RANDY HAYES (on radio): Saltwater vessel ISA.
We'll be inbound, Milwaukee main entrance about one hour.
Looks like we've got a little wind today,
but we'll get her done.
MAN: Okay, I'm going to keep this angle and just ease up
so we don't get too much stern.
Yeah, okay.
HAYES: We're District Three.
We cover Lake Huron, Michigan and Superior.
There's pilots on these ships throughout the Great Lakes.
I've been a pilot for about 20 years.
Today I'm on board the ISA.
We're discharging cargo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
(on radio): Just keep working on that.
If you can't do it, I'll kick it ahead.
Right now I've got the engine stopped.
I'll kick it out hard port if I have to.
We are carrying high-quality steel
to make appliances.
On the Great Lakes, it's mainly steel in and grain back out.
You know, we eat soybeans, corn, what have you.
Draft is how far below the waterline the ship is.
Every extra inch of draft means so many more tons of cargo,
and that's where the water levels become crucial.
The trend is for lower water levels.
There's no doubt about that.
Lower water levels, less shipping, less cargo.
Our official season starts April 15, and it ends December 15.
Generally speaking, we start somewhat before that.
We'll start late March and go until almost Christmas.
What determines that is when the seaway opens.
If the shipping season was extended--
and conceivably if it gets warmed up,
you could run all year--
then that would definitely change shipping.
We would take the place of a lot of rails and trucking and so on.
That's one thing we tout about shipping--
it's the most economical
and the most environmentally friendly way to move cargo.
There's no comparison.
Climate change is kind of a double-edged sword.
Overall I see it as a minus.
It would change this job, for sure.
(boat horn blowing)