Page 41: of Marine News Magazine (March 2020)

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REPAIR & CONVERSION long the 1,600-mile, ice gray arch of the steel renewal, installation of advanced electronic naviga-

St Lawrence Seaway, the 2020 Great Lakes tion systems, and replacement of safety equipment such commercial shipping season will lurch back as lifeboats. to life on March 25 when the Soo Locks at More than one-thousand engineers, welders, pipe-? t-

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Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. reopen. ters, mechanics and electricians have worked tirelessly on

The ceremonial opening signals a passage with passable the ships to ensure they are ready to sail as soon as the Soo ice and the 114th Great Lakes season for its ? eet of 45 Locks open on March 25, according to Peace.

venerable lakers. Most of these huge self-loading freight Major shipyards are located in Duluth, Superior and haulers are at least 50 years old, rust free, and ? t; American Sturgeon Bay, Wis. as well as Erie, Penn., with other work steel sailing on a freshwater sea. being done in Toledo and Ashtabula, Ohio; Ludington,

To handle Great Lakes cargo, a special type of vessel has Mich.; Detroit and Milwaukee.

evolved: the North American "laker", the largest being more Virtually all the great lakes lakers that ? y Canadian ? ags than 1,000 feet long, capable of carrying up to 70,000 tons winter in Ontario and Hamilton.

of iron ore or 1,700,00 bushels of grain in one trip.[Inter- Todd Thayse, Vice President and General Manager of lake Steamship Company’s Paul R. Tregurtha, christened in Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, said the shipyard this year is 1981, is the largest laker sailing the Great Lakes.] servicing the Edgar B. Speer (1,004 feet), James R. Barker

Thanks to a career spent primarily in freshwater, the av- (1,004 feet), Mesabi Miner (1,004 feet), American Integri- erage life expectancy of a Laker is 40-50 years, compared ty (1,000 feet), Roger Blough (858 feet), John G. Munson to about half that for saltwater vessels. Downtime during (768 feet), American Mariner (730 feet), H. Lee White winter lay-up allows ample opportunity for maintenance, (704 feet), Joseph L. Block (728 feet), Thunder Bay (740 another key factor in a laker's long lifespan, according to feet) and Wilfred Sykes (628 feet).

Eric Peace, director of operations and communications for In 2018-2019, Fincntieri serviced the Paul R. Tregurtha the Lake Carrier Association (LCA). (1,013 feet) the largest ship on the Great Lakes, James R.

The majority of lakers are self-unloaders, able to dis- Barker (1,004 feet), Burns Harbor (1,000 feet), Roger charge cargo without dockside equipment. Many such Blough (858 feet), John G. Munson (768 feet), Cason J vessels that once carried only ore pellets, stone or coal have Callaway (767 feet), Joseph L. Block (728 feet), Wilfred been modi? ed to carry grain, salt or even fertilizer. Others Sykes (628 feet), American Courage (636 feet), Barge Hu- carry cement and petroleum products. ron Spirit (328 feet), the Madeline Island Ferry LaPointe

Lakers’ self-unloading capability is unique, and the and several tugs, Thayse said.

equipment requires maintenance to ensure the vessels can “We provide full-service maintenance and repair – ev- continue to unload up to 75,000 tons of cargo in less than erything from engine overhauls to mechanical and elec- 12 hours, one of the reasons why U.S.-? ag Lakers are the trical repairs; hull and propulsion repairs; surveying and most ef? cient mode of dry-bulk cargo transportation in inspection needs; repowerings, retro? ts and conversion the world, Peace said. services and more.

Ohio-headquartered Interlake Steamship Company has “We do 60 to 70% of our repair work during the winter a ? eet of nine self-unloading vessels, ranging in carrying months. But there is a ? ow all year long, as our repair busi- capacity from 24,000 to 68,000 gross tons, with a total ness has steadily grown. Ship repair in total is about 30 to trip capacity of 390,360 gross tons. Interlake Steamship 40% of our business.

Company carries approximately 20 million tons of cargo “We service vessels that require conveyor system and annually. In 2016, the company completed a 10-year, boom belt work. We also blast and paint cargo holds and $100 million ? eet modernization program. ship’s hull structure. We do any emergency repairs needed; not just during winter but year-round. Our ? oating dry-

Winter work dock and 1,154 foot graving dock help us accommodate

Peace is making an educated guess, but he ? gures more many of the largest Great Lakes vessels in operation.” than $97 million in maintenance and modernization work When asked about trends for new services and equip- was done on U.S.-? ag Lakers for the 2019-2020 winter ment, Julie Koch, Manager of Contract Services at Fin- season at multiple Great Lakes shipyards. cantieri Bay Shipbuilding , said the yard has completed

The biggest part of it is winter work, which includes, ? ve exhaust gas scrubber installations, including three for 41 www.marinelink.com MN