Here is the Saginaw seen departing Superior, Wisconsin just after sunset on December 27, 2023. She had loaded taconite pellets at the Burlington Northern dock for delivery to Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario... a 26-hour trip to the other side of Lake Superior. In this video we see the Saginaw backing away from the Burlington Northern dock, making a quick pivot to align herself with the canal, then head out onto Lake Superior. The CSL Laurentien, who had been waiting at anchor to take up her spot at the BN dock, can be seen in the distance making her way in. The Saginaw treated us to a captain's salute (one long and two short blasts) as she headed out.
The Saginaw may be a 70-year old ship, but she is quick and nimble. She made very quick work of backing away from the dock and pivoting around, doing it in half of the time (or less) than most other lake freighters we see visiting Superior. For most other boats, I am often editing out big portions of the backing-and-pivoting, just to give my videos a better pace. For the Saginaw, I edited out very little. She was that fast!
It may be logical to assume that I stuck around to watch the CSL Laurentien arrive after the Saginaw's departure, but instead I raced off to Duluth to catch the departure of another boat. Nothing against the Laurentien, but her last appearance on my channel went over like a lead balloon. The boat I went to see departing Duluth is definitely much more popular... and one we haven't seen (or heard) in a while. Stay tuned!
The 639-foot Saginaw was built by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company at Manitowoc, Wisconsin in 1953 as the John J. Boland, being the third ship to carry that name. In 1999, after 46 years with the American Steamship Company, she was acquired by Lower Lakes Towing and was renamed the Saginaw. (American Steamship then renamed another vessel as the John J. Boland, which can be seen elsewhere on this channel.) The Saginaw has a 20,000 ton capacity and uses an older style front-mounted A-frame self-unloading system, which has a capacity of 7,700 tons per hour. In 2007, the Saginaw was converted from steam to diesel. Her hatch covers are the old-style telescoping covers instead of the single-piece covers that most modern lake freighters use today. She is currently powered by a single MaK 6M43C 6-cylinder engine producing 8,160 bhp, giving her a top speed of 16.1 mph.
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10 сен 2024
