THUNDER BAY — When the damaged lake carrier Michipicoten headed to a Wisconsin port last summer for repairs, an opportunity for the Thunder Bay shipyard left as well.
The 689-foot self-unloading vessel suffered a 13-foot-long breach to its hull in June 2024 while carrying iron ore pellets southwest of Isle Royale.
After a temporary patch was applied at dockside at Keefer Terminal, owner Lower Lakes Towing of Port Dover, Ont. sent it to Fraser Shipyards in Superior, Wisconsin for more repairs.
Ontario Shipyards has now revealed that it offered to fix the vessel at its dry dock in Thunder Bay.
"We pursued it. We provided them with a solution. They chose to go somewhere else. That's their business, but we did try to bring that to Thunder Bay," said Ted Kirkpatrick, director of business development and government relations for Ontario Shipyards.
In an interview Tuesday, he was asked why the company wasn't able to land the job.
"We felt we were able to be competitive. I can't speak to business decisions that other groups make. We put forward what we felt was a real solution, and they chose to go in a different direction, and that's their prerogative as a business owner."
Lower Lakes Towing has not responded to media inquiries about the Michipicoten since the incident last year.
As of Tuesday, the ship was still reported to be at the US shipyard.
The Thunder Bay facility was idled early last year but did receive a contract in December 2024 to repair the bulk carrier Federal Yoshino which was damaged in an incident in the Kam River a month earlier.
The work has just been completed.
But Kirkpatrick said the local yard remains available for any other work that might come its way.
"It's open. There are still Ontario Shipyards employees that work there. Have we had to slim it down and be more opportunistic? Yes, but it is an active facility, and always has been."
He said a skeleton crew remains on the site, but added that the repairs to the Federal Yoshino are a good example of how the facility can be mobilized quickly to undertake complex projects.
"We were able to complete it on time, which I know made the vessel owners very happy. We're very thankful to Anglo- Eastern (a ship management firm) and Fednav (the owner of the ship) for giving us the opportunity and putting their faith in us. I think it was a great outcome."
Kirkpatrick said the company will continue efforts to find more work for the Thunder Bay yard in the months to come.
