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The Ziemia Lodzka arrives Duluth early Monday afternoon, November 10, 2009

November 10, 2009 · 9 comments

ziemialodzka20091110_4052More on the Ziemia Lodzka

{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }

Anonymous November 23, 2009 at 3:19 pm

I learn so much about lakes, ships, trade, products from this site, things I never learned in geography class. Thanks, guys.

Anonymous November 15, 2009 at 6:31 pm

To dry out the cargo hold. It has to be completely dry before they will allow the grain to be loaded into the vessel. Sometimes you'll see them running up from the lower lakes with their hatches open….weather pending of course.

Anonymous November 14, 2009 at 6:11 pm

Yes, hatches open. I see them do that from time to time. Doubt they would if precipitation was expected. Not sure why else, maybe to expedite cleaning if that was needed for some reason?
Mike

Anonymous November 14, 2009 at 1:11 pm

If the berth in question is real busy everybody has to wait for their turn to load, saltie or laker. That's the most common cause for a wait at anchor, but due to the nature of the trade there are some other reasons that a saltie specifically might be out there. Sometimes in the grain trade the cargo that a vessel is scheduled to load might not yet be ready at the elevator. It can take more time than expected to get all that grain unloaded from rail cars, sampled/inspected, and charged in the right bins for loading. Maybe the saltie's trip into the lakes went more quickly than expected and she arrived a day or two early. A saltie could be waiting for orders: sometimes her operators haven't yet finalized an outbound cargo for her but they're pretty sure they're going to get one, so they get her up to the head of the lakes in good position to get a cargo out of Duluth-Superior or Thunder Bay as soon as everything's lined up. Ocean vessels are subject to a lot of paperwork and inspections before they load, especially if that load is going to be grain. If it seems like it's going to take some time to get all that squared away, or if they know they've got some work to do before they clear inspection (clean out the cargo holds before a grain load, for instance) they'll probably choose to drop anchor and take care of it out there where sitting doesn't cost anything, rather than spend time alongside a dock inside the harbor that would probably charge a fee.

Anonymous November 14, 2009 at 11:59 am

Looking at this Saltie….is it coming in with its hatches open?

Anonymous November 12, 2009 at 11:32 am

Why is it some of these salties have to sit at anchor for a week before coming into port and others come sraight in?

Anonymous November 10, 2009 at 9:34 pm

If there are no major delays it usually takes a ship about 5 days to get from Duluth to the end of the Seaway at Montreal. They do have to clear the Seaway before it closes, but a saltie getting 'stuck' on the lakes for the winter is extremely rare. It seems like all the involved parties work together to make sure ships clear the system successfully, and vessel operators have been playing it pretty safe with regards to the closing date in recent years. Usually the last saltie clears Duluth between December 14th and 19th, and the latest saltie departure ever was December 22nd.

Anonymous November 10, 2009 at 8:42 pm

Now that the shipping season is approaching and end (especially for the salties>
I was curious as to what is the travel time (days) when a saltie leaves Duluth and clears the St. Lawerence Seaway.
Don't they have to clear the Seaway before it closes or they have to spend the winter on the Great Lakes.

Paul
Galveston Island, Tx

Anonymous November 10, 2009 at 8:22 pm

Beautiful shot. It's nice to see some overseas action; it's a shame the grain trade is so slow these days. Ten years ago today the Twin Ports had six active grain terminals with seven berths and each of them was busy loading a ship. General Mills A – Noblesse, Cargill B-1 – Consensus Manitou, AGP – Verily, General Mills S – Lake Erie, CHS – Darya Devi and Algoville, and Peavey – Dora. Two of those grain terminals haven't loaded a ship in several years, and only the General Mills and CHS facilities haven't changed names. All of those ships have either changed names or been scrapped. Time flies.

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