![]() MV Mark W. Barker sailing up the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2025 | |
History | |
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Name | MV Mark W. Barker |
Owner | Interlake Steamship Company |
Operator | Interlake Steamship Company |
Port of registry | ![]() |
Builder | Bay Shipbuilding Company |
Launched | 1 July 2022 |
Christened | 1 September 2022 |
In service | 27 July 2022 |
Identification |
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Status | In service |
General characteristics | |
Class & type | Lake freighter |
Tonnage | 26,000 GT |
Length | 639 ft (195 m) (overall) |
Beam | 78 ft (24 m) |
Installed power | 8,000 hp (6,000 kW) |
Propulsion | Two Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) diesel engines |
Speed | 15 miles per hour (13 kn; 24 km/h) [1] |
Crew | 16–17 |
MV Mark W. Barker is a large diesel-powered lake freighter owned and operated by the Interlake Steamship Company. She is the first of the River-class freighters constructed for an American shipping company. [2] [3] MV Mark W. Barker is the first ship on the Great Lakes to be powered with engines that meet EPA Tier 4 standards. [4] [5] It is the first U.S.-flagged, Jones Act-compliant ship built on the Great Lakes since 1983. [6] The ship is named after the president of the Interlake Steamship Company. [7]
The vessel was built by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. [1] Construction began in mid-2019. [8] Her self-unloader was SS American Victory's boom that was taken off before the ship was scrapped. [9] The ship is 639 feet (195 m) long and has a 78-foot (24 m) beam, with a carrying capacity of 26,000 tons deadweight (DWT). [10] [11] She is designed to carry bulk cargo such as taconite, salt, or limestone, as well as other loads like wind turbine blades. [1] [12] MV Mark W. Barker is powered by two 4,000-horsepower (3,000 kW), 16-cylinder EMD diesel engines. [10] [13] In operation, she is designed for a complement of 16–17 crew. [14]
Launched in spring 2022, she became the first new American-built lake freighter since 1983, as well as Interlake's first American-built bulk freighter since 1981. [1] [14] The ship underwent sea trials in June and July 2022, sailing under her own power for the first time on July 1, 2022. [8] [15] On July 27, 2022, MV Mark W. Barker began her maiden voyage to Port Inland, Michigan, to load stone for Muskegon, Michigan, thus entering regular service. [16] She was christened on 1 September 2022, in Cleveland, Ohio. [17]
On May 17, 2023, she ran aground in the Detroit River near Belle Isle. [18] She was refloated shortly before 12:30pm local time. [19]