Here is the newest lake freighter making another visit to Duluth, Minnesota on January 6, 2023. This was her fifth visit to the Twin Ports since being launched in summer 2022. For this visit, she was bringing in steel rods, an unusual cargo typically not associated with lake freighters. The steel rods were loaded in Monroe, Michigan and were to be off-loaded at Port Terminal in Duluth. The rods are to be delivered to Gerdau Ameristeel and will turned into crusher balls for mining and milling equipment... which might someday be used at the iron ore mines to crush raw ore and process for creating taconite pellets. After unloading the steel rods, the "Baby Barker" was scheduled to load taconite at the CN dock in West Duluth... which someday might be turned into more steel rods! The versatility of the Barker to switch between package cargo and bulk cargo is one of her main advantages, which was aptly demonstrated on this visit.
If you would like to see a photo of her cargo (and her cargo hold) by photographer Paul LaMarre III, one can be seen at the Boatnerd website by clicking on this link: boatnerd.com/w...
We got a nice captain's salute from the Mark W. Barker as she made her way through the Duluth shipping canal. The Aerial Lift Bridge responded in kind, as part of the traditional exchange of greetings between the ship and the bridge. In reality, the salutes are more likely done for the entertainment of the onlookers at canal park, as the ship and bridge always talk to each other on the radio before the ship enters the canal.
The 639-foot Mark W. Barker was constructed in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and launched in the Spring of 2022, making her the first newly-built American lake freighter since 1983. She made her first sea trials under her own power on July 1, 2022. She is the first "River Class" freighter, meaning she is designed to navigate rivers such as the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland. She is powered by two 4,000 horsepower, 16-cylinder EMD diesel engines which drive a single 18-foot, four-blade, controllable-pitch propeller. She has 1,000-hp Kongsberg bow and stern thrusters, which help her navigate tight waterways without the need for tugboat assistance. Her hull has been optimized for efficiency and all systems have been designed to ensure low energy consumption. A Kongsberg high-lift rudder optimizes the wake through the propeller. Her cargo hold has capacity for 26,000 tons and she has a front-mounted self-unloading boom. She has five hydraulically controlled stackable MacGregor hatches, which are more commonly seen on ocean-going ships. She also has a flat-bottomed cargo hold, which means can carry both bulk cargo including salt, iron ore, and limestone, but can also carry package or project cargo, such as wind turbine blades. Two front-end loaders are permanently housed within the Barker to push bulk cargo into the self-unloading system. The Mark W. Barker is named after the current president of Interlake Steamship Company. He is also the son of James and Kaye Barker, who also have vessels named after them.
18 сен 2024
