Not stuck, freighter just waits its turn for coal dock

Despite many calls inquiring about a stuck freighter, the Sandusky Dock Corp. said Wednesday the lake freighter Saginaw was not stuck in Sandusky Bay — it just chose to stop in an unusual spot."I'm not sure why they parked out there," employee Greg Stallard said. "I guess (the captain) had thirsty guys who he didn't want to get off the boat."Saginaw, a former American freighter now owned and operated by Lower Lakes Towing of Port Dover, Ontario, waited about 10 hours in the channel for another freighter — the barge McKee Sons and its tug, Invincible — to leave the dock, Stallard said.McKee Sons, a converted freighter, is owned by Lake Service Shipping of Michigan and chartered to Lower Lakes Transportation of New York, making it a fleetmate of sorts to the Saginaw.The docks had enough space for both — it's not unusual for one freighter to tie up alongside the dock behind another that's under the coal loader — but Saginaw decided to wait in the channel near the Geo. Gradel Dock and the Deep Water Marina site.