Page 28: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 2022)

GREAT SHIPS of 2022

The Interlake Steamship Company

MARK W. BARKERMARK W. BARKER

Owner: The Interlake Steamship Company

Builder: Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding

Designer: Bay Engineering, Interlake Maritime Services

By Eric Haun he Interlake Steamship Company’s newest vessel, our employees who have powered our industry and propelled the Mark W. Barker, ranks high among most note- our company for more than 130 years.” worthy vessels built in North America in recent Believed to be the ? rst newbuild for U.S. Great Lakes ser- years. The ? rst U.S.-? agged freighter built on the vice built on the Great Lakes since 1983, the new River-Class,

TGreat Lakes in nearly four decades, it is a mod- self-unloading bulk carrier is as “Great Lakes” as it gets— ern, versatile addition to the otherwise aging ? eet currently conceived, designed and constructed locally—using local serving the region’s vital Jones Act trade. materials. Built at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon “This is truly a historic celebration for our company and for Bay, Wis., the 639-foot vessel was made from iron ore mined the United States maritime industry as we proudly christen in Minnesota by Cleveland-Cliffs, and carried on U.S.-built, the newest vessel to join the U.S. ? ag ? eet on the Great Lakes U.S.-crewed, and U.S.-owned Lakers to Cleveland-Cliffs’ and our ? rst new build in 41 years,” said Mark W. Barker, Burns Harbor mill in Indiana. There the pellets were forged president of The Interlake Steamship Company and the ves- into steel plates and shipped to the Wisconsin shipyard.

sel’s namesake, during a September christening ceremony “This American-made vessel is not only a veritable Great held for the vessel in Cleveland. “While this ship may bear Lakes success story, it is a Cleveland ship, through and my name, it is a testament to the innovation, skill and grit of through,” said The Interlake Steamship Company’s chairman, 28 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • December 2022

MR #12 (18-33).indd 28 12/4/2022 3:44:18 PM