You didn’t get caught by that April Fools header, did you? PHMCThe Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the state agency that stewards the U.S. Brig Niagara and Erie Maritime Museum. The PHMC is responsible for the collect... hasn’t even posted a job description for Niagara Captain.

At the Jan. 4th & 5th private volunteer informational sessions, volunteers expressed concerns that a transition plan wasn’t put into place for Niagara’s care. According to notes several separate volunteers took and shared, at the Jan. 5th meeting the Erie Maritime Museum’s Site Administrator Jim HallJames E. Hall is the Site Administrator for the Erie Maritime Museum and a PHMC staff member. He replaced Walter Rybka in December of 2020. His background includes 13 years with th... said he wanted to have a Captain hired within 90 days with the remaining crew (mate, shipwright, and either an engineer or bosun) to follow shortly after. The PA Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) has had three months to hire these people, but there’s still no captain or shipwright in sight.

Even if PHMC hires that crew tomorrow, a safe and effective spring transit is still a tall order:

1. It is unrealistic to hire a Captain and expect them to send the ship off the next week. The Captain needs time to get to know the ship, the facilities, the people, the work to be done, and generally prepare.
2. The Coast Guard needs to be contacted well in advance to schedule inspections and ensure work is done to standard while the ship is still out of the water.
3. The ship herself needs to be prepared. (Winterized systems need to be prepared for use, life rafts brought on board, the cover needs to come off, aging fuel checked for spoilage…)
4. Who is going to direct the work once she gets to shipyard?
5. Who is going to do the work once there? What if the Coast Guard asks for additional work that PHMC hasn’t staffed for?
6. Have they ordered any necessary materials with long lead times? (e.g. the new propellers, or lumber of the right dimensions, hydration, and quality for ship use which might not be available through established state vendors)

How difficult will it be for PHMC to find a captain for Niagara?

Pretty darn difficult. There’s only a small pool of mariners with the right qualifications (Merchant Mariner CredentialA Merchant Mariner Credential(MMC), is a certification issued by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) that authorizes an individual to work aboard commercial vessels. This credenti... with the necessary tonnage and sailing endorsements). There just aren’t that many square-rigged ships around for mariners to get the required experience on. Across the maritime industry there is a shortage of officers, so the pool is further limited. And under the Jones Act, Niagara’s Captain also has to be an American. Chances are, those who could handle Niagara have likely already made commitments for the summer of 2024.

PHMC also hasn’t yet been able to hire a shipwright (the specialized ship’s carpenter that PHMC expects to also fulfill duties as engineer and AB-licensed sailor; see our comments on that in a previous petition update). The closing date for the shipwright job posting has now been extended for a second time (original end date was March 5th, then March 25th, now April 8th). The job has also just been converted to a union position.

What does all this mean for Niagara’s long-term timeline?

Niagara’s spring shipyard sets a lot of the pace for the rest of her maintenance timeline. If the survey work can’t be finished in the spring, then it’s very likely that the planning, bidding, hiring, and purchasing for the 2025 repair projects could also see setbacks. Delays anywhere in this process put the promise of a 2026 sailing season under increasing uncertainty. That’s why sticking to this spring 2024 timeline matters.

Why does Niagara even need to go to shipyard? (Again…)

The spring 2024 shipyard visit is crucial for several reasons, including Niagara’s U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) approvals, overall safety, and upkeep. Last fall, Niagara met the deadline for her minimum COI (certificate of inspectionThe Certificate of Inspection(COI) is a legal document issued by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) confirming that a vessel meets specified safety and operational standards. It ...) but other requirements the USCG imposed on her are still outstanding (primarily because PHMC refused to pay for them or delayed their final approval for so long they were no longer possible). When the USCG identifies deficiencies in a vessel’s condition, they document them on a form (CG-835The USCG 835 form is a document used to report deficiencies found during inspections of vessels subject to the Certificate of Inspection (COI) process. These deficiencies may perta...). Ship operators must promptly address these deficiencies within strict timelines, or they risk having their COI revoked. Several of these 835 deficiencies are due this spring (hence, a mandatory shipyard period).

In addition, the out-of-water survey required to plan the 2025 capital improvements must now be done this spring. It was supposed to happen at last fall’s shipyard. I heard the reason the fall survey never happened was because PHMC was trying very hard to get out of going to shipyard at all and was busy asking the USCG for extensions. Apparently PHMC didn’t have the funds available in their current budget pools, to which the Coast Guard replied that not having the funds is not a valid reason for an extension. PHMC delayed and delayed until the marine surveyor they planned to work with ended up taking another job and no one else was available. So now they have a contract that brings the marine surveyor out twice (January 2024 and spring 2024), presumably at an elevated cost as well as a delayed timeline.

Several of the documents from our Right To Know requestsA Right to Know (RTK) request is a request for information from a state or local government body in Pennsylvania. You are allowed to request any kind of information, and aside from... shed light on these conversations between PHMC, FNL, and USCG:

• Sept 2023 – Hall tells Sabatini that shipyard will not be happening until spring 2024 (Keep in mind, this is the period when PHMC still owes FNL significant invoices from the last maintenance period (at it’s peak totaling nearly $500,000), which PHMC didn’t even begin to pay until late 2023. Despite this, FNL still managed to fundraise all the money needed for this fall 2023 shipyard work. However, in this email EMM Site Administrator Jim Hall quibbles about overages as an excuse not to believe FNL staff. The overages referenced are from the 2021 shipyard directly after covid, when Niagara had sat for two years unmoving and unmaintained because no one was allowed on site, resulting in large amounts of plank rot that weren’t discovered until she was out of the water. This why everyone says Niagara is best maintained by actively sailing. It also demonstrates why volunteers are so concerned about non-mariners like the PHMC Site Administrator making all the final decisions for Niagara’s care.)
• Oct 2023 – Sabatini explains why shipyard is mandatory and that PHMC’s budget constraints are irrelevant to USCG and their safety requirements.

PHMC has also said they intend to install new propellers this spring. Last summer, when Niagara’s starboard prop broke, PHMC refused to pay for off-the-shelf fixed propellers as a temporary replacement. PHMC claimed they didn’t want to pay now for a temporary fix and then pay for a permanent fix later (see October email linked above), as well as Jim Hall’s protestations that he didn’t have authority for that level of expenditure. It also appears that the permanent fix is a custom order that usually takes about six months to deliver. But, after PHMC finally understood that the Coast Guard doesn’t mess around, and PHMC was in danger of the ship losing her COI (with a potential lapse in ALL Niagara’s operations, possibly forever) PHMC decided that they could find the money. Click here to see the email chain between PHMC leadership committing to the Nov 6 purchase deadline. We’ll see what they manage to install this spring. Did they actually place the propeller order last fall through their complicated procurement process? Or will they install the same temporary fix they scoffed at and claimed they didn’t have the funds for last year?

Who will take Niagara to shipyard?

Erie Maritime MuseumThe Erie Maritime Museum (EMM) is a cultural institution located in Erie, Pennsylvania, dedicated to preserving and showcasing the region's maritime heritage. Established in 1997, ... (EMM) Site Administrator Jim Hall has said that if they can’t get a crew together, they’ll use tugboats to tow Niagara to shipyard. The professional mariners I’ve spoken to consider this a dubious and risky solution. What’s more, Niagara is 35 years older than the last time she was moved with tugboat assistance in the ‘90s under Captain Rybka, before Niagara had any engines installed. Niagara was not built with tugboats in mind, and depending on what shipyard she is towed to her high sides, wooden cleats, and protruding spars can make the journey a difficult proposition, and that’s before taking into account Lake Erie’s famously fickle weather.

Using tugs would also be an enormously expensive proposition. If PHMC takes Niagara to Great Lakes Shipyard in Cleveland (where she usually goes), and uses The Great Lakes Towing Company (the sister company of the shipyard, who claims to have a 98% market share on commercial towing in the region and obviously knows that channel very well), we can at least get an estimate on what this would cost. The Great Lakes Towing Company’s current website says to contact them for rates, but I found their 2015 rate sheet (web archived version).

Estimated Towing at 2015 rates:

Tug transit to Erie: $1,751 per hour x 12 hours x 2 tugs = $42,024
Tug maneuvering in Erie Port: $9382 x 2 tugs = $18,764
Tug transit to Cleveland with Niagara in tow: $1,751 per hour x 18 hours x 2 tugs = $63,036
Tug maneuvering in Cuyahoga River and shipyard slip: $6331 x 2 tugs = $12,662

Total for one way transit with two tugs (using 2015 rates) = $136,486
Total round trip (using 2015 rates) = $272,972

So, an estimated $275,000 in taxpayer money to tow Niagara to shipyard, all because PHMC can’t attract a Captain and crew? And that’s based on 2015 numbers. Fuel costs have gone up dramatically in the past 8 years, so these rates are likely to be much higher.

I’ve heard that the Erie Maritime Museum Site Administrator has been telling the museum docents that towing Niagara is the likely path PHMC will be taking. Perhaps they haven’t yet bothered to look up the price? Even if they can get by with only one tugboat for the transit, or somehow get a significantly discounted rate, it seems unlikely the cost could be anything less than $100,000.

Not having a crew for Niagara is costly. It’s both financially expensive to find alternate means to crew management, and it could eventually cost us her sailing season in 2026.

PHMC could have avoided this by arranging a transitional plan for Niagara’s care with the Flagship Niagara League (FNL). Instead, PHMC terminated FNL’s operating contract with less than 20-days notice, with no new crew available to handle the ship’s care, and no apparent ability to recruit those people. It seems that FNL offered to allow their staff to participate in a transition, but PHMC refused. So here we are in spring time, still with no crew hired, and delays endangering the entire timeline for Niagara’s repairs and an eventual return to sailing.

Is transit difficult?

Yes, transit is quite difficult. There are two bridges that must open before Niagara can pass through to the shipyard in Cleveland. They are only a quarter of a mile apart and they don’t open at the same time. The crew refers to the space between those bridges as the “kill-box” because it is serious, dangerous business (even when Niagara has both her propellers and a push-boat). To navigate Niagara up the river, the captain must slow the 162-ton vessel to wait for the first bridge to open. However, they must also maintain enough speed to ensure steerage, as Niagara loses maneuverability when there’s no water passing over the rudder (true for all boats). Once through the first open bridge, they must then hold position for the second bridge to open, sometimes for an extended period. After passing through the second bridge, they can proceed the short distance to Great Lakes Shipyard. If anything goes wrong during this river portion of the journey, Niagara could either dismast herself on the closed bridge or careen into a wall on the side of the channel. It is essential to have qualified personnel familiar with the ship handling Niagara through these kinds of situations.

Even if the Erie Maritime Museum does manage to find a Captain, a shipwright, and a chief mate who could take Niagara to shipyard, they still have the issue of finding the necessary crew to safely get her there: to check engines, to watch for flooding, and to handle dock lines… It takes 14-18 hours to motor Niagara to Cleveland, depending on weather and wind direction, so you work in shifts (called “watches” on a ship). Docking or anchoring is no simple task. It requires a large team of experienced people – a minimum of 10 by my count. If an inexperienced handler is on the dock lines, they could easily lose their entire hand if they get caught unawares and trapped – that’s how great the forces are. But PHMC has done a very effective job at alienating their ship volunteers. At this point, I don’t know how they’d manage to scrape together enough qualified and experienced people to accomplish the task.

Let’s Not Forget

Let’s also remember that Niagara currently only has one propeller. Having only one propeller instead of two dramatically decreases Niagara’s maneuverability and control, even under the most experienced Captain. When she went to Cleveland on only one propeller in fall 2023, she had Captain Billy SabatiniFleet Captain William "Billy" Sabatini is the executive director and fleet captain of the Flagship Niagara League. Sabatini grew up in southeastern Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, and ... in command, who has worked with Niagara for over 18 years. He used two small push-boats (in normal circumstances only one push-boat is used) with experienced push-boat crew to ensure they could maneuver Niagara safely. Despite all the experienced crew and precautions, it was still a high-stress, very precarious situation.

When Niagara returns to the shipyard this year, she faces the challenge of navigating a narrow channel shared with various vessels, including barges, pleasure boats, tugs, and kayakers. The process involves timing the passage under two bridges that need to open for her, halting the forward motion of the 162-ton ship, swinging her diagonally across the channel, backing her into the shipyard’s lifting slip, then quickly securing the five large dock lines that prevent her from smashing into the concrete at the back of the slip. Under Captain Sabatini’s command, the ship and crew successfully navigated this hazardous operation on one propeller not once, but twice, because PHMC declined to pay for those off-the-shelf temporary replacement propellers last fall.

Now, Niagara must undertake this challenging and risky journey again, exposing both the ship and her crew to a third perilous voyage on a single propeller. Only this time she’ll be under the command of a new captain who is not as familiar with the ship, accompanied by similarly unfamiliar crew. (Even for seasoned mariners, each ship has its own quirks, and it takes time to become acquainted with them.)

Alternatively, PHMC could spend anywhere from $100,000 to over $300,000 of taxpayer money to tow Niagara with tugboats. This poses risks of its own, such as potential damage in tight quarters or during the towing process, on top of that heavy price tag. All because PHMC refused to pay for the temporary propellers last fall, refused to use FNL staff during this transitional time, doesn’t appear capable of finding any mariners willing to work for them, and a string of other questionable decisions they’ve made.

Sounds like PHMC is off to a great start with their stewardship of Niagara and her people…

If you’re concerned about these issues, please reach out to your local legislators. Share the petition with others. And demand transparency and accountability for how our ship is being cared for.

Don’t Give Up The Ship

Katie Zawrotniak
Petition creator, fellow Niagara supporter

PS – A note on that shipwright position union change… PHMC didn’t add the union element to make the job more appealing in the face of low response rate. It was the result of a volunteer voicing their concerns to their own union’s leadership and providing the union with PHMC’s leadership’s contact information. This volunteer was fully aware of what it’s like doing this sort of work and what it’s like working with PHMC. They felt having the position under a union would provide at least some sort of protection for the shipwright if PHMC were to make unreasonable demands of them. With what appears to be no real applicants for the shipwright position, apparently PHMC accepted that change. We’ll see if it works…

PPS – Even with all the uncertainty over her future, the Lettie G. HowardThe Lettie G. Howard is a historic schooner currently operated by the Flagship Niagara League(FNL) in Erie and owned by the South Street Seaport Museum(SSSM) in New York City. Buil... has her winter cover off, and work is underway for her spring sailing preparations. It’s quite the contrast seeing Lettie all abuzz with activity and Niagara still buttoned up and untouched. It reminds me of 2021, when Lettie enjoyed a full sailing season while PHMC wouldn’t even allow Niagara’s winter cover to be removed until late summer… These are the images that always feel so jarring to me when PHMC says over and over in press releases that they are committed to Niagara sailing. Actions speak louder than words.

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Addendum: Volunteer Notes

Here are the links to the various separate notes taken from the Erie Maritime Museum private volunteer information session following FNL’s termination. Click here to return to where the meeting notes were mentioned in the post.

January Volunteer Meeting Notes: Steven Perry

January Volunteer Meeting Notes: Hank Wiest

January Volunteer Meeting Notes: Ginny Sivak