Name Paul R. Tregurtha Laid down July 12, 1979 Construction started 12 July 1979 | Yard number 909 Length 309 m Launched 4 February 1981 | |
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Owner Interlake Steamship Company Operator Interlake Steamship Company Port of registry Wilmington, Delaware, United States Builder American Ship Building Company | ||
MV Paul R. Tregurtha is a Great Lakes-based bulk carrier freighter. She is the current Queen of the Lakes (the largest ship operating on the Great Lakes complex). Launched as the William J. De Lancey, she was the last of the 13 "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.
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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.
Designed by the American Ship Building Company to fulfil 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, where it was mated with the stern portion. The completed hull No. 909 has a total length of 1,013 feet (309 m).
Stephens-Adamson designed a loop belt elevator system, that feeds a stern mounted 79.25 meters (260.0 ft) 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.
Formally launched on February 4, 1981, the vessel was christened on April 25, 1981, as the William J. De Lancey, named in honor of Republic Steel's chairman who participated in the launch. In 1990 she received her current name. Paul R. Tregurtha, born 1935, was the Vice Chairman of Interlake Steamship Company's Board.
Operations
The William J. De Lancey departed Lorain on her maiden voyage May 10, 1981, sailing in ballast to Silver Bay, Minnesota, to load 55,944 tons of iron ore pellets. She arrived back in Lorain on May 16, 1981. She holds a number of cargo records:
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.
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.
She was the subject of a television program in the second series of Discovery Channel Canada's series Mighty Ships.
2012 and 2014 grounding incidents
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 became grounded in the outbound channel of the 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. With assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard, at 5:30 a.m. on August 19, two tugs with a combined 4,000 horsepower, 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.
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.