MV Paul R. Tregurtha

Last updated

Paul R. Tregurtha.jpg
MV Paul R. Tregurtha laid up over the winter in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
History
NameMV Paul R. Tregurtha
Owner Interlake Steamship Company
Operator Interlake Steamship Company
Port of registry Flag of the United States.svg Wilmington, Delaware, United States
Builder American Ship Building Company
Yard number909
Laid down12 July 1979
Launched4 February 1981
Christened25 April 1981
Maiden voyage10 May 1981
Identification
Nickname(s)"The Big Paul", "Fancy De Lancey"
StatusIn active service
General characteristics
Class and type Lake freighter
Tonnage
Length1,013.5 ft (308.9 m)
Beam105 ft (32 m)
Depth56 ft (17 m)
Installed power2 × MaK 6M43C four-stroke diesel engines, 8,160 HP (6 MW) each at 514 RPM
Propulsion
Speed15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph)
Capacity
  • Iron ore: 68,000 long tons (69,000 t)
  • Coal: 63,616 long tons (64,637 t)

MV Paul R. Tregurtha is a Great Lakes-based bulk carrier freighter. She is the current Queen of the Lakes , an unofficial but widely recognized title given to the longest vessel active on the Great Lakes. [1] Launched as MV William J. De Lancey, she was the last of the thirteen "thousand footers" to enter service on the Great Lakes, and was also the last Great Lakes vessel built at the American Ship Building Company yard in Lorain, Ohio. The MV Paul R. Tregurtha is the current flagship for the Interlake Steamship Company.

Contents

Construction

The Interlake Steamship Company was given a contract in 1979, by its customer Republic Steel, to transport iron ore from Lake Superior ports to their steel mill at Indiana Harbor, or to their transshipment terminal at Lorain. [1]

Designed by the American Ship Building Company to fulfill two briefs:

With the second brief in mind, she was one of the first freighters with full air conditioning, elevators, and luxurious décor. Built in two parts, her keel was laid down on July 12, 1979, at the American Ship Building Company yard in Toledo, Ohio. On completion, the forward section was towed to their yard in Lorain, Ohio where it was mated with the stern portion. The completed hull No. 909 has a total length of 1,013 feet (309 m). [1]

Stephens-Adamson designed a loop belt elevator system, that feeds a stern mounted 260-foot (79 m) discharge boom that can be swung 100 degrees to port or starboard. Capable of unloading at a rate of 10,000 long tons of iron ore per hour, or 6,000 net tons of coal per hour, the total system displaces 14,497 tons. [1]

Formally launched on February 4, 1981, the vessel was christened on April 25, 1981, as MV William J. De Lancey, named in honor of Republic Steel's chairman who participated in the launch. [1] In 1990 she received her current name. Paul R. Tregurtha, born 1935, was the Vice Chairman of Interlake Steamship Company's Board.

Operations

MV William J. De Lancey departed Lorain on her maiden voyage on May 10, 1981, sailing in ballast to Silver Bay, Minnesota, to load 55,944 long tons (56,842 t) of iron ore pellets. She arrived back in Lorain on May 16, 1981. She holds a number of cargo records: [1]

On termination of the Republic Steel contract, on May 23, 1990, she was rechristened MV Paul R. Tregurtha at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, named in honor of the Vice Chairman of Interlake Steamship Co. On May 3, 2002, her only captain died in his cabin, Captain Mitch Hallin, aged 55. [1]

In winter 2004, she was asked to transport a reserve of coal to Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, necessitating a mid-winter voyage. Loading 43,000 net tons in Conneaut, Ohio, both United States and Canadian Coast Guard services provided ice breaking assistance so that the voyage was completed without any delays. After unloading on January 29, she departed for her normal winter lay-up in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. [1]

She was the subject of a television program in the first season of Discovery Channel Canada's series Mighty Ships. That program recounts how in 2008, while leaving Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, MV Paul R. Tregurtha got stuck in ice and cracked steel plating on the port side of her bow, causing ballast tank water to leak out. Framing beneath the plating was also bent and cracked. After undergoing repairs at the Fraser Shipyards in Superior, Wisconsin, she then loaded her coal cargo at the dock and carried it to Detroit, Michigan. [2]

2012 and 2014 grounding incidents

MV Paul R. Tregurtha aground in the outbound channel of the St. Marys River, August 15, 2012 Paul R. Tregurth aground (7795870986).jpg
MV Paul R. Tregurtha aground in the outbound channel of the St. Marys River, August 15, 2012

At around 3 a.m. on August 15, 2012, as she was proceeding downbound with 62,000 tons of coal, the bow of MV Paul R. Tregurtha grounded in the outbound channel of St. Marys River, just north of the Neebish Island ferry crossing, near Sault Ste. Marie. Her stern then pivoted and grounded on the opposite side of the channel, completely blocking the approach to the Rock Cut in the Lower St. Marys River. [3] With assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard, at 5:30 a.m. on August 19, two tugs with a combined 4,000 horsepower (3,000 kW) moved the stern of the ship into the middle of the channel. This enabled salvage experts to successfully raise the ship's bow by filling stern voids which reduced the amount of forward weight on the rocks, and hence refloat the vessel. [4]

During the afternoon of September 20, 2014, she was involved in an incident in Duluth, Minnesota, when she ran aground just off the Bayfront Festival Park in the Duluth Harbor Basin, just west of the Aerial Lift Bridge. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake freighter</span> Ship type

Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels operating on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Freighters typically have a long, narrow hull, a raised pilothouse, and the engine located at the rear of the ship.

SS <i>Arthur M. Anderson</i> American Great Lakes freighter/ bulk carrier

SS Arthur M. Anderson is a cargo ship of the laker type. She is famous for being the last ship to be in contact with SS Edmund Fitzgerald before she sank on November 10, 1975. Arthur M. Anderson was also the first rescue ship on the scene in a vain search for Edmund Fitzgerald survivors. The vessel's namesake, Arthur Marvin Anderson, was director of U.S. Steel, a member of its finance committee and vice chairman of J.P. Morgan & Co. at the time. The ship was launched in 1952 and is in active service.

SS <i>Col. James M. Schoonmaker</i> 1911 lake freighter

Col. James M. Schoonmaker, formerly Willis B. Boyer, is a lake freighter that served as a commercial vessel on the Great Lakes for much of the 20th century. Named for Medal of Honor recipient James Martinus Schoonmaker, it is currently a museum ship in Toledo, Ohio.

USS <i>Chiwawa</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Chiwawa (AO-68) is a former T3-S-A1 Kennebec-class oiler constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the only U.S. Navy ship named for the Chiwawa River in Washington.

<i>Thunder Bay</i> (ship)

Thunder Bay is a Trillium-class lake freighter cargo vessel, built and launched in China in 2013. The ship is owned, and operated on the Great Lakes, by the Canada Steamship Lines (CSL). Like her three sister ships in CSL's Trillium class, Baie St. Paul, Baie Comeau, and Whitefish Bay, the vessel is a self-unloading bulk carrier, with a conveyor belt on a long boom that can be deployed over port or starboard sides.

MV <i>American Courage</i> Self-discharging bulk carrier

MV American Courage is a diesel-powered lake freighter owned and operated by Grand River Navigation. This vessel was built in 1979 at Bay Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and included self-unloading technology.

MV <i>American Mariner</i> Self-discharging bulk carrier

MV American Mariner is a diesel-powered lake freighter owned and operated by the American Steamship Company (ASC). This vessel was built in 1980 at Bay Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and included self-unloading technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pickands Mather Group</span> American company which provides shipping of bulk commodities

The Pickands Mather Group is an American company which provides shipping of coal and other bulk commodities, and the purchase, sale, and marketing of bulk coal. Founded in 1883 as Pickands Mather & Company, it once had the second largest shipping fleet on the Great Lakes in the 1910s and 1920s. The company was purchased by the Diamond Shamrock Corporation in 1968, which in turn sold it to the Moore-McCormack Resources in 1973. Moore-McCormack sold Pickands Mather's mining interests to Cleveland-Cliffs in 1986. Moore-McCormack then spun off the Interlake Steamship Company to James Barker and Paul R. Tregurtha in 1987. Pickands Mather was sold to a management group in 1992, and continues to operate as a private company.

Mesabi Miner Ship built in 1977

MV Mesabi Miner is a bulk carrier that operates on the upper four North American Great Lakes. She is one of the small number of vessels that are too large to travel through the Welland Canal that connects Lake Erie to the lowest lake, Lake Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interlake Steamship Company</span> American freight ship company that operates a fleet on the Great Lakes

The Interlake Steamship Company is an American freight ship company that operates a fleet on the Great Lakes in North America. It is now part of Interlake Maritime Services.

SS <i>William C. Moreland</i> Great Lakes freighter wrecked in Lake Superior

SS William C. Moreland was a 600-foot (180 m) long Great Lakes freighter that ran aground on Sawtooth Reef, Lake Superior on 18 October 1910, only a month after entering service. Visibility was poor due to the smoke from several forest fires, causing the William C. Moreland to ran full steam onto a reef. There were many attempts to salvage the ship, but eventually only the 278-foot (85 m) long stern was salvaged and was used to build the 580-foot (180 m) long Sir Trevor Dawson.

SS <i>Ira H. Owen</i> American lake freighter lost in the Mataafa Storm of 1905

SS Ira H. Owen was a steel-hulled American lake freighter in service between 1887 and 1905. One of the first steel lake freighters, she was built in 1887 in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Globe Iron Works Company, and was built for the Owen Line of Chicago, Illinois. Early in her career, Ira H. Owen carried iron ore from Escanaba, Michigan. In April 1898, Ira H. Owen was chartered by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. She was sold to the National Steamship Company of Chicago, on December 30, 1899, for whom she frequently carried coal and grain. Throughout her career, Ira H. Owen was involved in multiple accidents and incidents.

SS <i>Henry Cort</i> Great Lakes whaleback freighter

The Henry Cort was a 320-foot (98 m) long whaleback freighter. It sank four times during its career; finally running aground at Muskegon, Michigan in November, 1934. The ship broke apart over the winter and was scrapped in 1935.

SS <i>Augustus B. Wolvin</i>

Augustus B. Wolvin was a 560 ft (170 m) long Great Lakes freighter that had a 63-year career on the Great Lakes. Augustus B. Wolvin was a product of the American Shipbuilding Company of Cleveland, Ohio. She was built for the Acme Steamship Company of Duluth, Minnesota.

SS <i>Henry A. Hawgood</i> Former American bulk steam freighter

The Henry A. Hawgood was an American steel-hulled, propeller-driven lake freighter that was built by the American Ship Building Company of Cleveland, Ohio for service on the Great Lakes of North America and Canada. She was used to haul bulk cargoes such as iron ore, coal and grain.

SS <i>Willis L. King</i>

SS Willis L. King was a 600-foot-long (180 m), steel-hulled, propeller-driven American Great Lakes freighter built in 1911 by the Great Lakes Engineering Works of Ecorse, Michigan. She was scrapped in 1984 in Ashtabula, Ohio. Willis L. King is best known for her collision with the steamer Superior City on August 20, 1920, in Whitefish Bay.

SS <i>Senator</i> Steel-hulled Great Lakes freighter that sank on Lake Michigan

SS Senator was a steel-hulled Great Lakes freighter that sank on Lake Michigan with the loss of nine lives and 268 Nash automobiles, on Halloween of 1929 after she was rammed in heavy fog by the bulk carrier Marquette. She lies in 450 feet (140 m) of water 16 miles northeast of Port Washington, Wisconsin. On April 12, 2016 her wreck was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

MV <i>Kaye E. Barker</i> Self discharging lake freighter

The MV Kaye E. Barker is a self-discharging lake freighter owned and operated by the Interlake Steamship Company. She was originally built as the Edward B. Greene, and was later renamed Benson Ford before being sold to Interlake and named the Barker. It primarily hauls hematite pellets, stone, and coal across the North American Great Lakes.

SS <i>Edward L. Ryerson</i> American Great Lakes freighter since 1960

SS Edward L. Ryerson is a steel-hulled American Great Lakes freighter that entered service in 1960. Built between April 1959 and January 1960 for the Inland Steel Company, she was the third of the thirteen so-called 730-class of lake freighters, each of which shared the unofficial title of "Queen of the Lakes", as a result of their record-breaking length. She was not only the last steam-powered freighter built on the lakes but also the last one that was not a self-unloader. Since 2009, she has been in long-term layup in Superior, Wisconsin. She is one of only two American-owned straight deck lake freighters, the other being John Sherwin, built in 1958.

MV <i>Mark W. Barker</i> American-built freighter ship

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. MV Mark W. Barker is the first ship on the Great Lakes to be powered with engines that meet EPA Tier 4 standards. It is the first U.S.-flagged, Jones Act-compliant ship built on the Great Lakes since 1983.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "M/V Paul R. Tregurtha". boatnerd.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Paul R. Tregurtha". Mighty Ships. Season 1. Episode 5. 2008. Discovery Channel Canada.
  3. ↑ "1,000-foot coal freighter stuck in St. Marys River". The Detroit News . Associated Press. August 15, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ "Salvage Experts Refloat Grounded Vessel in St. Marys River". World Maritime News. August 19, 2012.
  5. ↑ "1,000-foot Laker Stuck near Bayfront Park". The Detroit News . WDIO-DT. September 20, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.