Saturday, April 1, 2023
Saginaw River Report - March 2023
With the arrival of the tug Samuel de Champlain and cement barge Innovation, on March 12th, the 2023 shipping season got underway on the Saginaw River. This is the earliest start to the season since I began keeping records in 2005. There were a total of 2 commercial vessel passages on the Saginaw River for the month of March 2023, both were deliveries to the Holcim cement dock in Essexville. There were no March deliveries in either 2021 or 2022. Looking at the long term averages, these two passages are well above the 5, 10, and 15-year averages of .6, .6, and .5 respectively.
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.




















































