Tight bridges, summer boaters keep Lakes pilots vigilant
Professional Mariner|October/November 2016

“Sécurité, sécurité, sécurité, saltwater vessel Isolda to depart Andersons K in 20 minutes,” announced George Haynes, a pilot with the Lakes Pilots Association. It was 1228 and, VHF in hand, he stood near the helm of Isolda, a 656-foot Polsteam bulk carrier that had just sealed the hatches over 22,000 metric tons of corn bound for Porto, Portugal, from elevators along the Maumee River at Andersons Grain & Ethanol in Toledo, Ohio.

Will Van Dorp
Tight bridges, summer boaters keep Lakes pilots vigilant

Lakes Pilot trainee Sean Liljegren observed. Liljegren has already been cleared to pilot vessels in and out of Cleveland, which is considered a medium-difficulty port.

Toledo is a different story. Lake Erie lies only six miles down the Maumee from Andersons K, but Lakes Pilots District 2 considers this water way, known as “the elevators,” as the hardest job in the district. “It’s the final test for a trainee,” Haynes said. Liljegren, a 2010 Great Lakes Maritime Academy graduate with four years of experience as mate on Interlake Steamship Company vessels, joined the Lakes Pilots in May 2015, his piloting skills rapidly propelling him toward becoming a federally registered pilot.

On the drive from the pilots’ office in Port Huron, Mich., to Toledo, Haynes enumerated his concerns about this job, with its six bridges to negotiate. “One is a very busy and narrow railroad bridge, two are bascule bridges, and one — the Anthony Wayne Bridge — is quite low, built when lake ships were much smaller,” he said. The narrow swivel rail bridge, referred to as Norfolk Southern South and located on a bend in the river, has a horizontal clearance of only 107 feet. Amtrak trains cross the bridge at reduced speeds because the passenger terminal is nearby, and freight trains sometimes stop across the swivel span for crew change, no matter what vessel might seek passage.

Denne historien er fra October/November 2016-utgaven av Professional Mariner.

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Denne historien er fra October/November 2016-utgaven av Professional Mariner.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

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