By Todd Shorkey
Somehow, another year has passed and a new season of commercial shipping will begin on the Saginaw River in just a few short months. That means it is time to look back and review what happened during the 2024 season. This will be my 20th Anniversary Year-End Report for the Saginaw River. For those who have been around for the long haul, thank you! For those of you who are new to my reports, welcome!
The 2024 shipping season for the Saginaw River was a positive one. The overall number of commercial vessel passages increased from the previous year, we saw infrastructure improvements made at the U.S Army Corps of Engineers Confined Disposal Facility out in Saginaw Bay, and maintenance dredging took place for the first time since 2022. There were also a couple of big news stories, including the purchase of the Wirt Docks by the Edw. C. Levy Co. and a change in operational status at the U.S. Coast Guard Station Saginaw River. The Saginaw River had a few international deliveries made by oceangoing saltwater vessels, although nowhere near as many as there were a few years ago during the wind turbine construction boom, it was still a positive to have this international activity and cargo diversity. Demolition and remediation efforts continued at the Consumers Energy, Dan E. Karn power plant in Essexville. After receiving the last loads of coal by Great Lakes freighters in 2022, pretty much all remnants of the coal burning days for power generation at the Essexville facility are now gone. It is encouraging to see our staple markets remaining stable and even growing some, contributing to the increase in commercial traffic. The 195 commercial vessel passages during 2024 season made it the sixth busiest on the Saginaw River during the past 20 years that I have been keeping records. This was the highest total since 2022 when there were 192 passages. The slowest year during the past 20 years? That would be 2014, when there were only 110 vessel passages. Will we ever see the big 300 plus vessel passage seasons that we did when I first started keeping track of these vessel passages during the early to mid-2000’s? It is hard to picture that in the current system, but there are areas in which we could see increased traffic in the future, especially if we were able to get the Saginaw River dredged deep enough, upriver, to be able to receive ocean going vessels to export grain as we once did many years ago. At this point, it is my duty to mention and reiterate the following in each of my year-end reports, because the recognition is definitely warranted and worth mentioning again: A lot of hard work continues to be put in by the industry leaders, not just here on the Saginaw River locally, but across the entire Great Lakes region. These leaders continue to actively pursue improvements in infrastructure and to diversify the type of products that are transported by water. The resulting victories, when they happen, allow more opportunities to utilize maritime assets to move products, moving it more economically and more efficiently than other modes of transportation. More than ever, this continues to be crucial as traditional high volume cargo such as coal and taconite are seeing industry changes. As it does each and every year, it is my hope that the work being put in now by these industry leaders in the Great Lakes will continue to lead to more opportunities for commercial shipping and better things to come going forward into the future.
The following report is a look back on the 2024 commercial shipping season on the Saginaw River. It utilizes information and data that I have collected during this period.
The 2024 season officially started on March 24th with the arrival of the tug Candace Elise and her tank barge, Robert F. Deegan, delivering a cargo of liquid Calcium Chloride to Port Fisher for the Occidental Chemical Corporation. This start to the season was 12 days later than the 2023 season. It is worth noting however, that Samuel de Champlain/Innovation had arrived five days earlier on March 19th, but it was not for a delivery. The pair was assisted to the Holcim Cement Dock in Essexville by the tug North Dakota to undergo some repairs. The 2024 season then ended with a cement delivery to the Holcim Cement Dock, by the tug G.L. Ostrander and her cement barge Integrity, arriving on December 23rd, 2024. The 2024 season on the Saginaw River lasted a total of 275 days, 24 fewer days than in 2023. The end of the season was 12 days earlier than in 2023.
For the 2024 commercial shipping season, there were a grand total of 195 commercial vessel passages on the Saginaw River, representing an increase of 24 passages compared to the year before. These passages were made by 32 different vessels, one fewer than the previous year, representing 15 different vessel management companies, one more than 2023.
Looking at other numbers from the 2024 season, deliveries were made to a total of 12 individual docking locations along the banks of the Saginaw River. Some of these dock locations serve more than one product or type of customer. One of these is the Wirt Dock in Essexville, where in addition to sand and store cargo, fertilizer is also delivered to the dock and placed in domed storage buildings. The second would be the Port Fisher slip, where aggregate cargo is delivered for Bay Aggregates, and liquid asphalt is offloaded for Bit-Mat Products of Michigan and placed in their liquid storage tanks. A third would be the Port Fisher Terminals Dock, where foreign saltwater vessels can offload various cargo items such as wind turbine components, industrial machinery, or other bulk cargo, and tug/barge units or tankers can deliver liquid cargo such as calcium chloride or liquid fertilizer for Occidental Chemical.
With this in mind, there were 16 facilities that had received cargo in 2024, the same as in 2023. The individual dock seeing the most vessel traffic in 2024 was the Port Fisher Terminals/Bay Aggregates Dock in Bay City, with 50 vessel deliveries, recording eight more deliveries than during the previous season. The second most deliveries went to the Wirt Stone Dock in Bay City with 47, fifteen more deliveries than in 2023. They were followed by the Wirt Stone Dock in Saginaw with 44 deliveries, the Holcim Cement dock in Essexville with 27 deliveries, and the Burroughs North – 1st Street Dock in Saginaw with 24 cargo deliveries. These top five docks accounted for 68% of the total commercial vessel deliveries during 2024. In all, accounting for split cargos, in which a vessel unloaded at two or more different docks during the same visit, there were 283 deliveries to the various docks along the Saginaw River. This is 36 more actual dock deliveries than during the 2023 season. These numbers show that there were 82 vessels that arrived with split loads, unloading at more than one dock.
Breaking down the number of visits to the lower river docks, or docks between the mouth of the Saginaw River and Liberty Bridge, of which there are nine, and the upper river docks, or docks near the Zilwaukee Bridge to the Sixth Street Turning Basin, of which there are seven. There were a total of 161 deliveries to lower river docks, 28 more deliveries than in 2023, and a total of 121 deliveries where the vessel had to pass through the Bay City draw bridges on their way to the upper river to unload at Saginaw area docks, 36 more deliveries than last year.
The tug-barge units were busy on the Saginaw River again during the 2024 season, with three of the top five spots for total number of visits taken by tug-barge combos. Once again, as has become the norm on the Saginaw River, the Rand Logistics, Inc./Grand River Navigation tug, Olive L. Moore, paired with the self-unloading barge Menominee, once again defended the title of “Workhorse of the Saginaw River”, making more trips to the river in 2024 than any other vessel. The pair logged 23 visits this season, sixteen fewer than in 2023. Olive L. Moore/Menominee have held this title 18 out of the past 19 years, logging an incredible 677 visits to the Saginaw River during this time! In second place was the pair’s fleet mate, Sam Laud, logging 17 visits, along with Interlake Steamship Company’s, tug Dorothy Ann, paired with the self-unloading barge Pathfinder who also had 17. Rounding out the top five most frequent visitors Northern Venture with 14 visits, and Samuel de Champlain/Innovation with 11 visits.
The fleet leading the way with the most cargo deliveries to the Saginaw River during the 2024 season was far and away Rand Logistics, Inc. Their subsidiaries, Lower Lakes Towing and Grand River Navigation tallied 89 vessel passages, an increase of six deliveries over 2023 and accounted for 31% of all deliveries to the Saginaw River in 2024. They have now been leading the way on the Saginaw River for 17 of the past 18 years. The Interlake Steamship Company/Interlake Logistics Solutions logged the second most visits with 29 trips, an increase of 2 visits from 2023. Coming in third place was McKeil Marine, Limited with 19 visits logged, Holcim Cement/Andrie, Inc. with 18 deliveries to the Saginaw River, down five trips from the 2023 season, and Algoma Central with 17 vessel trips. The top five companies accounted for 61% of all deliveries on the Saginaw River in 2024.
There were a number vessels that made a delivery on the Saginaw River in 2023 that did not make a return visit here during the 2024 season. These vessels included NACC Antigua, Cuyahoga, Manitoulin, Laura L. VanEnkevort/Joseph H. Thompson, and Minervagracht.
Vessels back on the river in 2024 who did not have a visit here in 2023 were Happy Ranger, BBC Oregon, and Karen Andrie/Endeavour. The tug Leonard M was also back, pushing the barge Huron Spirit in place of Sharon M I for the first two visits of the season, but Sharon MI was back pushing Huron Spirit for the final three trips. There were also a first ever visit in 2024 for the salt water vessel Houtmangracht.
Other vessels on the Saginaw River during the 2024 season were the tugs Kimberly Joy, Kathy Lynn, Thomas R. Morrish, Meredith Ashton, and tug Fischer Hayden with the barge Justin Avery. U.S. Fish and Wildlife vessel Spencer F. Baird was back again, along with the R/V Wheeler and the R/V Tanner. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spar also visited at the beginning and end of the season.
Some notable stories from the 2024 season:
- There is still no new update on Wilkinson Minerals. In February 2020, it was announced that Wilkinson Minerals would be opening a facility on the Saginaw River, just east of the Independence Bridge in Bay City, and begin pumping salt brine from a large deposit known as the Sylvania Sandstone Formation. In April 2021, they announced they would be “tripling their investment” of $50 million to $150 million in Bay City. Wilkinson Minerals has stated that “the company will produce both liquid and dry salt products, with the liquid products primarily shipped out on the river”. In the April 2021 report, plans were to have the plant up and running late 2023 or early 2024. In 2023, some site clearing was completed, but to date, no other visible work is underway and it is unknown when the company will begin operation, if ever.
- After arriving in June of 2023, in her first full season stationed on the Saginaw River in 2024, the Great Lakes Towing tug, North Dakota, kept herself fairly busy, assisting vessels on 30 different occasions, with her busiest months in July, August and September.
- On April 1st, 2024, the Edw. C. Levy Co. completed the purchase of all of the Wirt Stone Docks, located in Bay City, Essexville, and Saginaw. Edw. C. Levy Co. now owns, leases, or supplies product to the majority of the docks on the Saginaw River. This was one of the biggest stories of 2024. It has been stated that the Levy Co. will keep the Wirt Stone dock names for the recently purchased docks.
- The salt water vessel Happy Ranger became the first saltwater vessel to visit the Saginaw River in 2024, calling on the Port Fisher Terminals Dock in Bay City to unload two industrial cylinders for Hemlock Semiconductor in Hemlock on May 30th. This was the second part of a cargo first delivered by Minervagracht during the fall 2023. BBC Oregon delivered the final piece on July 24th.
- Karen Andrie - Endeavour were inbound on the Saginaw River, entering the Port Fisher Slip to unload liquid asphalt for Bit-Mat on June 29th. This was their first visit since 5/25/2013. Bit-Mat received one delivery by water in 2014 (Everlast/ Norman McCloud), then no deliveries by water until 2018 when Barbara Andrie/A-397 made one delivery. 2019 started a run of deliveries to Bit-Mat by Iver Bright, with Karen Andrie/Endeavour making a return on 6/29/24.
- The tug Kimberly Joy arrived on the Saginaw River on September 24th for the first time under her new name and now owned by Ryba Marine. She used to be a regular visitor as the tug Manitou for Malcolm Marine. Tug Kathy Lynn, also of Ryba Marine arrived a few days later on September 26th, to begin a dredging project on the Saginaw River. Dredging by Ryba wrapped up for the season on November 15th with all three tugs and equipment leaving the river that day.
- Bridge rehabilitation has been the theme for at least the last three years, with both Liberty and Independence Bridge seeing rehab and repair work. Beginning on December 1, 2024, the demolition of Lafayette Bridge, the oldest in Bay City, began, starting a three year project to completely tear down and rebuild the bridge new. It will be interesting to follow this project and see how it will all play out.
As always, the shipping industry continues to change, evolve, adapt and move forward. It is the hope that commercial traffic on the Saginaw River will at least remain stable and hopefully continue grow as the products and materials handled here continue to evolve and expand. Hopefully 2025 will continue to build on the success of the 2024 season and will be a safe and profitable one for everyone.
Here is wishing you all a great 2025! Thank you for following me during the year, supporting my social media pages, attending my presentations, and commenting on my photos! Your support means more than you know.
Todd A. Shorkey
Saginaw River Images
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