MV Mesabi Miner is a bulk carrier that operates on the upper four North American Great Lakes.[1] 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.
 Mesabi Miner transits the Soo Locks in 2011
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | MV Mesabi Miner |
| Owner | Interlake Steamship Company |
| Operator | Interlake Steamship Company |
| Port of registry |  Wilmington, Delaware |
| Builder | American Ship Building Company |
| Yard number | 906 |
| Laid down | 15 May 1975 |
| Launched | 14 February 1977 |
| Christened | 14 June 1977 |
| Maiden voyage | 7 June 1977 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In active service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Lake freighter |
| Tonnage |
|
| Length | 1,003 ft (306 m) |
| Beam | 105 ft (32 m) |
| Depth | 50 ft (15 m) |
| Installed power | 2 × MaK 6M43C four-stroke diesel engines, 8,160 HP (6 MW) each at 514 RPM |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
History
editThe American Ship Building Company built the ship in 1975 at Lorain, Ohio. Like her sister ships, MV James R. Barker and Paul R. Tregurtha , she is owned and operated by the Interlake Shipping Company.[2]
In spite of its size the MV Mesabi Miner is able to maneuver, in harbor, without requiring assistance from tugboats.[3]
On the morning of January 5, 2014, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock was breaking ice for the lake freighter MV Mesabi Miner approximately 22 nautical miles west of the Straits of Mackinac.[4] She slowed after encountering harder ice and was struck in the stern by the much larger ore carrier. Both vessels sustained damage but there were no injuries, release of pollutants, or reports of flooding.[5]
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ George Wharton. "Mesabi Miner". Boatnerd. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
- ^ Raymond A. Bawal (2011). Superships of the Great Lakes: Thousand-foot Ships on the Great Lakes. Inland Expressions. pp. 27–32, 35, 42–46, 70. ISBN 9780981815749. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
- ^ Alex Roland; W. Jeffrey Bolster; Alexander Keyssar (2008). The Way of the Ship: America's Maritime History Reenvisoned, 1600-2000. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 367–370. ISBN 9780470136003. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
- ^ Times Herald (January 6, 2014). "Hollyhock hull, stern, fantail damaged". Port Huron Times Herald. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ^ Times Herald (January 11, 2014). "Hollyhock returns to ice breaking duty". Port Huron Times Herald. Retrieved February 8, 2014.