Had to do the Dual Horn salute for it to be heard over the wind! The Mesabi Miner Duluth Arrival

The last ship to arrive before the big storm hit us! Windy and warm….so to speak, in the mid 30’s this time of year is balmy in my opinion.
They arrived Duluth Dec 10 16:08 to load Iron Ore, the schedule originally stated they were coming to load coal. Instead took a delay at Port Terminal, waiting for the American Spirit and the Philip R Clarke to finish their turns at the CN dock. They spent 5 few days at Port Terminal waiting out the storm and waiting for their turn at the CN dock. They Finally made their way to CN to load the ore, Departed Duluth December 16 @12:50 PM Heading to Cleveland OH

Info from Boatnerd.com:

The keel for this “super carrier”, the fourth of thirteen “1,000 footers” built for various American flag carriers on the Great Lakes, was laid at the American Ship Building Company’s Lorain, OH yard on May 15, 1975 as their hull # 906. The bow and stern sections were built at Lorain and the 550′ (167.64m) mid-body was built at Am Ship’s Toledo, OH yard. The completed mid-body was towed to Lorain and moved into the drydock in mid-October of 1976 to be joined to the stern section. Hull # 906 was built at a cost of $45.1 million. The new, giant self-unloader was one of a number of American ships built under Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970 which allowed U.S. shipping companies to build new vessels or modernize their existing fleets by government guaranteed financing and tax deferred benefits.

The new self-unloading bulk carrier was launched February 14, 1977 as the Mesabi Miner. The Mesabi Miner sailed on her maiden voyage June 7, 1977 from Lorain to load iron ore at Superior, WI. On June 11, 1977 after arriving at the twin-ports of Duluth / Superior, the vessel was formally christened Mesabi Miner at Duluth, MN for Moore-McCormack Leasing, Inc. and managers, the Interlake Steamship Co. (Pickands Mather & Co.) of Cleveland, OH by Mrs. Hubert H. Humphrey. The Mesabi Miner was named to honor the people of the Mesabi Iron Range who had encouraged the development of the mining industry in Minnesota. She was the second of an initial 2-ship building program commissioned by her owners; the first vessel being her sister-ship and fleet-mate James R. Barker.

The Mesabi Miner is powered by 2 Pielstick 16PC2-2V-400 single acting, 4 stroke cycle V-16 cylinder 8,000 b.h.p. (5,968 kW) turbo-charged diesel engines burning intermediate grade 280 fuel and driving 2 controllable pitch propellers giving the vessel a rated service speed of 15.5 m.p.h. These engines were built by the Fairbanks Morse Engine Div. of Colt Industries International, Inc. of Beloit, WI. She is equipped with a 1,500 h.p. (1,119 kW) bow thruster. The vessel is capable of carrying 63,300 gross tons (64,317 mt) of iron ore at a mid-summer draft of 29′ 01″ (8.86m); the product being contained in 7 holds serviced by 36 hatches. Her cubic carrying capacity for coal is 57,200 net tons* (51,892 mt). The Mesabi Miner’s self-unloading system consists of a gravity fed 3-belt hopper/belt system feeding a stern mounted 265′ (80.77m) discharge boom that can unload up to 10,000 tons of iron ore or 6,000 net tons of coal per hour. She is equipped with modern pollution control systems that effectively handle the ship’s waste and cargo dust.

After her christening, the Mesabi Miner became the first “1,000 footer” to load at Superior’s Burlington Northern Dock # 5 when a record 54,321 gross tons (55,194 mt) of iron ore was loaded on board on June 14, 1977 bound for Burns Harbor, IN. This was the self-unloader’s first cargo. In 1979, the giant laker delivered a record 38,850 net tons (35,245 mt) of coal to the shallow port of Port Washington, WI. A port record for Conneaut, OH was established by the Mesabi Miner when, on April 11, 1980, she took on 46,915 net tons (42,561 mt) of coal. Also in 1980, the Mesabi Miner set a port record for that year at Escanaba, MI when 60,999 tons (61,979 mt) of iron ore were loaded on board. The self-unloader was noted on June 15, 1985 to have been the first vessel of her size to have navigated the Saginaw River. Then in October, 1987, the Mesabi Miner was sent in ballast to the Stelco docks at Nanticoke, ON to test the docking facilities there for their ability to handle these large self-unloaders.

Overall Dimensions (metric)
Length 1004′ 00″ (306.02m)
Beam 105′ 00″ (32.00m)
Depth 50′ 00″ (15.24m)
Capacity (mid-summer) 63,300 tons (64,317 mt)
at draft of 29’01” (8.86m)
Power (diesel) 16,000 b.h.p. (11,936 kW)

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