Built in Sturgeon Bay, first freighter built on the Great Lakes in 39 years takes maiden voyage
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STURGEON BAY - Maritime history had its first day of work Wednesday.
The M/V Mark W. Barker, the first U.S.-flagged, Great Lakes freighter to be built on the lakes in almost 40 years, set off on its maiden voyage from Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, where it was built.
The ship, built by Fincantieri for Interlake Steamship Co., left the Sturgeon Bay shipyard at 10:36 a.m. Wednesday, starting a 110-mile journey to Port Inland, Michigan. There, a crew of 21 mariners will load stone for delivery to Muskegon, Michigan, for use in ready-mix concrete production.
According to a news release from Interlake, the Barker is the first known vessel built on the Great Lakes and designed to work on the lakes since 1983. It is named for Interlake's president, Mark W. Barker, who was at the shipyard for the start of the voyage. The Barker also is first new ship built for the company since 1981, when it launched the Paul M. Tregurtha.
Fincantieri, Interlake and Bay Engineering jointly designed the Barker, a River-class, self-unloading freighter with advanced automation. It is 639 feet long, 78 feet wide, 45 feet high, and is 28,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage, or how much weight it can carry, including cargo, crew, fuel, fresh and ballast water, among other items). Its duties will be to transport raw materials such as salt, iron ore and stone to customers throughout the Great Lakes region.
The Barker had its launching ceremony, a formal maritime tradition to mark the first time a boat is transferred from land to water, at Bay Ship Oct. 28. Since then, work was continued on its interior accommodations and mechanical and engineering systems to make it ready to take to the lakes.
Based in Ohio, Interlake is the largest privately held U.S.-flagged fleet on the Great Lakes, with 10 ships transporting 20 million tons of raw materials annually, including iron ore and flux stone for the steel industry, stone for construction, coal for power generation and salt for de-icing roads and highways. A number of Interlake's bulk carriers spend their winters at Bay Ship for maintenance and repairs, including the James R. Barker, Paul M. Tregurtha, Lee A. Tregurtha and Mesabi Miner.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-741-7952, 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.
RELATED: $1.2 million grant to help Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding modernize
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Historic Fincantieri Bay Ship-built freighter takes maiden voyage
