Here is the John G. Munson arriving in Duluth, Minnesota before sunrise on August 23, 2022. She was loaded with limestone which she was scheduled to offload at the Hallett 5 dock in West Duluth. She would then shift over to the Canadian National dock to load taconite. However, it appeared she only took on a partial load of taconite before moving up to Two Harbor, Minnesota to finish loading at the Canadian National dock located there.
This arrival gave us one of those picturesque morning that was a photographer’s dream. The Munson entered the Duluth piers under a colorful sky of purples, reds, and blues. She sounded a deep captain’s salute on her way through, which the Aerial Lift Bridge dutifully answered. I then caught up with the Munson again, as the pre-sunrise skies continued to put on a show. This was easily the prettiest morning arrival I’ve seen this year… and is a strong contender for all-time prettiest arrival. My videography doesn’t really do justice to the lighting and colors that were present, but hopefully this video gives a good idea of what can be seen during early mornings in Duluth.
The John G. Munson was built in 1952 and was originally 666 feet in length. Unlike a lot of lakers that were converted to self-unloaders later in their careers, the Munson was originally built as a self-unloader… allowing her to serve a variety of ports where shoreside unloading equipment wasn’t available. She originally sailed for the Bradley Transportation Line from Rogers City, Michigan and was primarily used to haul stone until being acquired by the U.S. Steel Fleet (now operated as the Great Lakes Fleet), where her role was expanded to also carry iron ore. Today, she tends to alternate between hauling limestone and iron ore, often bringing limestone to Duluth and then departing with iron ore. The Munson was lengthened to 768 feet in 1976, giving her a cargo carrying capacity of 25,550 tons held in 7 cargo holds. Her original steam turbine was replaced by two MAK diesel engines in 2016. While the loss of another steam engine is mourned by some boat watchers, the conversion to diesel will help to ensure the Munson has many more years of cargo hauling on the Lakes before she retires.
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Beautiful! Love the Munson!
The John G. Munson….a mesmerizing sky as the Munson pushes in…a collage of reds, purples and blues light up the morning sky, at a beautiful daybreak..her lights reflect on the water like haloes in the darkness…the sound of hatch clamps and her wake echo down the Canal in an almost haunting way…then her throaty growl of a salute and she makes her signature sliding turn…as the skies ahead of her now turn to blues….a beautiful and surreal scene you have captured here. No doubt, one of the most beautiful I have watched. Thank you for your splendid work, as always!
9:11 One of my favorite, if rarely seen views: through the engine room, to the view on the other side! Thank you!
👍🏼Yup, going to be tough to top this beautiful morning! 😎✌🏼
Beautiful Morning to Film
WOW !!!!!!! You got really lucky with this one. Mother Nature sure provided a beautiful backdrop and with glassy smooth water in the foreground…… it couldn't get any better than this. You have my Vote on this being the prettiest video that you have shared with us. Again, thank you for the time and effort that you put into capturing these great views for us.
WAKE UP DULUTH! The boys are back in town!! YAY I love this ship, her horn nearly blew me off my chair, and I love how loud the sound of the hatch covers being unlatched is. I think you're right, the prettiest arrival of them all. You got my vote! A perfect 10 out of 10~YAY
Beautiful ❤
Absolutely wonderful catch 👏
Beautiful sunset blue sky
I'm not sure which one I like better: the early morning arrival of Viking Octantis, or the John G. Munson's Duluth arrival. Gah… I like both! (Not much help am I?) I must say that the light from the slowly brightening sky made the Munson appear to be a scale model, rather than a full-sized laker! One never knows what Mother Nature has in store.
That is a gorgeous video of her. I definitely will be watching this over and over again. Thank you for sharing this with us. Amazing video well done. ❤
That's a great video. Thanx for sharing.
Boat
Wow. What a fantastic video. Love it Thanks for sharing.
Great light and great exposure. This is an instant classic.
I've said it before and I'll no doubt say it again: best horn on the Lakes, best looking ship on the Lakes. The front mounted boom just complements the lines of a AAA (ok, proto-AAA) beautifully.