Saginaw River Passage - December 14th

John J. Boland inbound on the Saginaw River this afternoon, headed for the Port Fisher/Bay Aggregates Dock in Bay City. 12/14/17

Saginaw River Report - November 2017

Commercial shipping traffic, for November, started out slow on the Saginaw River, but rebounded nicely towards the end of the month. There were a total of 14 commercial vessel deliveries for the month of November. This is twice a many as compared to 2016, when there were only 7, and right on par with the five year average, which is also 14. For the year to date, there have been 126 commercial vessel passages on the Saginaw River. This is 23 more than last year, at this time, and 7 more than the five year average. This total is also more than the total number of passages for the entire 2016 season, when there were only 113.

Saginaw River Passages - November 27th

The Olive L. Moore - Menominee called on the Saginaw River late Sunday night, traveling to the upper river to unload at the Burroughs dock in Zilwaukee.  The pair were outbound Monday morning.  Inbound a short time later was  Dorothy Ann - Pathfinder, inbound with a split cargo for the Bay City and Saginaw Wirt Stone docks.  They were outbound for the lake Monday night.  Alpena remained at the Lafarge Cement dock in Essexville as of 9:30pm, Monday night.

Saginaw River Passages - November 25th

Alpena called on the Lafarge Cement dock in Essexville on Saturday, to unload a cargo of powdered cement.  Across the river, at the Port Fisher - Bay Aggregates dock, the John J. Boland arrived later in the day to unload stone.

Saginaw River Passages - November 17th to 24th

After a very slow start to November, commercial shipping traffic on the Saginaw River has had a big rebound over the past seven days. Between November 17th and November 24th, there have been seven commercial passages. They are as follows:

G.L. Ostrander - Integrity: Lafarge Cement dock in Essexville

Sam Laud: Port Fisher-Bay Aggregates dock in Bay City

Olive L. Moore - Menominee: Bay City Wirt dock

Dorothy Ann - Pathfinder: Bay City and Saginaw Wirt docks

Herbert C. Jackson: GM dock in Saginaw

Walter J. McCarthy, Jr.: Consumers Energy dock in Essexville

Olive L. Moore - Menominee: Port Fisher-Bay Aggregates

Saginaw River Report - October 2017

For the month of October, there were 15 commercial vessel passages on the Saginaw River.  This number is on par with the 5-year average, which is also 15, but it is well below the number of passages that were recorded for the same one month period last season, when there were 21 commercial passages.  For the year to date, there have been 112 commercial vessel passages recorded on the Saginaw River.  This number is actually above the numbers for last season, when there were only 96 vessel passages recorded at the end of October.  As compared to the 5-year average, the numbers are also up by seven passages from the 105 average.

Saginaw River Report - September 2017

There were a total of 20 commercial vessel passages on the Saginaw River during the month of September. This number represents an increase of five vessel passages over the same time period in 2016, and three more passages than the five year average of 17.

For the year to date, there have been 97 commercial vessel passages. This is a huge increase from last year, when there were only 75 at the end of September. It is also above the 5-year average of 90 passages.

Saginaw River Passage - September 20th

Cuyahoga was inbound on the Saginaw River this afternoon, bound for Saginaw to unload.

Saginaw River Passages - September 12th through 18th

September 12: Undaunted - Pere Marquette 41 unloaded at the Port Fisher/Bay Aggregates Dock.                               After unloading, they took on an aggregate cargo to be delivered to Green Bay, WI.                             This marked the first cargo loaded on the Saginaw River in a number of years.

September 12: Algoway unloaded at the Sargent dock in Zilwaukee

September 13: Manitoulin unloaded at the Wirt Stone Docks in Bay City and Saginaw.  She later had                         a mechanical issue and needed tug assistance to transit the Saginaw River and head to                         Sarnia for repair.

September 15: Olive L. Moore - Menominee unloaded at the Burroughs Dock in Zilwaukee

September 16: Walter J. McCarthy, Jr. unloaded at the Consumers Energy Dock in Essexville

September 18: Algoway unloaded at the Sargent Dock in Zilwaukee

September 18: Olive L. Moore - Menominee unloaded at the Port Fisher/Bay Aggregates Dock in                               Bay City

Saginaw River Passages for August 2017

Commercial shipping traffic levels remained above average on the Saginaw River for the month of August. There were 19 commercial vessel passages last month, an increase of seven passages compared to last season. The month of August was also one passage above the five year average 18. For the year to date, there have been 77 commercial vessel passages. This represents an increase 17 passages from passages last year and four passages more then the five year average.

Saginaw River Passages - August 29th to September 8th

Traffic on the Saginaw River during the past week has been as follows:

August 29th:
*Sam Laud - Unloaded at the Port Fisher/Bay Aggregates Dock in Bay City


September 3rd:
*Herbert C. Jackson - Unloaded at the GM Dock in Saginaw

4th:
*American Century - Unloaded at the Consumers Energy Dock  in Essexville

6th:
*Olive L. Moore - Menominee - Unloaded at the Bay City Wirt Stone Dock

7th:
*Dorothy Ann - Pathfinder - Unloaded at the Bay City and Saginaw Wirt Stone docks

8th:
*John J. Boland - Unloaded at the Port Fisher/Bay Aggregates Dock in Bay City

Dorothy Ann - Pathfinder outbound from the Saginaw River on 9/7/17

Saginaw River Passages - August 20th - 27th

Traffic on the Saginaw River during the past week has been as follows:

20th:
*Algoway - Unloaded at the North Star Dock in Essexville

*Olive L. Moore - Menominee - Unloaded at the Burroughs North Dock in Essexville and the Lafarge Stone Dock in Saginaw

22nd:
*Herbert C. Jackson - Unloaded at the Wirt Stone Docks in Bay City and Saginaw

23rd:
*BBC Elbe - Unloaded wind turbine components at the Port Fisher Dock in Bay City

25th:
*Samuel de Champlain - Innovation - Unloaded at the Lafarge Cement Dock in Essexville

26th:
*Dorothy Ann - Pathfinder - Unloaded at the Port Fisher/Bay Aggregates Dock

27th:
*Walter J. McCarthy, Jr. - Unloaded at the Consumers Energy Dock in Essexville

*Sam Laud - Unloaded at the Burroughs North Dock in Essexville

Saginaw River Passages - August 14th & 15th

Alpena called on the Saginaw River Monday evening, calling on the Lafarge Cement Dock in Essexville.  She was outbound Tuesday morning after unloading overnight.

Olive L. Moore - Menominee were inbound Tuesday morning, calling on the Port Fisher/Bay aggregates dock in Bay City.  The pair unloaded and were outbound for the lake Tuesday night.

Saginaw River Passages - August 12th

The Olive L. Moore - Menominee were inbound on the Saginaw River, calling on both the Burroughs dock in Zilwaukee and the Lafarge Stone dock in Saginaw.  The pair were followed closely by the Herbert C. Jackson, who had dropped a partial cargo at the Wirt Stone Dock in Bay City, and then headed up to finish unloading at the Wirt Stone Dock in Saginaw.

Moore-Meniminee at Lafayette Bridge, with the Herbert C. Jackson at Liberty Bridge, in the background

Saginaw River - July Passages

July was a great month for commercial shipping on the Saginaw River! There were a total of 25 commercial vessel passages during the month, representing an increase of fifteen passages over 2016 and seven more then the five year average. You have to go back to July 2008 to find a July with as much traffic as 2017.

For the year to date, there have been 58 commercial vessel passages. This is ten more than last year at this time, and three more than the five year average.

Saginaw River Passages - August 1st to 7th

Home from a vacation and updating all of the traffic during the past week:

August 1st:  Olive L. Moore - Menominee unloaded at Port Fisher/Bay Aggregates in Bay City.

August 2nd:  Dorothy Ann - Pathfinder unloaded at Bay City and Saginaw Wirt Stone Docks.
                      Samuel de Champlain - Innovation unloaded at Lafarge Cement in Essexville.

August 7th:  American Century unloaded at Consumers Energy in Essexville.
                    Olive L. Moore - Menominee unloaded at Lafarge Stone Dock in Saginaw

Saginaw River Passages - July 28th & 29th

On July 28th, the tug Zeus and her tank barge, Robert F. Deegan, called on the Port Fisher dock in Bay City with a cargo of liquid calcium chloride.  Later that evening, the tug Defiance and her self unloading barge, Ashtabula, arrived at the Port Fisher/Bay Aggregates dock in Bay City to unload.  On July 29th, Manitoulin was back for her second trip in three days, calling again at the Sargent dock in Zilwaukee.

Zeus - Robert F. Deegan unloading at the Port Fisher Dock in Bay City

Saginaw River Passage - July 26th

Manitoulin was inbound on the Saginaw River on Wednesday morning, bound for the Sargent dock in Zilwaukee. This is Manitoulin's first ever visit to the Saginaw River.

Manitoulin at the Liberty Bridge in Bay City