She moved a LOT faster than I thought she would! Saw her passing by the Blatnik Bridge from the Superior side of the harbor after unloading limestone, the first such shipment this season. Ordinarily the Blatnik is my half hour marker, so I made note of it and did some chores for a few minutes then drove down to the bridge, expecting to show up right as the bridge started raising. Instead, not only was the bridge fully raised but her bow was entering the canal! So I ran for a bit, then realizing I wouldn’t make it, slowed down and just started filming. A little disappointed because there were some great waves that day, you can even see one break over her bow as she reaches the end of the canal! The result probably isn’t my greatest video but it’s a little unique lol, so I hope you all enjoy regardless!
The Great Lakes Trader/ Joyce L VanEnkevort is a 744ft long ATB type laker, meaning she has all the features of a normal laker, except instead of pilothouse and engines she has a permanently assigned tug boat that can detach in extremely rare circumstances. When together (which is 99.99% of the time) they act as a single ship. Even though the ship isn’t a widely known vessel, she is the second largest active non thousand footer sailing the Great Lakes after her near sister Michigan Trader/ Dirk S VanEnkevort. The tug was completed in 1998, built in Escanaba MI. The barge section, which was being built in New Orleans, was delayed by two years, she spent some time leased out to Interlake Steamship pushing the Pathfinder while her tug finished construction. When Great Lakes Trader finished construction, the tug left the lakes and sailed to New Orleans and back to retrieve it. In order to return to the lakes, the tug had to separate in each lock, as the barge measures the maximum size possible to fit through the seaway. The process proved so troublesome that it was never repeated, her two sister ships were built in the Lakes. Since then she’s been a very reliable member of the fleet, often shipping limestone and iron ore. The ship missed part of last season due to inspection and painting, her boom was painted red among other things (it used to be white). We wish then a good season!
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