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The Calumet departs into the sunset.
This MCP Boat Blog is presented by Aquastar Cruises, aquastarcruises.com, and the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum, www.masoncountymihistory.org.
Story and photos by Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
LUDINGTON — The Port of Ludington was a busy place Friday, offering boat watchers nearly continuous maritime activity from early morning through the evening as commercial vessels, dredging equipment and the SS Badger all moved through Pere Marquette Lake and the Ludington channel.
The day began with the morning departure of the SS Badger for its first crossing of the day to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. During the peak summer season, the 410-foot Lake Michigan car ferry provides four opportunities each day for spectators to watch the vessel arrive and depart, making it one of Ludington’s most popular attractions. Throughout the summer, hundreds of people gather along the north and south breakwaters, Waterfront Park and Stearns Park to watch the Badger’s movements.
The Prime makes its way out of the Ludington channel.
Late in the morning, the Norwegian-flagged chemical tanker Prime departed the OxyChem dock after loading a cargo of liquid calcium chloride. The 459-foot vessel was assisted through the harbor by the tug Sarah Andrie, operated by Andrie Inc. of Muskegon, before beginning its more than 1,000-mile voyage to the Port of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada, on the St. Lawrence River. Prime has become a regular visitor to Ludington this year after OxyChem transitioned much of its Canadian calcium chloride shipping from the longtime tug-and-barge operation of Spartan and Spartan II to the tanker.
Following Prime’s departure, the tug Robert F. Deegan and tank barge Candace Elise moved into the OxyChem dock to load liquid calcium chloride. The tug-and-barge combination represents the more traditional method of transporting the product from Ludington, operating alongside Prime as OxyChem continues shipping calcium chloride to Canadian markets.
The Badger heads to Manitowoc.
Commercial traffic continued into the evening when the self-unloading freighter Calumet arrived about 5 p.m. at the Great Lakes Materials terminal on Pere Marquette Lake. The 630-foot vessel delivered crushed stone for Rieth-Riley Construction Co., cargo that will be used in regional road construction and other infrastructure projects.
Crew from the Prime watch the boat watchers.
Elsewhere in the harbor, the tug Barry J continued assisting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ annual dredging project. The work is removing accumulated sediment from the federal navigation channel to maintain safe depths for commercial shipping, the SS Badger and recreational boating traffic.
The Mason County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol escorted the SS Badger during its 8:45 p.m. departure for Manitowoc. About 15 minutes later, the Calumet departed Ludington and headed to Manistee, where it will unload the remainder of its cargo at the Rieth-Riley dock on Manistee Lake.
Mason County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol
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