Saginaw River Passage - May 6, 2026: Sameul de Champlain/Innovation - Bonus Photos

A few more unpublished photos of Samuel de Champlain/Innovation from May 6, 2026

Saginaw River Passage - May 7, 2026: Olive L. Moore/Menominee

Olive L. Moore/Menominee outbound on the Saginaw River at the under-construction Lafayette Bridge.  The pair had unloaded overnight at the Burroughs North-Zilwaukee dock.

Saginaw River Passage - May 6, 2026: Olive L. Moore/Menominee

Olive L. Moore/Menominee were inbound on the Saginaw River, just before midnight on Wednesday, bringing a split load for the Wirt Stone Dock in Bay City and the Burroughs North - Zilwaukee Dock.  The pair finished their unload overnight and then backed down the river to the Airport Turning Basin to turn around and head for the lake.  These photos were taken 5/6/26 as Olive L. Moore was inbound, passing Samuel de Champlain, who was unloading at Amrize Cement in Essexville.

This was the first vessel to travel to the upper river in 2026, the first split cargo delivered to more than one dock, and the first aggregate delivery of the season.  The previous latest first aggregate delivery was May 3, 2013, when Olive L. Moore/Lewis J. Kuber arrived with a split cargo for Bay Aggregates and the Buena Vista Dock.  The earliest aggregate cargo?  March 30, 2005, with the arrival of the tug Joe Thompson, Jr./Joseph H. Thompson who unloaded at the Bay City and Saginaw Wirt Docks.  Note that these records are only for the 22-year 2005-2026 time period that I have been keeping records.

Saginaw River Passage - May 6, 2026: Samuel de Champlain/Innovation

Samuel de Champlain/Innovation were inbound on the Saginaw River this morning, calling on the Amrize Cement Dock in Essexville to unload.  The barge was sporting the new Amrize logo on her sides, replacing last year's "Holcim".  This is their first visit to the Saginaw River this season.  Photos taken 5/6/26.

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.