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A vessel now anchored in the Port of Milwaukee has crew members with COVID-19 on board.The ship, called the Presque Isle, is a 1,000-foot articulated tug/barge vessel. It hauled 50,000 tons of taconite, an iron-ore derivative, from Minnesota to Gary, Indiana. The Presque Isle typically carries the cargo from upper Minnesota to different ports in Indiana and sometimes Ohio for their steel mills. On Wednesday, after docking at the Port of Gary, nine of the 22 crew members tested positive for coronavirus. Two crew members got off the vessel in and were hospitalized and seven still remain on the ship, according to Port Director Adam Tindall-Schlicht. A spokesperson with the Lakes Carriers’ Association told WISN 12 News that the Great Lakes shipping season just started about a week ago. The Port of Gary did not have the space or time to take care of the rest of the crew and ship, which is why officials called the Port of Milwaukee for help. “Customers on the Great Lakes knew they could call us, not only on a safety of port operations perspective, but looking at how the city of Milwaukee in and of itself has been sensitive in its response to the COVID-19 crisis,” Tindall-Schlicht said.Size and schedule also came into play. The Port of Milwaukee is one of the only ports that can handle a ship the size of the Presque Isle. Even Chicago’s canals are too shallow for the ship. Tindall-Schlicht said Port of Milwaukee’s international shipping season also doesn’t start until mid-April, so they had the dock space and time to care for the ship and crew. Tindall-Schlicht said they have been working with the Milwaukee Health Department and a safety plan has been developed to quarantine the rest of the crew. The ship will be anchored in open water off the coast for several days. On Monday, the boat will come into port, crew members will quarantine and the ship will be cleaned, Tindall-Schlicht said. Eventually, a new crew will board the ship. Tindall-Schlicht said generally, crew members drive into a port from across the Midwest and are on board the ship for weeks at a time. “We’ve been prepared for this inevitability. We’re a year-plus into the pandemic,” Tindall-Schlicht said. “What we’re seeing is an execution of a plan that was first articulated over a year ago when the pandemic began.”
A vessel now anchored in the Port of Milwaukee has crew members with COVID-19 on board.
The ship, called the Presque Isle, is a 1,000-foot articulated tug/barge vessel. It hauled 50,000 tons of taconite, an iron-ore derivative, from Minnesota to Gary, Indiana.
The Presque Isle typically carries the cargo from upper Minnesota to different ports in Indiana and sometimes Ohio for their steel mills.
On Wednesday, after docking at the Port of Gary, nine of the 22 crew members tested positive for coronavirus. Two crew members got off the vessel in and were hospitalized and seven still remain on the ship, according to Port Director Adam Tindall-Schlicht.
A spokesperson with the Lakes Carriers’ Association told WISN 12 News that the Great Lakes shipping season just started about a week ago. The Port of Gary did not have the space or time to take care of the rest of the crew and ship, which is why officials called the Port of Milwaukee for help.
“Customers on the Great Lakes knew they could call us, not only on a safety of port operations perspective, but looking at how the city of Milwaukee in and of itself has been sensitive in its response to the COVID-19 crisis,” Tindall-Schlicht said.
Size and schedule also came into play. The Port of Milwaukee is one of the only ports that can handle a ship the size of the Presque Isle. Even Chicago’s canals are too shallow for the ship.
Tindall-Schlicht said Port of Milwaukee’s international shipping season also doesn’t start until mid-April, so they had the dock space and time to care for the ship and crew.
Tindall-Schlicht said they have been working with the Milwaukee Health Department and a safety plan has been developed to quarantine the rest of the crew.
The ship will be anchored in open water off the coast for several days.
On Monday, the boat will come into port, crew members will quarantine and the ship will be cleaned, Tindall-Schlicht said.
Eventually, a new crew will board the ship. Tindall-Schlicht said generally, crew members drive into a port from across the Midwest and are on board the ship for weeks at a time.
“We’ve been prepared for this inevitability. We’re a year-plus into the pandemic,” Tindall-Schlicht said. “What we’re seeing is an execution of a plan that was first articulated over a year ago when the pandemic began.”
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