreational and educational events! Our new dynamic calendar is updated daily with current educational events.
Introduction
An efficient, safe alternative
The ships
Cargoes: Iron ore and more
Travel between ports
To the ocean and beyond
References and more information
The Great Lakes, often referred to as the "fourth seacoast," are home to the U.S.-Flag fleet and the Canadian-Flag fleet. In addition, dozens of international vessels regularly travel through the Great Lakes, visiting port communities along the way. These vessels, known as "salties" because of their saltwater origin, come from all over the world and have sailors from many different lands.
The U.S.-Flag fleet includes more than 60 carriers and tankers, as well as dozens of smaller tug and barge units. These vessels team up to haul upwards of 125 million tons of cargo during a typical 10-month shipping season. That's almost half a ton for every person living in the United States! Iron ore, coal and limestone are the primary commodities carried; other cargoes include cement, salt, sand, grain and liquid-bulk products.
An efficient and safe alternative to rail, road or airSeveral Great Lakes ports are closer to European markets than East Coast or Gulf ports, which saves shippers time and money. For example, to travel from Baltimore, Maryland, to Liverpool, England, is 3,936 miles (6,334 km). Via the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway, ships can reach Detroit, Mich., by covering only 3,673 miles (5,911 km).
Ship travel saves energy, too, in comparison to trains, trucks and airplanes. A ship can move a ton of freight up to 500 miles on one gallon of fuel. A single 1,000-foot laker can carry as much cargo as six 100-car unit trains, which makes ships a very economical way to haul bulk quantities.
Fuel efficiency also translates into fewer air emissions than produced by trucks or trains. Ship transport is safer, too; serious accidents involving large cargo vessels are rare. Occasionally vessels become grounded but these incidents are usually much less serious than comparable railroad or truck accidents.
Shipping on the Great Lakes also provides many jobs for the region. In fact, more than 60,000 U.S. and Canadian jobs are directly dependent on cargo movements. In addition, hundreds of thousands of other jobs, many in the manufacturing sector, are tied to the maritime system. An abundance of steel mills were built along the shores of the Great Lakes and connecting channels because of the convenient, low-cost delivery of the industry's raw materials: iron ore, coal and limestone. Other manufacturing enterprises that use steel, such as automobile assembly in Detroit, Mich., also became popular and remain a hallmark of the region's economy.
Read on to learn more about the ships that travel the Great Lakes, what they carry and their ports of call.
Collage photos courtesy Great Lakes Commission; stack insignia courtesy Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping; base map courtesy St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation
