Saginaw River Images: March 2023

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Saginaw River Passage - March 23rd

G.L. Ostrander/Integrity inbound on the Saginaw River, headed for the Holcim Cement Dock in Essexville on March 23rd. This was their first visit of the season and first with the new blue trim color on the tug and Holcim logos on the barge.

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Saginaw River Passage - March 12, 2023

With the arrival of the tug Samuel de Champlain and cement barge Innovation, the 2023 shipping season has started on the Saginaw River. The pair arrived at the Holcim Cement dock in Essexville at 3:05 am on Sunday, March 12th. This is the earliest start to the season since I began keeping records in 2005. The earliest I had recorded before today was on March 18, 2020 when the tug Spartan and tank barge Spartan II arrived at the Port Fisher Dock in Bay City. The latest start to a season on the Saginaw River? April 29th, 2014.

Friday, March 3, 2023

Saginaw River Sunday! - 2022 Year in Review - September 2022

Here are my favorite photos from September 2022:

Following the boats of the Saginaw River and Great Lakes

Here is a little background on my history with the boats: I have been an avid photographer and follower of the big lake freighters that carry their cargoes between the ports of the Great Lakes. During that time, a number of my photos have been used by various shipping companies and in publications from the U.S. Coast Guard, Lake Carriers Association, the Marine Legal Review, and in the annual boatwatchers bible, "Know Your Ships". I also report news and vessel passage information from the Saginaw River to both Boatnerd.com and to the local newspaper, The Bay City Times, and have been fortunate enough to have had the honor of being aboard and taking a trip on a Great Lakes Freighter. I am also a licensed U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner, Captain and deckhand for the Bay City Boat Lines, and a Deckhand for Malcom Marine, Inc.

In this blog, you will see information on the vessels that ply the waters of the Saginaw River, photos, and vessel passage information. I hope that you will enjoy what is posted here.