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About this visit:
The Paul R Tregurtha arrived Duluth MN January 04, 2023 at 23:33 for the 38th time this season! Arriving this time, instead of coal, to load Iron Ore at the CN dock.
This is their 7th load of Iron ore this season, counting all visited docks.
They arrived at the CN dock Jan 05 at 02:11 and began loading their ore.
January 06 at 09:52 they finished loading and departed the CN Dock.
At 11:04 they departed the Duluth Port heading to Indiana Harbor
Enjoy the ice flows!
Info from wikiwand.com
Construction
The Interlake Steamship Company was given a contract in 1979, by its customer Republic Steel, to transport iron ore from Lake Superior ports to their steel mill at Indiana Harbor, or to their transshipment terminal at Lorain.
Designed by the American Ship Building Company to fulfill two briefs:
Bulk carrier
Executive passenger transportation
With the second brief in mind, she was one of the first freighters with full air conditioning, elevators, and luxurious décor. Built in two parts, her keel was laid down on July 12, 1979, at the American Ship Building Company yard in Toledo, Ohio. On completion, the forward section was towed to their yard in Lorain, Ohio where it was mated with the stern portion. The completed hull No. 909 has a total length of 1,013 feet (309 m).
Stephens-Adamson designed a loop belt elevator system, that feeds a stern mounted 260-foot (79 m) discharge boom that can be swung 100 degrees to port or starboard. Capable of unloading at a rate of 10,000 long tons of iron ore per hour, or 6,000 net tons of coal per hour, the total system displaces 14,497 tons.
Formally launched on February 4, 1981, the vessel was christened on April 25, 1981, as MV William J. De Lancey, named in honor of Republic Steel's chairman who participated in the launch. In 1990 she received her current name. Paul R. Tregurtha, born 1935, was the Vice Chairman of Interlake Steamship Company's Board.
Operations
MV William J. De Lancey departed Lorain on her maiden voyage on May 10, 1981, sailing in ballast to Silver Bay, Minnesota, to load 55,944 long tons (56,842 t) of iron ore pellets. She arrived back in Lorain on May 16, 1981. She holds a number of cargo records:
August 7, 1982: 63,007 long tons (64,018 t) load at Escanaba, Michigan, for Indiana Harbor
July 20, 1983: broke the Lorain port record delivering 61,846 long tons (62,838 t) of iron ore pellets from Escanaba. She then established a lower lakes record by loading 50,239 long tons (51,045 t) net tons of coal from Ashtabula to Consumers Power, becoming the largest cargo loaded on the lower Great Lakes.
First 71 cargoes totaled 4,151,398 long tons (4,218,015 t), averaging 58,450 long tons (59,390 t) per load, restricted due to the lower draft in Lorain (less draft) and Escanaba to Indiana Harbor
Holds lower lakes record of 50,239 net tons of coal, shipped from Ashtabula, Ohio, to Consumers Power
2001 season: Carried the most cargo through the Soo Locks at 3,004,957 long tons (3,053,177 t)
On termination of the Republic Steel contract, on May 23, 1990, she was rechristened MV Paul R. Tregurtha at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, named in honor of the Vice Chairman of Interlake Steamship Co. On May 3, 2002, her only captain died in his cabin, Captain Mitch Hallin, aged 55.
In winter 2004, she was asked to transport a reserve of coal to Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, necessitating a mid-winter voyage. Loading 43,000 net tons in Conneaut, Ohio, both United States and Canadian Coast Guard services provided ice breaking assistance so that the voyage was completed without any delays. After unloading on January 29, she departed for her normal winter lay-up in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
She was the subject of a television program in the first season of Discovery Channel Canada's series Mighty Ships. That program recounts how in 2008, while leaving Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, MV Paul R. Tregurtha got stuck in ice and cracked steel plating on the port side of her bow, causing ballast tank water to leak out. Framing beneath the plating was also bent and cracked. After undergoing repairs at the Fraser Shipyards in Superior, Wisconsin, she then loaded her coal cargo at the dock and carried it to Detroit, Michigan.
General characteristics
Class and type
Lake freighter
Tonnage
14,497 net register tonnage 36,360 GT
Length 1,013.5 ft (308.9 m)
Beam 105 ft (32 m)
Depth 56 ft (17 m)
Installed power
2 × MaK 6M43C four-stroke diesel engines, 8,160 HP (6 MW) each at 514 RPM
Propulsion 2 × 5.33 m (17.5 ft) controllable-pitch propeller
Bow thruster: 1,500 hp (1,100 kW)
Speed 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph)
Capacity Iron ore: 68,000 long tons (69,000 t)
Coal: 63,616 long tons (64,637 t)