Chasin' Cason in Port Huron

Yesterday was National Maritime Day which is day where we celebrate our Merchant Marine.  Even though the United States Merchant Marine isn't quite what it used to be, it is still an important part of our economy.  It is even more important on the Great Lakes.

 I decided that I wanted to celebrate Maritime Day in my own way.  Before I left work, I decide to see if there was anything shipping wise stirring in the area.

 When I saw that the Cason J. Callaway was stirring around Port Huron and would arrive at about the same time I would arrive there, I decided to head up to Port Huron.  It wasn't a terribly pleasant drive up as they have westbound 696 closed from I-94 to I-75 which increased the amount of traffic I saw.  Also, there was a pretty major accident around 8 Mile that gummed up the works.  After I passed that, it was smooth sailing.

 The Cason J. Callaway as she comes off Lake Michigan.  She is one of the AAA class freighters built in the 1950's and she is product of the Great Lakes Engineering Works.  She is pretty closely related to the Arthur M. Anderson.

 I'm not sure where she was headed from but she was headed to Conneaut, Ohio.  That means she was either carrying iron ore or stone.  I think she was headed from Calcite, which means she was carrying stone.

 She passes by the Blue Water Bridges.

 She passes by me.  I'll have to say that I love the looks of these ships.  They are a classic in every respect.

 And the almost beam shot.

 She passes by.

A puff of black smoke as she increases power to her engines and continues down the St. Clair River.