Oglebay Norton Sells 6 of 9 Remaining Freighters
American Steamship Company bought six freighters
from Oglebay Norton Marine Services of Cleveland in June. Oglebay
Norton still had three freighters at press time and says the deal will
concentrate its focus on mining rather than marine shipping.
American Steamship already had the largest U.S.-flagged fleet on the Great Lakes and grew to 18 vessels with the purchase.
The six new vessels apparently may be renamed to
include the lead word “American,” which is found in some of its other
vessel names.
Among members of the Lake Carriers’ Association,
only one remains based on Lake Superior. Great Lakes Fleet/Key Lakes is
headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota.
Lake Superior shipping ports include
Duluth-Superior, Wisconsin; Two Harbors, Silver Bay and Taconite Harbor
in Minnesota; Ontonagon, Houghton-Hancock, Presque Isle, Marquette,
Munising and Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan; Thunder Bay, Marathon, Heron
Bay and Michipicoten in Ontario, and Ashland and Washburn, Wisconsin.
Lake Notes
 Another
exotic species - the New Zealand mudsnail - is in the Duluth,
Minnesota-Superior, Wisconsin harbor. Though tiny - two dozen or so fit
on a penny - the asexual snails overrun an ecosystem and disrupt the
food web. In western rivers, where they invaded via imported trout,
densities hit 700,000 per square meter. They were identified in Thunder
Bay, Ontario, in 2001. To curb the spread of such species, anglers
should remove plants, animals and mud from waders and field and fishing
equipment, rinse gear in hot water then dry for five days before reuse.
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