Somehow, one always wakes up early when camping. We were packed up at Potawatomi State Park before 6am. So, then, there was the question of what to do next.
After cleaning up my windshield (see last post), we found a spot where we could look across Sturgeon Bay, hoping to see some of the ships I'd only seen on cameras before.
In the morning light, we had a great view of these ships:
Stewart J Cort is on the left. Roger Blough is in the middle, then Cason J Callaway is on the right.
A short distance from the three older ships was the newest Great Lakes freighter, Mark W Barker - yet to take her maiden voyage.
We wandered back into Sturgeon Bay proper and found our way down to the shipyards where we could get a better look at the ships.
Apparently, Fincantieri does open to tourists once a year at $20/person. Unfortunately, that day wasn't this one.
Mark W Barker (below) is Interlake Steamship Company's newest freighter. She is the first laker to be built on the Great Lakes in over 35 years and Interlake's first new ship since 1981. She is 639 feet in length and boasts a 26,000 gross ton capacity.
Named after the current Interlake president, she was designed shorter than her majestic 1000-foot fleetmates due to the shorter requirements at many ports. She was also designed to make energy-efficiency paramount as well as versatility to carry whatever cargo is needed.
Read more about Mark W Barker from Interlake.
Further down the dock, we could just see Cason J Callaway, owned by USS Great Lakes Fleet. She is 767 feet in length and remains an active part of the fleet. I do not know why she was in Sturgeon Bay at this time. Read more about her from Boatnerd.
Next was Roger Blough, also owned by USS Great Lakes Fleet. She was tragically damaged in a devastating 12-hour fire back in February 2021 when in "lay up" (the annual maintenance/repair time over the winter.) I asked an employee if he knew the fate of Blough and sadly, she seems to be destined to be scrapped as it's simply too expensive to repair her. Read about the fire at Professional Mariner and about Blough at Boatnerd. (I still hope that the worker is wrong and they will repair Blough, but it sounds less and less likely now.)
Stewart J Cort was the other ship there. A 1000-foot ship owned/operated by Interlake, she appears to be undergoing some interior refurbishments that was scheduled for May this year. She was the first 1000-footer to sail the great lakes... commemorated by the "#1" painted on the aft building section. She is also the only "footer" with the pilot house and crew accommodation located at the bow end of the ship. Read more about her at Interlake.
This crane is absolutely ginormous! With ships the size of Stewart J Cort, large cranes are essential, but they're still a wonder to me. (I don't think I'd want to work up there!)
I hope that one day I'll be able to return to Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, maybe on a day when tours are available!
Images taken on July 1, 2022 with my Nikon D7200.
If you want to be tagged in future shipspotting posts, please let me know and I'll add you to this list.
@jamerussell
(I can also remove you if you wish.)
Past Shipspotting Posts
- Watching the Ships in Duluth, Minnesota
- Watching the Ships at Port Huron, Michigan
- Trains and Ships on the Mississippi, Fort Madison, Iowa
- Year's End Shipping in Duluth - Dec 31, 2020 - featuring Algoma Guardian, American Spirit, Baie Comeau, Great Republic and Stewart J Cort.
- Persistence Pays Off - Feb 11, 2021 - featuring Morro Bay, Samuel Risley, Griffon and Algosea.
- The Buddy System - Feb 14, 2021 - featuring Griffon, Hollyhock, Algosea, Morro Bay, Algocanada and Iver Bright.
- Downbound Progression - Feb 18, 2021 - featuring Samuel Risley and Algosea
- Upbound Parade - Feb 18, 2021 - featuring Samuel Risley, Algonova, Leo A McArthur and Katmai Bay.
- A Day on the St. Clair - Feb 25, 2021 - featuring Katmai Bay, Samuel Risley, Algonova and Pride.
- Threefer in Marine City - Feb 26, 2021 - featuring Katmai Bay, Samuel Risley and Algoterra
- 2021 Shipping Season Begins - Mar 1, 2021 - featuring Manitoulin
- Spring Has Come - Mar 21, 2021 - featuring Griffon
- Today's Shipping on the St. Clair - March 22, 2021 - featuring Algonova, Baie Comeau, Iver Bright, Indiana Harbor and Sharon M/Huron Spirit
- U-Turn in the St. Clair - Mar 25, 2021 - featuring Algoma Hansa
- Spring Day on the St. Clair - Apr 12, 2021
- Morning Departures in Duluth - Apr 30, 2021
- End of Shift - June 6, 2021
Ship Studies
- Algoma Enterprise Farewell post - Jan 5, 2021 - featuring Algoma Enterprise, Algoma Niagara and Joyce van Enkevort - Jan 5, 2021
- Alpena, the Oldest Ship on the Lakes - March 8, 2021
- Federal Cedar - First Salty of the Season Travels the St. Clair - Mar 29, 2021
- Iver Bright - Asphalt and Bitumen Tanker - March 5, 2021
- Katmai Bay - USCGC 101
- Mississagi's Final Voyage - Jan 5, 2021
- Ocean Navigator - Jul 6, 2022
Freewrites that include ship pictures...
- Winter, Writing and Winging It - featuring Drawsko and Federal Oshima.
- Fish, Farming and the Future - featuring Paul R Tregurtha.
Shipping-based art
Shipspotting Buzzes
Lakers:
- American Steamship Company - American Integrity,
- Canada Steamship Lines - Frontenac, Rt Hon Paul J Martin,
- Interlake - James R Barker, Kaye E Barker,
Coast Guard:
- Canadian - Samuel Risley
Salties:
- BBC - BBC Swift
Two or more ships -
- Burns Harbor & Stewart J Cort,
- Jamna, Sinaa, Torrent and Federal Dart,
- USCG Biscayne Bay - 104, CCG Samuel Risley, Michigan w/ Great Lakes and USCG Morro Bay - 106
No Ships... (on these ship cameras)
This category is for when the camera operator finds something else fun to focus on, like the peregrines around Port Huron or the beautiful sunrise over Lake Superior as viewed from the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge.
Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
(Buy my work at RedBubble, TeePublic, PicFair and DeviantArt.)
verified author on Goodreads
(Buy my books at Books2Read and at LBRY)
