This is my first video of the 2024-2025 shipping season. Despite the shipping season getting an early start in 2024, I was unable to capture the action at the start of the season. I hope to make up for that over the coming months, as a long season still lies ahead of us!
Here is the American Century arriving in Duluth-Superior early on the morning of April 21, 2024. She was coming in empty through the shipping canal in Duluth and would make her way over the Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior, Wisconsin to load low sulfur coal. The coal was to be delivered to the power plant at St. Clair, Michigan. After catching the Century's arrival in the shipping canal, I moved over to Rice's Point to watch her make a 90-degree reverse pivot before backing under the John A. Blatnik bridge. At the end of the video we see the Century approach the coal dock, which is lit up brightly in the background.
The American Century is one of the brightest-lit of the 1000 footers at night, running with several spotlights as she enters the shipping canal. As she starts her turn under the Aerial Lift Bridge, she resembles a giant mountain, topped with a "snowy" white pilot house. Later, as the Century backed towards the Blatnik bridge, she lit up her powerful spotlights and pointed them astern to make sure she was properly lined up to pass under the Blatnik bridge without incident. Note that the seagulls are out in force to get an early breakfast. They flock around the thrusters that are helping the Century to pivot, looking some chopped fish. With the smelt run currently in progress, the birds around the Twin Ports are particularly active this time of year.
The 1000-foot American Century was launched under the name Columbia Star in November 1980, making her the twelfth of thirteen 1000-footers built for Great Lakes trade. She originally sailed for Oglebay Norton. In June 2006, she was sold to American Steamship Company and obtained her current name at that time. She is powered with four V-20 cylinder 3,560 horsepower G.M. diesel engines and has a cargo capacity of 78,850 tons at her maximum mid-summer draft of 34 feet. Cargo is stored in seven holds that are accessed by 34 hatches on deck. Her 260-foot self-unloading boom can discharge up to 10,000 tons per hour.
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Негізгі бет Автокөліктер мен көлік құралдары American Century - A Towering Mountain of Steel
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