[casaguy]

Was forced to wait, so I figured I'd snap some pics.

There are 2 lift bridges on Cherry Street. This is the southernmost one just south of Polson (The Docks).

 

[Conrad Black]

Love that bridge. Wonder if they'll keep it once the area gets redeveloped.

 

[casaguy]

There's something re-assuring, almost romantic about it.

Old-fashioned technology? Patience with the slowness of its operation?

Who knows. I don't mind waiting.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Kind of reminds me when I was young growing up in Scarborough and seemingly waiting forever in the car while trains passed by.

 

[Hydrogen]

Love that bridge. Wonder if they'll keep it once the area gets redeveloped.

I have the same question/concern.

 

[junctionist]

There would be a heritage argument, it might already be in the inventory of properties (not that that really means anything concrete about preservation). There might be noise concerns, but that would just require a change in surface.

 

[casaguy]

A few metres east of the lift bridge sits this ship. It's been there for years. I see the odd person on it occassionaly. Anyone know what's up with it? Can a ship just park anywhere and call it home? Are they renting this space?

I also always thought it'd be kinda cool to throw a party on the stern.

 

[Admiral Beez]

That ship is operated by Algoma Central Marine, and registered in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario http://www.algonet.com/

She's the Algobay, see her specs detailed internal drawings under the Business Units - Fleet Information - Self Unloaders at http://www.algonet.com/

The Algobay is a Self-Unloading bulker, with two belt elevators, built by Collingwood Shipyards in 1972, with a gross displacement of 22,466 metric tons, and cargo capacity of 34,381 metric tons.

Per Boat Nerd http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet/algobay.htm the Algobay entered long term lay-up in December, 2002 tieing up at Toronto. The hull reportedly requires extensive steelwork and equipment upgrades.

 

[casaguy]

Wow, thanks for the info... and so swiftly!

So, it has been there for 5 years... I wonder where they are in their upgrade progress.

 

[junctionist]

I've never seen any equipment on it or any work going on. It seems like nothing has happened in all these years, but I'll admit I'm not a boat nerd. I like it in its current state, so full of mystery.

 

[unimaginative2]

I'm mildly surprised that they haven't made efforts to bring it back into service. Great Lakes Shipping is quite lucrative these days and there is a bit of a shortage of bulkers.

 

[Admiral Beez]

So, it has been there for 5 years... I wonder where they are in their upgrade progress.

Probably very little has been done. For the repairs they've listed, the ship needs to go to the Canadian Shipbuilding & Engineering yard in Port Colborne, Ontario, where HMCS Haida was refurbished before moving to Hamilton.

Note that the caption says the Algobay is laid up in Toronto, which tells me that the ship is not being repaired in Toronto, but stored in Toronto awaiting repair elsewhere. If it doesn't happen soon, you can expect the boat to be scrapped, or completely re-engined. Bulk carrier ships built today are much more efficient than when the Algobay was built in 1972, and it all comes down to tonnage carried per ton of fuel burned to carry it, plus the total tonnage the ship can carry. Also, in the 1980s the Welland Canal authorities increased the permitted beam from the mid-70' mark to IIRC only an inch or two of the maximum 80+ feet of the canal walls, again making wider ships more economical due to their greater capacity (this is why you'll sometimes see older 1970's bulk carrier vessels with their middles cut out and then bulged outward, while the bow and stern remain the original width). If the economics don't work, it will be scrapped, and replaced by a ship, likely made in Asia.