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12 Salties

December 4, 2017 in Moran, photos | Tags: Arctic, Ariadne, Atlantic Olive, Atlantic Sea, BBC Amisia, CMA CGM Nerval, Empire State VI, H. A. Sklenar, JRT Moran, Miriam Moran, Ningbo Express, Oceanex Connaigra, Onyx Arrow, Orange Ocean, Orsula, tugster | 3 comments

I’d put Orsula down as saltie, an ocean-going vessel of dimensions that allow her to travel deep freshwater inland, here a few days after the longest day of 2017 as far inland as Duluth; that’s 2000 miles from the Ocean. In fact, here she’s headed for Europe, likely with a cargo of grain. Last year, I caught her upbound just above Montreal.

Calling Atlantic Olive a saltie might be disputed, since here she’s departing the saltwater of NYC for the saltwater of the sea. Olives can be salty, and maybe there needs to be a term for vessels that never leave saltwater . . . other than ocean-going.

Ditto Onxy Arrow. But since part of the goal of this post is to illustrate the variety of ocean-going vessels, behold a RORO. As cargo, there might be cars, trucks, army tanks, construction equipment, or anything else that can get itself aboard of its own power. You might remember this previous post involving Onyx Arrow.

Marc Levinson’s The Box provides a good introduction to this relatively new shipping concept.

The sixth boro sees a lot of tankers and

container ships.

ACL offers the latest design in CONRO vessels, accommodating both containerized and RORO cargo.

Some bulk carriers have self-unloading gear.

Some otherwise obsolete break bulk cargo ships are adaptively repurposed as training vessels.

Size is key to true salties being able transport far into the interior of North America via the Saint Lawrence Seaway locks.

This is not a cargo vessel, or as Magritte might have said, “Ceci n’est pas un cargo.”

Some CONRO vessels have the bridge forward, almost as an adaptation of a classic laker design.

And to operate in cold seas, hulls have special design and material modifications.

And at risk of making this a baker’s dozen, I have to add Orange Ocean, great name for a transporter of my favorite fluid. Of course, this blogger cherishes other fluids as well, such as those once transported by the likes of Angelo Petri, as seen here and here.

All photos by Will Van Dorp, who offers this as just 12 of many more types.

Duluth Ship Canal 1

July 1, 2017 in gallivant, Great Lakes, photos | Tags: gallivant, Heritage Marine, Lake Superior, Orsula, tugster, Walter J. McCarthy | 3 comments

The way ships’ names work for me . . . they’re memorable! I recalled immediately having seen Orsula upbound on the St. Lawrence 10 months ago here. Here Orsula departed the grain docks for Montreal . . . 1344 miles and 129 hours away. Click here for some facts for Twin Ports, the mid-continent intermodal hub.

Walter J. McCarthy, 1000′ loa, had just come through the ship canal and was headed for the coal docks, I believe. Coal arrives here from out west, lots from Wyoming.

The aerial lift bridge can accommodate air draft of up to 180.’

Since I’m writing with hindsight, Ursula went to Montreal and is currently at sea, headed for Ravenna, Italia.

Click here to see Heritage Marine’s tug Nels J clearing out April ice….

Below, I don’t know the date of the outbound (down bound) steam ship, but

this Viking ship sailed here in 1926, with a crew of three humans and one dog, and started an exchange that continued until it was not last summer….

So here’s a research request: the Viking ship below, still in Duluth but undergoing restoration, traversed the Erie Canal on the way here. Has anyone ever seen photos of this ship in the Erie Canal? And while I’m making request, has anyone ever seen a photo of a new build military vessel–of which supposedly there were more than 400–headed eastbound on the Erie Canal during and before WW2?