February 28, 2008 - Harbinger of Things to Come?

October 12, 2007

The vintage laker (1943) Manistee maneuvers near the west pier in Oswego Harbor, where she delivered a load of rock salt. Dynamic new Port Director Jonathan Daniels is on hand to direct the shoreside operation. Due to extreme low water - the lowest seen in many years, the 620 foot Manistee, one of the last of her kind, was hard pressed to complete her mission. From where she sits in the photo, a good half hour elapsed before she could drag her keel through the mud to the deeper water adjacent to the dock. Manistee has a capacity of 15,000 tons and supports a maximum draft of 35'. However, Oswego Harbor is not nearly that deep, and when the Seaway opens next month, the maximum draft of vessels permitted to enter the system will be 26.25 feet. The seaway locks are capable of handling vessels drawing up to 30'.

As if to emphasize the severity of the low water crisis on the Great Lakes, Manistee went hard aground in Muskegon Harbor on January 8.