(Top) Interlake Steamship's 1000' M/V Stewart J. Cort approaches the Blatnik Bridge in the Duluth Harbor after departing Fraser Shipyards following a week-long layup. Sister vessels M/V Paul R. Tregurtha loads at SMET while the M/V Herbert C. Jackson backs away from CN Hallet Dock #5 following its unload of limestone in the background, both of the Interlake Steamship Company. Photo courtesy David Schauer. (Right) Viewed from the old railroad bridge, the Cort is seen departing Fraser Shipyards with the Paul R. Tregurtha loading behind. Photo courtesy Paul Scinocca.
Interlake Steamship's 1000' M/V Stewart J. Cort, whose unlicensed crew is represented by USW Local 5000, returned to active service on Saturday following a week-long temporary layup at Fraser Shipyards in Superior, Wisconsin. Company officials notified its workforce in late June of the possibility of the Cort being layed up for several weeks due to softened demand for steel as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Nearly three months ago, ArcelorMittal announced its intention to idle its Hibbing Taconite Company and lay off around 650 employees represented by USW Local 2705 in Hibbing, Minnesota. Hibbing Taconite produces iron ore pellets used for the production of steel at mills including ArcelorMittal's Burns Harbor mill in Proctor, Indiana. The Cort, specifically designed to haul iron ore runs a dedicated route between the BNSF Railway Dock 5 supplied by Hibbing Taconite Company in Superior, Wisconsin, and the Burns Harbor mill. Following the idling of the mine, shipments of ore from the BNSF facility would continue until stockpiles ran out or the mine restarted operations. The last of the remaining stockpile was shipped south two weeks ago leaving the Cort without a cargo.
Following what officials at ArcelorMittal describe as a stabilization of the steel market in the "medium-term," production at the Burns Harbor facility increased to meet future demand for steel. Operations at Hibbing Taconite Company resumed last Saturday, with the first train delivering ore pellets to the BNSF dock on Monday.
Interlake Steamship retained the crew of the Cort during the week-long layup to take advantage of the opportunity to perform shipboard maintenance and avoided a layoff of fifteen permanent crewmembers. Of the 19 vessels whose unlicensed crews are represented by USW Local 5000, six remain in long term layup due to the weak economy, representing a loss of about 70 permanent crew positions and approximately 30 relief crew positions.
