Ship ST. CLAIR arrives at Port Colborne scrap dock, Welland Canal (2021) 

Thanks, I appreciate that. It was the first time I'd seen this vessel, as I guess it never made too many trips this way. It is a sombre moment, like watching a funeral with the tugs as the pallbearers.

video

Yes true

At first, they are pushed and prodded by tugs along a sloped-ramp berth as far as they can. They can work on sections of the ship for a while, and then pull it further and further onto shore in stages, as needed, on rollers.

Thank you. I grew up in Buffalo and never knew this amazing facility existed

They do save a lot of items I am sure. The name of the yard is MRS "Marine Recycling Corp." Most of steel hulls they cut down into pieces and send off for recycling. They likely can save some useful parts that could be reused/sold later.

Heat from the fire several hundred gallons of hyd and gear oil

Lakers are a whole different animal as the cold freshwater environment isn't nearly as corrosive as the ocean. Powerplant and equipment can be upgraded but the hulls have a nearly infinite lifetime in the lakes. There are plenty of 50+ year lakers still operating, and a handful are 70 years old and still going strong. End of useful life for a laker is more about when the hull is too small to run economically or when the capacity becomes excess.

Hi. I would also add that there's a certain calculation allowance to be considered specifically with Seaway-max dimension lakers which fit the Welland Canal. vs. the 800+ ft. lakers which are limited to the market area of the upper Great Lakes. Having too many ships with holds that are 'too large' within a limited market creates its own issues within the four Great Lakes. The economic possibilities within the upper lakes are rather finite. How many 'extra' new St.Clairs or new Barkers can you actually run, before you create over-capacity within that finite area? Also, hauling salt contributes greatly reduces a ship's lifespan. Also, what is the consensus on the question: is the Jones Act beneficial or not beneficial to the U.S. Great Lakes shipping industry? You can drive a car from Japan or Germany, but you can't buy a ship from there? Maybe that's a reason why many Great Lakes ships are so old? Maybe shippers would have updated at least their Seaway-max fleets with modern ships, had Jones Act limitations been updated.

@@RightInNiagara adding more confusion to the issue, Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay is now owned by an Italian Corporation

@@RightInNiagara Thanks for posting these videos. I live in Lewiston NY but the Mrs. and I haven't been over since the border was closed, you are our lifeline! Last time we were there they were finishing off Algorail & Algoway and hadn't even started cutting on English River or the Townsend yet! It can be a sad place! I do have some treasured salvaged parts from ships scrapped there in the late 1970's when my cousin was in the industry. As for the Jones Act, I think it all depends on your perspective. From a strictly business case, it is likely more expensive to keep these old boats in service in the long run, but as a fan of the front pilot house designs, I love the fact that the US firms pretty much have to keep updating these hulls. Look at the carnage Algoma Central has caused since Canada lifted their version of the Jones Act. Algorail and Algoway jump to mind immediately, as I watched her demise in person. Thanks again for the lifeline! Hope to run into you in person this summer along the Canal!