Despite the industry's outstanding Safety record, experienced Great Lakes mariners have a proper regard for the dangers of sailing these "Inland Seas." Superior's "Gales of November" are legendary. Erie's shallow nature (generally only about 80 feet deep) means she can be whipped into 6-foot waves in a matter of minutes.
In the past decade or so, Great Lakes professional mariners have had another worry - a vast and continuing expansion of the recreational boating industry. The shores of the St. Clair River are densely populated with summer homes, nearly all sporting a boat dock or floating pier. A booming casino in Windsor, Ontario, is planning a marina that has the potential to concentrate thousands of pleasure boaters in the Detroit River, already one of the busiest waterways on the Lakes.
The banks of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland have become the second-largest tourist attraction in the state of Ohio. One of the area's draws is that several times a day a self-unloader laden with iron ore or stone or a cement boat inches its way up and down the twisting river, although not necessarily for the entertainment of the pleasure boaters rafted 5 or 6 deep off the many restaurants and nightspots.
Lake Carriers' Association, in conjunction with concerned recreational boating organizations, has twice published a flier titled Make Way! The widely-distributed leaflet discusses the navigational difficulties facing ship Captains in confined waters, and how pleasure boaters can help make the channel safe for all.
The Association has also produced a video detailing the demands of sailing a freighter up and down the twisting Cuyahoga River in Cleveland. (Some turns are so tight that a person standing on the bow can touch the branches of trees overhanging the river.)
These efforts have not been for naught; many more pleasure boaters now know and heed the "Rules of the Road." But recent tragedies, including when two teenage boys drowned following an incident with a shallow-draft tug/barge unit on Lake Erie, sadly and forcefully illustrate the dangers that exist.
No set of rules or regulations can ever totally eliminate accidents. However, some very effective steps can be taken without relying on Federal or State statutes. If developers will be sensitive to the needs of commercial navigation when determining the location of a marina or entertainment complex; if more recreational boaters will learn good seamanship... then the system could be nearly trouble free.
The Cuyahoga River is a prime example of how unchecked redevelopment creates serious problems for commercial navigation and poses unrecognized dangers to the uninformed pleasure boater. The rebirth of Cleveland's "Flats" has, as noted, made the banks of the Cuyahoga River the second-largest tourist attraction in Ohio. Many of the light industries that once fronted the river are gone; in their place are restaurants and nightspots, many of which offer mooring berths for pleasure craft.
Nonetheless, while the scenery has changed, the Cuyahoga's primary role has not. The waterway remains the raw materials lifeline for LTV Steel's Cleveland Works, three cement distribution terminals, several stone docks, a leading salt shipper.... In 1995, cargo movement across river and lakefront docks topped 14.4 million tons, the highest level since 1988. The companies dependent on those commodities generate some 10,000 jobs and $360 million in annual payroll.
The need for efficiency requires the use of the largest possible vessel in every trade. For the Cuyahoga River, that means 635' x 68'. This size vessel has little room to spare on the turns, and at times, even in the straight-aways.
A trip up and down the river has not been made any easier by the influx of pleasure boats. At the height of the summer season, the river is literally alive with small craft. Come the lunch or dinner hour, it is commonplace to see pleasure boats rafted 5, 6 deep off the bars and restaurants.
As recreational boating increased in the Cuyahoga River, the U.S. Coast Guard declared certain areas "Safety Zones." These are locations where small craft are prohibited from mooring during transit of a commercial freighter.
The Safety Zone concept improved conditions in the river, but in 1995, LCA, the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office Cleveland and many Flats businesses developed a system whereby freighters announce their arrival and departure times via a pager system. The restaurants and entertainment complexes then alert any boaters moored in a Safety Zone that they must vacate within a certain period of time. The system worked well enough that it will again be in effect in 1996.
Some of the problems on the Cuyahoga and other industrial rivers need never have occurred if developers had better appreciated the role of commercial navigation and the realities of shipping. To the naked eye a body of water can seem vast, but it's what's below the surface that counts. A ship 635 feet long loaded to a draft of 25 feet can only navigate in those waters dredged to accommodate such size and displacement. When pleasure boats raft into the Federal navigation channel, they've further reduced the area of water where the ship can safely operate.
Therefore, waterfront developers must take into consideration the needs of commercial navigation. Whereas they have some flexibility about locating a dock or floating finger pier, the shipper and carrier have no option as concerns the location of an existing facility. The steel mill, stone dock, cement terminal... was located where it is because that site afforded access to waterborne commerce. Should recreational boating impede that commerce, the increased transportation costs will lessen the plant's efficiency.
The most important issue is Safety. The Great Lakes are a recreational resource that can be shared, provided pleasure boaters realize that a commercial freighter cannot turn or change course quickly even if there is sufficient depth under the keel in all directions. A ship checked down to just a few miles an hour cannot stop on a dime. The Captain of a ship with the pilothouse aft does not always have direct visual contact with pleasure boats in his path, and the look-out on the bow may not be able to report a fast moving boat in time for the Master to take any evasive action.
Commercial navigation and recreational boating can co-exist. The key is knowledge, knowledge of seamanship and the Rules of the Road. The Captain and Deck Officers on a freighter have the knowledge and have been provided the equipment to navigate the Lakes safely. The recreational community must share that commitment to Safety.