It’s summer boating season! And the Lake Carriers Association — the Rocky River-based trade group that represents U.S. freighters on the Great Lakes — wants to keep all vessels safe on the water. “If everybody follows the rules of the road, if you have good seamanship, we ought to have a safe summer,” Lake Carriers…

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U.S. Coast Guard cutters are prepping for the start of the 2018 Great Lakes shipping season March 26 by breaking ice in Lake Superior, the Straits of Mackinac and the St. Marys River. The so-called Spring Breakout readies the lakes for the opening of the Soo Locks Sunday, connecting Lake Superior with Lake Huron. The U.S.…

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Meet Jason Kolar, a mate on a Great Lakes freighter. Kolar, of Cleveland, is the guy right below the captain, who takes care of payroll, manages the deck crew and plan how to load and unload the ship. Kolar, 28, who grew up in Olmsted Falls, spent his summers on Catawba as kid. His uncle…

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The Great Lakes shipping season ends Jan. 15. Until then, two Cleveland-based U.S. Coast Guard ice cutters are keeping the channels free of ice, so freighters can deliver goods from port to port. The Neah Bay and Morro Bay, 140-foot bay class ice-breaking tugs, freed multiple vessels beset by ice in western Lake Erie and…

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The city of Cleveland plans to paint 10 sections of bulkheads in the increasingly busy Cuyahoga River red, with “No Docking” signs to keep boaters from tying up there. The longest safety zone is along the revitalized Flats East Bank, a 600-foot stretch from Alley Cat Oyster Bar north to the Norfolk Southern Bridge. Parking…

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On the lookout for salties? Here are the European ships expected in the Port of Cleveland this month: Nov. 9: Fagelgracht, carrying containers, from Antwerp, Belgium Nov. 10: Albanyborg, carrying general cargo from Hamburg, Germany Nov. 12: Eeborg, carrying steel, from Ijmuiden, Netherlands Nov. 14: Drawsco, carrying coils/skids, from Ijmuiden, Netherlands Nov. 15: Federal Margaree,…

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