Saginaw River Passage - April 28th

The tug Olive L. Moore, with the Lewis J Kuber, arrived on the Saginaw River Wednesday with a split cargo. The pair lightered at the Bay City Wirt Stone dock and then continued upriver to finish unloading at the Saginaw Wirt dock. The Moore and Kuber were outbound for the lake early Thursday morning.

Saginaw River Passage - April 25th

The tug Joe Thompson, Jr. and Joseph H. Thompson were outbound from the Saginaw River, on Sunday morning, after unloading overnight at the Wirt Stone dock in Saginaw.

Saginaw River Passages - April 24th

Kathy Lynn downbound at the Lakes State Rail Bridge
Saturday morning on the Saginaw River saw the arrival of the Ryba Marine tug, Kathy Lynn, and a number of barges for the upper river dredging project. Kathy Lynn made two trips upriver on Saturday, taking equipment up to the Sargent dock in Saginaw to prepare for the start of dredging in early May. Later in the evening, the tug Joe Thompson and her barge Joseph H. Thompson called on the Saginaw River carrying a split load. The pair was lightering at the Bay City Wirt dock around 9pm, and was expected to be upbound for Saginaw to finish a few hours later. The tug Barbara Andrie and barge A-390 remained at the Dow chemical dock. The pair had arrived on April 18th and unloaded at the Bit-Mat dock.

Joe Thompson upbound at the Essroc Dock

Saginaw River Passages - April 21st

After lightering, the tug Olive L. Moore and her barge, Lewis J. Kuber, departed the Bay Aggregates slip in Bay City on Wednesday morning and headed upriver to finish unloading at the Saginaw Wirt Stone dock. The pair were outbound for the lake late Wednesday night.

The Barbara Andrie and barge A-390 remain tied up at the Dow Chemical dock in Bay City.

Saginaw River Passages - April 20th

The tug Barbara Andrie and barge A-390 departed the Bit-Mat Dock Tuesday afternoon after arriving on Sunday to unload. The pair moved a short distance upriver and tied up at the Dow Chemical dock. This move was most likely to make room for the tug Olive L. Moore and barge Lewis J. Kuber, who arrived Tuesday evening, to have access to the Bay Aggregates dock. The pair were unloading there late Tuesday night.

Saginaw River Passages - April 18th

Moore & Kuber unloading at Essexville Sand & Stone

Sunday saw two tug/barge units call on the Saginaw River. First in was Barbara Andrie and her tank barge. The pair called on the Bit-Mat Asphalt dock in Bay City to unload. They were expected to be outbound early Monday morning. Following inbound a few hours behind the Andrie was the Olive L. Moore - Lewis J. Kuber who made a rare delivery to the Essexville Wirt Sand and Stone dock. The pair finished their unload and were outbound Sunday night.

Barbara Andrie at Bit-Mat

Saginaw River Passage - April 17th

The Algoway arrived in the Saginaw Bay on Friday and went to anchor, waiting for the winds to subside before making her trip into the river. With more favorable conditions Saturday afternoon, Algoway entered the river and called on the North Star dock in Essexville to unload potash. Once finished, she turned off the dock in the Essexville basin and was outbound for the lake on Sunday morning.

Saginaw River Passage - April 16th

Calumet outbound at Smith Park, Essexville

Overnight, Calumet was back again with another split load, this time for the Bay City and Saginaw Wirt Stone docks. She lightered at the Bay City dock early Friday morning, then continued upriver to finish her unload at Saginaw Wirt. Calumet was headed back out of the Saginaw River, passing through Essexville, shortly before 2pm.

Saginaw River Passage - April 14th

Unloading at the Essexville Lafarge dock
Continuing the streak of daily traffic on the Saginaw River, Calumet was inbound Wednesday morning with a split load. She stopped at the Lafarge stone dock in Essexville to lighter, before heading upriver to finish at the Lafarge stone dock in Saginaw. These were the first cargos delivered to the Lafarge docks under the new ownership. Last season, these docks were the Essexville Sargent dock and Saginaw Rock Products. Calumet was expected to be outbound late in the day on Wednesday.

Saginaw River Passages - April 13th

The Olive L. Moore-Lewis J. Kuber arrived during the night and lightered at the Bay City Wirt Stone dock before continuing upriver to finish at the Saginaw Wirt Stone Dock Tuesday morning. The tug-barge dock departed the dock during the afternoon, shortly before the Cuyahoga arrived at the adjacent Buena Vista Dock. Once a frequent visitor, the Cuyahoga has visited the river only a half-dozen times over the past four seasons. This was her first visit to the Saginaw River since 2008.

Coming around the corner near Cass Avenue

After turning at Sixth Street, the Moore-Kuber passed the Cuyahoga on its outbound transit. Cuyahoga was outbound late Tuesday night.

Thanks to Steve Hause for contributing to this report

Saginaw River Passages - April 11th

Overnight, the Olive L. Moore, with the Lewis J. Kuber, made the Bay Aggregates dock in Bay City for a partial unload. The pair then continued upriver to the Buena Vista dock in Saginaw to finish unloading. The Moore-Kuber turned at Sixth Street and were outbound for the lake, passing through Bay City mid-morning on Sunday. The tug Barbara Andrie and her tank barge were inbound Sunday morning, calling on the Bit-Mat Asphalt dock. This is already the third delivery of the season to Bit-Mat this season, which was the total number of deliveries there for the entire 2009 season. Barbara Andrie and her barge are expected to be outbound early Monday morning.

Saginaw River Passages - April 10th

Moore & Kuber sliding over to the Essroc Dock on Saturday

The tug Karen Andrie, with the tank barge Endeavour, departed the Bit-Mat dock early Saturday morning and was outbound for the lake. The pair passed the inbound tug Olive L. Moore and barge Lewis J. Kuber who were headed for the Bay Aggregates dock to lighter, before heading upriver to finish unloading. Strong currents in the river from recent rains and high winds prevented the Moore and Kuber from making the tricky turn into the Bay Aggregates slip, so the pair tied up at the Essroc dock across the river to wait for more favorable conditions. They remained there as of 6pm Saturday night.

Saginaw River Passages - April 9th

Karen Andrie and barge Endeavour upbound at the Essexville Range
The tug Karen Andrie and tank barge Endeavour arrived on the Saginaw River Friday afternoon, calling on the Bit-Mat Asphalt dock in Bay City. The pair expected to be finished with unloading and clear of the dock early Saturday morning. Anchored out on the Saginaw Bay, and waiting for the Andrie and her barge to depart, is the tug barge combo Olive L. Moore/Lewis J. Kuber. The pair will be going to the Bay Aggregates dock, which shares the same slip with Bit-Mat.

Saginaw River Passage - April 8th

Alpena departed the Lafarge dock Wednesday night and did not seem to have any trouble turning in the Sixth Street basin. She was outbound at the Airport turning basin around 11:30pm, headed for the lake.

Saginaw River Passage - April 7th

Alpena upbound at the Cheboyganning Creek

The steamer Alpena called on the Saginaw River on a wet and foggy Wednesday morning, passing the Front Range around 7:30. She slowly made her way up the river to the Lafarge Cement dock in Carrollton. Alpena is the first vessel of the 2010 season to travel all the way up the river, and it will be interesting to see how her turn goes in the Sixth Street basin when she departs, as silt from the spring runoff can cause shoaling, making it difficult to turn. Alpena should be outbound late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. This is her first visit to the Saginaw River since the 2007 season when she made two visits.


Passing Veteran's Memorial Park, Saginaw

Saginaw River Passage - March 31st

The 2010 shipping season got underway on Wednesday when the tug Karen Andrie and her tank barge arrived at the Bit-Mat Asphalt dock around 10 p.m. This is the first commercial delivery of the season. Last year, the first commercial cargo did not arrive until April 18 when Manitowoc called on the Saginaw Wirt Stone dock. It is expected Karen Andrie and her tank barge will be outbound for the lake on Thursday.