A KC-135 Tanker Flies Overhead

On Thursday I decided to head up to Port Huron to catch a couple of ships.  As I was stuck in traffic near Selfridge, I saw this guy fly over.    I had to stop quickly to grab a picture.

The only camera I could grab quickly was the camera on my phone, so this picture was taken with my phone and blown up a bit.  I apologize for the quality of it but it was the best I could do.  Anyway, it is a KC-135 Stratotanker operating out of Selfridge.  It was pretty cool to see.

Life Is Just a Fantasy

The next ship was also a surprise but not too much of one.

 I actually saw her down in Lake Erie as she was entering the Detroit River as I looked at AIS.  Over the years of experience, I've discovered that means it will be about 2.5 hours before she arrives at Belle Isle.

 She was on her way up to Sarnia and I think she was coming from Nanticoke.  I'm not sure if she was loaded or not.

 It would be about five hours from this point until she arrives in Sarnia.

 I didn't want to swap lens, so I kept the big lens on.  That let me get some detail shots.

 A shot of her bow.  The red flag means that she is carrying dangerous cargo.  So from  that, I would assume she was loaded.

 A shot of her pilothouse.  The orange thing on the back is her life boat.  It will slip from the rails if there is danger.

One more shot as she passes by.

And the reason for the title?  Aldo Nova was a band in the 80's and that was the title of their only hit.

Catching the Algosea

As I was at Marysville, I saw that I had a chance to catch two more ships. 

 The Algosea was one of them and she was heading to Sarnia.

 I'm not sure where she was heading from but I think Nanticoke to Sarnia is a common run for her.  If that's the case, that is about a 20 hour journey.

 Nanticoke is roughly on the Lake Erie side of the Welland Canal.  There is steel mill there and I think there is a refinery.

 The water was relatively smooth when she passed.

 It made for some nice reflections.

 From this point, she is about a half hour from her destination in Sarnia.

And a stern shot as she passes.

AlgoCanada Passes Belle Isle

Next I headed over to Belle Isle.  There was another ship that I was hoping to catch.

 The AlgoCanada was passing in front of that ship.  I'm not sure where she was headed but I'm pretty sure she was coming from Windsor.

 I'll have to say that Algoma does a pretty good job of taking care of their tankers but then again, I don't think they use them as much.

 they are still pretty cool looking ships though.

And one more as she moves on.

The Jana Desgagnes Slips By

The next one is another one that surprised me.

 I think the Jana Desgagnes was docked in Sarnia.  she was either loading with fuel or had just unloaded there.  At any rate, she was another ship I was not expecting to catch.

 She was on her way to Montreal.

 She's another ship I haven't seen in a while, which is kind of a shame because I like her coloring.

 A warning that she might be carrying dangerous stuff.

And she's off.

And An Appearance by the Algonova

And when I thought I was done with the shipping season, I looked at AIS and I saw that there was a ship that was heading up.  I also saw that she would be passing Belle Isle at about the time I wanted to leave the Auto Show.

 The ship in question was the Algonova.  It seems that there are always a couple of ships that will transit the Lakes after the Locks are closed.  They pretty much have to stick to either the lower Lakes or Lake Superior.  For the most part, they tend to be tankers.

 The Algonova was built in 2008 at the Eregli Shipyad in Zonguldak, Turkey.

 She is owned by the Tanker division of Algoma Central.

 She was heading up to Sarnia.  I'm not sure if that was for layup or to pick up another load of fuel.

At anyrate, it was pretty cool to see a ship.

Last Up, the Jana Desgagnes

My last ship of the day was kind of a surprise.  I didn't notice her on AIS but I will take it all the same.

 The Jana Desgagnes is a tanker that is run by the Desgagnes Group out of Quebec City.

 I think they are beautiful looking ships.  I love their color scheme.  Especially the orange band across the pilothouse.

 An almost beam shot.

I'm not sure where she is headed though.

A Surprise Guest

Next up is a ship that I wasn't expecting to see.

 The AlgoCanada was docked in Sarnia as I was passing by, so I wasn't really expecting to see her in action.

 She's a nice looking boat, so I was happy to see that.

 Just in case you don't realize how many gallons of flammable products on her, there are warnings not to smoke.

 She starts to pass by.

 And she passes the Frontenac.

And she continues down the St Clair River.

Maria...the First Time I've Seen Here

Usually if there is a ship I haven't seen, it's because it's a new build or it's a salty.

 Given that this vessel is operated by Groupe Desgagnes out of Quebec City, I'm not sure what category she fits in.  I think she can serve the role of a salty but I'm not sure.

 She's not particularly new as she was built in China in 1999.  She started life as the Kilchem Asia but she only kept that name for a year. 

 She's only 393 feet long and can carry a little over 13,000 tons of cargo.

 Either way, she's a pretty nice looking boat but if you look at the scuffs, you can tell she's a hard worker.  I think that's a symptom of having to go through the Welland every so often.

I like the color scheme of this particular company.

And one more shot as she continues on her way to Quebec City.

The Tanker Harbour Clear

Next up is another new comer to this blog.  For this series of shots, I decided to head over to Del Ray.

 She is the tanker Harbour Clear owned by Nordic Tankers out of Copenhagen, Denmark.

 She was launched in 2001 as the Jo Chiara. In 2004, she lost the Jo part of her name and became known as the Chiara.  She would become the Nora in 2006 and in 2009, she would get her current name.

 the Harbour Clear is roughly 453 feet long and is 75 feet wide.  This gives her a carrying capacity of almost 17,000 tons.

She is heading to Sarnia.  I'm not sure if she is picking up or delivering though.

At any rate, I don't think she is a bad looking ship.