Saginaw River Report - April 2026

There was one commercial vessel passage on the Saginaw River for the month of April 2026, with one dock receiving one delivery of product.  This passage represents 7 fewer than recorded during April 2025.  Looking at long-term averages, the one passage in April was below all of them with the 5-year average at 9 passages, 10-year and 15-year averages at 8 passages, and the 20-year average at 9 commercial vessel passages for the month of April.

The total number of commercial vessel passages for the year-to-date is one, which is eight fewer passages than last year.  Looking at the averages, the one passage for the year to date is fewer than all the long-terms with the 5-year average being 10, 10-year average at 9, the 15-year average at 8, and the 20-year average at 10 vessel passages for the year to date as of the end of April.

During the month of April, the one delivery was to a lower Saginaw River dock.  There were no passages to the upper river and no split loads.  Strong Saginaw River outflow that was present for much of the month, due to spring runoff and heavy rains, was partially to blame for the slow start.  Both the vessels Iver Bright and Alpena had arrived on Saginaw Bay, going to anchor at Light 1, only to depart a few days later without entering the river due to conditions.  This is the slowest start to a season since I started keeping records in 2005.

The vessel making a delivery to the Saginaw River in April was G.L Ostrander/Integrity.

Saginaw River Passage - May 1, 2026: Algoma Innovator - Part 2

Algoma Innovator was inbound on the Saginaw River shortly after midnight, stopping at the Wirt Sand & Stone Fertilizer Dock in Essexville to unload.  She completed her unload around 6am, swung her boom in, and turned off the dock in the Essexville Basin.  Algoma Innovator was outbound for the lake around 7am Friday morning.  

Saginaw River Passage - May 1, 2026: Algoma Innovator

Algoma Innovator was inbound on the Saginaw River, shortly after midnight, stopping at the Wirt Sand & Stone Fertilizer Dock in Essexville to unload.  She completed her unload around 6am, swung her boom in, and turned off the dock in the Essexville Basin.  Algoma Innovator was outbound for the lake around 7am Friday morning.  Aerial photos and a video will be posted later today.  Photos taken 5/1/26

Saginaw River Passage - April 26, 2026: G.L. Ostrander/Integrity

The 2026 shipping season finally began on the Saginaw River, Sunday evening, with the arrival of the tug G.L Ostrander and her barge, Integrity. The pair called on the Amrize Cement Dock in Essexville to finish unloading powdered cement after unloading a partial cargo in Detroit before coming here. While it was a very late start to the season here, it was not the latest. That distinction goes to the 2014 season, when Olive L. Moore/Lewis J. Kuber opened the season on April 29th, delivering a cargo to Bay Aggregates. You can also see the new “AmRize” paint on the sides of the barge, new from last season reflecting the change from “Holcim”.

St. Clair River - April 11, 2026: Kaministiqua/Algoluna/Tug Welland

This is it, finally.... the last of the photos from my trip to the St. Clair River.  These photos feature the Kaministiqua passing Algoluna in Sarnia, before meeting the tug Welland who would assist her into the North Slip.  April 11, 2026

St. Clair River - April 11, 2026: North Slip/Sarnia

The photo quality is not a good for these, as I had to use the 3x & 7x zoom lenses on the drone to capture the photos, but here are some shots across the St. Clair River into Sarnia, the North Slip, and surrounding area. Featured are Saginaw, Robert S. Pierson, Algoma Innovator, Jiimaan, and the Huron Lightship.  Photos taken 4/11/26