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Author Topic:   Freighter Aground in Lake St. Clair

jimh posted 07-29-2014 10:12 AM ET (US)
The Hong Kong-flagged, Canadian-owned bulk carrier FEDERAL RIDEAU was grounded in Lake St. Clair, near the entrance to the Detroit River, just north of Peche Isle, the U.S. Coast Guard reported yesterday. With a cargo of 22,672-tons of wheat, it may be a bit difficult to lighter this vessel.

The vessel FEDERAL RIDEAU hard aground in Lake St. Clair. United States Coast Guard photo image.
The bow of the FEDERAL RIDEAU appears to be close to the Peche Island Range Front and Passing Light. That aid to navigation is charted as being in about five feet of water. You can see the rear range light on the tower behind. The shipping channel is just to the right of the mark in the photo-image, and is supposed to have at least 26-feet of water. The downbound channel veers to starboard at this point. The channel is about 800 to 1200 feet wide. My guess is the FEDERAL RIDEAU must have been missed the turn and put her bow onto the bank of the shipping channel. Wind or current probably slewed the stern around.
A live position report from MARINETRAFFIC.COM
http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-83.02997/centery:42. 32815/zoom:8/mmsi:477734000
shows the FEDERAL RIDEAU has gotten off the shoal and is now at anchor in the Detroit River. She is probably awaiting hull inspection to assess damage.
The FEDERAL RIDEAU is 200-meters in length (656-feet), so she must have blocked the shipping channel for some time yesterday. She probably loaded that grain in Lake Superior. She is bound for Montreal.
I grabbed this AIS track of her movements from MARINETRAFFIC.COM. You can see she made a few maneuvers to free herself from the grounding.

jimh posted 07-29-2014 10:28 AM ET (US)
According to a report on CBC.CA, the cause of the grounding was failure of the steering gear. See more at
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ more-tugs-called-to-rescue-freighter-stuck-in-lake-st-clair-1.2719922
The grounding occurred--like everything else bad that happens--at 3 a.m.
moabelite posted 07-29-2014 01:15 PM ET (US)
Now that is a bad way to start your day.
To have your steering fail for 60 seconds at exactly THAT moment!
EJO posted 07-29-2014 03:44 PM ET (US)
Thanks for the links Jim
Good to hear she floating on her own again and waiting for final repairs and check-out
Yesterday a lot of people here in West Mich (Holland Lake Macatawa) got exited to see a large freighter take refuge from the 8-10 ft waves on lake Michigan.<
jimh posted 07-30-2014 01:24 AM ET (US)
EJO--That is interesting that a laker sought shelter from high winds on Lake Michigan. Last week at Tobermory on Tuesday we saw a freighter passing close to Flowerpot Island, right after a rather strong squall line blew through. I don't know if the freighter was just seeking a bit of a lee from the high winds, or on a course to some port down in Georgian Bay. It seems very unusual to see a freighter out there--in many, many visits to Tobermory and that part of Georgian Bay, I had never seen any sort of freighter in the area before.
jimh posted 08-01-2014 09:32 AM ET (US)
The FEDERAL RIDEAU must have passed inspection. She has continued on her voyage to Montreal. At this moment she is just entering Lake Ontario at Port Weller. I guess those 24-hours spent on the mud bank of the shipping channel did not do any serious harm to her hull.
jimh posted 08-02-2014 03:22 PM ET (US)
For those not familiar with Lake St. Clair, it is part of the link between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. The St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River connect the outflow from Lake Huron to Lake Erie. All of this water to eventually cascade over Niagara Falls.
Here (linked below) is a very nice time-lapse recording of a ship transiting from Lake Huron to Lake Erie via the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and Detroit River. At about 4:45 into the recording, the ship approaches the Peche Isle range, where the grounding of the FEDERAL RIDEAU occurred. As you will see, a sharp turn to Starboard is needed there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoY8OxuvvXc
jimh posted 08-02-2014 03:38 PM ET (US)
Purely by chance, yesterday I happened to be at Lockeman's Hardware and Boat in Detroit, where I met an older fellow, and, in the course of conversation, he mentioned having endured a capsize in his 16-foot Crestliner fishing boat while very close to the shipping channel at Port Huron. The capsize was caused by a very large wave, described as five-feet high, that came out of nowhere, rolled over the transom of the boat, and filled the boat with water. It immediately capsized, throwing this fellow into the water of the St. Clair River at Port Huron. To add to his misfortune, a 1000-foot freighter was very close by, and was bearing down on him as he hung to the outboard engine gear case of the inverted boat. The freighter struck the boat and this fellow was also thrown against the hull. He was pulled far under water. He said he could see light above him, and swam upwards. By some amazing good fortune he escaped from the suction of the hull and avoided being pulled into the propeller suction current.
A coast guard boat rescued him, and a salvage tower recovered the boat. Other than losing about $3,500 in fishing tackle and gear from the boat, and ruining the outboard engine, the boat was not harmed, and, indeed he still has it today. He told me that since this incident, he always wears a life jacket. He had not been wearing one on the day of the capsize.
The the time-lapse recording (linked above) you can see a fishing boat sitting directly in the path of the freighter. The boat moves out of the way with not much time to spare. Having been alongside these monster ships in the Detroit Pilot and Mail boat J.W. WESTCOTT II, I can tell you it is not a place you want to be in your small recreational boat, and absolutely no place to be in the water.
Chuck Tribolet posted 08-02-2014 05:34 PM ET (US)
I don't see a sharp turn to starboard at about 4:45. [That is because there is none, and I did not say there was. Re-read my comments: "At about 4:45 into the recording, the ship approaches the Peche Isle range."--jimh] They appear to be in the middle of a lake going straight. And I didn't see a close encounter with a small fishing boat.
Chuck
jimh posted 08-02-2014 10:51 PM ET (US)
Watch again. Concentrate on the action at 5:05 to 5:09 to see the turn at Peche Isle Range Light that the FEDEAL RIDEAU missed.
The fishing boat is seen from 1:15 to about 1:20. It's right in line with the foremast, then suddenly moves out of the way.
I don't think you have a future as a lookout.

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Author	Topic: Freighter Aground in Lake St. Clair
jimh	posted 07-29-2014 10:12 AM ET (US) The Hong Kong-flagged, Canadian-owned bulk carrier FEDERAL RIDEAU was grounded in Lake St. Clair, near the entrance to the Detroit River, just north of Peche Isle, the U.S. Coast Guard reported yesterday. With a cargo of 22,672-tons of wheat, it may be a bit difficult to lighter this vessel. The vessel FEDERAL RIDEAU hard aground in Lake St. Clair. United States Coast Guard photo image. The bow of the FEDERAL RIDEAU appears to be close to the Peche Island Range Front and Passing Light. That aid to navigation is charted as being in about five feet of water. You can see the rear range light on the tower behind. The shipping channel is just to the right of the mark in the photo-image, and is supposed to have at least 26-feet of water. The downbound channel veers to starboard at this point. The channel is about 800 to 1200 feet wide. My guess is the FEDERAL RIDEAU must have been missed the turn and put her bow onto the bank of the shipping channel. Wind or current probably slewed the stern around. A live position report from MARINETRAFFIC.COM http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-83.02997/centery:42. 32815/zoom:8/mmsi:477734000 shows the FEDERAL RIDEAU has gotten off the shoal and is now at anchor in the Detroit River. She is probably awaiting hull inspection to assess damage. The FEDERAL RIDEAU is 200-meters in length (656-feet), so she must have blocked the shipping channel for some time yesterday. She probably loaded that grain in Lake Superior. She is bound for Montreal. I grabbed this AIS track of her movements from MARINETRAFFIC.COM. You can see she made a few maneuvers to free herself from the grounding.
jimh	posted 07-29-2014 10:28 AM ET (US) According to a report on CBC.CA, the cause of the grounding was failure of the steering gear. See more at http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ more-tugs-called-to-rescue-freighter-stuck-in-lake-st-clair-1.2719922 The grounding occurred--like everything else bad that happens--at 3 a.m.
moabelite	posted 07-29-2014 01:15 PM ET (US) Now that is a bad way to start your day. To have your steering fail for 60 seconds at exactly THAT moment!
EJO	posted 07-29-2014 03:44 PM ET (US) Thanks for the links Jim Good to hear she floating on her own again and waiting for final repairs and check-out Yesterday a lot of people here in West Mich (Holland Lake Macatawa) got exited to see a large freighter take refuge from the 8-10 ft waves on lake Michigan.<
jimh	posted 07-30-2014 01:24 AM ET (US) EJO--That is interesting that a laker sought shelter from high winds on Lake Michigan. Last week at Tobermory on Tuesday we saw a freighter passing close to Flowerpot Island, right after a rather strong squall line blew through. I don't know if the freighter was just seeking a bit of a lee from the high winds, or on a course to some port down in Georgian Bay. It seems very unusual to see a freighter out there--in many, many visits to Tobermory and that part of Georgian Bay, I had never seen any sort of freighter in the area before.
jimh	posted 08-01-2014 09:32 AM ET (US) The FEDERAL RIDEAU must have passed inspection. She has continued on her voyage to Montreal. At this moment she is just entering Lake Ontario at Port Weller. I guess those 24-hours spent on the mud bank of the shipping channel did not do any serious harm to her hull.
jimh	posted 08-02-2014 03:22 PM ET (US) For those not familiar with Lake St. Clair, it is part of the link between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. The St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River connect the outflow from Lake Huron to Lake Erie. All of this water to eventually cascade over Niagara Falls. Here (linked below) is a very nice time-lapse recording of a ship transiting from Lake Huron to Lake Erie via the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and Detroit River. At about 4:45 into the recording, the ship approaches the Peche Isle range, where the grounding of the FEDERAL RIDEAU occurred. As you will see, a sharp turn to Starboard is needed there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoY8OxuvvXc
jimh	posted 08-02-2014 03:38 PM ET (US) Purely by chance, yesterday I happened to be at Lockeman's Hardware and Boat in Detroit, where I met an older fellow, and, in the course of conversation, he mentioned having endured a capsize in his 16-foot Crestliner fishing boat while very close to the shipping channel at Port Huron. The capsize was caused by a very large wave, described as five-feet high, that came out of nowhere, rolled over the transom of the boat, and filled the boat with water. It immediately capsized, throwing this fellow into the water of the St. Clair River at Port Huron. To add to his misfortune, a 1000-foot freighter was very close by, and was bearing down on him as he hung to the outboard engine gear case of the inverted boat. The freighter struck the boat and this fellow was also thrown against the hull. He was pulled far under water. He said he could see light above him, and swam upwards. By some amazing good fortune he escaped from the suction of the hull and avoided being pulled into the propeller suction current. A coast guard boat rescued him, and a salvage tower recovered the boat. Other than losing about $3,500 in fishing tackle and gear from the boat, and ruining the outboard engine, the boat was not harmed, and, indeed he still has it today. He told me that since this incident, he always wears a life jacket. He had not been wearing one on the day of the capsize. The the time-lapse recording (linked above) you can see a fishing boat sitting directly in the path of the freighter. The boat moves out of the way with not much time to spare. Having been alongside these monster ships in the Detroit Pilot and Mail boat J.W. WESTCOTT II, I can tell you it is not a place you want to be in your small recreational boat, and absolutely no place to be in the water.
Chuck Tribolet	posted 08-02-2014 05:34 PM ET (US) I don't see a sharp turn to starboard at about 4:45. [That is because there is none, and I did not say there was. Re-read my comments: "At about 4:45 into the recording, the ship approaches the Peche Isle range."--jimh] They appear to be in the middle of a lake going straight. And I didn't see a close encounter with a small fishing boat. Chuck
jimh	posted 08-02-2014 10:51 PM ET (US) Watch again. Concentrate on the action at 5:05 to 5:09 to see the turn at Peche Isle Range Light that the FEDEAL RIDEAU missed. The fishing boat is seen from 1:15 to about 1:20. It's right in line with the foremast, then suddenly moves out of the way. I don't think you have a future as a lookout.