There
were a total of 22 commercial vessel passages on the Saginaw River during the
month of October 2024, with 9 different docks receiving 36 separate deliveries
of product, accounting for split cargos delivered to more than one dock. This represents the same number vessel
passages as recorded during October 2023, but it is more than all of the long
term averages, with the 5-year average at 21 passages for October, the 10-year
average at 19 passages, the 15-year average at 18 passages, and the 20-year average
of 21 vessel passages for the month of October.
For the total number of commercial vessel passages for the year-to-date, there have been 162. This is 26 more passages than last year at this point. Looking at the averages, the 162 passages for the year to date are more than the 5-year average of 151, the 10-year average of 135 passages, the 15-year average of 127 passages, and the 20-year average of 147 vessel passages.
During the month of October, there were 18 deliveries to the docks on the lower half of the Saginaw River, located in Essexville and Bay City, and 18 deliveries to upper river docks, located in Zilwaukee, Carrollton, and Saginaw. Twelve vessels carried split loads with cargo unloaded at more than one dock. Ryba Marine Construction also began maintenance dredging operations on the Saginaw River, in the section below Liberty Bridge, out into the Saginaw Bay to the Confined Disposal Island.